Teaching Experience

I teach traditional Chinese literature, including reading classical Chinese, poetry and prose. I also teach content courses on Chinese culture and philosophy. It is a special opportunity to teach such courses in the context of gospel values. It is inspiring to see how students grasp the essential goodness of Chinese civilization and see how it fits into the value system of the gospel. I also strive to prepare them to become independent learners of Chinese and thinkers of broader issues.

Research

The last 12 years I have focused on the history of Chinese classical scholarship. I have finished three volumes which will be published in English by Academica Press of Washington, D.C. in 2021. The first two volumes have been published in Chinese translation by Social Sciences Academic Press in Beijing (2018 and 2019 respectively); vol. 3 is currently being translated. I have completed half of vol. 4, and will finish it up within two years. I plan on completing a fifth and final volume within 3 years afterwards. I am also working on a book in Chinese on the history of biblical scholarship, which will parallel a similar volume that I also wrote in Chinese under title of _A Short History of Classical Scholarship in the West_, that was published in 2012 by Easter Normal University Press. The resources of my College of Humanities professorship (2019 through 2021) have largely been devoted to gathering resources for this project. To date I have completed a draft of 100 pages.

Selected Publications

• • Xifang jingxueshi gailun (An Outline History of Classical Scholarship in the West). Shanghai: China East Normal University Press, 2012.
•  The Southern Garden Poetry Society: Literary Culture and Social Memory in Guangdong. Hong Kong: Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 2013.
•  Zhongguo jingxueshi: Zhoudai juan (Chinese translation of History of Chinese Classical Scholarship. Vol. 1: Zhou Period), trans. Tang Guangrong. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 2018.
•  Zhongguo jingxueshi: Qin-Han Wei-Jin juan (Chinese translation of History of Chinese Classical Scholarship. Vol. 2: Qin-Han Wei-Jin dynasties), trans. Huang Xiao. Beijing: Social Sciences Academic Press, 2019.
•  Incense at the Altar: Pioneering Sinologists and the Development of Classical Chinese Philology. Philadelphia: American Oriental Society, 2001.

Service

I consider service at BYU on any level–Chinese section, department, college or university–to be akin to service in the church: one is duty bound to accept a call to serve. The outstanding and selfless examples of my colleagues make it unthinkable to refuse a call to serve. The university is self run, so faculty members play an important role in both operating and administering the work of the university, nothing more important than in teaching and supervising teaching.

Citizenship assignments

• Section Head, two stints of six years each.
•  Conducted 7 study abroad programs in Nanjing University
•  Served as head of Department Rank and Advancement Committee for two stints of two years each.
• Served as committee member of Department Rank and Advancement Committee for one two-year stint.
• Served on College Rank and Advancement Committee starting Fall semester 2020 until present.
• A variety of service opportunities in the Chinese section such as Coordinator for Chinese Challenge Exam for the last ten years up to the present.
•  Served as Coordinator of Chinese Night for six total years.