HIST 2051 Fall 2021

HISTORY 2051: Modern China: From Opium Wars to Trade War

Instructor: Yajun Mo
Stokes Hall 215N M/W 4:30-5:45 PM

Email: moyd@bc.edu
Office : Stokes Hall 395S
Office hours: M/W 3:00-4:00 PM, via Zoom or by apt.

we will look at what Chinese

This course explores the history of China
from the late 19th century to the present. Divided
into four major sections, this course focuses on the
fall of the Qing imperial rule, the sources and
development of revolution in the Republican era,
the post-1949 attempts at socialist transformation,
as well as the course and consequences of economic
reform since the early 1980s. Whenever possible,
people have said about
themselves in fiction, poetry,
philosophical discourse, and
memoir.
Using visual images as
well as written documents, we
will explore Chinese society as it
was understood by inhabitants of
China and by outsiders, and trace
its transformation over time. We
will pay particular attention to
the daily life of ordinary people,
and to the forces that helped
shape that life: intellectual and
religious beliefs, the state, village
and urban economic activity,
ethnic conflict, gender relations,
family and kinship practices,
foreign imperialism, and reform
and revolution.

A Note on Learning:

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected many people from many parts of our city,
state, country, and the world. We are fortunate to be able to meet as a class to resume
learning. As we pursue learning together, I strive to keep the following guiding
principles:

• Put people first. As we learn about the reality of people in the past, I hope we
practice empathy and be cognizant that our own reality can be imposed upon
others whose lives may differ drastically from ours. Be empathetic, be
compassionate.
• Stay informed. We will keep ourselves educated about the development of the
public health situation and make informed decisions about our personal, social,
and professional lives.
• Communicate early and often. Always reach out if you need anything necessary
to support your learning and well-being.
• Take care of yourself. Get enough rest, food, exercise, and anything you need to
keep you in a positive mood and good health. If you don’t feel well, do not force
yourself through the course work. Let me know, so we can work out alternatives
together.

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Required Books (Available online through BC library):

• Joseph Esherick. Ancestral Leaves: A Family Journey through Chinese History

• Rebecca Karl, Mao Zedong and China in the Twentieth-Century World
• Rae Yang, Spider Eaters: A Memoir

* You can purchase the required books at BC bookstore. The required books are also
available through library course reserve.
* Other required readings are marked by * in the syllabus and available via Canvas or
library course reserve. 


Requirements, Assignments, and Other Class Policies:

Mindful reading. Complete all the assigned readings before each class session,
and come prepared to share your opinions, observations, and questions. 


Canvas: This course is on Canvas and you should consult it frequently.

Assignments: 


1. Attendance (10%) and participation (10%).

2. Five primary source sheets (15%): Due before class at 3 pm on 9/13, 9/27,
10/12, 11/3, and 11/17.

3. Five reading quizzes (10%). Due before class at 3 pm on 9/20, 10/4,

10/25, 11/8, 11/22, and 12/6. *Everyone can drop the lowest quiz score.

4. Land Reform Exercise (15%).


5. Midterm project: “A game of Republican China” (20%): Due at 5 PM on

10/15.

6. Final paper (5-6 pages) on an assigned topic (20%): Due at 5 PM on

12/14. 



Class Policies

• Academic Integrity

Boston College and all of your instructors expect academic integrity. For a
refresher, the academic integrity policies at BC can be found here.

• Access Statement: if you anticipate needing any type of accommodation in this

course, or have questions about access, please let me know. I will make every
effort to accommodate your needs.

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Weekly Schedule

8/30 (M): Introduction

• Syllabus and canvas

• Themes, goals, and community agreements

Part I: The Fall of the Imperial Rule

9/1 (W): The Great Divergence and the Manchu Empire

• *William Rowe, “Introduction,” in China’s Last Empire

9/6 (M): Labor Day—No Class

9/8 (W): Opium, Opium Wars, and Semi-Colonial China



• Esherick, Preface and Chapter 1
• *Primary source: Lin Zexu, “Letter of Advice to Queen Victoria”
• Meet your librarian and “How to read primary sources”

9/13 (M): Rebellion and its Enemies

• Esherick, Chapter 2-3

• *Primary source: “Taiping Rebellion”

9/15 (W): Self-Strengthening, Hundred Days’ Reform, and the Boxer Rebellion

• Esherick, Chapter 4
• *Primary source: “Self-Strengthening Movement”


9/20 (M): Reformers and Revolutionaries

• Karl, Preface and Chapter 1

• *Primary sources: “Zou Rong on Revolution” and “The Boxer
Rebellion”

9/22 (W): Was there a 1911 Revolution?

• Esherick, Chapter 5
• Karl, Chapter 2
• *Primary sources: “Press Coverage of the Wuchang Uprising, 1911” and
“Qiu Jin, An Address to My Two Hundred Million Compatriots in China”

Part II: The Republican Period (1912-1949)

9/27 (M): Warlord Politics and the May Fourth Movement

• Esherick, Chapter 6-7

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• *Primary sources: “Feng Yuxiang, Praising the Lord” and “Zhang

Zongchang, With Pleasure Rife,” and “Twenty-One Demands”

9/29 (W): Revolutionary Visions

• Esherick, Chapter 8
• Karl, Chapter 3
• *Primary source: Lu Xun, Preface to “Call to Arms”

10/4 (M): Nanjing Decade

• Esherick, Chapter 9

• *Primary sources: Sun Yat-sen, “Three principles of the people” and Chiang
Kai-shek, “New Life Movement”

10/6 (W): Communist Treks

• Karl, Chapter 4
• *Edgar Snow, “The Long March,” Red Star Over China
• *Primary sources: Mao Zedong, Excerpt from “Report on an Investigation of
the Peasant Movement in Hunan” and “Excerpt from the Land Reform Law
of Jiangxi Soviet”

10/11 (M): Fall Break—No classes; 10/12 Substitute Monday Class

10/12 (T): Yan’an and its Discontent

• Karl, Chapter 5
• Esherick, Chapter 10
• *Andrew Mertha, “Rectification,” from Afterlives of Chinese Communism
• *Primary source: Ding Ling, “Thoughts on March 8 ” th

10/13 (W): Japanese Invasion and Civil War

• Film, City of Life and Death (watch via Kanopy, using BC library account)

“A Game of Republican China” Project Due at 5 PM on October 15

Part III: Socialist China (1949-1978)

10/18 (M): Urban Order and the Danwei System

• Esherick, Chapter 11
• Yang, xi-xv, 1-49
• *Kevin Lin, “Work unit,” from Afterlives of Chinese Communism

10/20 (W): Land Reform and Marriage Law

• Karl, Chapter 6
• Yang, 50-114

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• *Primary sources: “Basic program on Chinese agrarian law,”

“Supplementary measures for carrying out the basic program on agrarian
law,” and “The 1950 marriage law”

10/25-27 (M & W): Land Reform Exercise

11/1 (M): Building Socialism

• Esherick, Chapter 12
• Yang, 115-145
• *Haiyan Lee, “Class Feeling,” from Afterlives of Chinese Communism

“Land Reform Exercise” Questionnaire Due in class on 11/1

11/3 (W): Leaping Forward, Falling Back

• Karl, Chapter 7
• Yang, 146-216
• *Primary sources: “Intellectual Opinions from the Hundred Flowers Period”
and Mao Zedong: :The Question of Agricultural Cooperation” (Speech, July
31, 1955)

11/8 (M): Cultural Revolution, I

• Esherick, Chapter 13
• Yang, 217-260
• Karl, Chapter 8
• *Primary source: “The Sixteen Points” (1966)

11/10 (W): Cultural Revolution, II

• Yang, 261-285
• Karl, Chapter 9
• *Oral history of CR (Links are on Canvas)

Part IV: The Reform Era

11/15 (M): Fall of the Gang of Four, Rise of Democracy Wall

• Karl, Chapter 10
• Esherick, Epilogue
• *Primary source: Wei Jingsheng, “The Fifth Modernization”

11/17 (W): Reforms and their Discontents

• Jeremy Brown, “Part One, China’s 1980s,” from June Fourth

• *Primary source: People’s Daily, “Bourgeois and Socialist Democracies
Compared”

11/22 (M): Scientism, Nationalism, and Ethnicity

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• *Susan Greenhalgh, “Science, Modernity, and the Making of China’s One-

Child Policy”
• *Uradyn Bulag, “Nationality,” from Afterlives of Chinese Communism

11/24 (W): Thanksgiving Holidays, No Class

11/29 (M): Environmental Issues

• Film: Plastic China (via Kanopy)

• *Elizabeth Economy, “War on Pollution,” in The Third Revolution

12/1 (W): Marketization, Urbanization, and Migration

• *Mobo Gao, “A Critical Overall View of China since the Late 1990s”
• Video: “Internal migration in China”

12/6 (M): Trade War and US-China Relations

• Film: American Factory

12/8 (W): Conclusion: The Rise of China and the Rise of “China Threat”

Final Paper Due at 5 PM on 12/14