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Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t6: Lin Yutang

Encyclopedia of India–China Cultural Contacts v2.c10.s2.t6

Language
English

Lin Yutang

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Lin Yutang (林语堂, October 10, 1895 – March 26, 1976) was a Chinese writer, translator and linguist. He was the author of well-known work *The Wisdom of China and India*. He was born in Zhangzhou, Fujian Province. He had his university education abroad receiving his Master's degree in Comparative Literature from Harvard University and PhD in Linguistics from University of Leipzig, Germany. Subsequently, Lin Yutang returned to China and taught at Peking University, Beijing Normal University, Xiamen University and Shanghai Dongwu University. In 1936, he went to the United States of America and settled there for a while. From this point on he mainly wrote in English. In 1966 he settled down in Taiwan. In 1967, he was employed as a research professor at the Chinese University of Hong Kong and then in 1975, he served as Vice President of International PEN. In 1976 he passed away in Hong Kong and was later buried at Yangmingshan, Taipei.

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Lin Yutang

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Lin Yutang was also an internationally acclaimed Chinese humorist. He used humour as a tool to

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'The Wisdom of China and India (Zhongguo Yindu zhi zhihui)', front cover

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express his compassionate feeling for mankind, bemoan the state of the universe and pity the fate of mankind. He was well-versed in English and Chinese which contributed to his being one of the most influential writers and translators of his time. He compiled and translated several Chinese classics into English language. He was one of the prominent modern Chinese writers who accepted ideas from Western thought and civilisation and was also the first to introduce Chinese thought and culture to Western readers through his translated works. *Moment in Peking* (《京华烟云》), *The Vermillion Gates* (《朱门》) and *A Leaf in the Storm* (《风声鹤唳》) were his representative works that introduced Chinese Daoist, Confucian and Buddhist culture to the Western world.

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Lin Yutang was highly impressed by Indian literature, by the country's ideological and social thought and the cultural essence and ideas which he believed had shaped the entire Indian nation. He tried to study and analyse the spirit and essence of Indian thought and culture, and to realise the experience of Indian values and the richness of Indian thought. In one of his famous works, *The Wisdom of China and India* (1942), he interpreted Indian classical writings. The book focussed on the essence of Indian and Chinese culture. It explored these two ancient civilisations and their people, and analysed their national psychology, literary imagination and everyday lives. It includes excerpts and passages from Indian texts such as *Rigveda*, *Upanishads*, *Ramayana*, *Panchatantra*, *Dharmapadas* while at the same time explaining the teachings of the Chinese masters to foreign readers.

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(*Sabaree Mitra*)

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