TIANJIN -- Chinese classical poetry doyenne Florence Chia-ying Yeh died on Sunday at the age of 100, according to Nankai University where she held a teaching post.

The university said Yeh died of illness at around 3:23 pm in the northern Chinese city of Tianjin.

Yeh dedicated seven decades to the research, teaching and promotion of classical Chinese poetry in China and beyond. She was the teacher of many renowned Chinese literary masters.

Born to a literary family in Beijing in 1924, Yeh held teaching posts in American and Canadian universities. Starting in 1979, she returned to the Chinese mainland every year to give lectures on Chinese literature and poetry, and lived in Nankai University during her final decades.