Research overview
My current research focuses on human interaction with geographic and climate resources in the Pearl River Delta from 1500 to 1800. The work in progress is about thunder and lightning, concerning two aspects: 1) how were the celestial phenomena represented and interpreted in art and visual culture in the Ming and Qing dynasties? and 2) how did thunder beliefs relate to non-human beings, such as mythical creatures and monsters?
In September 2025, I was awarded funding from the Oslo Center for Environmental Humanities to lead the Collaborative Junior Research Team "Creative Agency and Environmental Humanities." The project addresses how creative practice becomes a method of eco-critical research. It investigates the power and potential of the artist-researcher to trigger ecological consciousness and support actions beyond academia.
My previous PhD project examined illustrated botanical books in China from the 16th to the 19th century, focusing particularly on the production and dissemination of knowledge on famine foods, their social and ecological implications, and connections with contemporary practices. From 2015 to 2018, I worked on "Socially Engaged Art in Contemporary China" to archive art projects in China that addressed environmental activism, labor issues, GLBT rights, urban space, community displacement, and art education.
Academic interests
My research interests lie in the history of science, agriculture, folk beliefs, and visual culture in late imperial China. I try to incorporate anthropological and ethnographical methods into historical research, to make present the marginalized actors and inadequately discussed questions in written history. I am also applying digital tools to the humanities.
Background
[BScoSc] Sociology and Art History (The University of Hong Kong)
[MA] History of Art and Archeology - Chinese, Japanese and Korean Art (SOAS)
[Ph.D.] Creative Media - History of Science (City University of Hong Kong)
Visiting Fellow, EALC Harvard University (2021-2022)
Visiting Predoctoral Fellow, Max Planck Institute for the History of Science (2021)
Advisory Committee Member, The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens (2021-2024)
Research Associate, SCM City University of Hong Kong (2014-2018)
Research Assistant, The British Museum (2013)
Awards
2025 Collaborative Junior Research Team grant, Oslo Center for Environmental Humanities
2021 China-US Scholars Program Fellowship, Institute of International Education
2021 DAAD Short-Term Grants (selected – withdrawn), German Academic Exchange Service
2020 Fulbright-RGC Hong Kong Research Scholar Award (selected – program canceled)
2018 The Hong Kong PhD Fellowship, Hong Kong Research Grants Council
2012 Dean's Honors List, The University of Hong Kong
2009 HKU Foundation Scholarship for Outstanding Mainland Students, The University of Hong Kong
Publications
- Huang, Sarah Chen. “Famine Foods from the Prince's Garden to the Agronomist's Guidebook.” In Growing and Knowing in the Gardens of China. Edited by Michelle Bailey, Nicholas K. Menzies, and Phillip E. Bloom, San Marino: The Huntington Library, Art Museum, and Botanical Gardens, 2024, 97-105, DOI: https://dx.doi.org/10.1353/book.126896
- Huang, Chen. Mapping the Knowledge of Famine Foods in Late Imperial China. Ph.D. Dissertation, City University of Hong Kong, 17 May 2023, 258 pp.
- Huang, Chen. “Fulfilling the Potential of All Plants: Jiuhuang Bencao and the Discourses on Famine Foods in the Ming Dynasty.” Ming Qing Studies, 2021, 87-126.
- Huang, Chen. “From Funan River to East Lake: Reflecting on Environmental Activism and Public Art in China.” Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art 3, no. 3, 2016, 315-23.