As another school year begins at UW-Milwaukee, the College of Letters & Science is excited to formally welcome Xin Yu as a member of the faculty. He has spent the last two years as a visiting assistant professor in the UWM History Department, but was promoted and is now officially an assistant professor of history. Say hello if you see him on campus!
Xin Yu – Assistant Professor, History
PhD 2022, Washington University in St. Louis
Research focus:
I study China’s history from the 1100s all the way to the 1900s. Right now, I am wrapping up a book on family genealogies, similar to family trees but with far more stories, rules, and ambitions behind them. I am also diving into the world of fengshui, exploring it not just as superstition, but as a way people connect ideas, nature, and everyday life.
Research discoveries:
I found that family genealogies were often “creatively edited.” In premodern China, people sometimes re-wrote their family histories to make their lineage look more impressive. They would even start centuries-long disputes simply because their genealogies did not agree with each other. It is a reminder that no historical document is completely neutral; there’s always a human story and a bit of drama behind it.
Favorite class to teach:
Hist 376 Modern China! Students usually come in wanting to understand what is happening in China today, but they leave with a richer picture of the last 400 years that shaped it. We have such lively discussions that I rarely make it through all my slides—students’ questions often lead us into the best tangents. It is the kind of class that makes me excited to walk into the room every semester.
Fun fact:
I am a bit obsessed with fengshui. In case it is unfamiliar, fengshui refers to the belief that the arrangement of space—whether in the placement of furniture, the design of houses, or the positioning of natural features such as mountains, rivers, and even tombs—can influence one’s life and well-being. I love to rearrange my office furniture just to see if the “energy flow” feels better (my colleagues have probably noticed the ever-changing layout). On weekends, I love heading to my favorite Milwaukee beaches—Lion’s Den, Doctor’s Park, and Grant Park. It is not just because they are beautiful; each one has a stream that flows into the lake. I can’t help but play with the little channels in the sand where the water meets the lake, imagining I am “redirecting” the energy and giving the place a new fengshui.