Huang’s research interprets the East Syriac Christian texts written in classical Chinese during the Tang Dynasty (618–907). These texts borrowed extensively from Chinese religious terminologies to convey their Christian theology. In addition to illuminating the complex interaction between the Syriac and Chinese traditions at work in the texts, she explores the influence of the Byzantine Greek tradition not only on Syriac Christianity but also on these Chinese texts.
Rong Huang is a PhD candidate in religion at Harvard University. She earned a Bachelor of Arts in philosophy from Tsinghua University in Beijing, China, and a master’s degree in regional studies—East Asia from Harvard University. Huang has a broad interest in the field of religion. Her coursework and research concern various religious traditions from the Mediterranean to China and numerous topics in the study of religion, such as theology, history, theories and methods, comparative studies, and anthropology. She specializes in Syriac Christian literature, and taught the intensive Syriac language course at Harvard Divinity School during the summer of 2021.