A prominent Czech academic and author in Chinese and Japanese studies,  Doc. Věnceslava Hrdličková passed away at the age of 91, after a short illness in Thomayer Hospital in Prague.

She dedicated her life to her passion of Chinese and Japanese literatures, the art of story-telling, gardens, bonsai and folk arts and crafts. Her bibliography contains over 500 publications including articles, monographs and books published since 1946.  Most of these were joint publications, a result of her collaboration with her husband Zdeněk Hrdlička, often published under their joint name V.a  Z. Hrdličkovi. During the 1940s she directly contributed to the establishment of diplomatic relations between Czechoslovakia and the newly formed People’s Republic of China.  She was a founding member and a president of the Czech-Chinese Association, an honorary president and member of the Czech-Japanese Association, a member of the Czech Literary Translators’ Guild, a member of the (Czech) Writers’Guild, along with other organizations. During her lifetime she was bestowed a number of awards and prizes including; The Order of the Rising Sun (2006) – A Japanese honour awarded by the Japanese Emperor, The František Palacký Gold Plaque of Merit from the Academy of Science of the Czech Republic (1994), the Masaryk Academy of Art Prize for Creative Activity (1997), Recognition from the President of Slovakia for her work on the advancement of the cultivation of bonsai (2010). She was an honorary citizen of Prague 4, and a prominent Czech orientalist who significantly contributed to popularizing Chinese and Japanese Cultures in the Czech Republic, Europe and beyond.

Her most important publications include (in alphabetic order):

The Art of Japanese Gardening. Fotografie Z.Thoma. Hamlyn, London 1989.

Čína císaře Šen-cunga. Mladá fronta, Praha 1992.

Dějiny čínské klasické literatury, SPN, Praha 1980

Démonova flétna. Ilustrace Jiří Běhounek. Albatros, Praha 1989.

Ikebana-Bonsai. Fotografie Z.Thoma. Ars Mundi, Paris 1991.

Japanische Gartenkunst. Fotografie Z.Thoma. Werner Dausien Hanau 1981.

Jarní hlasy. Nakladatelství Svoboda, Praha 1989

Kouzelná tykev. Ilustrace Jaroslav Šerých. Lidové nakladatelství 1981

Lotosová zátoka. Výbor čínských povídek. Práce. Praha 1951

Příběhy o soudci Ookovi. Ilustrace Eva Bednářová. Albatros, Praha 1984

Santjutej Enčó. Pivoňková lucerna. Vyšehrad, Praha 2000.

Smích je mým řemeslem. Příběhy japonských vypravěčů rakugo. Brody 1997.

Umění čínských zahrad. Fotografie Z.Thoma. Argo, Praha 1998.

Umění japonských zahrad. Fotografie Z.Thoma. Aventinum, Praha 1996.

Úvod do studia sinologie, část filologická, SPN, Praha 1985