Dongming Wu came to Columbia University in 2013 and studies Early Chinese history with Professor Feng Li in the East Asian Languages and Cultures department. His research interests focus on reconstructing the social lives in the Zhou dynasty by combining archaeological, paleographical, and textual data. His dissertation examines the southern frontier of the Zhou dynasty (1045-256 BCE) from the perspective of metal economy to see how economic activities contributed to social interaction and transformation on the southern frontier in Zhou China. By examining the economic activities of metal in the whole spectrum of society, he hopes to demonstrate how metal industry was organized and performed in different social levels and how it was integrated in the state policies in the Zhou dynasty. Dongming Wu is also interested in the Ancient Near East history in the Bronze Age (1500-1100 BCE), which period provides interesting information about economic activities in the region as well as for comparative perspectives.
