DHIS 22A11 - The past (and present) of China's Tributary Empire
This seminar explores the so-called tributary empire, a system of hierarchical international relations centred around the Chinese empire during the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1644-1912) dynasties and shaping most notably Chinese relations with Korea and Vietnam but also Japan during this period. Students will familiarise themselves with the historic realities of international relations practice in East Asia before the ‘advent of the West' as well as issues relating to diplomacy, trade, frontier contact, conflict, inter-state war and peace. Building on these bases, students will critically engage with various conceptualisations of this shared East Asian past and the role of this shared history as a precedent and in present-day political discourse in the region.
Additionally, this seminar aims to provide students the opportunity to develop a basic familiarity with research methods in East Asian history, by including one dedicated session on research methods and historiography respectively.
Lecture-style introduction to new topics
Student presentations
In-class debate of concepts introduced
Clark, Donald. Sino-Korean Tributary relations under the Ming'. In The Cambridge History of China, edited by D. Twitchett and F. Mote, 272-300. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1998.