'A Hopeful Life': Writer, Philosopher, and Inventor Dr. Lin Yutang, Part II
- Alex Van Egmond
- Oct 12, 2024
- 11 min read
Updated: Oct 26, 2025
In part I, we became acquainted with the life and work of the bilingual author and bridge builder Dr. Lin Yutang (1895-1976), a key figure during the turbulent developments in China in the 1920s and 1930s.
With his bestsellers My Country and My People (1935) and The Importance of Living (1937), he gained fame in the United States as the first Chinese-American author.
However, by the early 1950s, we find a destitute Lin, who had lost most of his readers due to his political views. Additionally, his friendship had broken down with his most important promoters in the United States, Pearl S. Buck and her publisher husband Richard Walsh.
How Lin endured these challenges and what occupied him during the last thirty years of his life is the subject of part II.
Text: Alex van Egmond
In 1935, Lin writes somewhat sadly in My Country and My People:
'Slowly and laboriously has come the realization that the more we change, the more we remain the same; that underlying the superficial changes of government system, the essential state of things,the essential corruption, futility and incompetence remain, and the essential hopelessness'.
Although the period when various warlords vied for power was behind them, and relative unity had been achieved in China thanks to the efforts of General Chiang Kai-shek, there was still much to complain about.
On the one hand, the economy grew during the period from 1927 to 1937. Large government projects were initiated by the Nationalist government, and entrepreneurs were given more space to start businesses. On the other hand, the Nationalist government was plagued by corruption, and factions within the party were constantly at odds with each other.
Lin believed that Chiang Kai-shek, who had been president of the one-party state since 1928, had tunnel vision and could only think in military terms. From his democratic heart, Lin found it intolerable that Chiang was so 'stubborn' in refusing to cooperate with the communists.
But two decades later, China's 'essential hopelessness' must have struck Lin even more deeply. After the devastating war against the Japanese Empire, a bloody civil war followed, and finally, in 1949, Chairman Mao Zedong established a totalitarian state.
Even more curious was the shift that Lin made during these years, when he began to adopt and defend the positions of the Nationalists. Lin's decline in popularity, especially among the liberal readership, began after the publication of The Vigil of a Nation (1944).
It included an account of Lin's trip to China during the winter months of 1943-44, where he, among other things, met with Chiang Kai-shek, traveled through seven provinces, and spoke with communist supporters, Japanese prisoners of war, businessmen, and farmers.
Lin suspected that the gap between the communists and the nationalists had become unbridgeable and thereby predicted the upcoming civil war.
Meanwhile, Lin had long been living and working in the United States, using the fame he had gained with his bestsellers to oppose, in essays, lectures, and interviews, both Western imperialism and the 'China experts'. Among them, the famous Edgar Snow, who, with his Red Star Over China (1937), was the leading interpreter of knowledge about China in the United States.
In part I, we already read that the China experts opposed Lin for his anti-communist views. Although, like the China experts, Lin called himself a 'cosmopolitan liberal' and he was a great advocate of democratic values. He had to acknowledge that liberals in the United States saw the founding of a communist China as a positive development.
How did it come to pass that Lin made such a turn and stood behind Chiang Kai-shek, the man whom he decades earlier had mockingly called the 'dog-meat general'?
Contradictions
In Memoirs of an Octogenarian (1975), where the eighty-year-old Lin reflects on his eventful life, he calls himself 'a vessel full of contradictions'. One of those contradictions was his return to God. At the age of eighteen, he abandoned the faith he had grown up with, only to become a Christian again and live as one more than forty years later. In From Pagan to Christian (1959), he explained his reasons.
A second example of his contradictions was his support for the Nationalists. As mentioned, he received little support from liberal circles for his anti-communist stance. His good friend Edgar Snow, among others, praised Mao as an 'agrarian reformer'. Lin could not understand what was progressive or liberal about Mao's destructive policies. Meanwhile, warm feelings for Chinese culture were considered reactionary and feudal.
Lin had a genuine interest in Chinese tradition, and it was therefore painful that even old literary friends, such as Lao She and Zhou Zuoren, turned against him from within China. Lin had to admit that the times had changed. And indeed, they had, because the Cold War had begun.
Given the fervor with which the left-wing followers attacked him, and above all, the intolerance toward his humor (Lin took comedy very seriously), he preferred the corrupt, authoritarian paternalism of Chiang Kai-shek over the totalitarianism that the communists preached.
This does not mean that Lin stood uncritically toward the Nationalist government, as he still remained the rebellious intellectual, the thorn in the side who described world events with his humor.
After the first meeting with Chiang in 1943, several more meetings would follow, during which he made suggestions for reforms and cautiously tested the dictator's temperament.
In 1954, Lin seized the opportunity to become president of the newly established Nanyang University in Singapore, but even there, he felt the long arm of the Communist Party breathing down his neck. Singapore was then under British rule, and the British had been fighting against the Maoist guerrilla group Emergency for eight years, making the situation very unstable.
Lin proposed the university as a haven of freedom and independent thinking, but after his appointment, he was soon opposed by the university council, which urged him to leave. Articles appeared in the local press accusing him of embezzling the university's budget. It was also suggested that he might be an American agent. Moreover, Lin and his family received numerous death threats, necessitating security provided by bodyguards.
Such protection was a 'luxury' he had never enjoyed in 1920s and 1930s Shanghai. Since the university council obstructed him at every turn, he left the position a year later and returned to New York with his family. In the article for Life Magazine, How Red Terror Wrecked My University, he wrote about his brief appointment and his suspicions.
According to Lin, Beijing had ordered, 'Lin must go!' The government in Beijing capitalized on the unrest among Singaporean businessmen, as a communist takeover in the city-state was very much a possibility.
Homesickness
Thus the 1950s passed, during which Lin showed great interest in the Cold War. He closely observed and commented on the developments. Especially on the tensions in the Taiwan Strait, where Lin's birthplace, the province of Fujian, lay on the front lines.
The islands of Quemoy and Matsu, located off the coast, were bombarded by the communists in 1954 and 1958. His reflections were incorporated into The Secret Name (1958), which contains a call to the free world to defend itself. The book can be read as a reckoning with communism.
Meanwhile, Lin met new friends, such as Jawaharlal Nehru (1889-1964), the first Prime Minister of India, and the British philosopher Bertrand Russell (1872-1970), who won the Nobel Prize in Literature in 1950, for which Lin had also been nominated.
To promote the Spanish translation of My Country and My People (1935), he traveled to Latin America in 1962 and gave a series of lectures in a total of six countries, where he spoke about Chinese revolutions and the Cold War, among other topics. His reception in Latin America was warm and attracted large audiences. This, however, stood in stark contrast to his dwindling popularity in the United States.
Lin felt increasingly out of place in America, and more and more, his thoughts wandered to the mountains surrounding his hometown in Fujian. It is known that he always carried a photo of those mountains from his youth. In 1966, after living in the United States for thirty years, Lin left for Taiwan with his wife.
The return of the 'Master of Humor' was a major event that received extensive coverage in the local media.
Before his return, Lin had stipulated that his past works and any future titles could under no circumstances be censored, and that he would have the freedom to express his opinions publicly.
The couple settled in the hills of Yangmingshan, near Taipei, in a villa that Lin had designed himself. The villa, a combination of Chinese architecture and Spanish elements, was a gift from Chiang Kai-shek. There, Lin completed the compilation of the Chinese-English Dictionary of Modern Use, his final work, which was published in 1972.
Message
Even at an advanced age, Lin continued to advocate for cultural exchange and understanding between East and West, but as mentioned, building bridges was no easy task during the Cold War. Dogmatism and fanaticism had indeed taken root in China under Mao Zedong, and the world was divided into two camps.
Reconciliation seemed a hopeless mission; the broken friendships, the impossibility of visiting his homeland, and the unbridgeable gap between the great powers must have weighed heavily on Lin. Yet he maintained his optimism and continued to persevere—all in service of China.
Lin believed that the West needed to recognize China's contributions and place in human civilization. 'China can learn from its mistakes, assert itself, and accept its rightful position in the modern world', he often expressed in interviews.
This is a message that even the communists could support, as this rallying cry is still used to stoke national sentiments when international affairs do not go as Beijing wishes. It aligns with Xi Jinping's grotesque vision; after the 'Century of Humiliation'. China's global power is being restored.
Lin Yutang did not witness these events. After dinner, he often settled into his rattan chair on the balcony, puffed on his inseparable pipe, and gazed out over the hills of Yangmingshan as the sun slowly set. His longing for the mountains of his youth surely did not diminish. Still, he relished every hour on earth with great enjoyment.
He believed that every individual must strive for reason and, in the quest for truth, acknowledge their shortcomings, for only in this way could extremes be prevented. This life mission was a deeply personal matter.
In On the Wisdom of America (1950) Lin writes:
'There is no value in life except what you choose to place upon it, and no happiness in any place except what you bring to it yourself'.
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Philosophy
Lin Yutang, along with luminaries such as Lu Xun, Chen Duxiu, Hu Shi, and other Chinese thinkers, belonged to the generation of the New Culture Movement that opposed Chinese tradition, particularly targeting Confucius.
However, Lin occupied a unique position, as he did not engage with the political trends of the time and did not mention the word revolution. He was neither conservative nor radical regarding Chinese tradition, and grandiose national issues were not on his agenda.
Instead, he approached it from a humanistic standpoint. He had genuine admiration for Chinese tradition and felt quite at home within the tradition. The core of his philosophy was to enjoy life. In The Importance of Living (1937), he elaborated on his vision in detail.
Lin did not deny his Chinese heritage and began his book prominently with a quote from Confucius:
'It is not truth that makes man great, but man that makes truth great'.
He then proposes a 'wise and merry philosophy', as the world is too serious. 'The modern man', he writes, 'takes life far too seriously, and because he is too serious, the world is full of troubles'.
Enjoyment can come from one's home environment, nature, art, life, travel, and above all, food. Lin beautifully describes how food is 'the enjoyment of life' and traces the lag of Chinese advancements in science back to the following:
'[T]he reason why the Chinese failed to develop botany and zoology is that the Chinese scholar cannot stare coldly and unemotionally at a fish without immediately thinking of how it tastes in the mouth and wanting to eat it'.
With a keen sense of humor, Lin cites both Chinese and Western thinkers to illustrate that human fallibility adds color to life. Lin’s contribution is that humor nourishes thought by leading to simplicity, which allows the humorist, unlike the theorist, to have a closer connection to reality:
'All forms of pose, sham, learned nonsense, academic stupidity and social humbug are politely but effectively shown the door. Man becomes wise because man becomes subtle and witty'.
Lin's theoretical example in this regard was An Essay on Comedy, and the Uses of the Comic Spirit (1877) by the English writer/poet George Meredith (1828-1909). Like Meredith, Lin saw comedy as the 'ultimate civilizer', capable of smoothing out the creases of unreasonableness in society.
In summary, his philosophy of life was a plea for rational thinking, free from dogmatism and fanaticism, and he believed this was the best that China could offer to the Western world.
Anti-revolutionary
In the early 1930s, Lin Yutang founded the periodical Lunyu (a reference to the Analects of Confucius), in which he and other authors engaged with comedy as an antidote to intolerance and unreasonableness.
The literary genre they employed was the essay (Xiǎopǐnwén, 小品文), which enjoyed popularity during the Ming dynasty.
Laoshe (1899-1966), known for his later novel Rickshaw Boy (1939), received a platform for his literary talent through Lin and wrote in the same comedic tone. As early as 1933, Lu Xun set the tone by attacking the genre, labeling it 'bric a brac for the bourgeoisie', but he maintained his friendship with Lin.
In the subsequent years, attacks from the left became more intense and better organized. Lin's advocacy for personal freedom, self-expression, and the use of comedy as a literary tool were seen, in light of the revolution, as 'escapism' and thus anti-revolutionary.
After 1949, the CCP labeled his person and work as taboo in China. Contact with Laoshe, Zhou Zuoren, and other literary friends from the Yu Si period was severed. An exemplary case is a photo from 1933 featuring George Bernard Shaw, Agnes Smedley, Harold Isaacs, Song Qingling, Lu Xun, Cai Yuanpei, and Lin Yutang.
In communist China, the photo was manipulated so that Cai Yuanpei, who fell from grace, and Lin Yutang disappeared. American journalist Harold Isaacs discovered this when he revisited China five decades later and saw the photo printed in that altered form.
In the 1980s, the political climate in China changed, and the former 'bourgeois writer' was rediscovered. Although there was no talk of rehabilitation, many Chinese academics dared to discuss Lin Yutang's role in modern Chinese history.
In 2011, an international conference was held in Hong Kong on the cross-cultural legacy of Lin Yutang, which also included academics from China. The organizer of the conference, Professor Dr. Qian Suoqiao from City University Hong Kong, is currently working on a comprehensive biography, with the hope of bringing Lin out of obscurity.
Family man
While studying at St. John’s University in Shanghai, Lin met his life companion Liao Cuifeng through an intermediary; she was also from Fujian. The two married in 1919, even though they were essentially opposites. For example, Lin loved to talk and play sports, while Cuifeng was introverted and preferred peace.
Nonetheless, their marriage would last a lifetime, as the partners valued each other and accepted their own imperfections. Notably, Lin wrote extensively about marriage and relationships. In My Country and My People (1935), he states that marriage is as flawed as human nature and quotes Confucius, who is said to have said:
'Logically no man should get married, but practically all men should'.
Cuifeng, a devoted Christian, would later play a significant role in Lin's return to the Christian faith. Lin said of this, 'I secretly admired her dedication; what she believes is essentially devotion'. The marriage produced three daughters: Rusi (Adet, 1923-1971), Taiyi (Anor, 1926-2003), and Xiangru (Meimei, 1931).
Lin regarded family life as the greatest happiness that a marriage could bring. In The Importance of Living (1937), he writes:
'The rewards of political, literary and artistic achievement produce in their authors only a pale, intellectual chuckle, while the rewards of seeing one’s own children grow up big and strong are wordless and immensely real'.
The daughters also inherited their father's writing talent and pursued careers as authors. Lin's eldest daughter, Rusi, wrote in English under the pseudonym Tan Yun. She fell into a deep depression after a tragic relationship and committed suicide in 1971.
This sad family crisis took a toll on the elderly Lin’s health. Doctors diagnosed him with high blood pressure, and he suffered several heart attacks, the last of which proved fatal.
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