Xie Tianzhen was Professor of Comparative Literature and Director of the Institute for Translation Studies at Shanghai International Studies University; he was also a guest professor or taught on a part-time basis at Peking University, Fudan University, and Sichuan International Studies University, among several others. He published extensively on comparative literature (including medio-translatology), translation theory, and translation history, and is widely recognized as a pioneer in the area of medio-translatology, as well as one of the most important founders of translation studies as a separate discipline in China. He was Editor-in-Chief of the official journal of the Chinese Comparative Literature Association (CCLA) - Zhongguo Bijiao Wenxue (Comparative Literature in China) - and of Dongfang Fanyi (East Journal of Translation), as well as an editorial board member of Chinese Translators Journal, a member of the Translation Theory and Teaching Committee of the Chinese Translators Association, and a member of the Translation Committee of the International Comparative Literature Association (ICLA). Furthermore, he was President of the Shanghai Comparative Literature Association, President of the Translation Studies Society (affiliated with CCLA), and Vice President of the CCLA.