Subject

Oriental Culture

  • code 13578
  • course 4
  • term Semester 2
  • type OB
  • credits 3

Main language of instruction: Catalan

Other languages of instruction: English, Spanish

Teaching staff

Head instructor

Dr. Joan HERNANDEZ - jhernandezs@uic.es

Office hours

In the final exam and in the individual works the spelling regulations of the faculty will be applied, for which each spelling error implies the loss of 0.2 points.

Introduction

The thematic scope of this course is certainly vast, as it does not only cover a large geographic extension, mainly India, Japan and Korea, but it also comprises a large historical stretch, from the early beginnings of civilization to nowadays.

This course is structured in five thematic modules which cover the main geographic, religious, literary, and artistic characteristics of East Asia.

Pre-course requirements

There are no previous requirements expected to undertake this course.

Objectives

This course’s learning goals are:

  • Acquire a global and comprehensive understanding of East Asian countries in all of their aspects (their geography, ethnicity, culture, politics and economy).
  • Understanding the social, political, cultural and religious realities of East Asian civilizations.
  • Understanding the geographical and historical characteristics which influenced the beginnings and development of East Asian cultures.
  • Understanding the parallel historical development of Indian, Chinese and Japanese cultures.
  • Stimulating the development of reflective and critical abilities departing from comparative and intercultural analysis.  

Competences / Learning outcomes of the degree programme

  • E04 - Ability to recognise and interpret cultural manifestations.
  • E07 - To acquire knowledge on the different issues and problems of current cultural debate and be aware of their constant change.
  • E08 - To distinguish and understand the structures of different cultural systems.
  • E11 - Ability to interpret data and relate it to appropriate theories.
  • E12 - To acquire knowledge and understanding of imaginary, iconic and symbolic languages and their representation.
  • E15 - Ability to identify and value the different elements which make up cultural heritage.
  • E27 - Ability to work in multicultural contexts.
  • G07 - To know how to apply and adapt to new technologies in processes of cultural management, production and dissemination.
  • E05 - Ability to evaluate social issues linked to cultural diversity.
  • G09 - Creativity, inititiative and entrepreneurial spirit.
  • G11 - Ability to work in an international context.

Learning outcomes of the subject

The learning outcomes are partly included in the previous competencies.

 

  • Acquire key concepts of each of the subjects.
  • Know and select specific documentation of the subjects.
  • Applies theoretical knowledge in analysis and debates of face-to-face activities and in autonomous work.
  • Learn to contextualize social and political phenomena.
  • Applies/transfers theoretical and/or abstract concepts of each subject to real situations.

Syllabus

Part 1. East Asian Geography

  1. 1.     Population and East Asian geography
    1. General boundaries of East Asia: China, Taiwan, Japan, and India.
    2. Climate and relief of East Asia. Vegetation, relief, and climate in China, India, Taiwan, and Japan.
    3. Demographic structure and spatial distribution. Demographic policies.
  2. 2.     Ethnic diversity and ways of living in East Asia.
    1. Language diversity and ways of living. Evolution of policies on ethnic diversity.
    2. Economic and political geography of East Asia.

Part 2. India

  1. 1.     Thought and religion
    1. Sanatana Dharma: Hinduism.
    2. Religion and Buddhist thought in East Asia. Historical Buddha, doctrine, and expansion.
    3. Sikhism
    4. Contemporary thought and religion. Christianism, Islam, and the Bahá’í faith.
    5. 2.     History
      1. The Vedic and pre-Vedic era
      2. The golden era
      3. The last middle-reigns
      4. Islamic and Mongol empires
      5. Colonial history, the end of the British Raj and after World War II
      6. 3.     Literature
        1. Hindu literature. Vedas, Puranas, Ramayana, and Mahabharata.
        2. Buddhist and Muslim literature.
        3. Contemporary literature: Rabindranath Tagore.
        4. 4.     Culture and society

Languages, castes, family, art, festivals, and cuisine.

Part 3. China, Japan, and Korea

  1. 1.     Thought and religion
    1. Daoism. Laozi and Zhuangzi. Daoism as a meeting point for various tendencies. Daoism as an organized religion.
    2. Confucianism and Neo-Confucianism. Dissemination and presence of Confucianism in Korea and Japan.
    3. Japanese Shintoism and Korean shamanism or Muism. 
    4. Other philosophies and religious tendencies.
    5. 2.     History
      1. Asia’s early empires and the Six Dynasties Period.
      2. Imperial reunification: Sui and Tang
      3. Song China, Mongols, Ming and Qing Dynasty
      4. Japan Nara and Heian.
      5. The nineteenth-century: times of crisis, times for change. The end of the Qing Empire. Meiji Ishin (1868-1889). Japanese imperialism. From the World Post-War to the twenty-first century. Reconstruction and definition of a new order in East Asia.
      6. 3.     Literature
        1. The classical literary tradition. From the origins to the Han Dynasty.
        2. Classical poetry, theatre, and Chinese narrative
        3. Modern literature in East Asia and the modern West. Literary traditions.

                                               i.     Japanese haikus

  1. 4.     Culture and Society
    1. Habits and society: Chinese traditional medicine; feng shui; Yijing; Chinese inventions; the four great cuisine styles.
    2. Bushido, the tea ceremony, and ikebana.

Part 4. Asia in the West

Cultural diversity, Chinatowns, and Chinese overseas.

Part 5. Art in East Asia

  1. 1.     Art in Europe and in Asia in comparative perspective
    1. What is art in Euroamerica and what is it in Asia. Alterity and the international debate about global art history. Formation and development of the discipline of art history and tendencies in China. The hierarchy of the arts in Europe and in Asia.
    2. The modular system and mass production. The art of serial production: bronze, script, architecture, and pottery work.
  2. 2.     Art of the elite: calligraphy
    1. What is calligraphy, its development throughout history, and its relation to poetry. The calligrapher’s social status.
  3. 3.     Art of the elite: painting
    1. Painting in relation to calligraphy and poetry. Formats, material, pigments and pictorial support in Chinese painting.
    2. The amateur-professional painter dichotomy. The artist and his/her social status. Changes and developments in the concept of artist in sixteenth and seventeenth century China. Chen Hongshou and Wen Zhengming.
  4. 4.     Art and religion
    1. Imperial funerary art: first pictorial patterns in burials.
    2. Buddhism and art: transmission of forms from Gupta India to China.
    3. Daoism and art: figurative representation and abstraction.
  5. 5.     Contemporary art in China and Japan
    1. Shanghai 1900.
    2. Vanguard in Japan and in China.
    3. Art in Maoist China: woodblock prints, posters, painting, and performing arts. Post-maoist art.
    4. Latest tendencies.

Evaluation systems and criteria

In person

The final grade will be the result of:

Part One Note: 66.6%

Second half note: 33.3%

Each teacher will indicate the type of assessment that the student will need to complete in order to pass their part.

The minimum grade required to pass the course is 5 and it is necessary to have approved all the parts in order to pass the subject.

In the second call, only the parties that have been suspended must be recovered and if they are not overcome in the second call, no qualification will be maintained.

Bibliography and resources

Bibliography module 1 to 4

Bailey, Paul (2002). China en el siglo XX. Barcelona: Ariel.

Bauer, W. (2009). Historia de la filosofía china. Barcelona: Herder Editorial.

Brunet, R. (1995). Geógraphie Universelle. Asie du Sud-Est-Océanie. París: Belin-Reclus.

Cheng, F. L'écriture poétique chinoise. París: Seuil, 1996.

Collcutt, M. i altres (1988). Cultural Atlas of Japan. Nova York: Facts of File.

Coomaraswamy, A. K. (1994). Buddha y el evangelio del budismo. Barcelona: Paidós.

Cressey, G. B. (1934). China's geographic Foundations. A Survey of the Land and its People. (Cap. 1: “The Geographical Landscape”, pp. 1-34). Nova York: McGraw-Hill.

De Blij, H.; Muller, P. (2002). Geography. Region, realms and concepts. New York: Wiley & Sons.

Filoramo, G. (curador) (1996). Storia delle religioni. 4. Religioni dell'India e dell'Estremo Oriente. Bari: Laterza.

Fung, Y. (1953). A History of Chinese Philosophy. Princeton, Nova Jersey: Princeton University Press.

Gentelle, P.; Pelletier P. (1994). Chine, Japon, Corée. París: Belin/Reclus.

González Valles, J. (2000). Historia de la filosofía japonesa. Madrid: Tecnos.

Gordon, A. (2003). A Modern History of Japan. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Heisig, J. W. (2002). Filósofos de la nada: un ensayo sobre la Escuela de Kioto. Barcelona: Herder.

Hsu, Emmanuel (2000). The Rise of Modern China. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Idema, W.; Haft, L. A Guide to Chinese Literature. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 1997.

Jansen, M. (2000). The Making of Modern Japan. Harvard: Harvard University Press.

Kaltenmark, M. (1982). La filosofía china Madrid: Morata.

Lai, K. L. (2008). An Introduction to Chinese Philosophy. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.

Lariviére, J. Y Marchand, J. (1999): Géographie de la Chine. París: Armand Colin.

Lavelle, P. (1998). El Pensamiento Japonés. Madrid: Acento Editorial.

Mackerras, C. (1995) Eastern Asia an introductory history. Melbourne: Longman.

Mair, V. (ed.). The Columbia History of Chinese Literature. Nova York: Columbia University Press, 2001.

Minford, J.; Lau, J.S.M. (ed.). Classical Chinese Literature. Nova York: Columbia Universtiy Press, 1996.

Nakagawa, H. (2006). Introducción a la cultura japonesa. Barcelona: Editorial Melusina.

Nienhauser, W. The Indiana Companion to Chinese Literature. Taipei: SMC Publishing, 1986.

Panikkar, R. (1997). La experiencia filosofica de la India. Madrid: Trotta

Puech, H. Ch. (dir.) (1984). Historia de las religiones Siglo XXI. Las religiones antiguas, III. Madrid: Siglo XXI.

Roberts, J. A. G. (1998). Modern China: An Illustrated History. Phoenix Mill: Sutton.

Sen, A. (2007). India Contemporánea. Entre la modernidad y la tradición. Barcelona: Editorial Gedisa.

Stearns, Peter N. (General Ed.) (2001), The Encyclopedia of World History, Sixth Edition (pàg. 790). Nova York: Houghton Mifflin Company.

Suzuki, D. T. (1992). Manual de Budismo Zen. Buenos Aires: Kier.

Totman, C. (2005). A History of Japan. Oxford: Blackwell.

Weigtman, B. (2002). Dragons and Tigers: geography of South, East and Southeast Asia. Nova York: Wiley & Sons.

Xina Adler, J. A. (2005). Religiones chinas. Madrid: Akal.

Bibliography module 5

André, G., & Desroches, J.-P. (2002). Une tombe princière Xiongnu à Gol Mod, Mongolie (campagnes de fouilles 2000-2001). Arts Asiatiques VO  - 57, (1), 194.

Brown, R. M., & Hutton, D. S. (2011). A companion to Asian art and architecture. Malden, MA : Wiley-Blackwell.

Burkus-Chasson, A. (1994). Elegant or Common? Chen Hongshou’s Birthday Presentation Pictures and His Professional Status. The Art Bulletin76(2), 279–300.

Cahill, J. (1972). Chinese painting (New ed.). Geneva : Skira.

Cahill, J. (1994). The painter’s practice: how artists lived and worked in traditional China. New York: Columbia University Press.

Carswell, J. (2000). Blue & white: Chinese porcelain around the world. London: British Museum Press.

Cheng, F. (1993). Vacío y plenitud. Madrid : Siruela.

Clark, J. (2005). Asian modern and contemporary art. Oxford Art Online.

Clunas, C. (1999). What about Chinese art? In Views of difference.

Clunas, C. (2009). Art in China. Oxford: Oxford University Press.

Cochran, S. (1999). Inventing Nanjing Road : commercial culture in Shanghai, 1900-1945. Ithaca : East Asia Program, Cornell University.

Dehejia, V. (1997). Indian art. London : Phaidon.

Elikins, J. (Ed.). (2007). Is art history global? New York: Routledge.

Elisseeff, D. (1994). A propos d’un cimetière Liao. Les belles dames de Xiabali. Arts Asiatiques, Tome 49, 1994. https://doi.org/10.3406/arasi.1994.1354

Guth, C. (1996). Art of Edo Japan : the artist and the city, 1615-1868. New York  : H.N. Abrams.

Impey, O. (1977). Chinoiserie: the impact of oriental styles on Western art and decoration. London: Oxford University Press.

Jullien, F., & Galvany, A. (2008). La Gran imagen no tiene forma, o, Del no-objeto por la pintura : ensayo de des-ontología. Barcelona : Alpha Decay.

Jullien, F., & Galvany, A. (2008). La gran imagen no tiene forma o del no-objeto por la pintura : ensayo de des-ontología. Barcelona : Alpha Decay.

Kim, Y. (2016). Korea’s Search for a Place in Global Art History. The Art Bulletin98(1), 7–13.

Ledderose, L. (2000). Ten thousand things : module and mass production in Chinese art. Princeton : Princeton University Press.

Little, S., Eichman, S., & Ebrey, P. B. (2000). Taoism and the arts of China. Chicago [etc.] : The Art Institute of Chicago [etc.].

Lü, P., 吕澎. (2010). A history of art in 20th-Century China. Milano : Charta.

Macintosh, D. (1994). Chinese blue and white porcelain (3rd ed.). Woodbridge : Antique Collectors’ Club.

McDowall, & Stephen. (n.d.). Cultivating Orientalism. Newsletter (International Institute for Asian Studies), (73).

Nelson, & S., R. (n.d.). The map of art history. Art Bulletin79(1).

Silbergeld, J. (1982). Chinese painting style : media, methods, and principles of form. Seattle: University of Washington Press.

Sullivan, M. (1989). The Meeting of Eastern and Western art ([2nd ed.]). Berkeley [Calif.] [etc.] : University of California Press.

Sullivan, M. (1996). Art and artists of twentieth-century China. Berkeley, Calif.: University of California Press.

Zijlmans, K., & Van Damme, W. (2008). World art studies : exploring concepts and approaches. Amsterdam : Valiz.

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