Poet and pioneer in Chinese language studies
Parker Po-Fei Huang, a distinguished Chinese-American professor and poet at
Yale who helped to pioneer Chinese language studies in the United States, died
on Jan. 25 of natural causes at the age of 94 at his home in Pasadena, California.
T H I S
IN MEMORIAM
Huang developed the leading method of teaching Cantonese to non-native speakers
and authored numerous Mandarin language textbooks, as well as the first Cantonese
textbook and dictionary, which have been used widely on college campuses.
Born in 1914 in the city of Guangzhou, Huang Po-Fei was the son of the Qing
Dynasty scholar Huang Sung-Ling and his wife, Zhu Xi. He earned a bachelor’s
degree from Peking Catholic University in 1937 and spent the war years in Hong
Kong, Guilin and Chongqing, serving as editor-in-chief of the Chinese Evening
News (Zhongguo Man Bo) and as an editor for the British Consulate in Guilin
and Chongqing.
In April 1947, Huang and his new wife immigrated to the United States, settling
in San Francisco. He worked for Young China Newspaper while at the same time
studying journalism at Stanford University. From 1950 to 1951 he taught Chinese
at the Army Language School at Monterey, California.
In 1952, during the Korean War, he began an association with Yale which lasted
until his retirement in 1985. He designed and taught Yale’s undergraduate
Chinese program, supervised graduate student dissertations and directed the
Summer Chinese Language Institute. He was an active member of the Yale community,
serving as both a fellow in Davenport College and as a deacon at the United
Church of Christ at Yale.
In addition to his academic writing, Huang was an accomplished poet, writing
primarily in Chinese but also translating ancient and modern Chinese poems
into English. One of his early English poems, “Heavenly Mountain,” was
first published on New Year’s Day in 1958 and was included in The New
York Times’ “Book of Verse” (1970), an anthology of the poetry
published by the newspaper in the previous 50 years. He also published poetry
collections titled “Wind and Sand,” “Heavenly Mountain,” “Dawn,” “Prayers,” “Sincerely” and “Selected
Lyric Poems in English and Chinese,” among others. Huang gave many public
readings in venues such as the 92nd Street YMCA, the Library of Congress and
West Point. He also gained recognition as a chanter of Classical Cantonese
poems, performing in several theater productions in New Haven and New York
City.
Huang is remembered at Yale through the Parker Huang Fellowships, which are
awarded each year to students who wish to study language and culture in China
and elsewhere around the world. They are given, notes the fellowship’s
description, “not because of American successes abroad, but because of
our failures and because the international failures of the most powerful country
on earth are costly for those who are most powerless.”
Among his other accomplishments and honors, Huang served on the national board
of the Chinese Language Teachers’ Association and was a member of Phi
Tau Phi, an honors society for Chinese academics. He also was the first director
of the Chinese Language Center at the Chinese University of Hong Kong.
Huang is survived by his wife of 61 years, Mabel Pao-Chen Chan Huang, and his
two sons, Ben and Alan.
W E E K ' SS T O R I E S
University has reduced its greenhouse gas emissions by 17% . . .
New endowed chair honors Marie Borroff
Initiative to boost humanities-professional school interaction
Faculty survey to be starting point for ‘self-evaluation’
In Focus: Peking-Yale Joint Undergraduate Program
Forming bonds in China: Students hail their immersion experience
ENDOWED PROFESSORSHIPSYale Press to create digital edition of Soviet leader Stalin’s . . .
Switzerland tops experts’ index of global environmental leaders
Levin urges rededication to Martin Luther King Jr.’s ‘dream’
Paula Vogel to head School of Drama’s playwriting department
Study shows elderly with low vitamin E levels are . . .
Researchers identify key factor in stress effects on the brain
Exhibits explore British artists’ images of the Middle East
Drama School stages Ibsen’s ‘Peer Gynt,’ an exploration of . . .
Poetry and visual arts are united in library exhibitions’ . . .
Teaching fellowship winners are urged to ‘create passion’
H. Bradford Westerfield: Intelligence expert, taught top leaders
Victor Erlich: Helped bring Slavic department to prominence
R. Lansing Hicks: Renowned at YDS for his teaching, integrity
Parker Po-Fei Huang: Poet and pioneer in Chinese . . .
Yale Books in Brief
Campus Notes
Bulletin Home|Visiting on Campus|Calendar of Events|In the News
Bulletin Board|Classified Ads|Search Archives|Deadlines
Bulletin Staff|Public Affairs|News Releases|
E-Mail Us|Yale Home