|
In Chinese history, there are so many outstangding women who made great contributions to the society and also exerted positive influences on us, especially on us females. Today I will introduce a beautiful and talented woman who has a fascinating life as a groundbreaking architecturaln historian and “Lady of Letters” to you .
Lin Huiyin(1904-1955), an outstanding female poet and architectural historian from the first half of the 20th century in China, was an erudite generalist who wrote about literature, arts, architecture and philosophy.
Raised in a wealthy family, she received the best education a woman could obtain at that time. She pursued her degrees both in England and the United States.
In 1928, Lin got married in Canada to Mr. Liang Sicheng, son of China's famous politician and scholar, Liang Qichao. The couple had met while studying at Pennsylvania University in America.
On returning to China, Lin Huiyin started teaching architecture at Northeast University and then moved to Tsinghua University. She co-wrote the famous "Development Stages of Chinese Architecture" with her husband Liang Sicheng and another architect. She also contributed to the design for China's National Emblem and the Hero of the People's Monument in Beijing's Tiananmen Square.
Accompanying her husband to thousands of ancient Chinese architectural sites, most of which were in remote areas, she worked tirelessly to research China's architectural history. She and her husband lobbied hard to protect many of the old buildings in Beijing at a time when the municipal government was leveling many parts of the city for new construction.
Lin Huiyin's interests were very extensive and in addition to her work on architecture, she also wrote poems, essays, short stories and plays as well as translating works from English. She was well known in literary circle as hostess of one of the country's most famous literary salons in her home in Beijing's Zhongbu Hutong.
Whenever we give a reference to Lin Huiyin, we have to make mention of the other three men who are related to the love stories of Lin Huiyin.
Liang Sicheng who was the son of Liang Qichao is also a famous architectural history scientist, architectural educationalist and academician. He is recognized as the “Father of Modern Chinese Architecture”. To cite Princeton University, which awarded him an honorary doctoral degree in 1947, he was “a creative architect who has also been a teacher of architectural history, a pioneer in historical research and exploration in Chinese architecture and planning, and a leader in the restoration and preservation of the priceless monuments of our country.”
Xu Zhimo was a Chinese poet in the early 20th century. He is romanticized as pursuing love, freedom, and beauty all his life (from the words of Hu Shi). He promoted the form of modern Chinese poetry, and therefore made tremendous contributions to modern Chinese literature.His best-known poem is “Saying Goodbye to Cambridge Again”
Jin Yuelin was a Chinese philosopher and logician. He graduated from Tsinghua University and obtained Ph.D. in Political Science from Columbia University. He founded the Department of Philosophy at Tsinghua University.Among the first to systematically introduce modern logic into China, Jin also founded a new philosophical system combining elements from Western and Chinese philosophical traditions .
All of these three men mentioned above fell in love with Lin Huiyin, but she chose Liang Sicheng and married him and had accompanied him all her life. Mr.Xu gave Lin Huiyin pure love. The love sparked Xu’s inspiration of writing poems. Mr.Jin stayed single for Lin all his life.
Lin’s beauty and wisdom distinguish herself from ordinary women. As a symbol of independent women of the time, Lin Huiyin and her western education and fluent English gave her a broader outlook on life than most women of the time. As new century females, it is beyond doubt that Lin Huiyin is our idol. I admire her at utmost.
|
加好友 
发短信
Post By：2012/5/8 13:19:31 [只看该作者]
