Liu Zhao | China Studies

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Dr Liu Zhao – Leading Researcher in China Studies

Academician/Research Scholar The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong 

Congratulations, Dr Liu Zhao, on winning the esteemed Best Researcher Award from ResearchW! Your dedication, innovative research, and scholarly contributions have truly made a significant impact in your field. Your commitment to advancing knowledge and pushing the boundaries of research is commendable. Here’s to your continued success in shaping the future of academia and making invaluable contributions to your field. Well done!

 Dr Liu Zhao, a distinguished academic and researcher in the field of renewable energy, Academician/Research Scholar The University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong. His academic journey has been marked by a profound dedication to advancing Web Analytics and Metrics, specifically in solar thermal harvesting and its integration into Social Media and Digital Marketing applications.

Academic Appointments

  • Postdoc, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the University of Hong Kong, 2021-2023. The One Belt One Road Initiative Program, funded by the RGC CRF grant no. C7052-18G.
  • Specialized in: the Greater Bay Area Studies and China’s soft power in the One Belt One Road Initiative

Education

  • PhD, Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong, 2015.01-2020.10
    • Specialized in political sociology, regional governance, and public policy
    • Ph.D. thesis: State Building Encounters Popular Religion: Pingxiang, 1912-1978.
  • Harvard-Yenching fellow, Harvard University, 2017.08-2018.06 (Cambridge, USA).
  • Visiting scholar at EHESS (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales), 2016.10-2017.07, (Paris, France).
  • MPhil (upgraded to Ph.D. in 2015.01), Department of Sociology, Faculty of Social Sciences, The University of Hong Kong 2013-2014.
    • Major in political sociology and regional governance.
  • M.A., Department of Arts and Design, School of Communication and Design, Sun Yat-Sen University, 2008- 2010.
    • Major in Art Aesthetics and Urban Design.
  • B.A., Department of French, School of Foreign Languages, Sun Yat-Sen University, 2002-2006.
    • Major in: French language and literature.

Publications

  1. “A New Cultural-Sociological Approach to Social Movements: Cultural Pragmatics, Iconicity, and the Transformation of the Hong Kong Palace Museum into a Symbol of Authoritarian Power”
    • The American Journal of Cultural Sociology.
    • Online first, DOI: 10.1057/s41290-023-00198-1v
  2. “Rescuing a Discredited Artist by Building Symbolic Capital: A Study of Gao Jianfu’s South Asian Tour”
    • The Journal of Asian Studies, Forthcoming, vol. 84, issue 1, Feb 2025.
  3. “How Party-History-Revision Became a Tactic for Leadership Struggles within the Chinese Communist Party”
    • The Asian Journal of Social Sciences. Forthcoming, vol 51, issue 1, March 2024. DOI: 10.1016/j.ajss.2023.09.002. Online first
  4. “Improvisation, Collective Structure, and Culture Change: A Theory of Bricolage”
    • Anthropological Theory, Forthcoming.
  5. “Disaster, Death and Religion: The Revival of Ghost Drama in China, 1961-1965”
    • Modern China. Revised and Resubmitted.
  6. “The Paradox of Statebuilding: Why Statebuilding Weakened the State in the Republic of China, 1919-1948.”
    • The American Journal of Sociology, under review.
  7. Book Review, “Re-Enchanting Modernity: Ritual Economy and Society in Wenzhou, China.”
    • China Review International 26(3): 210-212, 2019.
  8. Book Review, “The Study on the Relationship between Hanyeping Enterprise and Government 漢冶萍公司與政府關係研究,”
    • New Frontiers in Asian Scholarship, Harvard Yenching Institute, 2018.
  9. Book Review, “Gender, Romance and Marriage of Chinese Youth During the Cultural Revolution (1966-1976) 狂瀾與潛流：中國青年的性戀與婚姻（1966-1976）,”
    • New Frontiers in Asian Scholarship, Harvard Yenching Institute, 2017.

Working Papers

  • “The Deathcare Service Industry and Networks in One Belt One Road Countries”
  • “How the Covid-19 Epidemic Facilitates the Strengthening of the State’s Disciplinary Power.”

Presentations in Conferences, Seminars and Workshops

  • September 2023, The Cultural Sociology East & West Conference, organized by the Center for Cultural Sociology at Yale University, New Haven. Invited as section chair.
  • August 2023, “Global China in a Religious World,” Asian Religious Cluster, Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the University of Hong Kong. Section Chair.
  • June 2023, “Smart Museum in a Smart City: Art Museum and Urban Development in Chengdu.” Time Gravity 2023 Chengdu Biennale International Academic Conference, the Chengdu Art Museum, Chengdu.
  • November 2022, “How the Corona-Virus Pandemic Leads to State Upscaling in the Great Bay Area,” American Sociological Association, urban sociology branch, USA.
  • April 2022, “Disaster and Religion: The Spatial Expansion of Religious Infrastructure in the 1960’s Urban China” Interdisciplinary Lunchtime Seminar, HKIHSS, University of Hong Kong.
  • October 2019, “Religious Habitus: A Hidden Engine for Urban Resistance to State Rescaling in Pingxiang,” Sociology of Chinese Religion, HKIHSS, University of Hong Kong, Hong Kong.
  • May 2018, “The Power of Iconic Performance: How a Planned Museum was Turned into a Symbol of the CCP’s Authoritarian Power,” Advanced Political Science Workshop, Harvard-Yenching Institute, Cambridge.
  • April 2018, “Inter-disciplinary Research Skills: Comparing the Method of Ethnography in Sociology, Human Geography and Political Science,” Postgraduate Seminar in the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, Harvard, Cambridge.
  • November 2017, “A Comparative Study on the Invention of the Revolutionary Tradition and Social Transformations in China,” Advanced Political Science Workshop, Harvard-Yenching Institute, Cambridge.
  • April 2017, “How to Conduct the Field Investigation in China: Experience and Lessons in Participant Observations”, Young Scholars’ Workshop in China Studies (Mener une recherche sur la Chine: ficelles et cuisine du jeune chercheur), Centre Chine, EHESS (École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales), Paris.
  • June 2016, “A Comparative Study on the Invention of Tradition in China”, Advanced Research Training Workshop, the Harvard-Yenching Institute and the School of Government, Sun Yat-sen University, Guangzhou.

Scholarships, Research Grants and Awards

  • 2023, Research Grant from the Henry Luce Foundation, HKD 25,600, The Center for Cultural Sociology, Yale University.
  • 2021-2022, Hang Seng Bank Golden Jubilee Education Fund for Research, HKD 20,000, the Hong Kong Institute for the Humanities and Social Sciences, the University of Hong Kong.
  • 2018, Harvard-Yenching Scholar’s Academic Grant, USD 1,750, Harvard-Yenching Institute.
  • 2017, Harvard-Yenching Fellowship, USD 43,708, Harvard-Yenching Institute, Harvard.
  • 2017, Internationalization Pilot Scheme Research Funding, HKD 10,000, Faculty of Social Sciences, the University of Hong Kong.
  • 2016, Lee Hysan Fellowship, HKD 250,000, the Lee Hysan Foundation.
  • 2015, Travel Grant for Research Postgraduate, HKD 13,500, University Research Committee, the University of Hong Kong.

Teaching Experience

  • 2022-2023, part-time lecture at the University of Hong Kong, Soci 1003, Introduction to Sociology
  • 2021-2022, part-time lecture at the University of Hong Kong, Soci 1001, Introduction to Anthropology
  • 2015-2016, demonstrator at the University of Hong Kong, Soci 1003, Introduction to Anthropology.
  • 2014-2015, demonstrator at the University of Hong Kong, Soci 1001, Introduction to Sociology.
  • 2013-2014, tutor at the University of Hong Kong, Soci 1001, Introduction to Sociology.