HUMA 3420, Spring 2012

HUMA3420 Chinese Social and Economic History Lecture: Fri. 10:30-12:20 Tutorial: Tue. 12:30-13:20 Venue: 2405 Teacher: Bozhong Li Office: 2357 Office Hours: Fri. 15:00-16:00 Tel: 23587825 Description The purpose of this course is to review the economic and social history of traditional China. The time frame covered ranges from the late third century BCE to the early-twentieth century CE. The main focus is on changes in Chinese economy and society. The central concern is to understand how and why Chinas economy and society evolved into what they are today. In addition to the historical chronology of the Chinese experience during these two millennia, the class will emphasize some of the distinctive features of this experience in comparative perspective. The class will be a combination of lectures, class discussion and common readings. As an introductory humanities class, the class also emphasizes such fundamental skills as reading, thinking and writing. Out of class communication will be done almost exclusively through the class web site on UST CELT. Please check the site every weekend for course announcements. Requirements All students are expected to attend class regularly, to complete the assigned reading prior to the class on that date, and to participate actively in classroom discussions. Frequent absence without excuse will be considered as a violation of the Universitys regulations for attendance and will affect your grade. The students will be responsible for a considerable amount of reading, one or two class presentations, a midterm examination and a 3,000-word paper of. The midterm examination questions will be based on the course lectures and readings. The topic of the paper will be announced a few weeks in advance. Lecture attendance is mandatory. Final grades will be based on a combination of exams and class discussion & presentations: midterm exam 30 percent, paper 40 percent, class discussion & presentations 20 percent and attendance 10 percent. Chinese and other foreign language fluency are not required. Textbook Elvin, Mark. The Pattern of the Chinese PastA Social and Economic Interpretation. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1973
1

HUMA 3420, Spring 2012

Reading materials (Only some chapters or pages of each work are required) Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. ed. Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook. New York: Free Press, 1993 Lee, Thomas: Literacy and Popular Education in Traditional China. lecture paper in Traditional China Seminar, Columbia University, November 10, 1998 Maddison, Augus: Chinese Economic Performance in the Long Run (Second edition). Development Centre of the Ogranisation for Economic Co-Operation and Development (Paris), 2007 Peers, Christopher. Medieval Chinese Armies, 1260-1520. Osprey Publishing; 1992 Xia Qinggao (Hsieh Ch'ing kao): The Hai-lu. from The Great Chinese Travelers, ed. Jeanetter Mirskyl (1964), reprinted in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed. Sources of World History, Volume II, (New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1995), pp. 126-28 Two Edicts From Emperor Qianlong to King George III, from Changing China: Readings in the History of China from the Opium War to the Present, ed. J. Mason Gentzler, Praeger Publishers, 1977, reproduced by permission of Holt, Rinehart and Winston All the materials are available in the reserved shelves of the library or on UST CELT. Class organization: Week 1. Introduction Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 1. Week 2. The Peasant and the state Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 2. Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 42, 61, 66. Week 3. Environment and Society Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 3. Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 13, 24. Week 4. Barbarians and their influences Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 4. Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 12, 28, 32. Week 5. The Tenant and the landlord Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 6, 15. Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 36, 52. Week 6. The Right of property Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 5. Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 26, 29, 62. Week 7. Defense and economy Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 7, 8. Christopher Peers. Ming Army. Medieval Chinese Armies, 1260-1520. pp.179191.
2

HUMA 3420, Spring 2012

Week 8. Mid-term Exam Week 9. Wet-rice economy and the rise of the south Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 9. Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 43. Week 10. Commercialization Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 10, 11 Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 31, 50. Week 11. City and urbanization Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 12. Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 41. Week 12. Education and human resources Lee, Thomas: Literacy and Popular Education in Traditional China. Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 30, 45, 66. Week 13. From the Silk Road to the Tea Road Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 14 (pp.215-225). Xia Qinggao: The Hai-lu. Two Edicts From Emperor Qianlong to King George III. Week 14. A concise review Angus Maddison: Agricultural Development in Jiangnan, 1620-1850. chapter 1