Tu Zhen (; 8 March 1934 – 21 September 2022) was a Chinese translator best known for her contributions to the introduction of

English literature English literature is literature written in the English language from United Kingdom, its crown dependencies, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, and the countries of the former British Empire. ''The Encyclopaedia Britannica'' defines E ...

to Chinese readers. She was a member of the

Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party The Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party (CPWDP), also abbreviated in Chinese as Nonggongdang ( zh, s=农工党), t=, is one of the eight legally recognized political parties in the People's Republic of China under the direction of ...

and a member of the

China Writers Association China Writers Association or Chinese Writers Association (CWA, ) is a subordinate people's organization of the China Federation of Literary and Art Circles (CFLAC). Founded in July 1949, the organization was initially named the China National Lit ...

. She was a professor at the

University of International Business and Economics (Beijing) The University of International Business and Economics (UIBE; abbr. 贸大, ''Mào Dà''), is a public research university specialized in undergraduate and graduate education in economics, finance, international business, management, busines ...

. She was a member of the 7th and 8th Beijing Municipal Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference.

Biography

Tu was born in

Beiping "Beijing" is from pinyin ''Běijīng,'' which is romanized from , the Chinese name for this city. The pinyin system of transliteration was approved by the Chinese government in 1958, but little used until 1979. It was gradually adopted by various ...

, on 8 March 1934, while her

ancestral home An ancestral home is the place of origin of one's extended family, particularly the home owned and preserved by the same family for several generations. The term can refer to an individual house or estate, or to a broader geographic area such as a ...

is in

Changzhou Changzhou ( Changzhounese: ''Zaon Tsei'', ) is a prefecture-level city in southern Jiangsu province, China. It was previously known as Yanling, Lanling and Jinling. Located on the southern bank of the Yangtze River, Changzhou borders the provin ...

Jiangsu Jiangsu (; ; pinyin: Jiāngsū, alternatively romanized as Kiangsu or Chiangsu) is an eastern coastal province of the People's Republic of China. It is one of the leading provinces in finance, education, technology, and tourism, with its c ...

. She attended Beiping Private Mingming Primary School, Sacred Heart Girls' School and Tianjin Saint John's Girls' School. In 1951, she was admitted to

Yenching University Yenching University (), was a university in Beijing, China, that was formed out of the merger of four Christian colleges between the years 1915 and 1920. The term "Yenching" comes from an alternative name for old Beijing, derived from its status ...

. She studied French at the beginning, but switched to English a year later. In the same year, Yenching University was incorporated into

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charte ...

during the adjustment of departments and colleges. So she became a student of Peking University. After graduating in 1955, Tu was assigned as an interpreter of the . She started to publish works in 1956, and joined the faculty of

. She joined the

in 1982 and later became a member of the

PEN International PEN International (known as International PEN until 2010) is a worldwide association of writers, founded in London in 1921 to promote friendship and intellectual co-operation among writers everywhere. The association has autonomous Internation ...

. She retired in 1997. On 21 September 2022, Tu died in

Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the wo ...

, at the age of 88.

Personal life

Tu was married to Mei Shaowu, son of renowned

Beijing opera Peking opera, or Beijing opera (), is the most dominant form of Chinese opera, which combines music, vocal performance, mime, dance and acrobatics. It arose in Beijing in the mid-Qing dynasty (1644–1912) and became fully developed and recognize ...

actor

Mei Lanfang Mei Lan (22 October 1894 – 8 August 1961), better known by his stage name Mei Lanfang, was a notable Peking opera artist in modern Chinese theater. Mei was known as "Queen of Peking Opera". Mei was exclusively known for his female lead ...

, he was also a translator.

Translations

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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Zhen, Tu 1934 births 2022 deaths Writers from Beijing Peking University alumni Academic staff of Beijing University of International Business and Economics Chinese Peasants' and Workers' Democratic Party politicians English–Chinese translators