The public lecture series on how to enhance the quality of life were jointly organized by the NTU Alumni Association, the Cultural Foundation of NTU Alumni Association, the Lilian Chao Cultural and Educational Foundation, and the Taiwan Association for Retired People. Dr. Hsien-Hao Liao, Secretary-General of NTU and Professor of the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature, was specifically invited to give a speech on “Literature and Creative Life” for the lecture series.

In a complicated interpersonal society where everything is fast changing, how to balance a person’s mentality has become an issue for modern people. Literature, in essence, provides the best cathartic window and relief pipeline. Aristotle said: “The portrayal of man occupies the primary position in literature, and life will inevitably become the primary target of literary expression, or its core problem.” Literature has a variety of qualities, including languages, emotions, and thoughts, and literary works express the vicissitudes of life through the representation of these qualities.

Professor Hsien-Hao Liao earned his doctoral degree in literature from Stanford University and did his post-doctoral research at Harvard University. He was a visiting associate professor at the Washington University at Seattle, President and Publisher of “Chung-Wai Literary Monthly”, editor-in-chief of “Studies in Languages and Literature” and “Anglo-American Literary Review”, Head and Director of the Department and Institute of Foreign Languages and Literature of National Taiwan University, Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Comparative Literature Association of the Republic of China, and Commissioner of the Department of Cultural Affairs of the City of Taipei.

While serving as Secretary-General of the University, professor Liao also teaches at the Department of Foreign Languages and Literature of NTU, Professor Hsien-Hao Liao has profound scholastic attainments in Chinese and foreign literature. His research scope covers: literary theories and cultural theories, modernity and post-modernity, culture and cultural industry policies, Chinese and Western comparative poetics, Anglo/American modern poetry, post modern novels, Dream of the Red Chambers, film poetics and Taiwanese modern literature. etc.

Professor Liao is also the author of cultural critiques “Love and Deconstruction”,published by Unitas. “Brave New Century”, published by Ink. And a collection of essays “Butterfly Lovers”, published by Ink. In the area of translation and compilations, Professor Liao compiled the “Selected short stories of 1995”, pubished by elite books, and translated “The Magician’s Ring”, published by Longbridge.