Lin Haiyin
Encyclopedia
Lin Haiyin was a Taiwanese
writer of Han Chinese
ethnicity. She is best remembered for her 1960 memoir 城南舊事 (Chengnan Jiushi, "My Memories of Old Beijing
"), a novel
istic tribute to her childhood reminiscences of Beijing
.
Born in Osaka
, Japan
, where her father (of Jiaoling
, Guangdong
origin) worked as a merchant, Lin's parents moved first to Taiwan
, before settling in Beijing
when she was 5. She would spend her next 25 years there. In Beijing (later Beiping), Lin graduated from the News and Broadcast Institute and became a journalist for Shijie Ribao ("World News Daily").
In 1948, Lin returned with her husband and family to Taiwan, where she became the editor of several important literary periodicals and newspapers, including the literary section of the United Daily News and The Literary Monthly, before eventually establishing her own publishing house. She would reside in Taiwan for the rest of her life.
Altogether, she published some 18 books, including novels, short story collections, radio drama
and children's literature, many of which deal with the feminine experience. Her most famous book remains 城南舊事 (Chengnan Jiushi, lit. "My Memories of Old Beijing
", 1960). In it, Lin records in lively, evocative, first-person prose her childhood memories, ending with the death of her father, from the eyes of a precocious, impressionable young girl.
My Memories of Old Beijing was made into a Mainland China
feature film in 1982, directed by Wu Yigong
. The film won the Best Director Prize at the 3rd annual Golden Rooster Awards
, as well as the Golden Eagle Prize (Best Feature Film) at the Manila International Film Festival in 1983. In 1999, it was chosen as one of the 100 best 20th-century Chinese-language films by Asia Weekly.
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
writer of Han Chinese
Han Chinese
Han Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
ethnicity. She is best remembered for her 1960 memoir 城南舊事 (Chengnan Jiushi, "My Memories of Old Beijing
My Memories of Old Beijing
My Memories of Old Beijing is an autobiographical novel by Lin Haiyin, first published in 1960.Written in lively, evocative prose from the point of view of a precocious and impressionable young girl, the work records Lin's childhood memories of the city and the everyday people around her.The novel...
"), a novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
istic tribute to her childhood reminiscences of Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
.
Born in Osaka
Osaka
is a city in the Kansai region of Japan's main island of Honshu, a designated city under the Local Autonomy Law, the capital city of Osaka Prefecture and also the biggest part of Keihanshin area, which is represented by three major cities of Japan, Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, where her father (of Jiaoling
Jiaoling
Jiaoling County is a northeastern county of Guangdong province....
, Guangdong
Guangdong
Guangdong is a province on the South China Sea coast of the People's Republic of China. The province was previously often written with the alternative English name Kwangtung Province...
origin) worked as a merchant, Lin's parents moved first to Taiwan
Taiwan
Taiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, before settling in Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
when she was 5. She would spend her next 25 years there. In Beijing (later Beiping), Lin graduated from the News and Broadcast Institute and became a journalist for Shijie Ribao ("World News Daily").
In 1948, Lin returned with her husband and family to Taiwan, where she became the editor of several important literary periodicals and newspapers, including the literary section of the United Daily News and The Literary Monthly, before eventually establishing her own publishing house. She would reside in Taiwan for the rest of her life.
Altogether, she published some 18 books, including novels, short story collections, radio drama
Radio drama
Radio drama is a dramatized, purely acoustic performance, broadcast on radio or published on audio media, such as tape or CD. With no visual component, radio drama depends on dialogue, music and sound effects to help the listener imagine the characters and story...
and children's literature, many of which deal with the feminine experience. Her most famous book remains 城南舊事 (Chengnan Jiushi, lit. "My Memories of Old Beijing
My Memories of Old Beijing
My Memories of Old Beijing is an autobiographical novel by Lin Haiyin, first published in 1960.Written in lively, evocative prose from the point of view of a precocious and impressionable young girl, the work records Lin's childhood memories of the city and the everyday people around her.The novel...
", 1960). In it, Lin records in lively, evocative, first-person prose her childhood memories, ending with the death of her father, from the eyes of a precocious, impressionable young girl.
My Memories of Old Beijing was made into a Mainland China
Mainland China
Mainland China, the Chinese mainland or simply the mainland, is a geopolitical term that refers to the area under the jurisdiction of the People's Republic of China . According to the Taipei-based Mainland Affairs Council, the term excludes the PRC Special Administrative Regions of Hong Kong and...
feature film in 1982, directed by Wu Yigong
Wu Yigong
-Biography:Born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, Wu Yigong enrolled in the directing department of the Beijing Film Academy in 1956. After graduation in 1960, he was appoint as director assistant in Shanghai Haiyan Film Factory....
. The film won the Best Director Prize at the 3rd annual Golden Rooster Awards
Golden Rooster Awards
China Golden Rooster Film Festival also known as Golden Rooster Awards are the most prestigious awards in film given in mainland China, equivalent the China's Academy Awards. The awards are given annually, beginning in 1981. The name of the award came from the year of the Rooster in 1981...
, as well as the Golden Eagle Prize (Best Feature Film) at the Manila International Film Festival in 1983. In 1999, it was chosen as one of the 100 best 20th-century Chinese-language films by Asia Weekly.
Works
Bibliography of Lin Haiyin's works available in English:- "Buried With the Dead." Tr. Jane Parish Yang. The Chinese Pen (Winter, 1980): 33-61.
- "Candle." In Nieh Hua-ling, ed. and trans., Eight Stories By Chinese Women. Taipei: Heritage Press, 1962, 53-68. Also in Ann C. Carver and Sung-sheng Yvonne Chang, eds., Bamboo Shoots After the Rain: Contemporary Stories by Women Writers of Taiwan. NY: The Feminist Press, 1990, 17-25.
- "The Desk." Tr. Nancy Zi Chiang. The Chinese Pen (Winter, 1972): 13-19.
- "Donkey Rolls." Tr. David Steelman. The Chinese Pen, (Autumn, 1979): 18-39.
- "Gold Carp's Pleated Skirt." Tr. Hsiao Lien-ren. In Chi Pang-yuan, et al., eds., An Anthology of Contemporary Chinese Literature. Taipei: National Institute for Compilation and Translation, 1975, II, 9-23.
- Green Seaweed and Salted Eggs. Tr. Nancy C. Ing. Taipei: The Heritage Press, 1963.
- "Let Us Go and See the Sea." Tr. Nancy Chang Ing. The Chinese Pen, (Spring, 1973): 32-66. Republished in Chinese Women Writers' Association, eds., The Muse of China: A Collection of Prose and Short Stories. Taipei: Chinese Women Writers' Association, 1974, 61-94. Also in Green Seaweed and Salted Eggs.
- "Lunar New Year's Feast." Tr. Hsin-sheng C. Kao. In Joseph S.M. Lau, ed., The Unbroken Chain: An Anthology of Taiwan Fiction Since 1926. Bloomington: IUP, 1983, 68-73.
- My Memories of Old Beijing. Tr. Nancy Ing and Chi Pang-yuan. HK: Chinese University Press, 1992. Excerpted as "Memories of Old Peking: Huian Court." Tr. Cathy Poon. Renditions, 27-28 (1987): 19-48.