Francis Woodman Cleaves
Encyclopedia
Francis Woodman Cleaves was a writer and historian who worked for the Harvard Institute
. Cleaves established the Sino-Mongolian studies in America. He is well known for his work in translating The Secret History of the Mongols
. He was the first man to fully translate this literature into English. He studied many Asian languages. In 1941 Cleaves became a professor at Harvard University, teaching Chinese
in the department of Far Eastern languages. In 1946 Cleaves also began teaching Mongolian
. He retired in 1980, but continued to write papers on Mongolian history.
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
. Cleaves established the Sino-Mongolian studies in America. He is well known for his work in translating The Secret History of the Mongols
The Secret History of the Mongols
The Secret History of the Mongols is the oldest surviving Mongolian-language literary work...
. He was the first man to fully translate this literature into English. He studied many Asian languages. In 1941 Cleaves became a professor at Harvard University, teaching Chinese
Chinese language
The Chinese language is a language or language family consisting of varieties which are mutually intelligible to varying degrees. Originally the indigenous languages spoken by the Han Chinese in China, it forms one of the branches of Sino-Tibetan family of languages...
in the department of Far Eastern languages. In 1946 Cleaves also began teaching Mongolian
Mongolian language
The Mongolian language is the official language of Mongolia and the best-known member of the Mongolic language family. The number of speakers across all its dialects may be 5.2 million, including the vast majority of the residents of Mongolia and many of the Mongolian residents of the Inner...
. He retired in 1980, but continued to write papers on Mongolian history.