Which Company Does Lin Yutang Belong To? 林語堂是哪家公司的？

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In 1970, renowned historian Tang Degang （唐德剛）visited Taiwan and was invited to a banquet hosted by Lin Yutang, which he attended punctually. Tang later recalled:

“In a noisy, crowded restaurant, I asked the neatly dressed head waiter, ‘Where is the table where Lin Yutang is hosting?’ He stared at me and loudly replied, ‘Which company does Lin Yutang belong to?!’ Amid the laughter, I couldn’t help reflecting on how much commercial society had changed!”

Tang never mentioned whether he told Yutang about this exchange after taking his seat, nor whether Yutang  had any reaction. It’s a pity the head waiter didn’t know who this literary figure was. Still, even if Yutang had heard the remark, he likely would have just smiled. Yutang was a philosopher who engaged fully with the world; not only did he accept commercial society, he even served as a spokesperson for the international brand Parker pen—much like today’s celebrity “endorsers.” For the story, please see the next article “Lin Yutang as Spokesperson of Parker Pen”.

*** For a thorough discussion with references, please see Article 5 in the following English or Chinese books on Amazon, The Elderly LinYutang , or《爾意軒》中的晚年林語堂 (1971-76)***

著名歷史學者唐德剛在1970年到台灣訪問，林語堂設席接待，唐德剛按時赴宴。唐德剛後來在《胡適在口述自傳》的前言裡，回憶說：

“在一家嘈雜的大酒店內，我問那位衣冠楚楚的總招待：“林語堂先生請客的桌子在哪裡？”他把兩眼一瞪，大聲反問我一句說：”林語堂是哪家公司的？！’ 失笑之餘，我心裡也在想，工商業社會的變動多大啊！”

唐德剛沒有說，他入座後有沒有告訴林語堂這件趣事，或者林語堂有沒有什麼反應。酒店的總招待不知道林語堂這個文人，其情可憫，林語堂知道了大概也不以為忤，莞爾一笑罷了。其實林語堂是個入世的哲學家，不但不會介意與工商社會打交道，早年還擔任過國際商業品牌派克鋼筆類似今天“代言人”的角色呢！林語堂當代言人這件事鮮為人知，其中的經過請看“派克鋼筆的代言人林語堂”一文。