杨必

Yang Bi is an author closely associated with the translation of foreign literature; reliable public information about her is limited, and basic details such as her dates of birth and death and her nationality remain unclear. The four works held in the collection all center on Vanity Fair, including separate upper and lower volumes, a complete two-volume edition, and a single-volume edition, indicating that her main contribution lies in translating this classic of foreign literature. As an important nineteenth-century English-language novel, Vanity Fair uses satire to portray society and the fates of its characters, and Yang Bi's translation gave Chinese readers access to this famous work, making it of some significance in the transmission of foreign literature. Apart from the information about these translations, no reliable materials are available concerning her life, education, or views on translation, so no speculation is offered here; this introduction is based solely on the existing works.