Huang Kan (Chinese: 黃侃; 1886 – 8 October 1935), courtesy name Jigang (季剛), born into a family of Hubei ancestry in Chengdu, Sichuan province, was a Chinese phonologist, philologist and revolutionary.
As a teen, he tested into Wuchang School, a prestigious secondary school, but then was expelled for spreading anti-Qing sentiments. He then went to study in Japan and became a student of the Chinese scholar and philologist Zhang Taiyan. Huang was regarded as the most important phonologist since the high Qing (1644 – 1912) and gained recognition at first through his literary criticism of the sixth century. Later on, he taught at a number of universities in mainland China.
Huang's major contribution lies in his research on ancient Chinese phonology. He was the first to question established theories of rhyme schemes (patterns of sounds at the end of lines in poetry) in ancient literature. Huang proposed twenty-eight variations instead of the older version of twenty-six variations established by his teacher Zhang. He also proposed a new categorization of the ancient consonantal system that separated the oldest nineteen sounds from the existing theory of forty-one sounds.
As an educator, Huang was known for his innovative ways of teaching. His students particularly admired his integrity and courage in cases of political disagreement with university administrations. His personal life outside of academia was one with much drama as well, including multiple conflicts with authorities and allegedly nine marriages. He eventually died from over consumption of alcohol.
Early life
Childhood
Born in a large family, Huang Kan was the tenth child of Huang Yunhu (黄云鹄) and Zhou Ruren(周孺人). Huang Yunhu was a high-ranking government official in the late Qing Dynasty. Although corruption was common among government officials during that time, he did not take part in such practices. As a result, his family was frugal despite Huang's political influence and academic achievements. As the second surviving son of the family, Huang Kan showed strong interest in literature and books in general from a very young age and reportedly could memorize texts verbatim upon first reading. At the young age of four, his family hired Jiang Shuhai, a retired government official and a family friend, as Huang Kan's tutor. Huang Kan, who not only read but also memorized the many books he read, quickly became well known as a prodigy in the area.
Early education
In 1903, at the age of eighteen, Huang Kan tested into the Hubei Liberal School, Wuchang Xuetang (“湖北普通文学堂”, “武昌学堂“). The Qing Dynasty, the last living Chinese imperial state, was on the verge of collapsing at this time. During the three years Huang Kan spent at this school, he was highly influenced by the progressive scholars and thinkers around him, and especially excited about the idea of revolution and rising up against the monarchy. Huang Kan was not afraid to challenge or embarrass authority figures. Multiple “incidents” with a corrupt administrator eventually resulted in his being expelled from school. Huang Kan's father was old friends with Zhang Zhidong (张之洞), the Viceroy of Huguang (a very high-ranking position in the Qing government). Recognizing Huang Kan's talent and wanting to do a favor for his old friend, Zhang pulled strings to sponsor Huang Kan to study in Japan.
Huang Kan started studying at Waseda University in 1903, which was during the period leading up to Xinhai Revolution, the revolution that eventually overthrew the Qing monarchy. He joined Tongmenghui ("Chinese United League"), a major resistance group against Qing Dynasty. Zhang Zhidong, being an official in the Qing government, consequently rescinded Huang's scholarship for Japan. Huang Kan then continued living in Japan as a political refugee. He became Zhang Taiyan's student there, learning philology and phonetics. Together with Zhang and Liu Shipei, the three were later termed "國學大師 (masters of Chinese scholarship, sinology)". Aside from scholarly contributions, they also aided the revolution remotely by creating an influential political newspaper The People Journal (“民报”) in addition to publishing various individual political writings.
Professional life
As a linguist
Huang Kan and Zhang Taiyan were the last great masters in the Chinese philological tradition, and helped lay the foundation of modern Chinese linguistics. Huang was the first to propose a convincing initial systems of Old Chinese.