Introductory description

Being one of the oldest civilizations, China has a long, rich, and diverse history. In chronological frameworks, this module offers twenty one weeks of feasting on its most recent past: the history of early modern and 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. The chronological approach of Term One shows how China transformed over time. Leaning history through a series of major themes in Term Two allows us to connect dots into a comprehensible narrative and to conduct macro as well as micro analysis.

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 Term One, along with other major events, profoundly shaped early modern and 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 early modern and modern Chinese history, while other events that we do not focus on are as important in a different context. Syllabus of Term One:

1. Introduction
2. The Qing’s Conquering of the Ming, 1644
3. The First Opium War, 1839
4. The Taiping Rebellion, 1850
5. Reform Movements, 1861
6. The 1911 Revolution, 1911
7. The Second Sino-Japanese War, 1937
8. The Communist Revolution, 1949
9. The Cultural Revolution, 1966

In the Term Two, we will study eight themes that each speaks to a aspect of early modern and modern China. Leaning history through a series of major events as we did in Term One allows us to connect dots into a comprehensible narrative. This chronological approach shows how China changed over time. However, there is a great danger that we might create a linear narrative forgetting the complex and chaotic nature of everyday life and reality—the history. In the Spring Term, we will employ a thematic approach that will allow us to see modern Chinese history from a different perspective. Each week we will examine a theme that cuts through time to see connections or to make comparisons. The eight themes of Term Two have been chosen because of their significance to modern Chinese history. You can and should invent as many themes as you want to cut through time and space and form an understanding of the history. We will first in the new term do revisions in three different ways in three sections to consolidate what we have learned during the Term One. Syllabus of Spring Term:

1. China transformed to modern times
2. Gendered China, from early modern to modern
3. The Civil Service Examination
4. The Intellectuals and political dissent
5. Chinese believers, religious transformation
6. Changes in rural and urban China
7. The Chinese ordinary workers
8. Nationalism and Politicized Youth
9. The Rise of Modern China and its relations with the West

Syllabus of Term Three:

1. Revision I (optional)

Learning outcomes

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

• Demonstrate a detailed knowledge of historical and theoretical interpretations of early modern and modern China.
• Communicate ideas and findings, adapting to a range of situations, audiences and degrees of complexity.
• Generate ideas through the analysis of a range of primary source material for the study of early modern and 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.

Subject specific skills

See learning outcomes.

Transferable skills

See learning outcomes.