Lin Yutang

Lin Yutang was born in the mountainous town of Banzai, China in 1895. Lin attended Saint John’s University in Shanghai for his bachelor’s degree and then received a scholarship to study for his doctoral degree at Harvard University. After receiving his degree in Chinese philology, he taught English lit at Peking University and published criticisms of China’s Nationalist government. He then moved to the U.S., where he lived mainly after 1935. Lin became an influential writer with nonfiction works such as Between Tears and Laughter (1943) and novels like Moment in Peking (1939). Lin’s English translations of Chinese classics also became bestsellers.