Catalog Search Results
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
In the Song Dynasty, classical literacy and the civil service examinations were the path to official position. Here, trace the lives of two celebrated literati who emerged from this system. First meet Su Shi, passionate public servant, fun-loving style setter, and man of letters. Contrast Su's life with that of Zhu Xi, probing moral philosopher and architect of Neo-Confucianism.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
At the emperor's palatial summer residence in 1793, visit the imperial kitchens, as chefs and culinary workers from around the empire prepare a banquet of epic proportions. Learn about the staggering scale of the operation of the Imperial Buttery, which fed the emperor's household, and how a dazzling imperial feast served as the backdrop for a key diplomatic engagement.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Visit the teeming port of Manila, where the 16th century influx of Spanish silver made the city a vibrant hub of East-West exchange. Observe how the import of New World silver and crops to China sparked a remarkable period of prosperous living. Note the proliferation of restaurants, travel guides, fashion, leisure activities, commercial sex, and popular religion that characterized the era.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
A knowledge of China’s majestic empire is essential for any understanding of its present. Discover what daily life was like for government bureaucrats, scholars, women of the court, soldiers, merchants, craftspeople, emperors, concubines, poets, farmers, and many others - all set against the backdrop of the richness, the diversity, the genius, and the splendor of imperial China.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Discover the vital farming communities of the Yellow River watershed. Study the culture of farming and rural society, and delve into how peasants lived - their dwellings, clothing, diet, work and gender roles, and family structures. Take account of the hardships faced by peasants through taxation and corrupt local officialdom and of the natural and manmade disasters that plagued rural populations.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Buddhism and Daoism played integral roles in the culture of imperial China. Learn about the origins of Chinese Buddhism, the monastic life in China, and the historic travels of the Buddhist monk Faxian. Then study the emergence of Daoism and its traditions of metaphysical exploration and the rustic, natural life, as seen in the works of Tao Yuanming, imperial China's first great poet.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Enter the lives of the Han nobility - China's second imperial dynasty - through their tombs, whose fabulous artifacts bear witness to their lavish lifestyle, diet, and concern for learning. Take account of the Han golden age, during which essential imperial institutions were established and Han territories were expanded. Also take note of the rise of a new and powerful scholarly elite.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
The mid 19th century saw both foreign invasion and a revolt that sought to remake Chinese society. Follow the underlying social unrest in South China, and the rise of the charismatic leader Hong Xiuquan, who fomented a rebellion based in religious fanaticism. Observe the military prowess of the rebels, the massive size of the conflict, and how it unfolded as the bloodiest civil war in history.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
For centuries, the imperial civil service exams selected candidates for important government positions. Trace the dramatic history of the examinations, which involved years of intensive study, a grueling testing ordeal, and life-changing benefits for the successful. Take account of the profound social and cultural significance of the exams and their role in the administration of the empire.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Track the historical significance and changing fortunes of the Grand Canal. Beginning in the Sui Dynasty, explore the evolution and engineering of the canal system and its vital role in imperial economics, politics, and culture. Learn about its maintenance and management, its varied personnel, and how the health of the canal directly mirrored the political health of the empire.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
In exploring the experience of women in imperial China, learn about the customs surrounding traditional married life, such as the painful practice of foot binding, the process of betrothal and marriage arrangements, the wedding festivities, and the duties and lifestyle of a wife. Also investigate the social ideal of the chaste widow and its shadow, the luxurious world of courtesans.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Uncover the story behind the famous terra-cotta warriors, one of China's most celebrated archaeological treasures. Travel into daily life in the Qin Dynasty, China's first empire; encounter the emperor Qinshi Huangdi, builder of the warriors, and observe his highly bureaucratic and technocratic regime. Explore the site of the terra-cotta army, and how the extraordinary clay figures were made.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Delve into the aristocratic society of the Tang Dynasty and the particular social and political meaning given to poetry within this world. See how poetry of various genres was used within specific social contexts, in the example of court poet Wang Wei. Follow the fortunes of beloved Tang poets Li Bai and Du Fu, as they embodied the vogue and singular significance of poetry in Chinese culture.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
This lecture reveals life in the Song Dynasty by means of the Qingming Shanghetu, a renowned painted scroll of the early 12th century. Reading the 17-foot scroll sequentially, travel through its vivid imagery of people, animals, buildings, vehicles, and landscapes, as it depicts scenes of daily life and conveys the remarkable technological, cultural, and economic sophistication of the Song.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Finally, examine the factors that led to the dissolution of China's empire. Contrast the powerful military machine of the early Manchu dynasty with its degradation by the 19th century. Grasp how the three pillars of Manchu power - its military, its cultural/economic influence, and its subjects' loyalty - were systematically undermined, culminating in the abdication of the last emperor in 1912.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
The century-long era known as the Pax Mongolica was a time of extraordinary East-West trade and cross-cultural communication. Learn about this epoch through the remarkable journeys of Marco Polo and his family, the missionary Giovanni de Montecorvino, the Nestorian priest and diplomat Rabban Bar Sauma, and others, as they reveal the astonishing multiculturalism of the Mongol world.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Delve into the lives of soldiers under the Ming, often incorrectly viewed as an un-martial dynasty. Learn about military culture, weaponry, and lifestyle under 14th century warlord Zhu Yuanzhang, founder of the Ming Dynasty. Contrast this military era with that of the 16th century, when commercialization and technology gave rise to both the Great Wall and to remarkably modern Ming armies.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Witness the national hysteria that ensued from accusations that masons and other undesirables were stealing human souls. Investigate the public fear of sorcery, and the emperor's fear of sedition, which fueled the turmoil. Follow Emperor Qianlong's handling of the crisis, as it reveals the workings of the Qing justice system and the emperor's deep engagement with the empire's moral well-being.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Take to the seas with Ming-era Admiral Zheng He, whose travels on behalf of the emperor Yongle were the stuff of legend. Witness life aboard Zheng's huge treasure ships, nine-masted behemoths laden with luxury goods. Follow the commander's seven voyages, as he ventured to points beyond to proclaim the glories of the Ming court and to enlarge its cultural and economic power.
Publisher
The Great Courses
Pub. Date
2017.
Language
English
Description
Begin by examining a pervasive symbol of late imperial China: opium. Learn about the history of opium use, the ritual of opium smoking, and the luxurious opium culture of the Chinese elite. Note how opium became inextricably linked with imperial culture, society, and economics. Chart the role of the British opium trade, the Opium Wars, and Chinese measures to eradicate the drug.
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