Lin Yutang

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Lin Yutang

Linyutang.jpg
Lin Yutang, photographed by
Carl Van Vechten, 1939

Traditional Chinese: 林語堂
Simplified Chinese: 林语堂

Lin Yutang (Traditional Chinese:林語堂; Simplified Chinese:林语堂, October 10, 1895 – March 26, 1976) was a Chinese writer, linguist, and essayist. His informal but polished style in both Chinese and English made him one of the most influential writers of his generation, and his compilations and translations of classic Chinese texts into English were bestsellers in the West.

Lin Yutang wrote extensively about Chinese social, cultural traditions and introduced them to the West. His witty, sharp analysis was derived not only from his literary talent but also from his rigorous scholarly studies about linguistic, religious, and spiritual roots of social, cultural traditions. He is rare individual who had profound understanding of Christianity, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.


Biography

Lin was born on October 10, 1895 in the town of Banzai in Zhangzhou (龍溪(漳州)縣), in southeastern China's Fujian province (福建省). The mountainous region made a deep impression on his consciousness, and thereafter he would constantly consider himself a child of the mountains (in one of his books he commented that his idea of hell was a city apartment). His father Lin ZhiCheng (林至誠) was a Christian minister. His mother was Yang ShunMing (楊順命) and Lin Yutang was the fifth son of eight children. His father, ZhiCheng worked as a farmer while serving as a local minister.

Lin went to Saint John's University (聖約翰大) in Shanghai, which was known for its excellent English program. He entered St. John's to become a minister following a footstep of his father. He noted that he had a number of essential questions about the meanings of life and read books at the University library to find an answer. The library at St. John's had a small collection of 5,000 books. He read one book after another, went through almost all books at the library, but could not find the answer. Although he believed in Christianity, he had a number of questions about Christian teachings: Jesus was said to be born from a virgin Mary, but it is incomprehensible and unreasonable, yet no rational explanation is given; if God knows that human beings are born sinful, why does He condemn their sinfulness, and others. Although he pursued to find the answers for these unsolved questions, he could not find any satisfactory answers[1]. He gave up his plan of becoming a Christian minister and changed his major to language studies. Lin Yutang's journey of faith from Christianity to Taoism and Buddhism, and back to Christianity in his later life was recorded in his book From Pagan to Christian (1959).

Lin Yutang met Chen JinDuan (陳錦端), a sister of his friend, and fell in love. Although they developed their loving relationships, they could not marry because of the difference of social ranks between two families.

Lin Yutang went to Beijing to study at QingHua University (清華大 學) which offered a scholarship to study at the United States. Lin Yutang went to QinHua as a step to study at universities in the U.S..

While Li Yutang was studying at QinHua, he was frustrated with the Chinese dictionary available at that time. He wrote an article in the local student journals and suggested to change the organization of the dictionary. The article received an attention of the school president and he was invited to join a committee to reform the organization of Chinese dictionary.

Lin Yutang received a half-scholarship to continue study for a doctoral degree at Harvard University. He later wrote that in the Widener Library he first found himself and first came alive, but he never saw a Harvard-Yale game. [2] He left Harvard early however, moving to France and eventually to Germany, where he completed his requirements for a doctoral degree (in Chinese) at the University of Leipzig. From 1923 to 1926 he taught English literature at Peking University. On his return to the United States in 1931, he was briefly detained for inspection at Ellis Island.

Ming Kwai Typewriter

Lin was very active in the popularization of classical Chinese literature in the West, as well as the general Chinese attitude towards life. He worked to formulate Gwoyeu Romatzyh a new method of romanizing the Chinese language, and created an indexing system for Chinese characters.

He was interested in mechanics. Since Chinese is a character-based rather than an alphabet-based language, with many thousands of separate characters, it has always been difficult to employ modern printing technologies. For many years it was doubted that a Chinese typewriter could be invented. Lin, however, worked on this problem for decades and eventually came up with a workable typewriter—brought to market in the middle of the war with Japan.

He also invented and patented several lesser inventions such as a toothbrush with toothpaste dispensing.

His wife, Lin Tsui-feng was a cookbook author whose authentic recipes did a great deal to popularize the art of Chinese cookery in America. Lin wrote an introduction to one of her and their daughter Lin Hsiang Ju's (林相如) collections of Chinese recipes. His second daughter, Lin Tai-Yi (林太乙) was the general editor of Chinese Readers' Digest from 1965 until her retirement in 1988.

Lin was buried at his home in Yangmingshan, Taipei, Taiwan. His home has been turned into a museum, which is operated by Taipei-based Soochow University. The town of Lin's birth, Banzi, has also preserved the original Lin home and turned it into a museum.

An example of his works

Moment in Peking (Traditional Chinese: 京華煙雲; Simplified Chinese: 京华烟云; pinyin: jīng huá yān yún) (also translated as Traditional Chinese: 瞬息京華; Simplified Chinese: 瞬息京华; pinyin: shūn xī jīng huá) is a historical novel originally written in English by Lin Yutang. The novel covers the turbulent events in China from 1900 to 1938, including the Boxer Uprising, the Republican Revolution of 1911, the Warlord Era, the rise of nationalism and communism, and the origins of the Sino-Japanese War of 1937-1945.

The author tries not to be overly judgmental of the characters because he recognizes that too many issues were involved in the chaotic years of the early twentieth century China. There are no absolutely right or wrong characters. Each character held a piece of truth and reality and a piece of irrationality. In the preface, Lin writes that "[This novel] is merely a story of... how certain habits of living and ways of thinking are formed and how, above all, [men and women] adjust themselves to the circumstances in this earthly life where men strive but gods rule."

While the author does not display hatred toward the Japanese, he does let events and situations affecting the novel characters to let the reader clearly see the reason the Chinese are still bitter about Japan's military past. The novel ends with a cliffhanger, letting the readers hope that the major characters who fled from the coastal regions to the inland of China would survive the horrible war.

Lin wrote the book in English for a U.S. audience. He originally wanted the poet Yu Dafu to do the Chinese translation, but he had only completed the first section when he was killed by the Japanese in World War II. Lin didn't particularly like the first Chinese translation done in 1941.

In 1977 Zhang Zhenyu, a translator from Taiwan, created what is the most popular translation today. It was not available in mainland China until a publisher in Jilin issued a sanitized version in 1987. The current political climate permits Shaanxi Normal University Press to publish the full translation. Yu Dafu's son Yu Fei (郁飞) finished his own translation in 1991, but his version is not widely read.

After 1928 he lived mainly in the United States, where his translations of Chinese texts remained popular for many years. At the behest of Pearl Buck, he wrote My Country and My People (吾國与吾民,吾国与吾民) (1935) and The Importance of Living (生活的藝術,生活的艺术) (1937), written in English in a charming and witty style, which became bestsellers. Others include Between Tears and Laughter (啼笑皆非) (1943), The Importance of Understanding (1960, a book of translated Chinese literary passages and short pieces), The Chinese Theory of Art (1967), and the novels Moment in Peking (京華煙雲,京华烟云) (1939) and The Vermillion Gate (朱門,朱门) (1953), Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage (當代漢英辭典,当代汉英词典) (1973).

Legacy

Lin Yutang was one of the best known Chinese writers in the twentieth century. He developed a witty writing style and his works are filled with deep insights, sharp analysis, and a sense of humor. He introduced Chinese culture, tradition, life style, character, and their way of thinking. He wrote extensively about Chinese traditions and thereby introduced them to the Western world.

His literary excellence was derived not only from his literary talent but also from his profound understanding of linguistic roots of tradition based upon years of scholarly research and studies.

While he was familiar with religious and spiritual traditions of Christianity, Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, he held throughout his life a perspective to examine those spiritual traditions with critical eyes. His spiritual journey from Christianity to Taoism, Buddhism, and back to Christianity illustrates his intellectual and spiritual pursuit for truth.

Lin Yutang had a broad knowledge encompassing diverse areas including religion, morality, history, arts, politics as well as linguistics and literature. His many works represent an attempt to bridge the cultural gap between the East and the West. He was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature several times in the 1970s.[3]

Bibliography

Works in English by Lin Yutang

  • (1935) My Country and My People, Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc., (A John Day Book)
  • (1936) A History of the Press and Public Opinion in China, Kelly and Walsh
  • (1937) The Importance of Living, Reynal & Hitchcock, Inc., (A John Day Book)
  • (1938) The Wisdom of Confucius, Random House, The Modern Library
  • (1939) Moment in Peking, A John Day Book Company
  • (1940) With Love & Irony, A John Day Book Company
  • (1940) Leaf in the Storm, A John Day Book Company
  • (1942) The Wisdom of China and India, Random House
  • (1943) Between Tears & Laughter, A John Day Book Company
  • (1944) The Vigil of a Nation, A John Day Book Company
  • (1947) The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su Tungpo, A John Day Book Company
  • (1948) Chinatown Family, A John Day Book Company
  • (1948) The Wisdom of Laotse, Random House
  • (1950) On the Wisdom of America, A John Day Book Company
  • (1951) Widow, Nun and Courtesan: Three Novelettes From the Chinese Translated and Adapted by Lin Yutang, A John Day Book Company
  • (1952) Famous Chinese Short Stories, Retold by Lin Yutang, A John Day Book Company
  • (1953) The Vermilion Gate, A John Day Book Company
  • (1955) Looking Beyond, Prentice Hall (Published in England as The Unexpected island, Heinemann)
  • (1957) Lady Wu, World Publishing Company
  • (1958) The Secret Name, Farrar, Straus and Cudahy
  • (1959) The Chinese Way of Life, World Publishing Company
  • (1959) From Pagan to Christianity, World Publishing Company
  • (1960) Imperial Peking: Seven Centuries of China, Crown Publishers
  • (1960) The Importance of Understanding, World Publishing Company
  • (1961) The Red Peony, World Publishing Company
  • (1962) The Pleasure of a Nonconformist, World Publishing Company
  • (1963) Juniper Loa, World Publishing Company
  • (1964) The Flight of Innocents, G. P. Putnam's Sons
  • (1973) Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage, Hong Kong Chinese University

Works in English by Lin Tsuifeng & Lin Hsiang Ju (wife & first daughter)

  • (1956) Cooking with the Chinese Flavor, Prentice Hall (co-written with Lin Hsiang Ju)
  • (1960) Secrets of Chinese Cooking, Prentice Hall (co-written with Lin Hsiang Ju)
  • (1972) Chinese Gastronomy, Pyramid Publications; 1977 reprint: Harcourt Brace Jovanovich (co-written with Lin Hsiang Ju, with an introduction by Dr. Lin Yutang)
  • (1996) The Art of Chinese Cuisine, Tuttle (a retitled edition of 1972 Chinese Gastronomy, co-written with Lin Hsiang Ju, with an introduction by Dr. Lin Yutang)

Works in English by Lin Tai-Yi (second daughter)

  • (1939) Our Family, New York: John Day (with Adet Lin)
  • (1941) Dawn over Chungking New York: John Day (with Adet Lin); rpr. Da Capo, 1975.
  • (1943) War Tide, a Novel New York,: John Day
  • (1946) The Golden Coin New York,: John Day
  • (1959) The Eavesdropper Cleveland: World
  • (1960) The Lilacs Overgrow Cleveland: World
  • (1964) Kampoon Street Cleveland,: World
  • (1965) Flowers in the Mirror Berkeley: University of California Press (written by Li Ju-chen, translated by Li Tai-yi)

See also

Notes

  1. Lin Yutang Biography Part 1 PDF (English translation of Anor Lin's work). Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  2. Brooks, E Bruce. Sinogists Lin Yutang Retrieved January 17, 2009.
  3. Ibid.

References
ISBN links support NWE through referral fees

External links

All links are retrieved January 17, 2009.

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