Chelsea Zi Wang

Chelsea Zi Wang is an Assistant Professor of History specializing in late imperial China. Her research examines governance and communication in premodern empires, particularly the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644). She explores how administrative practices influenced spatial control and bureaucratic efficiency. Her book manuscript, Logistics of Empire: Governance and Spatial Friction in Ming China, highlights counterintuitive administrative strategies used by the Ming state.

Education: B.A. from the University of British Columbia, M.A. and Ph.D. from Columbia University. Courses taught include East Asian Civilizations, Pseudohistory, and Murder and Mayhem in Imperial China. Research interests span Ming China, bureaucracy, archives, and organizational theory.

Publications include analyses of Ming postal systems and reviews of works on Song China’s governance. Her teaching emphasizes understanding historical societies' internal logic and methodologies of historical inquiry.