PhD Student Profile: Yichen Liang

September 10, 2021

Area of Study: Biblical Studies

Yichen Liang is a PhD student in Biblical Studies, concentrating on the New Testament. Born and raised in Beijing, China, she received a bachelor’s degree in English and International Studies from China Foreign Affairs University. She then received her Master of Divinity degree from Boston University School of Theology and the Master of Theological Studies from Garrett-Evangelical Theological Seminary. She continues her doctoral studies at Garrett-Evangelical in Biblical Studies, focusing on the New Testament. Her research interests include the Johannine literature, particularly the Gospel of John and its reception history, metaphorical expressions, and the cross-cultural interpretation of the New Testament from her Chinese perspective. Her master’s thesis discussed the metaphor of light in the Gospel of John in dialogue with the Chinese classic text, Zhuangzi.

Papers and Publications

“A Metaphorical and Cross-Cultural Reading on the Metaphor of Light in the Gospel of John and the Zhuangzi.” MTS Thesis, ProQuest Dissertations Publishing, 2020.

Presentations

“The White Aesthetics in the Skin-Whitening Phenomenon among Korean and Chinese Women,” Pacific Asian North American Asian Women in Theology and Ministry, Methodist Theological School of Ohio. Columbus, OH, March 2017.

“Whitened Faces: A Historical and Theological Analysis of Skin-Whitening among Korean and Chinese Women,” Duke Graduate Conference in Theology, Duke University, NC, September 2016.