He received Ph.D. degree in Quaternary Geology from the Chinese Academy of Sciences in 2006. His research interests revolve around historical climate and its relationship with human society, historical limnology, and historical cartography. He is currently undertaking research on the introduction of modern geography into China by European missionaries. His representative publications include, ‘1600 AD Huaynaputina Eruption (Peru), Abrupt Cooling, and Epidemics in China and Korea’ Advances in Meteorology (2015); ‘The drought and locust plague of 942-944 AD in the Yellow River Basin, China’ Quaternary International (2014); ‘Extreme Sea Ice Events in the Chinese Marginal Seas during the past 2000 years’ Climate Research (2013); ‘Historical Water Level Change of Lake Weishan in East China from 1758-1902 AD: relationship with the Flooding of the Yellow River’ Limnology (2012).