Complex sentence: Born in Shangan Township (尚幹鄉), Minhou County (閩侯縣), Fujian, Lin worked in the Telegram Bureau of Taipei in 1884, and in the Shanghai customs office in 1902.
Split into simpler sentences: Born in Shangan Township (尚幹鄉), Minhou County (閩侯縣), Fujian, Lin worked in the Telegram Bureau of Taipei in 1884. He returned to the mainland and worked in the Shanghai customs office in 1902.