This sequence of four courses will propose a multi-disciplinary approach to the study of Chinese cultural history conceived of as a succession of modes of rationality (philosophical, bureaucratic, and economic). The focus will be on the moments of paradigm shift from one mode of rationality to another. For each of these moments, cultural facts and artifacts—thought, literature, ritual—will be examined in relationship to changing social, political, and economic systems.



Intellectual Change in Early China: Warring States and Han

Instructor: Prof. John Lagerwey
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There are 6 modules in this course
This module introduces the key concepts that will be used throughout the course and the basic outlines of Chinese cultural history, starting with the Warring States (481-256 BCE).
What's included
3 videos3 readings3 assignments
This module explains why the intellectual elite attacked traditional religious practices like divination and shamanism.
What's included
6 videos4 readings6 assignments
This module presents two forms of self-cultivation—Confucian and Daoist—that emerged during the Warring States.
What's included
5 videos5 assignments
We are going to learn about the meaning of “transcendence” as seen in the sacrifice to Heaven of the “Son of Heaven” (the king and later the emperor) and in the new cosmology of the Dao (Way) and Qi (vital energy).
What's included
6 videos1 reading6 assignments
This module is about local and imperial religion in the Han dynasty (206 BCE-220 BC).
What's included
3 videos2 readings3 assignments
This module states how new theories of healing based on the cosmology of Dao and Qi, in the face of the political and social crisis of the second century CE, made way for a return of ideas of demon-caused illness.
What's included
5 videos2 readings5 assignments
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The Chinese University of Hong Kong
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The Chinese University of Hong Kong
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The Chinese University of Hong Kong
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Nanjing University
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Reviewed on May 31, 2024
This course is very important and helpful my studies. Thank you prof. Thank you coursera.
Reviewed on Sep 4, 2018
Instructor is expert in everything Chinese and quite interesting.
Reviewed on Aug 19, 2018
Brilliant course. Strongly recommended to anyone who teaches and studies ancient China.

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