RAS History Study Group

Monday May 25th, 7pm, Melange Oasis, Jiashan Market 

From Yao to Mao: 5000 Years of Chinese History 

The History Study Group meets to work through a new Chinese History Lecture Series entitled: From Yao to Mao:  5000 Years of Chinese History.  It consists of 36 lectures that explore the history and culture of China with particular attention to important ideas and individuals and the roles they have played in shaping the China we see today.

The History Study Group meets on the 2nd and 4th Monday every month (expect during public holidays) at 7pm at Melange Oasis.  We watch one or two lectures each session, followed by a general discussion.  If a topic is of particular interest, we encourage members to explore it in further detail and report their findings back to the group.  From time to time we also invite guest speakers to come to our sessions or present other documentary material that covers a specific topic in greater detail.  

The meetings are informal; many of us come early and have dinner and drinks at the venue while watching the lecture series.  Some members come to every session, others come as their interest and schedules allow.  

THE COURSE

Chinese civilization originated in a confluence of several regional Neolithic cultures nearly 5000 years ago.  Emerging from the mythological Era of Sage Emperors, such as Yao and Shun, China’s historical record begins with the Shang Dynasty around 1500 BCE.  This course follows the growth of China from a small kingdom on the North China Plain to become a major empire extending from the Siberian frontier to the jungles of Southeast Asia, from the Pacific coast to the Central Asian deserts.  

One of the major themes is the evolution of social and political elites and the mechanism by which they acquire and assert their powers as rulers.  Closely linked is the history of political thought in China from its Shamanistic roots through Confucius and Buddhism and the role of Imperial decree in shaping society.  

Throughout the lectures we will also consider China’s history as it relates to the rest of the world.  For over 2000 years China has been integrated into the world economy through a series of trading networks that has allowed ideas and technology to transfer in both directions.  China will be presented as a living culture that has flourished and declined, revived and returned to greatness several times over its 5000 year history.  It is this process of decline and rebirth that shapes the China we see around us today.

THE PROFESSOR

The Lecture series is presented by Professor Kenneth J. Hammond, an expert on cultural and intellectual history of China.  He holds graduate degrees in East Asian Regional Studies and East Asian Languages from Harvard University.  He is currently Director and Professor of History at The Confucius Institute at New Mexico State University.  

ENTRANCE: 20 RMB members, 50 RMB nonmembers

RSVP: bookings@royalasiaticsociety.org.cn

Membership applications will be available at the event.