Course Syllabus

Chinese Culture: Tradition

General information

The course is divided into 5 key units, of which each has a number of sub-units of learning material.
Each unit focuses on one topic, guided by one of our experts. The design of the units aims to make
the course compact and yet impactful.

Course materials are accessible to you until the end of the course, including the lecture videos,
learning activities, forums and assessment. To follow up on learners’ progress, course updates will
be sent out regularly.

There are five key units, each discussing one of the five interesting aspects of traditional Chinese
culture in this course.

Every unit begins with an introduction consisting of a self-introduction from your instructor. The
rest of the unit consists of a number of sub-units of learning material. This material is presented in
mini video-lectures by the corresponding expert in this course. Each sub- unit will contain two
ungraded questions for all learners to test their knowledge.

At the end of each unit, a summary of key points with an animation host is provided. In addition,
you are encouraged to participate in extra learning activities, such as self-reflections on review
questions, keyword search for video segments through our powerful search engines, Word Cloud
and Discussion Forums.

For verified learners, your knowledge of the topic will then be tested through a set of graded
questions, consisting of four multiple choice questions and four drag/drop questions in each unit.
An official certificate will be issued to you after you obtain 50 or more marks. Furthermore,
verified learners have access to a special search engine called Power Search+ to search all 15
units of 3 MOOCs under the XSeries Program of Chinese Culture and to a free online card game
with a chance to win a prize as a token of recognition of your great effort to master the
knowledge of Chinese Culture.

The details of the five key units are presented below.

Syllabus

Overview

Overview of the course units

Assessment
Innovative Pedagogy
Online Card Game (for verified learners only)
• Snapshots of the Card Game
 Unit 01. Confucianism: Origin

Lecturer: Dr David Wan

1a: Self-introduction by Dr David Wan
1b: Historical background of Confucianism
1c: Kongzi’s efforts to restore Zhou Li
1d: Significance of Kongzi’s teaching to the modern age
1e: Summary (with an animation host)
1f: Learning Activities
• Tips for the use of search engines
• Tips for the use of Word Cloud
Graded Questions (for verified learners only)

Unit 02. Daoism: Laozi and Zhuangzi

Lecturer: Dr Mark Meulenbeld

2a: Self-introduction by Dr Mark Meulenbeld
2b: Butterfly and fish: Language and being
2c: Laozi and Kongzi on order
2d: Unspeakable knowledge
2e: One world: Within and outside us
2f: Interconnection, equality and ecology
2g: Summary (with an animation host)
2h: Learning Activities
• Tips for the use of search engines
• Tips for the use of Word Cloud
Graded Questions (for verified learners only)

Unit 03. Buddhism in China

Lecturer: Dr Lang Chen

3a: Self-introduction by Dr Lang Chen
3b: Background
3c: From a prince to the Buddha
3d: The First Noble Truth: Suffering
3e: The Second Noble Truth: Cause of suffering
 3f: The Third Noble Truth: Elimination of suffering
3g: The Fourth Noble Truth: Paths to enlightenment
3h: Summary (with an animation host)
3i: Learning Activities
• Tips for the use of search engines
• Tips for the use of Word Cloud
Graded Questions (for verified learners only)

Unit 04. Ancient Chinese Warfare and Sunzi's The Art of War

Lecturer: Dr Wicky Tse

4a: Self-introduction by Dr Wicky Tse
4b: Civilization and warfare
4c: From oracle bones to chariot warfare
4d: Background of Sunzi's The Art of War
4e: Understanding The Art of War: Chapters 1 to 7
4f: Understanding The Art of War: Chapters 8 to 13
4g: Summary (with an animation host)
4h: Learning Activities
• Tips for the use of search engines
• Tips for the use of Word Cloud
Graded Questions (for verified learners only)

Unit 05. Chinese Painting in the Song Dynasty

Lecturer: Dr Silvia Fok

5a: Self-introduction by Dr Silvia Fok
5b: The Six Principles of Chinese Painting
5c: Northern Song Painting Style: Monumental Realism
5d: Transitional Painting: Li Tang
5e: Southern Song Painting Style: Lyrical Representation
5f: Literati Painting (Wenrenhua)
5g: Chan Painting: Mu Qi
5h: Summary (with an animation host)
5i: Learning Activities
• Tips for the use of search engines
 • Tips for the use of Word Cloud
Graded Questions (for verified learners only)

Online Card Game (for verified learners only)

Instructions
• Snapshots of the Card Game

Instructors and Contact

The instructors for this course are, in Unit order, Dr Wan, Dr Muelenbeld, Dr Chen, Dr Tse and Dr
Fok. The course coordinator is Dr Jack Chun. You can learn more about our instructors’ expertise on
our course About page. You can also see their self-introductions alongside the animated videos in
the introduction to each unit.

If you have any questions about the course content, we encourage you to first use the discussion
forums available. The course coordinator will review your questions on a weekly basis. The
unit instructors will also participate in the forums in the due course.

If you still have any further pressing questions about the course content, you can contact Dr Jack
Chun at jack.chun@polyu.edu.hk

Useful information

For grading information, please refer to “Grading Policy and Assessment” in the Course Information
module at the beginning of the course. If you’re wondering how to become a verified learner and get
a certificate, see “How to get a verified certificate”, also in the Course Information module.