HISTORY OF CHINA 1

This is one of the mandatory courses within the China/Korea curricula of the Corso di Laurea in "Lingue, Culture e Società dell'Asia e dell'Africa Mediterranea" .
The course aims at offering a general knowledge of the historical evolution of China from the pre-imperial period to the fall of the Ming dynasty (XVII century). It provides the students with the basic knowledge needed in order to frame chronologically the political, economic, social and cultural evolution of Chinese civilization during these centuries, allowing students to acquire the methodological tools necessary to understand and contextualize an event, a personality or a cultural product in the time and space peculiar to the development of Chinese civilization and to grasp its connections with global history.

Attending the planned learning activities and through the study of the reference material the students are expected to achieve the following learning outcomes:
1. Knowledge and understanding
● To know the periodization and chronology of the Chinese history from the origins up to the Seventeenth Century.
● To know the main events, institutions, and personalities of the Chinese history of the period under consideration.
● To understand the long-term processes that characterize Chinese history from a political-cultural and socio-economic perspective.
● To know which are the main resources available for the study of Chinese history of pre-imperial and imperial age and to understand the main issues related to their use.
2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding
● To be able to contextualize chronologically and spatially an event, an institution, a personality or a cultural product of Chinese history.
● To know how to develop a simple comparative analysis of Chinese historical processes from a diachronic but also synchronic perspective at a global level.
3. Ability to judge
● To know how to formulate and elaborate an analysis of historical events and processes peculiar to China, identifying the most influential factors in historical dynamics and their present influences, and maturing a gradual awareness of the theoretical and ideological visions underlying any historical interpretation.
4. Learning skills
● To know how to critically consult the reference texts and the bibliography contained in them.
● To know how to identify the main research and study resources related to different periods of Chinese history.

The course does not require specific competencies as prerequisites, except for the historical knowledge stated in the secondary school history curriculum.

The origins of the Chinese civilization: the Three pre-imperial Dynasties (Xia, Shang, Zhou).
The foundation of the centralized Empire: the Qin and Han dynasties.
The Chinese empire: a political, cultural and social institution of ancient China.
China in the Medieval era: from the fall of the Later Han to Tang dynasty.
The Tang dynasty: politics, society, and economy in the transition from the Middle Ages to the modern era.
At the origins of modernity in China: the Song dynasty.
The barbarian empires: from Liao to Yuan.
China in the early modern age: the Ming dynasty.

1) Sabattini M., Santangelo P., Storia della Cina, Bari-Roma, Laterza, 2005: Introduzione e capp. I, II, III, IV, V, VI, VII (pp. 3-485);

2) De Giorgi L., Samarani G., La Cina e la storia, Roma, Carocci, 2005, Cap 1. (pp. 1-51);

3) Wills J.E., Mountain of Fame. Portraits in Chinese History, Princeton University Press, 1994 (rev. 2012), solo le seguenti sezioni: The First Emperor of China (pp. 33-50); Sima Qian (51-72); Wang Mang (72-89); Zhuge Liang (100-113); Empress Wu (127-148); Su Dongpo (149-167); Yue Fei (168-180).

The achievement of the learning outcomes will be evaluated in a written test consisting of questions with open and multiple choice answers. The written test has to be completed in 50 minutes.
The test will measure:
a) the student's knowledge of chronology, periodization and the main events and personalities of Chinese history;
b) the student's ability to contextualize a given event, institution or personality in the time and space of Chinese history;
c) the student's ability to identify and understand the main factors that have influenced Chinese historical processes and events in a given period;
d) the student's knowledge of the main resources for the study of Chinese history;
e) the student's knowledge and ability to understand critically the texts assigned in the bibliography.
The exam grade (max 30/30) will be determined by the sum of the scores obtained from the answers to the individual questions.

Lectures, with the support of PPT presentations and documentary films.

The program is valid for students both attending and non attending the class

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "International cooperation" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development