2008/01–2012/09  Ph.D. in Buddhist Studies (Indian Buddhism), Department of Religious and Theological Studies, Cardiff University, UK.

2005/09–2007/12  Ph.D. Candidate in Buddhist Chinese Studies, Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Peking University, China.

2001/09–2005/07  B.A. in Chinese Linguistics (with the highest GPA ranking), Department of Chinese Language and Literature, Fudan University, China.

Since 2017/07   Associate Professor, School of Humanities, Tsinghua University

2015/07–2017/06  ACLS / The Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Postdoctoral Fellow, Leiden University Institute for Area Studies, The Netherlands.

2015/01–2015/06 Jan Gonda Indology Fellow, International Institute for Asian Studies, Leiden, The Netherlands

2012/10­–2014/12  JSPS Postdoctoral Fellow, Department of Indian Philosophy and Buddhist Studies, University of Tokyo, Japan

• Buddhist scriptural traditions in ancient Indian subcontinent

• Chinese and Tibetan translations of Indian Buddhist scriptures

• Buddhist monastic law codes (Vinayas); Indian Buddhist monasticism

• Buddhist Sanskrit manuscripts (particularly the Gilgit manuscripts)

• Production, transmission and reception of early Chinese Buddhist translations

• Linguistic features of Chinese Buddhist translations

• Indian Buddhist and Jaina narrative literature

• Indian Buddhist and Jaina ethics, cosmology and soteriology.

Chinese Monographs:

A Study of the Narrative Traditions about King Ajātaśatru in Indian Buddhism, 2 volumes, Beijing: China Tibetology Publishing House, 2022. Totally 663 pages. ISBN: 978–7–5211–0386–1.

A Study of the Sanskrit and Tibetan Versions of the Cīvaravastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya. Beijing: The Commercial Press, forthcoming. [The Commercial Press is the longest-standing publishing house in China with over 120-year history].

English Monograph:

Good, Evil and Liberation: Legends of King Ajātaśatru/Kūṇika in Indian Buddhist and Jainism, book manuscript to be submitted to the Gonda Indological Series, Brill.

English Peer-reviewed Articles & Chapters [All singled authored]:

2025a. “Indian Buddhist Legends of Ajātaśatru and Jaina Legends of Kūṇika: A Comparative Overview,” Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University, Vol. XXVIII, pp. 45–81.

2025b. “Constructing Identity through Monastic Legislation: Rules Intended to Differentiate Buddhists from Jainas and Ājīvikas in Vinaya Literature,” Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London, vol. 88. [A&HCI indexed]

2023a. “Kṣemendra’s Retelling of Ajātaśatru’s Patricide and Salvation: The Ajātaśatrupitṛdrohāvadāna (Pallava 45) of the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā,” in Śāntamatiḥ: Manuscripts for Life — Essays in Memory of Seishi Karashima, edited by Noriyuki Kudo, Tokyo: The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology, Soka University, pp. 423–446.

2023b. “Buddhist Narrative and Non-Narrative Sources on the Salvation of the Patricidal King Ajātaśatru,” Annual Report of The International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University, vol. XXVI, pp. 167–188.

2022a. “The Relationship between the Cīvaravastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and Chapter 36 of Yijing’s Nanhai jigui neifa zhuan: A Re-examination,” Indo-Iranian Journal, vol. 65, no. 1, pp. 32–84. Leiden: Brill. [A&HCI indexed]

2022b. “The Cīvaravastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and Its Counterparts in Other Indian Buddhist Monastic Law Codes: A Comparative Survey,” Journal of Indian Philosophy, vol. 50, No. 4, pp. 581–618. Springer. [A&HCI indexed]

2020. “Mechanisms of Contact-Induced Linguistic Creations in Chinese Buddhist Translations,” Acta Orientalia Academiae Scientiarum Hungaricae, vol. 73, no. 3, pp. 385–418. [A&HCI indexed]

2019a. “War as a Backdrop for Legislation: Stories of Ajātaśatru Warfare in Indian Buddhist Monastic Law Codes,” Indo-Iranian Journal, vol. 62, no. 4, pp. 293–339. [A&HCI indexed]

2019b. “The Buddhist Salvation of Ajātaśatru and the Jaina non-Salvation of Kūṇika.” Bulletin of the School of African and Oriental Studies, University of London, vol. 82, no. 1, pp. 85–110. [A&HCI indexed]

2019c. “Ajātasatru.” Brill’s Encyclopedia of Buddhism, Volume II: Lives. Leiden: Brill, pp. 51–59.

2018. “Some Notes on the Sanskrit Fragments of the Ajātaśatrukaukrtyavinodana and Their Extant Parallels.” 西域歷史語言研究集刊 / Historical and Philological Studies of China’s Western Regions, vol. 10, pp. 109–146.

2017. “Parallel Stories in the Āvaśyakacūrṇi and the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya: A Preliminary Investigation.” Journal of the American Oriental Society, vol. 137, no. 2, pp. 315–347. [A&HCI indexed]

2016a. “The Rootless Faith of Ajātaśatru and Its Explanations in the *Abhidharma-Mahāvibhāsā.” Indo-Iranian Journal, vol. 59, no. 2, pp. 101–148. [A&HCI indexed]

2016b. “Jaina Studies at the 16th World Sanskrit Conference.” Jaina Studies: Newsletter of the Center of Jaina Studies, Issue 11, pp. 19–22. London: SOAS, University of London.

2015a. “Some Notes on Buddhist and Jaina Stories of King Ajātasatru’s War against the Vrjis.” Annual Report of the International Research Institute for Advanced Buddhology at Soka University, vol. 18, pp. 95–112.

2015b. “Violence, Virtue and Spiritual Liberation: A Cross-Religious Perspective.” Nieuwsbrief van de Vereniging van Vrienden van het Instituut Kern, Nummer 22, p. 2. Leiden: Kern Institute.

2014a. “Stories of King Bimbisāra and His Son Ajātasatru in the Cīvaravastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya and Some Śvetāmbara Jaina Texts.” インド哲学仏教学研究 / Studies in Indian Philosophy and Buddhism, vol. 21, pp. 19–47. Tokyo.

2014b. “The Story of the Previous Life of Ajātasatru/Kūnika in Buddhist and Śvetāmbara Jain Texts.” Journal of Indian and Buddhist Studies / 印度學佛教學研究 (Indogaku Bukkyōgaku kenkyū), vol. 62, no. 3, pp. 109–114. Tokyo.

2014c. “Violence, Virtue and Spiritual Liberation: A Preliminary Survey of Buddhist and Jaina Stories of Future Rebirths of Srenika Bimbisāra and Kūnika Ajātasatru.” Religions of South Asia, vol. 8, no. 2, pp. 149–179.

2014d. Review of Michael Radich’s Book “How Ajātasatru Was Reformed: The Domestication of ‘Ajase’ and Stories in Buddhist History.” International Journal of Asian Studies, vol. 11, no. 2, pp. 213–216. Cambridge University Press. [A&HCI indexed]

Chinese Peer-Reviewed Articles:

2024a. “The Significance of the Sanskrit and Tibetan Versions of the Cīvaravastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya for Religious Studies,” 世界宗教研究 (Studies in World Religions), 2024, Issue 3, pp. 39–53. [CSSCI indexed].

2024b. “Cross-Religious Perspective on Indian Buddhist Monastic Law Codes: A Case Study,” 世界宗教文化 (World Religious Cultures), 2024, Issue 4, pp. 58–65. [CSSCI indexed]

2024c. “The Interplay of Sanskrit Poetics and Buddhist Storytelling: A Case Study of the Bodhisattvāvadānakalpalatā,” 东方文学研究集刊 (Journal of Eastern Literature Studies), vol. 13, pp. 77–105. Research Center of Eastern Literature, Peking University.

2020a. “Comparing Buddhist and Jaina Soteriologies: A Case Study of the Legends of King Ajātaśatru/Kūṇika,” 清華大學學報 (Journal of Tsinghua University), Vol. 35, no. 2, pp. 138–155. [CSSCI indexed]

2020b. “A Preliminary Survey of the Contents of the Sanskrit and Tibetan Versions of the Cīvaravastu of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya,” 中華文史論叢 (Journal of Chinese Literature and History), Issue 138, pp. 283–313. [CSSCI indexed]

2011. “Special Usage of the Interrogative yúnhé in Chinese Buddhist Translations,” 中國語文 (Studies of the Chinese Language), Issue 340, pp. 43–52. Beijing: Institute of Linguistics, Chinese Academy of Social Science. [CSSCI indexed]

2009a. “The Etymology of the Interrogative jiǔrú in Chinese Buddhist Translations,”漢語史學報 (Journal of the History of the Chinese Language), vol. 8, pp. 229-236. [CSSCI indexed]

2009b. Erik Zürcher, “Late Han Vernacular Elements in the Earliest Buddhist Translations.” Journal of the Chinese Language Teachers Association 12 (1977): 177-203. Translated into Chinese under the title 最早的佛經譯文中的東漢口語成分 by JIANG Shaoyu and WU Juan in ZHU Qingzhi 朱慶之 (ed.), 佛教漢語研究 / Studies of the Buddhist Chinese Language, pp. 75–112. Beijing: The Commercial Press.

2008a. “Further Notes on the Word báiyī in Chinese Buddhist Translations,” 語言研究 (Studies in Language and Linguistics), vol. 28, no.1, pp. 27–29. [CSSCI indexed]

2008b. “The Indefinite Use of the Interrogative Pronoun hé in Chinese Buddhist Translations,” 中文學刊 (The Chinese Academic Journal), vol. 5, pp. 141–157. Hong Kong: The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press.

Undergraduate Courses Taught at Leiden University (2015–2016)

· Sacred Biography in Buddhism and Jainism (Spring 2016)

· Buddhism and Violence (Spring 2016)

· Elementary Pāli (Fall 2015)

Undergraduate Courses Taught at Tsinghua University (since 2017)

· Elementary Sanskrit I (4 credits, before 2022)

· Elementary Sanskrit II (4 credits, before 2022)

· Elementary Sanskrit (4 credits, after 2022)

· Special Topics in South Asian Literature (3 credits)

· Summer Intensive Academic English Training (2 credits)

Postgraduate Courses Taught at Tsinghua University (since 2017)

· Introduction to Buddhist Translation Literature (3 credits)

· Elementary Pāli (2 credits)

2018 Tsinghua University Annual Teaching Excellence Award

2020 Tsinghua University Annual Teaching Excellence Award

2020 Tsinghua University Young Faculty Teaching Excellence Award (10 awardees per year)

2021 Tsinghua University Annual Teaching Excellence Award

M.A. completed: XING Chengbo (Sept 2020– Jun 2023), Master’s thesis titled A Comparative Study of the Chinese and Tibetan Translations of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Bhikṣuṇīvibhaṅga

Ph.D. ongoing: Sonam Dondrup (Sept. 2023–), Bkrashis Dongrub (Sept. 2024–).

2008/01–2011/12 UK-China Doctoral Scholarship for Excellence Program (full funding package covering tuition fees and living stipends)

2012/10–2014/12 Postdoctoral Fellowship funded by Japan Society for the Promotion of Science

2015/01–2015/06  Jan Gonda Fellowship in Indology, the Royal Dutch Academy of Arts and Sciences

2015/07–2017/06 American Council of Learned Societies / Robert H. N. Ho Family Foundation Postdoctoral Fellowship in Buddhist Studies

2018/07–2018/08  Two-month visiting fellowship offered by McMaster University Centre for Buddhist Studies, Canada

2018/01–2018/12  Annual Research Excellence Award for New Faculty Members, Tsinghua University (10 awardees per year)

2020/11–2023/10  Award of the 2019 Changjiang (Yangtze River) Young Scholars Program, which is a highly prestigious award conferred to a scholar in Humanities under the age of 45 by the Ministry of Education of the People’s Republic of China.

2023/11–2026/10 Second term of the Changjiang (Yangtze River) Young Scholars Program

2023/12 The Chinese monograph, A Study of the Narrative Traditions about King Ajātaśatru in Indian Buddhism, was awarded the second prize in the 17th Beijing Outstanding Achievement Award in Philosophy & Social Sciences.

Principal Investigator of the multi-year project titled “A Study of the Sanskrit and Tibetan Versions of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinayavastu” sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China (Grant No. 2018VJX071), ongoing, since 2019/01.

Principal Investigator of the Subproject (“Sanskrit-Chinese Textual Collection and Diachronic Study of Chinese Translations of Indian Buddhist Scriptures”), part of the Major Project titled “The Sinicization of Buddhist Scriptural Language” (No. 20&ZD304) sponsored by the National Social Science Fund of China, 2021/01–2025/12.

Principal Investigator of the project titled “A Comparative Study of Chinese and Tibetan Translations of the Mūlasarvāstivāda Vinaya”, Beijing Social Science Foundation Key Project (No. 23WXA002), 2023/12–2026/11.

Principal Investigator of the project titled “A Comparative Study of Indian Buddhist Legends of Ajātaśatru and Jaina Legends of Kūṇika”, Tsinghua University Initiative Scientific Research Program (No. 2021THZWWH03), 2021/10–2024/10.

· Associate member, Centre of Jaina Studies at SOAS, University of London

· Consulting editor, Journal of Gandhāran Buddhist Texts, Sydney University

· Member of the International Association of Buddhist Studies (IABS)

· Member of the United Kingdom Association of Buddhist Studies (UKABS)

· Member of the Pali Text Society (PTS)

· Member of the International Association of Sanskrit Studies (IASS)