BEIJING — Viewed through the lens of the Marxist tenets he so ardently promoted, Yi Junqing’s relationship with a female researcher would have probably been categorized as exploitive.

Mr. Yi, 54, an impish scholar who held the job of China’s top guardian of Communist literature, is said to have provided the woman with a fellowship at his research institute in exchange for $1,600. The sex and jewelry came later.

The allegations came to light last month after the woman, Chang Yan, 34, posted online a self-indulgent and occasionally scintillating diary that recounted a yearlong affair between the two married scholars. A few days later, Ms. Chang tried to retract her sprawling tell-all, but the damage was done.

On Thursday, Mr. Yi, the director of the Central Compilation and Translation Bureau, was dismissed. Xinhua, the state news agency, kept its dispatch brief and clean: Mr. Yi, it said, was let go over “lifestyle issues.”