D.C. Lau was born in Hong Kong in 1921. He read Chinese at the University of Hong Kong, and in 1946 went to Glasgow, where he read philosophy. He taught Chinese philosophy at the School of Oriental and African Studies, London University from 1950. In 1965 he was appointed to a readership in Chinese Philosophy, and in 1970 as Chair Professor of Chinese at London University. In 1978 he returned to Hong Kong to take up the chair of Chinese Language and Literature at The Chinese University of Hong Kong, where he is now Emeritus Professor. His translations of Tao te ching, Mencius, and The Analects of Confucius were published as Penguin Classics between the 1960s and the 1970s. Professor Lau was awarded an honorary doctorate by The Chinese University of Hong Kong in 1975, and by Hong Kong University in 1989, both in recognition of his dedication to and achievements in the promotion of Chinese culture overseas.