This course is one of the basic formations to offer the students the instruments to provide insight into China and to integrate historical knowledge with Chinese language skills.

First and foremost, the course aims to give students a historical awareness of China to form their insight judgments on newspaper events. With this vision, the course provides students with a general knowledge of Chinese history from the period of myth (before the emergence of Chinese characters/ideograms, i.e., from the Yellow Emperor) to contemporary China using a synchronic and diachronic method. Through this course, students will be able to draw out some academic interests of their own in the history of China and synthesize specific main topics (e.g., the concept of 'Chinese people').

China is one of the world's first civilizations, with almost 4,000 years of documented history.  The course continues with the main topics week by week using the methods of presentation, discussion, and aesthetic contemplation. 

1.    REMOTE ANCIENT TIMES AND SLAVE SOCIETIES (1.7 MILLION YEARS AGO - 476 BC)

The fossilized apes found in Yuanmou, Yunnan Province, prove that Yuanmou Man, 1.7 million years ago, was the earliest known primitive human being in China. Peking Man, who lived in the Zhou kou dian area near Beijing about 600,000 years ago, could walk upright, build and use simple tools, and fire. The Neolithic sites dating back some 10,000 years are found all over China.  The oldest dynasty, the Xia, began in 2070 BC. The Xia Dynasty's center was in today's western Henan Province and southern Shanxi; its power and influence reached north and south of the Yellow River and began to enter into a slave society. The western Shang and Zhou dynasties, which arose after the Xia, further developed the slave system. This was followed by the periods of Springs and Autumns and Warring States when the royal family's power waned and the lords vied for supremacy, a period regarded as the transition from slave to feudal society.

2.    The emperor Qin Shi Huang (259-210 BC) and His Empire

In 221 BC, Qin Shi Huang ended the war period of more than 250 years of fighting between lords and established the first unified, centralized, and multi-ethnic feudal state in Chinese history: the Qin. He standardized writing, weights and measurements, currency, and the county system. The feudal state structure he established was used for the next 2,000 years. The discovery of the Terracotta Army in 1974, housing the tomb of Qin Shi Huang, astonished the world with its 8,000 life-sized terracotta figures, horses, and chariots, and was described as the 'eighth wonder of the world.’ "The 8,000 life-sized terracotta figures, horses, and chariots are the world's eighth wonder.

3.    The Han Dynasty (206 B.C.-220 A.D.) and the 'Silk Road'.

In 206 BC, Liu Bang founded the powerful Han Dynasty. Agriculture, handicrafts, and trade developed greatly during the Han dynasty and the population reached 50 million. During the reign of Emperor Liu Che (140-87 BC), the most vital period of the Han dynasty, he extended effective control of central power from the central plains to the western regions (around present-day Xinjiang and Central Asia). He sent his envoy Zhang Qian on two missions to the West, opening the route from Chang'an (present-day Xi'an in Shaanxi) to the eastern shores of the Mediterranean via Xinjiang and Central Asia, known as the Silk Road, through which China's splendid silk products were transported westwards. In the first century, A.D. Buddhism was also introduced into China, as contacts between East and West became closer. In 105 A.D., the official Cai Lun summarised the experience of the papermaking people and invented papermaking, which led to a fundamental change in human writing materials.

4.    The Tang Dynasty at its peak (618-907)

After the Han, through the Three Kingdoms, Jin, the Northern and Southern Dynasties, and the Sui, Li Yuan founded the Tang Dynasty in 618 AD. Li Yuan's son, Li Shimin, Emperor Taizong of Tang (ruled 626-649), implemented a series of enlightened policies that brought feudal-period China to the height of prosperity: agriculture, handicrafts, and trade developed, as well as further technological developments in textiles, dyeing, ceramics, smelting and shipbuilding, and water and land transport, and the country was crisscrossed by water and land transport.

5.    Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing Dynasties (960-1911)

After the fall of the Tang Dynasty, it went through a period of frequent wars during the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. In 960 AD, Zhao Kuangyin, a great general of the later Zhou Dynasty, founded the Song Dynasty (960-1279). The Northern Song Dynasty and the Southern Song Dynasty saw the regime move southwards, spreading the advanced economy and culture of the north to the south and promoting the region’s economic development. The Song dynasty led the world in astronomy, technology, and printing. Bi Sheng's invention of movable type printing is considered one of the great revolutions in the history of printing.

    In 1206, Genghis Khan founded the Mongolian Khanate. His grandson, Kublai, entered the Middle Kingdom in 1271 and established the Yuan dynasty (1271-1368), with its capital in Dadu (present-day Beijing). Kublai ended centuries of multiple regimes and unified the country, including Xinjiang, Tibet, and Yunnan. Paper, printing, the compass, and gunpowder were the 'four great inventions' of ancient Chinese science and technology, which were introduced during the Song and Yuan dynasties and significantly contributed to world civilization.

    In 1368, Zhu Yuanzhang, the great ancestor of the Ming dynasty, founded the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) in Nanjing. Between 1405 and 1433, he sent Zheng He to lead a huge fleet of ships on seven great sea voyages, crossing Southeast Asia, the Indian Ocean, the Persian Gulf, the Maldives, and Somalia and Kenya on the east coast of Africa. It was the world's largest and most distant maritime expedition before the time of Columbus. 

The end of the Ming dynasty saw the rapid rise of the Jurchens in north-east China, who in 1644 founded the Qing dynasty (1644-1911), with its capital in Beijing. The most famous emperor of the Qing dynasty, Kangxi (1661-1722), unified Taiwan and stopped the invasion of the Tsarist Russians. He also strengthened his jurisdiction over Tibet and established a set of regulations under which the central government ultimately decided on local Tibetan leaders. Under his rule, China covered an area of over 11 million square kilometers.

6.    The Modern History of China (1840-1949)

The modern history of China covers the period from the Opium War of 1840 to the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, i.e., the history of China's gradual transformation into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society and the history of the Chinese people's quest for national independence and rejuvenation. The modern history of China is divided into two phases: from the Opium War of 1840 to the eve of the May Fourth Movement of 1919, representing the phase of the Old Democratic Revolution; and from the May Fourth Movement of 1919 to the eve of the founding of the People's Republic of China in 1949, representing the phase of the New Democratic Revolution.

7.    The Contemporary History of China (1949-)

China’s modern history refers to the history of the People's Republic of China after its founding in October 1949. This period is also the history of the development of the Chinese people in establishing power, consolidating it, exploring and developing China, and leading it to wealth, prosperity, and self-sufficiency.

Cultivate passion and an open heart to approach the history of the Other that differs from one's own. Obviously, in this course, we mean Chinese history.

Ability to give and receive nourishment from the history of the Other.

Ability to promote integral ecology.

Knowledge and ability to "Bring China to Home": introducing the history of China to friends, colleagues, acquaintances, clients, and others.

Communication skills: present and express oneself scientifically in both oral and written ways.

The teaching material prepared by the lecturer in addition to recommended textbooks (such as for instance slides, lecture notes, exercises, bibliography) and communications from the lecturer specific to the course can be found inside the Moodle platform › blended.uniurb.it

Powerpoint, notes, and papers from Professor.

Teaching

Teaching activities will involve students' active participation in lectures. The teaching approach will be articulated by discussing the central themes, categories, and paradigms applied to understanding the history of China generally and the specific pieces of philosophy, politics, and economy in Chinese history.

Attendance

The student is obligated:

to participate in discussion and dialogue during class with authenticity;

to communicate with Professor when absent via email;

to watch the films as homework before the following lectures;

To read the texts/manuals chosen by Professor;

to write the reflection paper he/she has requested by Professor.

Course books

Necessary books:

Roberts J.A.G. Storia della Cina, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2013.

Samarani G., La Cina contemporanea. Dalla fine dell'impero a oggi, Nuova edizione aggiornata e ampliata, Einaudi, Torino, 2017.

Optional books:

De Giorgi L., Samarani G., La Cina e la storia, Carocci, Roma, 2005.

Wills J.E., Mountain of Fame. Portraits in Chinese History, Princeton University Press, 1994/2012.

M. Wood, La Storia della Cina: Le origini di una civiltà millenaria, Mondadori 2022.

Assessment

The examinees must demonstrate their understanding of the red line of the history of China and the main concepts: the Chinese civilization, the Chinese population, etc. At the same time, they will have to demonstrate their interest and passion for specific topics with a synthesis to convey it.   

The grade will be awarded considering personal commitments during the curriculum: participation in discussions; personal reflection on specific topics with their authenticity, knowledge enough, depth, creativity, i.e., nothing to be copied from the internet; skill in arguing the case either chosen by themselves or chosen in the examination by the Professor.

Oral Examination.  Students may begin with a prepared topic by giving a short presentation such as a small lecture. Afterward, Professor may indicate the other topic and students respond correspondingly.

In the oral examination, the student must show that he/she has understood the course's fundamental concepts and can convey the related knowledge in a relevant way. Students must create/bring some manual/artistic/aesthetic objects to interpret the chosen topics.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.

Teaching

Study the necessary books plus one book from the optional books.

Attendance

The non-attending student should bring all of the necessary books and at least one from the recommended list to the examination.

Course books

Necessary books:

Roberts J.A.G. Storia della Cina, Il Mulino, Bologna, 2013.

Samarani G., La Cina contemporanea. Dalla fine dell'impero a oggi, Nuova edizione aggiornata e ampliata, Einaudi, Torino, 2017.

Optional books:

De Giorgi L., Samarani G., La Cina e la storia, Carocci, Roma, 2005.

Wills J.E., Mountain of Fame. Portraits in Chinese History, Princeton University Press, 1994/2012.

M. Wood, La Storia della Cina: Le origini di una civiltà millenaria, Mondadori 2022.

Assessment

Oral Examination.  Students may begin with a prepared topic by giving a short presentation, such as a small conference.  Afterward, the Professor may indicate the other issue, and students respond correspondingly.

In the oral examination, the student must show that they have understood the course's fundamental concepts and can convey the related knowledge in a relevant way. Students are welcome to create/bring some manual/artistic/aesthetic objects to interpret the topics chosen by themselves.

Disability and Specific Learning Disorders (SLD)

Students who have registered their disability certification or SLD certification with the Inclusion and Right to Study Office can request to use conceptual maps (for keywords) during exams.

To this end, it is necessary to send the maps, two weeks before the exam date, to the course instructor, who will verify their compliance with the university guidelines and may request modifications.