Lin Yutang

I took this photo of his desk - simple, with a Bible.

It was a Monday and our free and easy day during our field research in Taiwan.

My friend and I really wanted to see the Lin Yutang House and to our disappointment, the House in Yang Mingsan in Taipeh was closed on Mondays.

To save the situation, and not go back to the hotel empty handed, we trekked up the Yang Ming San, saw the lava lake and had a good lunch of mountain vegetables and mushrooms.

Not to be disappointed, my friend and I went again on Wednesday, having to sacrifice a day’s exciting team itinerary and broke away from the group.

We took the Metro, then the local bus to our destination. It was a good one-hour ride from our Minsu (B & B). Along the way, we breathed in the Taipeh air, still fresh from the rain brought by Typhoon Trami.

The Lin Yutang house is a splendid fusion of Chinese and Spanish style architecture with indigo blue roofs, a white-washed walled house, built on a ridge, right on the main road and overlooking Taipeh. What a splendid view Lin and his family must have had of the city from the balcony.

Lin Yutang was educated in Gulangyu. He taught at Xiamen University from 1926 -27, long before my father took up undergrad studies at Yenching University at Beijing. My father influenced my siblings and I to read Lin Yutang's books from an early age.

In 1937 my father graduated from Yenching University Beijing and he must have felt very proud of a fellow Chinese who wrote the 1935 best seller, "My Country and My People." My father had a copy of the book on his table and very often, he would tell us at our dinner table about Lin Yutang. Lin was the first Chinese author to reach the top of the New York Times bestseller list and was encouraged by Pearl S. Buck to publish his book,"My Country and my People".

Lin came from a Christian background. His house in Yang Mingsan brings out his strong faith. He was the 7th of a Presbyterian minister's 8 children. He was born in Longxi on October 10th 1895. He enjoyed reading like his father. An Amoy missionary, Abbe Livingston Warnshuis, sent books to the family to help cultivate their intellectual life.

Lin's sister Mei Kong who was denied a college education gave him forty cents before he left for college. She said to him, "Don't waste your opportunity. Be a good man, a useful man, and a famous man." She later died of the plague and was 7 months pregnant and only 23 years old. Her death haunted Lin who became not only useful and famous but also fought injustice against women.

His grave can be found in the grounds of his residence in Yang Mingsan.