Wang Youqin (Chinese: 王友琴; born 1952) is a scholar specializing in East Asian studies and is currently a professor at the

University of Chicago The University of Chicago (UChicago, Chicago, U of C, or UChi) is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois. Its main campus is located in Chicago's Hyde Park neighborhood. The University of Chicago is consistently ranked among the b ...

. Professor Wang is notable for her research on the Chinese Cultural Revolution, especially the

Red August Red August (), originally meaning August 1966 of the Cultural Revolution, is a term used to indicate a series of massacres in Beijing which mainly took place during the period. According to the official statistics in 1980, from August to Septembe ...

Beijing } Beijing ( ; ; ), alternatively romanized as Peking ( ), is the capital of the People's Republic of China. It is the center of power and development of the country. Beijing is the world's most populous national capital city, with over 21 ...

. She keeps an online list of victims of the Cultural Revolution and their stories.

Early life and education

Wang was born in

in 1952. After graduating from the

Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University The Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University (, commonly abbreviated as The Experimental High School Attached to BNU () or Experimental High () and sometimes referred to as ESBNU or SDSZ, is a beacon high school in Xicheng ...

, she was among the " educated youths" who were "sent down" to

Yunnan Province Yunnan , () is a landlocked province in the southwest of the People's Republic of China. The province spans approximately and has a population of 48.3 million (as of 2018). The capital of the province is Kunming. The province borders the C ...

during the Chinese Cultural Revolution. In 1979, she attended

Peking University Peking University (PKU; ) is a public research university in Beijing, China. The university is funded by the Ministry of Education. Peking University was established as the Imperial University of Peking in 1898 when it received its royal charter ...

after the National College Entrance Examination was resumed in 1977. In 1988, she obtained her PhD in Literature from the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and then left for the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

Research on the Cultural Revolution

Wang taught Chinese in

Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...

before moving to the

in 1999. She is currently a Senior Instructional Professor in Chinese Language at the University of Chicago's Department of the East Asian Languages and Civilizations. Professor Wang was among the first scholars to study the

of Beijing, the origin of the "Red Terror" of the Chinese Cultural Revolution, during which students attacked and even killed their teachers. This included the well-known murder of

Bian Zhongyun Bian Zhongyun (, 1916, Wuwei County, China – 5 August 1966, Beijing) was a deputy principal at the Experimental High School Attached to Beijing Normal University, in Beijing, China. She was attracted to the Chinese Communist Party during ...

, who was the first education worker in Beijing killed by Red Guards, including Bian's own students such as

Song Binbin Song Binbin (; born 1949), also known as Song Yaowu (), was a senior leader in the Chinese Red Guards during the Cultural Revolution. She is known for allegedly beating her deputy principal Bian Zhongyun to death with wooden sticks, along with o ...

. Professor Wang has published papers and books about the individual victims of the Cultural Revolution. She also keeps an online record of hundreds of the victims and their families.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wang, Youqin University of Chicago faculty Historians of the Cultural Revolution 1952 births Living people Peking University alumni People from Beijing

Early life and education

Research on the Cultural Revolution

See also

References