Bio

Christopher Yang is a historian of early Chinese religions who studies the texts and traditions of Warring States and early imperial China (roughly, those dating between the 5th c. BCE and the early 3rd c. CE). He is working on a book manuscript, based on his dissertation, that shows how a set of enduring ideas about the body, mind, spirit (神) and the scope of human powers was forged in exchanges between early practitioners of sacrifice, self-cultivation, medicine, and esoterica. His broader research interests concern the body and materiality; religious ethics; the relationship between text and practice; and later receptions of early Chinese texts.

Academic Appointments

  • Lecturer, Stanford Introductory Studies - Civic, Liberal, and Global Education

Professional Education

  • PhD, Brown University, Religious Studies (2025)
  • MA, Harvard University, Regional Studies - East Asia (2018)
  • BA, Stanford University, English and Religious Studies (2015)

2025-26 Courses