Dr. Liu’s research focuses on the dynamic relationship between vernacular literature and religion in late imperial China. His current book project, The Way of Darkness and Light: Daoist Divine Women in Pre-Modern Chinese Fiction, takes an interdisciplinary approach to Chinese literature, religion, and gender studies, investigating how late imperial Chinese fiction and drama popularized Daoist goddess cults that would otherwise have been marginalized or forgotten. Before joining Rutgers, Dr. Liu taught several courses at Columbia University as a teaching scholar. In the same way that interdisciplinary insights enrich his research, one of his goals in teaching is to help students break down existing disciplinary and cultural boundaries.
Education
- Ph.D. Columbia University
- Ph.D. Fudan University
Areas of Specialization
- Fiction and Drama in Late Imperial China
- Chinese Buddhist Hagiographies
- Daoist Magic
Courses Taught
- Chinese Classics & Thought: Confucianism, Daoism & Buddhism (01:165:220)
- Classical Chinese Popular Fiction & Drama in Translation (01:165:242)
- East Asian Civilizations: Pre-Modern Era (01:098:241)
- East Asian Civilizations: Modern Era (01:098:242 / 01:214:242)
- History of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1300 (01:165:461 / 16:217:520)
- History of Chinese Literature: 1300-1900 (01:165:462 / 16:217:521)
- Introduction to Chinese Civilization (01:165:215)
- Pro-Seminar I: Critical Approaches to East Asian Studies (16:217:501)
- Pro-Seminar II: Research Methodology (16:217:502)
- Special Topics in East Asian Languages and Cultures (16:217:598)
Selected Publications
- Peer-Reviewed Journal Articles
- “Seeking the Dharma on the World Stage: Lü Bicheng and the Revival of Buddhism in the Early Twentieth Century,” Religions 2019, 10 (10), 558 (20 pages); doi: 10.3390/rel10100558
- “‘Conceal My Body So That I Can Protect the State’: The Making of the Mysterious Woman in Daoism and Water Margin,” Ming Studies, 74 (2016): 48-71
- Book Reviews
- Review of I-Hsien Wu, Eroticism and Other Literary Conventions in Chinese Literature: Intertextuality in The Story of the Stone (Amherst: Cambria Press, 2017), The Journal of Asian Studies, Vol. 78, No. 3 (August 2019), 665-667
- Review of Mark Meulenbeld, Demonic Warfare: Daoism, Territorial Networks, and the History of a Ming Novel (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2015), Ming Studies, 74 (2016): 87-91
Selected Awards and Distinctions
- Open and Affordable Textbook Program Award, Rutgers University
- L. Carrington Goodrich Fellowship in Chinese, Columbia University
- Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation Doctoral Fellowships
- The Mellon Humanities International Travel Fellowship, Columbia University
