Atian is currently pursuing his MA in Asian Studies at UBC. His research focuses on the literature, culture, gender studies, history and political structures of the late Ming and Qing dynasties, with a particular emphasis on the abnormal progress in the political system during the late Ming period. Exploring the rise of what he terms a “proto-parliamentary constitutional monarchy,” where the cabinet grand secretaries and their members held real power, reducing the Ming emperor to a more symbolic figure. This aligns with K.C. Chang’s concept of a Proto State and highlights the budding capitalist tendencies in the late Ming.

Atian received his (Hons) undergraduate degree in Asian Studies from UBC. His honours thesis, “How the Distribution of Military Forces Demonstrate a More Nuanced Picture of Ming and Qing Military Strength During the Battle of Sarhū”, was developed under the supervision of Dr. Alison Bailey. His thesis, The Spectre of Confucian Gender Norms: How Pu Songling’s Depiction of Female Ghostly Love Interests in Liaozhai Zhiyi Critiques Contemporary Scholars’ Dogmatic Misogyny, provides a critical analysis of gender norms in Ming-Qing literature.

Outside of academics, Atian is also a poet and prose writer, creating works in Traditional Chinese and semi-classical styles. His creative works include Atian’s Chronicles of Characters (An Autobiography of the Loyal Martyr from the Late Ming/the ROC “Min”), set in an alternate historical universe, and feature poetry in the style of Tang, Song, and Yuan compositions.

今代詞林第幾人，皓天如日動星辰～

才高自合登三事，道大何妨隱九真～

夜月吟成千里夢，秋風吹醒百年身～

他時若問揚州牧，應有清名與後塵～