KSCA022 History of Chinese Thought

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2022
Extent and Intensity
1/1/0. 4 credit(s) (plus 1 credit for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: zk (examination). Other types of completion: k (colloquium), z (credit).
Teacher(s)
Mgr. et Mgr. Dušan Vávra, Ph.D. (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. et Mgr. Dušan Vávra, Ph.D.
Department of Chinese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. et Mgr. Dušan Vávra, Ph.D.
Supplier department: Department of Chinese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Timetable
Tue 14:00–15:40 B2.23
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is also offered to the students of the fields other than those the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
there are 6 fields of study the course is directly associated with, display
Course objectives
THe course is an introduction to the history of Chinese thought (Chinese philosophy). The first six lectures include an exposition on the formative period - the early Chinese thought (up to the end of Han dynasty). The second six lectutres include selected crucial moments of further development and, above all, the lectures focus on the significance of pre-modern Chinese thought for the development of Chinese modernity and for present problems in Chinese society and politics.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to:
- understand the development of Chinese thought in its historical and social context;
- understand contemporary Chinese problems in context of the history of Chinese thought;
- understand essential concepts of Chinese thought;
- interpret a short Chinese philosophical text in translation
Syllabus
  • 1) Confucianism;
  • 2) Legism;
  • 3) Mohism and other early philosophical schools;
  • 4) Daoism I;
  • 5) Daoism II;
  • 6) Han dynasty and general summary of early Chinese thought;
  • 7) Chinese Buddhism;
  • 8) Neo-Confucianism;
  • 9) Reformism in the 19th and early 20th century;
  • 10) modernization and nationalism in the 1st half of 20th century;
  • 11) Chinese Marxism;
  • 12) discourse of modernization, Marxism and nationalism at present;
Literature
    required literature
  • CHENG, Anne. Dějiny čínského myšlení. Translated by Helena Beguivinová - Olga Lomová - David Sehnal - Dušan Vávra. 1. vyd. Praha: DrahmaGaia, 2006, xv, 688. ISBN 8086685527. info
    recommended literature
  • The Cambridge companion to modern Chinese culture. Edited by Kam Louie. First published. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008, xx, 400. ISBN 9780521863223. info
  • KRÁL, Oldřich. Čínská filosofie : pohled z dějin. Vyd. 1. Lásenice: Maxima, 2005, 373 s. ISBN 809013338X. info
  • DE BARY, Wm. Theodore, Richard John LUFRANO and Wing-tsit CHAN. Sources of Chinese tradition. Edited by John H. Berthrong. 2nd ed. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000, xviii, 636. ISBN 9780231112710. info
Teaching methods
lectures, class discussions
Assessment methods
colloquium: final written test (min. 70%);

exam: final test (min. 70%); oral exam (the students who passed the written test are allowed to take the oral exam)
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
Study Materials
The course is taught annually.
Information on course enrolment limitations: Posluchači JEDNOOBOROVÉHO plánu programu Čínská studia povinně zapisují zkoušku. Posluchač HLAVNÍHO plánu programu Čínská studia povinně zapisují kolokvium. Ostatním posluchačům je doporučeno kolokvium.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2016, Spring 2018, Spring 2019, Spring 2020, Spring 2021, Spring 2023, Spring 2024, Spring 2025.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2022, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2022/KSCA022