Early Modern China

3 units

This course examines political, socio-economic, and intellectual-cultural developments in Chinese society from the middle of the fourteenth century to 1800. This chronological focus largely corresponds to the last two imperial dynasties, the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1911). Thematically, the course emphasizes such early modern indigenous developments as increasing commercialization, social mobility, and questioning of received cultural values.