From 12 years old to 90, all friends to 'the master' give thanks

"It's the first time that I meet the 'master of Chinese culture' I admired and it will be the last time, too," said 12-year-old Zhang Jiayi with tears in her eyes.

Accompanied by her mother, Zhang was among thousands of people gathered at memory hall in Babaoshan Revolutionary Cemetery for the funeral of Ji Xianlin in Beijing yesterday.

Ji Xianlin, the renowned Chinese scholar, died of a heart attack at the age of 97 in Beijing on July 11.