Modern China

Explore the birth of modern China with a focus on the time between the fall of the Qing and the end of World War II. What does it mean to be modern? What constitutes modern politics, modern institutions, a modern military, and modern infrastructure? In this period of great [...]

An overview of modern Chinese history, including the fall of the Qing and the end of imperial China. In the 18th century, the Qing Dynasty is at its height; it is the wealthiest, most powerful, most civilized state on earth. And yet the 19th century brought enormous challenges for [...]

Learn how the Manchus conquered the Qing and established the last of the imperial dynasties. This course, part of a comprehensive series on China, looks at the Qing state in the early 1600s and the challenges that the Manchus faced as minority rulers. While living in Chinese cities and [...]

Explore China’s imperial period, with a focus on the Song dynasty and the role of the exam system in government. Fundamental changes in government, the economy, and broader society took place between the 8th and 11th centuries in China. The state aristocracy gave way to new literati elite: educated [...]

Explore the reunification of China under the Tang with a focus on aristocratic culture — from poetry to calligraphy to literature. By the Tang period, China was divided into northern and southern dynasties with different rulers and political systems. The north was conquered by relatively unsophisticated barbarians, but in [...]

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 [...]

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 [...]

An insiders’ perspective on the economic, social and political impact of China’s rise on the world stage. China, one of the world’s oldest countries, is currently undergoing massive political, social and economic changes. The rapid emergence of China as a key player in the global political and economic landscape [...]

Use the case study method to study China from the rise of Deng Xiaoping to the present. Using case studies from the Harvard Business School, this course will cover the contemporary Chinese scene by focusing on five main themes in China’s development: agriculture, entrepreneurship, education, environment, and [...]