Description
Book SynopsisThis book provides a comprehensive examination of the socio-cultural and political context of modern China in terms of its interaction with America and the West, focusing on the influence of the well-known Chinese writer and intellectual Lin Yutang (1895-1976). Offering a unique study of the life and works of Lin Yutang, it highlights his intellectual legacy in modern China and considers how his cross-cultural life and ideas embodied the modern Chinese cultural experience. It notably focuses on Lin’s reputation as an outspoken critic of the infringement of human rights during the rise of the Communist regime in China, but also on his rediscovery of Chinese cultural resources. At a time when China’s cultural contributions are increasingly relevant worldwide, this book contributes to ongoing critical reflections of Chinese modernity, particularly in terms of its intellectual legacies, but also to a renewed understanding of the cross-cultural interactions between China and America and a re-opening the dialogue and search for a new cultural understanding.
Table of ContentsLin Yutang and China’s Intellectual Journey to Modernity.- Christian Childhood and Westernized Education.- “Thus Spoke Zarathustra:” A Progressive Nationalist for the Great Revolution.- From “Little Critic” to “Master of Humor”.- Struggling Against the “Double Dangers of Bolshevism and Fascism”.- “My China”: The East Speaks to the West.- Coming to America: the Birth of a “Chinese Philosopher”.- Culture and War: Interpreting Modern China.- Eastern Wisdom: Race, Empire and World Peace.- Loss of China and Wisdom of America.- “Looking Beyond” the Iron Curtain.- Grand Finale: “I Take My Leave and Depart”.
