Chinese literature
Yau's father, Yau Chenying, was a patriotic Chinese philosophy professor who worked against the invading Japanese. Under the influence of his father, Yau acquired broad knowledge of classical Chinese literature and history, which resulted in an essay "On Mathematics and Chinese literature" (), with reference to "Dream of the Red Chamber" and Wang Guowei, explaining the structural relationship between mathematics and Chinese literature, published in 2006. His mother came from Mei County.