Xu Yuanchong, who is famous for translating (翻译) Chinese ancient poems into English and French, died in Beijing at the age of 100 on Thursday, June 17th, 2021.
Xu was born on April 18th, 1921 in Jangxi Province. He studied at the National Southwest Associated University in Kunming, Yunnan Province. He studied translation very hard during his college years. In 1939, he published (发表) an English translation of a poem, Don't Cast Away. It is now known as his earliest work. Xu spent a few years in France studying French literature (文学) in the late 1940s. He then returned to China after graduation and gave all his attention and effort to translation. And Xu was the first Chinese to translate Chinese poems into English and French in rhyme (押韵).
Xu put his life into translation for more than 60 years. For him, translated literature is "a beautiful art for all the world".
