Professor Zhang Shuzheng, a native of Shouguangxian, Shandong Province, was born in November 1956. He matriculated as an undergraduate in 1977 in the Department of Chinese Language and Literature atShandong University, concentrating in the area of Chinese Language and Linguistics, and then enrolled in the Masters program, concentrating in Linguistics, in 1981. After receiving his MA degree in 1984, Professor Zhang stayed on at Shandong University as a member of the teaching staff, and has been in the faculty here ever since.He received a Ph.D in Literature in 2002. He has been engaged primarily in teaching and researchin the field of Linguistics. He was promoted to Professor in 1999, and qualified as a Dissertation Advisor for Ph.D students in 2002. Professor Zhang is currently Director of the Institute of Chinese Language and Linguistics in the School of Literatureof Shandong University, and Director of the Center for Research in Chinese Dialects. In addition to his faculty and administrative positions at Shandong University, Professor Zhang also serves as President of the Associationfor Linguistics Studies in Shandong Province, a Director of the Chinese Linguistics Association, a Member of the Academic Committee of the National Association for the Study of Chinese Dialects, and Vice President of the Phonological Branch of the Association for the Modernization of the Chinese Language, (formerly the Chinese Association for Phonological Studies, of which he was a director.)
Professor Zhang has offered many courses in the undergraduate curriculum of Shandong University’s School of Literature, including:
· Modern Chinese Language
· Introduction to Linguistics
· Language and Culture
· Chinese Dialects and Survey Studies of Dialects
· Topics in Chinese Grammar
· Cultivation in the Study ofChinese Language and Linguistics
In 1993, Professor Zhang won a Level 1 Prize in Shandong University InauguralJunior Faculty Teaching Competition. In 2015, he was awarded the title of Master Teacher in Universities and Colleges in Shandong Province. Professor Zhang’s course, “Ten Lectures on Topics of Essential Knowledge in the Chinese Language” was selected as a National-level“Name Brand” open video course.
Professor Zhang’s primary research fields are Chinese Phonology, and Dialectology. His research interests include the study of Chinese Grammar, Lexicology, Linguistics, Sociolinguistics, and Chinese-charactersInformation Processing. Professor Zhang has authored and published more than a hundred academic papers and journal articles, and nine monographs of which he was the sole author/compiler/editor. In addition, he has also cooperated with other scholars in authoring or editing of many other monographs and studies. He has undertaken and supervised many research projects sponsored by the National Foundation for the Social Sciences, secondary-funded projects sponsored by the Chinese Ministry of Education, and projects sponsored by the National Language Commission. Professor Zhang has been invited to participate in many academic conferences in Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong and Macao. From 2007 to 2008, he was appointed to a teaching position at Matsuyama Daigaku (Matsuyama University) in Japan.
The following is a list of Professor Zhang’s major publications:
A. Monographs and edited volumes (including co-authored and co-edited volumes)
1. A Gazette of the Shouguang Dialect, The Language Publishing House, 1995
2. An Exploration of the History of Dialects, Inner Mongolia People's Publishing House, 1999
3. A Study of the Phonetics of the Dialects in the Shandong Region in the time of the Qing Dynasty, Shandong University Press, 2005
4. Introduction to Linguistics, (Chief Editor), Wuhan University Press, 2012
5. Annotations and Commentaries for Pu Songling’sCommon Vernacular Words and Phrases for Everyday Usage, Shandong University Press, 2015
6. A Linguistic Study of Pu Songling's Vernacular Works,(a publishing project sponsored by the National Publishing Foundation), Shandong University Press, 2018
7. Studies of Dialects in Shandong, (Associate Chief Editor, authored the“History”volume), QiluShushe Publishers, 2001
8. A Study of Dialect Variations in the Spoken Language of Chinese Government Officials in Traditional Times (or “Mandarin Chinese”), (authored the section: “Mandarin Chinese in the Hebei and Shandong Regions”), QiluShushe Publishers, 2010
9. Studies of the Relationship between Art and Language, (Associate Chief Editor, authored Volume 4, “The Relationship between Regional Arts and Literature and Dialects”), People's Publishing House, 2013
10. A Gazette of the Lanling Dialect,(co-authored with Meng Zimin, KoshinoShinobu, and Liu Xunning), Matsuyama University, Japan, 2012
11. The History of Shandong Province. A Gazette of the Dialects in the Region, (authored part of Chapter 1: “Initial Consonants”), Shandong People's Publishing House, 1995
12. A Long Journey: A Biography of Zhao Yuanren, Shandong Pictorial Publishing House, 1998; Zhonghua Book Company(Hong Kong), 1999
13. Practical Troubleshooting for Home Computers, Petroleum University Press, 1996
14. The College Entrance Examination. TheChinese Language Examination: Insights FromExperts in the Field from Their Experience as Test-Paper Readers and Graders, and Strategies for Students Preparing For the Exam, The Commercial Press, 2004
B. Papers and articles:
1. "A Record of an ‘Island’ of the Beijing Mandarin Dialect Kept by the Manchu People in the North City of Qingzhou, Shandong Province”, Chinese Language, No. 1, 1995
2. “A Few Questions Concerning the Degree to Which Dialects Communicate and the Comprehension of Dialect Tones and Phonetics”, Chinese Language, No. 3, 1998
3. “The Soft Tone, and Other Tonal Phenomena Reflected in the Vernacular Songs in Pu Songling'sLiaozhai (Strange Tales From a Chinese Studio)”, Chinese Language, No. 3, 2003
4. “Adjectives in theShouguang Dialect in Shandong Province”, Dialects, No. 3, 1990
5. “Auxiliary Words in theShouguang Dialect in Shandong Province”, Dialects, No. 1, 1995
6. “Rhotacization – or the ‘Erization’ – of the End of Syllables in the Dialect of the Northern Parts of Shouguang District of Shandong Province”, Dialects, No. 4, 1996
7. “The Phenomenon of Territorial Division in the Mandarin Language in the Region of the Jiaodong Peninsula of Shandong Province and the Liaodong Peninsula of LiaoningProvince(Manuscript)”, Dialects, No. 4, 2007
8. “The Trend Toward the Simplification of Tonal and Phonetic Systems in Modern Chinese Dialects and the Promotion ofPutonghua as the Common Manner of Speech in China”, Linguistic Application, No. 1, 1994
9. “A Tentative Discourse On the Influence of Putonghuaon the Phonetics in Dialects”, Linguistic Application, No. 4, 1995
10. “The New Usage of Colons in Titles, and Their Normative Issues”, Linguistic Application, No. 4, 2003
11. “Internal Differences, and the Question of Historical Levels, of the Redistribution of Syllables with Unvoiced Initial Sounds in the ‘Ru’ Tone in the Mandarin Language of the Hebei and Shandong Regions”, Chinese Journal of Linguistics, No. 12, 2006
12. “Observing Initial Consonants in the Chinese Language of Ancient Times from the Perspective of Variations in the Names of Ancient Places”, Studies in the Chinese Language of Ancient Times, No. 3, 1991
13. “The Geographical Distribution of Words and Terms for Bodies of Water and Waterlands in the Chinese Language”,Studies in the Chinese Language of Ancient Times, No. 2, 1994
14. “A Bird's-Eye View of the History of Dialects in Shandong, (Part 1)”, Studies in the Chinese Language of Ancient Times, No. 2, 1996
15. “A Bird's-Eye View of the History of Dialects in Shandong, (Part 2)”, Studies in the Chinese Language of Ancient Times, No. 3, 1996
16. “A Study of the Use of Rhyme in the Vernacular Songs in Pu Songling'sLiaozhai (Strange Tales From a Chinese Studio)”, Studies in the Chinese Language of Ancient Times, No. 3, 2001
17. “Grammatical Differences between Tales of Romances for the Awakening of the AgeandA Collection of Vernacular Songs in Liaozhai(Strange Stories from A Chinese Studio)”, (first author), Studies in the Chinese Language of Ancient Times, No. 6, 2005
18. “Preliminary Observations on the So-Called ‘No Dialects’ Nation”, Language Construction, No. 8, 1998
19. “On the Acceptability Variant in the Tonal and Rhyming Patterns of Putonghua”, The Language Construction Newsletter (Hong Kong), No. 62, January 2000
20. “The Principle of Selection and Minimal Opposition, for the Rhyme-Class Words in the Rhyme Book of the ‘Qieyun’ Rhyme System”, Language Research, No. 1, 1994
21. “The Evolution of the ‘Ru’ Tone of Ancient Times in Shandong Dialects in the Time of the Qing Dynasty”,Language Research, No. 1, 2003
22. “On the Phonetic Form of the ‘yi-er’ Endingin Putonghua”, Language Teaching and Research, No. 3, 2005
23. “The Length of the Sound/Tone is Not the Distinctive Feature of Ancient Tones”, Wen-Shi-Zhe (A Journal of Literature, History and Philosophy), No. 6, 1985
24. “The Types of Phonetic Evolution and the Law Governing Them”,Wen-Shi-Zhe (A Journal of Literature, History and Philosophy), No. 6, 2005
25. “We Ought ToStrengthen the Study of the Phonological History of Dialects”, (second author), Academic Journal of Shandong University (Philosophy and Social Sciences Edition), No. 1, 1991
26. “The Typical Significance of Language Life in Society in ‘Atypical’ Times”, Academic Journal of Shandong University, No. 5, 2003
27. “The Historical Level and Direction of Diffusion of the Phonetic Features of Shandong Dialects”, Academic Journal of Shandong University, No. 5, 2007
28. “To What, and Where, Does the Bao Tang Pian Branch of the Mandarin Language Belong?” Academic Journal of Shandong University, No. 4, 2012
29. “Variant Reading in the Beijing Dialect at the End of the 19th Century - Taking Fu Shan’s Chinese-English Pocket Dictionary as the Specimen”, Academic Journal of Jilin University, No. 2, 2014
30. “Understanding the Meaning of the ‘Zhi’, ‘Zhuang’, and ‘Zhang’ Group of Words in The Tones and Rhymes of the Central Plains Region from the Perspective of the Shouguang Dialect”, in A New Discourse on the Tones and Rhymes of the Central Plains Region, The Chinese Phonological Association, eds., Beijing University Press, March 1991
31. “On the Heterogeneity of Language Components in the Modern Chinese Vernacular, With Pu Songling's Vernacular Writings as an Example”, KendaiChugokugokenkyu (Studies in the Modern Chinese Language)[Japan],No. 17, October 2015
32. “An Examination and Verification of Words that Look Somewhat Similar and Are Mistaken For One Another in the Contemporary Edition of Pu Songling’sCommon Vernacular Words and Phrases for Everyday Usage”, Pu SonglingStudies, No. 3, 2009
33. “Vernacular Words inCommon Vernacular Words and Phrases for Everyday Usage”,Pu Songling Studies, No. 3, 2012
34. “A Further Supplementary Examination of Words that Look Somewhat Similar and Are Mistaken For One Another in Common Vernacular Words and Phrases for Everyday Usage, With a Discussion of the Relationship Among the Lu Dahuang Edition, the Sheng Edition, and the Photocopy Edition”, Pu Songling Studies, No. 1, 2014