CHE2111

Introduction to Chinese Politics: Political Culture of Traditional China

Faculty
Prof. D. L. McMullen

Course Description
This course will explore the concept of statehood in traditional dynastic China and will suggest reasons for its durability. It will analyze views of the origin of the state and its cosmic function, the role of the emperor and the ways in which different emperors responded to its demands. The structure of the administration will be described and its capacity to adapt and evolve accounted for. Such factors making for the stability of the system as the meritocratic selection and the extent of openness in government will be discussed. The theoretical as well as practical limitations to the reach of the state will be touched on. The state's role in ordering the learned and literary worlds will be suggested. Finally, the place of the state in one of the great monuments of Chinese culture, Tang verse, will be explored.

The course will involve focusing on the Tang dynasty (618-907 C.E.), a period that it being increasingly valorized in present day China. Closer focus on the Tang will be accompanied by suggestions as to the important evolutionary trends in the remainder of the dynastic period, the pre-modern period.

Note:
CUHK students may use this course to fulfill the CHE, University General Education (Area C) or general elective requirements.