Although an amateur in the field of ethnography, Teng is highly regarded in academic circles for his work in recording the oral history of Taiwan's aborigines. His good friend Wang Hao, who teaches in junior high school, jokingly calls Teng "the Puli Center for Ethnographic Fieldwork."
「半路出家」的鄧相揚在田野調查、原住民口述歷史領域做得有聲有色，在國中任教的好友王灝戲稱鄧相揚是「埔里田野調查局」。