Zhang Zhongxing, one of the most acclaimed prose writers of the last century and a master of classical Chinese learning, died of illness last Friday in a Beijing hospital. He was 97.

"Zhang's passing is undoubtedly a great loss for China's literary circles," said Zhang Yiwu, a renowned scholar.

"His prose has distinctive features: smooth and natural, clear and refined and good at recording stories and people," Zhang Yiwu said.

The acclaimed writer was born into a peasant family in Xianghe, North China's Hebei Province, in January 1909. He attended a teacher's school in Beijing before pursuing further studies in Chinese language and literature at Peking University from 1931-35.

After graduation, he began his teaching career at some high schools and later at Peking University. Zhang was dubbed one of the "Three Tasteful Gentlemen" on Peking University campus, along with noted Chinese linguist, literary translator and Sanskritist Ji Xianlin (1911- ) and renowned Sanskritist and Indian culture specialist Jin Kemu (1912-2000).

He later turned to work as an editor for newspapers and magazines. Zhang started to work at the People's Educational Publishing House, China's leading textbook publisher, in 1949, a career he engaged in until his retirement.

It was after China adopted the reform and opening policy in the late 1970s that Zhang began to write prose.

"Zhang's talents for writing prose became fully developed in his later years, as he devoted all his energy and passion to prose writing after he retired," said Zhang Yiwu.

Among all his prose books, the trilogy of "Small Talk While Basking" (Fu Xuan Suo Hua) is the most influential.

The first "Small Talk" recounts people and stories, most closely related to Peking University. When it hit the market in 1986, it sold out very quickly and became extremely popular with readers across the country.

As Zhang once said, he wrote the essays in the book as if he was "not only creating poems but also recording history."

Besides prose writing, Zhang specialized in classic Chinese language and Chinese culture studies and published many books.

Zhang Wen, second of his four surviving daughters, said that her father's lifelong ideal was simple. "He didn't hope to be an official or a wealthy man, but only hoped to do some academic studies, read and write some books, and live a tranquil and comfortable life."

"He is an intellectual in its real sense," said Shi Shuqing, a renowned expert of cultural relics. "In his lifetime, he dealt with affairs in a low-key manner and seldom sought fame and wealth."

(China Daily February 28, 2006)