Melissa Dale

Melissa is an associate professor in the Department of History with over 12 years of teaching experience at the University of San Francisco. Her passion is teaching East Asian history to students, especially the social history of China during the late imperial and modern periods. She joined the department in January 2025 after leading the Center for Asia Pacific Studies from 2012-2024. Melissa also edits Asia Pacific Perspectives, the center’s academic journal that promotes cross-cultural understanding. Her Ph.D. is in History, with a focus China, from Georgetown University. She has an MA in Asian Languages from Stanford University, and a BA in Oriental Languages from UC Berkeley. Her first book, Inside the World of the Eunuch: A Social History of the Emperor’s Servants was published by Hong Kong University Press in 2018. Her research focuses on the history of late imperial China exploring Qing dynasty court life, especially eunuchs, and the history of medicine and gender.

• Social history of late imperial China including Qing dynasty court life, eunuchs, Chinese-Western medical exchange
• Gender studies

• Executive Director of the Center for Asia Pacific Studies
• Associate Professor at the Center for Asia Pacific Studies

• PhD, East Asian History (China), Georgetown University
• MA, Asian Languages (Chinese), Stanford
• BA, Oriental Languages (Chinese), UC Berkeley

• Inside the World of the Eunuch: A Social History of the Emperor’s Servants in Qing China, Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press, 2018.
• “Running Away from the Palace:  Chinese Eunuchs during the Qing Dynasty,” Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 27, No. 1 (2017): 143-164. 
• “Understanding Emasculation:  Western Medical Perspectives on Chinese Eunuchs,” Social History of Medicine 23, No. 1 (April 2010):  38-55.