1 Course Syllabus HIST 4550 - Imperial China Fall 2017 MWF 9:00-9:50 a.m. Wooten Hall 221 Professor Harold Tanner Office: WH 225B Office hours: Tuesdays, 10:00-11:00 a.m., or by appointment 940-565-4207 htanner@unt.edu Graduate Teaching Assistants: Matthew Alexander Wenrui Zhong MatthewAlexander2@my.unt.edu wenruizhong@my.unt.edu Office: WH 211 Office: WH 211 Office hours: MWF 7:30-8:50 a.m. Office hours: M 10:00 a.m. - 12:00 p.m. Course Description Chinese civilization, like its Greek and Roman counterparts in the Mediterranean, is both ancient and far-reaching, influencing the political, economic, social, intellectual, religious, and cultural systems of a hemisphere for over five thousand years. Traditional Chinese civilization coalesced around the turn of the Common Era, reached its zenith during the mid-eighth century, and then began its descent into the early modern world. This class will survey of the development of Chinese political philosophy, statecraft, economics and society from the Xia dynasty (ca. 2205 BCE) through the High Qing (late 18th century CE). Issues considered include the development and characteristics of the imperial state; the role of Buddhism in Chinese history; women s roles in family, state and society; and political, economic and cultural relations with non-chinese peoples and states. Required Texts Harold M. Tanner, China: A History (Volume 1): From Neolithic Cultures through the Great Qing Empire, (10,000 BCE - 1799 CE). 2010.* Michael Loewe, Bing: From Farmer s Son to Magistrate in Han China. 2011. Robert H. van Gulik, The Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee (Dee Goong An): An Authentic Eighteenth Century Chinese Detective Novel. 1976. Robert E. Hegel, True Crimes in Eighteenth-Century China: Twenty Case Histories. 2009. * NOTE: royalties from sale of this textbook at the UNT bookstore are routed directly to a nonprofit charity and do not in any way accrue to the author.
2 Student Learning Objectives/Outcomes This course is designed around an extensive collection of primary documents, both written (in English translation) and visual, with the pedagogical objective of teaching students how to do history from primary sources. Significant amounts of class time will be devoted to discussions of these source materials. Your thoughtful comments, based on careful readings of the primary and secondary materials, will be the driving force of this class. Students will write and submit regular analyses of the primary documents, and these primary source analyses will serve as the foundation for a researched argumentative essay. In summary, this course aims to present not only the facts of the history of imperial China, but also to engage students in the methods and practice of historical inquiry. Tentative Calendar of Assignments (subject to adjustment by the instructor) # Date Topic Textbk Other Reading Due 1 Aug 28 Introduction Orientations; early cultures 2 Aug 30 & beginnings 3-28 3 Sep 1 4 Sep 4 Photographs of Neolithic pottery; Neolithic tombs Bronze Age Societies: Xia and Shang 33-46 Oracle bone inscriptions Labor Day No class (university closed) 5 Sep 6 Unity and the Zhou conquest 46-51 Western Zhou society and 51-53, 6 Sep 8 thought 74-78 7 Sep 11 The crisis of the Eastern Zhou 8 Sep 13 Intellectual responses (1) 53-66 9 Sep 15 Intellectual responses (2) 66-78 Metal-bound Coffer; Shao Announcement Odes and Book of Changes excerpts PSA #1 WTL #1 Zuozhuan excerpts; Art of War excerpts PSA #2 66-78 Annalects & Daodejing excerpts Zhuangzi, Xunzi, Mencius, and Mozi excerpts WTL #2 10 Sep 18 Legalism and the Qin dynasty 78-92 Han Fei, Jing Ke and Li Si excerpts PSA #3 The founding of the Han Shi ji on Han Gaozu's divine favor; 11 Sep 20 dynasty 92-96 Jia Yi's "Faults of Qin" Emperor Wu, the Xiongnu and 12 Sep 22 the Silk Roads 96-99 The Account of Dayuan WTL #3 13 Sep 25 Dong Zhongshu and the Han synthesis Dong Zhongshu, Heaven, Earth, and Man. PSA #4 14 Sep 27 Han economy and society 99-106 Debate on Salt and Iron; Bing 15 Sep 29 Women in the Han and Han historiography 94-96; 106-121 Ban Zhao's "Lessons for Women"; "Chao Fei-yen sisters"; Letter to Ren An WTL #4
3 16 Oct 2 17 Oct 4 The Eastern Han's decline and fall 122-130 The Three States (Three Kingdoms) 135-142 Wang Fu, "On Friendship and Getting Ahead" PSA #5 Zhuge Liang, Memorial on sending out the army ; Qiao Zhou, Book Discourse on enemy states. Review #1 18 Oct 6 The Western Jin and period of North-South division 142-152 Family Instructions of Mr. Yan; Ballad of Mulan WTL #5 19 Oct 9 20 Oct 11 21 Oct 13 Buddhism 152-164 Conversion of the Barbarians PSA #6 Daoism 152-164 Laughing at the Dao; Mulian Rescues his Mother Reunification under Sui 167-170 The Labyrinth WTL #6 22 Oct 16 Founding of the Tang 170-174 The Curly-bearded Hero; The Tang Legal Code PSA #7 23 Oct 18 24 Oct 20 Tang institutions: trade and art Tang institutions: Buddhism and Buddhist monasteries 174-181 Judge Dee Xaunzang; Emperor Wuzong s Edict on the Suppression of Buddhism WTL #7 25 Oct 23 26 Oct 25 Tang institutions: women and poetry 181-191 An Lushan Rebellion & the Late Tang 191-198 The Story of Miss Li ; Analects for Women, Li Bo; Du Fu PSA #8 Flight from the Capital ; A Song of Unending Sorrow ; HanYu s Memorial on the Buddha-bone WTL #8 27 Oct 27 Paper Prospectus conference day Paper prospectus due Book Review #2 28 Oct 30 The Northern Song and its neighbors 201-209 29 Nov 1 Song politics and economy 209-217 30 Nov 3 Song society and culture 217-224; 229-233 Tangut Proverbs, Maxims and Sayings PSA #9 Ouyang Xiu, Essay on Fundamentals ; Wang Anshi, Sima Guang and Emperor Shenzong Su Shi poems; Zheng Zedduan s Qingming on the River WTL #9
4 31 Nov 6 Song philosophy: Neo- Confucianism 224-229; 233-234 Lu Jiuyuan, Mind is Principle ; Zhu Xi, The Nature as Principle PSA #10 32 Nov 8 China and the Mongol Empire 239-250 Epitaph for the Honorary Menggu 33 Nov 10 34 Nov 13 35 Nov 15 36 Nov 17 37 Nov 20 38 Nov 22 Yuan dynasty society and culture 250-273 Founding the Ming dynasty 281-289 The Zheng He voyages 289-296 The Great Wall 296-306 Ming culture and society 310-336 Founding the Qing dynasty 340-349 Marco Polo; William of Rubruck; Ibn Battuta WTL #10 Proclamations of the Hongwu Emperor Concubines ; Widows Loyal Unto Death The Yangzhou Massacre ; The Sacred Edict 39 Nov 24 Thanksgiving Break No class (university closed) 40 Nov 27 41 The High Qing: the Qianlong reign 349-352 Nov 29 Governing the Qing empire 352-359 Demonstrate Ceremony and Deference Book Review #3 42 Dec 1 Qing society 359-367 True Crimes 43 Dec 4 The Qianlong Emperor and Lord Macartney 367-377 Excerpts from Two Edicts from the Qianlong Emperor 44 Dec 6 Summary and Conclusions 45 Dec 8 Reading Day (no classes) Argumentative Paper due Thursday, December 7 @ 11:59 p.m.
5 Grading Write to Learn essays (10) 20% 20 points each 200 total points Primary Source Analyses (10) 30% 30 points each 300 total points Book Reviews (3) 30% 100 points each 300 total points Argumentative Paper (1) 20% 200 points 200 total points Total Potential Points 100% 1000 total point scale Employing these percentage values for the course assignments, the following grade scale will be used: 0-59 [F]; 60-69 [D]; 70-79 [C]; 80-89 [B]; 90-100 [A]. In narrative form, [F]=failing, [D]=below average, [C]=average, [B]=above average, [A]=exceptional. Assignments Descriptions Write to Learn (See grading rubric at the end of the syllabus) Given the central role of writing in the discipline of history, you will not be asked to fill in bubbles on exams in this class. Rather, over the course of the semester, you will be required to write (10) short essays in class. These short essays may ask you to comment knowledgably on an issue presented in your textbook reading, to summarize or analyze a primary document, or to write a micro-theme on an assigned topic related to course work. Primary Source Analyses (See specific guidelines at the end of the syllabus) During the semester you will prepare (10) one-page primary source analysis papers (PSA) on an assigned primary document each week. These documents are located on Blackboard. Weekly reading assignments may contain several documents; write a PSA on only one (your choice). **Must be submitted by 8:30 a.m. on the due date. Book Reviews (See specific guidelines at the end of the syllabus) You will write 3-4 page book reviews on each of the three books assigned: Oct. 4: Bing Oct. 27: Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee Nov. 29: True Crimes in Eighteenth-Century China **Must be submitted by 8:30 a.m. on the due date. Argumentative Paper As the capstone for this course, you will conduct research and write an essay of 8-10 pages in length arguing a position on a topic of your choice (with the professor s approval). Oct. 27: Prospectus due (in class) Dec. 7: Paper due by 11:59 p.m. Guidelines for all assignments are available on Blackboard.
6 Course Policies Communications Email to my official UNT email (htanner@unt.edu) is the preferred method of communicating with me outside of class or office hours. Do not use the email function within Blackboard, as I do not check Blackboard messages regularly. Email is also the preferred method to contact the teaching assistants for the course. Emails received on weekends or official university holidays may not be seen or acted on until the next business day. Class Participation Your success in this course is a function of your level of engagement. We are interested in the quality of your remarks rather than the quantity. Please use your analysis of the readings, your assignments, and prior research and/or study when responding orally in class, and please be prepared to back up any points you make. Late Work All assignments must be submitted by the due dates and times described in the syllabus in order to successfully complete this course. Late assignments will suffer grade deductions or may not be accepted. Attendance Because each class period may consist of a mixture of lecture, class discussion, group work, and essay writing, your thoughtful, attentive, and active participation is essential (and will form a portion of your grade). If you must miss class so that you may observe a religious holiday or for any other documented valid reason, discuss that with one of the teaching assistants prior to the holiday (or other reason) for an excused absence. Disability Statement The University of North Texas makes reasonable academic accommodation for students with disabilities. Students seeking accommodation must first register with the Office of Disability Accommodation (ODA) to verify their eligibility. If a disability is verified, the ODA will provide you with an accommodation letter to be delivered to faculty to begin a private discussion regarding your specific needs in a course. You may request accommodations at any time, however, ODA notices of accommodation should be provided as early as possible in the semester to avoid any delay in implementation. Note that students must obtain a new letter of accommodation for every semester and must meet with each faculty member prior to implementation in each class. Students are strongly encouraged to deliver letters of accommodation during faculty office hours or by appointment. Faculty members have the authority to ask students to discuss such letters during their designated office hours to protect the privacy of the student. For additional information see the Office of Disability Accommodation website at http://www.unt.edu/oda. You may also contact them by phone at 940.565.4323. The Department of History s ODA representative is Dr. Clark Pomerleau.
7 Academic Integrity Academic integrity emanates from a culture that embraces the core values of trust and honesty necessary for full learning to occur. As a student-centered public research university, the University of North Texas promotes the integrity of the learning process by establishing and enforcing academic standards. Academic dishonesty breaches the mutual trust necessary in an academic environment and undermines all scholarship. See UNT Policy 18.1.16. Therefore, students caught cheating or plagiarizing will receive a "0" for that particular assignment, or, in a particularly egregious case, may receive a grade of F for the course. Additionally, the incident will be reported to the Dean of Students, who may impose further penalty. According to the UNT catalog, the term "cheating" includes, but is not limited to: a. use of any unauthorized assistance in taking quizzes, tests, or examinations; b. dependence upon the aid of sources beyond those authorized by the instructor in writing papers, preparing reports, solving problems, or carrying out other assignments; c. the acquisition, without permission, of tests or other academic material belonging to a faculty or staff member of the university; d. dual submission of a paper or project, or resubmission of a paper or project to a different class without express permission from the instructor(s); or e. any other act designed to give a student an unfair advantage. The term "plagiarism" includes, but is not limited to: a. the knowing or negligent use by paraphrase or direct quotation of the published or unpublished work of another person without full and clear acknowledgment; and b. the knowing or negligent unacknowledged use of materials prepared by another person or agency engaged in the selling of term papers or other academic materials. Personal Communication Devices Turn off all cell phones and other personal communication devices before the start of class. Do not use such devices during class. Substantial research shows that students learn more and perform better when taking notes by hand, rather than on a computer or tablet. Therefore, unless a student has presented documentation from the ODA showing a special need to use a specific device, all laptop computers, tablet computers, and all other personal electronic devices must be turned off and put away during class. Access To Information Eagle Connect Your access point for business and academic services at UNT occurs at my.unt.edu. All official communication from the university will be delivered to your Eagle Connect account. For more information, please visit the website that explains Eagle Connect and how to forward your email: eagleconnect.unt.edu/ Audio and Video Recording / Intellectual Property Audio or video recording or photography of class lectures and other activities is strictly prohibited. Exceptions will be made only for students with documented accommodations from the ODA.
8 Emergency Notification & Procedures UNT uses a system called Eagle Alert to quickly notify you with critical information in the event of an emergency (i.e., severe weather, campus closing, and health and public safety emergencies like chemical spills, fires, or violence). The system sends voice messages (and text messages upon permission) to the phones of all active faculty staff, and students. Please make certain to update your phone numbers at my.unt.edu. Some helpful emergency preparedness actions include: 1) know the evacuation routes and severe weather shelter areas in the buildings where your classes are held, 2) determine how you will contact family and friends if phones are temporarily unavailable, and 3) identify where you will go if you need to evacuate the Denton area suddenly. In the event of a university closure, please refer to Blackboard for contingency plans for covering course materials. Student Evaluation of Instruction Student feedback is important and an essential part of participation in this course. The student evaluation of instruction is a requirement for all organized classes at UNT. This short survey will be made available at the end of the semester to provide you with an opportunity to evaluate how this course is taught. Write To Learn Grading Rubric Criteria Summary and Analysis Grammar and Clarity 5 points Levels of Achievement Novice Competent Proficient No evidence of a topic sentence, body paragraphs, or accuracy of main points. The arguments are not pertinent to the document and are not supported by the evidence. No analysis or conclusions are 1 point Many errors in punctuation, Poorly organized and formatted. 10 points Some elements of the topic sentence, body paragraphs, or accuracy of the main points are Arguments are pertinent to the document and are partially supported by evidence. Some analysis and conclusions are 3 points Few errors in punctuation, Organization and formatting requirement are weak but 15 points All elements of the topic sentence, body paragraphs, and accuracy of the main points are All arguments are pertinent to the document and supported by evidence. Strong analysis and conclusions are 5 points No errors in punctuation, Correct organization and formatting requirements are
9 Primary Source Analysis (PSA) Guidelines THE ASSIGNMENT - Primary Source Analysis: (Worth a total of 30 points each) Each student will submit (10) primary source analyses (PSAs) throughout the course of the semester. Write a (2) page PSA on one of the assigned primary source documents for each week in which a PSA is required. Each PSA will include the following elements: 1. Summary: (worth 6 pts) Summarize the primary source document (NOT the translator s introduction or any other introductory materials the reading may contain) in one (1) short, wellcrafted paragraph. This paragraph must include a topic sentence which introduces the document (title, author (NOT the translator), time period, and main topic), and two or three supporting statements that note the main points of the document. Focus on the document. What is it? What does it say? Helpful Hint: The subject of a summary is the document itself. NOT the author; NOT the time or place of the document s origin; NOT you. Craft your topic sentence accordingly. 2. Analysis: (worth 6 pts) Make a claim. What does this document tell us about the history of the civilization under consideration? To do this well, select an aspect of the document to focus on, make a claim, and support that claim with evidence from the document. Helpful Hint: While many documents could be used to support multiple claims, pick one and delve into the topic indepth. Simple claims (i.e., stating the obvious) will not be graded as favorably as more sophisticated claims. Think deeply about what the document can tell us about the people who created it. 3. The Question: (worth 6 pts) Ask a short question of the document. Do not try to answer the question. Questions should illustrate intellectual curiosity about the document and its topics. 4. Correct Grammar (worth 6 pts) 5. Clarity of Organization and Formatting (worth 6 pts) Requirements: Must be typed using Times New Roman 12 point font The three paragraphs of the PSA are independent of one another. Do not attempt to integrate them into a single coherent paper. Headings or other section labels are unnecessary; a paragraph break indicated by a blank line or line indent is sufficient. Make sure that you are writing about the actual primary source not about any introductory comments, analyses, or questions posed by an editor or translator.
10 Will be submitted in Blackboard via Turnitin refer to course schedule Your PSA should be confined to information from the primary source document itself. It is neither necessary nor permitted to bring in outside materials for this assignment. Relying on or repeating observations from the introductory material or other commentary by the editor or translator of a primary source will have a negative effect on your grade. PSA Grading Rubric: Criteria Grammar 2 points Levels of Achievement Novice Competent Proficient 4 points 6 points Clarity Many errors in punctuation, 2 points Few errors in punctuation, 4 points No errors in punctuation, 6 points Summary Poorly organized and formatted. 2 points Organization and formatting requirement are weak but 4 points Correct organization and formatting requirements are 6 points Analysis No evidence of a topic sentence, body paragraphs, or accuracy of main points. 2 points Some elements of the topic sentence, body paragraphs, or accuracy of the main points are 4 points All elements of the topic sentence, body paragraphs, and accuracy of the main points are 6 points Question The arguments are not pertinent to the document and are not supported by the evidence. No analysis or conclusions are 2 points Arguments are pertinent to the document and are partially supported by evidence. Some analysis and conclusions are 4 points All arguments are pertinent to the document and supported by evidence. Strong analysis and conclusions are 6 points No thought provoking and insightful question was A question was present but was not thought provoking. A thought provoking and insightful question was
11 Instructions for the Preparation of Book Reviews During this semester, you will be writing critical book reviews on three books: 1) Bing; 2) Celebrated Cases of Judge Dee; and 3) True Crimes in Eighteenth Century China. A critical book review is a reaction paper in which you, as the reviewer, analyze the strengths and weaknesses of the material and what the material can teach other prospective readers of the book. It is an essay in which you exercise your capacity for critical thinking and analysis: it is not an essay in which you simply criticize the book or the author for various shortcomings. The paper should be 3-5 pages in length, in 12-point font, double-spaced, with standard margins. Below are a few major points that you should bear in mind as you read each of the three books and write your book reviews. I. Understanding what a critical book review is When you write your book reviews, it is essential that you recognize that a critical book review is not a book report or a summary. A book review is an essay with both descriptive and analytical components, written for the benefit of a prospective reader of the book itself. The purpose of a critical book review is twofold. The reviewer wishes, first, to inform the reader as to the nature, scope and context of the book under consideration. More important, the reviewer seeks to present an evaluation of the book and what it can teach a prospective reader. In so far as is possible, the review should be objective; it should be an evaluation based upon evidence and examples presented in the review and not upon such subjective criteria as personal likes and dislikes. Evidence should be drawn from the book and can consist of direct references to the text, giving specific page numbers, or well-chosen quotes (again, citing the page number). II. Reading the Book: When writing your book reviews, you need to begin with some questions. In fact, you should have these questions in mind BEFORE you start reading each book, and then be looking for answers as you read. There are many questions that you might start with. If you ask yourself these and other pertinent questions before you begin to read, you will be in a good position to evaluate the book. Here are some basics: 1. What kind of a book is this? Is it a research monograph? A novel? A collection of texts? 2. Who wrote the book and why? 3. If the book was translated, who translated it and why?
12 4. Does the book have a preface, introduction, or appendix written by an editor and/or translator? If so, again, who wrote it and why? How does it relate to the rest of the book, what does it add? 5. What period of Chinese history is the book produced in, set in, or telling you about? 6. How can you best describe this book to an educated person who has not read it and does not know anything about Chinese history or culture? 7. What can a prospective reader learn about Chinese history and Chinese culture from reading this book. I encourage you to be specific in this regard. For example: The tales in this book teach us that the relations between masters and servants in a Qing dynasty household were characterized by an underlying mutual distrust and disdain. IV. Preparing to Write the Review Once you have read the book, determined its purpose, and once you have evaluated it, you are ready to write your review. Decide on the central point your review will make in other words, find a theme or an argument that will serve as the centerpiece, the tent-pole, the organizing principle of your review. Write an introductory paragraph containing the title and author(s) and, if relevant the translators and/or editors of the book, a sentence about each of these people, a brief description of the book's contents, and an indication of what your review will say. The following two or three paragraphs (i.e. the body of the review) will probably contain statements about the content of the book and the answers to such of the above (section II of this handout) questions as are pertinent to the book. When you have finished the review - an absolute maximum of five pages typed - write a concluding paragraph in which a summary of your review's most important points is made. V. Citation At the top of the first page of your review, give a full citation for the book read. Thomson, David. World History From 1914 to 1968. 3rd ed. New York: Oxford University Press, 1969. The last paragraph of your review should contain a summary of your review and a clear statement that conveys your overall opinion. It is common to make a statement such as: This book delivered on its promise because... This book was a disappointment because... This book conveys a picture of... This book will change the reader s understanding of...
13 VI. Grading Your book reviews will be graded using the following rubric: Criteria Introduction 10 points Levels of Achievement Novice Competent Proficient 15 points 20 points Summary Completely lacking the following elements: the title and author, a thesis statement, a brief description of the book's contents, or an indication of what the review will discuss. 10 points Some elements of the following: the title and author, a thesis statement, a brief description of the book's contents, or an indication of what the review will discuss. 15 points All elements of the following: the title and author, a thesis statement, a brief description of the book's contents, or an indication of what the review will discuss. 20 points Analysis Completely lacking a thorough discussion of the scope, contents, and purpose of the book. 10 points Some discussion of the scope, contents, and purpose of the book. 15 points Thorough discussion of the scope, contents, and purpose of the book. 20 points Conclusion Lacking an objective evaluation of the book and what it can teach a prospective reader. Lacking evidence and examples drawn from the book to support the evaluation. 10 points Some elements of an objective evaluation of the book and what it can teach a prospective reader. Weak evidence and examples drawn from the book to support the evaluation. 15 points Clear, objective evaluation of the book and what it can teach a prospective reader. Strong evidence and examples drawn from the book to support the evaluation. 20 points Grammar, Clarity, and Citation Completely lacking a summary of the review and a clear statement that conveys an overall opinion of the book. 10 points Many errors in punctuation, Poorly organized and formatted. No Citations. Some elements of a summary of the review and a clear statement that conveys an overall opinion of the book. 15 points Few errors in punctuation, Organization and formatting requirement are weak but Improper citations. All elements of a summary of the review and a clear statement that conveys an overall opinion of the book. 20 points No errors in punctuation, Correct organization and formatting requirements are Correct citations.