Jo-shui Chen received his B.A. in History from National Taiwan University in 1978 and his Ph.D. in History from Yale University in 1987. He has since taught and worked in the U.S., Canada, Japan, and Taiwan. He has worked as a regular faculty member at the University of British Columbia, Academia Sinica in Taiwan, and National Taiwan University, and taught on a temporary basis at Yale University, Columbia University, and the University of Tokyo. He is presently a Distinguished Professor of History at National Taiwan University, and also holds the title of NTU Chair Professor. He specializes in medieval Chinese history and intellectual history of China with a comparative approach, and he is the author of five books and many articles. A former Dean of the College of Liberal Arts at NTU, he has served on many administrative and advisory positions, mostly in Taiwan.