Xu Zidong

Xu Zidong (21 August 1954) is a Chinese literary historian, critic and academic. He is a Professor Emeritus of Chinese at Lingnan University and chair of Chinese department from 2008 to mid 2010s. He is visiting professor at University of Hong Kong as of 2021–22 academic year. He has written extensively on 20th-century Chinese literature, Hong Kong Literature, cultural studies, and Cultural Revolution studies.
He specialises in the works of Yu Dafu, Eileen Chang, and Wang Anyi.
He is a vice president of Chinese Association of Literary and Art Theory and member of Shanghai Writers' Association.
==Life and career==
Born in Shanghai to a middle-class family where his father is a surgeon and mother's family runs a brewery business, Xu has 3 elder half-brothers. During the Cultural Revolution Xu went to Guangchang County, Jiangxi, where he would rose to deputy leader of his production team. Xu later returned to Shanghai to become a steel rolling worker before enrolling as a Master's student in East China Normal University under Qian Gurong, having studied in a 527 University. He wrote an course essay on Yu Dafu on the second week of the study, which was then published in the University's Gazette. The work was later expanded into a monograph as New Opinion on Yu Dafu, which cemented his status as an academic. 
After graduation, he taught at East China Normal and Fudan Universities. At age of 29 he was promoted to associate professorship at East China Normal, the youngest in Shanghai alongside with Wang Huning, who taught politics at Fudan at the time.
Xu moved to Hong Kong briefly with a fellowship, where he met Lee Ou-fan, who would later recommend him to study in the United States. 
Xu studied in LA but moved back to Hong Kong before completion of a PhD as a vacancy had arisen in the Chinese Department in Lingnan. He finished his doctoral studies in the University of Hong Kong under Lee Ou-fan. He later succeeded Lau Shiu-ming as the Head of Chinese at Lingnan.
In 2020, Xu returned to East China Normal as a honorary lecturer. In 2021, Xu returned to the University of Hong Kong as a guest lecturer on 20th Century Chinese literature.
Xu is also a frequent public lecturer on TV, radio, and podcasts.
==TV Personality==
First invited by Cao Jingxing to Behind Headlines with Wen Tao in 1998, Xu turned down the offer for fear it would take up too much research time. He was soon advised by his wife, former Shanghai TV hostess Chen Yanhua to conduct deeper research before making a decision. Xu was invited again by Leung Man-tao in 2000 to 'answer a few research questions. As of 2017, when the show ceased production, he appeared on the show 1313 times, more than any other guests. Xu, Leung, and the host Dou Wentao were named the show's 'Iron Triangle'.
== Filmography ==
=== Film ===
Year	English title 	Chinese title	Role 	Notes
2020	Love After Love	第一炉香 	Rich Merchant	Cameo
=== TV ===
Year 	English title 	Chinese title	Role 	Notes
2000-2017	Behind the Headlines With Wen Tao	锵锵三人行 	Guest	Most guest appearances with 1313 episodes
Category:People's Republic of China essayists
Category:Writers from Shanghai
Category:People from Shanghai
Category:1954 births