Li Feng (sinologist)

Quick Facts: Who was Li Feng (sinologist)?

Subject:

Li Feng (sinologist)

Known for:

Prominent sinologist specializing in Early Chinese History, particularly the Shang-Zhou bronze inscriptions.

Born:

1962-07-04

Century / Era:

1962s Historical Era Archive

Verified Source:

2Day Chrono-Wiki & Primary Historical Archives

Origins & Early Life

Li Feng (Chinese: 李峰; pinyin: Lǐ Fēng; born 1962), or Feng Li, is a professor of Early Chinese History and Archaeology at Columbia University, where he is director of graduate studies for the Department of East Asian Languages and Culture. He received his MA in 1986 from the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and his Ph.D. in 2000 from the University of Chicago. He also did Ph.D. work in the University of Tokyo (1991). He is both a field archaeologist and an historian of Early China with primary interest in bronze inscriptions of the Shang-Zhou period. Additionally, his first collaborative archaeological project in China sought Guicheng city of the Bronze Age Shandong Province.

Career & Major Achievements

Li founded the Columbia Early China Seminar in 2002, and directed Columbia's first archaeological field project in China, in the Shandong Peninsula, in 2006–2011. When sinologist Cho-yun Hsu's Western Chou Civilization (1988) was reprinted in Chinese in 2012, Hsu invited Li Feng to write a chapter-length postscript to update the book with new discoveries made in the intervening decades. In his preface, Hsu praised Li's expertise in both field archaeology and traditional history, and expressed his hope that Li would one day write a new history of the Zhou (Chou) dynasty to supersede his work. Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045-771 BC Cambridge University Press, 2006.

Enduring Legacy & Impact

Bureaucracy and the State in Early China: Governing the Western Zhou Cambridge University Press, 2008. Writing and Literacy in Early China (co-edited with David Branner); UW Press, 2011. Early China: A Social and Cultural History Cambridge University Press, 2013. Guicheng: A Study of the Formation of States on the Jiaodong Peninsula in Late Bronze-Age China, 1000-500 BCE.

Chronological Milestones & Life Events

1. 1000: 1000 Milestone — Guicheng: A Study of the Formation of States on the Jiaodong Peninsula in Late Bronze-Age China, 1000-500 BCE.
2. 1045: 1045 Milestone — Landscape and Power in Early China: The Crisis and Fall of the Western Zhou 1045-771 BC Cambridge University Press, 2006.
3. 1962 (1962-07-04): Birth of Li Feng (sinologist) — Prominent sinologist specializing in Early Chinese History, particularly the Shang-Zhou bronze inscriptions.
4. 1986: 1986 Milestone — He received his MA in 1986 from the Institute of Archaeology, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and his Ph.
5. 1988: 1988 Milestone — When sinologist Cho-yun Hsu's Western Chou Civilization (1988) was reprinted in Chinese in 2012, Hsu invited Li Feng to write a chapter-length postscript to update the book with new discoveries made in the intervening decades.
6. 1991: 1991 Milestone — work in the University of Tokyo (1991).
7. 2000: 2000 Milestone — in 2000 from the University of Chicago.
8. 2002: 2002 Milestone — Li founded the Columbia Early China Seminar in 2002, and directed Columbia's first archaeological field project in China, in the Shandong Peninsula, in 2006–2011.
9. 2008: 2008 Milestone — Bureaucracy and the State in Early China: Governing the Western Zhou Cambridge University Press, 2008.
10. 2011: 2011 Milestone — Writing and Literacy in Early China (co-edited with David Branner); UW Press, 2011.
11. 2013: 2013 Milestone — Early China: A Social and Cultural History Cambridge University Press, 2013.

Historical Fact-Check Quiz: Li Feng (sinologist)

True or False: “Li Feng's primary research focus is exclusively on the late Zhou dynasty period in Chinese history.”

Answer (FALSE ❌): While he has written extensively on the Western Zhou, his interests are broader, covering the Shang-Zhou period and early state formation.

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Frequently Asked Questions about Li Feng (sinologist)