Imperial China/China: Culture and Legacy

As the current revival of Confucianism in the People’s Republic of China demonstrates, the past is still very much alive in China today. This lecture-and-discussion course surveys the history of China from the origins of the first state through the twilight of the imperial period in the nineteenth century. Lectures are designed and the reading assignments chosen to emphasize in particular those ideas and beliefs, institutions and government structures, and literary and artistic developments that have shaped (and continue to shape) China today. “Imperial China” provides the knowledge necessary for informed study of modern China. P