1

NORTHEASTERN UNIVERSITY Tom Havens

Department of History 206 Meserve Hall
249 Meserve Hall thavens@bhavens.com
Boston, Mass. 02115-5000 or t.havens@northeastern.edu
                   

Asian Studies/History 1150: East Asian Studies fall 2021

East Asian Studies is a multidisciplinary introduction to the study of China, Korea, Japan, and adjacent
regions from antiquity to the present, mainly through historical and literary texts.  Course is taught in
English by staff from the History Department and is open to registered Northeastern University students.
Asian Studies 1150 and History 1150 are identical; both satisfy university and departmental requirements.

Course documents. (1) This syllabus, located under the Files tab on the course homepage on Canvas, is
our main document for weekly assignments, class schedule, locating readings, and other organizational
matters. Look for “Syllabus Asian Studies 1150 Fall 2021.” (2) Other course documents, including scanned
readings and handouts, are also located under the Files tab on the course homepage. Use this syllabus as
your main guide to our coursework.

Electronics. This class includes opportunities for discussion, so it is crucial that everyone gives classmates
their full attention and interacts actively with one another. Out of respect for your classmates, and so that
you benefit the most from our time together, during class please use your computer/tablet ONLY for our
course business.  

Email. Please check your Northeastern email account daily. Email is our main means of communication for
all questions and comments about course readings, assignments, and expectations. I monitor my email from
5:00 a.m. until 7:00 p.m. U.S. East Coast time, except when in class or commuting. You can expect a quick
reply. Please don’t use Canvas to send messages (slow and unreliable).

***Essential***
Please reset your NU email to receive messages in your inbox from thavens@bhavens.com (I cannot send
outgoing messages from any NU email address). NU has recently installed rigid filters that sometimes
divert messages sent from thavens@bhavens.com to students’ spam folders. It’s essential that you be able
to receive my emails in your inbox without delay.

Office hours. 206 Meserve Hall, MWTh 9:00-11:30 a.m. or by appointment.

Readings.  This is a reading, writing, and discussion course.  For maximum benefit, please complete the
assigned readings by Wednesday of the weeks listed on the course schedule, beginning on p. 4 below.
Wednesdays are normally devoted to class discussion of the key themes found in the readings. Most
readings are available electronically (see URLs listed for each reading below). All books are available on
reserve for this course at the main circulation desk of Snell Library. All books are also readily available in
paperback editions and/or Kindle editions from the campus bookstore or online booksellers.

Papers and Quizzes.  Papers and quizzes are listed under the Assignments tab on Canvas. To receive
credit for this course, all written work must be completed on time. Except for emergencies, lateness is
subject to penalty. Tips for writing papers:
•try to structure your paper logically. Respond to the exact question, state your interpretation at the outset,
and argue your interpretation with appropriate brief quotations from the text.
•try to polish your writing, choose words carefully, and express your ideas in clear, concise, businesslike
prose. This is not a writing course, so we don’t lower your grade for occasional grammar or formatting
mistakes. But try to put your best foot forward.
•double space your paper, use 12-point type, do not use italics for quotations. Number the pages of your
paper, and upload it under the Assignments tab on Canvas. If for some reason you are unable to upload
your paper, please email it as an attachment in Word or PDF format to thavens@bhavens.com.
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Annotation of sources.  Why must we annotate sources?  1) so readers can tell how we’ve used the
sources we’ve relied on; 2) to avoid suspicions of plagiarism.  Plagiarism means literary or artistic theft.
Honesty in academic work requires that all of us (teachers and students) identify the sources of all material
taken from the works of others.  In your papers, you should cite the sources of all direct quotations,
statistical data, facts not commonly known, and opinion not your own.  For university policy on academic
honesty, refer to www.northeastern.edu/osccr/academic-integrity-policy/

How to annotate:  a convenient method is to list author, year, and page numbers in parentheses
immediately after the information you’re citing:  for example, (Holcombe 2017:55-56).  At the end of the
paper, give an alphabetical list (a bibliography) of the sources you’ve cited:  author, date, title, translator or
editor if any, title of edited volume if any, city, publisher, and pages within edited volume.  Here are some
models:
     Holcombe, Charles. A History of East Asia, 2 ed. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2017.
nd

     Tanizaki, Jun’ichirō.  Naomi, trans. Anthony Chambers. New York: Vintage Books, 2001 [1924].
Alternatively, instead of author-year-page numbers in parentheses, you may use conventional superscript
numbers keyed to footnotes at the bottom of each page or grouped as endnotes at the back.  Give a list of
sources (bibliography) at the end of the paper, as explained above.

Electronic sources: if the source has page numbers, specify the exact page from which you take
information, same as from a print edition. If the source has line numbers, cite the line number. If the source
has no page or line numbers, cite the chapter (if any) and paragraph, counting from the beginning of the
chapter or work. If the source lists percentages indicating how far into the book a page appears, cite the
percentage. In your list of sources (bibliography) at the end of the paper, be sure to include the web address
for any electronic source you use.

Style/format. Any style (also called format) that is reasonably consistent is acceptable. Most humanities
and social science disciplines, except literature, follow the Chicago Manual of Style, 17 ed., which is th

summarized in Kate Turabian’s handy Manual for Writers of Research Papers. The MLA style guide,
which is undergoing major changes, is best avoided, especially the affectation “print” in bibliographic
citations.

Important Details  

          *develop an argument (an interpretation) stating your views on the assigned topic
          *quote specific examples from primary texts, including direct quotations, to support your views;
            minimize your use of Holcombe or other secondary sources
          *place quotations within double quotation marks in regular roman type, not italics
          *answer the exact question; don’t include extraneous background or personal information 
          *observe the word limit. Conciseness is a virtue.     
         *try not to end paragraphs with unanalyzed quotations. Instead, indicate how you interpret 
           what the quotation is saying.
         *foreign-language terms and book titles go in italics. Everything else goes in regular roman type.
         *Korean and Chinese individuals are usually referred to by their full names: Pak Hun, Lu Xun, Mao
           Zedong.  [In fictional works, some characters are referred to only by their personal names:  e.g.,
           Naomi.] Japanese persons can safely be cited as either Tanizaki Jun’ichirō or as Tanizaki [his
           surname].
         *please do not copy bibliographic information from websites; use the models above.

The campus writing center offers helpful advice at WritingCenter@Northeastern.edu

Advance appointments:                                                                Same-day:
412 Holmes Hall                                                                          136 Snell Library
617-373-4549                                                                               617-373-2086
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Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 6 p.m.                                                 Monday-Friday, 10 a.m. – 3 p.m.

Here’s a list of the papers and quizzes that appear under the Assignments tab on Canvas.

1. Thursday, September 16, 2021

A 25-minute quiz in class based on the pdf’s listed for the week of September 13. The pdf’s are available at
the Columbia University websites indicated in the course schedule and reading list starting on p. 4 below.

2. Thursday, September 30, 2021

Write 700-750 words, typed, double spaced, based entirely on Shen Fu’s Six Records of a Life Adrift or his
Six Records of a Floating Life (same book, different title), in which you address this topic:

To what extent, if at all, does the character Yun behave in accord with society’s conventions at the time,
and to what extent does she behave contrary to society’s conventions? Support your answer with direct
quotations from the book; make certain to give precise page references for each quotation.

3. Thursday, October 21, 2021

A 25-minute quiz based on the pdf’s listed for the weeks of October 4, 11, and 18.
    
4. Thursday, October 28, 2021
Write 700-750 words, based entirely on Tanizaki’s Naomi, same ground rules as above, on this topic:

Which character in Tanizaki’s Naomi (1924), the husband Jōji or the wife Naomi, shows greater respect for
the other’s feelings, and why? Make certain to discuss both the husband and the wife. Quote specific
passages from the novel to support your interpretation, and cite the exact page for each quotation.

5. Monday, November 15, 2021

Write 700-750 words, based entirely on Hwang Sun-won’s Descendants of Cain, same ground rules as
above, on this topic:

“Characters in Descendants of Cain by Hwang express ambivalence about the future. The futures for Pak
Hun and for Ojaknyo may be not much improvement on their current situations.”

Support, refute, or modify this statement—and discuss with specific reference to both Pak Hun and
Ojaknyo. Quote specific passages from the novel to support your interpretation, and cite the exact page for
each quotation.
 
6. Thursday, December 2, 2021
A 25-minute quiz based on the pdf’s listed for the weeks of November 8 and November 29.

There is no final examination in this course.

Expectations and Grades. For calculating the final course mark, the pdf quizzes count 11 percent each
and the papers count 22 percent each. Letter grades will be assigned to each paper and quiz. Your work will
be evaluated for clarity of expression, cogency of your argument/interpretation, and how well you use
examples from the texts we’re studying to support your viewpoint. A random and anonymous selection of
quizzes and papers from this class may be used for purposes of evaluating the Asian Studies program.
Teachers aim to help you with your writing and thinking, and always reward progress throughout the
semester. There is no quota on final grades in this course; please think positively and do your best work. If
you do, your final grade for the course will reflect your achievement.

ADA and Title IX.  The university observes the Federal Americans with Disabilities Act and provides
accommodations for students in accord with this legislation. For more information, see
http://www.northeastern.edu/oidi/compliance/americans-disabilities-act-ada/. The university also observes
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Federal Title IX regulations that prohibit discrimination based on gender. For more information, see
https://www.northeastern.edu/ouec/.
Learning Outcomes. By the end of the course, students should be able to 1) remember the essential
elements of premodern and modern Chinese, Korean, and Japanese cultures; 2) learn to discuss both
primary and secondary sources of knowledge about East Asia; 3) express their understanding of key topics
treated in the course readings and classes through assigned papers and quizzes; and 4) develop
knowledgeable, inquiring, and judicious habits of mind about major issues of historical and contemporary
relevance globally as well as for East Asia.

Access to Readings. All readings are on reserve at the main circulation desk of Snell Library.
Past students have found it convenient to purchase new or used copies of the main
books used in the course. (The NU bookstore normally buys back books at the end of the semester, no
matter where purchased.) The bookstore has stocked copies of the following books; they are also available
from online booksellers. Here are some URL’s for our main readings, although it’s unclear how reliable
some of these web addresses are.

Charles Holcombe, A History of East Asia, 2nd ed. (2017)

Kindle ed.: https://www.amazon.com/History-East-Asia-Civilization-Twenty-First-
ebook/dp/B01N7DKSQPhttps://www.amazon.com/History-East-Asia-Civilization-Twenty-First-
ebook/dp/B01N7DKSQP
https://login.exproxy.neu.edu/login?qurl=https:doi.org%2f101017%2f9781316340356

Shen, Fu, Six Records of a Life Adrift

https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/northeastern-ebooks/detail.action?docID=775231

Shen, Fu, Six Records of a Floating Life

https://drive.google.com/drive/folders/1X7cXq4FJbq3E7taqpjloU6AZbcJcAgFg?usp=sharing

Tanizaki, Jun’ichirō, Naomi (previous students have warned against using the inferior Kindle translation)
https://archive.org/details/naomiootani/00mode/2up

Hwang, Sun-Won, Descendants of Cain

https://doi-org.ezproxy.neu.edu/10.4324/9781315699998
https://www.libraryofbook.com/pdf/read.php?book=the-descendants-of-cain

https://drive.google.com/file/d/1y4Nc4dzMAiqNcALfxAQ12uW01grKH57/view?usp=sharing

Rana Mitter, Modern China: A Very Short Introduction, 2d ed.

epdf.pub/modern-china-a-very-short-introduction-very-short-introductions-5ea6b44bb6471.html
https://ebookcentral.proquest.com/lib/northeastern-ebooks/detail.action?docID=415543
or http://93.174.95.29/ads/1700C40D0E4E94FER04202709EE767BD
  
                                                 

COURSE SCHEDULE AND READING LIST

 

Week of

September 6         W: introduction
                             Th: Charles Holcombe, A History of East Asia, 2 ed., (2017) 1-36, or 1 ed. (2011) 1-35
nd st
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(ch. 1, ch. 2 through subsection on Zhou dynasty)

September 13         W:  Holcombe (2017) 36-59, or (2011) 35-57 (rest of ch. 2);
                                    http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/confucius_analects.pdf
                                    http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/confucius_humaneness.pdf
                                    http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/confucius_teacher.pdf
                                    http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/confucius_govt.pdf
                                    http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/laozi_daodejing.pdf
                                    http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/zhuangzi_caring_for_life.pdf
                              Th: first 25-minute quiz Thursday, September 16, 2021, in class

September 20        W:  Holcombe (2017) 72-81, 95-114, 132-141, or (2011), 70-79, 91-109, 126-135
(ch. 3, subsection on Buddhism comes to East Asia; ch. 4, from beginning until
subsection on Korea; ch. 5, from beginning until subsection Mongol Tempest);
                                     http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/lotus_sutra_great_vehicle.pdf
                                     http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/mouzi_disposing_error.pdf
                                     http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/huineng_platform_sutra.pdf
                                     http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/hanyu_bone_of_buddha.pdf
                                     http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/emperor_wuzong_suppress_buddhism.pdf
  Th: video: “China’s Cosmopolitan Age: The Tang” DS749.3.C55 1992
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20383913

                              
September 27          W:  Holcombe (2017) 141-149, 167-183, or (2011) 135-142, 160-174 (ch. 5, from
subsection Mongol Tempest until subsection Confucian Korea; ch. 6, from
beginning until subsection Hermit Kingdom);
                                       Shen, Fu, Six Records of a Life Adrift (1809)
                     Th: first paper due Thursday, September 30, 2021, in class

October 4           W: Holcombe (2017) 114-120, 149-154, 183-186, 88-92, 120-129, or (2011) 109-114,
142-147, 174-179, 84-89, 114-125 (ch. 4, from subsection Birth of Korea until
subsection Imperial Japan; ch. 5, from subsection Confucian Korea until subsection
Warrior Japan; ch. 6, three pages on The Hermit Kingdom; ch. 3, final subsection
on Yamato Japan; ch. 4, subsection Imperial Japan to end);                                      
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/shotoku.pdf
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/taika.pdf         
 

 October 11 M: holiday
W:  Holcombe (2017) 154-164, or (2011) 148-158 (ch. 5, subsection Warrior
Japan to end);
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/kukai_3teachings.pdf
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/saicho_selected.pdf
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/shinran.pdf
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/dogen.pdf
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/nichiren.pdf
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1000ce_chomei.htm
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/special/japan_1000ce_heike.htm
                                 Th: video: “Buddha in the Age of the Kami” DS851.B8 1989
https://fod-infobase-com.ezproxy.neu.edu/p_ViewVideo.aspx?xtid=2151
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October 18               W: Holcombe (2017) 187-197, or (2011) 179-188 (ch. 6, from subsection
Reunification of Japan to end);                                    
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/tokugawa_edicts_christianity.pdf
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/tokugawa_edicts_swords.pdf
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/tokugawa_edicts_military.pdf
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/soko_samurai.pdf
                                       http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/japan/ekken_greaterlearning.pdf?menu=1&s=4
                                Th: second 25-minute quiz in class Thursday, October 21, 2021
\

October 25               W: Holcombe (2017) 240-255, 278-283, 288-295, 304-309, or (2011) 213-227, 249-
262, 270-275 (ch. 8, from subsection Meiji Restoration until subsection French
Colonization; ch. 9, from subsection Taisho Democracy until subsection “Our
Ancestors”; ch. 10, from beginning to subsection Nationalist China; ch. 10,
final subsection on WW2 in the Pacific);
                                       Tanizaki, Jun’ichirō, Naomi (1925).
                                 Th: second paper due Thursday, October 28, 2021

November 1               W:  Holcombe (2017) 311-329, or (2011) 277-294 (ch. 11, entire);
                                        “Japan and the Cold War” (look under Files on course homepage)

                                 
November 8        W:  Holcombe (2017) 273-278, 330-349, or (2011) 244-249, 295-312 (ch. 9,
subsection Korea Under Japanese Rule; ch. 12, entire);
                                     http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/korea/komatsu_new_govt.pdf
                                     http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/korea/colonial_experiences.pdf
                                     http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/korea/build_a_nation.pdf;
                                     Hwang, S. Descendants of Cain.
Th: holiday
                            
                         
November 15 M: third paper due Monday, November 15, 2021    
W:  Holcombe (2017) 220-235, 259-273, 295-304, 359-360, or (2011) 193-207,
230- 244, 262-270, 313-314 (ch. 8, from subsection Nineteenth-Century Impact
to subsection Nineteenth-Century Opening of Korea; ch. 9, from beginning until
subsection Korea; ch. 10, from subsection Nationalist China until subsection
WW2 in the Pacific; ch. 14, subsection the Chinese Civil War);
                                    Rana Mitter, Modern China:  A Very Short Introduction, 2 ed., 21-52, 96-100,
nd

111-118.

November 22 M: class meets

W, Th: holidays

                                 
November 29         W: Holcombe (2017) 360-390, or (2011) 314-343 (ch. 14, from beginning until
subsection China and Globalization);
                                     Mitter, 52-95, 100-110;
                                    http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/mao_zedong_agricultural_cooperation.pdf
                                    http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/hundred_flowers.pdf
                                    http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/sixteen_points.pdf
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                                    http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps/cup/wei_jingsheng_fifth_modernization.pdf
                                    http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/ps//china/peoples_daily.pdf
                             Th: third 25-minute quiz in class Thursday, December 2, 2021  

                          
 December 6         M:  Holcombe (2017) 390-396, or (2011) 343-347 (ch. 14, subsection China and
Globalization);                                
                                    Mitter, 118-133.
W: video: “All Under Heaven” DS779.23 A45 1985
http://hdl.handle.net/2047/D20383022

                                              

East Asia - Chronologies

                             CHINA 
                           
1523-1045 BCE Shang Dynasty
1045-221 Zhou                                                
  1045-771 Western Zhou
  771-221 Eastern Zhou
  722-481 Spring and Autumn period
  551-479 Confucius
   403-221 Warring States period
221-206 Qin
206 BCE-220 CE Han
  206 BCE-8 CE Former Han
  23-220 Latter Han
220-589 Three Kingdoms, Six Dynasties
589-618 Sui
CHINA – cont.

618-907 Tang
907-960 Five Dynasties, Ten Kingdoms
960-1279 Song
  960-1127 Northern Song 
  1127-1279 Southern Song
1279-1368 Yuan (Mongol)
1368-1644 Ming
1644-1911 Qing (Manchu)
1912-1949 Republic (Guomindang)
1949— People's Republic        

KOREA

350-108 BCE Chosŏn period

108 BCE-313 CE Han colonies
313-668 Three Kingdoms (Koguryŏ, Paekche, Silla)
668-935 Silla
935-1259 Koryŏ
1259-1356 Mongol domination
1392-1910 Chosŏn Dynasty (Yi family)
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1910-1945 Japanese colony

1945— Republic of Korea (south), Democratic People's Republic of Korea (north)    

JAPAN

10,000-300 BCE Jōmon                                             1600-1868 Edo (Tokugawa

shoguns)                                                            
300 BCE-300 CE Yayoi                                             1868-1912 Meiji (Emperor Mutsuhito)
300-538 Uji/Yamato tomb culture                             1912-1926 Taishō (Emperor Yoshihito)
538-710 Imperial state formation                               1926-1989 Shōwa (Emperor Hirohito)
710-784 Nara                                                              1989-2019 Heisei (Emperor Akihito)
794-1185 Heian (857-1160 Fujiwara family)             2019—  Reiwa (Emperor Naruhito)
1185-1333 Kamakura (Minamoto shoguns)
1336-1573 Muromachi (Ashikaga shoguns)