Shengmen Luo

Shengmen Luo: a curious mind and a musical soul

It is with great sadness that we commemorate the passing of Shengmen Luo. He was a cherished member of the Logic community, in Amsterdam as well as in Beijing, China. From his time at Tsinghua University he showed to be a talented student, who was well prepared and always asked questions. He didn’t shy away from discussions about semantics, logic and philosophy, in a thoughtful and modest manner. He is well remembered by his teachers during his bachelor degree at Tsinghua University, as well as his Master’s in Logic at the University of Amsterdam / ILLC. He was a talented student on his path to becoming a very successful academic. He was eager to discover new insights, and was developing his interests from the philosophical aspects of language and logic toward more formal, mathematical ones.

Apart from his academic talents, he was also an outstanding musician. He composed pieces himself and performed in big recitals, as well as smaller occasions such as the 10-year anniversary of the collaboration between ILLC/UvA and Tsinghua University. His performance there of Messiaen’s 'Vingt Regards sur l'Enfant-Jésus' touched many students and staff alike.

He was part of a diverse groups of friends and left many remembering his bright insights. He was a kind and beautiful person. He left too soon and leaves behind a great gap. But he will live on in our memories and will forever stay in our hearts. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends, and members of the Chinese community in Amsterdam and beyond who have been involved in the past few weeks.

During the ILLC memorial one poem was recited that we would like to share with you.

鹿柴 - Lu Zhai, a poem by Wang Wei

（唐）王维
空山不见人
但闻人语响
返景入深林
复照青苔上

Empty mountains: no one to be seen.
Yet - hear - human sounds and echoes.
Returning sunlight enters the dark woods;
Again shining on the green moss, above.
(Translated by Gary Snyder, 1978)