[3] Tang was born in May 1963 in Shucheng County, Anhui to a military family.
After graduation, he taught at Simon Fraser University and then obtained tenure there.
In 1998, he moved to Hong Kong Baptist University, and became chair professor in 2003.
Tang served one term as President of the East Asia SIAM Section.
Tang was the co-founding editor of a Chinese journal titled "Mathematical Culture", which offers lively, readable, and appealing exposition on a wide range of mathematical topics in four issues each year.