Thursday, August 22, 2013

Review of The Importance of Understanding by Lin Yutang



An unquantifiable transition, Lin Yutang’s coming to the US meant huge changes in the West’s perception of the East.  Making numerous texts available in English for the first time, he introduced the average Westerner to a variety of aspects of the Middle Kingdom. My Country My People, The Importance of Living, The Gay Genius: The Life and Times of Su T’ungpo, The Wisdom of Laotse, The Wisdom of Confucius and many other books made him perhaps the greatest Chinese cultural ambassador to the West in the 20th century.  Having published The Wisdom of China in 1942 as an overview of Chinese philosophy, in 1960 Lin set out to introduce Westerners to the literary and artistic mindset of China.  The Importance of Understanding is the result.

Despite the difference in content, The Importance of Understanding is written in the same format as The Wisdom of China.  Divided along thematic lines, the wealth of Chinese literature and culture is presented through a variety of selections.  Writings of Li Bai (Li Bo), Zhuangzi, Yuang Chunglang, Wang Shichi, and several others fill the first section called “Human Life”.  “Life and Death” contains writings by Shenfu, Cao Xueqin (of Dream of Red Mansions fame), Pan Ku, Tao Yuanming (perhaps China’s greatest poet), and others.  I could continue listing names, but this review would become too long, so I will limit myself to the section headings: “The Seasons”, “Nature”, “Human Adjustments”, “Women”, “The Home and Daily Living”, “Art”, “Literature”, “After Tea and Wine”, “Ancient Wit”, “Fools to this World”, “Wisdom”, “Zen”, and “Epigrams and Proverbs”.  At 450 pages, the book is bursting with the writings from the famous to not-so-famous minds of China to date.

Lin wielding the English language in a fashion the overwhelming majority of native speakers cannot, reading his translations and introductions is as enjoyable as it is insightful.  Having an insider’s view most Westerners do not, Lin’s background knowledge, not to mention formal education on the subject, are simply unequaled for delivering material of this quality.  Certainly a large number of Chinese scholars have emerged in the West in passing decades, but Lin was the lone voice, the one who had a natural touch with the English language, and certainly was one of the people most responsible for bringing Chinese culture to light in the Western eye and giving these latter day scholars an opportunity.  Simply put, the book reads as strong today as it did when it was published.

In the end, The Importance of Understanding is a huge sampler of Chinese thought.  Covering thousands of years of history and variety of literary forms, it would be impossible not to finish the book without a better understanding of Chinese culture.  Poetry, literature, proverbs, and snippets of philosophy from a number of better and lesser known historical personages comprise the content.  Thus, readers looking for in depth details and analysis of individual Chinese poets or philosophies should look elsewhere—including Lin’s own oeuvre.  This collection is a light-hearted smorgasbord that is to be read at leisure, not for study.  Given the obscure nature of much of the content, however, certainly something new and fresh can be found for the reader already familiar with Chinese culture and its major writings, making this collection a must have for those interested in the country’s literature and culture in general.

4 comments:

  1. Dear Reader, I have this book. I have had this book for 30 years. I read it often. BUT I WILL NEVER FINISH THIS BOOK! I counsel those who have buy this book to do the same. The day you finish it is the day your enchantment is diminished just one half-catty. The sheer pleasure of returning to this book-of-wonders to make new discoveries in the richly-laden fields of Chinese literature is priceless. I always want to keep alive the novelty of curiosity and wonder. Lin must have been a beautiful person - his judicious selections of Eastern literature expressed through Western words have a delicacy of unrivalled sensibility, IMHO. It introduces the reader to out-of-the-way characters like Su Tung Po, and poems like the Pipa Hang (Page 315)which leave an indelible impression on one's mind and soul. And always the charm, courtesy, and delicacy of Eastern manners pervades every selection from every ancient dynasty. His book is a timeless smorgasbord of bygone delectables presented on one table between two covers - to mix a metaphor. READER, BUY THIS BOOK! It will transport you back to a past world of charm and manners captured and expressed in beautiful words by a cultured Eastern-Western master, a charm which may never-again appear in this old world. Mozz from Oz.

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    Replies
    1. Thanks for your sincere words - they ring so true. Perhaps I should just erase my review and substitute your words? :) I couldn't agree more.

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  2. Dear Reader, I have this book. I have had this book for 30 years. I read it often. BUT I WILL NEVER FINISH THIS BOOK! I counsel those who have buy this book to do the same. The day you finish it is the day your enchantment is diminished just one half-catty. The sheer pleasure of returning to this book-of-wonders to make new discoveries in the richly-laden fields of Chinese literature is priceless. I always want to keep alive the novelty of curiosity and wonder. Lin must have been a beautiful person - his judicious selections of Eastern literature expressed through Western words have a delicacy of unrivalled sensibility, IMHO. It introduces the reader to out-of-the-way characters like Su Tung Po, and poems like the Pipa Hang (Page 315)which leave an indelible impression on one's mind and soul. And always the charm, courtesy, and delicacy of Eastern manners pervades every selection from every ancient dynasty. His book is a timeless smorgasbord of bygone delectables presented on one table between two covers - to mix a metaphor. READER, BUY THIS BOOK! It will transport you back to a past world of charm and manners captured and expressed in beautiful words by a cultured Eastern-Western master, a charm which may never-again appear in this old world. Mozz from Oz.

    ReplyDelete
  3. This book changed my thinking when I first read it as an 18-year-old when I had just completed my secondary school education and was out looking for a job in Singapore in 1970. Those days, almost everyone in this overcrowded tiny island of Chinese immigrants was dirt poor and life was really miserable because of lack of job. The book have me an understanding of the importance of patience, endurance and social compassion.

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