Inspired by the philosopher Lao Tzu, he studied Chinese and wrote his dissertation on ancient China's tianyuan 田園 "field and garden" poets, akin to Western pastoral poetry.

[1][2] Field began his academic career as an assistant professor in the Department of Modern Languages and Literatures at The College of William & Mary from 1985 to 1990 where he founded their Chinese major.

[10] He also authored a chapter titled "A Geomantic Reading of Asian Diasporic Literature," where he applied geomancy to explore themes of displacement, identity, and cultural orientation in the works of Amy Tan and others.

[11] After graduating from college in 1974, and encountering for the first time a 19th-century English translation of the I Ching, Field resolved to be able to read the work in Chinese someday, and four decades later published The Duke of Zhou Changes.

[12] This work sought to restore the early Zhou dynasty context using pre-Confucian sources, while providing insights into the myths and legends surrounding the Zhouyi's creation and guidance for casting the oracle and interpreting readings.