Week 1
Session 1: Introduction to China’s History
Week 2
Session 2: The Shang Dynasty (Shāng cháo 商朝; c. 1600–1046 BCE)
Session 3: The Western Zhou (Xīzhōu 西周; c. 1046–771 BCE)
- Assignment due: Week 2 discussion post
Week 3
Session 4: The Spring and Autumn (Chūnqiū 春秋; 770–481 BCE) and Warring States Eras (c. 475–221 BCE)
- Geography quiz
Session 5: Confucius and the Confucian Movement
- Assignment due: Week 3 discussion post
Week 4
Session 6: Daoists and Legalists
Session 7: Qin Shihuang 秦始皇 and the First Empire (221–206 BCE)
- Assignment due: Week 4 discussion post
Week 5
Session 8: The Western Han (Xīhàn 西漢; 202 BCE – 9 CE)
Session 9: The Eastern Han (Dōnghàn 東漢; 25–220 CE)
- Guest lecture: Yunxin Li, Simmons University
- Assignment due: Week 5 discussion post
Week 6
Session 10: From the Three Kingdoms to the Six Dynasties (Liù Cháo 六朝; 220/222–589 CE)
- Classical texts quiz
Session 11: Buddhism and Religious Daoism
- Assignment due: Week 6 discussion post
Week 7
Session 12: The Sui (Suí cháo 隋朝; 581–618)-Tang (Táng cháo 唐朝; 618–907) Era
- Classical texts quiz makeup
- Assignment due: Week 7 discussion post
Week 8
Session 13: Culture and Poetry of the Tang Dynasty
Session 14: End of the Tang
- Assignment due: Week 8 discussion post
Week 9
Session 15: Midterm (Early and Medieval China)
- Midterm exam
Session 16: The Northern Song (Běisòng 北宋; 960–1127) and the Liao (Liáo cháo 遼朝; 916–1125)
- Mid-semester check-in
Week 10
Session 17: Southern Song (Nánsòng 南宋; 1127–1279) and the Jurchen Jin (Jīn cháo 金朝; 1115–1234)
Session 18: Song Literati Culture and Neo-Confucianism
- Assignment due: Week 10 discussion post
Week 11
Session 19: Mongol Conquest
- Assignment due: Week 11 discussion post
Week 12
Session 20: Life Under Mongol Rule in China (Yuáncháo 元朝; 1271–1368)
Session 21: The Early Ming (Míng cháo 明朝; 1368–1644): Ming Taizu and Yongle
- Assignment due: Timeline proposals
- Assignment due: Week 12 discussion post
Week 13
Session 22: Early Modern? The Ming in the 16th Century
Session 23: The Fall of Ming and the Manchu Conquest
- Assignment due: Week 13 discussion post
Week 14
Session 24: The Qing (Qīng cháo 清朝; 1636/1644–1912) through Qianlong
Session 25: A Great Divergence? Qing Economy and Science in Global Terms
- Assignment due: Week 14 discussion post
Week 15
Session 26: A Dream of Red Mansions 紅樓夢 and the End of Imperial China
Session 27: Last Class Discussion and Final Exam Review
- Final exam
- Assignment due: Final timelines
