Lin Yiwei's family had four generations of scholars. Starting from his grandfather's generation, there would be people from every generation who would go to the examination hall and then manage to get the title of elementary scholar or provincial scholar.
Lin Yiwei's grandfather's young brother, Lin Guoan became a provincial scholar. He was hired to be a teacher at an academy in the capital. Later, his wife and son were brought to the capital as well. His descendants would only return once every three years to pay their respects to their ancestors.
In Lin Yiwei's father's generation, his second uncle, Lin Yuanren, was an elementary scholar. However, he was not as lucky as Lin Guoan. After becoming a scholar, he kept failing the Imperial examinations to become a provincial scholar. It was only when Lin Yuanren was 45 years old that he gave up and became a teacher in a private school in An Ning County.
