Profile

Member of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Researcher at the Institute of Archaeology, CASS, International Fellow of the British Academy, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the Department of Archaeology, Graduate School, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences.

Currently, he serves as a Member of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and Director, Standing Director, and President of the 8th Council of the Archaeological Society of China. He is also on the editorial boards of both domestic and international journals, including Kaogu (Archaeology), Kaogu Xuebao (Acta Archaeologica Sinica), and Bulletin of the History of Archaeology.

Main Research Directions

- Neolithic archaeology

- History of Chinese archaeology

- Origin of early states in China

- Prehistoric social and cultural history of China

Key Projects & Work Experience

- Conducted archaeological surveys and excavations in Jiangsu, Ningxia, Hebei, Guangdong, and Henan.

- Led the Sino-Australian joint survey of the Yi-Luo River Basin and excavations at key sites including Beiyangping, Xipo, and Huizui.

- Principal investigator for the "Social and Spiritual Culture" sub-project of the National "Origin of Chinese Civilization" program.

- Conducted research at leading international institutions, including Harvard University, La Trobe University (Australia), and Simon Fraser University (Canada).

Major Publications

Research on the History of Chinese Prehistoric Archaeology (1895–1949). Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company, 1997.

State Formation in Early China (co-authored with Liu Li). Bristol: Bristol Classical Press, 2003.

Prometheus in Chinese Archaeology: The Correspondences between K.C.Chang and Li Chi, Ling Shun-sheng, Kao Chu-hsun, Xia Nai. Beijing: SDX Joint Publishing Company, 2005.

Korean version of State Formation in Early China (translated by Shen Zaixun). Seoul: Hakyeon Culture Co., Ltd., 2006.

China before China: Johan Gunnar Andersson, Ding Wenjiang, and the Discovery of China’s Prehistory (Sino-English bilingual, co-authored with Magnus Fiskesjö). Stockholm: Museum of Far Eastern Antiquities, 2004.

Collected Studies on the History of Chinese Archaeology in the 20th Century. Beijing: Cultural Relics Press, 2009.

Archaeological Essays. Beijing: Cultural Relics Press, 2021.

"The Process of Social Complexity in the Heartland of Chinese Civilization" (co-authored). Kaogu Xuebao (Acta Archaeologica Sinica), No. 2, 2003.

"Re-examining Prehistoric Tortoise-shell Rattles in China" (co-authored). In Peaches and Plums Line the Path: Celebrating the 80th Birthday of Mr. An Zhimin. Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 2004.

"Preliminary Study on the Origin of Domestic Buffalo in China" (co-authored). Kaogu Xuebao (Acta Archaeologica Sinica), No. 2, 2006.

"Excavation of the Huizui Site in Yanshi, Henan (2002–2003)" (co-authored). Kaogu Xuebao (Acta Archaeologica Sinica), No. 3, 2010.