Clockwise from top left: Alfonso Wong, Huang Xiaoci, Zhou Youguang, Yu Guangzhong, Yan Shunkai, Yang Jie. [File photo]

10. Major literary figures that have died

Famed cartoonist Alfonso Wong, the author of Old Master Q, died in the US at age 93 on Jan 1. Alfonso Wong was born in Tianjin in 1925 and studied Western art at Fu Jen Catholic University beginning in 1944.

Famed Peking Opera artist Huang Xiaoci, who twice won the Plum Performance Award, the highest honor of China's performing arts, died on Jan 9 at age 73.

Renowned Chinese linguist Zhou Youguang, the creator of Pinyin writing system, died on January 14th, one day after his 111th birthday. Born in Changzhou of East China's Jiangsu province on January 13 1906, Zhou was previously an economist working on Wall Street before becoming a linguist.

Yang Jie, the renowned director of the hit TV adaptation of Journey to the West, whose work influenced generations passed away on April 15 at 88.

Renowned Chinese comedian, actor and film director Yan Shunkai died on Oct 16 at the age of 80. The household name was famous for his role in "The True Story of Ah Q", the first film he ever starred in and which brought him many accolades, including "The Gold Stick Prize" at the Second International Festival of Comedy Films in Switzerland in 1982. He was the only Chinese to have ever won this award.

Well-known Chinese poet Yu Guangzhong died on Dec 14 at the age of 90. Yu, a famous litterateur, poet and proser, was born in Nanjing city of Jiangsu province in 1928 and then moved to Taiwan province. Yu dedicated half a century to literary creation and his masterpiece Nostalgia has generated much resonance among ethnic Chinese around the world.