Lin Handa

Lin Handa (1900–1972) was a native of Cixi, Zhejiang, and a renowned educator, linguist and historian. He graduated from Zhijiang University in 1924 and later earned a doctorate in education in the United States. He served as Vice Minister of Education and as Vice Chairman of the Central Committee of the China Association for Promoting Democracy. He devoted himself to retelling Chinese history in plain vernacular Chinese. His representative works include the three-volume Five Thousand Years of Chinese History and the volumes on the Spring and Autumn period, the Warring States, the Western Han, the Eastern Han and the Three Kingdoms in the Lin Handa Tells Historical Stories series, as well as New Tales of the Eastern Zhou States. The library holds 23 of his works, mostly classified as history readings. His plain, vivid style turns complex events into coherent stories and has influenced generations of young readers.