Ep. 4: History Professor Sixiang Wang reconciles his Sino-US identity from studying Korean history

<p>Sixiang Wang is an assistant professor in Asian Languages and Cultures at UCLA, specializing in Korea’s premodern history. He speaks fluent mandarin, writes Chinese poems and is well-versed in China's history and culture. Sixiang described his journey of attempting to self-distance from his Chinese identity to embracing and mastering the language and culture. He shared how studying Korean history somehow helped him reconcile a lifelong passion for Chinese studies with his American identity. We also talked about the current state of Sino-US relation and analogized Trump's presidency with past Chinese emperors. Lastly, we touched upon Sixiang's philosophy of child-raising that deviates from the traditional Chinese parenting style.</p> <p>Sixiang shared with us:</p> <p>* Guest intro<br /> * Growing up in a rough Queens Hispanic neighborhood as "the only Chino"<br /> * Childhood struggles between desire to be American vs love for Chinese language & culture<br /> * Epiphany in reconciling American and Chinese identity from reading Korean history<br /> * Sentiment towards US-China tensions from a Chinese American perspective<br /> * Ways to understand Trump presidency, e.g., the angle of history of Chinese emperors<br /> * De-emphasizing goals of admittance to top colleges and high test scores in raising children</p>