KSCA027 History of China (to the end of 18th c.)

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
2/0/0. 4 credit(s) (plus 1 credit for an exam). Recommended Type of Completion: k (colloquium). Other types of completion: zk (examination).
In-person direct teaching
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Ondřej Vicher (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Ondřej Vicher
Department of Chinese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Ondřej Vicher
Supplier department: Department of Chinese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
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
Course objectives
Aim of this course is to introduce students to the political, economic, and cultural history of China from ancient times to the late 18th century, where the KSCA028 History of Modern China continues. Students will gain a broader understanding of historical events not only within China but also in other contexts within China's relations with its immediate neighbors and distant empires. The lecture also introduces students to a principal bibliography on the topic.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course students should be able to:
orient themselves in the most important periods and events;
understand the history of China in political and cultural contexts;
understand the basic concepts used in the historiography of China;
understand the relevance of Chinese history to the present (the importance of tradition to the functioning of contemporary Chinese society and thought)
Syllabus
  • 1) Introduction and the earliest periods of Chinese history
  • 2) Warring States Period, Qin Dynasty and the transition to the Han Dynasty
  • 3) Han Dynasty and its neighbours
  • 4) Fall of Han Dynasty, Three Kingdoms Period, Jin Dynasty and 16 Kingdoms Period
  • 5) The Northern and Southern Dynasties, the Sui Dynasty and the rise of the Tang Dynasty
  • 6) The climax of the Tang Dynasty, the An Lushan Rebellion and the gradual disintegration of the dynasty
  • 7) The Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms Period, the Northern Song Dynasty and its neighbours
  • 8) Southern Song Dynasty and its neighbours
  • 9) Mongol usurpation of China and the Silk Road
  • 10) From Yuan to Ming Dynasty
  • 11) The High Period and the Fall of the Ming Dynasty
  • 12) History of the Qing Dynasty to the end of the 18th century
Literature
    required literature
  • EBREY, Patricia Buckley. The Cambridge illustrated history of China. 1st pbk. ed. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1999, 352 s. ISBN 9780521669917. info
  • LIŠČÁK, Vladimír. Dějiny Číny, Taiwanu a Tibetu v datech. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2008, 782 s. ISBN 9788072773640. info
  • PALÁT, Augustin and Jaroslav PRŮŠEK. Středověká Čína : společnost a zvyky v době dynastií Sung a Jüan. Praha: DharmaGaia, 2001, 379 s. ISBN 8085905396. info
    recommended literature
  • ROSSABI, Morris. A history of China. First published. Malden, MA: Wiley Blackwell, 2014, xxvi, 426. ISBN 9781577181132. info
  • China: Five Thousand Years of History and Civilization, edited by Ye Lang, Fei Zhengang, Wang Tianyou et ali, Hong Kong: City University of HK Press, 2007
  • Fang, Xiangshu 2015, Burning books and burying scholars: on the policies of the short-lived Qin Dynasty in ancient China (221-207 BC), International journal of liberal arts and social science, vol. 3, no. 7, pp. 54-61
  • Franz Grenet, “Religious diversity among Sogdian merchants in sixth-century China: Zoroastrianism, Buddhism, Manichaeism, Hinduism”, Comparative Studies of South Asia, Africa and the Middle East (Toronto), 27, 2007, pp. 463-478.
  • LIŠČÁK, Vladimír. Putování po hedvábné cestě : cesta staletími mezi Čínou a Evropou. Vydání první. Praha: Academia, 2023, 467 stran. ISBN 9788020034014. URL info
  • LIŠČÁK, Vladimír. Bratr Odorik a jeho zpráva o východních krajích světa : styky Evropy a mongolské Číny ve 13. a 14. století. Vydání první. Praha: Academia, 2019, 662 stran. ISBN 9788020029454. info
  • KOLMAŠ, Josef. Pojednání o věcech čínských. Vydání první. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2015, 271 stran. ISBN 9788074296291. info
  • SIMA, Qian. Kniha vrchních písařů : výbor z díla čínského historika. Edited by Olga Lomová, Translated by Timoteus Pokora. 1. vyd. Praha: Karolinum, 2012, 645 s. ISBN 9788024621548. info
  • BROOK, Timothy. The troubled empire : China in the Yuan and Ming dynasties. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2010, 329 s. ISBN 9780674046023. info
  • LEWIS, Mark Edward. China's cosmopolitan empire : the Tang dynasty. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009, 356 s. ISBN 9780674033061. info
  • ROWE, William T. China's last empire : the great Qing. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009, 360 s. ISBN 9780674036123. info
  • KUHN, Dieter. The age of Confucian rule : the song transformation of China. Cambridge: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2009, 356 s. ISBN 9780674031463. info
  • LEWIS, Mark Edward. The early Chinese empires : Qin and Han. Cambridge, Mass.: Belknap Press of Harvard University Press, 2007, 321 s. ISBN 9780674057340. info
  • MALINA, Jaroslav. První císař: Tvůrce Číny a osmého divu světa (The First Emperor: Creator of China and of the World’s Eighth Wonder). 2. přepracované vydání. Brno: Akademické nakladatelství CERM, 2004, 295 pp. bez edice. ISBN 80-7204-298-X. info
  • BROOK, Timothy. Čtvero ročních dob dynastie Ming : Čína v období 1368-1644. Translated by Vladimír Liščák. Vyd. 1. V Praze: Vyšehrad, 2003, 362 s. ISBN 8070215836. info
  • LIŠČÁK, Vladimír. Čína. 1. vyd. Praha: Libri, 2002, 223 s. ISBN 8072771094. info
  • GROLLOVÁ, Ivana and Veronika ZIKMUNDOVÁ. Mongolové : pravnuci Čingischána. Vyd. 1. Praha: Triton, 2001, 231 s. ISBN 8072540793. info
  • LIŠČÁK, Vladimír. Čína : dobrodružství hedvábné cesty : po stopách styků Východ - Západ. 1. vyd. Praha: Set out, 2000, 366 s. ISBN 8086277119. info
  • OLIVOVÁ, Lucie and XU SHU´AN. Vývoj správního systému v Číně. 1st ed. Praha: Karlova univerzita, 2000, 110 pp. ISBN 80-246-0093-5. info
  • Chinese civilization : a sourcebook. Edited by Patricia Buckley Ebrey. 2. ed., rev. and expanded. New York: Free Press, 1993, xix, 524. ISBN 002908752X. info
  • HRDLIČKA, Zdeněk and Věna HRDLIČKOVÁ. Čína císaře Šen-cunga. 1. vyd. Praha, 1992, 266 s. : i. info
    not specified
  • OLIVOVÁ, Lucie. Tradiční čínská architektura. První vydání. Praha: Dokořán, 2008, 157 stran. ISBN 9788073631789. info
Teaching methods
lectures, discussion
Assessment methods
Written test (final) consisting of ca 15 questions, minimum pass level 70 %. Passing the test results in 4, or 5 credits, according to the student´s registration. Those who registered Examination may have to pass an oral exam, too.
Language of instruction
Czech
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught annually.
The course is taught: every week.
Teacher's information
Detailed study materials in Czech language will be available to the students.
The course is also listed under the following terms Autumn 2016, Autumn 2017, Autumn 2018, Autumn 2019, Autumn 2020, Spring 2021, Autumn 2021, Autumn 2022, Autumn 2023.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/KSCA027