Jaroslav Průšek

After graduating from Charles University, he went to Germany and Sweden and became the student of Bernard Karlgren. He was sent to China and Japan in the 1930s, where he became friends with many Chinese intellectuals, including Lu Xun. He went back to Czechoslovakia in 1937. In 1952, he was appointed head of Institute of East Asian Studies of Charles University. His students included Marián Gálik and Milena Doleželová-Velingerová. He was a pioneer in a range of topics ranging from Song dynasty vernacular literature and modern Chinese literature. He lived in what Leo Ou-fan Lee called "the era of giants."

• Dictionary of Oriental Literature • The lyrical and the epic: studies of modern Chinese literature • Chinese history and literature: collection of studies • Chinese states and the northern barbarians in the period 1400-300 B.C • The origins and the authors of the hua-pen • Die Literatur des befreiten China und ihre Volkstraditionen • Études d'histoire et de littérature chinoises offertes au professeur Jaroslav Průšek • My sister China, His memoir about his experiences in China. • Three sketches of Chinese literature