Shanxi University
Ling began her career in teaching as a high school teacher in Taiyuan, Shanxi, China, from 1974 through 1978. In 1982, she graduated from Taiyuan's Shanxi University first in her class with a bachelor's degree in history. From 1982-85, she worked as an assistant professor of history at Shanxi University. In 1985, she was a visiting scholar at the history department at Georgetown University. She earned her master's in 1987 at the University of Oregon, and completed her Ph.D at Miami University (1991).