Wolfgang Behr

Prof. Dr. Wolfgang Behr is a Professor of Sinology at the University of Zurich since 2008 and Institutsdirektor (Institute Director) since 2023. He has held academic positions at Goethe University Frankfurt (1991–1997), Ruhr University Bochum (1998–2008), and visiting roles at Chinese University Hong Kong (2014) and Jao Tsung-I Academy (2017). As Prodekan Forschung (2018–2022) and Senior Visiting Fellow at Kyoto University (2022), he bridges administrative and research roles.

• Education: Magister (1991), Ph.D. (1997), and Habilitation (2008) from institutions in Germany and China, focusing on Sanskrit-Chinese lexicon, Bronze inscriptions, and early cultural history.

His research interests span Old Chinese phonology, etymology, paleography, and Sino-Tibetan comparative linguistics. He explores external contacts of Old/Middle Chinese, dialectology, cultural history, and the epistemological foundations of historical linguistics beyond Eurocentric frameworks. Additional focuses include early Chinese brain concepts, non-alphabetic writing systems, and experimental literary translation.

Recent publications analyze phonological variation, lexical borrowing, and metrical evolution in Early China. He co-edits journals like Bulletin of Chinese Linguistics and Worlds of East Asia, and serves on boards for Old World: Journal of Ancient Africa and Études Asiatiques.

As a leader in academic associations—including European Association for Chinese Studies (Executive Board), Swiss Asia Society (President), and Li Fang-kuei Society (Board of Directors)—he shapes disciplinary discourse. Current Ph.D. co-supervisions address topics like Sino-Iranian lexical exchange and early Chinese versification.