The Art of Life

Author: Lin Yutang
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2006-02-01
Features: The Art of Living is the first book written by Lin Yutang after he devoted himself to writing in the United States. It is also another English work that achieved success after My Country and My People. The book was published in the United States in 1937 and ranked at the top of the U.S. bestseller list for 52 weeks the following year, with over forty reprints and translations in more than ten languages. In the book, Lin Yutang discusses the indifference of Zhuangzi, praises the leisure of Tao Yuanming, recites the Return to Innocence, tells stories from the Bible, and explains how Chinese people appreciate tea, play drinking games, admire mountains, play in water, watch clouds, appreciate stones, cultivate flowers, raise birds, enjoy snow, listen to rain, compose poetry to the wind, and play with the moon. Lin Yutang describes the open-minded and optimistic lifestyle of the Chinese, as well as the romantic and elegant Eastern charm, to the Western world, presenting a model of a "high ideal of life" that can be emulated. The book includes chapters such as Awakening, Conceptions of Humanity, Our Animal Heritage, On Humaneness, and Who Enjoys Life.