Lin Yutang's Essays: Illustrated Collector's Edition

Author: Lin Yutang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2005-05-01
Features: The beauty of prose and the elegance of illustrations complement each other, making it both a masterpiece for appreciation and a fine choice for collection and gifting. Chinese prose has a long and profound history. Over thousands of years of prose creation, whether expressing emotions, stating intentions, depicting scenes, or reflecting on people, it has inevitably reflected the changes of the times and the thoughts and feelings of the people. These fine traditions of Chinese prose have not only been fully inherited in the new literature of the 20th century but have also continued to innovate and develop. To showcase the achievements of Chinese prose since the 20th century, we edited and published the "Treasures of Chinese Prose" in the early days of the new century, totaling thirty volumes. Five years have passed, and on this basis, we have meticulously compiled this "Illustrated Treasures of Chinese Prose," consisting of sixteen volumes. After further selection, this series not only adds over 50,000 new words to each volume but also accompanies them with precious photographs reflecting their life journey. Truly, the beauty of prose and the elegance of illustrations complement each other, making it both a masterpiece for appreciation and a fine choice for collection and gifting.
Lin Yutang's philosophy of life, like his views on society, politics, and history, is complex. From a young age, Lin Yutang was deeply influenced by the "Christian family with boundless parental love," attending church-run schools for his primary, secondary, and university education. Religious beliefs were deeply ingrained in his heart. Later, he lived in a Western cultural environment for a long time, receiving systematic Western cultural, while also conducting in-depth research on Confucianism, Taoism, and Buddhism in China. As a result, when understanding China's traditions and realities or making life choices, he often approached them with the perspective and outlook of a Western gentleman. Lin Yutang's prose often observes the world with a detached and leisurely mindset, praising beauty with simple words. This creates a style that blends solemnity and humor, akin to "private confidences" in a "leisurely tone."
The language of Lin Yutang's prose is diverse and inclusive, incorporating various elements such as the formal language of old official documents and popular political slogans of the time. This actually reflects Lin Yutang's literary language philosophy. He advocated that literary language could integrate classical Chinese, vernacular Chinese, foreign languages, and colloquialisms, forming a unique language style often referred to as "vernacular classical Chinese."