With the support of an American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS) research fellowship, she is writing a book on ideological constructions of empire and theatre in the Qing dynasy. Professor Chen has published on the Empress Dowager Cixi, Qing ritual drama, performance history of The Peony Pavilion, and xiqu (Chinese opera) conventions. A specialist of Qing-dynasty court theatre, Tang Xianzu studies, and traditional Chinese drama especially kunqu opera, she was a visiting scholar at Harvard University and subsequently at the Chinese National Academy of Arts in Beijing, and has taught at Stanford and Penn State before joining GW.