Cultural Topics in Chinese Studies

Catalog description

FALL 2023: The Pursuit of Happiness in Early Chinese Thoughts and Their Modern-day Applications (section taught in English):Do you claim to be a happy person? If so, why? If not, why not? How do we define "good life" and where can we get it? This course will inspect various responses to these questions in early Chinese thoughts and their modern-day applications from a global perspective. Chinese thoughts and philosophy are the intellectual foundations of Chinese culture throughout history. They represent the love and pursuit of wisdom in Chinese tradition. The course will explore some major schools of thought in early China such as Daoism/Taoism, Confucianism, Buddhism, Legalism, and Mohism, and look at the manifestations of their wisdom in various aspects of contemporary Chinese society, including food, medicine, Fengshui, architecture, painting, calligraphy, and Taichi.