Hongming Zhang, associate professor in the Department of East Asian Language & Literature, was recently named "Chang Jiang Scholar" by the Ministry of Education of People's Republic of China.
The term "Chang Jiang" is actually a transliteration of the Chinese characters "Long River", known to the west as "Yangtze
River." This the highest scholastic title/honor so far awarded by the Chinese central government.
This prestigious award is jointly funded by the Chinese government and the Li Ka-shing Foundation with the goal of rapidly developing and improving the quality of research conducted at universities in China by strengthening ties with scholars around the world.
Zhang is the third linguist to receive this title since the award began in 1998. He is also the recipient of the University Housing's Honored Instructor Award for two consecutive semester - Fall 2008 (First Semester Chinese) and Spring 2009 (Second Semester Chinese).
To see all of this year's Chang Jiang Scholars, please see the program's website.