The English version of A Dream of Red Mansions, translated by Yang Xianyi and Gladys Yang

EACH OTHER'S COMPANIONS: Yang and his wife and lifelong collaborator, Gladys Yang (XINHUA)

Reminiscing, Yang once said he was attracted to Tayler not only because of her beauty, but also because of her unpretentious, pure and refined manner, free from the vanity and snobbery typical of an upper-class girl in Britain or China.

With the help of Tayler, Yang translated Li Sao, or The Lament, into an epic poem in heroic couplets at the age of 24. Later Yang changed his major from French Literature to English Literature while Tayler became Oxford University's first graduate in Chinese Literature.

With a mutual interest in Chinese classical literature, they married and returned to China in 1940. Tayler became Gladys Yang and Yang's partner in both life and introducing Chinese classics to the English-speaking world.

During their nearly 60 years of marriage, the couple translated more than 100 literary works of nearly 10 million English words or Chinese characters, wrote their autobiographies, and supported each other in surviving the chaotic "cultural revolution" (1966-76).

In her incomplete autobiography, Gladys Yang wrote, "Unlike many foreign friends here, I came to China not for revolution, not to learn China's experience, but out of my love for Yang Xianyi, my beautiful memories of my childhood spent in Beijing and my admiration for China's anicient culture."

In Yang's home, there is a wedding photo depicting the couple wearing traditional Chinese outfits in the living room, and the words on the portrait of his wife during her last years in Yang's bedroom read, "Even if golden hair turns gray, a heart of gold will not change."

A career as translators

"When we translated, I usually did the first draft, and Gladys polished my translation two or three times. She was responsible for the final version," Yang once wrote. This pattern of cooperation was a feature of their career as translators.