This course introduces students to patterns of the Chinese past and
present, particularly to China's evolving Confucian tradition and its
transformation under the present Communist regime.  E232 includes three
course units, each employing a different perspective as we move
chronologically through cultural history.  Ancient China is explored
through the religious and ethical ideas of China's elite class, which we
will read in translations of classics such as the *Dao de jing,* by the
Daoist thinker Lao-zi, and the *Analects* of Confucius.  We approach the
medieval period by considering the lives of non-elite classes and the way
representatives of the governing class interacted with them.  For this
portion of the course, we focus on popular short stories the period and
other narrative materials.  The modern era, from the Opium War of 1842 to
the present, is analyzed through political history, using fiction,
autobiography, and documentary sources to explore the rise and
transformation of communist society in China and the question of its links
to China's Confucian past.

Written requirements include three short papers, a midterm and final, and
brief exercises or quizzes.  E232 is designed as a general introduction to
Chinese society and culture, and to prepare students for upper level
courses in Chinese history, religion, philosophy, politics, and literature.
*No prior background in Chinese studies is required.*