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EALC001 Introduction to Chinese Civilization Fall 2021 MW 12:00-1:00, F recitation McNeil Building 286-7 Ori Tavor Email: oritavor@sas.upenn.edu Office: Williams Hall 854 Office Hours: M2-3, or by appointment COURSE DESCRIPTION This course offers an introduction to Chinese civilization from ancient times to the contemporary era. Throughout the semester we will learn about the major figures and events that shaped Chinese history, its main religious and philosophical traditions, social and cultural institutions, as well as key literary and artistic works. The course is designed to briefly touch upon many topics that will be covered more fully in other EALC courses. The Monday and Wednesday sessions will take the form of a lecture, but during the Friday recitations, students will be expected to participate in an active discussion about the weekly readings. REQUIREMENTS AND GRADING: Class Attendance and Participation in Recitations: 20% Short Papers (3): 45% Final Exam: 35% ATTENDANCE AND PARTICIPATION: Class attendance is part of the learning process. Students are expected to finish the weekly readings before the Friday recitation; bring the assigned readings and your notes to the recitation and be prepared to engage in discussion. You may miss up to one recitation – any further absences will impact your final grade. SHORT PAPERS (3): Each paper (~1000 words) will focus on the analysis of a specific primary source or a set of sources. Paper prompts will be distributed two weeks before the due date. To encourage continuous improvement, we will grade your papers on a progressive scale. The submission dates are clearly marked on the syllabus. As these are short assignments, there will be no extensions, except for unusual circumstances. You must turn in all three assignments if you want to pass this class. If you submit a plagiarized paper, you will fail the assignment and the class. If you are unsure of what constitutes plagiarism, consult the professor or TFs before submitting any work. See the university’s Code of Academic Integrity at: https://catalog.upenn.edu/faculty-handbook/iv/iv-b/ FINAL EXAM The final exam will feature 20 ID questions (you will be able to choose 20 out of a total of 25 terms). The answer to each question should be a brief essay (1-2 paragraphs) explaining the significance of the person/title/object/event in Chinese history. A question pool of 50 ID terms will be distributed in the final week of classes. TEXTBOOKS: • Patricia B. Ebrey, Cambridge Illustrated History of China, 2nd Edition (CIHC) (available at the Penn Bookstore). If you purchase/rent the book online, please make sure to buy the 2nd edition (2010). • Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 2nd Edition (CC) • Victor H. Mair et al., eds., Hawai’i Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture (HR) • Additional Readings posted on Canvas CIHC is the only book you need to buy. All other readings will be posted in the “Files” section on Canvas, arranged by week. COURSE SCHEDULE AND READINGS Week One 9/1 – Course Introduction Week Two 9/6 – NO CLASS (Labor Day) 9/8 – The Shang and Zhou Dynasties Readings: CIHC, chapter 1 (pp. 1-37); HR, 1, 5, 6. Week Three 9/13 – Confucianism and Warring States Philosophy 9/15 – Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism Readings: CIHC, chapter 2 (pp. 38-59); HR, 7, 8, 12, 21. Week Four 9/20 – The Bureaucratic Empire: The Qin and Han Dynasties 9/22 – Han Thought: Body, Empire, and Cosmos Readings: CIHC, chapter 3 (pp. 60-85); HR, 23, 24; CC, 13, 18. Week Five 9/27 – Some Chinese Myths (Guest Lecture by Paul R. Goldin) 9/29 – Between North and South: The Age of Division Readings: CIHC, chapter 4 (pp. 86-107); HR, 35, 37, 38; CC, 24; “Peach Blossom Spring” Week Six 10/4 – The Sui and Tang Dynasties 10/6 – Tang Culture and Cosmopolitanism Readings: CIHC, chapter 5 (pp. 108-135); HR, 50, 54; CC, 26. FIRST PAPER DUE IN FRIDAY RECITATION, 10/8 Week Seven 10/11 –Demon Soldiers and Body Gods: The Religion of Daoism 10/13 – Buddhism in China: Challenges and Adaptations Readings: HR, 43, 52; CC, 22, 33. NO RECITATION THIS WEEK (Fall Break) Week Eight 10/18 – Turning Inward: The Song Dynasty 10/20 – Song Literati Culture and Urban Life Readings: CIHC, chapter 6 (pp. 136-163); HR, 62; CC, 38, 40, 41; “The Spring Festival Along the River” Week Nine 10/25 – Barbarians at the Gate: The Liao, Jin, and Yuan Dynasties 10/27 – China in World History Readings: CIHC, chapter 7 (pp. 164-185); CC, 44; “Marco Polo” and “Ibn Battua” Week Ten 11/1 – The Ming and early Qing Dynasties 11/3 – Late Imperial Literature and Popular Culture Readings: CIHC, chapters 8 and first part of 9 (pp. 190-234); HR, 73, 77; CC, 53. SECOND PAPER DUE IN FRIDAY RECITATION, 11/5 Week Eleven 11/8 – The Qing and Inner Asia (Guest Lecture by Cristopher Atwood) 11/10 – The Fall of the Qing: Colonialism, Civil War, and the End of Empire Readings: CIHC, second part of chapter 9 (pp. 234-258); CC, 68, 69, 70; “Letter to Queen Victoria” and “Letter to George III” Week Twelve 11/15 – Political Reforms and the Making of the Modern Chinese Nation-State 11/17 – Between East and West: Society and Culture in Republican China Readings: CIHC, chapter 10 (pp. 262-291); CC, 73, 74, 77; “Medicine” Week Thirteen 11/22 – The Chinese Diaspora 11/24 – NO CLASS (Thanksgiving Break) NO RECITATION THIS WEEK Week Fourteen 11/29 – Mao Zedong and the Foundation of the People’s Republic 12/1 – The Great Leap Forward and the Cultural Revolution Readings: CIHC, first part of chapter 11 (pp. 294-321); CC, 89, 90, 93; The Blue Kite (蓝风筝, dir. Tian Zhuangzhuang, 1993) THIRD PAPER DUE IN FRIDAY RECITATION, 12/3 Week Fifteen 12/6 – Chinese Society in the Post-Mao Era 12/8 – Course Conclusion: China in the 21st Century Readings: CIHC, second part of chapter 11 (pp. 321-332)