Tang Sheng

Tang Sheng

Tang Sheng (唐笙）was born in Shanghai in 1922, and is a pioneer of simultaneous interpretation in China.

Tang graduated from the Department of Economics at Saint John's University in 1942. Two years later she enrolled in Newnham College, Cambridge University, and received a master's degree in economics. She went on to serve as an interpreter for the United Nations in the late 1940s due to her excellent English language skills.

She returned to China in 1951 and served as an interpreter for large national meetings and conferences, including the 8th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and the Asian-African Journalists Conference, which made her one of China's first official interpreters.

She reviewed the translations of important literary works when serving as the Deputy Editor-in-Chief of Chinese Literature Press (called New World Press since 2002).

In the early 1980s, Tang was appointed the leader of the Chinese Translation Service Group at the United Nations.

In 1991, she was appointed the Consultant of the State Council of China.

Tang was the Member of the 2nd Executive Council Meeting and Honorary Member of the 5th and 6th Executive Council Meeting for the Translators Association of China (TAC). In 2001, the title of “Senior Translator” was conferred on Tang Sheng by the TAC.