Senior Lecturer in Chinese
Fall 2024 Office Hours: Monday and Wednesday 4:30pm-5:30pm and Friday 11:00pm-12:00pm or by appointment
Dr. Weijia Huang 黄伟嘉 received his BA in Chinese Language and Literature and MA in History of Chinese Language from Shaanxi Normal University, China, and received his PhD in Chinese philology from Fudan University, China.
Before coming to Boston University, he taught seven years at Harvard University, where he earned the Certificate of Distinction in Teaching from 1995 to 2002; he then taught Classical and Modern Chinese language at Brown University for four years. He also taught courses at Middlebury Chinese Summer School for two years.
Huang was certified as a Full Certification Tester in Chinese OPI (Oral Proficiency Interview) by ACTFL (American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages) 2014-2018.
His research covers the Chinese paleography, the pedagogy of classical Chinese and Chinese characters as a foreign language, the compilation of Chinese textbooks as a foreign language education, and the transmission of the traditional Chinese culture in teaching.
He has published numerous books including Chinese textbooks in the United States, Mainland China, and Hong Kong:
✍ Classical Chinese Poetry Reader 中国古典诗词读本，2025（Forthcoming）
✍ Learn Chinese Characters by Words, Vocabulary, Phrases and Sentence 字词语句学汉字，2024（Forthcoming）
📖 A Study on the Cultural Origin of Chinese Vocabulary 文化源与汉语词汇研究，Review and approval by Jimin Yin, Shanghai Education Publishing House 上海教育出版社, Shanghai, China, 2023
📖 Illustration of the Radicals of Chinese Characters (revised edition) 汉字部首例解（修订本），with Qun Ao, The Commercial Press 商务印书馆，Beijing, China, 2021
📖 Radicals of Chinese Characters: Knowledge and Issues 偏旁知识与偏旁问题，Zhonghua Book Company 中华书局，Beijing, China, 2021
📖 Chinese Characters and Chinese Characters Teaching 汉字与汉字教学，Peking University Press 北京大学出版社，Beijing, China, 2020
📖 Radical Expressions: 52 Thousand-Year-Old Chinese Characters That Are Surprisingly Relevant Today 汉字会说话，with Jue Liu, Yunfei Tan, Jiahui Sun, Dandan Chu, et al., The Commercial Press 商务印书馆，Beijing, China, 2019
📖 Learning Chinese Language and Culture (Vol. 1 and Vol. 2) 学习汉语与文化（上下册），with Qun Ao, The Chinese University Press of Hong Kong 香港中文大学出版社，Hong Kong, China, 2019
📖 Watching the Clouds go By 坐看云起时，with Qun Ao, Cheng & Tsui Company波士顿剑桥出版社，Boston, 2015
📖 Where Does the Wind Blow 风从哪里来，with Qun Ao, Cheng & Tsui Company 波士顿剑桥出版社，Boston, 2013
📖 Illustration of the Radicals of Chinese Characters (Traditional Chinese version, revised and enlarged edition) 汉字部首例解（繁体增订版），with Qun Ao, The Commercial Press (Hong Kong) 商务印书馆（香港）, Hong Kong, China, 2012
📖 The Sky Is Bright with Stars 天上星星亮晶晶，with Qun Ao, Cheng & Tsui Company 波士顿剑桥出版社，Boston, 2012
📖 Questions and Answers on Modern Chinese Characters 现代汉语文字答问，Peking University Press 北京大学出版社，Beijing, China, 2011
📖 Chinese Philology: Knowledge and Issues 汉字知识与汉字问题，with Qun Ao, The Commercial Press 商务印书馆，Beijing, China, 2009
📖 Illustration of the Radicals of Chinese Characters 汉字部首例解，with Qun Ao, The Commercial Press 商务印书馆，Beijing, China, 2008
📖 The Moon Is Always Beautiful 月亮总是美好的，with Qun Ao, Cheng & Tsui Company 波士顿剑桥出版社，Boston, 2008
📖 How Far Away Is the Sun 太阳的远近，with Qun Ao, Cheng & Tsui Company 波士顿剑桥出版社，Boston, 2007
📖 Chinese Language and Culture 汉语与文化读本，with Qun Ao, The Chinese University Press of Hong Kong 香港中文大学出版社，Hong Kong, China, 2002
He also wrote numerous articles and essays on Chinese studies and cross-cultural topics, such as “Two Things from My College Days” 上大学那会儿的两件事, “Memories of Harvard” 哈佛追忆二三事, which was selected by the 2019 Chinese Prose Annual Selection《2019中国散文年选》, “The Serenity of West Point” 寂静的西点军校, which was selected by the 2017 Chinese Prose Annual Selection《2017中国散文年选》, “The Town of Middlebury and Chinese Summer School at Middlebury College” 明德与明德暑校, “Boston University: a Long stretch” 长长的波士顿大学, “At the Harvard-Yenching Library Book Sale……” 哈佛燕京 “卖” 书记, “The Final Days of Working with Kwang-Chih Chang” 和张光直先生最后工作的日子里, “The Children from Low Income Family can Receive High Quality Education” 低收入家庭的孩子也能得到高质量的教育, “The Essential Approach for Solving the Dilemma of Teaching Chinese Characters in the United States —Discussing How to Develop Chinese Material that Helps in Teaching Chinese Characters” 改变美国大学汉字教学难的重要途径——关于汉语教材中汉字学习内容编写的思考, “The Evaluation of the Usage of the Four Prepositions ‘Zai, Yu, Zi, and Cong’ as Occurred in the Oracle Bone and Bronze Inscriptions and Their Mutual Relationship” 甲骨文金文中 “在、于、自、从” 四字介词用法的发展变化及其相互关系 etc. These articles and essays were published in the United States and China. He also dabbles in Chinese poetry with works such as “The End of Love”.
Huang has been a columnist for the magazine, The World of Chinese 汉语世界, published by The Commercial Press in Beijing China, since 2010 and has written or co-written more than 80 articles on the subject of Chinese characters for the studying of Chinese as a foreign language. Selection of these articles were also reprinted by China Daily 中国日报.
Huang has also been invited to speak at many academic and professional institutions and events. Most recently he presented “Teaching Chinese Character in America” at The School of International Cultural Exchange, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics. He also presented “Teaching Chinese Characters and Culture in the Non-Chinese Character Cultural Sphere,” 非汉字文化圈的汉字与文化教学, at The Forum on the Development of International Chinese Language Education as a Discipline, organized by The Commercial Press (Beijing China), Renmin University of China’s School of Chinese Studies and Cultural Exchange, and The International Society for Chinese Language Teaching. He also presented “Chinese Radicals and Teaching Chinese Characters” 汉字偏旁与汉字教学, at BoYa School, Online Professional Training Lecture Series, Lecture No: 153, by Peking University Press, Peking University. Beijing, China.
Since coming to Boston University, he has taught all Chinese languages courses offered by WLL, from First year (LC111) to Fourth year (LC412), Chinese Directed Study (LC495), and the BU Summer Intensive Program in Shanghai, China. Huang also designed LC314 and LC315 Classical Chinese courses in 2007, created LC213, a Conversational Chinese course in 2007, and developed LC411 and LC412 Fourth-year Chinese courses. With Professor Wiebke Denecke, he designed LC320 Classical Chinese Poetry course in 2013.