Zachary Berge-Becker, PhD
Curriculum Vitae
Postdoctoral Fellow, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies, University of Michigan
ACADEMIC EMPLOYMENT
Postdoctoral Fellow, Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies 2024-present
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, MI
Postdoctoral Fellow, East Asian Languages and Cultures Department 2023-2024
Columbia University, New York, NY
EDUCATION
PhD in Premodern Chinese History October 2023
Columbia University, New York, NY
Dissertation: “Arts, Leisure, and the Construction of ‘Gentlemanly’ (shi 士) Identities in 7th–14th Century China.”
Committee: Robert Hymes (advisor), Robert Harrist, Joseph Lam, David Lurie, Shamus Khan.
MPhil in Premodern Chinese History May 2019
Columbia University, New York, NY
Examination Fields: Premodern Chinese History, Tang-Ming Chinese Art History, Tang-Ming Chinese Music History, Premodern Japanese History.
Committee: Robert Hymes (advisor), Robert Harrist, Joseph Lam, David Lurie.
MA in Premodern Chinese History May 2015
Columbia University, New York, NY
Honors BA in East Asian Studies May 2013
McGill University, Montreal, Canada
FELLOWSHIPS, HONORS & AWARDS
· Teaching Scholar, Columbia University 2023
· Weatherhead PhD Academic Year Fellowship Award 2022
· Junior Visiting Scholar, Academia Sinica, Taiwan 2021
(Deferred due to COVID-19)
· Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund Grant 2021
· Hanban Joint Research PhD Fellowship, Peking University, China 2019–2020
· Weatherhead East Asia PhD Summer Training Grant 2019
· L. Carrington Goodrich Fellowship in Chinese, Columbia University 2017–2018
· GSAC Student Travel Grant, Columbia University 2017
· GSAS Summer Language Fellowship, Columbia University 2017
· Weatherhead East Asia MA Training Grant 2015
· TECO Huayu Enrichment Scholarship, Taiwan 2014
PUBLICATIONS
· “Recognizing Recluses (yinshi 隱士) in 7th–14th Century China.” Studies in Chinese History (Chūgoku shigaku 中國史學), v. 34 (2024), 1-34.
· “Groups on the Grid: Weiqi Cultures in Song-Yuan-Ming China.” In Games and Play in Chinese and Cultures, edited by Li Guo, Douglas Eyman, and Hongmei Sun, 23-39. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2024.
· “The Musical Performance of ‘Gentlemanly’ (shi 士) Identity in 10th–14th Century China.” Forthcoming in T'oung Pao.
INVITED TALKS, CONFERENCE PRESENTATIONS, AND GUEST LECTURES
· “從修身之道到敗德之藝：明朝的多元圍棋文化.” (“From a Way of Cultivation to an Art of Corruption: Weiqi Cultures in Ming China.”) Accepted for 中研院明清研究國際學術研討會 (International Conference on Ming-Qing Studies, Academia Sinica), Taiwan, 2025.
· “‘Poets’ (shiren 詩人) Who Didn’t Know It: Categorizing Poetry Writers in Tang (618–907) China.” T’ang Studies Society “Questioning Boundaries” Conference, Sarasota, 2025.
· “Painting and the Performance of “Gentlemanly” (shi 士) Identity in Song China.” Association of Asian Studies Annual Conference, Columbus, 2025.
· “East Asia in World History, 1000–1450: China Under the Tang and Song Dynasties.” Co-Facilitator for Asia for Educators, Asian Topics Discussion Series, New York, 2024.
· “The Musical Performance of Social Status in Song China (960–1279).” Association of Asian Studies Annual Conference, Boston, 2023.
· “Board Games and the Role of Leisure in Premodern Confucian Thought and Action.” Northeast Conference on Chinese Thought, Yale University, 2022.
· “Recreating Qin-zither 琴 Music from the Ming (1368-1644): Decoding and Interpreting (dapu 打譜) Music from the Xilutang Qintong 西麓堂琴統.” Invited Talk. University of Michigan Department of Music, 2021.
· “An Introduction to Yayue 雅樂, and its Relevance to the Gagaku 雅楽 Tradition in Premodern Japan.” Invited Talk. Columbia University Department of Music, 2021.
· “Mathematical Solutions to Musical Problems: Zhu Zaiyu 朱載堉 (1536–1611) and the Mathematics of Equal Temperament Tuning.” Guest Lecture. Washington University in St. Louis Department of History, 2021.
· “Imagined Seclusion: The Construction of Su Shi’s 蘇軾 (1037–1101) Literary Persona at Huangzhou.” Invited Talk. Seminar for Neo-Confucian Studies, Columbia University, 2014.
TEACHING EXPERIENCE
Courses Taught 2023-2024
Columbia University, New York, NY Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
· Music in Premodern China (seminar), Spring 2023
· Colloquium on Major Texts: East Asia, Fall 2023
· A History of Arts & Leisure in China and Japan (seminar), Fall 2023
· Intro to East Asian Civilizations: China (lecture course), Spring 2024
· MA Workshop in East Asian History (graduate seminar), Spring 2024
Graduate Student Advisor for East Asian Studies Senior Thesis Writers Spring 2022
Columbia University, New York, NY Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
Teaching Assistant 2017-2021
Columbia University, New York, NY Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures
· “Introduction to East Asian Civilizations: Korea” (2021)
· “Colloquium on Major Texts: East Asia” (2018)
· “Introduction to East Asian Civilizations: China” (2017)
ADDITIONAL EXPERIENCE
Rapporteur 2016-2019
University Seminar on Neo-Confucian Studies, Columbia University, New York, NY