HIST 283 - China’s Imperial Shadow: Prehistoric Origins to 1600

FDR: HU, GE4b
Credits: 3
When Offered: Not offered in 2009-2010

A specialized survey. Pre-modern Chinese civilization arguably invented and certainly reinvented the theory and practice of empire. This course follows the ebb and flow of imperial political, economic and cultural power across China and as it periodically spilled over into Southeast Asia and Inner Asia to include parts of the histories of Mongolia, Vietnam, and Korea, as well. Themes include the inventions of Confucianism; the popular culture of the civil service exam; Mongol apartheid; relating to the barbarians; keeping Chinese men and women in their places; Chinese Buddhism’s Silk Road; traditional religion and popular revolt; premodern bureaucracy in action and stagnation.Bello.