Professor Wang Ping was born in Beijing in January 1949 to a family whose ancestral home is in Qixian, Shanxi Province. He graduated from the Department of Chinese Language and Literature of Shandong University in January 1982. He has a Ph.D in Literature, and holds the rank of Professor in the School of Literature at Shandong University. He also serves as a Dissertation Advisor for Ph.D students. Professor Wang is Vice President of the Chinese Association for Studies of The Plum in the Golden Vase,a Director of the Chinese Association for Studies of The Romance of the Three Kingdoms, a Director of ChineseJourney to the West Cultural Society, a Director of the Chinese Association for Studies of A Dream of the Red Mansions, a Vice President of the Shandong Association of Classical Literature Studies, and President of the Association for Studies of The Plum in the Golden Vasein Shandong Province.

Professor Wang’s primary research fields are:Literature in the Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties, and ancient (traditional) Chinese novels.

Professor Wang’s major writings include:

· Studies of the Psychology of Creativity in Strange Tales From a Chinese Studio;

· Studies of the Culture of Fictional Writing in Ancient and Traditional China;

· Studies of Narrative in the Novels of Traditional China;

· Lanlingxiaoxiaosheng (The Scoffing Young Scholar of Lanling) and The Plum in the Golden Vase

He is also Chief Editor of A Study of The Dissemination of Fiction in the Ming and Qing Dynasties and Cultural Studies ofThe Plum in the Golden Vase.

At Shandong University, Professor Wang offers a variety of courses, including the following:

For undergraduate students: “History of Literature in the Ming and Qing Dynasties”, and “Classical Novels and Traditional Culture.”
For graduate students: “History of Chinese Novels”, “A Study of zaju Operas in the Yuan Dynasty”, “A Study of Tales of Romance and Adventure [zhuanqi] in the Ming and Qing Dynasties”, “A Study ofStrange Tales From a Chinese Studio”, and “A Study of A Dream of the Red Mansions”.