Biography of Lin Yutang Lin Yutang was a Chinese writer, philosopher, and scholar. He was born on Octo, in the city of Banzai in Pinghe County, Zhangzhou District, Fujian Province, China, into a family of Christian priests. In , he enrolled at St. John&;s University in Shanghai and graduated in He then began teaching at Tsinghua University in Beijing. In , he went.