Wang Yongnian

Wang Yongnian (; 17 March 1927 – 21 July 2012) was a Chinese translator. He was the first person who translated Giovanni Boccaccio's The Decameron in whole texts into Chinese. He was among the first few in China who translated the works of Jorge Luis Borges's into Chinese language. His translations are well respected by domestic and over scholars.

Wang was a member of the China Democratic League.

Biography Wang was born in Dinghai District, Zhoushan, Zhejiang, on March 17, 1927. His father was the director of the Yunnan Salt Bureau during the Republic of China (1912-1949). He graduated from St. John's University, Shanghai, where he studied alongside Eileen Chang. During the Second Sino-Japanese War, he studied Japanese and Russian. After the establishment of the Communist State, he worked at Translation Publishing House in Shanghai. In late 1950s, the Xinhua News Agency wanted to set up a Spanish Foreign Reporting Group, they looked for talents in Shanghai and through the Shanghai Municipal Committee of the Chinese Communist Party knew that Wang Yongnian of the Translation Publishing House understands Spanish, than he was transferred to Beijing. In the 1980s, he worked as a reporter for Xinhua News Agency in Mexico. He retired in the 1990s. He died of bowel infarction at Xuanwu Hospital in Beijing, on July 21, 2012.

Personal life Wang had one son and two daughters. His eldest daughter named Wang Jiang . Selection of O. Henry's Short Stories Alice's Adventures in Wonderland The Garden of Forking Paths The Book of Sand The Aleph Ficciones The Moon in front of Saint Martin's Notes El informe de Brodie A Universal History of Infamy Song of Shadow for Six Strings Tales of the Night Discussion Set The Other Dante Alighieri