Zhaohua Yang
Sheng Yen Assistant Professor of Chinese Buddhism, Columbia University
PhD, Department of Religious Studies, Stanford University
Graduation Year
2013
Dissertation Title
"Devouring Impurities: Myth, Ritual and Talisman in Tang China"
Zhaohua Yang specializes in tantric or esoteric Buddhism in middle period China, but his research interests also include Chan/Zen, indigenous scriptures, the interactions between Buddhism and Daoism, as well as the intersection of religion, literature, and the visual and performing arts. In addition to his training in Dunhuang and pre-modern Japanese manuscripts, he has done extensive fieldwork in China, Taiwan, Japan, and the Bay Area. His current book project examines the rise of the cult of the wrathful god Ucchuṣma in pre-modern China, paying particular attention to Chinese responses to transgressive tantric practices.