Exploring Early Modern China
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- Start Date: 27 May 2025End Date: 24 Jun 2025Tue (Evening): 19:00 - 20:30OnlineFull fee £99.00 Senior fee £99.00 Concession £64.00
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What is the course about?
This course follows the trajectory of Chinese imperial history of the Ming dynasty (1368-1644) and the Qing dynasty (1636-1912) to help you gain a sharper understanding of China’s long and often tortuous journey in a globalising world.
Only by scrutinising these tumultuous centuries can we get a full sense of how China’s current problems have arisen, and of what resources—intellectual, economic, and emotional—the Chinese can call upon to solve them.
The focus of this course is on China’s odyssey from empire towards ‘modern’ nation—one that is both integrated and receptive, fairly sure of its own identity yet able to join others on equal terms in the quest for new markets, new technologies, new ideas—as well as its many glorious achievements and the disastrous consequences when the journey went wrong.
What will we cover?
Inevitably, such an analysis must give priority to politics—that is, how China’s past rulers and Chinese critics of those rulers have sought repeatedly over this long time span to formulate strategies that would strengthen their country’s borders, streamline bureaucratic institutions, keep free from foreign interference, and sharpen the rigour of the intellectual tools needed to analyse the efficacy and the morality of political actions.
However, in order to gain a more comprehensive picture, we will also examine many other aspects of Chinese history, including commerce, culture, philosophy, religion, women and gender, the family and kinship system, etc.
All of these aspects of Chinese society can be seen in various forms from the Ming onward, have brought deep changes to China, and have endured to the present time.
What will I achieve?
By the end of this course you should be able to...
- have an understanding of the key struggles and structural transformations of China over the past centuries
- identify the fundamental challenges faced by the imperial states of the Ming and Qing, and outline the various responses to those challenges
- gain an understanding of many other aspects of Chinese society and culture where drastic changes have occurred such as religion, women and gender, the family and kinship system, etc.
What level is the course and do I need any particular skills?
This is an ‘introductory’ level course and does not assume any previous study or reading. An open mind and a willingness to listen and to think about views with which you are not familiar or may not agree are more important than any previous knowledge or experience in the subject matter.
How will I be taught, and will there be any work outside the class?
The course will consist of tutor presentations/discussions.
Are there any other costs? Is there anything I need to bring?
There are no extra costs apart from your own note-taking materials.
When I've finished, what course can I do next?
Please see the Asian history section of our website.
Dr Qiuyang Chen received her PhD in history from the University of Warwick and specialises in Chinese history, oral history, and gender history. She has taught at the University of Warwick and the University of Birmingham as a visiting lecturer. At City Lit, her classes explore topics including imperial and modern Chinese history, British-Sino relations, the history of Chinese diasporas, gender history, and oral history. In her leisure time, Qiuyang enjoys visiting museums and galleries, as well as outdoor activities such as rock-climbing, hiking and mountaineering.
Please note: We reserve the right to change our tutors from those advertised. This happens rarely, but if it does, we are unable to refund fees due to this. Our tutors may have different teaching styles; however we guarantee a consistent quality of teaching in all our courses.