Image Of Su Tungpo By Lin Yutang

Both Su Tungpo and Lin Yutang were great masters in the Chinese Literature History.Famous man comments another famous man is always an interesting and abundant topic,but Book of the Gay Genius: the life and times of Su Tungpo has not hitherto had theattention paid to it by our critics that it deserves. This article plans to describe the uniqueimage of Su Tungpo by Lin Yutang under the cross-cultural background. Contrast tobiographies of Su Tungpo by writers in China, the image by Lin Yutang has happy andfree-care characters, which is decided by the unique world-wide cultural viewpoints andcomposing strategy. Rooted in love spirit of Christianism, Lin Yutang believed that peopleshould stand in the daily living, but he discarded the doctrine of Original Evil of HumanNature; at the same time, he changed his points to criticize Totalitarianism instead ofConfucianism when he stayed in China, as a result, he sang high praises for the EasternCivilization as the way to self-realization and love-implementation. Su Tungpo, theclassic Chinese image who combined Confucianism, Taoism and Buddhism successfully,embodied Lin Yutang's ideal civilization of cosmopolitanism. There are various versionsof Su Tungpo and his articles translated by international Sinologists. Compared with them,Lin Yutang had the advantages in the literal meaning and thoughts distribution. Englishlanguage and common western readers is Lin Yutang's writing strategy, with techniquesincluding frame of "kelp knot", like-essay tone, and narration of artistic conception etc.,which made Lin Yutang's works popular in West. The image of Su Tungpo by Lin Yutanghas three effects. First, it is a living story instead of a conception. Secondly, it is a fairimage instead of the evil. Thirdly, it is belief of "all men in the Sea are brothers" insteadof variances between East and West. Su Tungpo by Lin Yutang is a case that how a classicChinese image be transformed into an international image, that provides a vivid model toguide the cross-cultural behaviors.