Modern China

現代中國

Spring 2009

 

Dr. Wynn Gadkar-Wilcox                                                                                      History 277

218 White Hall (Office)                                                                                  TR 2:00-3:15 pm

(203) 837-8565 (work); (516) 532-6861 (cell)                                                    226 Warner Hall

Office Hours:    TTh 12:30-2pm; 3:15-4pm; M 5-6                                      Wilcoxw@wcsu.edu  

 

A New Wal-Mart Center in Shenzhen, China, with Skyscrapers in the Back

 

 

Course Description:        What makes a place modern? When does modern China start? Is there such a thing as a modern nation? Is modern history in China about technology, democracy, social change, interaction with Europe, all of the above, or none of the above? Is there a difference between what makes something traditional and modern in Western Countries as opposed to how modernity manifests itself in Asian countries?  Who makes modern China? These are some of the questions we will encounter in this introductory course on Chinese history and culture from the rise of the Qing dynasty (1644) to the present, concentrating particularly on the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The goal of this course is to get us to think critically about how to tell stories about modern China, and which stories are better to tell. We will grapple with these problems by considering several themes in Chinese history: the dynastic cycle, social structure, modernity, the “challenge of the West,” reform, and revolution. This course assumes no prior knowledge of Chinese history, language, or culture.

 

Course Objectives:          This course aims to:

 

·         Introduce students to the basic themes, problems, and key events in modern Chinese history;

·         Use this foundation in Chinese history as a base from which to explore advanced problems in the historiography of modern China;

·         Introduce students to some current methods of analyzing Chinese history, in particular evaluating primary documents from Chinese literature and politics as historical sources;

·         Most importantly, introduce methods for thinking critically about history and culture through writing and public speaking assignments emphasizing the evaluation of arguments and evidence.

 

 

Required Readings:      Gifford, Rob.  China Road.  New York: Random House, 2007.

Li Zhisui.  The Private Life of Chairman Mao.  New York: Random House, 1994.

Lu Xun. (Lu Hsun) Selected Stories. New York: Norton, 2003.

Shen Fu. Six Records of a Floating Life.  New York: Penguin, 1983.

_______________.  The Search for Modern China. New York: Norton, 1999.

 

A few short articles and excerpts that have been put on ERES on the library’s website, which are marked on the syllabus with an asterisk (*).

 

Grading and

Expectations:               Final grades for this course will be based on the following elements:

1.       Participation (20 percent).

2.       Midterm Examination (20 percent)

3.       One five-page paper (30 percent)

4.       Final Examination (30 percent)

 

More information on these elements can be found at the end of this syllabus.

 

 

COURSE SCHEDULE

 

 

January 27:                     Course Introduction

 

                                      Reading:  Syllabus!

 

January 29:                     What is Modern China?  Introduction to Chinese Geographical and Cultural Features.

 

                                      Reading: Spence, 1-25.

 

February 3:                     The Rise of the Manchus and Early Qing Rule, 1644-1799.

 

                                      Reading: Spence, 26-116.

 

February 5:                     Question for Discussion and Debate:   Was the Kangxi Emperor a “Chinese” emperor?

 

February 10:                    Chinese Social Life in the Seventeenth and Eighteenth Centuries

 

Reading:  Spence, Search for Modern China, pp. 116-136, Shen Fu, Six Records of a Floating Life (1809; published in English translation, New York, 1983), pp. 22-51 and 73-97.

 

February 12:                      Question for Discussion and Debate: Were Chen Yun and Shen Fu members of the elite?

 

February 17:                    The “Western Impact?”  Missionaries, Opium, and “Proto-nationalism”, 1793-1842

 

Reading:  Spence, Search for Modern China, pp. 143-164, Frederic Wakeman, Jr., Strangers at the Gate, pp. 3-58*

 

February 19:                    Question for Discussion and Debate:  Had Chinese people become motivated by nationalism by 1842?

 

February 24:                    Rebellions and Restorations, 1842-1897

 

   Reading: Spence, Search for Modern China, pp. 165-242, Levenson, Confucian China and Its Modern Fate, xxvii-xxxiii and 49-78.*

 

February 26:                     Question for Discussion and Debate:  Can ti (essence) and yong (function) be separated?

 

March 3:                         Reform and Revolution, 1898-1911

 

                                       Reading: Spence, Search for Modern China, pp. 243-263, Levenson, Liang Ch’i Chao and the Mind of Modern China, 1-9; Mary C. Wright, “Introduction: The Rising Tide of Change,” and Chuzo ICHIKO, “The Role of the Gentry: An Hypothesis,” both in Wright, ed., China in Revolution, pp. 1-63 and 297-317.*

                                     

March 5:                         Question for Discussion and Debate:  Was the Chinese Revolution of 1911 truly revolutionary, or was it hijacked by Chinese elites?

 

March 10:                       Midterm Examination

 

                                      Reading: None!  Study for the Midterm.

 

March 12:                       The Failure of the Revolution and the May Fourth Movement, 1911-1919.

 

   Reading: Spence, Search for Modern China, pp. 265-313, LU Xun (LU Hsun; pseudonym of ZHOU Shuren [CHOU Shu-jen]), "Preface to the First Collection of Short Stories, 'Calls to Arms,' " "A Madman's Diary", "Kung I-chi," "Medicine," "My Old Home," "The True Story of Ah Q," " The New Year's Sacrifice," all in Selected Stories of Lu Xun (translated collection, Beijing, 1954) (pagination varies in different editions).

 

March 17:                       Question for Discussion and Debate: Was Lu Xun a revolutionary?

 

March 19:                       The Warlord Period, The Development of the Guomindang and the CCP, and the First United Front (1919-1927)

 

March 23-28                 No classes.  Happy Spring Break!

 

March 31:                       The Nanjing Decade, The Long March, and the Japanese (1927-37)

 

                                      Reading: Spence, 314-409.

 

April 2:                           Question for Debate: Were the communists more legitimate leaders of China in the 1930s than Chiang Kai-shek?

 

April 7:                           Wars, Divisions, and the Communist Revolution (1937-1949)

 

                                      Reading: Spence, 411-458, Li Zhisui, vii-42.    

 

April 9:                           Question for Discussion and Debate:  Was the Communist revolution a just cause?

 

April 14:                          Building a Socialist State (1949-1965)

 

                                      Reading: Spence, 489-586; Li Zhusui, 43-429.

 

April 16:                          Question for Discussion and Debate: Did Mao have good intentions?

                                     

April 21:                          The Cultural Revolution and Beyond (1966-1977)

 

                                      Five-page paper due. 

 

                                      Reading: Spence, The Search for Modern China, pp. 586-630; Li Zhisui, 429-end.

 

April 23:                          Question for Discussion and Debate: Was the cultural revolution primarily an attempt to make China more democratic?

 

April 28:                          Modernization without Democracy (1978-1989)

 

                                      Reading: Spence, The Search for Modern China, pp. 640-704; Liu Yiran, "Rocking Tiananamen" (1988), in Geremie Barmé and Linda Jaivin, eds., New Ghosts, Old Dreams, Chinese Rebel Voices (New York, 1992), pp. 3-22.*; Gifford, 1-96

 

April 30:                          Question for Discussion and Debate: If you had been Deng Xiaoping, would you have made the decision to suppress the demonstrations in 1989?

 

May 5:                             Modern China since 1989: SARS, Bird Flu, Starbucks, Wal-Mart

 

 Reading: Spence, pp. 705-728; Gifford, 97-193.

 

May 7:                             Question for Discussion and Debate: Has globalization been good for the average Chinese person?

 

May 12:                           The Future of China

 

                                    Reading: Gifford, 194-296.

 

                                       Final examination will be held course exam period (Exact time TBA)

 

 

 

 

 

COURSE REQUIREMENTS IN DETAIL

 

FIVE-PAGE READING CRITIQUE PAPER

 

On Monday, April 17th, you will be required to complete and hand in at the beginning of class a five-page reading critique paper. The purpose of this paper is to foster critical thinking about the way in which readings in the course present information. In this paper, you will pick any of the topics for discussion and debate given in the syllabus and will take a position on it, using as evidence a critical reading of the sources in class.

 

 

GENERAL PAPER GUIDELINES

 

I look for four things in papers: 1) a clear, concise, well written, and persuasive argument that is maintained coherently throughout the paper; 2) imaginative use of direct and indirect evidence to support that argument; 3) a clear awareness of and response to potential counterarguments to your argument; and 4) a creative and individual approach. Above all I like to reward unusual and interesting argumentation that resists following a set format. I’m much more interested in seeing you develop your own opinions and style of writing than to see how well you can follow a list of directions on how to write a paper. Please see me for more guidance.

 

 

 

 

MIDTERM EXAMINATION

 

            The midterm examination will take place in class on Monday, March 10th. It will cover Chinese history from 1644 to the Revolution of 1911. It will be comprised of three sections: geographical identifications (20% of the grade), term identifications (20%), and an essay (60%). The essay will address some of the broad themes considered until this time at the course (such as the meaning of modern Chinese history, Comparing Dynasties, Revolution, Contact with the West, etc.). You will be offered a choice of options on each section. More information and a study guide will be provided in due time before the exam.

 

FINAL EXAMINATION

 

The final examination will be held in this classroom at the time specified on the final exam schedule (to be announced).  Like the midterm, it will be comprised of three sections: geographical identifications (20% of the grade), term identifications (20%), and an essay (60%). The exam will not be cumulative, with the exception of the essay questions. It will focus on certain basic questions that I hope that this course will have raised, such as the nature and meaning of Modern China, the changing nature of Chinese social orientation, and the question of the West in Chinese thought. More information and a study guide will be provided in the last week of class.

 

 

Participation in Discussion and Debates

 

This course is based predominantly on discussion; thus, a substantial portion of your grade will be based on your participation.  I take this very seriously, and make notes in each class as to who is actively participating.  “Active participation” means that you have something intelligent to say in class that seems based in and grounded on the readings of that week. 

 

General participation will be evaluated as follows:  on most thursdays, there is a question for discussion and debate listed on the syllabus.  At the beginning of class, I will give you five minutes to write out a brief answer to the question listed on the syllabus.   I will pick a different three or four of you to read out or paraphrase your answers and then I will ask others to join in.   I will evaluate your participation based on the frequency and the quality of your discussion in class and your level of knowledge and interest in the topic as indicated by your written answers.  A corollary to this point is that regular unexcused absences will negatively affect your participation grade, since you cannot be participating if you are absent.