History of China: Bronze Age to the Last Dynasties XSeries

History of China: Bronze Age to the Last Dynasties explores the development of this great civilization from the Neolithic to the last dynasty. We see the formation of political structures and social practices that have lasted into the present; we learn to appreciate artistic and literary traditions of sophistication and refinement; we inquire into its philosophical and religious legacies and their significance for our own lives; and we trace the creation of the largest economy in world history.
Explore the development of Chinese civilization with this comprehensive series on the history, geography, and culture of the country. From the Neolithic to the creation of the largest global economy in world history, this course will help you gain a critical appreciation of China's literary, philosophical, political, and cultural resources.
The political and moral ideas of ancient China are an ever more important part of the country’s modern identity. This series will show how China’s civilization developed and how it became the world’s first centralized bureaucratic state governing the largest population in the world. We will learn why the family is so important in Chinese culture, how Buddhism became part of everyday life, and how the high culture of the literati came to include not only the refined arts of calligraphy and classical Chinese poetry but also dramas and novels. All in the context of a constantly shifting political landscape as empires, dynasties, and economies rose and fell.
Join us to gain an appreciation for the artistic, literary, philosophical, religious, and political traditions of the people who created the largest economy in world history.

What you will learn:
- China’s origins and how early concepts in Chinese culture still matter in the 21st century
- How the relationship to the self evolved with the spread of aristocratic culture and Buddhism
- Classical Chinese poetry and the ancient art of calligraphy
- How a shifting social and political elite ultimately brings unity to China, ushering in an age of global empire
- How the economic and political realities of today’s China originated in the region centuries ago

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Global China: From the Mongols to the Ming (edX)

Explore the impact of the conquest dynasties and the world of the Ming. In the 13th century, by force of arms, the Mongols created the greatest empire in human history. Yet by the end of the Ming dynasty in the late 16th century, a new global economy emerged. New [...]

Literati China: Examinations, Neo-Confucianism, and Later Imperial China (edX)

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 [...]

Cosmopolitan Tang: Aristocratic Culture in China (edX)

Self Paced
Cosmopolitan Tang: Aristocratic Culture in China (edX)
Course Auditing
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Effort
Languages
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 [...]

China’s First Empires and the Rise of Buddhism (edX)

Self Paced
China’s First Empires and the Rise of Buddhism (edX)
Course Auditing
Categories
Effort
Languages
Learn about the Qin and Han dynasties, and how Buddhism and ideas of self-realization influenced the medieval period. This course, the second in a collection on Chinese history and culture, addresses how the Qin dynasty conquered China and established a new system of government and how the Han dynasty [...]

China’s Political and Intellectual Foundations: From Sage Kings to Confucius (edX)

Self Paced
China’s Political and Intellectual Foundations: From Sage Kings to Confucius (edX)
Course Auditing
Categories
Effort
Languages
Learn about China’s origins, its integral early thinkers, and competing states and schools of thought. This course, the first in a comprehensive series on China, introduces you to the history, geography, and culture of the country.