Straddling East and West ― Lin Yutang, a Modern Literatus; the Lin Yutan Family Collection of Chinese Painting and Calligraphy

Lin Yutang (1895–1976) was one of the most important Chinese writers and intellectuals in the first half of the twentieth century. In his eventful life, he witnessed sweeping revolutions in China's political system and cultural orientation that fundamentally changed the nation and its people. He was born under imperial rule, lived through the birth of the Republic and its struggle for unification, and died after China had split into the rival polities of a Communist mainland and a Nationalist Taiwan. In 1936 Lin left Shanghai for New York at the invitation of the author Pearl Buck. By the end of the decade, he had become the most widely read authority on China in America. His first book in English, My Country and My People (1935), went through seven printings within four months. His third book, The Importance of Living, topped The New York Times bestseller list for fifty-two weeks and was the most widely sold book in the United States in 1938. Prevented from returning to China by the Sino-Japanese War, Lin remained in New York City for nearly three decades before retiring to Taiwan.

During his lifetime, Lin Yutang acquired paintings and calligraphies that reflect his personal involvement with some of the most prominent artists of his generation. The resulting collection, augmented by works purchased by or presented to Lin's daughter and son-in-law, will now come to The Metropolitan Museum of Art from the Lin Yutang family. Published here for the first time, these forty-three works constitute an important overview of China's literati tradition as it was sustained during the twentieth century.

[This book was originally published in 2007 and has gone out of print. This edition is a print-on-demand version of the original book.]