Final Paper Topic: Lin YuTang (林語堂), for 謝老師 Calligraphy Preface to Part II Again, I had a lot of fun writing this paper. Sadly, given the time constraints and other academic pressures as the semester is drawing to a close, I could not include all the insightful anecdotes I found in my reading. This paper will mostly bring out the few highlights that I felt shaped Lin YuTang's life. While reading for this paper, I had the delightful pleasure of discovering an interesting coincidence. It came about when I began researching Lin YuTang's Chinese typewriter. As it turns out, he signed a contract with a Mergenthaler Linotype Company. This company was founded by a German immigrant named Ottmar Mergenthaler, who later died in 1899 in Baltimore, MD. He left behind a widow and a son, who would continue his legacy and contribute a substantial donation to build Mergenthaler Hall, right here at Johns Hopkins University! Incidentally, his son's name was Eugene. As if that weren't enough, I also happened upon a book titled Chinese Gastronomy while researching for my presentation on Chinese food. This book was written by HsiangRu Lin and TsuiFeng Liao, the 3rd daughter and the wife of Lin YuTang. The book made numerous references to Su Tungpo Pork. Having now heard about Su TungPo Pork in almost every Lin YuTang work I've read, I will be sure to order the dish the next time I see it in a Chinese restaurant. But, with all happy stories come some disheartening news. Such is the yin and yang of life. I had planned to finish Lin YuTang's biography by the end of this semester, but as it now stands, I have written just up through 1954, as Dr. Lin prepares to head Nanyang University. I do plan, however, to finish within the next month, if time allows. Lord knows I will have little motivation to continue after graduation. For now, though, I hope this portion suffices for my final paper. Eugene Wu 吳至鈞 May 2006 TO AMERICA, AND THE IMPORTANCE OF LIVING In the mid-1930s, America was coming out of the Great Depression, and war was brewing in Europe. The world was itching for a change. Lin YuTang could not sit still either. He was 40 years old, and had just published his first major work. My Country and My People was bringing him fame, and no less importantly, a sizable income. In 1936, Lin YuTang decided to immigrate to America, at Pearl's invitation. At first, the Lins stayed with Pearl and her husband Richard Walsh in their Pennsylvania home. To say "home" though, would have been an understatement—Pearl and Richard lived on an estate. In fact, they were well- off enough to accommodate Lin YuTang, TsuiFeng, Adet, Anor, and HsiangRu in a separate guest house on their property. Anor recalls there were so many apple trees that one could not pick them fast enough. After a short while, Lin YuTang moved his family to New York City. They found an apartment on the west side of Central Park. Now the family settled into a pleasant rhythm. TsuiFeng cooked and cleaned, and hired an African-American housekeeper to come once a week to help out. Adet, the oldest daughter, entered middle school. Anor and HsiangRu, at the benefit of their father's connections, enrolled at a private elementary school called Ethical Culture School. None of Lin YuTang's daughters were fluent in English. On their first day of American school, each was surrounded by tall, athletic, white girls. And where they had been used to young teachers in China, the classrooms here were headed by old, white ladies. As described by Anor, 「這裡的老師是白髮蒼蒼的老小姐，一副兇樣，其實她們都很 仁慈，很同情我這個不大會說英語的中國孩子．」 Nevertheless, Anor, being the smallest and shortest girl in the class, was always picked last whenever the girls played ball in PE class. At home, Lin YuTang tutored his daughters in Chinese, intent on expanding their grasp of the mother tongue. He was strict, but never scolded. And like most parents, he expected much of his children. When his daughters returned home with straight-A report cards, he felt certain there was no other way it could have possibly turned out. Being the scholar he was, how could his daughters have not gotten straight A's? 「..( 這)是理所當然， 難道她的女兒不會讀書嗎？」 Still, though, he felt the grading system used in the American schools was faulty. Teachers assigned reading and then tested whether you had read the material within those pages. They then wrote down a number grade based on your answers. Lin YuTang felt this system forced students to study in order to pass tests, instead of reading for understanding and enjoyment. Lin YuTang had many other opinions, on anything and everything in life. His daughter Anor muses, had her father not been a writer, he must certainly have exploded from all his uncontainable thoughts and philosophies. Even if you had asked him, "How was the stir-fry beef and vegetable you had for lunch?", he would have enthusiastically articulated his opinions on the taste, proper cooking conditions, optimal oil temperatures to seal in the juiciness of the meat, and so on. In this way, his mind was never idle. In New York, Lin YuTang acquainted himself with a number of well-known people, among which were playwright and soon-to-be Nobel Laureate Eugene O'Neill, poet Robert Frost, German writer and 1929 Nobel Laureate Thomas Mann, American dancer Isadora Duncan, poet Edna St. Vincent Millay, actress Lillian Gish, drama critic George Jean Nathan, critic Carl Van Doren and his poet brother Mark Van Doren, photographer Carl Van Vechten, and Chinese actress Anna May Wong. Anna frequented the Lin home as a guest, and chattered endlessly, like any other typical housewife. Initially through his work My Country and My People , and then through his social and literary ties, Lin YuTang influenced the Western view of the Chinese. His growing renown allowed him to seed thoughts into the minds of Americans and Europeans, earning a newfound respect and admiration for the Chinese people. His spunk, and particularly, his sense of humor, gave the Westerners a fresh sense of discovering the Chinese culture for the first time. Meanwhile, Lin YuTang had begun writing his second major work, to be titled The Importance of Living ( 生活的藝術). The idea came to Lin YuTang when he considered translating several works on the intricacies of Chinese living. Richard Walsh, as his publisher, interjected and pointed out the Western audience would be completely lost without a guide to the Chinese art of living. Thus the book began, but it was not easy. After the first 260 pages, Lin YuTang threw out the entire draft and started over. He threw out another 700 pages before finally settling on what would become the final draft. However, this was not the only disruption in the course of his writing. On July 7, 1937, the Japanese attacked China at the Marco Polo Bridge ( 七七事變). This marked the beginning of the Second Sino-Japanese War. Owing to his eminence in literary circles, Lin YuTang was asked to write several articles for newspapers and magazines, including an article for Time Magazine ( 時代週刊). Lin YuTang also added a tenth chapter to My Country and My People , now in its thirteenth printing, regarding the changes going on in China ( 新中國的誕生). Despite this, things were not going so well for Lin YuTang. His family's plans to return to China were put off indefinitely due to the war. Not only that, but living in America was expensive, and even with his publishing success, Lin YuTang was barely able to afford living expenses. His only hope lay in his new book. Typically, Chinese authors despised editors and refused to change even one word or one punctuation mark. Working closely with his publishers and editors Pearl and Richard Walsh, Lin YuTang listened to their sound advice and constantly revised his work. When The Importance of Living came out at the end of 1937, it was immediately selected to be the December Book of the Month. Being selected by the Book-of-the-Month Club ( 每月讀書會) was no small potatoes. The popularizing influence of the club promised incredible readership, and similarly incredible sales. TsuiFeng had been quite surprised when the public so eagerly consumed Lin YuTang's first book, and now she had even more reason to be surprised and happy at her husband's apparent success. The Importance of Living won critical acclaim from the New York Times and numerous other book reviews, retaining a spot on the national bestseller list through the next year. Amidst the hustle and bustle of his success, Lin YuTang felt the need again to relocate. He wanted someplace quieter, in order to concentrate on his writing, as well as to lower living expenses. Besides, his tourist visa only let him stay in America for so long at a time. Lin YuTang and TsuiFeng decided in early 1938 to move back to Europe. BEGINNINGS OF A NOVEL The Lin family moved their home to Menton (蒙頓), a quaint little town in southern France on the border of Italy. Although Lin YuTang knew some French from his previous stay with the YMCA, the Lin daughters were completely foreign to the language. Lin YuTang educated his daughters rigorously in Chinese at home, again urging them not to read for study, but to read for pleasure and personal enjoyment. A dictionary in hand was a necessary prerequisite for any reading, so they could learn any words they did not understand.