Chen Zhi (sinologist)
Chen Zhi is a Chinese scholar and researcher in classical Chinese Studies, the Vice President of Beijing Normal University-Hong Kong Baptist University United International College and Director of the Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology at Hong Kong Baptist University.
Life and career
Chen was born in 1964 in Beijing. In 1981, he was admitted to Peking University with a major in History. After graduation, he furthered his study and received his M.Phil. in Chinese Literature from Nanjing University in 1988 and Ph.D. in Chinese Studies from the University of Wisconsin–Madison in 1999.His diverse interests in Chinese Studies range from classical studies, early Chinese culture and history, historiography, traditional Chinese poetry, excavated documents such as bronze inscriptions and bamboo and silk writings, and paleography to the intellectual history of the Ming and Qing dynasties.
In addition to his prolific scholarship in various fields of Chinese Studies, which has made him one of the leading figures in the studies of the Confucian classic Shijing and bronze inscriptions, Chen is also an experienced university administrator. After serving as the Head of Department of Chinese Language and Literature at Hong Kong Baptist University between 2010 and 2013, he was appointed Acting Dean of the university's Faculty of Arts between 2015 and 2017. Chen also held the Associate Directorship of HKBU Institute of Creativity between 2011 and 2017 and Directorship of Mr. Simon Suen and Mrs. Mary Suen Sino-Humanitas Institute of the university between 2011 and 2014. From 2012 to 2014, he was appointed Acting Director of the Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology and has been its Director since 2014.
Research projects
- Chen Zhi, PI. “Preparation of a Manuscript for a Book Series on Important Bronze Inscriptions of the Western Zhou Dynasty ” . September 1, 2013–August 31, 2016.
- Chen Zhi, PI. “An Examination of the Evolution of Formulaic Phrases and Poetic Forms in the Excavated Zhou Texts and the Book of Odes ” . September 1, 2011–August 31, 2014.
- Chen Zhi, PI. “Three Unheeded Facets of Early Chinese Literature” . May 1,
- Chen Zhi, PI. “The Lineages, Classical Studies, and Intellectual History under the Ming and Qing Examination System ” September 1, 2008 – August 31, 2010.
- Chen Zhi, PI. “Chronology of the Works of the Qing Scholars on the Shi jing ” . 2007–2008.
Professional qualifications/Membership
- Chen Zhi and Dirk Meyer, eds. The Jao Tsung-I Library of Sinology. De Gruyter, 2018-
- Chen Zhi, Chief Editor. Bulletin of the Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology . Volumes 1–5. Hong Kong: Chung Hwa Book Company Limited, 2014–2018.
- Chen Zhi, Associate Editor and one of the two founding editors. Journal of Early Chinese Philosophers. Volumes 1–11. Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Publishing House, 2007–2015.
- Zhu Yuanqing 朱淵清 and Chen Zhi, eds. Book Series on Early China by Contemporary Sinologists. Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Publishing House, 2006–present.
- Local Convener of Chinese Language and Literature. Panel of Humanities, Hong Kong RAE 2014. 2013–2014.
- Fellow. Hong Kong Academy of the Humanities. 2014–present.
Books
- Chen Zhi. The Legacy of Odes, Documents, Ritual Music: A Self-Selected Anthology of Chen Zhi. Shanghai: Shanghai Renmin Publishing House, 2012. Pp. 422.
- Chen Zhi. Interview with Yu Ying-shih. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 2012. Pp. 224; Hong Kong: Chung Hwa Book Company Limited, 2012. Pp. 244; Taipei: Linking Publishing, 2012. Pp. 328.
- Chen Zhi, ed. Selected Papers on Early China by Contemporary Sinologists. Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Publishing House, 2012. Pp. 422.
- Chen Zhi. From Ritualization to Secularization: The Shaping of the Book of Songs. Sankt Augustin, Germany: Monumenta Serica Institute, 2007. Pp. 380.
- Chen Zhi. Chief Editor. A Dictionary of the Literary Allusions in Chinese Classical Poetry. Beijing: Yanshan Publishing House, 1991. Pp. 820.
Translations
- Chen Zhi and William H. Nienhauser, Jr., trans. “Hereditary House of T’ai-po of Wu” with comprehensive annotations. In The Grand Scribe’s Records, vol. V.1: The Hereditary Houses of Pre-Han China, Part I, edited by William H. Nienhauser Jr., 1–30. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2006.
- Chen Zhi et al., trans. Making America: The Society and Culture of the United States. Beijing: China Social Sciences Publishing House, 1992.
- Chen Zhi et al., trans. Lectures on Systems Philosophy by Ervin Laszlo. Beijing: China Social Sciences Publishing House, 1991.
Articles
- Chen Zhi and Nicholas M. Williams. “The Books of Songs: Form and Structure.” In The Homeric Epics and the Chinese Book of Songs: Foundational Texts Compared, edited by Fritz-Heiner Mutschler, 255–282. Newcastle upon Tyne, U.K.: Cambridge Scholars Publishing, 2018.
- Chen Zhi. “New Perspectives on the Study of Shijing.” New Perspectives on Chinese Culture 2015, no.3: 27–38.
- Chen Zhi. “‘Xiaoyao’ and ‘shuchi’: Some Special Uses of Alliterative and Rhyming Binomes in Transmitted and Excavated Documents.” Jianbo yanjiu 2015, nos.1–2: 1–14.
- Chen Zhi. “On the Red Silk Pendant and the Line of ‘bijiaofeishu’ in ‘Caishu’ Poem of the Shijing.” Guwenzi yanjiu 30 : 514–521.
- Chen Zhi. “A New Interpretation of the Characters ‘yun,’ ‘yun,’ and ‘jun’ in Bronze Inscriptions.” Bulletin of the Jao Tsung-I Academy of Sinology 1 : 135–160.
- Chen Zhi. “On the Idiomatic Expressions in the Book of Odes and Bronze Inscriptions : ‘buxian bucheng’, ‘bujian’ and ‘bujing.’” In Bamboo Strips, Silk Writing, Canons, and Early China, edited by Chen Zhi, 441–462. Shanghai: Shanghai Guji Publishing House, 2013.
- Chen Zhi. “‘Riju yuezhu’ and ‘rijiu yuejiang’: A Study of Early Tetra-syllabic Verse and Sacrificial Prayers in Early China.” In Poetic Legacy and Textual Studies in Ancient China, edited by Chen Zhi, 147–176. Beijing: Zhonghua Shuju, 2013.
- Chen Zhi. “An Interpretation of the Line of ‘wenwen qi youjia’ in the ‘Dance Accompanied by Strings of Duke of Zhou’ in Tsinghua Bamboo Strip Writings.” Chutu wenxian 3 : 41–47.
- Chen Zhi. “The Rite of ‘Drinking Ceremony’ and an Explanation of the Lost Poem as Seen in Tsinghua Bamboo Strips.” Chutu wenxian 1 : 6–30. English version presented at “International Symposium on Excavated Manuscripts and the Interpretation of the Book of Odes,” September 12–13, 2009. Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations, University of Chicago. Pp. 23.
- Chen Zhi. “‘Buwu bu’ao’ and ‘bukan bute’: Some New Interpretations of These Terms in the Book of Odes and Bronze Inscriptions.” Gudian wenxian yanjiu 13 : 4–19.
- Chen Zhi. “On the Textual Variants of the Ode ‘King Wen’ in the Greater Elegantiae section of the Book of Odes and Some Formulaic Expressions in the Contemporary Bronze Inscriptions.” Zhonguo shixue 14 : 44–65.
- Chen Zhi. “The Rime and Meter of the ‘Hymns of Zhou’ and Bronze Inscriptions and the Shaping of the Tetra-syllable Verse in Early China.” In Papers on Interdisciplinary Study of the Book of Odes, edited by Chen Zhi, 17–59. Shanghai: Guji Publishing House,.
- Chen Zhi. “A Reading of ‘Nuo’ in Light of Bronze Inscriptions: Some English translations of the Book of Odes Revisited.” In Orthodox and Schools of Thought: Changes in Confucian Canon Studies, edited by Lin Ching-chang and Christian Soffel, 359–388. Taipei: Wan-chuan-lou, 2013. Extended version of an article published on Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews 30 : 1–7.
- Chen Zhi. “The Dance of Wan and the Yong Performance: The Sacrificial Music Dance Suite of the Shang dynasty and Its Relations to the Three ‘Hymns’ in the Book of Odes.” Journal of Chinese Literature and History 4 : 35–64.
- Chen Zhi. “Traditional Inter-textual Scholarship on Bronze Inscriptions and Philological Study of the Book of Odes in Ancient China.” In A Multi-perspectives Approach to Chinese Classical Learning, edited by Lo Yuet Keung and Neo Peng Fu, 289–332. Taipei: Student Book Company Limited, October, 2008.
- Chen Zhi. “The Qing Scholarship on Textual Variants of the Book of Odes.” Journal of Oriental Studies 41, no.2 :1–56.
- Chen Zhi. “A Study of Early Chinese Philosophers and Civil Service Examination in late Ming.” Journal of Early Chinese Philosophers 1 : 383–420.
- Chen Zhi. “The Examination Paper of Liu Xianzeng: a Study of the Schools of Han and Song in Mid- and Late Qing.” Journal of Studies of Traditional China 2 : 405–426.
- Chen Zhi. “The Examination Papers of Liu Xianzeng and Liu Shicang: A Study of the Genealogy, Civil Service and Scholarship of the Liu’s Family of Yizheng of Jiangsu Province. ” Journal of Nanjing Xiaozhuang University 3 : 66–78. Rpt. Renmin University of China’s Important Papers on Ming and Qing History 9.
- Chen Zhi. “Negotiating between the Ancient and Modern, the Han and the Song Schools: Wang Xianqian’s Study of the ‘Modern Text’ of the Shi Jing”. Journal of Hunan University 20, no.1 : 31–43. Also appeared in Collected Papers on Classical Studies during the Qing Dynasty in Hunan Province, edited by Zhu Hanmin, 219–250. Changsha: Hunan University Press, 2005.
- Chen Zhi. “From Exclusive Xia to Inclusive Zhu-Xia: The Conceptualization of Chinese Identity in Early China.” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 14, no.3 : 185–205.
- Chen Zhi. “Nan: The Southern Bells and Elegant Music.” Guoxue yanjiu 13 : 1–39.
- Chen Zhi. “On Early Concepts of Yi and Xia.” Zhuoguoshi yanjiu 101 : 3–22.
- Chen Zhi. “An Investigation of Some Historical Facts during the Shang and Zhou Transition from Wang Guowei’s ‘Beibo Ding Ba’.” Taida lishi xuebao 31 : 1–43.
- Chen Zhi. “An Etymological Inquiry into the Early Concept of the Filial Piety.” Sino-Humanitas 9 : 229–252.
- Chen Zhi. “Magnificence and Elegance: An Ethno-musicological Study of the Formation and Transformation of the Ritual Music of the Zhou Dynasty.” Bulletin of Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy, Academia Sinica 19 : 1–53.
- Chen Zhi. “A New Reading of ‘Yen-yen’.” T’oung Pao 85, nos.1–3 : 1-28.
- Chen Zhi. “A Study of the Bird Cult of the Shang People.” Monumenta Serica 47 : 127–147.
- Chen Zhi. “A Paleographic Analysis of ‘Nan’ and Its Significance in Interpreting the Rationale for the Divisions of the Sections of the Shih ching.” Bulletin of the Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy, Academia Sinica 12 : 355–402.
Book reviews
- Review of Li Feng's Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou, 1045–771 BC. Early China 33 : 282–286.
- Review of Mark Csikszentmihalyi's Material Virtue: Ethics and the Body in Early China. Bulletin of Institute of Chinese Literature and Philosophy 34 : 326–336.
- Review of Ralph D. Sawyer's Fire and Water: The Art of Incendiary and Aquatic Warfare in China. Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 15, no. 2 : 253–255.