Ling Zhang

Dr. Ling Zhang is a University Associate Professor in Classical Chinese and Middle Period China at the University of Cambridge's Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, and a Fellow of Gonville and Caius College. Her work bridges environmental, economic, and technological history with interdisciplinary approaches to knowledge systems.

• Education: BA in Philosophy/History/Literature (Peking University), PhD in Chinese History (University of Cambridge)
• Prior roles: Associate Professor at Boston College, Postdoctoral Fellow at Yale, Harvard Fellow, Lecturer at Newcastle

Research focuses on intersections of environment, economy, technology, and politics in pre-modern China, challenging anthropocentric historical frameworks. Current projects include geohistorical monographs and collaborative studies on medieval peasantry and river systems.

Her award-winning book The River, the Plain, and the State redefined Song Dynasty environmental history. She co-edits the Studies in Environment and History series and leads the 'Environment in Asia' research initiative.

• Awards: American Society for Environmental History George Perkins Marsh Prize (2017)

Supervises postgraduate research on medieval China's political ecology, comparative environmental history, and knowledge systems. Collaborates globally on projects like 'Ecology, Religion, and Multispecies Healing' with Dr. David Mozina.