Qing China: History, Fiction, and Fantasy, 1600-1900

(3 Credit Hours) · Undergraduate

This course examines the historical manifestations, literary representations, and contemporary re-imaginations in popular media of China's last imperial dynasty, the Qing (1644-1911). The Qing Dynasty was born as a Manchu empire that arose outside of China proper to become one of the largest land empires in human history, but was undone by foreign encroachment and internal unrest and eventually fell in 1911. The Qing's dramatic trajectory continues in the competing narratives circulated over a century after its fall. On the one hand, despite its domination by a non-Han people, it is regarded as the pinnacle of China's past, while on the other, it is frequently condemned for its decadency and arrogance precipitating a well-deserved downfall. We will explore the fundamental issues pertaining to the Qing as well as the lasting fascination with the dynasty regularly captured in contemporary film and television. Through reading, thinking, discussing, and debating, we will enter a different culture and a different time, and come to appreciate how the past continues to influence our world.