Introductory description

Being one of the oldest civilizations, China has a long, rich, and diverse history. In chronological frameworks, this module offers ten weeks of feasting on its most recent past: the history of modern China, which in actuality is still in the grip of its dynastic past, despite countless reforms, revolutions and modernization that started in mid-nineteenth century and were modelled on the West. This chronological approach shows how China changed over time. Leaning history through a series of major events allows us to connect dots into a comprehensible narrative and to conduct macro as well as micro analysis. This module can be taken together with 'Modern China in Eight Themes' in Spring Term.

Module web page

Module aims

Outline syllabus

This is an indicative module outline only to give an indication of the sort of topics that may be covered. Actual sessions held may differ.

The eight events that we will examine in the Autumn Term, along with other major events, profoundly shaped modern Chinese history. Sometimes the event itself made a difference to people’s life, such as the establishment in 1644 of the Qing dynasty as a new regime that brought about transformation of the country’s socio-political structures. At other times, an event’s symbolic meaning is the main focus of the history. The First Opium War, for instance, is central to the Century of Humiliation narrative that galvanized generations of Chinese people. The eight events have been chosen to help you better grasp the outline of modern Chinese history, while other events that we do not focus on are as important in a different context.

• Introduction
• The Qing’s Conquering of the Ming, 1644
• The First Opium War, 1839
• The Taiping Rebellion, 1850
• Reform Movements, 1861
• The 1911 Revolution, 1911
• The Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937
• The Communist Revolution, 1949
• The Cultural Revolution, 1966

Learning outcomes

By the end of the module, students should be able to:

• Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of historical and theoretical interpretations of modern China.
• Communicate ideas and findings, adapting to a range of situations, audiences and degrees of complexity.
• Generate ideas through the analysis of a broad range of primary source material for the study of modern China, including electronic resources.
• Analyse and evaluate the contributions made by existing scholarship.
• Act with limited supervision and direction within defined guidelines, accepting responsibility for achieving deadlines.

Indicative reading list

Cohen, Paul A., Discovering History in China: American Historical Writing on the Recent Chinese Past. Columbia University Press, 1984
Crossley, Pamela Kyle, The Wobbling Pivot: China Since 1800, (Chichester: Wiley-Blackwell, 2010)
Duara, Prasenjit, Rescuing History from the Nation: Questioning Narratives of Modern China. University of Chicago Press, 1995
Franke, Wolfgang, A Century of Chinese Revolution, 1851-1949 (Oxford, 1970)
Feuerwerker Albert, Rhoads Murphey, and Mary C. Wright, (eds.), Approaches to Modern Chinese History. University of California Press, 1967
Gray, Jack, Rebellions and Revolutions: China from the 1800s to the 1980s.Oxford University Press, 1990
Hershatter, Gail, (ed.) Remapping China: Fissures in Historical Terrain. Stanford University Press, 1996
Hsu, Immanuel C.Y., The Rise of Modern China, 6th edn (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2000)
Hummel, Arthur W. Eminent Chinese of the Ch’ing Period (1644–1912), 2 vols. United States Government Printing Office, 1991
Kirby, William C., ed. The People’s Republic of China at 60--An International Assessment. Harvard University Asia Center, 2011
Levenson, Joseph. Confucian China and Its Modern Fate, vols. 1~3. Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1958
McAleavy, Henry, The Modern History of China (New York, N.Y., 1967)
Nedostup, Rebecca. Superstitious Regimes: Religion and the Politics of Chinese Modernity. Harvard University Asia Center, 2009.
Perdue, Peter C. China Marches West: The Qing Conquest of Central Eurasia. Harvard University Press, 2009
Strauss, Julia. Strong Institutions in Weak Polities: State Building in Republican China, 1927-1940. Oxford University Press, 1998
Schoppa, R. Keith, Revolution and It’s Past (Pearson, 2002, third edition 2011 or later)
Spence, Jonathan D. The Search for Modern China, W.W. (Norton & Company, 1990)
Wasserstrom, Jeffrey, The Oxford Illustrated History of Modern China. Oxford University Press, 2016
Wasserstrom, Jeffrey, China in the 21st Century: What Everyone Needs to Know. Oxford University Press, 2013

View reading list on Talis Aspire

Subject specific skills

See learning outcomes.

Transferable skills

See learning outcomes.