“What you say must be done, and what you do must be resolute.” Although Lin Yutang did not become a student at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the United States, he did start developing the Chinese typewriter that he had been obsessed with for a long time after he turned fifty. In order to invent this typewriter, Lin Yutang not only spent all his life's efforts but also owed a huge sum of money, and his close friends with the American writer Pearl Buck became enemies.
What kind of typewriter did Lin Yutang spend so much effort and money to invent? This typewriter is 9 inches high, 14 inches wide, and 18 inches deep, with a capacity of 7,000 characters. Only three keys are pressed for each word. The character mold is cast on six rollers with six sides. The huge font is replaced by 64 keys. Only three keys are pressed for each word, and 50 words can be typed per minute. No complex training is required, and anyone can operate it after receiving guidance. In the world of Chinese characters, the typewriter invented by Lin Yutang was a revolutionary initiative. On the morning of May 22, 1947, Lin Yutang carefully took the typewriter named "Ming Kuai" home from the factory. This day became the most unforgettable day for Lin Yutang's family. Because this typewriter embodies Lin Yutang's hard work for almost thirty years, and the more than 120,000 US dollars spent included all of Lin Yutang's savings and money borrowed from friends and banks. Lin Taiyi, Lin Yutang's second daughter, recalled that it took the family several years to repay the loan. After the typewriter was invented, praise poured in. He Yingqin, head of the Chinese military delegation to the United Nations, wrote to Lin Yutang after visiting the Chinese typewriter: "The Mingkuai typewriter is the first typewriter that can type without having to remember character positions or characters, or even looking at the keyboard. This feature is just that One of the many obvious features of a typewriter, but with this keyboard alone, the Mingkuai typewriter is already superior to all other Chinese typewriters. I sincerely recommend it to anyone who writes in Chinese characters."
Written by the famous linguist Zhao Yuanren. The letter said to Lin Yutang: "Cousin Yu, I had to use your typewriter to type at home a few days ago. I was very excited. As long as I typed two keys, I saw eight characters of the same type appearing on the window pane. Then I selected the word I wanted to type. , this is an amazing invention. Another advantage is that you don’t need to learn to type on this keyboard. I think this is the typewriter we need.”
However, there is something unspeakable about Lin Yutang. sorrow and grief.
At that time, Lin Yutang was in New York, USA. In order to apply for a patent from the US Patent Office, Lin Yutang wore reading glasses and wrote a patent document of more than 80,000 words. He drew 39 blueprints and carefully considered every word. It took six and a half years to apply for a patent. After the prototype is successfully developed and the patent is applied for, the invention must be put into commercial production. Although the news of the successful experiment of the Mingkuai typewriter had already spread from the United States to mainland China as if it had wings, at that time China was raging in the flames of civil war, and no businessman was willing to invest a lot of money in a product with an unstable sales market. On the contrary, because many newspapers published news about the successful invention of the Chinese typewriter, some rumors spread, saying that Lin Yutang made a fortune.
Hu Shi came out to speak "fairly" and said that Lin Yutang had bankrupted his entire family because of the typewriter. In fact, Lin Yutang not only went bankrupt financially, he also suffered an emotional blow because of this typewriter.
Lin Yutang, who "has both feet on Chinese and Western cultures, and is dedicated to commenting on articles about the universe", also lost his friendship with the famous American writer Pearl Buck, whose mother tongue is Chinese, because of this typewriter. Pearl Buck, whose real name was Pearl Booker, came to China with her parents when she was a child, and then lived in China for more than thirty years. She wrote a large number of novels with Chinese themes, including "The Good Earth", for which she won the 1938 Nobel Prize. Bell Prize for Literature.
The reason why Lin Yutang and Pearl Buck became close friends is because they have the same attitude towards culture, as well as their thoughts on the integration of Chinese and Western cultures and their understanding or preferences of the charm of Chinese culture. Pearl Buck once wrote the preface to Lin Yutang's "My Country and My People" and said: "It seeks truth from facts and is not ashamed of the truth. It is written proudly, humorously, beautifully, both seriously and cheerfully, and has a profound impact on both ancient and modern China." Give a correct understanding and evaluation. I think this is the most authentic, profound, complete and important work on China to date.
What is even more commendable is that it was written by a Chinese, a modern Chinese. His roots are deeply rooted in the past, but his rich fruits are born today. "
"Birds of a feather flock together, and people are divided into groups." "My Country and My People" made a good start. Later, Pearl Buck invited Lin Yutang to write in the United States. Lin Yutang and his family went to the United States, and first lived in Pearl Buck's hotel. Lin Yutang and Pearl S. Buck went from being strangers to becoming close friends, and then from coincidence to close cooperation. Not only did Lin Yutang and Pearl S. Buck form a deep friendship, but also each other's families. A stable friendship was also formed, and Lin Yutang handed over his books to the publishing company run by Mr. and Mrs. Sai for publication. In the mid-1940s, Lin Yutang had published seven or eight best-selling books abroad, and by 1946 they had accumulated over 100,000 books. Savings. He was going to devote all his efforts to researching his Chinese typewriter.
But invention was always the most financially demanding thing, and Lin Yutang quickly spent all his savings, and finally had to borrow money. Pearl Buck was quite wealthy, but Lin Yutang was rejected by Pearl Buck. Later, thanks to the antique dealer Mr. Lu Qinzhai, Lin Yutang applied for a loan again.
Later, Lin Yutang learned that during their cooperation, the Sais and his wife had caused him great financial losses. Other magazines received an extra 40% of his royalties. General publishing houses in the United States received 10% of royalties, but Pearl Buck and his wife received 50% for publishing Lin Yutang's books, and the copyright did not belong to Lin Yutang, but to the company.
The friendship between Pearl Buck and Lin Yutang was severely tested. Lin Yutang hired a lawyer to recover the copyright of all her works. This incident broke up the friendship between the two. Later, when Lin Yutang became the president of Nanyang University, He once sent a telegram to say goodbye to Pearl Buck, but Pearl Buck did not reply. Lin Yutang said sadly: "I have seen through an American. "After that, the nearly 20-year friendship between the two came to an end.