HIST 13184 — History University Seminar (Cai): Where East Meets West

This course guide assists Professor Liang Cai's students in writing their final essay.

1. Getting Started (reference sources): background information for your topic(s) of interest
2. Finding Historical Evidence (primary sources): the images of official records, letters, periodicals, photos, and maps, created by  Western missionaries and diplomats, who visited or lived in China during the Qing Period
3. Finding Articles & Books (secondary sources): scholarly information that you can use to develop and support your theses.
4. Citing Sources

• Volume 1: The Ch'in and Han Empires, 221 BC–AD 220 
• Volume 2: The Six Dynasties, 220–589  
• Volume 3: Sui and T'ang China, 589–906 AD, Part One
• Volume 5: The Sung Dynasty and its Precursors, 907–1279, Part 1
• Volume 5: Sung China, 960–1279 AD, Part 2
• Volume 6: Alien Regimes and Border States, 907–1368
• Volume 7: The Ming Dynasty, 1368–1644, Part 1
• Volume 8: The Ming Dynasty, Part 2: 1368–1644
• Volume 9: Part 1. The Ch'ing Empire to 1800
• Volume 9: Part 2. The Ch'ing Dynasty to 1800
• Volume 10: Late Ch'ing 1800–1911, Part 1
• Volume 11: Late Ch'ing, 1800–1911, Part 2

With manuscripts encompassing events from the earliest English embassy to the birth and early years of the People’s Republic, students are given an insight into the changes wrought upon China during this period. Key documents relating to the Chinese Maritime Customs service – from Robert Hart to Frederick Maze – are accessible and searchable alongside original reports of the Amherst and Macartney embassies. There are letters relating to the first Opium War, survivors’ descriptions of the Boxer War and glimpses of life in China from the collected diaries and personal photographs of the Bowra family. There are also significant sources describing the lives and work of missionaries in China from 1869-1970, including extensive and fully searchable runs of missionary periodicals: The Chinese Recorder; Light and Life Magazine; The Land of Sinim: the North China Mission Quarterly Paper. In addition, 400 colour paintings, maps and drawings by English and Chinese artists provide a rich visual seam to the collection. Photographs, sketches and ephemeral items depicting Chinese people, places, customs and events, and providing a striking visual accompaniment to the documentary images.