Chinese President Jiang Zemin and other top leaders of the country expressed their heartfelt sorrow over the death of educator and historian Bai Shouyi. Bai, a professor at Beijing Normal University, passed away at the age of 91 on March 21. His body was cremated in Beijing today. Li Peng, chairman of the Standing Committee of the National People's Congress (NPC), Li Ruihuan, chairman of the National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference (CPPCC) and Vice-Premier Li Lanqing also expressed their heartfelt sorrow at the loss of a great educator and historian.

Bai belonged to the Hui (Moslem) minority group. After the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, he became a member of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and taught at Beijing Normal University for many years.

His study and research covered a wide range of areas including Islamic religion in China, the Hui minorities and relations among other ethnic groups in China. Bai was the chief editor of "History of China" published last year.