HIS 383: China to 1800

Paper Topics #1 & #2

(Paper #1 Due Thursday, October 7th)

(Paper #2 Due Tuesday, November 23rd)

Directions: Choose any one of the following paper topics. Please note that there are two categories, Option #1 and Option #2. You will be responsible for choosing paper topics from both categories this semester. These are “think piece” papers, so no additional outside research is necessary. Please read the books and primary sources carefully before writing. Compose a strong topic sentence, locate evidence in the texts to support your position, and proceed. Your paper should be 5-7 pages in length. I would be happy to look drafts of papers no later than a week before the due date. However, I will limit my comments. Overdue papers will not be accepted. Please include page numbers in your papers.

Readings in Classical Chinese Philosophy paper topics for Option #1:

1. Imagine that you are the king of Chu, struggling for regional control in the twilight of the Warring States period. Describe visits to your court by any two (2) of the following philosophers; Mozi, Zhuangzi, Mencius, or Han Feizi. How might they persuade you to follow their particular school of thought? What personal political problems would you voice to them? Which school sounds most appealing? Least appealing? Why?

2. Regarding the value of education, particularly textual learning, Daoists and Confucians in traditional Chinese society held strongly opposing views. Describe the differing views of Zhuangzi and Mencius, respectively, regarding education. How do the Daoists critique language, in particular?

3. Today Confucianism is credited in some circles with driving the dynamic economic growth of East Asia. Do you agree or disagree with this idea? What evidence can you find in the excerpts from either Confucius or Mencius to support or criticize this idea? Do the ideals of a capitalist society necessarily mesh well with the social ideals proposed by these Confucian scholars?

4. Discuss and provide evidence from the readings to describe the relationship between ren (“human-ness”) and li (ritual) in Confucian thought (in either Confucius or Mencius). Please only refer to the Ivanhoe text.

Under Confucian Eyes paper topics for Option #2:

1. Does the depiction of a woman’s public persona in Chinese society change through the traditional period of Chinese history? How are the lives of women evaluated and depicted by others to argue larger Confucian-influenced moral issues? How does the literary “ghost story” genre fit into this same discourse?

See: #3, 6, 10, and 13.

2. What roles did women play within the Chinese household? What influence did she gain from her biological position within the family? What were the limits imposed on her mobility?

See: #4, 7, and 9.

3. What role did religious devotion and practice play in the lives of some women depicted in these readings? How did Daoism and Buddhism serve as driving forces in the lives of some of these women? What obstacles did these religions present? Please give specific examples from the text.

See: #1, 2, and 8.

4. How do issues of ethnicity and gender intersect, and even mix, in some accounts included in Under Confucian Eyes? According to the authors of these accounts, what might the maintenance of “proper” gender relations reflect?

See: #5, 17, and 18.

Please Note: If you find supporting material in other course readings, please feel free to use that additional material.