Huang Wei Jia

Prof. Huang spoke about his education/background and what he did during the cultural revolution in class this Wednesday. I was really amazed.

Well, he'd just finished high school when the cultural revolution started. He worked in a factory for a while at this time when teachers that had spoken up about improving society were demoted. He started writing dictionaries with one such academic. That teacher asked Prof. Huang if he wanted to learn... in the three years, the teacher taught Prof. Huang secretly, until they were discovered. I don't know what happened as a consequence, but Prof. Huang started university when they reopened. After that, he taught for some years, married Prof. Ao and moved to America, where she went to get her graduate degree. For some years, he worked in a restaurant alongside doctors and engineers. He has since gone on to teach ancient Chinese at many universities, and has many books to his name.

He says that in those three years that he studied in secret, he learned far more than he did in university. He describes himself as a very lucky man to have been able to learn such treasure.

It has been a pleasure for me to be in his class this semester. He is such a cheerful man and he knows so many stories. Being in his class has afforded me a greater appreciation for the Chinese language.