Week 1: The Idea of China

Orientation

I. Why history?

• History as a discipline
• History as exploration

II. The “life-cycle” of thinking about the past

• Question
• Sources
• Contexts
• Interpretation
• Hypothesis
• Narrative
• Argument
• More questions

III. Why China?

• The pragmatist’s argument
• The humanist’s argument

IV. By the end of the course, students should be able to . . .

• offer historically-informed analyses on the unity and diversity, changes and continuities, of Chinese society prior to its modern transformations;
• articulate some of the characteristics of the nature and impacts of the interactions between China and the wider world;
• work with confidence with a range of primary historical sources;
• elevate their abilities to evaluate the strengths and weaknesses of historical claims.

V. Course elements

• Canvas/Blog
• Quizzes/Discussion Posts
• Readings (primary/secondary)
• Reflection Essays
• Book Review
• Final Take-home Exercise
• Research Project (optional)
• Office hours

VI. Approaches to Chinese History

• Dynastic cycles
• Early European perspectives (e.g., Hegel [1770–1831])
• Universal history
• Change within tradition
• China in the World
• Global history / Big history

Early China

I. Lands and Peoples

1. Environment and History
2. Physical Geography (river systems: Yellow, Yangzi, Pearl)
3. Human Geography

II. Periodization

1. Ancient “China”—Xia (ca. 2200–1700 BCE) . . . Shang (ca. 1700–1100 BCE) . . . Zhou (ca. 1100–221 BCE)
2. The First Empire—Qin (221–207 BCE) . . . Han (207 BCE–220 CE)
3. Period of Disunion (220–589)
4. The Second Empire—Sui (589–618) . . . Tang (618–907)

III. Major Themes

1. Continuity and change
2. Unity and diversity
3. Structure and agency
4. Boundaries and Identities

Discussion

1. What is the difference between a primary and a secondary source?
2. What is one common image/conventional wisdom about China (or its past) you are particularly dubious about?
3. What would you like to learn from this course?

Maps

External links to Maps:

Boundaries | Comparisons | China's Geography

Physical Map

Source: National Museum of Chinese History, ed., A Journey into China's Antiquity, vol. 1 (Beijing: Morning Glory Publishers, 1997), pp. 8–9.

 

Physical Map by Satellite

Administrative Map

Source: SACU

Images

The Economist: What China Wants	Map of China: Languages	Map of China: Regions
Han/non-Han	"Lingering Melodies from the Xunyang River" Source: Oil on canvas, by Chen Yifei (1946–2005). Craig Clunas, Art in China, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 230. Note the features of the women portrayed. How "authentic" is this representation?	"Father" Note the features of the man portrayed. How "Chinese" is he? Source: Oil on canvas, by Luo Zhongli (b. 1950). Craig Clunas, Art in China, 2nd ed. (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2009), p. 225.

References

• Marks, Robert B. China: Its Environment and History. Lanham, Md.: Rowman & Littlefield, 2012.
• Spence, Jonathan D. The Chan's Great Continent: China in Western Minds. New York: W. W. Norton, 1998.
• Tu, Wei-ming. The Living Tree: The Changing Meaning of Being Chinese Today. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1991.
• Waley-Cohen, Joanna. The Sextants of Beijing: Global Currents in Chinese History. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999.