Former Residence of Lin Yutang and Lin Yutang Literature Museum

The Former Residence of Lin Yutang and Lin Yutang Literature Museum

The Former Residence of Lin Yutang and Lin Yutang Literature Museum is a cultural heritage site protected by Fujian Province.

The Former Residence of Lin Yutang and Lin Yutang Literature Museum are located at the original site of the Banzai Christian Church, where Lin Yutang was born.

Among his sixty books and thousands of essays, when writing about his personal life, he mentioned his happy childhood in Banzai the most, with at least ten thousand words dedicated to it.

On October 10, 1895, Lin Yutang was born on the second floor of the pastor’s residence in this church. After the church was completely demolished in 1974, the former residence of Lin Yutang no longer existed. The residence was reconstructed twice, in 1984 and 2005, based on the original appearance at the original site. In 2007, the Lin Yutang Literature Museum was built with a construction area of 360 square meters. The name of the museum was inscribed by Ji Xianlin. The museum features four exhibition halls: “A Mountain Village Child with a Joyful Childhood,” “A Literary Master and Cultural Giant,” “A Soul Tied to the Homeland, Dreams of Hometown,” and “Worldwide Acclaim, Immortal Fame.” It showcases Lin Yutang’s lifelong achievements and his connection to Pinghe and Banzai, interpreting the hometown sentiment of Lin Yutang who journeyed from Banzai to the world.

Lin Yutang (1895–1976), originally named Lin Heluo and also known as Lin Yutang, was a native of Longxi County. He grew up in a family of Christian pastors. In 1912, he entered St. John's University in Shanghai for further studies. After graduation, he worked as an English instructor at Tsinghua University in Beijing.

In 1919, Lin Yutang went abroad for study with funding from his school. Before departing for the United States, he married Liao Cuifeng from Gulangyu Island, and the couple went together to Harvard University in the U.S. He earned his master’s degree in 1921. In the same year, he went to the University of Jena in Germany to specialize in literature. Half a year later, he transferred to the University of Leipzig to study linguistics. In the summer of 1923, he obtained his doctoral degree... More details about Lin Yutang++

Banzai Town: Located in the heart of the southern Fujian Golden Triangle, Banzai Town is known as the "Banana Capital of China." It is the hometown of the world cultural master Lin Yutang, a national-level environmentally beautiful town, and a provincial-level civilized town. The town has a population of 43,000, 15 administrative villages (communities), covering a land area of 135 square kilometers, including 27,634 mu of arable land, 136,439 mu of mountainous land, and 20,130 mu of rivers and water bodies. It is 12 kilometers from the county seat, 59 kilometers from Zhangzhou, and 112 kilometers from Xiamen.

Banzai is a place of outstanding people and a spiritual land, not only producing the world cultural master Lin Yutang, Shun... More details about Banzai Town++