Spring 2006
CHINESE HISTORY 252
CONQUEST DYNASTIES: THE YUAN EMPIRE
Wednesdays, 1-4 pm
Seminar Room, 1 Bow Street
Professor Leonard van der Kuijp
vanderk@fas.harvard.edu
1 Bow Street, Room
tel. 495 3295
Professor Mark Elliott
elliott3@fas.harvard.edu
2 Divinity Ave., Room 134A
tel. 496 5343
Overview
The aim of this course is to provide in-depth study of the so-called “dynasties of conquest” (Liao, Jin,
Yuan, Qing) that have ruled in China for much of the last millennium. In any given year, the focus of the
seminar will be on only one dynasty, to allow for detailed and careful exploration of a range of issues
pertinent to that regime. But by paying attention to larger issues confronted by all of these regimes (e.g.,
ethnicity, institution-building, intellectual accommodation, political compromise, gender, colonialism,
representation), we will also be drawn to make comparisons with other regimes of conquest. Another
goal of the course is to see how the study of “empire” in China can be integrated with the study of other
imperial histories elsewhere in the world. In Fall 2003, the seminar focus was on the Qing, 16361912. This spring, the focus is on the Yuan, broadly conceived of as 1206-1368.
Prerequisites
The course is intended for graduate students, primarily in EALC, HEAL, History, and IAAS. It is expected
that students should have prior coursework in Chinese history; some background knowledge of Inner
Asian history is also recommended. Readings will be primarily in English, with supplemental readings in
Chinese, Japanese, German, and French. In cases where the volume of materials is particularly great or
where linguistic limitations impose themselves, specific reading assignments will be finalized a week in
advance.
Course structure and requirements
Meetings. Class meetings are three hours in length, to be held once a week. Participation in discussion
is vital to the success of the seminar, and doing the reading is vital to participation in discussion. You
should prepare for class with these two simple things in mind. Each student will be given the opportunity
to seed and lead discussion by preparing a list of questions/issues related to that week’s readings. We
will decide assignments at the first meeting. Questions for discussion should be distributed in advance by
e-mail, preferably no later than midnight Tuesday.
Written assignments. Students will be required to write 3 book reviews. In addition, there will be one long
seminar paper, due at the end of the term. The topic for this long paper will be determined in consultation
with the instructors.
Evaluation. Grades will be determined as follows: weekly participation, 25%; book reviews (5 pp. each),
25%; final paper (25-30 pp), 50%.
Readings
Assigned reading will be available through the Harvard-Yenching Library, in both electronic and regular
reserve formats. Use of e-reserves is restricted to students officially enrolled in the course. Access may
be made via the course web page (http://www.courses.fas.harvard.edu/~chst252) or via the library’s own
site (http://ereserves.harvard.edu/fall.html.).
Schedule
Week 1 – 1 February
Introduction
Week 2 – 8 February
Nomadic rule in China
Wolfram Eberhard, “Patterns of Nomadic Rule,” in Conquerors and Rulers: Social Forces in Medieval
China (Leiden: EJ Brill, 1970), 107-139.
Thomas Barfield, The Perilous Frontier (Blackwell, 1989)
Joseph Fletcher, “The Mongols: Ecological and Social Perspectives,” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies
46.1 (June 1986), 11-50.
Peter Golden, Nomads and Sedentary Societies in Medieval Eurasia (Washington, DC: AHA, 1998).
Week 3 – 15 February
The idea of the conquest dynasty
Denis F. Twitchett and Herbert Franke, “Introduction,” in Twitchett and Franke, eds., The Cambridge
History of China, vol. 6 (Cambridge, 1996), 1-42.
Karl Wittfogel and Feng Chia-sheng, to History of Chinese Society: Liao (Philadelphia: American
Philosophical Society, 1949), 1-35 (“Introduction”).
Herbert Franke, “The Role of the State as a Structural Element in Polyethnic Societies,” in Stuart Schram,
ed., Foundations and Limits of State Power in China (Hong Kong: CUHK, 1987), 87-112.
Fujieda Akira, “Ryō-Kin-Genshi no kadai,” in Seifuku ōchō (Osaka: Akitaya,1948), pp. 13-29.
Kuwabara Jitsuzō, “Chūgoku seifuku ōchō ni tsuite,” in Chūgoku seifuku ōchō no kenkyū (Kyoto: Kyoto
University Press, 1971), vol. 2, pp. 623-641.
Mori Masao, “Futatabi seifuku ōchō ni tsuite,” Shiruku rōdo 6.2 (February 1980).
Sun Jinyi, “Guanyu ‘zhengfu wangchao lun’,” Liao-Jin Qidan-Nüzhenshi yanjiu dongtai 1-14 (1982/83), pp.
22-23.
Week 4 – 22 February
Concepts and terms in Yuan history
Ernst Kantorowicz, The King’s Two Bodies: A Study in Medieval Political Theology (Princeton: Princeton
University Press, 1957; reprinted 1997).
Johan Elverskog, “Superscribing the Hegemonic Image of Chinggis Khan in the Erdeni Tunumal Sudur,”
in B.N. Schyler and M. Juntunen, eds., Re-Entering the Silk Routes: Current Scandinavian
Research on Central Asia (London: Kegan Paul International, 2000), pp. 63-74.
Klaus Sagaster, Die Weisse Geschichte (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1976).
James Hevia, “Lamas, Emperors and Rituals: Political Implications in Qing Imperial Ceremonies,” Journal
of the International Association of Buddhist Studies 16.2 (1993), pp. 243-278.
Paul Buell, “Tribe, Qan, and Ulus in Early Mongol China,” PhD dissertation, University of Washington,
1977.
Igor De Rachewiltz, “Qan, Qa’an and the Seal of Güyüg,” in Klaus Sagaster and Michael Weiers, eds.,
Documenta Barbarorum: Festschrift für Walther Heissig zum 70. Geburtstag” (Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz, 1983, pp. 272-281.
Hsiao Ch’i-ch’ing, “Shuo ‘Da Yuan’: Yuanchao jianhao qian Menggu de Hanwen guohao,” in Meng-Yuan
shi xin yan (Taipei: 1994).
Week 5 – 1 March
The Chinggisid expansion: foundations of empire
Igor de Rachewiltz, trans., The Secret History of the Mongols (Leiden: EJ Brill, 2004), vol. 1.
Paul Ratchnevsky, Genghis Khan, Life and Legacy (Oxford: Blackwell, 1992).
David Morgan, The Mongols (Oxford: Blackwell, 1990).
Michael Doyle, Empires (Cornell, 1986) (excerpts)
Sugiyama Masaaki, “Rekishi o kataru monotachi,” preface to Mongoru teikoku no kōbō (Tokyo: Kodansha,
1996), pp. 8-25.
Week 6 – 8 March
The Yuan emperors
Herbert Franke, “From Tribal Chieftain to Universal Emperor and God: The Legitimation of the Yuan
Dynasty,” in Herbert Franke, China under Mongol Rule (Variorum, 1994), 7-84.
Hok-lam Chan, Legitimation in Imperial China: Discussions under the Jurchen-Chin Dynasty (1115-1234)
(Seattle: Univ. of Washington Press, 1984).
Thomas Allsen, Mongol Imperialism: The Policies of the Grand Khan Mongke (Berkeley: Univ of California,
1987).
Morris Rossabi, “The Reign of Khubilai Khan,” in Franke and Twitchett, eds., Cambridge History of China
vol. 6 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 414-489.
Song Lian, et al., eds., Yuan shi (Beijing: Zhonghua shuju, 1976), 210 juan. (excerpts)
Week 7 – 15 March
Military organization
Hsiao Ch’i-ch’ing, The Military Establishment of the Yuan Dynasty (Cambridge: Council on East Asian
Studies, 1978).
John Masson Smith, “Nomads on Ponies vs. Slaves on Horses,” JAOS 118 (1998), pp. 54-62.
John Herman, “The Mongol Conquest of Dali,” in Nicola Di Cosmo, ed., Warfare in Inner Asian History
(Brill, 2002), pp. 295-334.
Thomas Allsen, “The Circulation of Military Technology in the Mongol Empire,” in Nicola di Cosmo ed.,
Warfare in Inner Asian History (Brill, 2002), pp. 265-293.
Yonggyu Lee, “Seeking Loyalty: The Inner Asian Tradition of Personal Guards and its Influence in Persia
and China,” PhD dissertation, Harvard University, 2004.
Week 8 – 22 March
Women and marriage
Bettine Birge, “Levirate Marriage and the Revival of Widow Chastity in Yuan China,” Asia Major 8 (1995),
pp. 107-146.
Francis W. Cleaves, “The Biography of the Empress Chabi in the Yuan shi,” Harvard Ukrainian Studies 34 (1979-80), pp. 138-150.
Herbert Franke, “Women under the Dynasties of Conquest,” in Lionello Lanciotti, ed., La Donna nella
Cina imperiale e nella Cina repubblicana (Florence, 1980), pp. 23-43.
Jennifer Holmgren, “Observations on Marriage and Inheritance Practices in Early Mongol & Yuan Society,
with Particular Reference to the Levirate,” Journal of Asian History 20 (1986), pp. 127-192.
Morris Rossabi, “Khubilai Khan and the Women in his Family,” in Wolfgang Bauer, ed., Studia SinoMongolica : Festschrift fur Herbert Franke (Wiesbaden: Steiner, 1979), pp. 153-180.
Paul Smith, "Fear of Gynarchy in an Age of Chaos: Kong Qi's reflections on life in South China under
Mongol Rule," JESHO 41.1 (1998) 1-95.
29 March -- SPRING BREAK
Week 9 – 5 April
Mongolia, Tibet, and religious life
Paul Ratchnevsky, “Über den mongolischen Kult am Hofe der Grosskhane in China,” in L. Ligeti, ed.,
Mongolian Studies (Budapest: Akademiai Kiado, 1970), pp. 417-43.
Yuanchao shi, ed.Han Rulin, vol. 2 (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1986), pp. 245-73, 338-60.
Herbert Franke, “Tibetans in Yuan China,” in John Langlois, ed., China under Mongol Rule (Princeton:
Princeton University Press, 1981), pp. 296-328.
Luciano Petech, “’Phags-pa,” in Igor de Rachewiltz, et al., eds., In the Service of the Khan: Eminent
Pesonalities of the Early Mongol-Yuan Period (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 1993), pp. 646-654.
Shen Weirong, “Magic Power, Sorcery and Evil Spirit: The Image of Tibetan Monks in Chinese Literature
during the Yuan Dynasty,” in C. Cüppers, ed. (Lumbini: Lumbini International Research Center,
2004), pp. 189-227.
Ruth Dunnell, “The Hsia Origins of the Yuan Institution of the Imperial Preceptor,” Asia Major 5 (1992), pp.
85-111.
Turrell Wylie, “The First Mongol Conquest of Tibet,” HJAS 37 (1977), pp. 103-133.
Week 10 – 12 April
Law, government, and society
Paul Chen, Chinese Legal Tradition under the Mongols (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1979).
Elizabeth Endicott-West, “Imperial Governance in Yuan Times,” HJAS 46.2 (December 1986), pp. 523549.
Paul Ratchnevsky, Un code des Yuan (Paris, 1985).
David Farquhar, The Government of China under Mongol Rule: A Reference Guide (Stuttgart: Steiner,
1990).
Frederick Mote, “Chinese Society under Mongol Rule, 1215-1368,” in Franke and Twitchett, eds.,
Cambridge History of China vol. 6 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1994), pp. 616-664.
Week 11 – 19 April
Epigraphical monuments
Murata Jirō, Kyūyōkan (Kyoto: 1955-1957).
Nicholas Poppe and John Krueger, The Mongolian Monuments in ‘Phags-pa Script (Wiesbaden:
Harrassowitz, 1957).
Francis W. Cleaves, “Selected Sino-Tibetan Inscriptons” in HJAS (5 or 6 articles)
Dieter Schuh, Erlasse und Sendschreiben Mongolischer Herrscher für tibetische Geistliche (St. Augustin:
VGH Wissenschaftsverlag, 1977).
Week 12 – 26 April
Ethnicity and acculturation
Herbert Franke, “Could the Yuan Emperors Read Chinese?” Asia Major III (1952), pp. 28-41.
Hsiao Ch’i-ch’ing, “Lun Yuandai Menggu ren zhi Hanhua,” in Meng-Yuan shi xin yan (Taipei: 1994).
Igor de Rachewiltz, “Yeh-lü Ch’u-ts’ai (1189-1243): Buddhist Idealist and Confucian Statesman,” in Arthur
Wright and Denis Twitchett, eds., Confucian Personalities (Stanford: Stanford University Press,
1962), pp. 189-216.
John Langlois, “Chinese Culturalism and the Yuan Analogy: 17th-century Perspectives,” HJAS 40 (1980):
pp. 355-398.
Chen Yuan, Western and Central Asians in China under the Mongols: Their Transformation into Chinese,
trans. L. Carrington Goodrich (Netetal: 1989).
Biographies of Ahmed and Sanggha in In the Service of the Khan
Ichisada Miyazaki, “Genchō chika no Mōkōteki kanshoku o meguru Mō-Kan kankei,” Tōyōshi kenkyū 23.4
(March 1965), pp. 68-91.
John Dardess, “The Triumph of Confucian Politics,” in John Dardess, Conquerors and Confucians (New
York: Columbia U. Press, 1973), pp. 75-94.
Week 13 – 3 May
Medicine and material culture
Paul Buell and Eugene Anderson, A Soup for the Qan: Dietary Medicine of the Mongol Era (London:
Kegan Paul, 2000).
Thomas Allsen, Commodity and Exchange in the Mongol Empire (Cambridge: Cambridge University
Press, 1997).
Marco Polo, The Travels (excerpts).
Jutta Rall, Die vier grossen Medizinschulen der Mongolenzeit (Wiesbaden: F. Steiner, 1970).
Han Rulin, “Yiyaoxue,” in Han, Yuanchao shi, vol. 2 (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1986), pp. 380-383.
Reiko Shinno, “Promoting medicine in the Yuan dynasty (1206-1368): An aspect of Mongol rule in China,”
Ph.D. dissertation, Stanford University, 2002.