Modern China and Japan
History 3374—Spring 2011
Dr. Jiayan Zhang
MW 8: 00am-9: 15am, SO #3010
Office hours: MW 10: 00am-11: 00am or by appointment
Office: Social Science # 4110; Phone: 770-423-6340; E-mail: jzhang3@kennesaw.edu
Please read carefully and KEEP a copy, you are responsible for the contents.
Contact policy Please do not leave message to my office phone, contact the Department of
History and Philosophy (770-423-6294) for emergency.
Prerequisite HIST 1110 (Introduction to World History).
Catalog course description
This course focuses chiefly upon China and Japan, with some consideration of Korea,
emphasizing how traditional cultures, outside influences, and modernizing forces have interacted
to produce the East Asia of today. It covers the period from 1600 to the present.
Reading materials
Required:
1. Schirokauer, Conrad, et al. A Brief History of Chinese and Japanese Civilizations. Third
edition. Thomson Wadsworth, 2006. ISBN: 0534643078.
2. Jonathan D. Spence. The Death of Woman Wang. Penguin, ISBN: 014005121x
3. Pei-kai Cheng & Michael Lestz with Jonathan D. Spence, eds. The Search for Modern China:
A Documentary Collection. New York: W. W. Norton, 1999. ISBN: 0393973727.
4. William Theodore De Bary, Ryusaku Tsunoda, Donald Keene, eds. Sources of Japanese
Tradition, vol. 2 [Paperback]. Columbia University Press, 1964. ISBN: 0231-08605-9
5. Reader (will be posted on course Vista).
Optional
1. Pa Chin. Family. Waveland Press, Inc. [reprint] 1989 [1972]. ISBN: 0881333735.
2. Murasaki Shikibu. The Tale of Genji. North Clarendon: Tuttle Publishing, 1974. ISBN:
0804838232
Attendance policies
1. Participation and attendance are mandatory and are essential for a good grade in this course.
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2. Timely completion of reading assignments is important for a success in the course. Students are
required to arrive punctually for class meetings and remain in the classroom until the class is
dismissed; students are responsible for any changes in schedules announced in class even if they
did not attend when the announcement was made.
3. It is rude to wander in and out of class; the instructor reserves the right to lower any student’s
participation grade due to tardiness. Students engaged in inappropriate behavior (see classroom
policies) may be counted absent, as well any student who leaves before class is dismissed. If you
have to leave class early, inform the instructor at the beginning of class.
4. In case of family emergencies, illness, and/or university approved activities (that is reported on
or before the day of absence), students may miss two classes without penalty; three absences will
result in an attendance grade of 45 points; four absences will result in an attendance grade of 35
points; five absences will result in an attendance grade of 20 points; after five (up to seven)
absences, the attendance grade will be zero. Eight absences will automatically result in a final
grade of F for the course.
5. Students who cannot commit to regular class attendance should immediately drop this class
and enroll in another.
Classroom policies
1. An atmosphere of mutual trust is essential to the success of this course. Lively debates are
strongly encouraged. Students are required to respect each other’s opinions. Expressions of
intolerance are discouraged. Those who interfere with the opportunity of other students to learn
will be asked to leave, and this will affect their course grade negatively.
2. In an attempt to create an efficient learning environment, disruptive behaviors will not be
tolerated. Some examples of disruptive behaviors include arriving late and/or leaving early,
moving around and/or leaving the classroom, reading newspapers, talking to your neighbor, and
texting during lecture, and so on. Failure to comply with these requests will not only result in a
penalty towards your attendance (e.g., two tardiness [15 minutes late]/leaving early, etc., may
count as one absence) or course grade (downward one to two letter grade), but may also result in
your dismissal from the classroom.
3. Outlines, notes, and recordings of this class are used for personal study only; no part of this
course may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means electronic, manual, or
mechanical (including note taking, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system)
for purposes of monetary gain without written permission from the instructor.
4. Laptop users: laptops are used only for note-taking, no computer game playing is allowed in
classroom; to avoid distracting other students, please sit in the back row.
5. PLEASE TURN OFF YOUR CELLPHONE.
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In the case of borderline grades, the instructor reserves the right to adjust grades upward for good
class behaviors or downward for frequent violation of classroom policies and repeated absences.
Exams and essay
1. Two mid-term examinations and a final examination; each exam consists of identification
questions and essay question(s); exams will cover both lectures and reading assignments.
2. All exams are non-cumulative. The final exam will only cover materials after midterm 2.
Everyone must take the final to pass the course.
3. A 2,400-3,000 words double-spaced typed essay. Topics and guidelines of essay will be
distributed later.
NO EXTRA CREDITS.
Make-up policy
1. NO MAKE-UP EXAM (except for documented emergency or illness that is reported on or
before the exam day, makeup exams should be done within 1 week after missed exam).
2. A typed request for a make-up exam, which includes your name, telephone number, e-mail
address, and reason for missing the exam, written documentation and/or other evidence of
circumstance such as a doctor’s note, newspaper obituary, court receipt etc., and a telephone
number for verification of your claim will be required by the instructor in order to consider your
request for a make-up exam. In the case of all documentation, students are required to bring both
the original and a photocopy for the instructor to keep. Failure to provide all necessary documents
will result in some form of penalty, including the refusal of a make-up exam. Whether the
students are allowed to have a make-up or not, anyone who missed an exam will be counted as an
absence. Students are almost never allowed to make-up more than one exam during a semester.
Points and grade distribution
Attendance and participation
Midterm 1
Midterm 2
Essay
Final
Total
50 points
90 points
90 points
100 points
120 points
450 points
A = 450-405 pts; B = 404-360 pts; C = 359-315 pts; D = 314-270 pts; F = below 269 pts.
Grades represent what students get on assignments and exams and cannot be negotiated because
of special circumstances.
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Please keep your returned exams and writing assignments through the semester.
If you feel the need to question or discuss exam/essay grade, submit a TYPED REQUEST along
with copy of your exam/essay to the instructor who will then make an appointment to have more
detailed explanation. All questions must be submitted in writing (along with a xeroxed copy of
your exam/essay) to the instructor on the next scheduled class day following the return of an
exam/essay. AFTER THE NEXT SCHEDULED CLASS ALL ARGUMENTS WILL BE
CONSIDERED CLOSED AND THE INSTRUCTOR WILL NO LONGER BE WILLING TO
DISCUSS MATTERS RELATING TO PREVIOUS EXAM/ESSAY. Submitting request for
review of your exam/essay usually does not result in change of your exam/essay grade (since
there are usually valid reasons for deduction of some points as well as for fairness to other
students) unless you submit a very strong argument.
After the final exam and course grade has been given, no extra work or retakes will be allowed.
Incomplete
Incompletes will only be given in cases of dire personal and family emergencies. In all cases, the
student must have satisfactorily (C average or higher) completed the course up to the last two
weeks of the semester.
Privacy and special considerations
The Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act protects confidentiality of educational records.
Grades will not be given over the phone, through a fellow student, or by e-mail in this course.
Any student who is entitled to special assistance because of a disability must present the
appropriate form to the instructor. This should be done at the beginning of the term in order that
arrangements can be made in a timely manner to furnish the needed assistance.
Academic Integrity
“Every KSU student is responsible for upholding the provisions of the Student Code of Conduct,
as published in the Undergraduate and Graduate Catalogs. Section II of the Student Code of
Conduct addresses the University's policy on academic honesty, including provisions regarding
plagiarism and cheating, unauthorized access to University materials,
misrepresentation/falsification of University records or academic work, malicious removal,
retention, or destruction of library materials, malicious/intentional misuse of computer facilities
and/or services, and misuse of student identification cards. Incidents of alleged academic
misconduct will be handled through the established procedures of the University Judiciary
Program, which includes either an “informal” resolution by a faculty member, resulting in a
grade adjustment, or a formal hearing procedure, which may subject a student to the Code of
Conduct's minimum one semester suspension requirement.” (KSU Faculty Handbook 3.18)
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Plagiarism and Cheating
NO student shall receive, attempt to receive knowingly give or attempt to give unauthorized
assistance in the preparation of any work required to be submitted for credit as part of a course
(including examinations, laboratory reports, essays, themes, term papers, etc.). When direct
quotations are used, they should be indicated; when the languages, ideas, theories, data, figures,
graphs, programs, electronic based information or illustrations of someone other than the student
are incorporated into a paper or used in a project, they should be duly acknowledged.
NO student shall take or attempt to take, steal, or in an unauthorized manner otherwise procure,
gain access to, alter or destroy any material pertaining to the conduct of a class. For further
information on Academic Honesty, see the Student Code of Conduct, Section II in the current
KSU Undergraduate catalog.
Plagiarism and cheating will result in an automatic failing course grade and will be referred to the
KSU judicial board.
Interpretation of and changes to this syllabus
The instructor reserves the absolute right to make pedagogically appropriate adjustments to this
syllabus. All questions on this syllabus shall be resolved by consulting the instructor. The
instructor reserves the right to change the Course Calendar, the dates of exams, the due date of
written assignment, the instructor’s office hours, and other components of this syllabus, as
appropriate. Announcements of such changes and/or amendments will be given in advance.
Lecture topics and reading assignments (subject to change)
Date
Jan. 10
Jan. 12
Jan. 17
Jan. 19
Jan. 24
Lecture topics
Introduction to the course
Introduction to Chinese history
Holiday, no class
Periodization and traditional
ideologies
Ming-Qing transition
Jan. 26
The High Qing
Jan. 31
The Opium War
Feb. 2
The Taiping Rebellion
Feb. 7
The Self-Strengthening Movement
Feb. 9
Women in traditional China
Reading assignments
Schirokauer, pp.32-35, 38-47
Schirokauer, pp.281-284, 379-382;
Spence, pp.1-32;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.4-14, 21-27
Schirokauer, pp.384-395;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.58-64, 71-81
Schirokauer, pp.406-413;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.110-119, 123-127
Schirokauer, pp.395-399, 413-416;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.136-143, 146-149
Schirokauer, pp.417-428;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.150-159
Spence, pp.59-76, 99-139;
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Feb. 14
Feb. 16
Feb. 21
Feb. 23
Feb. 28
Mar. 2
Family and kinship
Review for midterm 1
Midterm 1, in class
The adoption of continental culture
Tokugawa Japan
From Tokugawa to Meiji
Essay discussion
The Meiji Restoration
Reader: Lessons to Women
Spence, pp.77-98;
Reader: Family Instructions
Schirokauer, pp.148-171
Schirokauer, pp.353-362;
De Bary, pp.5-15, 65-70, 88-96
Schirokauer, pp.439-459;
De Bary, pp.118-130
Schirokauer, pp.463-483;
De Bary, pp.136-140, 196-200;
Reader: China should not be despised
Mar.7, 9 Spring break, no class
Mar. 14
Last day to withdraw without academic penalty
Mar. 14 Japan’s road to the war
Schirokauer, pp.537-541, 549-552, 555-559;
De Bary, pp.255-259, 288-298;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.279-286
Mar. 16 The Rape of Nanjing
Cheng & Lestz, pp.315-330
Reader: How to view the Nanjing Incident.
Mar. 21 Japan’s postwar reconstruction
Schirokauer, pp.570-576;
Reader: Japan’s Blueprint for Recovery, The
Occupation Years.
Mar. 23 Japan’s postwar economic success
Schirokauer, pp.634-646;
Review for midterm 2
De Bary, pp.384-393;
Reader: The decline of Japan’s farmers.
Mar. 28 Midterm 2, in class
Mar. 30 The 1911 Revolution
Schirokauer, pp.487-495;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.168-172, 185-189, 202-213
Apr. 4
The May Fourth Movement
Schirokauer, pp.496-504;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.216-220, 234-246
Apr. 6
CCP & KMT
Schirokaure, pp.504-510;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.252-269
Apr. 11 The battle for China
Schirokaure, pp.541-549, 552-555, 563-570;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.290-294, 338-342, 344-349
Apr. 13 The building of a socialist society
Schirokaure, pp.587-597;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.385-399, 407-411
Apr. 18 The Cultural Revolution Essay due Schirokauer, pp.597-608;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.413-416, 421-432
Apr. 20 Post-Mao Reform
Schirokauer, pp.611-618;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.443-456, 488-495, 500-512
Apr. 25 China’s economic achievements
Schirokauer, pp.618-630;
Cheng & Lestz, pp.516-521; Reader: TBD
Apr. 27 China today
May 2
Reflection and Review
Final exam: Monday, May 9, 7: 00am-9: 00am
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