In 1943, he attended Deqing County Experimental Primary School in Zhaoqing City.

In 1959, he obtained a Bachelor's degree from Hong Kong Chu Hai College.

In 1965, he earned a Doctor of Engineering degree from Technische Hochschule Darmstadt in Germany.

In 1995, he was elected as a Member of the U.S. National Academy of Engineering. From the same year, he served as Chairman and Chief Engineer of T.Y. Lin International and DRC Consultants, Inc. in the United States.

In 2000, he was elected as a Foreign Member of the Chinese Academy of Engineering.

In 2018, he was elected as a Foreign Fellow of the Royal Society of Edinburgh.