LAI Jiancheng received a doctorate from École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales and was a visiting fellow of Harvard－Yenching Institute. He is currently an emeritus professor of the Department of Economics at National Tsing Hua University in Taiwan. He has been focusing on economic history and the history of economic thought research. His publications include Adam Smith across Nations: Translations and Receptions of The Wealth of Nations (2000) and Braudel’s Historiography Reconsidered (2004).