Chinese modern architect, poet, writer

Huiyin Lin (June 10, 1904 – April 1, 1955), formerly known as “Phyllis Whei Yin Lin”, Chinese (“Han”) nationality. Her ancestral home is Minhou, Fujian (now Fuzhou, Fujian), and she was born in Hangzhou, Zhejiang. She is a modern Chinese architect, writer, and professor of architecture at Tsinghua University.

In the ninth year of the Republic of China (1920), she traveled to Europe with her father Lin Changmin. In the twelfth year of the Republic of China (1923), she participated in the activities of the Crescent Moon. In the thirteenth year of the Republic of China (1924), she studied in the United States, entered the College of Fine Arts of the University of Pennsylvania, took courses in the Department of Architecture, and obtained a Bachelor of Fine Arts (a posthumous Bachelor of Architecture in 2024). Later, she studied in the Department of Stage Art at the Yale School of Drama in the United States. In the seventeenth year of the Republic of China (1928), she married Liang Sicheng in Vancouver, Canada. In 1937, she and Liang Sicheng read and annotated the “Great Tang Records on the Western Regions” (hundreds of Tang Dynasty buildings and place names) collected by the Chinese Architectural Society, and discovered the Tang Dynasty building – Foguang Temple in Wutai Mountain. After the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Phyllis Lin made contributions to the design of the national emblem of the People’s Republic of China, the design of the Monument to the People’s Heroes, and the innovation of cloisonné craftsmanship. She wrote “WheiYin Lin’s Poems” and “WheiYin Lin’s Collected Works”.

In 1951, Phyllis Lin participated in the design and construction of the Monument to the People’s Heroes in Tiananmen Square, and specifically undertook the design tasks of the monument base decoration and wreath reliefs. She completed this creative task excellently. In 1953, the Chinese Architectural Society was established, and Phyllis Lin was elected as a member of the first council and served as an editor of the Journal of Architecture. At the same time, she was also a member of the Architectural Research Committee. In 1954, she co-authored the famous book “Historical Stages of Chinese Architectural Development” with Liang Sicheng and Mo Zongjiang.

On April 1, 1955, Phyllis Lin passed away at the age of 51.

Chinese name: Lin WheiYin (Lin Huiyin)
*note Lin is surname, surname goes first in Chinese
Foreign name: Phyllis Lin
Nationality: Chinese
Ethnicity: Han
Date of birth: June 10, 1904