Huang Kan

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.