Wang Yao, born in Dongtai (Jiangsu Province, China) in April 1960, has a PhD degree in Literature. He has been awarded as "Yangtze River" Scholar Professor by the Ministry of Education of China and Distinguished Professor of Soochow University. He used to be the Dean of the School of Humanity and the Phoenix College of Communication of Soochow University. Currently, he serves as the Chief Director of the Academic Committee of Soochow University and Dean of the Tang Wenzhi College. Professor Wang Yao is also an Editorial Board Member of Literary Review and Modern Chinese Literature Studies . Besides, he is a research fellow of the Center for Research of Chinese New Literature of Nanjing University, Vice President of the Writers' Association of Jiangsu Province and President of Suzhou Federation of Literary and Art Circles.
Wang Yao began to study at the Department of Chinese Literature of Soochow University in September 1981. After his graduation in August 1985, he held a teaching position at Soochow University. From September 1994 to December 1998, he studied for a master's degree and then a doctoral degree while teaching Chinese literature at the same time. He was a Visiting Scholar at Harvard-Yenching Institute from January to June 2010, and a Visiting Professor at the Chinese Department of Soochow University (Taiwan) from January to June 2001. He has been invited to make academic speeches at many prestigious universities such as Harvard University, Stanford University, New York University, University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Maryland, University of Tokyo, Aichi University and so on.
Professor Wang Yao mainly focuses on the research of Chinese modern and contemporary literature. His research interests include the history of Chinese literature in the twentieth century, contemporary literature and culture, literary criticism, overseas studies of Chinese modern literature. His academic books include History of Chinese Contemporary Prose , Narration and Interpretation of the May 4th Movement and Modern Literature and Art during the Cultural Revolution, As a Matter of the 1980s, The Rhetoric of "Thought Events", "Each Other's" History , Anthology of Wang Yao's Literary Criticism , Dialogue between Moyan and Wang Yao, Dialogue between Han Shaogong and Wang Yao , Practice of Criticism and so on. He is also the Editor-in-Chief of several book collections including Cultural Revolution Literature , Chinese Contemporary Literary Criticism and New Humanity Dialogues. As a renowned scholar of the Chinese Cultural Revolution Literature and contemporary literary history, Professor Wang has served as the chief expert of the Major Research Project supported by the National Social Science Foundation (A Centennial Study of the Overseas Dissemination of the Chinese Literature). Besides, he has been awarded several research grants by the Ministry of Education and provincial government as well. His research findings have won the first and second prizes of the Excellent Achievements of Philosophy and Social Science of Jiangsu Province, as well as the second prize of the Ministry of Education. In 2003, Professor Wang won the Chinese Literature and Media Award, honored as the "Literary Critic of the Year".
Apart from his academic achievements, Professor Wang has also served as a columnist in some journals such as Southern Cultural Forum and Dushu . He has published some essays including Looking as Wugou , Staggered Time and Space , Taking off the Cultural Coat , A Person's 1980s , and The Intellectuals on Paper . He enjoys some hobbies such as calligraphy, Pingpong and cooking.
