Jessey Choo

Jessey Choo is an Associate Professor of Chinese History and Religion at Rutgers University–New Brunswick. Her research focuses on cultural and religious practices in China’s medieval period (200–1000 CE), including childbearing, death, memory, and women’s agency. She is affiliated with the Department of Asian Languages and Cultures.

• Ph.D., Princeton University (2009)
• M.A., Princeton University (2003)
• M.A., University of Toronto (1998)
• B.A., University of Rochester (1997)

Her research encompasses Cultural Memory, Entombed Epigraphy, Everyday Life, and Women and Gender. She explores how medieval Chinese societies used burial practices and muzhiming (entombed epitaphs) to construct identity and memory, while tracing the role of childbearing in women’s religious salvation. Her work bridges historical, religious, and gender studies.

Recent publications span themes such as funerary biographies, epigraphic analysis, and medieval cultural practices. The 2022 book Inscribing Death and ongoing projects like "From Damnation to Transcendence" and "Immortalized in Stone" reflect her interdisciplinary approach.

• Research Grant, Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation (2018–2019)
• Morphomata International Center Fellowship (2019)

As a co-editor of Early Medieval China: A Sourcebook (2014) and Tales from Tang Dynasty China (2017), she has advanced pedagogical and research resources. Her courses include Major Traditions in Chinese Thought and Women in Pre-Modern China. No students are listed in the provided texts.