HIST375 HISTORY OF MODERN CHINA Spring 2004
Department of History Macalester College
Prof. Y. H. Tam MWF, 9:40-10:40 OM002
The course looks at the major institutions and movements in China in the late and 20th centuries. The focus is on the process of modernization. The course will concentrate on four problem areas: the disintegration of the imperial system, the response to Western challenges, reforms and revolutions, and problems in contemporary China.. Through readings, lectures, discussions and audio visual presentations, students will also be introduced to issues in modern Chinese cultural development and international relations.
There are several outstanding
general historical accounts but the following books are chosen for most of the
assigned readings:
Immanuel C.Y. Hsu. The Rise
of Modern China. Oxford U. Press
Patricia B. Ebrey(ed). Chinese
Civilisation: A Sourcebook. Free Press
Spence .Johnaphan The Search for
Modern China. W.W, Norton.
Additional
readings are assigned from other sources.
Map Exercise: 5%
of total grade
Class Attendance & Discussion Participation: 20%
2 short papers or book reviews (6-8 pages each) 40%
Mid-term Exam 15%
Final Exam 20%
Map Exercise: Students are required to fill out place names in a map of China. Due two weeks from first day of class.
Discussion: Students are required to participate in class discussion.
Discussion topics can be found in the class schedule. Finishing required readings before class is essential to prepare for class discussion.
Short Papers: Two papers of 6 to 8 pages plus a bibliography & footnotes on a topic of your own choice. These can be book reviewsor team research projects.
Exams: There will be two exams on the readings and lectures, one before the mid-term break and one before the final week.
Except for medical reasons or family emergencies about which the Dean of Students has been properly notified, late exams, presentations, or papers will receive a reduction of 20% in grading.
MWF, 10:45AM-12:00 PM; 2:15-3:15PM and by appointment.
Tel. Office 651-696-6262; Home 651- 457-6529; E-mail: tam@macalester.edu
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HIST75 HISTORY OP MODERN CHINA Spring 2003
Department of History Macalester College
Prof. Y. H. Tam TTH, 1:00-230 OM002
CLASS
SCHEDULE
28--Orientation Meeting
30--Geographical Setting
No reading assignments this week.
Map exercise begins [due February 13].
FEBRUARY
Week of February 3
4--Framework of Modern China
6--Enduring Features in Traditional China, I
Readings: Hsu. Chapter 1.
Discussion topics: Consider the statement “China’s past must he studied in terms of its physical environment.” What are the special features in China’s geography and how do they affect China’s development? What are the shaping forces of modern China?
11--Enduring Features in Traditional China II
13--The late Ch’ing Empire: Political, Social Cultural Institutions.
Readings: Hsu, Chs. 2-6; Ehrey, docs 60-62, 65, 72.
Optional Readings: Spence, Chs. 1-6.
Discussion topics: Consider the traditional Chinese view of China and the world. Discuss the importance of the civil service examination in traditional China after the Tang dynasty. Assess the extent of the influence of Confucianism on Chinese society and women’s status. Consider the characteristics of central and local administration in Qing China. What actually held the Chinese empire together? The strong and able Manchu rule? The Confucian scholar-officials? or the tradition? Consider the Canton system as a result of traditional Chinese attitudes towards foreign trade before the 19th century.
Map exercise due
February 13.
18--Foreign Aggression, I
20--Foreign Aggression, II
(To be continued)
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Week of February I7
(Continued)
Readings: Hsu, chps. 7-10.
Optional readings: Ebrey, docs. 68-70
Discussion topics: Comment on the underlying and immediate causes of the Opium War What broad cultural conflicts can be seen in the particular disputes between the British and Chinese that eventually led to the Opium War? Might the particular disputes have been settled without resort to force’?
25--The Taiping Revolution & Its legacy
27--The Self-Strengthening Movement
Readings: Hsu chs. 11
Optional Readings: Spence, chs. 8-9.
Discussion topics: Consider culturalism, nationalism and Christianity in the Taiping Rebellion. What was the focus of Tseng Kuo-fan’s loyalty: the Manchu dynasty or Chinese civilization? Did regionalism foster or inhibit change in modern China?
Topic
of oral report due February 27.
04--Acceleration of Western Imperialism
06--The Radical Reform
Readings: Hsu, chs. 12-15.
Optional readings: Spence. chs. 8-9.
Discussion topics: The role of the West and Japan in China’s quest of modernization: Positive & negative aspects. In Late Ch’ing China all groups professed the desire to save China. What did “China” mean to the conservatives? to radicals K’ang Yu-wei and Liang Ch’I-ch’ao? What lessons can he drawn from the failure of the Hundred Days Reform? Compare the pace of demand for and implementation of reform in late Ch’ ing China other countries (such as late Tokugawa and Meiji Japan).
Date & Format of
Mid-Term exam to be decided this week.
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11--The 1911 Revolution
13—Warlordism & Disunity
Readings:
Hsu. chs. 20. Spence chs. 10—12
Discussion topics: Interpretations of the Revolution of 1911: the first true revolution in Chinese history; a political but not a social revolution? Comment on the thought of Sun Yat-sen Assess the significance of the failure of Yuan Shih-k’ai’s attempt to restore monarchy.
SPPING BREAK, No Class
25--The May Fourth Movement
27--New Literature
Readings: Hsu. Ch. 21: Ebrey, docs. 74-77; “Mad Man’s Diary” & “The Story of Ah-Q” by Lu Hsun; other literary works.
Optional Readings: Spence, Chs. 13.
Discussion topics: Comment on the Chinese intellectuals’ attitudes toward science democracy and Confucianism. What problems does the “Mad Man” or Ah-Q have? Assess the May Fourth Movement as intellectual history.
01--National Unification
03--Japanese Aggression in China
Readings: Hsu, Chs. 22-24; Ebrey, doc. 84; and other readings to he announced.
Optional Readings: Spence Chs. 14-17.
Discussion Topics: Did liberal democracy have a chance in China at any time in the 20th century? Assess Chiang K’ai-shek as a statesman. What are the significance of the Sino-Japanese war in world history? How the war is remembered in China, Japan, and other parts of the world?
08--The Rise of the PRC and Mao Zedong, I
10--The Rise of the PRC and Mao Zedong, 11
Readings: Hsu, chs. 25-26: Ebrey, docs. 85-88.
Discussion Topics: What is new in the PRC? Mao Zedong’s image of the future China: China as model for developing nations. Causes and consequences of the Korean War and the Sino-Soviet dispute; implications for Chinese domestic development.
15--The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution
17--Deng Xiaoping & the Modernization Efforts, I
Readings: Hsu, chs. 27-29; Spence, Cbs. 18-21: Ebrey, docs. 89-94.
Discussion topics: Assess the significance of the Cultural Revolution.
Basic reasons for normalization of relations with the United States and
Japan.
22--Deng Xiaoping & the Modernization Efforts, II
24--The Making of The Small Dragon: Taiwan
Readings: Hsu, chs. 30, 32-38; Spence, chs. 22-24; Ebrey, docs.
95-98.
Discussion topics: Nationalism and Marxism as motivations of the Communist leadership; to what extent are Nationalism and Marxism compatible in the Chinese case? The role of ideology in China: in determining foreign and domestic policies; in uniting leaders and masses. Assessment of Deng Xiaoping as a statesman. The significance of the T’ien-an-men Square Incident.
29--The Making of The Small Dragons: Hong Kong & Macco
01--Modern China in Review, I
Readings: To be assigned
Discussion topics: The basic reasons for the success in Taiwan & Hong
Kong. Assess the implications for reunification and US-Chinese relations.
The future of socialism in China.
06--Modern China in Review II: Free Discussion
08--No Class [Exam Period]
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