Yao Chen-Hsiang's 50 Years of Writing, Realizing "Starting with the End in Mind," His Pen Traces Human Joys and Sorrows
Yulon Vice Chairman and Yulon Nissan General Manager Yao Chen-Hsiang, beyond his nearly 50-year career as a mechanical expert, has also secretly maintained a 50-year career as a "poet." Deeply immersed in the world of European and American literary giants, he writes tirelessly under the pen name "Guru," embodying the philosophy of "starting with the end in mind" and using his sensitive writing to depict the joys and sorrows of human relationships and profound love.
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- 📰 Published: May 3, 2026 at 13:11
- 🔍 Collected: May 3, 2026 at 13:31 (20 min after Published)
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Central News Agency
(Taipei, May 3, CNA reporter Chung Jung-Feng) Yulon Vice Chairman and Yulon Nissan General Manager Yao Chen-Hsiang possesses mechanical expertise and has accumulated nearly 50 years of experience within the group; less known is that Yao Chen-Hsiang's role as a "poet" outside of his official duties has also spanned 50 years. He is deeply immersed in the world of European and American literary giants, tirelessly writing under the pen name "Guru," embodying the philosophy of "starting with the end in mind," and using his sensitive literary touch to portray the joys and sorrows of human kinship and profound love.
During a break from his busy work, Yao Chen-Hsiang accepted an exclusive interview with a CNA reporter. In the process, in contrast to his usual rational, efficiency-driven, and technology-oriented outward image as a logical thinker, Yao Chen-Hsiang revealed a delicate, romantic, and empathetic side.
He eloquently recounted why he loves Western literature and how he embarked on his pilgrimage of writing poetry and essays under the pen name "Guru." As a native of Chiayi, Yao Chen-Hsiang, after graduating from vocational high school and technical college, became a "Northern drifter" in Taipei to attend a technical institute, renting a room in Xindian. One day, his father came north from Chiayi to visit, and the landlord provided an empty room for Yao Chen-Hsiang to stay. That evening, he casually flipped through a copy of Erich Maria Remarque's novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" on a shelf, which deeply touched his heart and immersed him in its plot, leaving him unable to extricate himself for a long time.
Yao Chen-Hsiang said that "All Quiet on the Western Front" triggered his deeply buried desire in his DNA to seek the philosophy of life and the meaning of human existence; from then on, he wholeheartedly immersed himself in the vast ocean of Western novels and translated literary works.
After graduating from the technical institute, Yao Chen-Hsiang was fortunate to join Yulon. In his free time, he would go to Chongqing South Road to buy books. Over the next four years, he extensively read translated novels, dramatic works, and literary poetry by European and American literary giants, as well as Western classical philosophy classics.
While engrossed in reading, Yao Chen-Hsiang conceived the idea of creating. He said that his daily work identity is Yao Chen-Hsiang, but his life is not necessarily the same. He thought that Confucius, an ancient educator, was from Lu state in Shandong, and the name "Lu" implies literature; he also looked for a character with fewer strokes and a similar pronunciation in the "Baijiaxing" (hundred family surnames), choosing "Gu Lu" (古魯) to begin his "poet" creative journey.
Yao Chen-Hsiang first submitted to the Yulon Monthly at that time, publishing his first short essay and short poem, which immediately attracted the attention of colleagues. Decades later, when Yao Chen-Hsiang published a book, Yulon Group Chairman Lilian Yen laughed and personally greeted him with "Hello, Guru" at an event, which deeply touched Yao Chen-Hsiang.
He said that writing modern poetry is relatively simpler as a starting point, as it doesn't adhere to rigid structures, rhymes, or antithesis, allowing for freedom of expression; however, he also experienced moments of creative block and frustration later on, feeling that "even hitting my head with my hand, I couldn't write anything."
During the creative process, Yao Chen-Hsiang realized that forcing himself to write would not produce good content; instead, fragments of inspiration would be more timeless. Thus, he learned to "declutter," continuously improving his writing, discarding most past material, and retaining only 10% of his creative output. He always kept pen and paper with him, noting down inspirations and thoughts as they sparked in his mind.
Through work, reading, and writing, Yao Chen-Hsiang realized that human ability is manifested at the work level, and a higher level is the knowledge level, and it is difficult for a person to act beyond their established scope of knowledge; although knowledge influences ability, imagination can determine the scope of knowledge. Through literature, he felt the existence and power of imagination, and imagination can elevate the level of life, making the vision clearer.
Standing on the shoulders of European and American literary giants, Yao Chen-Hsiang said that Western classics are inseparable from life philosophy, but no one can tell anyone what life is, "life is difficult to understand," which requires personal contemplation and experience.
Yao Chen-Hsiang realized that life is "starting with the end in mind," because people are inevitably going to die. From the starting point of death, looking back at how life should be lived, every minute and second is actually very precious; and what people can possess is only the process, the process is what people can truly gain and own. Therefore, people should make every minute and second feel meaningful to themselves.
Yao Chen-Hsiang said that life is not just about surviving daily, but also has multiple sources of motivation. He himself feels that profound love between men and women is the greatest source and motivation of human life. Although there are many value constraints and conventional boundaries that cannot be surpassed in the process of love, joys and sorrows are inevitable, but people experience the explosive power of love driving life, and the outcome does not matter. The life of love, death, and emotional twists and turns can be an inexhaustible subject for writing.
Regarding life, Yao Chen-Hsiang said that life always moves forward amidst various oppositions, interacting and complementing each other to generate motivation in life and death, gain and loss, happiness and pain, light and darkness, ugliness and beauty, doubt and acceptance.
With an open mind, Yao Chen-Hsiang embraces the philosophy that "life cannot be defined, only experienced personally," and smiles at the drastic changes in the digital artificial intelligence era. He uses smartphones and AI to assist his creation, and also frequently re-reads and appreciates European and American classical literature, gaining different insights.
Yao Chen-Hsiang is not worried about the hypothetical question of whether the digital AI era will replace books. He said that the number of generations that seriously think is always rare, superficialities always pass like clouds, but humans have the original intention to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty. Living, one can think wholeheartedly, because the world is not what it appears to be. Through heartfelt experience, thought, and exploration, expressed through carriers such as literature, art, painting, music, and images, it is ultimately a process of self-communication. "The world is what one feels it to be in one's heart."
Speaking of the theme for his next novel, Yao Chen-Hsiang mentioned that because a relative recently faced the final challenge of life, he intends to describe it based on his personal experience, thereby reflecting human nature. He said that creation is inseparable from life and society, constantly reflecting on oneself, hoping that everyone can find their own unique life characteristics. (Editor: Chang Liang-Chih) 1150503
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(Taipei, May 3, CNA reporter Chung Jung-Feng) Yulon Vice Chairman and Yulon Nissan General Manager Yao Chen-Hsiang possesses mechanical expertise and has accumulated nearly 50 years of experience within the group; less known is that Yao Chen-Hsiang's role as a "poet" outside of his official duties has also spanned 50 years. He is deeply immersed in the world of European and American literary giants, tirelessly writing under the pen name "Guru," embodying the philosophy of "starting with the end in mind," and using his sensitive literary touch to portray the joys and sorrows of human kinship and profound love.
During a break from his busy work, Yao Chen-Hsiang accepted an exclusive interview with a CNA reporter. In the process, in contrast to his usual rational, efficiency-driven, and technology-oriented outward image as a logical thinker, Yao Chen-Hsiang revealed a delicate, romantic, and empathetic side.
He eloquently recounted why he loves Western literature and how he embarked on his pilgrimage of writing poetry and essays under the pen name "Guru." As a native of Chiayi, Yao Chen-Hsiang, after graduating from vocational high school and technical college, became a "Northern drifter" in Taipei to attend a technical institute, renting a room in Xindian. One day, his father came north from Chiayi to visit, and the landlord provided an empty room for Yao Chen-Hsiang to stay. That evening, he casually flipped through a copy of Erich Maria Remarque's novel "All Quiet on the Western Front" on a shelf, which deeply touched his heart and immersed him in its plot, leaving him unable to extricate himself for a long time.
Yao Chen-Hsiang said that "All Quiet on the Western Front" triggered his deeply buried desire in his DNA to seek the philosophy of life and the meaning of human existence; from then on, he wholeheartedly immersed himself in the vast ocean of Western novels and translated literary works.
After graduating from the technical institute, Yao Chen-Hsiang was fortunate to join Yulon. In his free time, he would go to Chongqing South Road to buy books. Over the next four years, he extensively read translated novels, dramatic works, and literary poetry by European and American literary giants, as well as Western classical philosophy classics.
While engrossed in reading, Yao Chen-Hsiang conceived the idea of creating. He said that his daily work identity is Yao Chen-Hsiang, but his life is not necessarily the same. He thought that Confucius, an ancient educator, was from Lu state in Shandong, and the name "Lu" implies literature; he also looked for a character with fewer strokes and a similar pronunciation in the "Baijiaxing" (hundred family surnames), choosing "Gu Lu" (古魯) to begin his "poet" creative journey.
Yao Chen-Hsiang first submitted to the Yulon Monthly at that time, publishing his first short essay and short poem, which immediately attracted the attention of colleagues. Decades later, when Yao Chen-Hsiang published a book, Yulon Group Chairman Lilian Yen laughed and personally greeted him with "Hello, Guru" at an event, which deeply touched Yao Chen-Hsiang.
He said that writing modern poetry is relatively simpler as a starting point, as it doesn't adhere to rigid structures, rhymes, or antithesis, allowing for freedom of expression; however, he also experienced moments of creative block and frustration later on, feeling that "even hitting my head with my hand, I couldn't write anything."
During the creative process, Yao Chen-Hsiang realized that forcing himself to write would not produce good content; instead, fragments of inspiration would be more timeless. Thus, he learned to "declutter," continuously improving his writing, discarding most past material, and retaining only 10% of his creative output. He always kept pen and paper with him, noting down inspirations and thoughts as they sparked in his mind.
Through work, reading, and writing, Yao Chen-Hsiang realized that human ability is manifested at the work level, and a higher level is the knowledge level, and it is difficult for a person to act beyond their established scope of knowledge; although knowledge influences ability, imagination can determine the scope of knowledge. Through literature, he felt the existence and power of imagination, and imagination can elevate the level of life, making the vision clearer.
Standing on the shoulders of European and American literary giants, Yao Chen-Hsiang said that Western classics are inseparable from life philosophy, but no one can tell anyone what life is, "life is difficult to understand," which requires personal contemplation and experience.
Yao Chen-Hsiang realized that life is "starting with the end in mind," because people are inevitably going to die. From the starting point of death, looking back at how life should be lived, every minute and second is actually very precious; and what people can possess is only the process, the process is what people can truly gain and own. Therefore, people should make every minute and second feel meaningful to themselves.
Yao Chen-Hsiang said that life is not just about surviving daily, but also has multiple sources of motivation. He himself feels that profound love between men and women is the greatest source and motivation of human life. Although there are many value constraints and conventional boundaries that cannot be surpassed in the process of love, joys and sorrows are inevitable, but people experience the explosive power of love driving life, and the outcome does not matter. The life of love, death, and emotional twists and turns can be an inexhaustible subject for writing.
Regarding life, Yao Chen-Hsiang said that life always moves forward amidst various oppositions, interacting and complementing each other to generate motivation in life and death, gain and loss, happiness and pain, light and darkness, ugliness and beauty, doubt and acceptance.
With an open mind, Yao Chen-Hsiang embraces the philosophy that "life cannot be defined, only experienced personally," and smiles at the drastic changes in the digital artificial intelligence era. He uses smartphones and AI to assist his creation, and also frequently re-reads and appreciates European and American classical literature, gaining different insights.
Yao Chen-Hsiang is not worried about the hypothetical question of whether the digital AI era will replace books. He said that the number of generations that seriously think is always rare, superficialities always pass like clouds, but humans have the original intention to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty. Living, one can think wholeheartedly, because the world is not what it appears to be. Through heartfelt experience, thought, and exploration, expressed through carriers such as literature, art, painting, music, and images, it is ultimately a process of self-communication. "The world is what one feels it to be in one's heart."
Speaking of the theme for his next novel, Yao Chen-Hsiang mentioned that because a relative recently faced the final challenge of life, he intends to describe it based on his personal experience, thereby reflecting human nature. He said that creation is inseparable from life and society, constantly reflecting on oneself, hoping that everyone can find their own unique life characteristics. (Editor: Chang Liang-Chih) 1150503
Choose to stand with facts, every sponsorship you make is a force to protect press freedom.
Download CNA's "First-hand News" APP to stay updated with the latest news.
The text, images, and audio/video on this website may not be reproduced, publicly broadcast, publicly transmitted, or utilized without authorization.