Modern History of East Asia

Bachelor 2022/2023

Category 'Best Course for New Knowledge and Skills'

Type: Compulsory course (HSE University and Kyung Hee University Double Degree Programme in Economics and Politics in Asia)

Area of studies: Foreign Regional Studies

Delivered by: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

Where: Faculty of World Economy and International Affairs

When: 1 year, 3, 4 module

Mode of studies: offline

Open to: students of one campus

Instructors: Мартынова Дарья Олеговна, Olga Puzanova

Language: English

ECTS credits: 4

Contact hours: 84

Full Syllabus

Abstract

This course presents a general introduction to the history of East Asia from the origins of civilizations with a particular emphasis on the 17th century through to the 1990s, with a focus on the process of modernization in China, Japan, and Korea. Adopting a comparative and international perspective, the course covers not only the domestic events in each of these countries but also how they shaped and were shaped by the international developments in the region. Emphasis falls on a comprehensive understanding of the efforts of people across East Asia to respond to profound cultural, social, and economic challenges of the 19th and 20th centuries and to devise viable solutions. The course will prepare students for higher-level courses dealing with modern East Asia.

Learning Objectives

Students gain a working knowledge of the history of modem China, Japan, and Korea. This knowledge will serve both as a foundation for further study and as a tool for more effectively understanding today's world.
Students learn to think critically and comparatively about historical events in modern East Asia. They are able to understand and identify historical themes, causes, and effects.
Students are able to use their knowledge and critical thinking abilities to intelligently consider journalism, published works, and scholarly articles on topics related to modern East Asia.
Students acquire a perspective on history and an understanding of the factors that shape human activity.
Students display knowledge about the origins and nature of contemporary issues and develop a foundation for future comparative understanding.
Students think and speak critically about primary and secondary historical sources by examining diverse interpretations of past events and ideas in their historical contexts.

Expected Learning Outcomes

- Students will be able to analyze the causes and results of the hegemony of Japan in East Asia in the first half of the 20th century
- Students will be able to analyze the impact of Neo-Confucian orthodoxy, bushi and bourgeois culture on the development of Japan
- Students will gain the ability to discuss colonialism in Asia, its forms, the process of penetration, and the impact on the countries of the region
- Students will be able to analyze China's economic development after 1949, ups and downs, and Deng Xiaoping
- Students will be able to analyze the history of Japan’s participation in the Second World War, the reasons, the course of hostilities, and the results of this conflict
- Students will be able to analyze the impact of the Unequal treaties on Japan, the development of Japanese expansionism and the first attempts to colonize nearby territories
- Students will be able to analyze the politics of colonialism in Japan in Korea and Taiwan, achievements and crimes committed during colonial rule
- Students will be able to analyze the processes of economic development in Japan, Korea and Taiwan after the Second World War as well as the reasons for their rise
- Students will be able to discuss modern territorial issues in East Asia, the reasons for their appearance and possible solutions
- Students will be able to evaluate Joseon Korea's relations with China
- Students will be able to evaluate the Tokugawa events, from national unification to a new political order
- Students will be able to operate the basic economic models, compare them and decide which of them are most applicable to East Asia
- Students will be able to take part in a discourse regarding the rise of imperialism in Japan and its expansion in China
- Students will be able to use the knowledge of East Asian history to analyze current trends and processes

Course Contents

1. Course introduction. East Asia and its place in history
2. Historical thought and historiography in Europe VS Asia
3. Research methods in history. Approaches to modernity
Readings: 1)“Modernity” by Matthew J. Lauzon in Bentley, Jerry H. The Oxford Handbook of World History. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2014. 2)Bayly, Christopher Alan. The Birth of the Modern World: 1780-1914: Global Connections and Comparisons. Cambridge, MA: Blackwell, 2005., Introduction.
4. Ancient China and its impact on East Asia
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters
5. Chinese civilization before the 17th century: periodization
. Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
6. Japanese civilization before the 17 century: a recap
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters. 3)Totman, Conrad D. Japan before Perry: A Short History. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2008., chapter 4. 4)Friday, Karl F. Japan Emerging: Premodern History to 1850. New York: Routledge, 2014., chapters 30–35, 38. 5)Hall, John W., ed. The Cambridge History of Japan. Vol. 4. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1989. Chapter 8
7. Korean civilization before the 17 century
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
8. Colloquium. The Advent of Modernity in East Asia
9. Early Qing Empire
Readings: 1) Balazs, Etienne. Chinese Civilization and Bureaucracy. New Haven: Yale Uni. Press, 1964, chapters 1–4 (pp. 3-54). 2) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 3) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
10. Tokugawa shogunate in Japan.
11. Qing China VS the West: the Opium Wars
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters. 3)Lin Zexu, “Letter to the English Ruler” (SCT, 5–6).
12. Rebellions in Qing China: the Taiping Rebellion, Dungan Revolt
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
13. Meiji Japan: a case of effective modernization. Domestic reforms and the end of the ancien regime
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters. 3) William Theodore de Bary, et al, eds. Sources of Japanese Tradition, Vol. 2. From 1600 to 2000. 2nd Edition. 2005, chapters 36-37 4)Nagai, Yonosuke. "'In Spite of' or 'Because of'? Japan's Success and Japanese Culture." Speaking of Japan (December 1983): 7–11. 5)Levine, Solomon B., and Hiroshi Kawada. Human Resources in Japanese 6 Industrial Development. Princeton: Princeton Uni. Press, 1980, Ch. 2 (pp. 22– 59).
14. Meiji Japan: external relations
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
15. Modernization in Joseon Korea: failed reforms
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters. 3)Antony Best. “The Anglo-Japanese alliance and international politics in Asia, 1902–23.” In The International History of East Asia, 1900–1968. Edited by Antony Best. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2010. 4)Sato, Seizaburo. "Response to the West: The Korean and Japanese Patterns." In Albert M. Craig, ed. Japan: A Comparative View. Princeton: Princeton Uni. Press, 1979, pp. 105–130. 5) Moulder, Frances V. Japan, China and the Modern World Economy: Toward a Reinterpretation of East Asian Development, ca. 1600 to 1918 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1977). Skim the entire book.
16. Colloquium. Colonialism in East Asia
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
17. Qing China: an attempt at modernization and reform. The Boxer Rebellion
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters. 3)Immanuel C. Y. Hsu. The Rise of Modern China. Oxford University Press, 2000, chapters 15–17.
18. The First Sino-Japanese War and its repercussions
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters
19. The Russo-Japanese War: World War Zero?
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters. 3) Antony Best. “The Anglo-Japanese alliance and international politics in Asia, 1902–23.” In The International History of East Asia, 1900–1968. Edited by Antony Best. Abingdon and New York: Routledge, 2010.
20. The last days of Joseon Korea and the Japanese occupation
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political 8 History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
21. Midterm Exam
22. The Xinhai Revolution and the fall of the empire
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
23. Taisho Democracy and the imperial expansion of Japan
Readings: 1) Mikiso Hane and Louis G. Perez. Modern Japan: A Historical Survey. 5th Edition. Boulder, Colorado: The Westview Press, 2013. 2) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 3) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
24. East Asia in World War I.
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters
25. East Asia in the interbellum
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
26. The Pacific War: historical background and causes
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
27. The Pacific War: stages
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
28. Colonial rule in Korea and Taiwan
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
29. Colloquium. Consequences and legacies of the Pacific War in East Asia
30. Japan during the Allied Occupation
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
31. The Cold War in Asia
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
32. The Korean war
Readings: 1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
33. Political and economic developments in China
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
34. China’s external relations. The Sino-Soviet Split and its consequences
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization 11 to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
35. China in the 1980-1990s
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
36. Japan after the 1970s
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
37. South Korea: from dictatorship to democracy
1) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 2) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
38. North Korea after the Korean War: the impossible state.
Readings: 1) Cha, Victor. The Impossible State: North Korea, Past and Future. New York: Ecco, 2012. 2) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 3) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
39. Colloquium. Long shadows of the past
Readings: 1)Dudden, Alexis. Troubled Apologies among Japan, Korea, and the United States. New York: Columbia University Press, 2014. 2)Lind, Jennifer M. Sorry States: Apologies in International Politics. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press, 2010. 3)“Nationalism, Historical Legacies and Territorial Disputes as Obstacles to Cooperation in Northeast Asia” in Flake, E. Gordon. Toward an Ideal Security State for Northeast Asia 2025. The Maureen and Mike Mansfield Foundation, 2010. 4) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 5) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters
40. The rise of China and its current state
Readings: 1) Zhao, Suisheng. “Foreign Policy Implications of Chinese Nationalism Revisited: the Strident Turn.” Journal of Contemporary China (2013), 22:82, 535–553. 2) Patricia Ebrey, Anne Whitehall. East Asia: A Cultural, Social, and Political History. 3rd Edition. Boston and New York: Houghton-Mifflin, 2014. Relevant chapters. 3) Charles Holcombe. A History of East Asia: from the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century. 2nd edition. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Relevant chapters.
41. Japan since the 2000s
Readings: 1)Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, “The Basic View on the Sovereignty of the Senkaku Islands,” May 2013, http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asiapaci/senkaku/basic_view.html. 2)Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, “Japan’s Consistent Position on the Territorial Sovereignty over Takeshima,” April 11, 2014, http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/asia-paci/takeshima/index.html. 3)Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade, Republic of Korea, “Dokdo, Korean 13 Territory,” http://dokdo.mofat.go.kr/upload/eng1.pdf. 4)Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Japan, “Overview of the Issue of the Northern Territories,” http://www.mofa.go.jp/region/europe/russia/territory/overview .html.
42. The Korean Nuclear Crisis as an international issue

Assessment Elements

Class Participation
Attendance
Midterm Exam
Final Exam
Results of the final exam are counted towards the final grade (50%). The final exam is a written examination where students are presented with ten questions covering the period from 1830s onwards in China, Japan and Korea. Each candidate must choose three questions out of ten and answer them in a comprehensive manner in a form of three short essays, which are weighted equally. Plagiarised essays are given 0, in accordance with the University regulations.

Interim Assessment

2022/2023 4th module
0.1 * Attendance + 0.1 * Midterm Exam + 0.29 * Class Participation + 0.51 * Final Exam

Bibliography

Recommended Core Bibliography

Karl F. Friday. (2012). Japan Emerging : Premodern History to 1850. Routledge.

Recommended Additional Bibliography

Bian, M. L. (2005). Linsun Cheng. Banking in Modern China: Entrepreneurs, Professional Managers, and the Development of Chinese Banks, 1897â€“1937. Cambridge, U.K.: Cambridge University Press, 2003. xvi + 277 pp. ISBN 0-521-81142-2, $65.00 (cloth). - Zhaojin Ji. A History of Modern Shanghai Banking: The Rise and Decline of Chinaâ€™s Finance Capitalism. Armonk, N.Y.: M. E. Sharpe, 2003. viii + 325 pp. ISBN 0-7656-1002-7, $69.95 (cloth); 0-7656-1003-5, $25.95 (paper). Enterprise & Society, 2, 305.
De Weerdt, H. (2016). The Cambridge History of China Volume 5. Sung China, 960–1279 AD Part 2. Edited by John W. Chaffee and Denis Twitchett . Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2015. 957pp. ISBN: 9780521243308. $190.00, £99.99 (cloth), $152, £94.08 (ebook). Journal of Chinese History ; Volume 1, Issue 1, Page 198-202 ; ISSN 2059-1632 2059-1640. https://doi.org/10.1017/jch.2016.23
Miller, I. M. (2017). The Economic History of China: From Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century. By Glahn Richard von. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2016. Pp. vii, 461. $99.99, hardcover; $39.99, paper. The Journal of Economic History, 2, 634.
Von Mende Erling. (2003). The Cambridge History of China, Vol. 9, Part 1 : The Ch ’ing Empire to 1800, Willard J. Peterson (éd.), 2002. Études Chinoises, 22(1), 334–342.

Authors

Базарова Евгения Сергеевна
PUZANOVA OLGA VADIMOVNA

Course Syllabus