Before he reached the age of 20, he translated a textbook on logic, which ran more than 400 pages, from English to Chinese.

He helped introduce Western thinkers and philosophers such as Bertrand Russell, Karl Popper and Frederick von Hayek to liberal Chinese intellectuals.

He began teaching philosophy at National Taiwan University and became an editor of the semi-monthly Free China Journal (FCJ).

[1][3] Along with other intellectuals from his circle, Yin used the FCJ to publish articles that were at times highly critical of the Kuomintang.

[3][4] Since 2003, the house in which he lived in Taipei, near Taiwan National University, has been listed as a historic landmark and can be visited by the public.