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EAAS W4202 The Dead and Their Lives After in Ancient China:
Conceptions and Practices

Fall 2014
Wed. 2:10-4:00PM
Diana Center 501
Instructor: Guo, Jue
Office: Milbank Hall 317
Office Hours: Wed. 11:30AM-1:30PM or by Appointment
Office Phone: (212) 854-9538
jguo@barnard.edu

Course Description, Objective, and Format

What did the dead become? Ancestors, spirits, or ghosts? Are these postmortem
categories and roles ontologically distinct and mutually exclusive? How did the
dead become ancestors, spirits, or ghosts? Where did the dead go and what kind
of "lives after" did they have? With these questions in mind, this course explores
the realm of the dead in ancient China (ca. 5000 B.C.E.-600 C.E.) instantiated by
the living in rituals, objects, and writings. Focusing on contemporaneous
materials obtained through archaeology, facilitated with transmitted history and
literature when available, students will read about and learn to analyze a variety
of conceptions of the dead and corresponding afterlife options recorded in
diverse kinds of sources including material culture, architecture, artifacts,
pictorial representations, and texts from ancient China.

Highlighting diversity, fluidity, and specificity of the conceptions of the dead
and practices concerning the dead and their afterlife roles as well as the
historical-social contexts of their formations and changes over time, this class
problematizes a commonly held labelAncestor Worshipas the sole
characterization of the Chinese attitude toward the dead by demonstrating the
theoretical insufficiency and historical inaccuracy of the category. Alternatively,
this class invites students to construct a repertoire of historically precise
characterizations of the conceptions and practices concerning the dead and their
afterlife in ancient China, which can ultimately facilitate better comparative
studies of death in a larger context.

This course is a reading-intensive seminar. Introduction to the necessary
historical background will be given in the form of mini-lectures, but the course is
primarily discussion-based. Students are expected to consistently complete the
assigned readings in time, write a 50-word summary for each reading, actively
participate in class discussion, and design a final research project.

Readings

Wu Hung. The Art of Yellow Springs: Understanding Chinese Tombs. Honolulu:
University of Hawaii Press, 2010. [978-0824834265]

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The required text is on reserve in Barnard Library (Lehman Hall, Barnard) and is
available for purchase at Book Culture (536 West 112
th
St.).

All other required readings are available in PDFs and will be posted on
CourseWorks. Students are required to print them out and bring the paper copy
of the readings to class.

Additional materials may be distributed and introduced prior to or in class.

Requirement and Assignment

Regular Attendance and Active Participation (10%)

Absence without permission, late attendance, unprepared or low participation in
class discussion will result in a low grade. Three unexcused absences result in
an F for this class.

Oral Report of Assigned Readings (10%)

Each week, depending on the number and nature of assigned readings, students
will be selected to orally report some or all readings to the whole class to form
part of the basis of in-class discussion.

50-Words Summaries (20%)

With the exception of the first week, students are required to post a summary of
each assigned secondary study in exact 50 words. Use word-count function in
Word and/or CourseWorks. Postings should appear 24 hours prior to the class
meeting to ensure sufficient time for peer reading. Late posting within 24 hours
is accepted but receives half points. Every three late postings result one letter
grade down from your final grade.

Students should also turn in a print out of all the 50-word summaries each week
in class.

Open-note in-class Midterm Examination (20%)

The examination includes short answers and essay questions. No make-up
examination is granted except in extreme circumstances with proper supporting
documentation, consulted, and approved by the instructor in advance.

Final Research Project (40%)

Students are encouraged to take a creative approach to design a final research
project that

(1) has a clear and focused theme/argument derived from and/or relevant to the
course content;
(2) utilizes all four kinds of source materials: archaeological, artifactual, pictorial,
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and textual;
(3) and demonstrates a mastery of interdisciplinary approaches introduced in the
class in analyzing source materials.

The project can be a research paper (12-15 pages) or an annotated catalogue with
an introduction essay, or any other format that fulfills the above requirements
and is approved by the instructor. The final project should be an end result of a
semester-long deliberation. Students should be mindful of their own interests
and the potential and fruitful overlapping of those interests with the class
materials throughout the course. The following deadlines are meant to help
students conceive, structure, and accomplish the project in a timely manner.

Week 11 (11/12) submit in class a short paragraph in writing to the instructor
proposing a potential topic/topics and format of the final project. A late
submission is accepted within 24 hours but receives half points. (3%)

Week 13 (11/26) submit in class an outline and a working bibliography for the
final project. A late submission is accepted within 24 hours but receives half
points. (7%)

Week 15 (12/12) final research project is due by 5pm in my office. For a late
submission, every 24 hours result 5% reduction in your final grade, and no
submission is accepted after 72 hours passing the deadline. (30%)

Evaluation

Grading Criteria

For Class Participation

A: Frequent and informed participation that demonstrates careful
preparation for, thorough understanding of, and thoughtful reflection
upon the readings by using concrete examples and providing critical
assessment of the readings.

B: Consistent participation showing sound grasp of the readings by using
concrete examples and some degree of critical assessment of the readings.

C: Participation that shows an understanding of the readings.

D: Infrequent to rare participation that suggests hasty or inattentive
reading of the readings.


For the Final Project

An A project presents a compelling argument for a thoughtful and
coherent interpretation of source materials that reveals a thorough reading
of the sources and careful reflection upon the issues raised. A compelling
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argument requires (1) a precise and clear formulation of an issue; (2)
analysis of the source materials under scrutiny, and (3) a scrupulous use
and citation of supporting evidence. A thoughtful interpretation requires
probing beneath the surface meaning of the sources to a subtler
understanding of their connections to broader contexts.

A B project is clearly written and logically sound.

A C project is grammatically correct but stylistically weak.

A D project shows repeated infractions of the basic rules of analytical
writing.

Grading Scale

94-100 A
90-93 A-
87-89 B+
83-86 B
80-82 B-
77-79 C+
73-76 C
70-72 C-
67-69 D+
63-66 D
60-62 D-
59 and below F


NO Electronic Devices in Class and Basic Classroom Etiquette

Active learning requires full attention and concentration. Thus all electronic
devices are forbidden in this class. Please put your phone in silent mode and put
it away when you are in class.

Respect your instructor and your fellow classmates. Come to class on time. Late
attendance or leaving class earlier causes distraction and has a severe impact on
your performance and grade in this class.

Office Hours and Email Communication

Office hours are reserved for the sole purpose for students to interact with the
instructor outside the classroom. You are strongly recommended to take the full
advantage of such designated time to have individual conversations with me.

It is also important to have a mutual understanding that just as students are
taking multiple classes and need to balance study, work, and life, your instructor
also has other teaching, administrative, and personal obligations as well as her
own research agenda. Thus the instructor only meets with you outside the office
hours when you have a legitimate reason such as having another class for not
being able to come to the regular office hours. I also only answer emails during
regular hours (8am-5pm, Mon-Fri) under normal circumstances.

Academic Integrity

This course is taught in the spirit of the Barnard College Honor Code and the
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guidelines for academic integrity of Columbia College, the School of General
Studies, and the School of Engineering and Applied Sciences. We expect all
work to be the original work of the student herself or himself. Papers may be
discussed with other members of the class but may not be copied in any part
from the work of anyone else, including from printed or Internet sources. For
more information, see
https://www.college.columbia.edu/academics/academicintegrity

Disability Support

Students with disabilities who will be taking this course and may need disability-
related classroom accommodations are encouraged to see the instructors as soon
as possible. Also, stop by the Office of Disability Services to register for support
services.

A Final Note

This syllabus is your basic guideline for this class. It may be modified when
necessary. It is your responsibility to keep up with any and all announcements
made in class. I strongly recommend you to keep this syllabus at hand and bring
it with you to each and every class so that you can make timely notes of any
changes announced in class.


Weekly Schedule

Week 1 (09/03) Introduction: Defining the Dead

Arthur P. Wolf, "Gods, Ghosts, and Ancestors," Studies in Chinese Society
(Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1978), 131-182.

Week 2 (09/10) Approaching the Dead: Theories and Methods

Timothy Taylor, "Death," The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Ritual
and Religion, edited by Timothy Insoll (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2011), 89-104.
Johannes Fabian, "How Others Die: Reflections on the Anthropology of
Death," originally published in Death in American Experience, Arien Mack,
ed.(New York: Schocken, 1973), reprinted in Death, Mourning, and Burial: A
Cross-Cultural Reader, edited by Antonius C. G. M. Robben (Oxford:
Blackwell Publishing, 2004), 49-61.
Evelyn Rawski, "A Historian's Approach to Chinese Death Ritual," James
L. Watson and Evelyn S. Rawski, eds., Death Ritual in Late Imperial and
Modern China (Berkeley: University of California Press, 1988), 20-35.
Alice Yao, "Engendering Ancestors through Death Ritual in Ancient
China," in The Oxford Handbook of the Archaeology of Death and Burial, edited
by Sarah Tarlow and Liv Nilsson Stutz (Oxford: Oxford University Press,
2013), 581-596.
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Week 3 (09/17) "Dead but not Gone": The Dead in Neolithic China (8000-1500
B.C.E.)

Lukas Nickel, "The Prehistory of Religion in China," The Oxford Handbook
of the Archaeology of Ritual and Religion, 442-456.
David Keightley, "Dead But Not Gone: The Role of Mortuary Practices in
the Formation of Neolithic and Early Bronze Age Chinese Culture, ca.
8000 to 1000 B.C.," Paper prepared for the Conference on Ritual and the
Social Significance of Death in Chinese Society, The Sun Space Ranch
Conference Center, Oracle, Arizona, January 2-7, 1985.
Michael Shanks and Christopher Tilley, "Ideology, Symbolic Power and
Ritual Communication: A Reinterpretation of Neolithic Mortuary
Practices," Symbolic and Structural Archaeology, Ian Hodder ed. (New York:
Cambridge University Press, 1982/2006), 129-154.

Week 4 (09/24) Making Ancestors: Organizing the Royal Dead in Late Shang
China (ca. 1500-1045 B.C.E.)

David Keightley, "The Making of the Ancestors: Late Shang Religion and
Its Legacy," in John Lagerway, eds., Religion and Chinese Society: volume 1:
Ancient and Medieval China (Hong Kong: The Chinese University Press,
2004), 3-63.
Michael Puett, "Anthropomorphizing the Spirits: Sacrifice and Divination
in Late Bronze Age China," To Become a God: Cosmology, Sacrifice, and Self-
Divination in Early China (Cambridge and London: Harvard University
Asia Center for the Harvard-Yenching Institute, 2002), 31-79.

Week 5 (10/01) Feasting with the Dead: Elite Rituals and Bronze Vessels in
Bronze Age China (ca. 1500-500 B.C.E.)

Sarah M. Nelson, "Feasting the Ancestors in Early China," The Archaeology
and Politics of Food and Feasting in Early States and Empires, edited by
Tamara L. Bray (New York: Kluwer Academic Publishers, 2003), 65-89.
Martin Kern. Bronze inscriptions, the Shangshu, and the Shijing: The
Evolution of the Ancestral Sacrifice during the Western Zhou. Early
Chinese Religion, Part One: Shang Through Han (1250 BC to 220 AD), ed. John
Lagerwey and Marc Kalinowski (Leiden: Brill, 2009), 143-200.

Week 6 (10/08) Unearthing the Dead: Archaeological Evidence and Approach

Roderick Campbell, "What is an Ancestor?: Memory, Power and Death in
Chinese History and Prehistory," unpublished manuscript.
Roderick Campbell (ISAW, NYU), Guest Lecture on the Anyang (i.e., the
last Shang capital) Excavation



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Week 7 (10/15) Open-notes in-class Midterm

Week 8 (10/22) Theorizing and Discoursing Death in Ancient China (500
B.C.E.-600 C.E.)

Xunzi (ca. 310-219 B.C.E.), trans. John Knoblock, Book 19: Discourse on
Ritual Principles in Xunzi: A Translation and Study of the Complete Works,
Volume III, Books 17-32 (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1994), 49-73.
Moderation in Burials and Giving the Dead Peaceful Repose in The
Annals of L Buwei, trans. John Knoblock and Jeffrey Riegel (Stanford:
Stanford University Press, 2000), 227-233. [The Annals of L Buwei was
compiled in 239 B.C.E.]
Zhaohun (Summons of the Soul) in The Songs of the South: An Ancient
Chinese Anthology of Poems by Qu Yuan and Other Poets, trans. David
Hawkes (Penguin Books, 1985), 219-231. [Qu Yuan lived in the late 4
th

century B.C.E.]
On Death, Simplicity of Funerals, and Four Things to be Avoided
(the second one) in Lun-heng: Philosophical Essays of Wang Chung (27-ca.
100 C.E.), trans. Alfred Forke (Leipzig: Harrassowitz, 1907), 191-201; 369-
375; 378-381.
Yan Zhitui (531-591), "Final Arrangement" in Family Instructions for the Yen
Clan: Yen-shih chia-hsn, an annotated translation [from the Chinese] with
introduction by Teng Ssu-Y (Leiden: Brill, 1968 [1969]), 209-211.

Week 9 (10/29) Housing the Dead: Changes in Funerary Architecture

Lothar von Faulkenhausen, "The Eastern Zhou Religious Transformation
(ca. 600-221 BC)" in Chinese Society in the Age of Confucius (1000-250 BC): the
Archaeological Evidence (Los Angels: Cotsen Institute of Archaeology, 2006),
293-325.
Wu Hung, "Spatiality," The Art of the Yellow Springs: Understanding Chinese
Tombs (Honolulu: University of Hawaii Press, 2010), 17-84.

Week 10 (11/5) * NO Class Meeting

Week 11 (11/12) Accompanying the Dead: What are Grave Goods?

Fredrik Ekengren, "Contextualizing Grave Goods: Theoretical
Perspectives and Methodological Implications," The Oxford Handbook of the
Archaeology of Death and Burial, edited by Liv Nilsson Stutz and Sarah
Tarlow (Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2013), 173-193.
Wu Hung, "The Concept of Liqi" in Monumentality in Early Chinese Art and
Architecture (Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1996), 18-24.
Jessica Rawson, From Ritual Vessels to Pottery Tomb Figures: Changes
in Ancient Chinese Burial Practice. Orientations 27.9 (1996): 42-49.


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Week 12 (11/19) Serving the Dead: Talismanic Objects

Wu Hung, "Materiality" and "Lived Objects" in The Art of the Yellow
Springs: Understanding Chinese Tombs, 85-148; 163-173.

Week 13 (11/26) The Polycentric Tomb: The Case of Mawangdui

Wu Hung, Art in a Ritual Context: Rethinking Mawangdui. Early China
17 (1992): 111-44.
Eugene Yuejin Wang, Ascend to Heaven or Stay in the Tomb? Paintings in
Mawangdui Tomb 1 and the Virtual Ritual of Revival in Second-Century
B.C.E. China, Amy L. Olberding and Philip J. Ivanhoe, eds., Mortality in
Traditional Chinese Thought (Albany: SUNY, 2011), 37-84.

Week 14 (12/03) The Multifaceted Dead in Ancient China

Guo Jue, Concepts of Death and the Afterlife Reflected in Newly
Discovered Tomb Objects and Texts from Han China, Amy L. Olberding
and Philip J. Ivanhoe, eds., Mortality in Traditional Chinese Thought.
(Albany: SUNY, 2011), 85-115.

Week 15 (12/12) Final Research Paper Due