The Early Life of Lin, Yin
- by Baxi Lin

Yin Lin was born on July 29, 1919. Her name in the time of her youth was Rui-Ying Lin. She was the fifth of her seven siblings, the younger sister. She had one younger brother Qi Lin. Since her elder sister, Hui-Zhen Lin passed away in 1960, Yin Lin was the only female of the siblings. Because of the influence of her mother, who was warm and kind and believed the sole duty being born female was to take care of the rest of the family, Yin Lin emerged as a mother-like figure that attempted to care for her four brothers through the turbulent times of political persecution in China and family tragedy.
There was not much to mention about her youth in school. Brought up in a Christian family, she studied the Bible and played piano for the choir at Sunday worship in the church where her father (Jian-Zhong Lin) preached. She also went to a Christian elementary school taught by an Englishman sent by a church organization. Her early life as a Christian manifested in her later years as the ability to continue to cite verses from the Bible accurately, and to play mostly hymnal music on the piano even amidst the communist era. The influence of Western culture in her was obvious when she courageously pursued her high education regardless of the strong resentment from society. In July 1938 Yin Lin graduated from Qiguang High School (translated to "Inspiring-Light Middle School") of Shantou (a city, about 100 miles from her hometown). The people surrounding her believed that she should stay home to be a house-lady or at most, an elementary school teacher. However, she wanted to be a physician. She wrote to her eldest brother, Chao Lin, asking for his support. At the time, Chao Lin already was the most respectable figure in the family as a young professor in a prestigious university. Certainly enough, her brother immediately provided support in convincing the family and in finances. After she spent a summer to prepare for the medical school examination, she was accepted by Zhiguang Universtiy in Shanghai in September? 1938. The university also offered her financial assistance. Yin Lin finished the first semester in Zhiguang University then her study was interrupted because of the Sino-Japanese War. The university was evacuated to Kunming?Yunnan province. Land transportation had been cut off and thus, so was the financial support from her brother Chao Lin Cho. Determined, Yin Lin and her close friend Xun Liu, the younger sister of Shuh-Yuan Liu (third brother Chan Lin's future wife) traveled by sea through Hong Kong and Hanoi ( capital of Vietnam) with some borrowed money. They arrived at Kunming in the spring of 1939 to continue medical school. Soon afterward, she transferred to the Medical College of Zhongshan University. Originally, this university was located in Guangzhou of Guangdong province. However, Guangzhou was taken by the Japanese army as a result of the war and Zhongshan University was evacuated, with the school locations changing numerous times.
In her first year at Zhongshang University, she encountered a huge challenge in her studies. Prior to medical school, she studied English as foreign language. However, German was the primary language in Zhongshang University classrooms. All textbooks were in German. Facing this formidable challenge, she turned to a senior medical student for help. His name was Lin,Yixian, a friend of her older brother Lin, Chan. During the period, Lin,Yin and her three brothers were in Kunming. Eight major universities around China had been evacuated to this city. The oldest brother, Lin,Chao was a professor of geography. The third brother, Lin,Chan was a student of Geography of Zhongshan University. Her younger brother Lin,Qi was at a crossroad of applying to university and was struggling for financial support, because the professor brother had already been exhausted in financially taking care of the other siblings in college. Lin, Chan believed his silly younger sister vulnerable in such a situation. Concerned particularly about her when he heard of a young assistant professor of the medical school pursuing his younger sister, Lin, Chan asked Lin,Yixian to protect her from any harm. Lin, Yixian was naturally an ideal person for Lin, Chan to ask for help. Lin,Yixian was the student president of his class and a favored student of the college Dean, Luo Qian. He also sang tenor in the school operas. It may seem irrelevant, but this indicated that he was a noticeable figure in the medical school. Most importantly, his home town was only 20 miles away from Lin, Yin's hometown so he spoke her local dialect (Chao Zhou dialect) as well as Cantonese, perfectly. When far away from home and family, people from the same village or town were obligated to help their folks, but had no trouble of being callous to everyone else. This was the notorious culture of their hometown area. Lin Yixian made a serious promise to her brother to help. After the latest evacuation the medical school was re-located again to Lechang (Guangdong province) where Lin,Yin and Lin,Yixiang continued their study. Later, Lin, Yixiang finished his medical school, and was assigned to work in a military hospital for the servicemen of American Air Force in Leiyang, Wunan province. They were distanced by a train ride of a few hours. Thus, they commuted to meet each other. With Lin, Yixian 's assistance, Lin,Yin was able to complete her school courses in German through her junior year. As a footnote, at her time, less than 40% of students managed to stay in the course of medical school the first two years. In addition to the success in her studies, she fell in love with Lin, Yixian- a dramatic outcome like those often seen in movies. Originally asked to be a protector of Lin Yin, Lin,Yixian had love affair with her instead. Her brother Lin, Chan strongly disapproved the progress of their relationship. For this matter, he would not forget mocking Lin,Yinxiang if he had a chance, even 50 years later. Lin Yin finished her final exams July 1944 in Lechang. She began her residency in JieYang Zhenli Hospital (Jieyang Revealing Truth Hospital), the hospital of her hometown. One of her supervising physicians was a gynecologist Liu, Shuhuan. Liu, Shuhuan was also responsible for the overall operation of the hospital. Years later, Liu, Shuhuan would marry Lin,Yin's brother, Lin, Chan. Skirmishes with Japanese troops forced the hospital to evacuate to a nearby village. In early 1945, the medical school notified Lin Yin that the school had changed its location again, now to Meixiang and instructed her that she must serve in the army for a year as a mandatory requirement for university graduates. Lin Yin was registered as a medical captain at a battlefield hospital in Shanghang, Fujiang province- a physician in The Army of Youth composed of university graduates and in charge of one of the rescue teams. Unfortunately, there remain no mementos of that period. Her sword, awarded to new military officials and inscribed with the verse "Sacrifice for the country" was given to her nephew to play with as a toy after her army service. Photos from that period were destroyed due to the fear of persecution from communist government in 1949. However, much later in 2006, a journalist delivered a letter from a veteran in his eighties. Upon learning that Lin,Yin was well and living in Washington DC, the veteran wrote to express his deep gratitude to her that had been unsaid for many years. In his letter, he described the details of how his life was saved by Lin, Yin during his military operations 58 years prior. In September 9, 1945, the Japanese surrendered. The field hospital moved to Fuzhou, the capital city of the Fujiang province and she continued her medical practice in Fuzhou Xiehe Hospital. At the end of the year, her brother Lin Chao sent her letter telling her it was time to leave the army and come home. A cheerful result of the end of Sino-Japanese war, Lin Yin returned home to Jieyang and was finally joined by her fiancé Lin Yixian who had been assigned to Guizhou, a hundred miles away. Their wedding was held in Jingdetong (Hall of Reverencing Integrity) on February 26, 1946. The Hall of Reverencing Integrity was the main office building of the middle school founded and administered by Lin Yin's father, Lin, Jianzhong. The building has been preserved well to this day on the school campus of Zhenli Middle School (Revealing Truth School). Three days after their wedding, husband Lin, Yixian left to Shantou for a governmental position. The dean of his medical school , Luo Qian had recommended him to be the director of Post-War Medical Aid/Relief and Health Bureau of the region. Lin Yin remained as a physician in Jieyang Revealing Truth Hospital. However, after witnessing the corruption and chaos of the government, her husband decided to quit within just a few months. Instead, they moved to the city of Jiangmen in the summer of 1946. There, her husband took the position as director in chief of Fourth Guangdong State Hospital and Lin, Yin as a physician of internal medicine. They had their first child in Jiangmen and settled there for about one year. Meanwhile, the National Party government was on the brink of collapse with the rapid advancement of the communist army. Currency inflation became ridiculously high. Their life was made further difficult in caring for a newborn. In the summer of 1947, they accepted a job offer from the Diocese of Victoria in Hong Kong Church Missionary Society (C.M.S.).The headquarter of the church organization in London oversaw its operations worldwide. Therefore, in September 1947 they moved to Pakhoi (Beihai), a small town situated on the southern coast of Guangdong province. They had never heard of the town Pakhoi before, but the job offer was attractive. The contract with C.M.S was for a two year tenure which upon completion would sponsor them further study of medicine in England. They were to be paid in the Hong Kong dollars, immune to the civil war currency inflation. Lin,Yixiang became the executive physician of Pakhoi Po Yan Hospital (Pakhoi Universal Benevolence Hospital), as well as the Hospital of Leprosy. Pakhoi Po Yan Hospital was founded by C.M.S in 1886. For the past few decades in its history, the pioneering physicians had been sent from England. Lin Yixian's tenure was in succession of the service of eight previous physicians. His annual finance and patient care summary reports to C.M.S. bearing his signature are still kept today in the Library of Birmingham University, England. There was no land transportation route between Pakhoi and other major cities and thus the family made their voyage there by boat from Guangzhou, through Hong Kong. Lin Yin anticipated the isolation from main civilization and the poor working environment of Pakhoi, she sold her jewelry to purchase a microscope and other medical devices during their brief stop in Hong Kong. This action proved to be tremendous help later in the medical care of her patients. Presently, the microscope is conspicuously displayed at the hospital (Beihai People's Hospital) museum room. Lin Yixian and Lin Yin were the only physicians at the hospital. While her husband practiced primarily as a surgical physician, physician Lin Yin carried out all other tasks necessary for the hospital, even conducting the laboratory tests or making the I.V. infusion fluids. Though the knowledge of vaccines was mentioned in their textbooks, no vaccines were available in China at that time. The hospital was often overwhelmed by cases of cholera, diphtheria, polio, smallpox, tuberculosis and other contagious diseases. Furthermore, their patients' conditions were severe, as only then would they come to seek medical treatment, arriving by ox driven carriages for transportation. Despite the difficulties, with their salaries paid in the hard currency of Hong Kong dollars, Lin Yin and her husband were financially able to handle the childcare expense for their two babies. They had even managed to send money monthly to their parents living in Jieyang and Puning about 200 miles away, as well as their nephews in college. In late 1949, the defeated army of National Party fled to Taiwan. In an overnight battle, Pokhoi was seized by the communist army and about 300 wounded soldiers were rescued and treated in the hospital. Surgeon Lin Yixian operated to save the lives of those injured while Lin Yin made emergent arrangements to maintain order in the situation. Their action saving the lives of communist soldiers from the battle field was praised in their personal files kept by the communist government, and have been mentioned frequently in the hospital's history. However, years later this good deed was not significant enough to protect them from being accused as anti-communist activists. By the end of 1949, the new communist government had been formed. Prior to the encroaching communist army, Lin Yin and her husband were warned by C.M.S that they should evacuate to Hong Kong, an English colony. But they decided against leaving: They had children only one year and two years old. They knew nothing about communism. They knew a nice accountant working at their hospital whom they suspected to be a secret agent of the communists. The communist government could be led by nice people just like the accountant, they thought. In addition, they disliked the National Party government. Having already experienced the Sino-Japanese war, they feared fleeing as refugees. They hoped for a peaceful life under the new government. 17 years later, during the ten years of so called "CULTURAL REVOLUTION" madness, Lin Yin profoundly regretted not leaving for Hong Kong, and frequently complained that her husband had been a coward in this matter. This was the significant turning point of their life. They continued the operation of the hospital, treating patients coming from Pakhoi (Beihai) and beyond. They were tremendously popular with the people of the area. So many lives were saved because they practiced modern medicine (called "Western Medicine") which had been scarcely available. In that era, the Pakhoi people had no concept of human anatomy or bacteria, and often died of simple illness- relying on superstition for treatment. The little amount of scientific knowledge practiced made their hospital an oasis. Lin, Yin treated her patients with extreme care and responsibility and her husband practiced surgeries. However, Lin,Yixian's procedures frequently resulted in death, likely due to poor operational conditions. This had diminished his confidence as a surgeon. He gradually switched his focus to dermatology and hospital administration. For a period of time because of the erupt termination of medical supply from C.M.S., the couple had to reach out to their friends in Hong Kong to purchase some life-saving medicines such as antibiotics for their patients. To rescue patients in heavy loss of blood, such as the cases of women in labor, Lin, Yin was able to carry out blood transfusion. She used her own and her husband's blood plasmas, of blood type B and A respectively, as standard agents for the blood typing of donors in advance. When the critical situations arose, she conducted the blood match typing of patients to select a blood donor then preceded the blood transfusion in real time. In the times of cholera outbreak, severe dehydration caused many deaths. The couple used the water from a sealed well to make normal saline. After boiling, the saline would be directly used for I.V. for rehydration of those patients. In an interview with Lin,Yin in 2011, seeing a pharmacist's appalling face in disbelief while listening her to recall how to treat her patients of cholera, Lin, Yin firmly asserted, " many lives had been saved." This hospital is presently a huge facility having the capacity of more than one thousand beds. For physicians of new generations, it would be difficult to imagine her medical practice taking place in the past as such. The intangible essence of the couple's medical practice of those days is primitive, courageous and benevolent. A documentary series "One Hundred Years of Universal Benevolence" was made in 2013 to depict the history of Pakhoi Universal Benevolent Hospital. One of the episodes was dedicated to the couple's work in the hospital during the time from 1947 to 1950. In November 1950, facing the urgent need of medical professionals, the new government asked Lin Yixian to initiate a school to train medical practitioners at the credential level similar to nurse practitioner, called the Seventh Medical School of Guangxi Province. Lin Yixian started the program from scratch as the school principal with himself and Lin, Yin as the primary professors. Classroom teaching and hands-on training were based on Po Yan Hospital. Though the school existed only three years, its outcome was significant. It was documented that its graduates were one of the very first groups of trained medical professionals at the early stage of new government. In such a dire demand, those graduates were assigned to important posts around the nation immediately. Meanwhile in November 1952, Pakhoi Po Yan Hospital was formally transformed by the new government, renamed as Beihai People's Hospital. A communist official was appointed as the major executive director, displacing Lin Yixian to second in charge. A hospital from another county (He Pu) merged with Po Yan Hospital and the hospital capacity greatly expanded. Lin Yin was designated Chief of the Internal Medicine department. By then, the ties between the hospital and C.M.S. (Church Missionary Society) had been separated. Preachers of churches were jailed or expelled out the country. The couple began receiving their salary in the new currency RMB issued by the new government. Their salaries were four times as much as average of their peers and government officials throughout the provinces of south China. The reason for this was probably due to the amount and rate based on their previous pay in HK dollar. This was helpful and the couple continued to aid their brother and nephew with college tuition. They were content, having no reason to complain about the new government. However, later when political persecutions that crashed into them like waves of storms coming one after another, the couple's miserable feeling was indescribable. Immediately after the new government overthrew National Party, it launched the campaign of "Transformation of Land Ownership". It was first nationwide massive campaign. The couple's parents were targeted because both families owned a patch of land. Other campaigns followed in every 2-5 years. Historically they were "Eradicating Anti-communist Activists", "Counteracting Right-Wing Trend", "Four Cleansings" (organization, ideology, politics and finance), worst of all, the so called "Culture Revolution", criminalizing peoples who were presumably the opponents of communist government. Formal military or governmental officials of National Party government were charged of spies. Those criticizing the new government were charged of anti-communist activists or right-wing activists. Those who used to be wealthy in era of the previous National Party government were charged of hostile capitalists or landlords against the communist party on the basis that their properties were seized by the new government. They were sent to jails or labor camps. The most unfortunates had their lives taken. In those dark days, the couple had endured sinister interrogations, solitary incarcerations, public humiliations, surveilled labors, barbaric physical tortures, a suicidal attempt and an unsuccessful execution. The undertaking horrors of those days should never be forgotten. Prior to the "Culture Revolution" there were some peaceful years, during which they were able to lead a normal life cautiously. The couple received various honors in the recognition of their works from the government. They were given the special status of privilege in food supply while people of millions died of starvation in the famine during 1958-1962. The husband joined the epidemic investigation team in Yunnan province led by Dr. George Hatem in 1957. One year later, he was summoned by the central government to join the emergency team to contain the plague outbreak in Tianjing, a city adjacent to Bejjing. After the successful containment of the plague, he was selected to be the member of the honorable delegation celebrating the National Day in the Spectacle Stage of Tian-An-Men in Beijing. This was a huge honor for a citizen. Lin,Yin was given the title " Representative of People", etc,. They had to learn to adapt the new political atmosphere, to survive brutal hurricanes, and to embrace warm breezes. The best part of their life began in early 1978 when"Culture Revolution" of ten years finally ended. One day in the spring this year, two communist party officials came to the couple's house. They sat down with the couple, announcing that the couple was innocent of all charges. Lin,Yin would be back to her post as the director of internal medicine. Her husband would resume his duty as the director executive of the Beihai People's Hospital. He could have his choice of being a director executive of other hospitals if he did not want to work with those who used to persecute him, the officials told him. Upon hearing this, Lin, Yin just looked straight at her tea cup in silence, while her husband smiled, said "That is great!". This marked the second turning point of their life. Remembrance of Aunt Yin Lin - by Yihui Lin More photos: