HANS BIELENSTEIN

I was saddened to learn of the death of Professor Bielenstein. I was fortunate to work as department secretary in the early 1970s, when he was head of the department. He alwasys treated me with consideration and considerable wit, and accommodated my desire to take courses during working hours and making up the time later. I learned classical Chinese and Chinese history from him, and benefitted from his encouragement of my studies. In short, he was a demanding teacher and very considerate and...

Professor Bielenstein was a strict instructor; we students had to get it right or suffer poor grades. In this way, by demanding so much of himself, he inspired us all. He was also a generous supporter of his students long after we left Columbia. I will always be grateful for what I learned from him. Robert E. Hegel (Columbia Ph.D. 1973), Dieckmann Professor of Comparative Literature and Professor of Chinese Language and Literature, Washington University, St. Louis