Shu Lin, known as Qinnan (courtesy name) and Weilu or Chunjuezhai zhu jen (pseudonyms), was born in Fujian, China. Lin was a renowned Chinese paleographer, painter and translator. Li read extensively in classics and had intimate knowledge of ancient literature. He was one of the opponents of the movement of Written Vernacular Chinese, a literature reform promoted by Hu Shih (1891-1962). Lin’s painting is recognized as innovative. His landscape drawings are often compared with that of Dong Qichang (1555-1636, a well-known painter at the end of the Ming dynasty). Lin’s most significant achievement is translation. Although he only knew how to speak and write Chinese, Lin worked with Wang Chouchang and Wei Yi and translated several books from English, French, Russian, Japanese and Spanish to Chinese. An example of their work is translation into Chinese of “La dame aux camellias” by Alexandre Dumas.
