9
FASS SUMMER TERM MODULE FOR MAY~JUNE 2008
HY 2206 CHINA’S IMPERIAL PAST: HISTORY AND CULTURE
(WITH A “FASS SUMMER SCHOOL @ XIAMEN UNIVERSITY” SEGMENT)
COST
· The total cost is as follows:
Each NUS student is expected to pay about *S$1,800. This includes module fees for special term module in NUS and package cost for China segment which include airfare, tuition fees (Lectures & Enrichment classes), accommodation & meals and education tours. This amount is after a 25% subsidy of overseas segment by FASS, and there will be no further deduction, except possibly for needy students on appeal.
· In addition, students will be responsible for all other personal expenses for the duration of the summer term in Xiamen University.
· Module fees are to be paid directly to the Office of Financial Services. Details of the various payment methods may be obtained from the Students Service Centre.
(* the fees indicated above may be subjected to adjustments)
Eligibility
· All NUS undergraduate full-time students.
· Students should have a minimum cumulative average point (CAP) of 3.0 on the 5-point scale, and should not have any grade below ‘C’ (grade point of 2.0) in any module
Application
· The application form is available as an attachment to this document or downloadable from the following website (URL: http://www.fas.nus.edu.sg/oop). Please read and follow all the instructions carefully. (Application Form)
· A copy of your NUS transcript must be attached to the application.
· An indemnity form to be signed by all students regardless of age. (Indemnity Form)
· NUS students must update their local postal and e-mail addresses in the system through the NUS intranet for effective communication with the programme.
· NUS students receiving a scholarship, award or grant to finance their University studies must obtain permission from the awarding organisation before applying for the summer school. This is to ensure that the student continues to receive the scholarship, award or grant during the summer school. This requirement is waived for those receiving scholarships administered or financed by NUS. This requirement is inapplicable to those in receipt of tuition grants or loans for studying at NUS.
· The completed application form, together with all supporting documents, must be submitted in hard copy to the Office of Programmes (Shaw Foundation Building - AS7, Level 2, 5 Arts Link, Singapore 117570).
· Enquiries: Assoc Prof Huang Jianli. Email: Phone: 6516-6054
Dr Yang Bin. E-mail: Phone: 6516-3755
· The precise deadline for the submission of application (forms and supporting documents) will be made known around February/March 2008 but you may submit an early application to indicate your interest.
Results
· Successful applicants will be informed of the outcome by the Office of Programmes only around the last week of March 2008.
payment
· Full payment by cheque (payable to the National University of Singapore) must be made 3 working days after the offer has been made in order to secure a place in the summer programme.
Other Matters
· NUS students cannot defer admission to the next intake. Any NUS student wishing to withdraw after admission to the summer school must write to the Committee [FASS China Summer School @ Xiamen University, Office of Programmes, AS7, Level 2] giving reasons for the withdrawal.
· NUS participating students may be requested to complete a survey for feedback on the summer school.
MODULE DESCRIPTION
HY2206China’s Imperial Past: History and Culture
Modular Credits: Four MCs
This module provides a broad survey of Chinese imperial history from the classical period to the eighteenth century. Apart from placing this general history within a chronological framework, it will be analyzing major political events and long-term trends in the development of Chinese statecraft, economic and social institutions, philosophy and religion, literature and art, as well as relations with the outside world. The course is mounted for undergraduates through the university with an interest in China, especially its history, politics and culture.
OVERALL SCHEDULE
Three weeks in NUS (4 hours of 1-hour lecture per week and 2 rounds of 2-hour tutorials)
Three weeks in Xiamen (4 hours of 1-hour lecture per week and 2 rounds of 2-hour tutorials)
[total of 24 hours of lectures and 4 rounds of 2-hour tutorials]
SCHEDULE FOR NUS PORTION OF THREE WEEKS
Week 1 Lecture 1 Introducing China
Lecture 2 Civilizational Myths and Controversies
Lecture 3 Foundation of Governance
Lecture 4 Soul of China
Week 2 Lecture 5 Building the First Empire
Lecture 6 Crises in the First Empire
Lecture 7 Imperial System of Governance
Lecture 8 Triumph of Confucianism?
Tutorial Round 1
Week 3 Lecture 9 Dealing with “The Other” Beyond China
Lecture 10 Reinterpreting China’s Dark Age
Lecture 11 The Empire Striking Back
Lecture 12 Mixed Fortunes of Song
Tutorial Round 2
SCHEDULE FOR XIAMEN UNIVERSITY PORTION OF THREE WEEKS
Week 4 Lecture 13 NUS Staff China under “Barbarian” Rule
Lecture 14 NUS Staff Return to “Han” Rule
Lecture 15 Xiamen Staff History of Xiamen in Imperial Era
Lecture 16 Xiamen Staff History of South China in Imperial Era
Enrichment class on Contemporary Chinese Politics
Enrichment class on Contemporary Chinese Economy
Enrichment Tour of Gulangyu Island, Hulishan Cannon Fort, South Putuo Temple,
and Overseas Chinese Museum
Week 5 Lecture 17 NUS Staff Experimentations under Ming
Lecture 18 NUS Staff The Ming-Qing Transition
Lecture 19 Xiamen Staff History of China-Southeast Asia Relations
Lecture 20 Xiamen Staff History of Chinese Religion
Tutorial Round 3
Enrichment class on Contemporary Chinese Society
Enrichment class on Contemporary Chinese Mass Media
Enrichment Tour of Jimei Tan Kah Kee Schools-Museum-Memorial
Zhao Fortress of Zhangzhou, Maritime Museum of Quanzhou
Week 6 Lecture 21 NUS Staff The Second “Barbarian” Empire
Lecture 22 NUS Staff Paradigms Revisited
Lecture 23 Xiamen Staff Imperial China from Chinese Standard Histories
Lecture 24 Xiamen Staff Teaching of Chinese History in PRC
Tutorial Round 4
Enrichment class on Contemporary Chinese Arts and Museum
Enrichment class on Contemporary Chinese Martial Arts
Enrichment Tour of Wuyi Mountain [or possibly an alternative]
(A World Natural & Cultural Heritage Site, Fujian province, 4 nights)
TIME-TABLE
(Only for First 3 Weeks in NUS; China segment time-table to be announced)
Lectures Tuesday 10 am – 12 noon
Thursday 10 am – 12 noon
Tutorials (Only in Week 2 and 3 of the NUS Segment)
Friday 10 am – 12 noon
ASSESSMENT FORMAT
Continuous Assessment 60%
- Essay (at NUS) 20%
- Tutorial Preparation and Participation 20%
- Enrichment Class & Tour Participation 10%
- Heritage Review Essay (at Xiamen) 10%
End of Semester Closed-Book Exam (at Xiamen) 40%
LECTURE 1
INTRODUCING CHINA
A. Module Preliminaries
B. Land of the Dragon: Topography and Climate
C. Dragon’s Descendants: Race, Language and Identity
LECTURE 2
CIVILIZATIONAL MYTHS AND CONTROVERSIES
A. Imagined Beginnings
B. An Independent and the Earliest Civilization?
C. Neolithic Cultures and Locating the Cradle of Civilization
LECTURE 3
FOUNDATION OF GOVERNANCE
A. From Shang to Eastern Zhou
B. Core and Periphery under Centralized Kinship-Based Feudalism
C. The Mandate of Heaven and Four-Class Social Division
D. From Agrarian Feudal Serfdom to Private Land Ownership
LECTURE 4
SOUL OF CHINA
A. Decline of Central Hegemonic Power
B. Intellectual “Hundred Flowers” Bloom: Confucianism, Daoism, Legalism, Etc
C. Identifying Chinese Characteristics
LECTURE 5
BUILDING THE FIRST EMPIRE
A. Schema of “First” and “Second Empire”
B. Creation of Empire by the Short-lived Qin
C. Consolidation under the Former/Western Han
LECTURE 6
CRISIS IN THE FIRST EMPIRE
A. Wang Mang’s Usurpation and the Varying Interpretations
B. Reconstitution by the Later/Eastern Han
LECTURE 7
IMPERIAL SYSTEM OF GOVERNANCE
A. New Arrangements for Core and Periphery
B. Critical Matrix of Four Ruling Powers
C. Modernist vs Reformist Policy Inclinations
D. Deterioration in Agrarian Social Relations
LECTURE 8
TRIUMPH OF CONFUCIANISM?
A. Myth of Han Wudi and his Entrenchment of Confucianism
B. Reality of Han Eclecticism
C. Underlying Primacy of Confucianism
LECTURE 9
DEALING WITH “THE OTHER” BEYOND CHINA
A. Chinese Conceptions of the World
B. Points of Contact and Friction with “Barbarians”
C. Wide Array of Foreign Policy Tools
D. Eve of a New Era in Sino-Barbarian Relations
LECTURE 10
REINTERPRETING CHINA’S DARK AGE
A. Fragmentation of the Unitary State
B. Analysis of Socio-Economic Dynamics
C. Philosophical-Religious Advancement
LECTURE 11
THE EMPIRE STRIKING BACK
A. The Sui-Qin Parallel
B. Tang and its Imperial Leadership
C. Golden Age vs Long Twilight
LECTURE 12
MIXED FORTUNES OF THE SONG
A. Challenges for the Northern Song
B. Struggling as a Half-Empire under Southern Song
LECTURE 13
CHINA UNDER “BARBARIAN” RULE
A. The Power of Mongolian Forces and Their Limitations
B. Fragmentation of Governing Structure
C. Resistance towards Sinicization
LECTURE 14
RETURN TO HAN RULE
A. Colourful Range of Ming Emperors
B. Rise of the Age of Autocracy
LECTURE 15 by Xiamen University Staff
HISTORY OF XIAMEN IN IMPERIAL ERA
LECTURE 16 by Xiamen University Staff
HISTORY OF SOUTH CHINA IN IMPERIAL ERA
LECTURE 17
EXPERIMENTATIONS UNDER MING
A. The Wei-Suo Military System & Its Decline
B. Land and Taxation Reforms
C. Controversies on the Zheng He Voyages
LECTURE 18
THE MING-QING TRANSITION
A. Internal Collapse of Ming
B. Manchus as a New Emerging Force
C. Participation of Manchu Collaborators and Ming Loyalists
LECTURE 19 by Xiamen University Staff
HISTORY OF CHINA-SOUTHEAST ASIA RELATIONS FROM YUAN
LECTURE 20 by Xiamen University Staff
HISTORY OF CHINESE RELIGIONS FROM SHANG
LECTURE 21
THE SECOND “BARBARIAN” EMPIRE
A. Manchu Military Machine
B. Imperial Leadership and Legacy of a New Territorial Map for China
C. Qing Administration of Core and Periphery
D. Heightening of Autocracy
E. Beyond the Rhetoric of Qing Maritime Prohibitions
LECTURE 22
PARADIGMS REVISITED
A. A Confucian China?
B. Sino-Centricity?
C. Dynastic Cycles?
D. Integration vs Disintegration?
E. A Traditional and Backward China?
LECTURE 23 by Xiamen University Staff
IMPERIAL CHINA FROM CHINESE STANDARD HISTORIES
LECTURE 24 by Xiamen University Staff
TEACHING OF CHINESE HISTORY IN PRC
ENRICHMENT TOUR SITES
All selected sites are of historical significance and they represent important fragments of Chinese imperial culture and history. They will be attractive to students and will help to deepen their understanding of China, especially when these sites are placed within the broad historical context.
Gulangyu鼓浪屿 in Xiamen
Gulangyu is an island of Xiamen with historical significance. In 1662, the Chinese fleet led by Zheng Chenggong who was loyal to the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) started the maritime campaign and took over Taiwan from the Dutch, making Taiwan administratively under Chinese rule. On the island, there are the Memorial Hall of Zheng Chenggong and other historical relics.
Huli Shan Cannon Fort 胡里山炮台 in Xiamen
It was constructed in the late Qing period, and the museum has collected many Chinese cannons and European canons brought by the Spaniards and Portuguese.
Southern Monastery of Putuo 南普陀寺 in Xiamen
It originated in the Tang dynasty (618-907) and houses many historical Buddhist items, including bronze bells of the Song period (961-1279) and the Lotus Sutra written by blood of the Ming period (1368-1644). The monastery has been a major centre of Buddhism not only for Fujian province but also for the whole region of South China.
Museum of Huaqiao (Overseas Chinese) 华侨博物馆 in Xiamen
The Museum exhibits many historical items that illustrate a lively history of Chinese migrants from the very beginning to modern China. It shows the intimate trading and migratory flow between China and Southeast Asia.
Jimei Tan Kah Kee Schools-Museum-Tomb 集美大学陈嘉庚陵墓 in Xiamen
The tour introduces Tan Kah Kee’s residence and the entire school-university town set up by him. In commemoration of the unusual contributions of this overseas Chinese to the motherland, the PRC government has also erected a grand memorial, inclusive of his tomb, at Aoyuan (鳌园).
Zhao Fortress in Zhangzhou 漳州赵家堡
The Fortress was built by the Zhaos, the imperial household of the Song dynasty (961-1279). When the Mongols invaded and ended the Song dynasty, the remnant Zhaos hid and built the Fortress that had been modelled after Kaifeng, the capital city of Northern Song (961-1127).
Maritime Museum of Quanzhou泉州海外交通史博物馆
Quanzhou had been a key port for maritime activities since the Tang period. It was visited by Marco Polo and it was the port where some of the Zheng He treasure fleet had been harboured. The Museum illustrates a vivid maritime history of imperial China and is one of the best in the world.
Wuyi Mountain 武夷山 in Fujian province [May possibly be replaced by an alternative]
Wuyi Mountain is a site of the World Natural and Cultural Heritage. It amply demonstrates the beauty of its natural surroundings and this was also the place which had cultivated Zhu Xi, the founder of Neo-Confucianism.
GENERAL REFERENCES
John K. Fairbank and Edwin Reischauer, China: Tradition and Transformation, Sydney: Allen & Unwin, Revised edition of 1989 [Alternative: 1978 edition]
Ray Huang, China: A Macro History, Armonk, N.Y.: M.E. Sharpe, 1988
Charles O. Hucker, China’s Imperial Past: An Introduction to Chinese History and Culture, Stanford, California: Stanford University Press, 1975
Chang Chun-shu, ed., The Making of China: Main Themes in Premodern Chinese
History, Englewood Cliffs, N.J.: Prentice Hall, 1975
DETAILED RECOMMENDED READINGS
Lecture 1
-Fairbank and Reischauer, China, pp. 1-16
-Charles Hucker, China’s Imperial Past, pp. 1-17
Lectures 2-4
-Fairbank and Reischauer, China, pp. 17-54
-Ray Huang, China, pp. 3-26
-Charles Hucker, China’s Imperial Past, pp. 21-117
-Chang Chun-shu, ed., The Making of China, pp. 38-46 (article by Chang Kwang-chih)
-Herrlee G. Creel, The Origins of Statecraft in China, Volume 1, the Western Chou Empire, Chicago: Chicago University Press, 1970, pp. 29-56, 417-443
-Arthur Waley, Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China, London: Allen & Unwin, 1953, passim
Lectures 5-9
-Fairbank and Reischauer, China, pp. 55-79
-Ray Huang, China, pp. 27-61
-Derk Bodde, “The State and Empire of Ch’in,” in Denis Twitchett and Michael Loewe, eds., The Cambridge History of China, Volume 1, Ch’in and Han Empires, 221 BC - AD 220, Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1986, pp. 21-102