Lin Yutang

Chinese inventor, novelist and philosopher (1895–1976)

4 quotes in the MindQuotes library.

About

Lin Yutang, born in 1895 in Fujian province, was a Chinese writer and inventor. After studying in Shanghai, Harvard, and Leipzig, he earned a PhD in Chinese philology in 1923. He popularized the term 'youmo' (humor) and founded the satirical magazine Lunyu banyuekan in 1932. His English works, such as My Country and My People (1935) and The Importance of Living (1937), achieved international success. His epic novel Moment in Peking (1939) is considered his masterpiece. He devoted years and personal funds to inventing a Chinese typewriter, patented in 1952. He also compiled a major Chinese-English dictionary (1972). Nominated several times for the Nobel Prize in Literature, he died in Hong Kong in 1976.

* 1895-10-10 — † 1976-03-26

Major works

My Country and My People (1935)essay
The Importance of Living (1937)essay
Moment in Peking (1939)novel
Lin Yutang's Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Usage (1972)dictionary

Key milestones

1923Earned a PhD in Chinese philology from the University of Leipzig.
1932Founded the satirical magazine Lunyu banyuekan (The Analects Fortnightly).
1952Received a U.S. patent for his MingKwai Chinese typewriter.

Themes

Chinese cultureHumorPhilosophy of lifeModernizationNational identity

Sources: britannica.com · news.harvard.edu · moc.gov.tw

“Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non-essentials.”

— Lin YutangTheme · Wisdom

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“Hope is like a road in the country; there was never a road, but when many people walk on it, the road comes into existence.”

— Lin YutangTheme · Philosophy

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“If you can spend a perfectly useless afternoon in a perfectly useless manner, you have learned how to live.”

— Lin YutangTheme · Life

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“However vague they are, dreams have a way of concealing themselves and leave us no peace until they are translated into reality, like seeds germinating underground, sure to sprout in their search for the sunlight.”

— Lin YutangTheme · Motivation

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