Writer and translator Lin Yutang (1895-1976) was born on this day in China's southeastern Fujian province near Xiamen. The son of a Christian minister, he graduated from Harvard and lived most of his life in the United States.

He once said: "It is not so much what you believe in that matters, as the way in which you believe it and proceed to translate that belief into action."

Yutang was known for translating Chinese texts including the philoposhy of Lao Tzu, giving the West the opportunity to read and enjoy his homeland's classic literatures.

He said, "The wise man reads both books and life itself."

A student of Taoism and Buddhism, he wrote, "Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is the noble art of leaving things undone.The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of non essentials."

His ageless bestseller, The Importance of Living (1937) celebrated life's simple joys. Yutang wrote that a man "lying idly on the sand," not one working in an office, will hear his soul utter, "Life is beautiful."

With words of wisdom, he looked at life with gentle awe and gratitude. "No one realizes how beautiful it is to travel until he comes home and rests his head on his old, familiar pillow," he said.

Leap, and the net will appear.