Traditional Asia

Instructor: Xin Zhang, Ph.D.

Office: CA 503B

Phone: 274-4898

Asia has again entered our attention not for the political turmoil or the crash of stock market that we saw in China and Japan in the recent years but as a growing economic power in the world. There is a growing interest among students of this university to understand more about Asia, their tradition, culture, and modernization efforts. This course is designed to meet this interest.

This course offers a brief survey of hitstory of China, Japan, Vietnam and Korea in traditional/modern period. It presents a general idea of how the cultures in this area are interrelated. The emphasis of the lecture is on the development of the social structure, political system and culture. Since the instructor of the course has a strong Asian cultural background, the class welcomes discussion on the issues that concerning the Asian culture in general and its comparison to Western culture such as that of America.

Although the course will cover the events and figures of Asian history, its approach to the study of Asian history is different. Instead of viewing the history of countries as separate entity, we examine them within a large framework of Confucianism. And through that framework, we examine their endeavors to reach modernity. We look back to the historical roots embedded in the tradition, culture and society of these countries and to analyze their present development within the historical context. Thus, in this course, students will be presented with a dynamic picture of Asia which includes its marketing structure, the emergence of the power of elites and the reshaping of the balance between the state and society. In order to allow students exposure to the recent achievements in the study of modern China in the West, this course will also include a summary of the development of the `Asian Field' in last 50 years. During the lectures, major theories developed in recent years as well as the contributions made by the leading scholars in the field will be presented.

Further, this course is designed to encourage the development of IUPUI’s Principles of Undergraduate Learning in the following ways: Communication and Quantitative Skills are developed through writing a researched paper and taking essay exams enabling the student to develop skills targeted at expressing ideas and facts in a variety of written formats, understanding and interpreting texts, and applying these ideas in order to answer questions. Critical Thinking: By reading text, doing research, and listening to lecture the student gains the ability to take information from a variety of sources, combine and synthesize sources in order to use this knowledge to evaluate and understand different perspectives. Understanding Society and Culture: By studying the Asian history, the student is exposed to a variety of diverse cultural perspectives and required to evaluate history within a different culture perspective of not only time but place. This ability will assist the student in understanding complex cultural questions in today’s world.

Students taking the course are required to take two written exams, a midterm and a final, and to write one term paper on a subject related to Modern Asia. The midterm exam is scheduled for _____, and the final exam for______. The final exam will include only the materials covered since midterm.

Paper Assignment: The paper will be ten pages long and use at least two books as reference material. These books should be history books, not textbooks, and on the subject of your paper. You may use additional books to help fill in material as necessary. Additional material can come from texts or web pages. Cautionary note: web sites must be of sufficient academic quality that they are reliable for research purposes. If you have a question about a site, have it checked first by the instructor.

Papers will be graded on content and quality of research, but also on grammar and punctuation. All papers should have a well-developed introduction and conclusion. Any papers turned in with inadequate editing will receive a lower grade. Papers meeting the minimum requirements will receive an average grade: C.

The papers can be on any topic of interest so long as the subject meets the following guidelines: the main area of research must be before the year 1950, although conclusion may take you past 1950. The topic must also lie inside Asia. Any papers that fall outside these guidelines will be returned ungraded. I will be happy to discuss any paper topics prior to your beginning your research. You shall include footnotes and a bibliography.

The course will primarily be lecture. Slide presentations, video displaying and student discussion will supplement the format.

Attendance Policy: An attendance sheet will be passed around at each lecture. You may miss 4 lectures without any excuses needed. Any subsequent absences will result in the loss of a letter grade. Be no later than 10 minutes to class, you will be counted absent after 10 minutes. You will also be marked absent if you should leave class early. It is your responsibility to make sure you sign the attendance sheet. It is our only record of your presence. Later protests that you were in class on a given day but failed to sign in will not result in a forgiveness of the missing class. It is imperative that you sign the attendance sheet each day!

Additional requirements for graduate students: Graduate students will do more reading

and writing than undergraduates, and will be expected to demonstrate a higher level of

proficiency on written work and in discussion. Graduate students' research papers should be 20-

30 pages in length. There will be several extra meetings of the professor and graduate students

in order to more fully discuss matters of bibliography and historiography relevant to this course.

Assessment Methods: mid-term Exam (30%), term paper (30%), final exam & class performance (40%).

Required Texts:

Fairbank, John et al.

East Asia: Tradition and Transformation (Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1989)

Suggested reading:

de Bary, at al., Sources of Japanese Tradition

Sources of Asian Tradition

Lectures & Readings (Weekly Assignment):

1. The Setting of East Chinese History

2. Early China: The Birth of A Civilization

3. Classic China: The Golden Age of Chinese Thought

4. The First Chinese Empire: The Ch'in and Han Dynasties

5. The Regeneration of the Empire

6. The Late T'ang and Sung: The Flowering of Chinese

7. China and the "Barbarians"; The Mongol Empire

8. State and Society under the Ming

9. Traditional China at Its Height under the Ch'ing

10. Vietnam: A Variant of the Chinese Pattern

11. Early Korea: The Emergence of a Chines Type of State

12. Yi Dynasty Korea: A Model Confucian Society

13. Early Japan: The Absorption of Chinese Civilization

14. Feudal Japan: A Departure from the Chinese Pattern

15. Tokugawa Japan: A Centralized Feudal State

Policy concerning plagiarism

Plagiarism is the offering of the work of someone else as one's own. Honesty requires that any ideas or materials taken from another source from either written or oral use must be fully acknowledged. The language or ideas taken from another may range from isolated formulas, sentences, or paragraphs to entire articles copies from books, periodicals, speeches, or the writings of other students. The offering of materials assembled or collected by others in the form of projects or collections without acknowledgment is also considered plagiarism. Any student who fails to give credit for ideas or materials taken from another source is guilty of plagiarism.

A faculty member who has evidence that a students is guilty of cheating or plagiarism shall initiate the process of determining the students' guilt or innocence. No penalty shall be imposed until the student has been informed of the charge and of the evidence on which it is based and has been given an opportunity to present a defense. If the faculty member assesses a penalty within the course and promptly reports and the case in writing to the dean of the school or comparable head of the academic unit. The report should included the names of any other students who may be involved in the incident and recommendations for further action. The dean, in consultation with the faculty member if the latter so desires, will initiate any further disciplinary proceeding s and inform the faculty member of any action taken. In every case, a record of the offenses remains on file in the Office of the Dean.