Dr Nora Yitong Qiu

As a Postdoctoral Researcher on the ERC funded project Global Correspondent Banking 1870-2000, I analyze inter-bank relations in East Asia. My research focuses on regions such as Shanghai, Tianjin, Hong Kong, and Manchuria, each of which were connected to the financial centres in Japan, Europe, and North America. I am part of a team which will be using used advanced statistical analysis and relevant software to prepare the data and develop visualisation and network analysis of the many thousands of correspondent banking links recorded in published sources during this period.

Research Interests

I am an Economic Historian of East Asia, specializing in the Qing Empire and 20th-century China. I earned a BA in Economics and History from Mount Holyoke College, USA, an MSc in Economic History (Research) from LSE, and a PhD in Economic History from LSE in 2022. My dissertation, titled 'Power and Identity in the Qing Empire: A Study of the Political and Economic Life of the Elites through confiscation inventories 1700-1912)', was supervised by Patrick Wallis and Lars Laamann. In my research, I created the first fine-grained inventories and financial portfolios on Manchus, Mongols, and the Han political elite, and compared material culture across geographical, ethnic, and gender divides.

Prior to joining Oxford, I taught undergraduate and master courses on economic history of East Asia, global economic history, and financial history at LSE, in the Economic History department. My research interests lie in exploring the economic and financial history of diverse cultural groups, using an interdisciplinary approach. I am particularly passionate about studying underrepresented cultural minorities of East Asia. I am fluent in Chinese, Classical Chinese, English, German, and Japanese. I am proficient in reading Manchu and have basic knowledge of classic Tibetan, Mongolian, and Russian.

You can follow me on my Personal website and on Twitter @qiu_nora