Carl Darling Buck Distinguished Service Professor Emeritus in the Humanities and Professor Emeritus of Religion and Literature in the Divinity School; also in the Departments of Comparative Literature, East Asian Languages and Civilizations, and English Language and Literature, and the Committee on Social Thought

S.T.B. (Fuller Theological Seminary)
Ph.D. (University of Chicago)

Professor Yu’s interests center on the comparative study of both literary and religious traditions. The themes and topoi of Greek religions and Christian theology have informed his essays on epics (Classical and Renaissance) and tragic dramas of the West. Similarly, he has sought to reinterpret classical Chinese narratives and poetry in light of Buddhism, Taoism, and Confucianism. His publications include specific comparisons of Chinese and Western texts, literary and religious histories, and issues of theory and criticism. His courses at the University of Chicago are divided between those offered for the Divinity School (in both Religion and Literature and the History of Religions) and those offered for the Departments of East Asian Languages and Civilizations and of Comparative Literature. Best known for his four-volume translation of The Journey to the West, he coedited (with Mary Gerhart) Morphologies of Faith: Essays in Religion and Culture in Honor of Nathan A. Scott, Jr. He has also published Rereading the Stone: Desire and the Making of Fiction in “Dream of the Red Chamber.” In late 2004, Open Court published his State and Religion in China: Historical and Textual Perspectives.