1921 – 2010
D.C. Lau (劉殿爵, 1921–2010) was a Hong Kong-born sinologist and philosopher who spent much of his career at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, and later at the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He is best known for his authoritative English translations of classical Chinese philosophical texts and for his careful analytical scholarship on the interpretation of early Confucian and Daoist thought.
Produced the standard Penguin Classics translations of the Tao Te Ching (1963), Mencius (1970), and Analects of Confucius
Advanced scholarly debate on Mencius's theory of human nature, particularly the 'water-metaphor' passage and its implications
Analyzed the textual and philosophical relationship between Mencius and Xunzi on moral psychology
Contributed critical apparatus and philological commentary to classical Chinese texts that shaped generations of English-language scholarship
Helped establish rigorous analytical standards for interpreting early Chinese philosophy in Western academic contexts