Departures of note

In 1897, after the death of his wife, Lin Shu's friend Wang Shouchang, who had studied in France, suggested they translate Alexandre Dumas's La Dame aux Camélias together. Wang interpreted the French text orally while Lin rendered it into classical Chinese. Published in 1899 as Past Stories of the Camellia-woman of Paris, the translation was an immediate success, and progressive intellectuals saw translated literature as a tool for reform.

Lin Shu was born into a poor family in Min County, Fujian, and earned the title of juren in 1882 through the imperial examination. He became known as a master of ancient-style prose, and he used that classical style in his translations, aiming to bridge the gap between Chinese literary tradition and Western narratives. Over nearly three decades, he produced more than 180 translations of works by 98 writers from 11 countries, including Dickens, Hugo, and Cervantes, always working from oral interpretations provided by collaborators.

In his preface to The Old Curiosity Shop, Lin described his method: 'I have no foreign languages. I cannot pass for a translator without the aid of several gentlemen, who interpret the texts for me. They interpret, and I write down what they interpret. They stop, and I put down my pen. 6,000 words can be produced after a mere four hours' labour.' Critics later noted that his renditions often improved on the originals, with sinologist Arthur Waley suggesting that Dickens 'becomes a rather different and to my mind a better writer' in Lin's classical Chinese.

During the New Cultural Movement, Lin Shu was seen as a defender of literary Chinese, though he did not oppose vernacular Chinese outright and even wrote poems in it. His translations were largely forgotten until Qian Zhongshu's 1963 essay revived interest, and in 1981 the Commercial Press reprinted ten of his renditions. Lin Shu died in Beijing in 1924.