Dr. Ran Zhang is an Assistant Professor in Chinese Archaeology in the Department of Archaeology at Durham University, UK. He specialises in the analysis of archaeological materials through chronological and quantitative statistical techniques, with a particular focus on ceramic manufacturing techniques, art appreciation, archaeological identification, value, and trade. As both a ceramicist and an archaeologist, his research examines the historical, social, economic, and cultural adaptations that arose from the early globalisation of Eurasia in the medieval period. His work aims to understand the social, economic, cultural, and artistic transformations driven by long-distance trade between ancient China, the Islamic World, and Europe. By integrating archaeological evidence from ceramics and their distribution patterns, he assesses changes in early global systems, including modes of trade, cultural influence, shifting values, and technical development. This approach seeks to illuminate the development and nature of interaction between different civilizations in medieval Eurasia.

Recent publications:

Zhang, R., & Zhai, R. (in press). AlUla: Wonder of Arabia at the Palace Museum, Beijing: Bridging Global Cultural and Archaeological Engagement Between China and the Arab World. American Journal of Archaeology.

Zhang, R. (2023). Chinese ceramics as global commodities: a thousand years of production and trade of Chinese ceramics in the Western Indian Ocean. World Archaeology, 55(4), 1-17

Song, X., Zhang, R., & Kennet, D. (2023). The organization of Chinese ceramic production from the Tang to the Ming periods: archaeological evidence from ceramic workshops. World Archaeology, 55(1), 76-91.

Zhang, R., Kennet, D., Brown, P., Song, X., Guangyao, W., Zhai, Y., & Mingjun, W. (2022). Longquan celadon: a quantified archaeological analysis of a pan-Indian Ocean industry of the 12th to 15th centuries. World Archaeology, 54(5), 700-722.

Zhang, R. & Lin, M. (2022). Sino-Arabian Economic and Cultural Exchanges From the 8th to the 15th Centuries. In X. Liu (Ed.), The World of the Ancient Silk Road. Routledge.

Gutiérrez, A., Gerrard, C., Zhang, R., & Wang, G. (2021). The earliest Chinese ceramics in Europe? Antiquity, 95(383), 1213-1230.

Contact
Room 218, May Hall, The University of Hong Kong
Email: vbbr34@hku.hk; ran.zhang@durham.ac.uk