CCCH9059 China: Culture, State and Society
Encounters between China and the West


 

Course Description

This course explores the encounters between China and the world beyond (indeed, the Chinese conceptualization of the “West” has evolved), assessing how different values and perspectives contributed to the various outcomes of historical events. Drawing on textual tradition, material objects, and visual culture, the weekly discussions will cover topics including the trade along the Silk Roads, the introduction of Buddhism and Christianity into China, the Opium War, and China’s modernization. We will also incorporate fieldwork trips into our inquiry. Students will learn to contextualize these cases in world history and consider the goals and perspectives of different historical players. The class will be divided into small groups to discuss or debate on why some cases resulted in a “success” (defined here as the fulfillment of the objectives the actors set out to achieve) and others in conflicts, as well as further hypothesize how different strategies could have contributed to alternative outcomes. The course aims to train students’ critical thinking and problem-solving skills through these class activities.

Course Learning Outcomes

On completing the course, students will be able to:

  1. Identify and describe important events in the cultural encounters between China and the West.
  2. Recognize and explain the factors that had contributed to these cultural encounters.
  3. Analyze the impact of these historical events and hypothesize alternative outcomes.
  4. Apply the knowledge to their own environment and be able to find traces of cultural encounters in the everyday life of Hong Kong.

Offer Semester and Day of Teaching

First semester (Wed)


Study Load

Activities Number of hours
Lectures 24
Tutorials 8
Fieldwork / Visits 8
Reading / Self-study 45
Assessment: Group poster production and presentation 15
Assessment: Final project and essay 25
Total: 125

Assessment: 100% coursework

Assessment Tasks Weighting
Group presentation 20
Tutorial participation 30
Poster presentation 30
Final project 20

Required Reading

  • Arkush, R. D., & Lee, L. O. (1989). Land without ghosts: Chinese impressions of America from the mid-nineteenth century to the present. Berkeley & Los Angeles, CA: University of California Press.
  • Brook, T. (2008). Vermeer’s hat: the seventeenth century and the dawn of the global world. New York: Bloomsbury Press.
  • Fairbank, J. (1966). How to Deal with the Chinese Revolution. The New York Book Review.
  • Huntington, S. (1993). The clash of civilizations? Council on Foreign Relations (Summer), 22-49.
  • Lovell, J. (2011). Drugs, dreams, and the making of modern China. London: Picador.
  • Peterson, W. J. (1994). What to wear? Observation and participation by Jesuit missionaries in late Ming society. In S. Schwartz (Ed.), Implicit understandings: observing, reporting, and reflecting on encounters between Europeans and other peoples in the early modern era (pp. 403-449). Cambridge University Press.
  • Peyrefitte, A. (1993). The collision of two civilizations: the British expedition to China 1792-4. New York: Harvill.
  • Qin, W. (2001). To the land of bliss. [Film: Documentary]
  • Xie, J. (1997). The Opium War. [Film: Drama]

Course Co-ordinator and Teacher(s)

Course Co-ordinator Contact
Dr H. Lin
School of Chinese, Faculty of Arts
Tel: 3917 2740
Email: hsuehlin@hku.hk
Teacher(s) Contact
Dr H. Lin
School of Chinese, Faculty of Arts
Tel: 3917 2740
Email: hsuehlin@hku.hk