Biography
Mengtian Bai (she/her) explores Song and Yuan China's artistic landscape through a transregional perspective, focusing on mortuary practices in key port cities. Her research seeks to investigate the interconnectivity of urban ecosystems across the Indian Ocean's trading networks. Prior to joining Pitt, Mengtian earned her BA in Art History and Latin Languages and Literature from Oberlin College, followed by an MA in Art History from Bryn Mawr College. Her MA thesis, “The Porous Border and the Cosmopolitan Self: A Preliminary Study of Quanzhou Nestorian Stone Funerary Monuments,” reconstructs the Nestorian community's historical presence in Quanzhou's multicultural environment. She argues that multilingual Nestorian tombstones collectively formed a visual program announcing their alterity amidst diverse communities. Her work addresses the multiethnic history of China and responds to cultural shifts among minority groups in modern China. Mengtian is a proud mom of two rescue cats, and she enjoys visiting children's sections in Pittsburgh public libraries with her toddler.