Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 1980

Q. Being such a brilliant mathematician yourself, you must have all these qualities. Would you please tell us when and how you began your studies in mathematics? A. Thanks to the encouragement of my family, particularly my parents, I developed a keen interest in mathematics at a very early age. My father was a real scholar of principle, whose influence on me has persisted to this day. My elder brother, though himself not good at mathe matics at all, was intent on giving me an interest in reading mathematical works beyond text books, and he was always buying these for me. Since mathematical concepts are well-defined and clear, the reference books are generally intelligible. Consequently I have learned a lot in this way. Moreover, the secondary school I attended was Pui Ching Middle School in Hong Kong, which is well-known for its teaching in mathematics. With the teachers' incessant en couragement, my interest was further enhanced. I really think that the guidance of teachers and friends is very important at the early stages of development. Q. What happened after you proceeded to university? A. At the time when I was studying at Chung Chi College of The Chinese University, the Mathe matics Department had its limitations and the library was inadequate. Nevertheless, I was still able to lay my hands on the most recent litera ture on mathematics. Moreover, I was fortunate in having a good teacher at Chung Chi, a fresh graduate from Berkeley. His guidance, coupled with my efforts at keeping abreast of the most recent developments in mathematics, laid for me asolid foundation for future research. I pursued further studies at the University of California, Berkeley after graduation. At a place where outstanding mathematicians abounded, my outlook was naturally broadened. From the frequent contact with first-rate mathematicians and from their most advanced research, I came to know what good mathematics is, and the direc tion in which mathematics was developing. It is quite possible that students in universities which do not have a first-rate graduate school may need to make an extra effort in order to discover what good research is. Q. Do you think that an excellent graduate school is necessary fo r a successful undergraduate programme? A. Indeed, yes. No university can be first-rate with out a first-rate graduate school. At present, The Chinese University may not be able to allocate as much money for its graduate programme as it would like to, but we need not worry about that. Being at the crossroads of East and West, it is in a position to invite well-known scholars passing through Hong Kong on their way to China, Japan, and India to stay here for a few months or at least a few days to give lectures and hold seminars for its staff and students. This is avery effective way of acquainting them with the latest trends in academic development. Q. In other disciplines, the research interest and approach o f graduate students are often very much influenced by their supervisors. Is this also the case with mathematics? A. Mathematics is no exception, but perhaps, not to the same extent. We should leave more room for initiative from the student, because we want our graduate students to develop fully their own potentialities without too much interference. To decide on the topic of research, most graduate students would need the guidance of their supervisors, from whom many of their ideas inevitably come. In China, supervisors on the whole would prefer their students to follow in their footsteps and do not encourage them to branch o ff in other directions. But scholars of American universities tend to be more liberal in their attitudes towards their student's research. This is especially true of great masters, who would just point out to the students the more important aspects and the best way to follow and then leave them to make their own way forward. There is something else which we could learn from American universities. Very few American universities would ask their own Ph.D. graduates to stay on to teach, preferring to have them work in other institutions. This tradition has two obvious advantages. First, at this most vital stage of their academic development, graduates would benefit from such an arrangement because they would have to be all the more independent once they leave their alma mater to teach and conduct research in an entirely new setting. Secondly, this practice may promote academic exchange between universities through these graduates, who, while introducing what they have learned from their alma mater, w ill also learn from the tradition of the new institution in which they now work. 11