Beauty and Sorrow - A True Lin Huiyin

Author: Tian Shiyu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-02-01
Features: A prominent female architect of China's May Fourth era, a dazzling and influential woman in the history of modern Chinese literature, the main designer of the national emblem and the Monument to the People's Heroes—Lin Huiyin. Her life was a poetic journey like a thousand streams, and her world was like the eternal April. With unparalleled beauty, she embodied passionate years; a secret history that tells of her beauty and sorrow.
Lin Huiyin's beauty lay in her appearance. Two small braids, bright and spirited eyes, exquisite features meticulously carved, a smile on her left cheek, a light-colored half-sleeve short shirt, and a black silk skirt reaching just above the knee—she was like a graceful immortal. Yet, her beauty also went beyond her appearance. She read extensively, possessed a lively anding mind, clear and fresh insights, and an understanding and intuition for literary works that surpassed her age. This was her beauty of wisdom. She loved her friends, and with them, her thoughts opened up, her words were like pearls on a string, and her artistic and intellectual inspiration flashed like lightning, carving exquisite details, intricate windows and doors, and beautiful railings. This was her beauty of character—she had an endless array of beauty.
In people's memories, Lin Huiyin was often not just a "clean and simple" individual. She seemed merely the one whom Xu Zhimo longed for, adored, yet also made weep and disappointed; she appeared as the daughter-in-law of Liang Zhenggong and the wife of Liang Sicheng. Her identity as an outstanding female architect and her unique status as a female poet faded away. She became an old photograph, a blurred symbol, a mere accessory to the many famous figures around her—she had an endless array of sorrow.