Lin Ching-hsuan (林清玄) / CNA file photo

Taipei, Jan. 23 (CNA) Well-known Taiwanese writer Lin Ching-hsuan (林清玄) died of a heart attack Wednesday, according to his family.

Lin, 65, passed away peacefully at home early in the morning, his family told CNA.

Born in Kaohsiung in southern Taiwan on Feb. 26, 1953, Lin showed an interest in writing even as a child and published his first book Lian Hua Kai Luo (蓮花開落) at age 20 when he was a student at Shih Hsin University.

He later went on to write some 270 books, mainly about his observations of everyday life, and to win several major literature awards in Taiwan.

In the 1980s, Lin became known as a "spiritual mentor" to many readers after he published a series of books that incorporated Buddhist teachings and Zen ideas.

His career as a writer was disrupted when he divorced his wife in 1996 and re-married the following year, but he found his feet again in China and was dubbed as one of the eight greatest modern Chinese prose writers.

(By Wang Yi-ju, Wei Yun-ling and Flor Wang)
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