Lin Haiyin


Lin Haiyin, also named Amy Lin, was a Taiwanese writer and editor. Of Miaoli Hakka descent, She was born in Osaka, Japan, and lived in Itahashi Town, Taihoku Prefecture until the age of four before relocating to Peking, China. Lin worked as a journalist and editor for the World Journal in Peking before moving back to Taiwan with her family in 1948. In Taiwan, she served as an editor for the Mandarin Daily News and as the editor of the United Daily News supplement. She is best known for her 1960 book Memories of Peking: South Side Stories, a novelistic tribute to her childhood reminiscences of Peking.

Early life and education

Lin was born in Osaka, Japan, where her father worked as a merchant. Lin's parents moved back to Taiwan briefly, then settling in Beijing when she was five. She spent her next 25 years there. In Beijing, Lin graduated from the News and Broadcast Institute and became a journalist for Shijie Ribao.
In 1948, Lin moved 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 is Memories of Peking: South Side Stories. 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.
In 1967, Lin Hai-yin founded the literary magazine Belles-Lettres Monthly and founded the Belles-Lettres Publishing House the following year, considered Taiwan's first professional literary publishing house. For several decades, Lin and her writer husband, Hsia Cheng-ying, engaged in the threefold work of editing, writing, and publishing, contributing significantly to the promotion of modern Taiwanese literature.

Career

Lin Haiyin is best known for her novel Memories of Peking: South Side Stories. Her literary works encompass a wide range, including novels, essays, broadcasts, children's literature, essays, and literary criticism. Her protagonists often reflect the characters from the feudal old times she observed, especially women, and her stories, while often poignant, vividly portray the reality of society and the complexity of human nature.
Lin Haiyin played a crucial role in discovering and encouraging talented writers. Many authors, including Chi Teng Sheng with "Unemployment, Poker, Fried Squid", Cheng Ching-Wen with "Lonely Heart", Huang Chun-ming with "Getting Off at Chengtzu", and Lin Hwai-min with "Children's Song", published their first works under her editorship at the United Daily News supplement. Lin Haiyin also encouraged Taiwanese writers who had stopped writing for many years, such as those who wrote in both Japanese rule and post-war eras, to resume their work. Notable figures she supported include Chung Li-ho, Chung Chao-cheng, Liao Ching-hsiu, Chen Huo-chuan, Shih Tsui-feng, and others. She patiently helping them revise texts that were not smooth due to language differences before publishing them.

Film adaptation

In 1982, mainland Chinese director Wu Yigong made the film My Memories of Old Beijing based on her novel. The film won the Best Director Prize at the 3rd annual Golden Rooster Awards, as well as the Golden Eagle Prize 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.

Portrait

Category:1918 births
Category:2001 deaths
Category:Writers from Osaka
Category:People from Jiaoling
Category:Taiwanese women novelists
Category:20th-century Taiwanese novelists
Category:20th-century women writers