HSTRY 494 B: Colloquium in Historiography

HSTRY 498 B: Colloquium in History

Everyday Life in Ancient China (Spring Quarter, 2026)

Instructor: Professor Yifan Zheng (yifanzhg@uw.edu), Office: Smith Hall 204B

Time, Location, Office hours: TBD

Course Description

Details of everyday life often take a backseat to historical narratives, which tend to favor prominent personalities and watershed events. This trend is not unique to contemporary times, and records of the quotidian experiences of ancient peoples are similarly scarce. But over the past four decades, a transformative development has taken place in China, as archaeological excavations have brought hundreds of thousands of bamboo and wooden manuscripts to light. Comprising a rich mix of material from county archives, family contracts, and calendrical “daybooks” concerned with daily tasks, this newly emerging corpus provides invaluable insights into the multifaceted aspects of local life.

            This course will use a magnifying glass to explore the everyday lives of people in premodern China, from peasants, slaves, convict laborers, local functionaries to concubines and soldiers. Rather than focusing on emperors and high politics, we read primary sources in English translation that illuminates how people worked, ate, wrote, loved, worshiped, and died in local communities of premodern Chinese empires. We will use a mix of legal codes, contracts, family instructions, local histories, recipes, ritual manuals, and poems, along with existing secondary scholarship on related topics. We will pair the primary sources with secondary readings to ask how historians can reconstruct everyday life, and what gets left out. Throughout the quarter, our investigation is structured around pivotal life stages such as birth, marriage, employment, and death. This course welcomes all students interested in the subject, irrespective of their language and cultural backgrounds.

            The seminar emphasizes slow reading, discussion, and iterative writing. Over the quarter, you will develop one final project (choose one of three options: research paper, documentary script, autobiography) through a process of drafting, workshopping, and revision. Regardless of format, your project should be grounded in close analysis of primary sources and supported by academic scholarship.

By Week 6, you should confirm your chosen project option and topic with the instructor and begin preliminary research. In Week 10, you will give a short group oral presentation on your work-in-progress; the feedback you receive will help guide your final revisions before submission.

Learning Objectives

By the end of the course, students should be able to:

1. Interpret primary sources as evidence for everyday life in premodern China.
2. Analyze how gender, status, and law shaped access to work, land, marriage, and bodily autonomy.
3. Explain how household, village, and neighborhood structure shaped social relations and power based on evidence and scholarly research.
4. Reflect critically on food, emotions, leisure, religion, and death as dimensions of historical experience.
5. Plan, draft, workshop, and revise a research paper that uses primary sources to answer a focused historical question. Gain practice and confidence as writers and editors.

Reference Books for further research and extensive reading:

1. Michael Loewe, Everyday Life in Early Imperial China during the Han Period, 202 B.C. –

A.D. 220. London: Batsford Press, 1968.

2. Mu-chou Poo, Daily Life in Ancient China. New York: Cambridge University Press, 2018.
3. Charles Benn, Daily Life in Traditional China: The Tang Dynasty, Westport, CT: Greenwood Press, 2001.
4. Jacques Gernet, trans. by H. M. Wright, Daily Life in China: On the Eve of the Mongol Invasion, 1250–1276. New York: The Macmillan Company, 1962.
5. Patricia Buckley Ebrey, The Cambridge Illustrated History of China (2^nd edition), New York: Cambridge University Press, 2010.
6. Endymion Wilkinson ed., Chinese History: A New Manual (5^th edition), Cambridge MA: Harvard University Asia Center, 2017.

I will request copies on course reserve at the Odegaard Library. All readings will be available in accessible electronic form on the course Canvas website. If you prefer print copies of your own, it is often easy and inexpensive to find used copies through online thrift sites or local bookstores.

Course Requirements and Grading:

The guiding principle for grading is NOT to punish students, but to encourage reading and participation, inspire thinking, and foster a spirit of mutual understanding and sharing. UW uses a decimal grading scale. Final grades will be converted using the UW Standard Grading System. This chart shows how letter grades and percentages correspond to the 4.0 scale. Below is an overview of assignments and their grade weights, followed by explanations of each:

1). Participation: 15%

Come having done the reading, bring your thoughts, notes and questions, speak and listen to each other, and comment on each other’s thoughts. Your engagement in the Writing Workshop and Final Presentation will also be evaluated and count toward your participation grade.

2). Weekly Reading Commentaries: 20% (8 × 300-500 words each week)

These are short written responses focusing on one or multiple primary sources or secondary scholarship per week. Starting from the second week, you will post a short-written commentary (300-500 words) on one or more of the assigned readings on Canvas. These commentaries are not mini-essays and should avoid simple summary. Instead, they should (1) Identify a specific passage, theme, or problem that you find especially striking or puzzling, (2) Analyze how the source constructs its view of the world, through language, narrative, legal categories, or social hierarchies (if you choose to comment on the primary sources). If you choose to comment on the secondary scholarship, The following guiding questions might be helpful while thinking through how to summarize and critique the readings: What is the central argument of the reading? What are its limitations or weaknesses? Are there sources or perspectives we have discussed in class that the author has overlooked? (3) Raise one or two questions you would like to discuss in class. You are welcome to connect primary sources with the modern scholarship for that week. The main goal is to practice close reading, develop your interpretive voice, and come to seminar ready to contribute. Commentaries will be graded primarily on thoughtfulness and engagement with the text—not on having the “right” answer.

3). Leading Discussion: 10%

Depending on the size of the class, each student will be expected to lead at least one discussion (in pair or solo) on the reading for a particular week. Discussion leaders of the week will start with a review of that week’s readings, offer their own comments and interpretations, and then pose questions to guide and stimulate class conversation.

4). Final Project Proposal with Reference/Bibliography (2-3 pages): 10%

For the Final Project, you may choose one of the following three options.

1. Research Paper (Traditional Option): Write a research paper on a topic covered in this course. Your paper should present a clear question/argument, use evidence thoughtfully, and engage with relevant scholarship.
2. Documentary Script (Public-History Option)

Write a workable script for a short documentary on a focused theme from the course (for example: “What did people eat in ancient China?”). Your script should include: a brief introduction (what the documentary is about and why it matters); a basic episode/segment plan (how the story will unfold); narration and any interview questions if you plan to include interview; notes on necessary visuals/video/audio support (e.g., maps, artifacts, site footage, reenactments, captions). This option must still be based on academic sources.

1. Autobiography or Diary (Creative-History Option)

Write an autobiography or diary entry in the voice of a historical figure or social type (emperor, official, elite, commoner, soldier, merchant, enslaved person, etc.). You may structure it as (a) a single 24-hour day, or (b) the four seasons of one year. Your setting should be historically plausible (time/place/social context), but you do not need to get every detail “perfect.” The key is to use research to make the world and daily life convincing. This option must also draw on academic sources.

No matter which format you pick, your work must be grounded in academic sources (course readings and/or credible scholarly books and articles). Even creative projects should show clear historical research and include a brief bibliography (and, if relevant, notes or citations).

Students should meet with the instructor during office hours (or by appointment) to discuss the topics for their final project as early as possible. During the last meeting, students will deliver a 10-15 minutes’ research presentation. For this paper, students are encouraged to choose topics and themes that cut across different areas and time periods and develop comparative research. Please note that a meaningful comparative project should not be simply combining two parts of the topics and parallel them without grasping the historicity in each of them. This project proposal should be submitted by the end of Week 5.

5). Final Project Draft (2500-4000 words, including footnotes), for Week 8 Writing Workshop: 15%

Students will need to submit a draft of their project for the Writing Workshop in Week 8. This workshop will consist of students’ presentations of their draft paper, assigned editor’s comments, and then comments and discussions from the whole class. The presentation is designed to check the progress of your final research paper. Failure to present at this workshop will result in the loss of 5% of their final grades; Active engagement in reading and commenting on your peers’ drafts will be reflected in the participation grade. All students are expected to read all the drafts in advance and give productive suggestions for the presenter. In addition, each paper will have an assigned editor/commentator who will deliver a 5-10-minute oral response in class. Writers should e-mail their drafts to their assigned editors and the instructor by the midnight of Sunday, and circulate them to the whole class in Word format, so that editors can use Track Changes and comment functions. Editors should also write one or two paragraphs at the end of each essay, identifying the paper’s main strengths and offering concrete suggestions for revision. Please be constructive, respectful but rigorous.

6). Revised Final Project (3500-5000 words, including footnotes): 20%

Students must upload an electronic copy of their assignment directly to Canvas by the deadline.

7). AI User’s Report and Final Reflection: 10%

Living in this AI era, it is increasingly important not only to know that AI exists, but to understand what it can and cannot do, and how to use it responsibly in our study, work, and everyday life. This assignment has two short written components:

1. A) AI User’s Report

Over the course of the quarter, you are encouraged to experiment with a generative AI tool (such as ChatGPT or a similar platform approved by the instructor) as a facilitator for your learning, for example, to clarify background concepts, generate questions about primary sources, or help revise your writing. At the end of the term, you will submit a short (2–3 page) report that (a) describes how you used AI in this class (with a few sample prompts), (b) reflects critically on what the tool did well and where it fell short or made mistakes, and (c) explains how you distinguished your own historical analysis and writing from AI-assisted work. This assignment is not about technical skill but about responsible, transparent use of new tools in the humanities. It is designed to help you become a more reflective reader and writer, to think carefully about evidence, bias, and authorship, and to support the course’s broader goals of thoughtful engagement and mutual learning rather than mechanical grading.

1. B) In a separate short reflection, you will compare the ways you read and analyze sources in this seminar with the methods you have encountered in other history courses. You will be asked to reflect on your own trajectory within the History major or minor, considering both the geographical areas and thematic questions that have shaped your academic interests. This exercise is designed to help you situate your work in this course within the department’s broader commitment to historical thinking that crosses regional and transnational boundaries.

Formatting: All written assignments should be in MS Word format, double-spaced, 12-point font, Times New Roman, 1” margins. All citations should conform to the Chicago Manual of Style (https://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide/citation-guide-1.html).

Late work: Work submitted late (without prior approval) will be penalized 5% of the total grade for each 24-hour period after the assignment deadline. After four days, no further deductions will be made. All late assignments must be turned in by the last class session of the quarter to be graded.

Writing resources: I encourage you to take advantage of the many writing resources available for UW students:

Odegaard Writing and Research Center (https://www.lib.washington.edu/ougl/owrc).

Pol S/JSIS/LSJ/GWSS Writing Center (https://depts.washington.edu/pswrite/).

History Writing Center (https://history.washington.edu/history-writing-center).

Hayot, Eric. The Elements of Academic Style: Writing for the Humanities. Columbia University Press, 2014. [Available as E-book through UW library]

General Policies:

Access and Accommodations:

Your experience in this class is important to me. It is the policy and practice of the University of Washington to create inclusive and accessible learning environments consistent with federal and state law. If you have already established accommodations with Disability Resources for Students (DRS), please activate your accommodations via myDRS so we can discuss how they will be implemented in this course. If you have not yet established services through DRS, but have a temporary health condition or permanent disability that requires accommodations (conditions include but not limited to; mental health, attention-related, learning, vision, hearing, physical or health impacts), contact DRS directly to set up an Access Plan. DRS facilitates the interactive process that establishes reasonable accommodations. Contact DRS at disability.uw.edu.

Religious Accommodations:

Washington state law requires that UW develop a policy for accommodation of student absences or significant hardship due to reasons of faith or conscience, or for organized religious activities. The UW’s policy, including more information about how to request an accommodation, is available at Religious Accommodations Policy. Accommodations must be requested within the first two weeks of this course using the Religious Accommodations Request Form.

Plagiarism & Academic Misconduct

Academic misconduct, such as unauthorized collaboration, cheating on exams, and plagiarism, is prohibited at UW and may result in disciplinary action. Plagiarism is a form of academic misconduct at UW. It is defined as the use of creations, ideas, or words of publicly available work without formally acknowledging the author or source through appropriate use of quotation marks, references, and the like. Along with the University of Washington, the Department of History takes plagiarism very seriously. Plagiarism may lead to disciplinary action by the University against the student who submitted the work. Any student who is uncertain whether their use of the work of others constitutes plagiarism should consult the course instructor for guidance before submitting coursework. Here is more information.

AI Policy: In this course, the responsible and reflective use of AI tools is allowed and encouraged, but with clear boundaries. The guiding principle is that AI should support—not replace—your own thinking. Here are the rules and examples to guide you:

1. 1) What Is Allowed

You may use AI tools for the following tasks, as long as you do so transparently and critically:

Grammar and writing style support: checking for sentence structure, clarity, typos, etc.

Generating prompt ideas for testing (in-consult with the instructor)

Suggesting lines of inquiry, counterquestions, or “what if” scenarios to deepen your research

Translating passages if you check against original language and context

Asking the AI to clarify concepts, definitions, or provide historical context

When you make use of AI for our final AI Project, you should clearly identify which tool(s) you used, the date used, the prompt(s) you gave, and how you transformed or verified the AI output.

2. What Is Not Allowed

You should not use AI to do the heavy lifting for you in your graded assignments. Examples of disallowed uses include:

Asking AI to summarize the entire article and submitting that summary as if it were your own

Asking AI to write full paragraphs or sections of your paper or project and submitting them with minimal revision

Having AI generate your thesis, main arguments, or entire drafts that you simply tweak

Presenting AI-generated content as your own ideas without attribution

Using AI in these ways undermines your learning and constitutes a breach of academic integrity. Failure to disclose AI use when it has substantively contributed to your work may be treated as academic misconduct. AI can stimulate new questions and help you explore possibilities—but the heart of this class centers on your interpretive judgment, close reading skills, and historical reasoning. Ensuring you wrestle with the material yourself protects the learning outcomes of the course and helps maintain academic fairness. For my part, I affirm that I do not use AI tools to grade your papers, exams, or other assignments, and that all evaluative decisions are made by me.

In a history class like this, your own engagement matters most. As long as you keep up with the readings, take part in class discussions, and attend lectures, you will almost always do better than AI. Tools may produce polished language, but they cannot replace your understanding, reflections, and connections to what we study together. Even if AI use goes unnoticed, it is unlikely to earn you a higher grade—because what counts here is your ability to think historically, articulate ideas with conviction, and bring your own perspective into dialogue with the sources. If you ever feel uncertain whether a particular use of AI is acceptable, please ask me before submission. I’m happy to clarify.

Electronic devices are only allowed in class to access course materials and to take notes.

Course Schedule and Readings

(This syllabus is subject to change. See the Canvas site for the most up-to-date schedule and readings.)

Week 1: Setting the Stage

(distribute sign-up sheet for students to choose a week they will lead the discussion)

Primary readings: “Two Soldiers’ Letters to Their Mother” from the Shuihudi Manuscripts. (translation by Enno Giele, in Antje Richter ed., A History of Chinese Letters and Epistolary Culture, Leiden: Brill, 2015).

Secondary:

1. Michael Loewe. “The Historical and Geographical Context,” in Everyday Life in Early Imperial China during the Han Period, 202 B.C. –A.D. 220, 17-28.
2. Emily Mark. “Daily Life in Ancient China.” World History Encyclopedia. Last modified April 27, 2016. https://www.worldhistory.org/article/890/daily-life-in-ancient-china/.

Watch Documentary “The Story of China” with Michael Wood, Episode 1 “Ancestors” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MucaZDoMzqg)

Week 2: Social Structure and Rhythm of Life

Primary readings: 1. Excerpts from “Treatise on Food and Money” in Ban Gu’s History of Han 24, translation from Patricia Ebrey’s Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 53-57.

2. Chao Cuo’s Memorial on “Encouraging Agriculture and Restraining Trade,” translation from Theodore de Bary et al. eds, Sources of Chinese Tradition vol. 1, 355-357.

Secondary readings: 1. Michael Loewe. “The Social Framework” and “The Conduct of Government” in Everyday Life in Early Imperial China during the Han Period (Indianapolis: Hackett Publishing, 1968), 129-151. 

2. Richard von Glahn. “Organizing Imperial Society: Household Registration, Military Service, and Land Tenure” in The Economic History of China: From Antiquity to the Nineteenth Century, (New York: Cambridge University Press, 2016), 87-95.
3. Jacques Gernet, Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion, 1250-1276 (Stanford University Press, 1962), Chapter 4 “The Life Cycle” 144-177.
4. Lien-sheng Yang. “Schedules of Work and Rest in Imperial China.” Harvard Journal of Asiatic Studies, vol. 18 (1955): 301-25.

Week 3: Food, Clothing, and Living Space

Primary readings: 1. “Cookbook and Recipes” from Mawangdui and Huxishan “The Cookbook and Gastronomy in Ancient China: The Evidence from Huxishan and Mawangdui.” (Donald J. Harper’s translation)

2. Selections from the sections on “Housing,” “Clothes,” “Gardening,” “Judging Beauty” in Li Yu’s Casual Expressions of Idle Feelings.

Secondary readings: 1. Kuang-chi Chang ed., Food in Chinese Culture: Anthropological and Historical Perspectives. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 1997, “Introduction”: 1-22 & “Han China” (by Yu Ying-shi): 53-84.

2. Jacques Gernet, Daily Life in China on the Eve of the Mongol Invasion, 1250-1276 (Stanford University Press, 1962), Chapter 3 “Housing, Clothing, Cooking,” 113-143.
3. Ronald G. Knapp. “Siting and Situating a Dwelling: Fengshui, House-Building, Ritual, and Amulets,” in Ronald G. Knapp and Kai-Yin Lo eds., House, Home, Family: Living and Being Chinese. Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2005, 99-137.

Watch Documentary: “A Bite of China” Season 3, Episode 4 “Philosophy of Health Hides in the Chinese Food” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHtat2dgYxY)

Watch Video: Tristan Brown on Fengshui/Geomancy in the Qing Dynasty (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4RC67h-40SA: the first 30 minutes)

Week 4: Marriage, Women and Family Relations

Primary readings: 1. Selections from the “Marriage Rites of the Gentlemen” Chapter of The Classic of Etiquettes and Rites (John Steele’s translation)

2. Selections from Biographies of Exemplary Women on family relations (Anne Behnke Kinney’s translation).
3. Shen Fu’s Six Records of a Floating Life, chapters on “Home Life” and “The Pleasures of the Wedding Chamber” (Graham Sander’s translation)

Secondary readings: 1. S. BASTUĞ. “Kinship, Marriage, and Descent in Early China.” Journal of Asian History 29.2 (1995): 149-87.

2. Robert Hans van Gulik. “Second Part: The Growing Empire” in Sexual Life in Ancient China: A Preliminary Survey of Chinese Sex and Society from ca. 1500 B.C. till 1644 A.D. ed. by Paul R. Goldin. Sinica Leidensia 57. Leiden: Brill, 2003, 55-90.
3. Christian de Pee, The Writing of Weddings in Middle-Period China, 104-36.
4. Cho-yun Hsu. Chapter 3 “The Farmer’s Livelihood” in Han Agriculture: The Formation of Early Chinese Agrarian Economy (206 B.C. –A.D. 220), Seattle: University of Washington Press, 1980, 58-80.

Week 5: Aging, Health and Medicine

Primary readings: 1. Selections from the “Recipes for Fifty-two Ailments” of the Mawangdui Tomb manuscripts

2. Selections from Gao Lian’s “Promoting Health and Relaxation During the Four Seasons,” trans. by Heiner Fruehauf, 1-6.

Secondary readings: 1. Nathan Sivin. “Chapter 5: Therapy in Popular Religion” in Health Care in Eleventh Century China. Springer, 2015, 93-128.

2. Donald Harper. “The Conception of Illness in Early Chinese Medicine as Documented in Newly Discovered 3^rd and 2^nd Century B.C. Manuscripts.” Sudhoffs Archiv 74 (1990): 210-35.
3. Jesse Watson. “Chapter 4: The Birth of Old Age” in “Paperwork Before Paper: Law and Materiality in Early Imperial China” (UC Berkeley Ph.D. Dissertation, 2019): 74-104.
4. Miranda Brown. “Introduction” in The Art of Medicine in Early China: The Ancient and Medical Origins of a Modern Archive (Cambridge University Press, 2015), 1-16.

*********Research Paper Proposal Due*********

Week 6: Games, Entertainment, and Festivals

Primary readings: 1. Meng Yuanlao, The Eastern Capital: A Dream of Splendor, selections on festival days, street entertainers, and night markets, in Stephen H. West’s translation in Victor H. Mair et al., eds., Hawai‘i Reader in Traditional Chinese Culture (Honolulu: University of Hawai‘i Press, 2005), 405–22.

2. Visual primary source: Handscroll “Along the River during the Qingming Festival” (online: http://afe.easia.columbia.edu/song-scroll/song.html)

Secondary readings: 1. Mu-chou Poo. “Chapter 8: Leisure and Entertainment, Games, and Festivals” in Daily Life in Ancient China, 170-85.

2. Chen Zu-Yan, “The Art of Black and White: Wei-ch’i (the game Go) in Chinese Poetry.” Journal of the American Oriental Society 117.4 (1997): 643-653.
3. Andrew Lo. “China’s Passion for Pai: Playing Cards, Dominoes, and Mahjong.” In Asian Games: The Art of Contest, 216-231.

(American Go Game Association: https://www.usgo.org/)

Week 7: Slaves and Convict Laborers

Primary readings: 1. A “Slave Contract” by Wang Bao (513–576) (translation from the Columbia Anthology of Literature, pp. 510-13)

2. “A Wanted Poster of a Female Fugitive Servant” from the Jianshui jin’guan Ancient Fortress Site (my own translation)
3. “Deed of Sale of a Slave” in Patricia Ebrey’s Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook, 2^nd ed.
4. “Story of Diao Jian” in Shiji, Burton Watson’s translation, Records of the Grand Historian, vol. 2 (New York: Columbia University Press, 1961), 497.

Secondary readings: 1. Robin Yates. “Slavery in Early China: A Socio–cultural Perspective”, Journal of East Asian Archaeology 2001.3, 283-331.

2. Maxim Korolkov. “From the ‘Empire of Convicts’ to Labor Market: Convict Labor Regime in the Early Chinese Empires and Its Legacy.” Asia Major (2024) 3d ser. Vol. 37.1:1-26.
3. (secondary source) Martin C. Wilbur, “Functions of Government Slaves” from Slavery in China during the Former Han Dynasty, 206 B.C.–A.D. 25 (Chicago: Field Museum of Natural History, 1943), 221-236.

Week 8: Everyday Legal Disputes, Contracts, and Property

Primary readings: 1. “The Case of Shi Blackmailing Wan” (from the Yuelu Manuscripts Case I.7, translation by Ulrich Lau and Thies Staack)

2. “A Cunning Scribe Solves a Robbery and Attempted Murder” (Case 22 from the “Book of Submitted and Doubtful Cases” of the Zhangjiashan Legel Texts, translation by Anthony Barbieri-low and Robin Yates)
3. Excerpts from Shuihudi “Answers to Questions Concerning Ch’in Statutes” in A. F. P. Hulsewé trans., Remnants of Ch’in Law (Leiden: Brill, 1985).

Secondary readings: 1. Selections from the “General Introduction” of Anthony J. Barbieri-Low and Robin D. S. Yates, Law, State, and Society in Early Imperial China: A Study with Critical Edition and Translation of the Legal Texts from Zhangjiashan Tomb no. 247 (Leiden: Brill, 2015).

2. Bret Hinsch. “Women, Kinship, and Property as Seen in a Han Dynasty Will.” T’oung Pao 84 (1998): 1-20.

*********Research Paper Draft Due*********

Week 9: Writing Workshop

Week 10: Death, Funerals, and the Afterlife

Primary readings: 1. “Testimonies of the Revenants”: excavated texts “Dan” from Fangmatan fangmatan (Donald J. Harper’s translation)

2. Selections from the 1st century philosopher Wang Chong on “Ghosts” (Alfred Forke’s translation, Chapter XVIII)
3. Selections from the “Funeral” Chapter, Zhu Xi’s Family Rituals (Patricia Ebrey’s translation)

Secondary readings: 1. Mu-chou Poo. “Chapter 10: Death, Burial, and the Hope for a Happy Afterlife” in Daily Life in Ancient China, 207-232.

2. Lai Guolong. “Chapter 5: Journey to the Northwest” in Excavating the Afterlife: The Archaeology of Early Chinese Religion. Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2015, 161-88.
3. Documentary “Spend a Day with Me in the Song Dynasty of Ancient China” (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u7m7gl5PEtY)

*********Final Research Paper Due*********