Autobiography of Chang Zongmu: 1931-1964

Author: Chang Zongmu
Publisher:
Publish Date: 2004-04-01
Features: Chang Zongmu was born in Ningbo, Zhejiang in 1931. In 1949, he went to the United States for studies. He had long served in the semiconductor industry and held positions as the Vice President and Senior Vice President at Texas Instruments. He was one of the earliest Chinese executives to enter the senior management of a major American company. In 1985, he was invited by Taiwan to serve as the Director of the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), contributing significantly to the rise of Taiwan's semiconductor industry and industrial upgrading. The following year, he founded Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), which quickly became a leader in Taiwan's semiconductor industry. For his outstanding contributions to the semiconductor industry, he was named one of the most influential individuals in the 50-year history of the industry and one of the best managers in the world by American media. This book is an autobiography of the author from birth to the age of 33. Excerpt: English as the Subject of Thought During my time at Harvard, my studies in mathematics, physics, and chemistry could only be described as "progressive," but my English learning made breakthrough progress. In terms of reading, English classes exposed me to the field of modern literature, while humanities courses also introduced me to the depths of classical literature. Extracurricular reading included many important books, newspapers, and magazines. In terms of writing, English classes required me to write a short essay every week and a long essay every semester, while humanities classes constantly asked for reports and papers. In terms of conversation, except for the weekends when I visited my third uncle's house and spoke Chinese, everything else I spoke and heard was in English. Throughout that year, all forms of external expression—sight, hearing, speech, and writing—were in the world of English, gradually replacing Chinese as the language of my internal thoughts. My experience learning English made me realize that the younger one is, the easier it is to learn a new language. I moved to Hong Kong at the age of 6 and began learning Cantonese, eventually speaking it as fluently as a Cantonese child. At the age of 12, I moved to Chongqing and had to learn Mandarin again, which also seemed very easy. At the age of 18, I moved to the United States, and by then, I was already too old to learn a new language easily. It required a special environment and particular effort to excel. Harvard provided just such a special environment, which in turn motivated me to work harder. After a year of training at Harvard, English had become my subject, and I could think in English and express myself in English. It wasn't until I came to work in Taiwan that it became necessary to bring back the main