Zach Berge-Becker

Hello! 你好！
My name is Zach Berge-Becker, and I am a social and cultural historian of premodern China, focusing on the cultural traditions and social processes that shaped individuals' senses of self and place in middle period (7th–14th century) Chinese society. I completed my Ph.D. at Columbia University in 2023, and am now a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Lieberthal-Rogel Center for Chinese Studies at the University of Michigan.

My current research analyzes practices and processes of identity performance, social categorization, and social distinction in middle period China, by focusing on fields of action that served as leisure for some and livelihoods for others, including: painting, making music, practicing medicine, fishing, gardening, and playing board games. 

For more information about my own livelihood and leisure activities, please visit my Research, Teaching, and Avocational Pursuits pages.