Chinese translator of Polish literature, Yi Lijun, dies aged 87

A distinguished translator of Polish fiction and poetry, Prof. Yi Lijun, has passed away in Beijing at the age of 87, the Confucius Institute at the Jagiellonian University in the southern Polish city of Kraków has said.

Yi Lijun, pictured in 2008.

Photo: PAP/Andrzej Grygiel

Dubbed "the Polish literature ambassador to China," Yi Lijun translated more than 60 Polish works into Chinese, including classic masterpieces by Adam Mickiewicz and Henryk Sienkiewicz, as well as more contemporary literature by the likes of Czesław Miłosz, Wisława Szymborska and Olga Tokarczuk.

During the 1966-1976 Cultural Revolution in China, Yi Lijun was sent to the countryside, where she translated Mickiewicz's renowned drama Dziady (Forefathers’ Eve), which later became the first book by a foreign author to be published in China after the political turmoil.

She taught Polish at the Department of East European Language at Beijing's Foreign Studies University, and nurtured generations of students and researchers.​

In recognition of her contribution to promoting Poland abroad, Yi Lijun was awarded a string of Polish state honours, including the Knight's Cross of the Republic of Poland.

(pjm/gs)

Source: IAR