The Fall and Rise of China
(published by The Great Courses)
This course traces China’s tumultuous 200-year journey from a collapsing 19th century empire to the aspiring 21st century superpower we know today. In 48 lectures, award winning Professor Richard Baum of the University of California, takes us from the decline and fall of the Qing dynasty under the dual stresses of increasing foreign penetration and rising domestic disorder, through the violent and traumatic years of radical revolutionary Maoism, until China rises phoenix-like from the ashes to become a global economic powerhouse.
These two lectures describe the Qing dynasty’s efforts to modernize and reform following the second Opium War. China launched a series of initiatives aimed at adopting the techniques of western science and industry while preserving Chinese Culture. The internal reforms, led by Prince Gong, addressed rural unrest and implemented improvements in weapon manufacture. It also led to increasing pressure to bring in more sweeping political reform as young scholars returned to China after studying abroad. There was a backlash to the reforms, led by Dowager Empress Cixi, which resulted in the Boxer Uprising. n 1900 foreign troops once again entered Beijing.
About the Professor
Dr Richard Baum is Distinguished Professor of Political Science at the University of California, Los Angles, where he specializes in modern Chinese politics and foreign relations. He earned a Ph.D. in Political Science from the University of California, Berkeley. Professor Baum has lived and lectured extensively throughout China and Asia and has served as a visiting professor at a number of leading universities including Peking University, Meiji Gakuin University, and the Chinese University of Hong Kong. He has been a consultant to the White House, the United Nations, and the Rand Corporation and a commentator on Chinese and East Asian affairs for the BBC World Service, CNN International, and National Public Radio.