Dr. Wang’s current research focuses on the intersection of literature and gastronomy. Her book project, Taste and Gastropoetics in Traditional China, argues that poetics exist beyond literature, and gastronomic writings transcend utilitarian functions, engage multiple senses, and speak to a variety of large cultural issues. Her research has been supported by the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation, the T’ang Studies Society, and several other funding sources. She has published two peer-reviewed journal articles on this topic, co-organized an international academic workshop in 2024 titled “New Approaches to Traditional Chinese Food Culture,” and is currently co-editing a special issue on food culture for the Journal of Chinese History.
Wandi Wang
Assistant Professor of Chinese
waw325@lehigh.edu
Education:
M.A., Stanford University.
Ph.D., University of California, Santa Barbara.
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Research Areas
Additional Interests
- Chinese Literature
- Aesthetics
- Sensory Studies
- Gastronomy
Research Statement
Biography
Wandi Wang is originally from Beijing, China. Before moving to the Lehigh Valley, she lived and studied on the West Coast—primarily in California—for twelve years. In addition to being a scholar of Chinese literature, she is also an active journalist and book writer. She has written public-facing articles for leading Chinese newspapers and published two books in Chinese on the history of Chinese Studies in the United States.
Peer-Reviewed Publications
2024 “A Lyrical Cookbook: Gastropoetics in Pure Offerings in the Mountains,” Journal of Song-Yuan Studies 53 (2024): 93–126.
2025 “Cold Noodles in the Song Dynasty: The Taste of Pure Experience,” Journal of Song-Yuan Studies 54 (2025): 99–121.
Single-Authored Books
2025 沈津乐道——八十忆往录 (Shum Chun’s Delightful Discourse: Eight Decades of Cherished Memories), Guilin: Guangxi shifan daxue chubanshe, in press.
2021 书剑万里缘——吴文津雷颂平合传(A Lifelong Romance Rooted in Books and the Sword: A Joint Biography of Eugene Wu and Nadine Louie), Beijing: Guojia tushuguan chubanshe, 2021. [simplified character version]; Taipei: Lianjing chuban shiye gongsi, 2021. [traditional character version].
Recent Presentations
2025 “Crossing Boundaries: Recipes as Literature in Song Dynasty China.” Annual Meeting of the. Association of Asian Studies, Columbus.
2024 “Cold Noodles in the Song Dynasty: The Taste of Pure Experience.” Annual Meeting of the. Western Branch, American Oriental Society, Arizona State University.
2024 “The Genealogy of Tastemakers: From the ‘Rivers and Lakes Poets’ to the ‘Men of Mountains.’” Rocky Mountain Modern Language Association Annual Meeting, Las Vegas.
2024 “The Inedibles in a Cookbook: Pure Offerings in Mountains and the Rivers and Lakes. Poets.” Premodern Chinese Literature (PMCL) Workshop, Harvard University.
2024 “From Plums to Olives: Exploring Harmony and Mildness in Traditional China.” Oxford Food. Symposium, Oxford University.
2024 “Savoring Beauty: Consuming Plum Blossoms in Southern Song China.” Annual Meeting of the Association of Asian Studies, Seattle.
Teaching
Fall 2025 Food in Chinese Literature