Yi Lijun (; 4 December 1934 – 7 February 2022), also known by her pen name Han Yi (), was a Chinese translator who had been honored by the

Polish Government The government of Poland takes the form of a Unitary state, unitary semi-presidential republic, semi-presidential Representative democracy, representative democratic republic, whereby the President of Poland, president is the head of state and t ...

. Yi was one of the foremost translators of Polish fiction. For her contributions to the introduction of

Polish literature Polish literature is the literary tradition of Poland. Most Polish literature has been written in the Polish language, though other languages used in Poland over the centuries have also contributed to Polish literary traditions, including Latin, ...

to foreign readers, she was honoured with the Polish Literature Order, the Knight's Cross (2010), the Outstanding Contribution to Promote Polish Literature Award (2007) and the Transatlantic Prize.

Biography

Yi was born in

Huanggang Huanggang is a prefecture-level city in easternmost Hubei, Hubei Province, China. It is situated to the north of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and is bounded in the north by the Dabie Mountains and is named after Mount Huanggang, Huang ...

Hubei Hubei is a province of China, province in Central China. It has the List of Chinese provincial-level divisions by GDP, seventh-largest economy among Chinese provinces, the second-largest within Central China, and the third-largest among inland ...

on 4 December 1934. She started publishing her works in 1952. In 1954, after graduating from

Wuhan University Wuhan University (WHU; 武汉大学) is a key comprehensive public university in Wuhan, Hubei, China. It is directly affiliated with and funded by the Ministry of Education of the People's Republic of China, Ministry of Education of China. The un ...

, she was sent abroad to study at the expense of the government, she entered

Warsaw University The University of Warsaw (, ) is a public research university in Warsaw, Poland. Established on November 19, 1816, it is the largest institution of higher learning in the country, offering 37 different fields of study as well as 100 specializat ...

, where she majored in

Polish language Polish (, , or simply , ) is a West Slavic languages, West Slavic language of the Lechitic languages, Lechitic subgroup, within the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family, and is written in the Latin script. It is primarily spo ...

and

literature Literature is any collection of Writing, written work, but it is also used more narrowly for writings specifically considered to be an art form, especially novels, Play (theatre), plays, and poetry, poems. It includes both print and Electroni ...

. In 1962, Yi returned to China. She taught Polish at the Department of East European Language,

Beijing Foreign Studies University Beijing Foreign Studies University (BFSU; ) is a public university in Haidian, Beijing, China. It is affiliated with the Ministry of Education. The university is part of Project 211 and the Double First-Class Construction. The Internation ...

. Yi joined the

China Writers Association The China 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 Literature Workers Association. ...

in 1988.

Personal life and death

Yi was married to a Chinese

physicist A physicist is a scientist who specializes in the field of physics, which encompasses the interactions of matter and energy at all length and time scales in the physical universe. Physicists generally are interested in the root or ultimate cau ...

, Yuan Hanrong (), he also was a graduate of

. Yi died in Beijing on 7 February 2022, at the age of 87.

Works

* ''The History of Poland Literature'' () * ''Poland Literature'' ()

Translations

* ''

The Knights of the Cross ''The Knights of the Cross'' or ''The Teutonic Knights'' () is a 1900 historical novel by the Polish writer Henryk Sienkiewicz. Its first English translation was published in the same year as the original. The book was serialized by the magazi ...

'' () * ''

With Fire and Sword ''By Fire and Sword'' () is a historical novel by the Polish author Henryk Sienkiewicz, published in 1884. It is the first volume of a series known to Poles as The Trilogy, followed by '' The Deluge'' (''Potop'', 1886) and '' Fire in the Step ...

'' () * '' The Deluge'' () * ''

The Captive Mind ''The Captive Mind'' ( Polish: ''Zniewolony umysł'') is a 1953 work of nonfiction by Polish writer, poet, academic and Nobel laureate Czesław Miłosz. It was first published in English in a translation by Jane Zielonko in 1953. Overview ''Th ...

'' ( Czeslaw Milosz) () * () * () * () * ''

Pan Tadeusz ''Pan Tadeusz'' (full title: ''Sir Thaddeus, or the Last Foray in Lithuania: A Nobility's Tale of the Years 1811–1812, in Twelve Books of Verse'') is an epic poem by the Polish people, Polish poet, writer, translator and philosopher Adam Micki ...

'' () * (

Adam Mickiewicz Adam Bernard Mickiewicz (24 December 179826 November 1855) was a Polish poet, dramatist, essayist, publicist, translator and political activist. He is regarded as national poet in Poland, Lithuania and Belarus. He also largely influenced Ukra ...

) () * ''Glory and Vainglory'' (

Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz Jarosław Leon Iwaszkiewicz (; also known under his literary pseudonym Eleuter; 20 February 1894 – 2 March 1980), was a Polish writer, poet, essayist, dramatist and translator.Bartłomiej Szleszyński, Jarosław Iwaszkiewicz. 2003 Culture.plJ ...

) () * ''

Ferdydurke ''Ferdydurke'' is a novel by the Polish writer Witold Gombrowicz, published in 1937. It was his first and most controversial novel. The book has been described as a "cult novel". Author's comment Gombrowicz himself wrote of his novel that it is ...

'' (

Witold Gombrowicz Witold Marian Gombrowicz (August 4, 1904 – July 24, 1969) was a Polish writer and playwright. His works are characterised by deep psychological analysis, a certain sense of paradox and absurd, anti-nationalism, anti-nationalist flavor. In 1937, ...

) ()

Awards

* Polish Literature Order * Polish National Education Committee Order * The Knight's Cross (2000), by Polish President

Aleksander Kwaśniewski Aleksander Kwaśniewski (; born 15 November 1954) is a Polish politician and journalist. He served the maximum two terms as the president of Poland from 1995 to 2005. His tenure as President was marked by modernization of Poland, rapid economi ...

* Bing Xin Literature Prize * National Book Award * Outstanding Contribution to Promote Polish Literature Award (2007), by the

Polish Foreign Minister Polish may refer to: * Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe * Polish language * Polish people, people from Poland or of Polish descent * Polish chicken * Polish brothers (Mark Polish and Michael Polish, born 1970), American twin ...

* The Cross of Military Officers of the Republic of Poland (2011), by Polish President

Bronisław Komorowski Bronisław Maria Komorowski (; born 4 June 1952) is a Polish politician and historian who was the fifth president of Poland from 2010 to 2015. Komorowski previously served as Ministry of National Defence (Poland), Minister of National Defence ...

* Transatlantic Prize (2012) * Lifetime Achievement Award in Translation (2018)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Yi, Lijun 1934 births 2022 deaths People from Huanggang University of Warsaw alumni Wuhan University alumni Polish–Chinese translators 20th-century Chinese translators 21st-century Chinese translators