Fellow
Xiaoyan Ji is pursuing an MSt in Syriac Studies at the Faculty of Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, University of Oxford, under the supervision of Professor David Taylor and Professor Alison Salvesen. Her research explores the spread of Syriac Christianity into Central Asia and its intellectual exchange with surrounding religions in the first millennium, with particular focus on the Turfan manuscripts.
Xiaoyan holds an MA in Jewish Studies from University College London (UCL), where her thesis examined the Old Uighur adaptation of the Adoration of the Magi in the context of Buddhist, Manichaean, and Zoroastrian influences. By integrating historical research with philology, she seeks to recover the lives and ideas of the individuals behind these manuscripts. She is committed to advancing public understanding of Central Asian civilizations, preserving these cultural treasures as part of humanity’s shared heritage, and fostering cross-cultural understanding.