RENOWNED Chinese writer Yang Jiang, known for her prolific output and marriage to an equally famous author, died yesterday at age 105.

Yang died at Peking Union Medical College Hospital in Beijing, according to The Paper, a State-owned news website. It said her death had been confirmed by her publisher, the People’s Literature Publishing House.

Born in 1911 in Beijing, Yang became a household name in China for her novels, plays, essays and translated works. She was the first to translate “Don Quixote” into Chinese, and her version is still considered the definitive one by many. Yang is famous for her writing style, which balances comedy and objective reporting.

Her death was the top search term on the Chinese microblogging site Weibo yesterday, a testimony to her fame and the public adoration she enjoyed.

Her 2003 essay collection “We Three,” about her family life with her late husband and their daughter, was a bestseller.

Yang was married to renowned Chinese scholar/novelist Qian Zhongshu (1910-98), best known for his novel “Fortress Besieged,” and theirs was widely seen as a model union set against the background of China’s turbulent 20th century.

After Qian’s death in 1998, Yang embarked on the task of compiling and editing her husband’s unpublished works and remained prolific herself.

In addition to “We Three,” she published a sequel to her novel “Baptism” at age 103.

(SD-Agencies)