HIST 48T Syllabus

Course on “China and the Silk Road” by H. K. Chang
Three routes have been connecting the east and west parts of Eurasia. In the north in ancient times, the nomadic peoples transferred goods, technologies and ideas across the Eurasian steppes. In the south, the sea-faring peoples along the coasts of China, East and Southeast Asia, India and South Arabia have created a sea route that carried people, goods as well as customs and ideas. Between the steppes and the sea routes, in a mostly arid zone, there is a network of land routes strung together by many oases and across many mountain passes. This is known as the Silk Road. It can be narrowly defined as a 10,000 km route that begins in Xi’an (or Chang’an) and ends in Istanbul (Constantinople).
The Silk Road was the most effective route of communication from 3rd century B.C.E. to 16th century C.E. Its importance declined drastically after the Europeans reached Asia by sea, thus dominating world commerce.
With energy issues and cultural-political conflicts being a focus of international attention, the Silk Road has regained its previous importance. With China re-emerging on the world stage, its historical connections to the western part of Eurasia should be of not only academic but also practical interest.

Course Outline
This course surveys China’s role in the Silk Road from the expeditions of Alexander the Great, through the medieval times of Mongol rule, down to the Russo-British rivalry in Central Asia in the 19th century. Important cultural as well as economic exchanges are emphasized.

It consists of twelve 2-period lectures followed by a 1-period discussion as follows:

Lecture 1 Alexander’s Eastward Thrust and the Buddhist Art
Lecture 2 Zhang Qian and Opening of the Silk Road
Lecture 3 Beauty of Loulan and the Tarim Basin During Han China
Lecture 4 Buddhist Monks on the Silk Road: Bringing Scriptures to China
Lecture 5 From Samarkand to Chang’an: The Itinerant Sogdians
Lecture 6 Battle of Talas: Turning-Point in Tang Influence
Lecture 7 Nestorians, Manicheans, Jews and Muslims in Tang and Sung China
Lecture 8 Mongol Rule: From Terror and Destruction to Law and Order
Lecture 9 Medieval Travelers: Marco Polo, Ibn Battutah and Wang Dayuan
Lecture 10 The Timurids: Turco-Persian Cultural Florescence
Lecture 11 Shah Ismail and Muhammad Shaybani: Facing the Changing Tide
Lecture 12 Bukhara, Khiva and Khoqand: Sunset on the Silk Road

Course Material and Lectures
Graphical PowerPoint presentations with photo images will be the format of all lectures. The PowerPoint plus the assigned reading material will be mounted on a specially created course blog within 48 hours of each lecture.

Examinations and Grading
Students will be tested at the mid-term and final examinations on their familiarity and understanding of the material presented in the class.
In addition, each student is required to submit a term paper of about 2000 words based on a title and a bibliography pre-approved by the professor.
Grades will be assigned on the basis of three components: the mid-term exam weighing 35%, the final exam weighing 35% and the term-paper weighing 30%.