EdX

Chinese History From Warring States to the Tang Dynasty | 资治通鉴 (edX)

Chinese History From Warring States to the Tang Dynasty | 资治通鉴 (edX)

Guides you through the Chinese masterpiece _Zizhi Tongjian, _an unprecedented work of governance and philosophical thinking spanning from the Warring States Period to the Tang Dynasty. Through the teacher's guided reading, students can go deep into the interior of this classic text, gain an overview of thousands of years of history, and improve their literacy in Chinese studies.

Class Deals by MOOC List - Click here and see EdX's Active Discounts, Deals, and Promo Codes.

Zizhi Tongjian _is one of the earliest Chinese historiographies spanning nearly 300 volumes and covering 1,300 years of history. Literally meaning “Comprehensive Mirror in Aid of Governance,” _Zizhi Tongjian is an annalistic-style history featuring the subjects of politics and the military as the main thread of narration. The collection has been cherished by scholars over numerous dynasties for its historical value and insight into governance, peace and stability.

This guided reading course will help learners deepen their understanding of Chinese history, in addition to applying _Zizhi Tongjian’s _ancient wisdom to modern-day governance. Because _Zizhi TongJian _is a rich, expansive text, this course is intended to remove colloquial barriers and help students gain a deeper understanding of Chinese history from Emperor Qin to Caocao and Emperor Taizong.
"Zizhi Tongjian" is a famous chronicle style history book compiled by Sima Guang of the Northern Song Dynasty and the first work of the "Tongjian style" category of traditional history books. The book takes politics and military as the main narrative line, starting from 403 BC and ending in 959 AD. With 294 volumes and more than 3 million words, it systematically presents the magnificent historical picture of China over more than 1,300 years. Since the publication of this book, it has not only been valued by scholars of all ages for its irreplaceable value as historical data, but has also been praised by later generations for its fundamental motivation and excellent historical knowledge for educating people, summarizing the rise and fall of chaos in the past, and presenting a story that transcends time and space. of great vitality. However, "Zizhi Tongjian" is vast in length and complex in content, and due to the characteristics of the historical documents themselves, it is difficult for young students who are not majoring in literature and history to read through and understand its gist. As a general humanities course, the "Introduction to "Zi Zhi Tong Jian"" course aims to eliminate professional barriers and guide students to experience the charm of this great Chinese historical work up close. The lecturer of the course, Professor Zhang Guogang, has devoted himself to studying "Zi Zhi Tong Jian" for decades. By carefully selecting the words and deeds of classic characters and historical scenes, he analyzed the details and analyzed them piece by piece, using modern thinking to summarize the cultural essence and elucidating historical wisdom in vivid language, with special emphasis on Among them are the practical significance of self-cultivation, family management, and country governance, as well as the historical comparison between Chinese and Western cultures. Through the course "Introduction to "Zi Zhi Tong Jian"", students can not only have a more comprehensive grasp of the basic context of the development and evolution of Chinese history from the Warring States Period to the Five Dynasties, but also understand the basic principles of how to draw realistic nutrition from traditional culture. method to pave the way for further learning about Chinese culture in the future.

What you'll learn
Chinese masterpiece _Zizhi Tongjian, _an unprecedented work of governance and philosophical thinking spanning from the Warring States Period to the Tang Dynasty.

Go to Class
MOOC List is learner-supported. When you buy through links on our site, we may earn an affiliate commission.

Related Courses

Modern China’s Foundations: The Manchus and the Qing (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

Modern China’s Foundations: The Manchus and the Qing (edX)

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 surrounded by Chinese culture — a culture that was far more sophisticated than their own — the Manchus struggled to hold onto their identity as a conquesting people.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Religious Transformation in Early China: the Period of Division (Coursera) Coursera
The Chinese University of Hong Kong

Religious Transformation in Early China: the Period of Division (Coursera)

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.

Oct 5th 2026
5-12 Weeks
Development in Emerging Economies: The Case of China (edX) EdX
Peking University,PekingX

Development in Emerging Economies: The Case of China (edX)

Curious about China's development and the Chinese market but haven't known where to start? Peking University brings you an easy-to-understand primer. Guanghua's professors will unpack China's development over five weeks, first giving an overview of China's economic growth as context before addressing private equity, real estate financing, banking, the stock market, wealth management, and other topics associated with China's financial markets.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
International Politics in the Korean Peninsula (edX) EdX
Seoul National University,SNUx

International Politics in the Korean Peninsula (edX)

Explore the genesis, expansion, projection and challenges of the Chinese World Order in China and East Asia. This course is divided into three parts. First, you’ll learn how the Chinese World Order emerged in the ancient world, focusing on the concept of the "heavenly mandate" (天命) as the ultimate source of political power.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Cosmopolitan Tang: Aristocratic Culture in China (edX) EdX
HarvardX,Harvard University

Cosmopolitan Tang: Aristocratic Culture in China (edX)

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 the south, the aristocratic families established a refined appreciation of writing and literature.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
English for Doing Business in Asia - Speaking (edX) EdX
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - HKUST,HKUSTx

English for Doing Business in Asia - Speaking (edX)

Introducing strategies for developing your spoken English communication skills in the context of doing business in Asia. The use of English for doing business in multinational settings is a fact of life for many business people. As Asian economies expand and become more involved in the global economy, a lingua franca – a language used to communicate among groups of people who do not share a mother tongue – is needed to exchange information.

Self Paced
Self-Paced
Understanding China, 1700-2000: A Data Analytic Approach, Part 2 (Coursera) Coursera
The Hong Kong University of Science and Technology - HKUST

Understanding China, 1700-2000: A Data Analytic Approach, Part 2 (Coursera)

The purpose of this course is to summarize new directions in Chinese history and social science produced by the creation and analysis of big historical datasets based on newly opened Chinese archival holdings, and to organize this knowledge in a framework that encourages learning about China in comparative perspective. Our course demonstrates how a new scholarship of discovery is redefining what is singular about modern China and modern Chinese history.

Sep 28th 2026
4 Weeks
Chinese Language in Culture: Level 1 (edX) EdX
MIT,MITx

Chinese Language in Culture: Level 1 (edX)

Learn both cultural competence and language proficiency for successful participation in Mandarin-speaking societies. This subject is the first of a series that forms an introduction to modern standard Chinese, commonly called Mandarin, the language with the largest number of native speakers in the world. It is the official language of Mainland China and Taiwan, and one of the official languages of Singapore.The course presupposes no prior background in the language.

Apr 21st 2022
5-12 Weeks