Xiaolong (Naga) Diao is an intellectual historian and a philologist. He's mainly interested in the intellectual history of the Qin-Han periods and the cultural exchange between China and Japan. His research touches on a range of areas, including Confucian Classics (especially the study of Rites, and the Spring and Autumn Annals), Chinese philology, Chinese intellectual history, and Japanese sinology.  

His book Gongyangzhuan with its Commentary and Sub-Commentary on the Spring and Autumn Annals (2014) was awarded the National Book Prize (Second Place) for Classical Texts (全国优秀古籍图书奖二等奖). He was also a recipient of the Japanese Studies Fellowship (日本研究フェローシップ) awarded by the Japan Foundation in 2006-2007.  

Prior to joining BNBU, he was visiting at Harvard University. He once taught at Renmin University of China and at Bentley University (MA, USA).