Yiyi Zhang grew up in Beijing, China. After coming to the U.S., she first studied philosophy with the desire to understand how and why people come to hold different worldviews. From this exploration, she was led to study oral history, paying attention to the historical contexts and narratives that give shape to not only the intellectual, but also the affective dimensions of individuals’ lives. Her oral history thesis was a staged monologue probing questions around faith and doubt in her own spiritual journey and in the stories of her diverse interviewees. 

Her decision to study theology was inspired by the writings of 20th-century figure John C.H. Wu and his example of striving to be both fully Chinese and fully Christian. In her Ph.D. work, she seeks to draw on the wisdom of Chinese religious traditions to inform her theological, and especially Christological, reflections. 

Yiyi enjoys traveling, dancing, and making soap, kombucha, and digital art.