Pei Shin Ni, a former lecturer in the Department of Modern Languages, died Sept. 30 at her son's home in Las Cruces, N.M. She was 86.

Born in Shenyang, Liaoning Province, China, Ni received her undergraduate degree from Peking University in 1942 and attended graduate school at Taiwan University and the New School University.

She came to Cornell in 1960 to teach Chinese and Chinese literature. An inspiring and well-loved teacher, Ni was awarded the Clark Award for Distinguished Teaching in 1975. She retired in 1990.

She is survived by her son, James Ni (B.S. '68, Ph.D. '84), and a grandson, Alexander Ni. Her husband, Tseh Ni, a librarian in Cornell's East Asian Collection from 1962 to 1986, died in 1997.