Yanlong Guo

Yanlong Guo specializes in the art and material culture of Han-Tang China (202 BCE to 907 CE). His research also addresses modern and contemporary Chinese art. His first book, titled The Allure of the Mirror: Mass Consumption of Fine Things in the Han Empire (New York: Columbia University Press, 2025), explores how and why bronze mirrors, historically known as haowu (“fine things”), became so widely cherished throughout early imperial China. His research articles have appeared in leading peer-reviewed journals such as Asian Perspectives: The Journal of Archaeology for Asia and the Pacific, Archives of Asian Art, Journal of American Oriental Society, Modern Chinese Literature and Culture, T’oung Pao, and Yishushi yanjiu.

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.

Selected Publications

“The Circulation of Bronze Mirrors in Late Prehistoric Xinjiang (2000-200 B.C.),” Asian Perspectives: The Journal of Archaeology for Asia and The Pacific 61.1(2022): 50-91. 

“Iconographic Volatility in the Fuxi-Nüwa Triads of the Han Dynasty.” Archives of Asian Art 71.1(2021): 63-91.

“The Aesthetic of Brightness in Han Mirror Inscriptions.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 141.1(2021): 93-124.

“Negotiating Colonial Visuality: Gao Chengxian’s Reminiscence of the Manchukuo Arts Exhibitions,” Modern Chinese Literature and Culture Web Publication Series, January 2020: https://u.osu.edu/mclc/online-series/yanlong-guo/. 

“Interregional Transmissions of Bronze Mirrors with Geometric Decorations in Early China.” The Newsletter, International Institute for Asian Studies 86(2020): 45.

“The Monetary Value of Bronze Mirrors in the Han Dynasty.” T'oung Pao 1&2(2018): 66-115.