Are you interested in oriental art and culture?

While I first came to the East with an interest specifically in the Chinese language and its growing importance in world affairs, I came to love and embrace Chinese culture whole-heartedly during my studies and work in Shanghai, Taiwan, Beijing and of course Hong Kong. You will see that my office in the Lee Shau Kee Building, which is not so spacious, is dominated by two pieces of Chinese art — a mounted stone head of Buddha and a scholar's cabinet. I cannot tell you the age or provenance of the head, but it sits there as a fount of oriental wisdom, and brings tranquility to the room and balance and orderliness to human thoughts. The cabinet is a reconstructed piece but the doors are genuinely antique, and they are about as elegant a pair of doors as you could get to guard your legal documents!

Can you explain why law is “path-dependent” and

must be understood “in context”?

To put it simply, law is shaped by the social, cultural and economic milieu of the time and therefore must be understood in context. It thus follows that, to understand law, one must have an understanding of those social, cultural and economic contexts. Law cannot exist on its own and be out of touch with society. It is not to be seen merely as a code which is beyond amendments and changes. Values change, and so must the law, especially when society is so diversified, developed and exciting these days.

Why did you take up law?

I have always regarded justice to be of paramount importance, and wanted to be a journalist when I was very young. At that time I thought a legal background would be conducive to a journalistic career, and so I entered law school. However, I got fascinated by my legal studies which really opened my eyes to a lot of things. Since then I have stayed with law without looking back.

Congratulations on your University Education

Award. What would be its impact on your teaching?

It is a tremendous encouragement and will inspire me to seek new directions in teaching and research work.

Can you describe CUHK law students in three

words?

“Simply the best”. While our law school, established in 2005, is the youngest in Hong Kong, its graduates have soon won the trust of their employers and peers in the legal community, and accolades from leading international academics. They are smart, determined, and creative. They score very high in terms of employer satisfaction.

What brought you to Hong Kong?

My association with China began early in the undergraduate days, and I spent the entire academic year 1983–84 on a foreign student programme in Shanghai. When I was doing my first degree at the University of Passau in Bavaria, I came to realize the potential of China as an emerging world power, and the fast developing global influence of the Chinese language. It was at that time that I began to take up the study of Chinese seriously, so much so that when I first started to work in Hong Kong as an academic, I was able to conduct some lectures in Putonghua. I thoroughly enjoy my present work in Hong Kong, which comprises teaching, research and services, and have found my working knowledge of Chinese a great help and an advantage.

How did your Chinese name 鄔楓 (Wu Feng) come

about?

Actually I chose the name myself for the beauty of the

way the character 鄔 is shaped and structured. It is

indeed a Chinese surname although not a common one, and it sounds close enough to my own name. As a

seasoned hiker I am very fond of nature and 楓, the

maple, is one of my favourite trees.

Lutz-Christian Wolff on Law Extract from CUHK Newsletter Issue No 433

On a hiking trip to Nepal in early 2014.

Professor Wolff and his beloved Buddha’s head.

想改善人类生活，张教授一再强调他的研究理想。

像微型医疗机械人，也是建基于希望帮助病人。张教授

坦言虽然目前微型机械人尚有很多局限，但他希望未来

微型机械人可达到一个更高的境界，包括可以实现人体

内主动式标靶药物输送以治疗癌症。他表示这是一种祟

高的精神：「在研究一百样事物当中，也许有九十九种

是不成功或没法推出给市民的，但只要有一种成功了，

就可以长久地改善人类生活了。」更举出例子，指微型

机械人不只可以应用于医疗用途，还可以在其他方面的

发展，例如：环保。科学界已研究出了可以清除水中污

垢的微型机械人。他补充「做科研，不应只是躲在办公

室内，而是要踏出科会，尝试解决实际问题。」

中西汇萃 由中大到世界

张立教授曾经在中国内地、德国、瑞士、香港就读

或研究，他笑言香港就是有一种吸引他的地方。香港和

瑞士都属于顶尖的研究地方，十分国际化，政府支持也

相当足够。但香港的优势就在于中西文化交汇，刺激研

究创新，因此他来到了中大做研究。

谈到中大，张教授马上大赞「很大！很美丽！」山

明水秀，是学者研究和怡情养性的好地方。他身为中大

的新人，觉得系内教授很支持新来教授的研究，时常给

予有用的意见。而联合书院余济美院长也相当亲切，不

时关心书院的教授。更提到他经常出席院长逢星期五的

午餐聚会，藉此和不同教授互相交流，十分珍惜这样的

向他人学习的机会。另外，在欧洲待了十多年，他觉得

国际间的交流十分重要，不论是教授，或学生，或教授

带领学生出外交流，都是一种十分重要的互动学习方

式，能激发学生创意，有助科研发展。

创新（Innovation），张教授一再用此词来总括他的

意念。他强调香港在最新的全球创新指数（Global

Innovation Index 2013）中名列第七，是亚洲最高，这

是他来中大的原因之一。他希望可以借着植根于国际

化、且充满创新性的香港，去继续研究更多高新科技，

改善人类生活。

张立教授 为人类创新

校园记者 / 杨净岚

「是次研究成果对无线操控微型医疗机械人的发展迈进

了重要的一步。」 张立教授和其合作者最近成功研发一

款以磁力操控的微型机械人，为可应用于微创医疗的革

命技术，引来传媒关注。这研究是怎样研究出来的？这

是否意味着新医疗时代的到来？

从无到有 研究的心历与命途

张立教授专研微型机械人等方面，先后多次登上不

同国际研究杂志封面，并于 2012 年加入中文大学联合书

院机械与自动化工程学系。张立教授笑言大自然就是他

研究的灵感来源，例如微生物的生存方式。正是大肠杆

菌的“尾巴”，启发了他研究其中一款微型医疗机械

人。他坦言：「研究途中，最大的困难是如何提升机械

人的『智能』。」什么是机械人的『智能』？他说，机

械人不只局限于常人心中的人形机械，其定义为：一种

有行动能力、能感知外界、同时有一定智能的物体。只

要符合以上三者皆为机械人。而要制作出一个微型机械

人必须有三方面的研究突破与配合：先进制造、新材

料、功能化，才能令微机械人有实用价值。微型机械人

在细胞尺度几乎没法以传统方式植入人工智能，在现阶

段更多是利用仿生设计、微加工和功能性材料等其他方

面上着手以超越困难。

张教授在注重自主研发的同时，也十分重视国际交

流和合作研究，如「微型机械人」项目便是与韩国及瑞

士研究人员合作进行。在团队研究中，张立教授很感激

大家的付出，他学到了合作的重要。他说，研究中，个

人能力的确相当重要，不然便没法为团队作出应有的贡

献。在和他人合作之前，应先锻炼好自己。但在现今世

代，合作研究是学术研究一大突破点。没有人可以掌握

所有知识，单打独斗很难突破已有限制，故科学家要合

作：「懂制造的人，拥有材料的人，能开发出智能的

人，三者一同努力才能成功。」