My research explores the intersections of cultural heritage, politics, archaeology, museums, cultural memory, and society. I examine how heritage, ritual, and museum practices are shaped by global heritage discourse and contemporary political forces. Emphasizing multi-scalar analysis, I investigate the formation of authorized heritage discourse, the politics of archaeological knowledge, and the material representation of religion and Indigenous culture. I also explore how local heritage practices respond to global heritage-making trends.
(1) Yinxu Archaeological Park and Its Social Impacts: This ethnographic study, grounded in my doctoral research, investigates how global heritage discourse, state power, and local archaeological practices have reshaped the historical landscape of Anyang. It focuses on the transformation of dozens of villages into a World Heritage site and archaeological park, examining the construction of national narratives and the villagers’ lived experiences within these heritage spaces. The study reveals how state, local, and religious histories intersect and compete in shaping collective memory.
(2) Remote Ancestral Cults and Intangible Heritage in China: My research investigates the contemporary revival of ancestral ceremonies honoring figures such as the Yellow Emperor, Yandi, Dayu, and Ciyou. I examine how intangible cultural heritage discourse legitimizes these rituals, their relationship to the resurgence of folk religion, and the role of oral history in reconstructing ancestral narratives. The project also explores how academic nationalism and archaeological activity shape evolving historical memory. My monograph on the Yellow Emperor has been published by Cambridge University Press (2025), and future work will expand to include other ancestral cults and cross-strait religious dynamics.
(3) Han Folk Religion and Museum Representation in Taiwan: Many Taiwanese religious groups have established museums, yet academic attention is limited. I explore how religion is displayed through heritage frameworks and how beliefs in the sacred power of objects affect curatorial practice.
My research interests revolve around the construction of and discourses relating to UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the materialization and institutionalization in museums of China’s historical past, and the uses of heritage and archaeology in nation-building in twentieth-century China. As an emerging field of academic research, critical heritage studies takes an interdisciplinary approach to tackling the role of the past in the present, which requires theoretical, historical, and social approaches as well as practical application. My research thus spans heritage and museums, the anthropology of nationalism, cultural memory, space and politics, and social history in China.