Quotes from Lin Yutang

A solemn funeral is inconceivable to the Chinese mind.

Once [China] had a destiny. Once she was a conqueror. Now her greatest destiny seems to be merely to exist, to survive.

The Chinese do not draw any distinction between food and medicine.

Only friendship which can stand occasional plain speaking is worth having.

To glorify the past and paint the future is easy, to survey the present and emerge with some light and understanding is difficult.

A tendency to fly too straight at a goal, instead of circling around it, often carries one too far.