Bulletin Autumn‧Winter 2004

His main questions have been: H o w does a culture evolve and endure? Wh at sociopolitical issues are problematic and i n need of our critical attention? H o w does Chinese culture rejuvenate itself wh en it has been through political upheaval and social crisis? The deep humanistic sources of his thought emerge f r om his emphasis on the need for moral introspection, self-criticism, and social reform wh en something has gone w r o ng i n a society. I n his famous book, The Punishment of History (1971, 2000), he gives a compelling a n a l y s i s of t he s e l f - d e l u s i ve f a l se consciousness p r o d u c ed b y p o w e r f u l ideological systems. A t the same time, Prof. Lao writes not simply as a critic, but as one wh o shares the historical responsibility. His constant theme is that the wh o le culture must share the debt of history — as a first step to f a c i ng the reality of the present. D r aw i ng on Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist traditions, as we l l as on mo d e rn Western critical and liberal thought, he produces a picture of the individual that is at once new a nd t r a d i t i o n a l. For Prof. Lao, we are p r i ma r i ly mo r al subjects, called to a spirit of inner freedom and respect for an objective social and political order. Prof. Lao's great gifts as a teacher are the fruits of his profound philosophical research. As a lecturer he has the ability to use simple language to achieve both clarity and depth, even wh en he is explicating the most subtle themes. In seminars he exhibits a formidably sharp critical m i n d , b u t never uses his position to indoctrinate his students to his o wn way of thinking. Though he commands the greatest respect f r om his students, he never plays the role of ‘the master', but helps the students to make u p their o wn minds. Like his philosophy, his teaching is based o n open-ended i n q u i ry and a respect for d i v e r s i t y of v i e w s . M a n y y o u n g e r ph i l o s ophe rs owe t he ir d e v o t i on to the discipline to Prof. Lao's influence. Prof. Lao came f r om a l o n g d i s t i n g u i s h ed f am i l y. H i s great great g r a n d f a t h e r , L a o C o n g g u a n g, w a s t he Governor of Guangdong and Gu a n g xi provinces w h o s i g n ed t he f i r s t K o w l o o n T r e a t y o n b e h a l f o f t h e Q i n g G o v e r n m e n t. He was a l s o a n e s t e e m e d scholar, w h o wrote, among other works, a book on the interpretation of the I-Ching. Prof. Lao h ad a great aunt, Lao Junzhan, w h o was a famous mathematician trained i n France, and his father, Lao Jingjiu, took pa rt i n the 1911 Re v o l u t i on and w o r k ed closely w i t h the founders of the Republic of China. Brought u p i n such a scholarly family, Prof. Lao h ad a s o l id f o u n d a t i on i n the Chinese classics, a nd began to s h ow a precocious talent i n both prose and poetry at the age of seven. After graduating f r om h i g h s c hool i n 1946, he s t u d i ed i n the D e p a r t m e n t of P h i l o s o p h y, P e k i n g Un i v e r s i t y, whe re he was t a u g ht b y the r e n own ed scholars H u Shi, He L i n, and T a n g Y o n g t o n g . L a t e r , w h e n t h e Kuom i n t ang w i t h d r ew f r om the mainland, he completed his studies at the University of Taiwan. I n 1955 he moved to Ho ng Ko ng and taught at Chu Hai College. I n 1964 he b e g an h is l o n g a s s o c i a t i on w i t h The ...The deep humanistic sources of his thought emerge from his emphasis on the need for moral introspection, self-criticism, and social reform when something has gone wrong in a society. . ..H is constant theme is that the whole culture must share the debt of history — as a first step to facing the reality of the present. Drawing on Confucian, Taoist, and Buddhist traditions, as well as on modern Western critical and liberal thought, he produces a picture of the individual that is at once new and traditional. Chinese University Bulletin Autumn • Winter 2004 24