A Chinese Sage
Lin Sen, President of China since 1931, made no great noise in the world throughout his lifetime. His post as President of the Republic was one of honor, not of power. Etiquette and ceremony in Chinese public and private life have been matters of moment for centuries that transcend memory. Lin Sen received ambassadors. He swapped greetings with foreign governments and not infrequently with President Roosevelt. He was rigidly honest. He had few relatives and was guilty of no nepotism. He was an early member of the Kuomintang, an active opponent of the once famous Yuan Shihkai. He held a number of offices in his long career and had come to be one of the political elders, but his personal traits are more engaging than his official work.
At first a pupil of American missionaries, he got an excellent worldly education by living in San Francisco. He spoke English well, tempered with American slang and combining American with Chinese humor. He had the tastes of an artist. One of his favorite studies was the handwriting of the ancient Chinese sages. He turned the ground story of a medieval tower into a studio. There he spent many quiet hours, brushing onto sheets of bamboo paper the antique characters.
In Nanking before the war his goatee, black cape and gray felt hat were familiar to everybody, respected by everybody. By the dealers in curios he was revered; not so much as a client as because of his acknowledged taste. Whatever article he praised was at once promoted in rank and price. For all the troubles that he saw or took part in, his must have been a fortunate and tranquil life. He was thoroughly democratic. He never would consent to a bodyguard. In his last years at Chungking he rode about in the same reliable black sedan that was a well-known "property" in the scenery of Nanking. "There goes the old man," said the people of Nanking. And his greetings to his people was noticeable for its slight West Coast twang.— Coronado Eagle and Journal, 1943
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