The Lin Ben Yuan Family (;

rōmaji The romanization of Japanese is the use of Latin script to write the Japanese language. This method of writing is sometimes referred to in Japanese as . Japanese is normally written in a combination of logographic characters borrowed from Ch ...

: ''Rin Hon Gen''), also known as the Banqiao Lin Family (), are a

Taiwan Taiwan, officially the Republic of China (ROC), is a country in East Asia, at the junction of the East and South China Seas in the northwestern Pacific Ocean, with the People's Republic of China (PRC) to the northwest, Japan to the nort ...

ese family of businesspeople, politicians, and scholars. They rose from

Banqiao Banqiao () may refer to: Taiwan *Banqiao District, seat of New Taipei Mainland China *Banqiao Dam (), dam on the Ru River near Zhumadian, Henan that suffered an infamous failure in 1975 *Banqiao Town (disambiguation) *Banqiao Township (disambigua ...

Taipei Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...

during the era of the

Qing dynasty The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...

and are still active in present Taiwan. In June 2008, ''

Forbes ''Forbes'' () is an American business magazine owned by Integrated Whale Media Investments and the Forbes family. Published eight times a year, it features articles on finance, industry, investing, and marketing topics. ''Forbes'' also re ...

'' ranked Lin Ming-cheng as the 20th-richest person in Taiwan. He is a member of the seventh generation of the family and the vice chairman of Hua Nan Financial Holdings.

Origin

The family was descended from Lin Ying-yin (林應寅) who moved from Longxi (龍溪),

Zhangzhou Zhangzhou (), alternately romanized as Changchow, is a prefecture-level city in Fujian Province, China. The prefecture around the city proper comprises the southeast corner of the province, facing the Taiwan Strait and surrounding the prefec ...

Fujian Fujian (; alternately romanized as Fukien or Hokkien) is a province on the southeastern coast of China. Fujian is bordered by Zhejiang to the north, Jiangxi to the west, Guangdong to the south, and the Taiwan Strait to the east. Its capi ...

province,

mainland China "Mainland China" is a geopolitical term defined as the territory governed by the People's Republic of China (including islands like Hainan or Chongming), excluding dependent territories of the PRC, and other territories within Greater China. ...

to Xinzhuang of Qing-era Taiwan in 1784. His second son, , accompanied him in search of opportunities in the new frontier. Lin Ying-yin became a teacher while Lin Ping-Hou managed to work for a rice merchant. Recognizing his diligence and penchant for business, he was given the opportunity to start his own rice trading firm which sparked the beginning of his wealth and fortune. With the wealth created from the rice business, he expanded into other commodity trades and invested in real estate. In later years, Lin Ping-hou divided his portfolio of businesses into five separately owned and managed entities for his five sons. The entities were named "Yin" (飲), "Shui" (水), "Ben" (本), "Si" (思) and "Yuan" (源), which is a meaningful proverb and a strong family value. It literally means to always remember the source of the water which we are drinking; a constant reminder to be grateful and respectful of the origins, ancestry or reasons for the favourable or better current conditions. From the eldest to the youngest, the sons were Lin Guodong (林國棟), Lin Guoren (林國仁), Lin Guohua (林國華), Lin Guoying (林國英), and Lin Guofang (林國芳). Two of the brothers, Lin Guohua and Lin Guofang, who were, respectively, the third and fifth children, united their business entities they had received, Ben and Yuan, and so the family name became "Lin Ben Yuan".

Legacy

In 1819, Lin Ping-hou built ''Lin Shi Yi Zhuang'' (), a charitable home and organization for the less fortunate people back in his home town in China. This home has been restored and has become a historical landmark. Ji Gu Shu Wu

The

Lin Family Mansion and Garden The Lin Ben Yuan Family Mansion and Garden () in Banqiao District, New Taipei City, Taiwan was a residence built by the Lin Ben Yuan family. It is Taiwan's most complete surviving example of traditional Chinese garden architecture. The Lin Family ...

, the house of the family in Taiwan, is a typical

Chinese garden The Chinese garden is a landscape garden style which has evolved over three thousand years. It includes both the vast gardens of the Chinese emperors and members of the imperial family, built for pleasure and to impress, and the more intimate ...

which was appointed as a national monument. The Lin Family Mansion in

Gulangyu Island The Gulangyu, Gulang Island or Kulangsu is a pedestrian-only island off the coast of Xiamen, Fujian Province in southeastern China. A UNESCO World Cultural Heritage Site, the island is about in area, and is reached by an 8-minute ferry ride fro ...

Xiamen Xiamen ( , ; ), also known as Amoy (, from Hokkien pronunciation ), is a sub-provincial city in southeastern Fujian, People's Republic of China, beside the Taiwan Strait. It is divided into six districts: Huli, Siming, Jimei, Tong'an, ...

, China was built in 1895 by Lim Nee Kar (林爾嘉; ''Lin Erjia''), second son of Lin Wei Yuan. The mansion became a boutique hotel in 2010. The buildings are under conservation by government's mandate and have preserved much of its architecture and magnificence. Accompanying the mansion is Shuzhuang Garden (菽莊花園) which is at the southern tip of Gulangyu Island. It was also created by Lim Nee Kar in 1913 as he had wanted to recreate the family's garden in Taiwan which he dearly missed. In 1955, this garden was donated to the Chinese government and opened to the public.

References

{{reflist Taiwanese families * History of Taiwan