David Der-wei Wang (; born November 6, 1954) is a literary historian, critic, and the Edward C. Henderson Professor of Chinese Literature at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
. He has written extensively on post-late Qing Chinese fiction, comparative literary theory, colonial and modern Taiwanese literature, diasporic literature,
Chinese Malay literature Chinese Malay literature is the literature of Overseas Chinese in predominant Malays (ethnic group), Malay regions, especially Malaysia. It is written in a variety of languages including Malay language, Malay, English language, English, and Chinese ...
,
Sinophone
Sinophone, which means "Chinese-speaking", typically refers to an individual who speaks at least one variety of the Chinese language. Academic writers often use the term Sinophone in two definitions: either specifically "Chinese-speaking populat ...
literature, and Chinese intellectuals and artists in the 20th century. His notions such as "repressed modernities", "post-loyalism", and "modern lyrical tradition" are instrumental and widely discussed in the field of Chinese literary studies.
Life and career
David Der-wei Wang was born in
Taipei
Taipei (), officially Taipei City, is the capital and a special municipality of the Republic of China (Taiwan). Located in Northern Taiwan, Taipei City is an enclave of the municipality of New Taipei City that sits about southwest of the n ...
. He graduated from
Cheng Kung Senior High School image:Cklogo2.jpg, Cheng Kung Senior High School logo
Taipei Municipal Chenggong High School (CGHS in Hanyu Pinyin, originally CKSH in Wade-Giles: Taipei Municipal Cheng Kung Senior High School, Traditional Chinese: 臺北市立成功高级中學) ...
and took his B.A. in Foreign Languages and Literature from
National Taiwan University
National Taiwan University (NTU; ) is a public research university in Taipei, Taiwan.
The university was founded in 1928 during Japanese rule as the seventh of the Imperial Universities. It was named Taihoku Imperial University and served d ...
and his M.A. (1978) and Ph.D. (1982) in Comparative Literature from the
University of Wisconsin at Madison
A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...
. Wang taught at National Taiwan University (1982-1986), Harvard University (1986-1990), and Columbia University (1990-2004). He served as the head of the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
(designated in 1997), when he taught there as the Dean Lung Professor of Chinese Studies. In 2000, he succeeded
Irene Bloom as chair of the University Committee on Asia and the Middle East. In 2004, he rejoined Harvard University and was named Edward C. Henderson Professor of East Asian Languages and Cultures. Wang received the
Changjiang Scholar Award in the
People's Republic of China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
in 2008. He was the 2013-14 Humanitas Visiting Professor of Chinese Studies at the Centre for Research in the Arts, Social Sciences and Humanities at
Cambridge University
, mottoeng = Literal: From here, light and sacred draughts.
Non literal: From this place, we gain enlightenment and precious knowledge.
, established =
, other_name = The Chancellor, Masters and Schola ...
, where he gave 3 public lectures on the "Chineseness" of Chinese literature. He is one of the chapter contributors of
The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature
''The Cambridge History of Chinese Literature'' is a 2-volume history book series published by Cambridge University Press in 2013. The books were edited by Kang-i Sun Chang and Stephen Owen. Volume 1 deals with Chinese literature before the Min ...
.
In addition, Wang has been the editor of "Modern Chinese Literature from Taiwan" series published by
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
Press which include works by writers such as
Huang Chun-ming
Huang Chun-ming (; born 13 February 1935) is a Taiwanese literary figure and teacher. Huang writes mainly about the tragic and sometimes humorous lives of ordinary Taiwanese people, and many of his short stories have been turned into films, inc ...
,
Yang Mu
Yang Mu ( zh, t=楊牧, p=Yáng Mù, September 6, 1940 – March 13, 2020) was a pen name of Wang Ching-hsien(), a Taiwanese poet, essayist, critic, translator, and Professor Emeritus of Comparative Literature at the University of Washington, Sea ...
, and
Chu Tʽien-wen
Chu Tien-wen (; born 24 August 1956) is a Taiwanese fiction writer. Chu is perhaps best known for writing the screenplays for most Hou Hsiao-hsien films. She is the recipient of the 2015 Newman Prize for Chinese Literature.
Her father Chu Hsi- ...
.
Wang was elected as an Academician of
Academia Sinica
Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...
(2004) and member of
the American Academy of Arts and Sciences
The American Academy of Arts and Sciences (abbreviation: AAA&S) is one of the oldest learned societies in the United States. It was founded in 1780 during the American Revolution by John Adams, John Hancock, James Bowdoin, Andrew Oliver, and ...
(2020). Aside from his scholarship, Wang has written numerous book reviews in Chinese since 1980s and is recognised as an active and accomplished literary critic in Taiwan. He received the National Award for Arts in Taiwan for a volume of critical writings on Chinese fiction in 1993. He also translated
Michel Foucault
Paul-Michel Foucault (, ; ; 15 October 192625 June 1984) was a French philosopher, historian of ideas, writer, political activist, and literary critic. Foucault's theories primarily address the relationship between power and knowledge, and how ...
's
The Archaeology of Knowledge
''The Archaeology of Knowledge'' (''L’archéologie du savoir,'' 1969) by Michel Foucault is a treatise about the methodology and historiography of the systems of thought (''epistemes'') and of knowledge (''discursive formations'') which follo ...
into Chinese.
Selected works
*
*. The first full-length English language survey of late
Qing dynasty
The Qing dynasty ( ), officially the Great Qing,, was a Manchu-led imperial dynasty of China and the last orthodox dynasty in Chinese history. It emerged from the Later Jin dynasty founded by the Jianzhou Jurchens, a Tungusic-speak ...
fiction, it has been praised as a major contribution to scholarship on the fiction of the era.
*. Reflections on violence in Chinese fiction and real-world history, covering famous writers such as
Lu Xun
Zhou Shuren (25 September 1881 – 19 October 1936), better known by his pen name Lu Xun (or Lu Sun; ; Wade–Giles: Lu Hsün), was a Chinese writer, essayist, poet, and literary critic. He was a leading figure of modern Chinese literature. W ...
and
Mao Dun
Shen Dehong (Shen Yanbing; 4 July 1896 – 27 March 1981), known by the pen name of Mao Dun, was a Chinese essayist, journalist, novelist, and playwright. Mao Dun, as a 20th-century Chinese novelist, literary and cultural critic, and Minist ...
as well as less-well-known ones from mainland China and Taiwan.
*. A collection of essays discussing the history of modern literary creation in three cities: Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Taipei.
*
*
*(co-edited with
Carlos Rojas)
* (co-edited with
Ping-hui Liao)
*
*
References
External links
List of recent publications(hosted by the
Academia Sinica
Academia Sinica (AS, la, 1=Academia Sinica, 3=Chinese Academy; ), headquartered in Nangang, Taipei, is the national academy of Taiwan. Founded in Nanking, the academy supports research activities in a wide variety of disciplines, ranging from ...
)
David Wang , East Asian Languages and Civilizations(
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, David Der-Wei
Living people
University of Wisconsin–Madison College of Letters and Science alumni
Columbia University faculty
Harvard University faculty
Taiwanese emigrants to the United States
1954 births
Members of Academia Sinica