Chen Lai, born in Beijing in 1952, is the dean of Tsinghua Academy of Chinese Learning, professor and doctoral tutor at the Department of Philosophy of Tsinghua University, and deputy director of the Academic Committee of Tsinghua University. His ancestral home is in Wenzhou, Zhejiang Province. In 1976, Chen graduated from the Department of Geology of the Central South Institute of Mining and Metallurgy (now Central South University). In 1981, he received a master’s degree in philosophy from the Department of Philosophy of Peking University, and stayed at the department to teach. In 1985, he received a Ph.D. from the Department of Philosophy of Peking University. He studied the history of Chinese philosophy under the tutelage of Mr. Zhang Dainian and Mr. Feng Youlan. His research interests include Confucianism, Neo-Confucianism in Song, Yuan Ming, and Qing Dynasties, and modern Confucianism. Prof. Chen is recognized as a leader in his field.