HUMA 3420, Spring 2015
HUMA3420
Chinese Social and Economic History
Instructor: Bozhong Li
Office: 2375
Office Hours: Wed. 15:00-16:00
Tel: 23587825
Email: bzhli@ust.hk
Lecture: Tu. 12:00PM - 01:50PM
Tutorial: Tu. 02:00PM - 02:50PM
Venue: Rm 2464, Lift 25-26 (122)
Description
The purpose of this course is to review the economic and social history of
traditional China. The time frame covered ranges from the late third century BCE to
the early-twentieth century CE. The main focus is on changes in Chinese economy
and society. The central concern is to understand how and why China’s economy and
society evolved into what they are today. In addition to the historical chronology of
the Chinese experience during these two millennia, the class will emphasize some of
the distinctive features of this experience in comparative perspective.
The class will be a combination of lectures, class discussion and common
readings. As an introductory humanities class, the class also emphasizes such
fundamental skills as reading, thinking and writing.
Out of class communication will be done almost exclusively through the class
web site on UST CELT. Please check the site every weekend for course
announcements.
Requirements
All students are expected to attend class regularly, to complete the assigned
reading prior to the class on that date, and to participate actively in classroom
discussions. Frequent absence without excuse will be considered as a violation of the
University’s regulations for attendance and will affect your grade.
The students will be responsible for a considerable amount of reading, one or
two class presentations, a midterm examination and a 2,500-3,000-word paper. The
midterm examination questions will be based on the course lectures and readings. The
topic of the paper will be announced a few weeks in advance.
Lecture attendance is mandatory. Final grades will be based on a combination of
exams and class discussion & presentations: class discussion & presentations 30
percent, midterm exam 20 percent, paper 40 percent, and attendance 10 percent.
Chinese and other foreign language fluency are not required.
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HUMA 3420, Spring 2015
Textbook
Elvin, Mark. The Pattern of the Chinese Past—A Social and Economic
Interpretation. Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1973
Reading materials (Only some chapters or pages of each work are required)
Ebrey, Patricia Buckley. ed. Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook. New York: Free
Press, 1993
Maddison, Augus: Chinese Economic Performance in the Long Run (Second
edition). Development Centre of the Ogranisation for Economic Co-Operation and
Development (Paris), 2007. Free download at http://freedownload.is/pdf/china2030-ad
Peers, Christopher. Medieval Chinese Armies, 1260-1520. Osprey Publishing;
1992
Xia Qinggao (Hsieh Ch'ing kao): The Hai-lu. from The Great Chinese Travelers,
ed. Jeanetter Mirskyl (1964), reprinted in Mark A. Kishlansky, ed. Sources of World
History, Volume II, (New York: HarperCollins College Publishers, 1995), pp. 126-28
Two Edicts From Emperor Qianlong to King George III, from Changing China:
Readings in the History of China from the Opium War to the Present, ed. J. Mason
Gentzler, Praeger Publishers, 1977, reproduced by permission of Holt, Rinehart and
Winston
All the materials are available in the reserved shelves of the library or on UST
CELT.
Class organization:
Week 1. Introduction
Angus Maddison: Chinese Economic Performance in the Long Run. chapter 1
Week 2. The Peasant and the state
Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 2.
Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 42, 61, 66.
Week 3. Environment and Society
Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 3.
Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 13, 24.
Week 4. “Barbarians” and their influences
Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 4.
Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 12, 28, 32.
Week 5. The Tenant and the landlord
Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 6, 15.
Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 36, 52.
Week 6. The Right of property
Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 5.
Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 26, 29, 62.
Week 7. Defense and economy
Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 7, 8.
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HUMA 3420, Spring 2015
Christopher Peers. “Ming Army” (Medieval Chinese Armies, 1260-1520.
pp.179-191).
Week 8. Mid-term Exam
Week 9. Wet-rice economy and the rise of the south
Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 9.
Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 43.
Week 10. (April 6, holiday)
Week 11. Commercialization
Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 11, 12 (pp. 164-175)
Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 31, 50.
Week 12. Education and human resources
S. Wells Williams: The Middle Kingdom: A Survey of the Geography,
Government, Education, Social Life, Arts and Religion of the Chinese
Empire. Ch 9
Patricia Ebrey ed. Chinese Civilization. Items 30, 45, 66.
Week 13. From “the Silk Road” to “the Tea Road”
Mark Elvin. The Pattern of the Chinese Past. Ch 14 (pp.215-225).
Xia Qinggao: The Hai-lu.
Two Edicts From Emperor Qianlong to King George III.
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