About me

I study how states build authority at home and exercise influence abroad. In particular, I am interested in the role of political elites in building states and shaping national identity. I combine archival sources with quantitative analysis.

I am the author of Governing Empire: Bureaucracy and State Power in Imperial China (Cambridge University Press, 2027).

Before joining Washington University, I was a postdoctoral research associate at Yale University. I received my PhD in Political Science from Duke University, my master’s degree in International Affairs from Sciences Po Paris and Peking University, and my BA in English Literature and International Relations from Beijing Foreign Studies University.