Qiu Xigui was born in July 1935 in
Shanghai, of
Ningbo ancestry. In 1952, he was admitted to the history department of
Fudan University and was interested in pre-
Qin dynasty Chinese history. Under the influence of the renowned
oracle bone expert
Hu Houxuan, he took interest in the oracle bones and
Chinese bronze inscriptions. After graduating in 1956, he became a graduate student of oracle bones and
Shang dynasty history, studying under Professor Hu. The same year, Hu was transferred to the Institute of History of the
Chinese Academy of Sciences in
Beijing, and Qiu followed Hu to the institute. == Career ==