Sun Zhongxun, who committed suicide on Aug 28 at the age of 41, at a commemorating meeting in 2013 for the Chinese translation of The Catcher in the Rye, a 1951 novel by J. D. Salinger. Sun's translation of the novel was published in 2007. He suffered from depression prior to his death. China Photo Press

While new literary icons emerged this year, others passed away.

Sun Zhongxu, the translator of works by JD Salinger and George Orwell, committed suicide on Aug 28, provoking discussions about translators' low pay.

Philosopher, Sinologist and professor Tang Yijie died on the eve of Teacher's Day on Sept 9, leaving unfinished his ambitious Confucian Canon－a comprehensive collection of the Confucian classics, estimated to have around 1 billion words.

Zhang Xianliang, who's known for breaking the Chinese taboo on sex in literature with his works after the "cultural revolution" (1966-76), died at 78 on Sept 27.