He is a professor of the School of Archaeology and Museology at Peking University, and a famous archeologist. Born in 1958, he is originally from Yongkang, Zhejiang and was born in Urumqi, Xinjiang. He graduated from the major of archaeology at the Department of History of Northwest University in 1982. He obtained a master's degree in archeology from the Department of Archaeology at Peking University in 1985 and taught there after graduation. He once served as teaching assistant and lecturer at the Department of Archaeology of Peking University, and associate professor and professor (doctoral tutor) at the School of Archaeology and Museology. He is currently the director of the Center for the Study of Chinese Archaeology at Peking University and the director of the Center for Public Archaeology and Art at Peking University. He is mainly engaged in the Shang and Zhou archaeological and public archaeological studies.