Born and raised in Guangzhou, China, Rongzhi graduated cum laude from Vassar College in 2022 with an A.B. in History and Education. During his time at Vassar, Rongzhi sang as a tenor in the Vassar College Choir, conducted research as a Ford Scholar on the history of healthcare in the PRC, and worked as the departmental intern and assistant to the Chair of the Vassar History Department His thesis focusing on Xu Guangqi and the Jesuit China Missions received departmental honors from the History Department.
Upon graduation, Rongzhi worked as a high school history teacher in New York, and received Initial Certification as a secondary social studies teacher from the New York State Education Department. He moved back to China in 2023 for a college-counseling position in an international high school in Wuhan. At Columbia and LSE, Rongzhi aims to continue exploring the history of interactions between China and the Western world from the perspectives of microhistory, cultural history, and imperialism.
