Professor William S-Y. Wang is among the most influential contemporary linguists. For several decades, he has been leading the development of Chinese Linguistics to a higher level. Professor Wang established the famous theory of lexical diffusion, advocating an evolutionary perspective and interdisciplinary methods for research on language and linguistics. His writings have appeared in handbooks, textbooks, encyclopedias, numerous technical journals, and have been translated into several languages.

On the occasion of his 80th birthday, numerous pupils and colleagues of Professor Wang come together for the compilation of the Festschrift to pay tribute to him. The Festschrift has over sixty contributions by scholars from Mainland China, Hong Kong, Taiwan, East Asia, North America and Europe, partitioned in Chinese and English volumes. Authors are active in areas of various linguistic frontiers, investigating language and linguistics from an interdisciplinary perspective. Most of the contributions investigate Chinese language via modern linguistic experiments, archeology, anthropology, psychology and modeling methods and so on, leading readers into new realms of linguistics.

This Festschrift shows the achievements of modern linguistics, reflecting Professor Wang's academic philosophy. It is not only a great reference for seasoned language researchers; it can also help broaden knowledge in Chinese linguistics for students interested in languages. Readers who wish to know Chinese culture will also expand their understanding of it through these studies of the languages in China.