Undergraduate course in Early Chinese History at the University of Hawaii 1993, taught by Professor Kwok, a Yale-trained (1959) PhD:

History 311
D. W. Y. Kwok

The Course of Chinese Civilization:
First Term

  Attention during the first semester will be given to forming an understanding of the development of a civilization with political and social patterns significantly different from those of the West. The major problem for any student of China, therefore, is to be constantly aware that the language used in describing this civilization must be used with great care. The course will be directed at working out ways, concepts, and terms with which to study and understand the historical standards the Chinese have set for themselves. By the end of the semester, the notion of a Confucian gentry state, for example, should achieve the specific context of Chinese culture.

  Coping with the differences between Chinese and Western civilizations is only part of the task. That of pointing out the numerous parallels between developments and events in Chinese and Western history is also important. There is the danger of carrying these parallels too far, however. The broad frame of reference gained will be useful for examining some of the values and directions in one's own culture. In the process of grasping the larger and more ordered understanding of China, it will be rewarding to explore deeply the smaller areas of Chinese life. Some notions of the far-flung effects of intercultural contacts as well as appreciation of some of the works of art and literature, will enhance the understanding of Chinese civilization.

The text for the course is Charles O. Hucker, China's Imperial Past. Attention is invited to the following works for reference:

Jacque Gernet, A History of Chinese Civilization (first four parts)

J. Needham, Science and Civilization in China, Vol. 1

M. Elvin, The Pattern of the Chinese Past

C. P. Fitzgerald, China, a Short Cultural History

@

The following is the schedule of the course work:

  1. Map assignment due September 7

  2. First short paper due September 21

  3. Second short paper due October 26

  4. *Third short paper due November 16

  5. Term paper due December 2

  6. Final examination, Thursday December 16, 9:45--11:45

* Undergraduates can choose two of the short papers to do. Graduate students shall do all of the short papers.

Assignments

I. August 24 - September 21: Geography and Early History

A. Text: "Introduction" and Chapters 1, 2, 3, 4

B. Map assignment due September 7

Construct or purchase an outline map, locate and label the following: (do not use numbers) trace out rivers, dot the cities and color in the provinces. Maps will be graded to accuracy and neat appearance.

Yellow River
Yangtzi River
Wei River
West River
Amur
Yalu River
Grand Canal
Quinling Mountains (Tsingling)
Nan Shan (Mountains)
Guilin (Kweilin)
Xian (Sian)
Luoyang (Loyang)
Nanjing (Nanking)
Shanghai
Hangzhou (Hangchow)
Beijing (Peking)
Dongting (Tungting) Lake
Chongquing (Chungking)
Chengdu (Chengtu)
Guangzhou (Canton)
Hankou (Hankow)
Guangdong (Kwangtung) Province
Guangxi (Kwangsi) Province
Shaanxi (Shensi) Province
Kaifeng
Shanhaiguan
Anyang
Dunhuang
Taibei (Taipei)
Gobi Desert
Tarim Basin
Yanan (Yenan)
Changsha
Hunan (Province)
Sichuan (Szechuan)
West Lake
Tianjin (Tientsin)
Lanzhow (Lanchow)
Lhasa
Ulan Bator
Nerchinsk
Harbin
Nanchang
Datong (Tatung)
Kunming
Dalian (Dairen)
Xiamen (Amoy)
Vladivostok
Hainan (Is.)

Atlas references:
 1. Hermann, Historical and Commercial Atlas of China
 2. See works by G. B. Cressey and other texts

C. Short paper: Due September 21

Write a two to three page paper (not more than a 1,000 words) on one of the following topics for which additional references are indicated. The paper should be well thought out, carefully worded and should indicate that you have familiarized yourself with the topic. Footnotes, where appropriate, and a bibliography of works used in preparation should be appended at the end of the paper.

1. Confucius: Innovator? Transmitter? Reactionary?

  • Schwartz, The World of Thought in Ancient China

  • H. G. Creel, Chinese Thought from Confucius to Mao Tse-Tung

  • H. B. Creel, Confucius, the Man and the Myth

  • Y. L. Fung, History of Chinese Philosophy, Vol. 1

  • M. Lin, Men and Ideas, Chap. 2

  • D. Suzuki, A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy

2. Influence of Eastern Zhou Politics on Philosophy

  • H. G. Creel, The Birth of China

  • R. L. Walker, The Multi-State System of Ancient China

  • M. Granet, Chinese Civilization

  • L. Giles (trs.), Sun-Tsu on the Art of War

  • C. Y. Hsu, Ancient China in Transition

3. Some Distinguishing Characteristics of Early Chinese Philosophy

  • B. Schwartz, The World of Thought in Ancient China

  • S. Hu, The Development of the Logical Method in Ancient China

  • Fung, History of Chinese Philosophy, Vol. 1

  • Lin, Men and Ideas

  • Suzuki, A Brief History of Chinese Philosophy

  • D. Munro, The Concept of Man in Early China

4. Xunzi's Importance in Chinese History and Thought

  • H. H. Dubs, Hsun-Tzu, the Builder of Ancient Confucianism

  • H. H. Dubs, The Works of Hsun-Tzu

  • A. C. Cheng, Hsun-Tzu's theory of Human Nature and Its Influence on Chinese Thought

  • Fung, History of Chinese Philosophy, Vol. 1

  • B. Watson, Hsun-Tzu, Basic Works

5. The Daoist Solution for Social Order in China

  • A. Waley, The Way and Its Power

  • A. Waley, Three Ways of Thought in Ancient China

  • H. A. Giles, Chang-Tzu, Mystic, Moralist and Social Reformer

  • Lin, Men and Ideas, Chap. 4

  • H. Welch, The Parting of the Way

  • Watson, Chang-Tzu, Basic Writings

6. Mohism as Political Philosophy

  • Tseu, The Moral Philosophy of Mo-Tze

  • Y. Mei, Motse, the Neglected Rival of Confucius

  • Needham, Science and Civilization in China, Vol. 1

  • Watson, Mo-Tzu, Basic Writings

7. Chinese Society: Feudal of Not (Consult Instructor)

II. September 21 -- November 4: The Imperial State and Society

A. Text: Chapters 5, 6, 7, 8, 9

B. Short Paper: Due October 26

 Write a short paper (500-750 words) on one of the following topics, indicating by footnote references and bibliography what reading you have done.

1. The Chinese as Historians

  • C.S. Gardner, Chinese Traditional Historiography

  • Dubs, "The Reliability of the Chinese Histories," Far Eastern Quarterly, Vol. 3 (1943), pp. 119-43

  • N.L. Swann, Pan Chao, the Foremost Woman Scholar of China

  • B. Watson, Ssu-Ma Chien, Grand Historian of China

2. The First Centralized State in China and its Meaning

  • D. Bodde, China's First Unifier

  • D. Bodde, Statesman, Patriot and General in Ancient China

  • Granet, Chinese Civilization

  • V. Rubin, State and Society in Ancient China

3. Wang Mang: Tyrant or Social Reformer

  • C.B. Sargent, Wang Mang

  • Dubs, "Wang Mang and His Economic Reforms," T'oung Pao, 35 (1940), pp. 219-65 

  • Hu, "Wang Mang, the Socialist Emperor of Nineteen Centuries ago," Journal of the North China Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society, 59 (1928), pp.213-30

4. Economic Problems of a Centralized Chinese State

  • Chi Chao-ting, Key Economic Areas of China

  • E. M. Gale (trs.), Discourses on Salt and Iron

  • C. M. Wilbur, Slavery in China During the Former Han Dynasty

  • Y. S. Yu, Trade and Expansion in Han China

5. Social Life in Han China

  • References listed in 4. and

  • Dubs (trs.), History and the Former Han Dynasty

  • Swann (trs.), Food and Money in Ancient China

  • E. R. Hughes, Two Chinese Poets (Pan Gu, Zhang Heng)

6. Rome and China -- Cross-cultural Relations

  • F. Hirth, China and the Roman Orient

  • F. J. Teggart, Rome and China

  • G. F. Hudson, Europe and China

  • Dubs, "A Roman Influence Upon Chinese Painting," Classical Philology, 38, pp. 13-19

  • Carter, The Invention of Printing in China

  • Yu, Trade and Expansion in Han China

7. Confucianism as a State Religion

  • Creel, Confucius, the Man and the Myth

  • J. K. Shryock, The Origin and Development of the State Cult of Confucius

  • Dubs "The History of Han Confucianism," Journal of the American Oriental Society, 58 (1938), pp. 435-49

  • P. Som, The Comprehensive Discources in the White Tiger Hall

8. Medieval Sino-Western Contacts

  • T. F. Carter, The Invention of Printing in China

  • Needham, Science and Civilization in China, Vol. 1, Section 7

  • Hudson, Europe and China

9. Social Life in Tang China

  • L. S. Yang, Money and Credit in China

  • Reischauer, Ennin's Travel in Tang China

  • E. Pulleybland, The Background of the Rebellion of An Lu-Shan

  • W. Hung, Tu Fu, China's Greatest Poet

  • E. Schafer, The Vermillion Bird

  • Twitchett, Financial Administration Under the Tang Dynasty

  • Twitchett, Land Tenure and Social Order in Tang and Sung China

III. November 4 -- December 9: Empire and Conquest Rule

A. Text: Chapter 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, "Epilogue"

B. K. A. Wittfogel, History of Chinese Society, "General Introduction," pp. 1-32

C. Short Paper: Due November 16

D. Term Paper: Due December 2

Write a short paper of not more than 1,000 words, properly footnoted and with bibliography on one of the following topics. Some of the most pertinent references are suggested under each topic, but the student should not hesitate to move beyond the suggestions. For this paper it is best that one of the books listed under the various topics be read thoroughly, and other texts then consulted for the manner in which the topic is to be treated.

1. Wang Anshi, Tyrant or Social Reformer

2. Civil Service Examination, Instrument of Oppression or Technique of Democracy

3. The Significance of Neo-Confucian Philosophy

4. Sung Landscape Painters, Their Significance

5. Early Chinese Maritime Relations

6. Social Life in Song China

7. Mongol Peace

8. Ming Politics and Culture

Term Paper

A term paper of 2,500 words (not more than 3,000) will be due at class time on December 2, 1993. The selection of the topics for the term paper is entirely up to the student. In general, topics selected should cover some aspect of Chinese civilization before the arrival of the West. Conferences with the instructor of the selected topic should be held sometime before the middle of November.

Term Papers will be graded on the following basis:


Back to Index