LIN SHU

born Nov. 8, 1852, Fu-chou, Fukien province, China died Oct. 9, 1924, Peking Pinyin Lin Shu translator who first made available to Chinese readers more than 171 works of Western literature, even though he himself had no firsthand knowledge of any foreign language and had never traveled abroad. Working through oral interpreters, Lin Shu translated fiction from England, the United States, France, Russia, Switzerland, Belgium, Spain, Norway, Greece, and Japan into flowing classical Chinese. He was opposed to the use of vernacular Chinese, which was urged by the new breed of Chinese writers then emerging and whom Lin Shu ridiculed in satirical short stories. Because of the second-hand nature of Lin Shu's translationsindeed, many are translations of translationsthey are not completely accurate and have been severely criticized for their errors. Lin Shu's skilled use of the Chinese literary language has been highly praised, however, and his translations remain important for their role in introducing Western literature to China.