About | 顿悟 Dùnwù

About me

I play many roles in society, but I believe in the idea behind “君子不器”: a person should not be confined to a single role. I do not want any one identity to define me, and I want to leave open the possibilities of who I might become.

I like to observe everything around me through an outsider’s eyes: people, objects, sounds, tastes, textures. Stepping outside lets me see something new. Even with familiar things, I like to look again as though we were meeting for the first time. I love a fresh perspective. Every little discovery makes me want to leap for joy, full of excitement.

I want to let joy fill my heart and sorrow bring me to tears, without letting outside pressures stifle my feelings; to be grateful for what the world gives and at peace with its impermanence. To stay true to myself, and live freely in this world.

Along the way

2021·06 — Present

italki

I stepped out of my comfort zone once again, leaving a company with a comprehensive system of established processes. As head of the technology department, I began facing challenges I had never encountered before. More languages, more cultures—a whole new world opened up before me.

2016·10 — 2021·06

eBay

I moved from B2B work to a B2C advertising platform, where I could see user feedback firsthand and had more room to adapt. I met people from a wider range of cultural backgrounds and began to grasp just how different cultures can be. My first visit to Africa.

2014·06 — 2016·10

Blackboard

I took a deliberate leap out of my comfort zone. As one of the first employees in the Shanghai office, I started from scratch, right down to moving my own desk. Working in a B2B business where every step required extensive coordination across departments, I experienced firsthand how complex structures can hold things back. I began working across platforms, discovered the intricacies of frontend engineering, and took my first steps into management.

2007·07 — 2014·06

Autodesk

My career began with C++ and 2D/3D graphics engines. I saw how, through the power of engineering, people could create a visual world inside a computer. Gradually, I moved from desktop applications to the web and encountered the culture of open source.