Yixin Chen

Dr. Chen earned his Ph.D. from Washington University in St. Louis, specializing in twentieth-century Chinese socioeconomic history, with a focus on the early years of the People’s Republic of China. He co-authored the book Paths to Modern Nations (in Chinese) and is the author of When Food Became Scarce: How Chinese Peasants Survived the Great Leap Forward Famine (Cornell University Press, 2024) and Experiencing Famine: Environment, Social Mechanisms, and the Life and Death of Chinese Peasants, 1958–1961 (The Chinese University of Hong Kong Press, 2025). His research has been widely published in academic journals in both English and Chinese, with contributions appearing in the US, China, and Hong Kong. Some of his articles have also been translated into Japanese. In 2009, Dr. Chen received the Bernon Carstensen Memorial Award for Best Article in Agricultural History. He is currently working on a book-length manuscript examining collective peasant rebellions during the early years of the People's Republic of China. In addition to his research, Dr. Chen teaches a broad range of courses on East Asian and global history, from undergraduate surveys to graduate seminars.