Lin Xiangru was born sometime in the reign of King Wuling of Zhao in present-day Mengmen town, Liulin County, Shanxi.
Emissaries from the King of Qin came over to the Zhao court one day, offering to exchange fifteen cities for the sacred Heshibi jade disk.
Many people were jealous of Lin's meteoric rise, most notably the old general Lian Po, one of the most experienced commanders during that time.
Many saw it as a sign of weakness, not least Lian Po himself, who reckoned that Lin, an academic, was too scared to fight such a warrior as he.
Lin Xiangru is one of the 32 historical figures who appear as special characters in the video game Romance of the Three Kingdoms XI by Koei.
He was regarded as a prodigy for warfare but died early in his career, and most of his retainers went down performing suicide charges, stricken by grief, except for two who stayed at his deathbed.
Lin Xiangru is portrayed by Tan Yang in the last episode of The Legend of Mi Yue (2015) as a guest appearance, depicting the "Returning the Jade to Zhao" incident.