Yanlong Guo’s primary research focuses on the art and material culture of early imperial China (third century BCE to the third century CE). He is currently revising his doctoral dissertation, Affordable Luxury: The Entanglements of Metal Mirrors in the Han Empire (202 BCE–220 CE), into a book manuscript. Intersecting art history with archaeology and material culture studies, this project probes into the agency of things in shaping the emerging imperial identity and society.

Guo teaches a wide range of courses on early Chinese art, as well as Buddhist art, popular culture, and painting and calligraphy in an East Asian context. All courses take advantage of local collections, both on campus and farther afield. He is committed to applying his interdisciplinary training in anthropology, archaeology, history, and art history to equipping students with broad perspectives and transferable skills.

His research has been supported by the Forum Transregionale Studien, Luce/ACLS, and Columbia University’s Tang Center for Early China, among others. He also served on the editorial board of Yishu: Journal of Contemporary Chinese Art.