| Part IB | Option |
Course Description
The history of dynastic China from the Qin through the Qing periods. The course introduces students to many of the formative events and topics of these periods through the use of primary texts (in translation) and select secondary readings. The course explores not only the topics that these texts raise such as the metaphysical foundations of empire, the role of emotion in history, and the construction and reconstruction of identities but also how these texts develop and shape history and the historiographic tradition.
The course explores a wide range of topics that form the basis of Chinese civilization, from politics and law in ancient China, through urban life and encounters with foreign cultures in medieval China, to literature and religious practice in late imperial China. Readings for this course include historical surveys, poetry, fiction, painted scrolls, and Buddhist sutras, among other materials.