Author Introduction
Dr. Gaolin Wu currently serves as the head of Product Design at The Hong Kong Intellectual Property Exchange Company Limited, the China Area Head of the American Chamber of Commerce, an honorary doctorate from Sias University, the author of numerous academic works, and the inventor of several "Intellectual Property Trading" patents. He once served as a senior translator in the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China.
Dr. Wu obtained his Bachelor's degree in English and American language and literature from Shanghai International Studies University in 1985. He received professional diplomat training at the Beijing Foreign Studies University in 1986 and studied for his Master's degree course in Art and Museum Management at Illinois State University in 1993. He earned his Master's degree in History from Eastern Illinois University in 1994 and an honorary doctorate from Sias University.
In the 1980s, Dr. Wu was often dispatched abroad accompanying national leaders due to his work at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the People's Republic of China. He served as a high-level translator for Chinese and foreign national leaders. From 1990 to 1992, Dr. Wu worked in the Foreign Language Department of Sun Yat-sen University and hosted English programs on Guangdong Television for many years.
Since 1995, Dr. Wu has been active in the political and commercial circles in China and the United States, and he has a solid understanding of the political economy, cultural arts, intellectual property, technological innovation, and business exchanges of both countries. For a long time, he has been committed to the development of cultural arts and intellectual property. He participated in the establishment of the world's first intellectual property exchange in 2008, and assisted the Shenzhen United Property Exchange in setting up an innovative technology property exchange in 2009. In late 2011, he was invited to discuss with the Hong Kong Intellectual Property Department about the major direction of the development of high-end intellectual property trade in Hong Kong. Since February 2012, he has been the Head of Product Design at The Hong Kong Intellectual Property Exchange Company Limited.
Dr. Gaolin Wu, the author, holds a deep love for local culture and arts in Hong Kong, and is highly proactive in promoting and disseminating traditional Chinese literary classics. Having earned his Master's degree in History from Eastern Illinois University in 1994, Dr. Wu took a keen interest in ancient Chinese literature such as Laozi's "Tao Te Ching" and the "Comprehensive Mirror for Aid in Government". He discovered that there are more than a thousand English-language translations of the "Tao Te Ching" in circulation, all with varying interpretations. Even identical lines gathered together seem to describe completely different things, which is truly astonishing. Dr. Wu began to slowly and carefully study various annotated editions and English translations of the "Tao Te Ching", uncovering numerous issues within them. It also became apparent to him that the "Tao Te Ching" is second only to the Bible in global circulation, laying claim to the second largest readership worldwide.
In early 2008, Mr. Gaolin Wu was fortunate enough to receive an invitation from a long-time friend of the Chinese people — the former U.S. Secretary of State, Dr. Henry Alfred Kissinger — to help him organize and study ancient Chinese literature. At that time, Dr. Kissinger was writing "On China”. He anticipated quoting an excerpt from the "Tao Te Ching" translated by James Legge of the London Missionary Society in 1891, as he meant to discuss the relationship between nations in his book. After closely analyzing this excerpt, Dr. Wu found that the academic world greatly disputed its interpretation. The text of the "Tao Te Ching" unearthed from Mawangdui in 1973 differed by just one character from the passage Dr. Kissinger intended to quote, but the meaning of the passage was completely reversed, which did not align with what Dr. Kissinger intended to convey. After reporting this result to Dr. Henry Alfred Kissinger, Dr. Kissinger decided against quoting this passage.
In recent years, Dr. Wu, as a senior translator trained by China and having lived in the United States for over 30 years with a deep understanding of the essence of Chinese and Western cultures, has hoped to introduce the classics of Chinese literature to the overseas market. In recent years, he has devoted his spare time to compile the "Bilingual Reading Version of Tao Te Ching" and other classic literature.
Even if the road is long, as long as there is action, we will reach the destination. Even if the task is difficult, as long as it is done, it will be accomplished. Dr. Wu hopes to continue to exert his residual heat, spread and promote local cultural arts in Hong Kong and traditional Chinese classic cultures to the world, and tell a good story of new age Chinese classic cultures to the public and teenagers in Hong Kong.