HST484/584 Modern Chinese History
Fall
2002 Class
Room: AD334
Time:
MWF
Instructor:
Dr. Pingchao Zhu
Office: 315 AD (
Office Phone: 885-7166
Office Hour: MWF
E-mail: pzhu@uidaho.edu
Website: www.uidaho.edu/~pzhu
COURSE DESCRIPTION
The major themes of
Modern Chinese History are CHANGE and TRANSFORMATION. In this course we are going to travel through
three-hundred-year time period from
TEXTBOOKS
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
1. Two mid-term exams 100
points each
2. Two essays 100
each
3. Response journals (5
in total) 10 each
4. Attendance &
participation
50
Examinations consist of short essays
and identifications. They are not
cumulative.
Essays
1) Essay One is on the novel
by Bette Bao Lord, Spring Moon: A Novel of China. Students are required to include the
following aspects in the report:
--A general
review of the story;
--In what way does the novel reflect
Chinese reality in tradition and cultural developments?
--What in the novel attracts you the
most? Give a few examples.
2) Essay Two is a book review. The book must be non-fictional, scholarly,
and on modern
--Author’s thesis, major argument, and author’s view of
the subject under discussion;
--Your critique and analysis of the author’s argument.
--Scholarly contribution, if any, of the book to the
Chinese studies in general.
Both
essays should be typed, double-spaced, 5-6 pages in length, and in 12 font.
Response Journals will be due on Friday
on the weeks that are marked with ** signs.
The journals are designed to give
students opportunities to express your opinions over certain issues regarding
The journal must be
typed, at least two pages in length, and will be graded according to the
writing quality.
GRADES SCALE
A=500-450 B=449-400 C=399-350 D=349-300 F=299
and below
COURSE
SCHEDULE
Part
I: Late Imperial
Week 1: Aug. 26-30
Introduction
a. A conceptual framework of modern Chinese
history
b. The splendor of the Qing Dynasty
Reading: Vohra,
chpt. 1
**Week 2: Sept. 2-6
Society and Culture during the Qing Dynasty
a. Economic institution
b.
Philosophies and religions
Reading:
Vohra, chpt. 1
1st journal due
Week 3: Sept. 11-13
No Class on Monday, Labor Day
The Opium War
a. Tribute system and Canton trade
b. Conflicts with the West
Reading: Vohra, chpt. 2
**Week 4: Sept. 16-20
China's Response to the West, I
a. Second treaty
settlement
b. The
Self-strengthening Movement, 1860-1895
c. The 1st Sino-Japanese War
Reading: Vohra,
chpt. 3
2nd
journal due
Week 5: Sept. 23-27
China's Response to the West, II
a. Empress Dowager Ci Xi
b. Imperial Reforms, 1898-1908
c. The Boxers
Uprising, 1900
Reading: Vohra,
chpt. 4
Start Reading “Spring Moon”
**Week 6: Sept. 30- Oct. 4
The End of the Imperial Era, 1900-1911
a. Life & society
b. Dr. Sun Yat-sen & 1911 Revolution
c. The Good Earth, movie clips
Reading: Vohra, chpt. 4
3rd journal due
Part
II: The Republic of China, 1911-1949
Week 7: Oct. 7-11
Building a Republic, 1911-20
a. Intellectual awakening
b. Lu Xun & new culture movement
Reading: Vohra, chpt. 5
The First Exam on Monday
Week 8: Oct. 14-18
Nationalists
vs. Communists, 1921-1931
a. Warlordism,
1916-27
b. The rise of the Guomindang (The
Nationalist Party)
c. Mao and the birth
of CCP (The Chinese Communist Party)
Reading: Vohra, chpts. 5 & 6
**Week 9: Oct. 21-25
China at War, 1930s
a. Manchuria Incident, 1931
b. China Incident, 1937
c. Society & economy in the Republic
Reading: Vohra, chpt. 7
4th journal due
Week 10: Oct. 28-Nov. 1
WWII in China, 1937-45
a. Chongqing vs. Yan'an
b. U.S.-China relations
c. The Civil War, 1946-49
Reading:
Vohra, chpt. 7
Review essay on “Spring Moon”due on
Friday
Part
III: The People's Republic of China, 1949-present
Week 11: Nov. 4-8
Building a New State, 1950s
a. Communist government
b. The Korean War
c. Sino-Soviet alliance
Reading: Vohra, chpt. 8
**Week 12: Nov. 11-15
Challenge to the New Society, 1949-1959
a. The Great Leap Forward
b. The Cultural Revolution, 1966-1976
c. To Live, movie clips
Reading: Vohra,
chpts. 8-10
5th
journal due
Week 13: Nov. 18-22
Life under the Communist rule
Second Exam on Wednesday
SPRING RECESS, NO CLASS
China and the World
a. China’s foreign policy, 1972-79
b. Post-Mao reforms
Reading: Vohra, chpt. 11
Week 16: Dec. 9-13
Reforms under Deng Xiao-ping, 1978-97
a. The four modernizations
b. Changes and
problems
Reading: Vohra,
chpts. 11 & 12
Second
Essay due on the last day of class
The instructor reserves
the rights to change this schedule when necessary.