Born in North China's Tianjin Municipality in 1936, Lin started his career in 1951. In 1957, he was admitted to the Acting Department of the Central Academy of Drama, and began work at the Beijing People's Art Theater as an actor in 1961. In 1993, Lin became the director of the Beijing People's Art Theater's Art Committee.
Twenty years ago, he broke ground in China with his experimental play Absolute Signal, which was performed by the Beijing People's Art Theater. Since then, Lin has directed a number of controversial works. Some have won acclaim and popularity while others have failed at the box-office. Regardless, the 68-year-old artist, who still cycles to work, never stops blazing new trails.

Once, when some one asked him to define his style himself, his answer surprised everyone.

"I have no style," he said without any hesitation. "Some people think my style is avant-garde, but that's not true. Yes, I have made some works that are considered avant-garde, but that's not all I have done .The style-forming process is vivid, but once it is formed, it turns stiff. So I have no style."

"Every drama has its own unique style," Lin continued "I think a director does not work for his or her own style, but for the drama itself. He or she will just represent what he or she has felt. I believe in and respect my own feelings, and at the same time, I hope I will have new experiences. That is my production logic."

In his view, every play has its own characteristics and the director should not direct it just for the sake of his or her own preferred style; whether, the director should direct according to the style that best suits the play's nature.

Lin Zhaohua's Main Works

Modern dramas: Weddings and Funerals, Nirvana of Gouerye, Bird People, Ruan Lingyu, Antiques, Tea House, Frameless Wind and Moon, Beijingers, Hamlet, The Orphan of the Zhao Family, Faust, Chess People, Three Sisters Waiting for Godot, and Richard III.