- Central Eurasian Studies >> Courses >> Course List
- Chinese Sources on Central Eurasia
- CEUS-R 399/599
- Christopher Beckwith
DESCRIPTION
This course introduces students to the rich historical, ethnographic, geographical, and literary material on Central Eurasia and Central Eurasians written in Classical Chinese. The course is intended to help students to acquire practical fluency in reading such texts, and to develop familiarity with them as historical sources, by close reading of representative examples. The selection of topics and regions covered will vary depending on the common interests of the students and teacher. Some typical choices are the accounts of the Hsiung-nu (Xiongnu), the Wu-sun, the Hsien-pei (Xianbei) ‘proto-Mongolic’ people, the Koguryo, the Turks and the Turk Empire, the Tibetans and Tibetan Empire, etc.
TEXTBOOKS
Course materials will be handed out in class. Students are expected to have or acquire Mathews Chinese-English Dictionary or the equivalent. The course will include introductory training in using the standard encyclopedic Chinese-Chinese and Chinese-Japanese dictionaries of Classical Chinese, reference copies of which are available in the library.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
The grade will be determined by attendance, doing the readings, and handing in smooth translations of some of the readings.
PREREQUISITE
One semester of Classical Chinese or the equivalent.
