Arthur David Waley was born Arthur David Schloss, son of the economist David Frederick Schloss. In 1914, he changed his name to Waley, his mother's family name. He attended Rugby School, and was admitted to King's College, Cambridge on 10 Oct. 1907. He studied Classics, and was awarded his B.A. in 1910. In 1913, he was appointed Assistant Keeper of Oriental Prints and Manuscripts at the British Museum. He left the museum in 1929 to devote himself to writing. He taught himself Japanese and Chinese, initially in order to catalogue the paintings in the Museum's collection. As his interest grew, he began translating poetry, and was the author of numerous works. These include '170 Chinese Poems' (1918), 'Japanese Poetry: The Uta' (1919), 'The No Plays of Japan' (1921), 'The Temple' (1923), 'Introduction to the Study of Chinese Painting' (1923), 'The Tale of Genji' (published in 6 volumes from 1921-33), 'The Pillow-Book of Sei Shonagon' (1928) and 'Monkey' (1942). His last book, 'The Secret History of the Mongols' was published in 1963. In total, he produced 22 books of Chinese and Japanese translations and history. In 1918, he met Beryl de Zoete, who was a dance critic and writer. They lived together until her death in 1962. In 1966, Arthur Waley married Alison Robinson, whom he had first met in 1929. Arthur Waley was awarded many honours, including an Honorary Fellowship of King's College, Cambridge (1945), a C.B.E (1952), the Queen's Medal for Poetry (1953) and a Companion of Honour (1956).