Lin
Yutang

Novelist and translator

1895–1976

Chinese author and inventor Lin Yutang is best known for his translations of Chinese classics into English for Western readers. In addition to his many translations he created a new system for the romanization of the Chinese language and created the first Chinese language typewriter, an accomplishment that took over a decade.

Yutang was the author of several original works in English, including the best-selling popular philosophy and history such as The Importance of Living and My Country and My People, and novels such as Moment in Peking and A Leaf in the Storm. 

After 1928 he lived primarily in the United States, but was buried at his home in Taiwan.


Selected Titles

  • My Country and My People (1935)
  • The Importance of Living (1937)
  • Moment in Peking (1939)
  • A Leaf in the Storm (1941)
  • Chinatown Family (1948)
  • Widow, Nun and Courtesan: Three Novelettes From the Chinese (1951)
  • The Vermilion Gate (1953)
  • Lady Wu (1957)
  • The Red Peony (1961)
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