2023-24 New Faculty

Xiaotian (Lily) Yin is an art historian specializing in the art of Inner Asia and China. He research interest lies in Buddhist art in the Himalayas and along the Silkroad, focusing on mural paintings in the cave shrines, esoteric Buddhist imagery, and Buddhist printing and publishing cultures. Currently a Ph.D. candidate at Harvard University, Xiaotian is completing her dissertation, which examines the artistic and religious innovations in Inner Asia from the tenth to the twelfth century, when Tibetan Buddhism emerged as the perceived religious ideal for much of Asia, adopting a transregional and transcultural perspective.
 
Before joining Williams, Xiaotian served as a visiting lecturer at the Department of Art History at Dartmouth College and Zhejiang University, China. Her research has been supported by the Victor and William Fung Foundation, the Fairbank Center for Chinese Studies, the Harvard University Asia Center, the Harvard China Fund, and the Chiang Ching-kuo Foundation for International Scholarly Exchange.