sentences:  The same year, Lay took part in the founding of the Imperial Maritime Customs Service and he became the first Inspector General of the service the following year.In China, Lay adopted a Chinese name Li Taiguo (李泰國, Lǐ Tàiguó), which was similar to his father's (李太郭, Lǐ Tàiguō).During the Second Opium War, Lay served as Lord Elgin's interpreter and he participated in the negotiation of the Sino-British Treaty of Tianjin.