China: Modern China

4 credits · Undergraduate

Between the 16th and the 19th century China was home to the world’s largest empire and economy. Beijing sat at the center of an East Asian order of trade, tribute, and learning. China reached the height of its continental power around 1800. Meanwhile Western European ships began sailing into East Asian waters. These ships facilitated long-distance exchanges of goods and ideas by the sea. This course examines the question: What mattered more in the shaping of modern China thereafter: the Inner Asian origins of the Chinese governing system or the dynamics of a globalizing maritime economy and society? To anchor the discussion, the course will focus on aspects of law and society.