Intellectual Change in Early China: Warring States and Han
Offered By
Intellectual Change in Early China: Warring States and Han
The Chinese University of Hong Kong
About this Course
4.6
9 ratings
This sequence of four courses will propose a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of Chinese cultural history conceived of as a succession of modes of rationality (philosophical, bureaucratic, and economic). The focus will be on the moments of paradigm shift from one mode of rationality to another. For each of these moments, cultural facts and artifacts—thought, literature, ritual—will be examined in relationship to changing social, political, and economic systems.
The first two courses will cover the periods of the Warring States (481-256 BCE) and the Period of Division (220-589 CE), with a brief excursion into the Han (206 BCE-220 CE). The Warring States laid the social and cultural foundations for the emergence of the imperial mode of rationality; the Period of Division saw the Buddhist “conquest” of China and the emergence of a rationality defined by the opposition of the Three Teachings to shamanism, that is, of a clear contrast between elite and popular culture.
The third and fourth courses will focus on the emergence of modern China in the Song-Yuan (960-1368) and of today’s China 1850 to the present. We will see how the modern attack on religion, redefined as "superstition", led not only to religious reform movements but also to a society in which science and the nation became the primary value systems promoted by the state.
The courses are listed below:
A Critical Cultural History of China - Early China I: Intellectual Change in the Warring States and Han (481 BCE-220 CE)
A Critical Cultural History of China - Early China II: Religious Transformation in the Period of Division (220-589 CE) (To be launched in late 2018)
A Critical Cultural History of China - Modern China I: Religion and Thought in the Song, Jin, and Yuan (960-1368) (To be launched in late 2018)
A Critical Cultural History of China - Modern China II: Structuring Values (1850-2015) (To be launched in late 2018)
Syllabus - What you will learn from this course
1
Section
MODULE 00: A Critical Cultural History of China - Introduction
This module introduces the key concepts that will be used throughout the course and the basic outlines of Chinese cultural history, starting with the Warring States (481-256 BCE).
3 videos (Total 48 min), 3 readings, 3 quizzes
3 readings
Course Overview10m
Course Editorial Conventions5m
Suggested Textbooks5m
3 practice exercises
M00.1 Definitions6m
M00.2 Paradigm Shift4m
M00.3 A Four-Part Course4m
2
Section
MODULE 01: Attack on Shamanism
This module explains why the intellectual elite attacked traditional religious practices like divination and shamanism.
6 videos (Total 108 min), 4 readings, 6 quizzes
6 videos
M01.1.2 Background 213m
M01.2.1 Functions of the wu18m
M01.2.2 The Early Chinese Pantheon31m
M01.2.3 Arguments Against Shamans: The Role of Intellectuals19m
M01.2.4 The Parallel Attack on Diviners12m
4 readings
Readings for M01.1.210m
Readings for M01.2.210m
Readings for M01.2.310m
Readings for M01.2.410m
6 practice exercises
M01.1.1 Background 14m
M01.1.2 Background 24m
M01.2.1 Functions of the wu6m
M01.2.2 The Early Chinese Pantheon12m
M01.2.3 Arguments Against Shamans: The Role of Intellectuals6m
M01.2.4 The Parallel Attack on Diviners4m
3
Section
MODULE 02: The Emergence of Self-Cultivation Practice
This module presents two forms of self-cultivation—Confucian and Daoist—that emerged during the Warring States.
5 videos (Total 77 min), 5 quizzes
5 videos
M02.2 Ethics and Cosmology13m
M02.3.1 The Dao12m
M02.3.2 The heart23m
M02.3.3 Qi, or vital energy, and the Real Person11m
5 practice exercises
M02.1Confucian Self-Cultivation6m
M02.2 Ethics and Cosmology4m
M02.3.1 The Dao8m
M02.3.2 The heart6m
M02.3.3 Qi, or vital energy, and the Real Person4m
4
Section
MODULE 03: The Philosophical Preparation of Political Unity
We are going to learn about the meaning of “transcendence” as seen in the sacrifice to Heaven of the “Son of Heaven” (the king and later the emperor) and in the new cosmology of the Dao (Way) and Qi (vital energy).
6 videos (Total 87 min), 1 reading, 6 quizzes
6 videos
M03.1.2 The Dao11m
M03.1.3 Transcendence14m
M03.2 The Center13m
M03.3 Confucianism: Ritual and History12m
M03.4 Early Chinese Dualities21m
1 reading
Readings for Module 310m
6 practice exercises
M03.1.1 The Zhou Sacrifice to Heaven4m
M03.1.2 The Dao2m
M03.1.3 Transcendence4m
M03.2 The Center4m
M03.3 Confucianism: Ritual and History4m
M03.4 Early Chinese Dualities8m
4.6
Top Reviews
By FI•Jul 6th 2018
A challenging but rewarding class. Good instructor. I'd like the instructor to show a outline at the beginning of each module.
Instructor
Prof. John Lagerwey
Research ProfessorCentre for China Studies
About The Chinese University of Hong Kong
Founded in 1963, The Chinese University of Hong Kong (CUHK) is a forward looking comprehensive research university with a global vision and a mission to combine tradition with modernity, and to bring together China and the West. CUHK teachers and students hail from all corners of the world. CUHK graduates are connected worldwide through an expansive alumni network.
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