In this course you get a chance to explore in depth one of the most fascinating aspects of premodern (pre-1800) Chinese history: foreign relations. You will learn how the Chinese saw the world around them, and how this influenced their relations with neighboring polities.
“Foreign relations” does not just mean diplomacy, but also cultural and commercial exchanges, conflicts and warfare, and navigating differences of race and ethnicity. All of these had important consequences for East Asian History.
Our main sources for this type of history come from Chinese hands, and one of the most important questions throughout the course is the reliability of the sources: can we really get through to the “Other” if they did not leave written accounts, or can we recover something of their lost voice?