History 206
History of East Asia
Xu Bing Book from the Sky
This course will deal with the history of East
Asia from the dawn
of time
to the present, focusing mostly on China and Japan. Rather than trying
to
cover
every aspect of the evolution of East Asian societies we will look at
various different ways that individuals
in Asia have tried to adopt to and change their world. The first part
of
the course will focus on the Chinese model, the set of questions and
answers about human societies that were developed in China and adapted
and modified throughout the rest of Chinese and Asian history. In the
second part of the course we will focus on the modern transformation of
Asia. This is a process that had a lot to do with the arrival of
"westerners," but also a lot to do with trends that already existed in
Asia. It also added a new set of personal choices on top of the old
ones, and in many cases led to the creation of powerful states that
were eager to help individuals make these choices. Today East Asia is
one of the most modern and powerful parts of the world, and we will
study both how that came to be and the prices Asian people paid to get
there.
Professor Alan Baumler 216 Keith phone 7-4066 E-mail
baumler@iup.edu
Office Hours MWF 11:00-12:00 and 1:30-2:30
http://www.chss.iup.edu/baumler/index.html
Books
-Ebrey, Patricia Buckley, Anne Walthall, and James B. Palais. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, And
Political History Houghton Mifflin Company, 2005.
-Shadick, Harold. The Travels of Lao
Tsan. Columbia University Press, 1990. (old printings of this
are fine)
-Shonagon, Sei. The Pillow Book.
Penguin Classics, 2007. (There are many translations of this, but we
will be using the Penguin)
-Yuasa, Katsuei. Kannani and
Document of Flames: Two Japanese Colonial Novels. Duke
University Press, 2005.
It is very important that you keep up with the readings. This is a
class
that moves through a lot of history, much of it history that you will
not
be very familiar with. If you don't keep up you will not know what is
going
on. Also there may be quizzes on the readings.
1/14 The World of
the
Ancestors
The Shang created the first "state"
in
East Asia, although the Shang royal system was as much a warrior clan
as
a bureaucratic state. This week we will look at the family as the model
unit
of political and social organization.
-Oracle bones, shamanism and the Shang Kings
-The a-historical Asian family
Ebrey et. al. pp. 1-24
Selections from the Book
of Songs
1/23 The World of
the
Sage
With the decline of the Zhou a new
class
of experts and texts emerged. Moral excellence and technical skills
became
something that could be learned from books and teachers. This week we
will
look at both what these teachers taught and also the teacher-student
relationship
and meaning of schools.
-Sunzi, the experts and the creation of the classics, Confucius and
bringing
order to the universe.
-Daoism escape and wizards
-Classics and commentary. Development of schools
-Crossbows, irrigation and the Warring
State
Analects
The Great Learning
Spirits
of Chinese Religion
Ebrey et. al. pp. 25-42
1/28 The World of
the
Court
The rulers of the Qin and Han
transcended
the old Shang family-state and created an Emperor and a court that were
the
center of the political and moral universe. We will look at the
evolution
of the court as the center of the elite world and the relationship
between
ruler and minister.
-Legalists, Qin and the Great Wall
-Han synthesis and the tribute system.
-Tang China as the center of the Asian world
Ebrey et. al. pp. 43-70, 88-110
Read biographies of Lu Bowei and Li Si from Ssuma Qian
Records of the Grand Historian (on e-reserve)
2/4 The World of the Buddha
Buddhism is the most important pan-Asian religion, and it spread
quickly in part because it offered things that existing religions did
not and in part
because of its ability to adopt to local conditions.
-India
and the no-world of the Buddha
-Zen, Pure Land and the Sinification of Buddhism
-Popular Buddhism and the monasteries.
Ebrey et. al. pp. 65-87
"Introduction" from Soho Machida "Renegade Monk: Honen and Japanese
Pure Land Buddhism" California U.P. 1999
2/11 The World of Rivers and Streams
In the Tang and Song periods a series of transformations in the
economy and technology opened up new opportunities for those outside
the elite. We
will look at the nature of the Tang-Song transition and what we can
learn
about the lives of ordinary people during this period.
-Tang-Song transition and the new world of trade.
-World of print. Popular culture and the exams.
-Shi Jin and the world of the bandits.
Ebrey et. al. pp, 153-175
Chapters 38 and 39 of
Water Margin, from the Dent-Young translation
2/18 The World of the Kami
On the edges of China a series of states made the transition from
clan-based
to imperial rule. This was the same transition that China had made, but
the
these other societies had the advantage of the Chinese example. In
Japan
in particular the system that developed was quite different from that
in
China.
-Vietnam
, Korea,
and shamanism
-Heian and culture of the court.
Ebrey et. al. pp. 111-152, 192-207
Sei Shonagon, Entire
2/25 Mongols and their aftermath
The Mongols and their empire transformed East Asia and
all of Eurasia. We will look at the Mongols and their impact and the
states
that succeeded them.
-Mongol Empire
-Ming China and maritime Asia
-Kamakura
and the Shoguns, Ashikaga Japan and the rise of the Daimyo
Ebrey, et al 208-276
Midterm
(Take-home)
3/3
The World of the Shi
Shi is a Chinese term which
is
usually translated as "gentry." From the Ming and Tokugawa periods
China
and Japan were dominated by a bureaucratic elite that ran society both
formally
through the state and informally through their economic and cultural
positions. This was also
-Qing and the Eight Banners
-Tokugawa Japan and centralized feudalism
-Expansion and commerce
Ebrey et. al. pp. 277-347
Selection from The Scholars
"Pioneer Settlement on Taiwan" from Richards The Unending Frontier
Spring
Break
3/17 World of the Treaty Ports
Although foreigners had been coming
to
East Asia for centuries the period from 1400 on saw a great increase in
the
importance of maritime trade. We will examine conflict between Asian
and foreign states and cooperation between individual people.
-Opium wars and the European empires
-Treaty ports and imitation foreign devils
-Taiping rebellion and Self-strengthening
Ebrey et. al. pp. 366-396
Lao Ts'an, entire
3/24 World of the Refomers
Throughout East Asia the challenge of imperialism led states and elites to launch
radical programs for reform.
-Meiji restoration
-Meiji order and Japanese empire
-New Policies and fall of the Qing
Fukuzawa Yukichi Autobiography
Throwing
off Asia (website)
Ebrey et. al. pp. 412-452,
3/31 World of the
Revolutionaries
In the early 20th century countless groups called themselves
"revolutionaries" and offered radical and often violent
solutions to Asia's problems. Governments, not surprisingly, replied
with oppression.
-May Fourth and a new understanding of Asia's problems
-Sun Yat-sen and the professional revolutionary party.
-Mao and the peasants
Ebrey et. al. pp.453-464, 501-528
Mao Zedong "Report
on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan"
4/7 Pan-Asianism and the World of
the Kokutai
After 1919 Japan and its empire became increasingly centered
around the concept of the kokutai
Ebrey et. al. pp. 465-500
Read Kannani and
Document of Flames,
entire
4/14 World at War
The Twentieth century was a century of war for most Asians. Starting
with
warlordism in China we will look at the impact of war on the Asian
world,
culminating in the Pacific War, which resulted in drastic changes for
every
nation in Asia.
-Pacific War and a New Asia
-War and the nation
-War and the Great Leap
Ebrey et. al. pp.514-545
4/21 World
of the Salriman
Since 1945 a series of Asian economies have taken off, starting with
Japan.
We will examine both why this happened and what it has meant for the
lives
of people in Asia.
-Maoist disaster
-Japan in the age of MITI
-Deng Xiaoping's China
Ebrey et. al. pp.546-end
Asian
Newspapers assignment
Final Exam
Grades
First paper 200 points
Second paper 200 points
Mid-term and Final 250 points each
Quizzes 100 points
900-1000 pts A
800-899 pts B
700-799 pts C
600-699 pts D
500-599 pts F
Papers
Each of you will write a paper on Pillow Book and another on
either Lao Ts'an or Kannani and Document of Flames
Exams
There will be two exams, a mid-term and a non-cumulative final.
Note that to write a good exam answer you need to be able to answer
question
thoroughly and give examples to support your points.
Quizzes
Anything else you do for this class is part of your quiz grade. This
includes the map tests, in-class writing assignments and quizzes, and
the various small
writing assignments you may be asked to do.
Attendance policy-- You are expected to come to class every day,
but the point is not just to come to class, but to come having done
your reading and being ready to talk about it.
Academic dishonesty-- All students are required to abide by the
University's
policies on Academic Integrity, as found in the catalogue.
INTASC
standards
In
addition
to your grades, those of you in Social Studies Ed will also be assessed
on
your mastery of the INTASC standards. I will assess 2 of your
assignments
and record (on a special web page in URSA provided for this purpose) if
you
have not met, met or exceeded expectations for the standard.
These assessments will not effect your grade, your
graduation
or your certification.
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Conceptual Framework
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INTASC Standards
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Program Objectives
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Course Objectives
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Course Assessments [Underlined
items
are the selected key assessment(s)]
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Planning and Preparation
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Time, Continuity, and Change
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Discuss developments in
China and
Japan.
Examine developments in Chinese and Japanese
societies
over time.
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Quizzes,
papers, mid-term, Final Exam
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Science, Technology and Society
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Make judgments about how scientific and
technological
developments shaped
Chinese and Japanese societies.
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Quizzes,
papers, mid-term, Final Exam
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Spring 2008