Lin Yutang - The Importance of Living

By Lin Yutang

This is a personal testimony, a testimony of my own experience of thought and life. It is not intended to be objective and makes no claim to establish eternal truths. In fact I rather despise claims to objectivity in philosophy; the point of view is the thing. I should have liked to call it "A Lyrical Philosophy," using the word "lyrical" in the sense of being a highly personal and individual outlook. But that would be too beautiful a name and I must forego it, for fear of aiming too high and leading the reader to expect too much, and because the main ingredient of my thought is matter-of-fact prose, a level easier to maintain because more natural. Very much contented am I to lie low, to cling to the soil, to be of kin to the sod. My soul squirms comfortably in the soil and sand and is happy, Sometimes when one is drunk with this earth, one's spirit seems so light that he thinks he is in heaven. But actually he seldom rises six feet above the ground.
Many of the earliest books, particularly those dating back to the 1900s and before, are now extremely scarce and increasingly expensive. We are republishing these classic works in affordable, high quality, modern editions, using the original text and artwork.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Read Books Ltd.
• Release date: Apr 16, 2013
• ISBN: 9781446549070

Reviews for Lin Yutang - The Importance of Living

[dazzyj_1 · Rating: 5 out of 5 stars]

A witty and humane book that ranges in the most relaxed of ways over two millenia of Chinese writing about how we should live. Marred only by a short section containing atavistic views abut women, this is a marvellously refreshing rumination about how to be happy.

[gibbon_1 · Rating: 4 out of 5 stars]

In my opinion it is never too early in life for a good reader to read a good book. I read this first when I was hardly more than a child, and though I recall little from that first reading (of the edition published by the admirable "Readers Union") it prompted me to read "Monkey" and Alexandra David-Neel at round about the same time. As a result I have had a desultory but lifelong interest in Chinese and Japanese culture. What I do remember from that first reading was Mr Lin's statement that though he had the greatest respect for western technology as applied, for instance, to radios, he had little respect for much of what came over his beautifully working American radio! Returning to his book after sixty years I am struck by the contrast between his reflections on contemporary political events, much of which is now tedious except to specialists because it has become part of accepted history, and his presentation of Chinese philosophers and poets, which has if anything gained in importance.