Dr. Tianhong Ying

Dr. Ying is a Visiting Assistant Professor in political theory at Northern Michigan University. He studies John Locke’s liberalism, with a particular focus on the significance of the early Locke and the role of Confucian China in his liberalism. His research and teaching interests span across the history of Western and Eastern political philosophy, religion and politics, American political thought, Chinese political thought, and Confucianism and feminism.   

He is working on a book project titled Locke, China, and Liberalism, arguing for interpreting Locke’s liberalism in the context of global political thought, especially the clash between Confucian China and Christian Europe in the Age of Discovery. Although Confucianism differs from liberalism in whether right is prior to duty, Confucian China still offers a model of secular enlightenment and religious toleration to Locke. Understanding Locke’s liberalism in global political thought also enables us to rethink the intellectual interaction between Confucianism and liberalism.  

He holds a PhD and an MA in political science from Michigan State University (2024, 2020) and obtained a BA and an MA in political science from Renmin University of China (2015, 2018). He was also a visiting student at VU University Amsterdam (2016) and Salesian Pontifical University (2019).