His grandfather was a special court judge in Shanghai. His father is former president of the National Taiwan University and currently heading the Academia Sinica, foremost academic institution in the Republic of China.
錢次長的祖父當年是上海特區法院的院長，父親錢思亮老先生，曾擔任過國立台灣大學的校長，目前仍為中央研究院的院長。