54008001 Modern History of Asia

Hiroshima University Syllabus

Japanese

Academic Year 2026Year School/Graduate School Liberal Arts Education Program

Lecture Code 54008001 Subject Classification Area Courses

Subject Name アジアの近現代

Subject Name
（Katakana）アジアノキンゲンダイ

Subject Name in
English Modern History of Asia

Instructor GAO XIAOYAN

Instructor
(Katakana) コウ　ギョウゲン

Campus Higashi-Hiroshima Semester/Term 1st-Year, First Semester, 2Term

Days, Periods, and Classrooms (2T) Weds1-4：IAS L201

Lesson Style Lecture Lesson Style
(More Details) Face-to-face

Credits 2.0 Class Hours/Week 4 Language of Instruction J : Japanese

Course Level 1 : Undergraduate Introductory

Course Area（Area） 23 : Arts and Humanities

Course Area（Discipline） 07 : History

Eligible Students

Keywords Asian History, International Politics, Qing Dynasty, Tributary and Investiture System, Westphalian System, Sovereign State, Nation-State, Yalta System, Cold War

Special Subject for Teacher Education 　 Special Subject 　

Class Status within
Liberal Arts Education Area Courses（Courses in Arts and Humanities/Social Sciences)　Category：Anthropology / Geography / History
*Students who got admitted in 2018 or after can take this course as an “Area Course”. For this group of students, credits from this course will be regarded as credits from an “Area Course”.
If students who got admitted in 2017 or before take this course, it is regarded as a “Package-Based Subject”. The latter group of students cannot take this course as an “Area Course”.
Expected Outcome 1. To be able to explain the formation and development processes and contemporary issues of each academic discipline.
2. To be able to explain historical and contemporary issues that span multiple academic disciplines from multifaceted perspectives.

Class Objectives
/Class Outline Premodern Asia was characterized by a distinctive international order known as the tributary system. This course examines how this uniquely Asian diplomatic order transformed under the impact of the Western World. Focusing primarily on China, it explores how relations with neighboring countries changed—or were compelled to change—during the process of modernization. This course provides the students with fundamental historical facts about Asian international politics from the nineteenth century through the early Cold War period.

Class Schedule lesson1 Orientation
lesson2 The Qing Dynasty as a Multiethnic State
lesson3 The Reality of the Tributary and Investiture System
lesson4 The Peace of Westphalia and the Modern International Order
lesson5 International Trade in the Late Qing Dynasty
lesson6 The Unequal Treaties and the Partition of China
lesson7 The Transformation and Collapse of the Tributary and Investiture System
lesson8 Japan’s Modernization and the Transformation of Its Diplomacy
lesson9 The First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War
lesson10 The Boxer Incident and the Reorganization of the International Order in Asia
lesson11 The Twenty-One Demands on China
lesson12 The Japanese Army’s Continental Policy—From the Manchurian Incident to the Sino-Japanese War
lesson13 The Yalta Conference and Postwar Visions for the International Order in Asia
lesson14 The Formation and Consolidation of the Cold War Order in Asia
lesson15 Conclusion

A final examination will be conducted in which handwritten or printed materials are permitted.

Text/Reference
Books,etc. Reference Materials:
[IN JAPANESE] Danjo Hiroshi, Tenka to Tenchō no Chūgokushi, Iwanami Shoten, 2016.
[IN JAPANESE] Kawashima Shin, Hattori Ryūji (eds), Higashi Ajia Kokusai Seijishi, Nagoya Daigaku Shuppankai, 2007.

PC or AV used in
Class,etc.

(More Details)

Learning techniques to be incorporated

Suggestions on
Preparation and
Review
Lesson 1: None
Lesson 2: Understand the Qing dynasty as a polity incorporating multiple ethnic groups.
Lesson 3: Understand how the tributary system functioned.
Lesson 4: Understand the process of formation and the basic structure of the modern international order, Westphalian system, in Europe.
Lesson 5: Understand regulated trade and international trade in the late Qing dynasty.
Lesson 6: Understand the background and impact of the unequal treaties.
Lesson 7: Understand how the tributary system transformed and ultimately collapsed in the late Qing dynasty.
Lesson 8: Understand the formation process of cooperative diplomacy among the great powers in Japan.
Lesson 9: Understand the shift in Japan from cooperative diplomacy with the great powers to diplomacy aimed at acquiring interests and concessions.
Lesson 10: Understand changes in international relations in Asia before and after the Boxer Rebellion
Lesson 11: Understand the background and impact of the Twenty-One Demands on China.
Lesson 12: Understand how the Japanese military formed its own independent China policy.
Lesson 13: Understand the fundamental characteristics of the international order as presented at the Yalta Conference.
Lesson 14: Understand the development of the Yalta system in Asia and the formation of the Cold War order.
Lesson 15: None.

Requirements None

Grading Method In class performance (40%), Final examination (60%).

Practical Experience

Summary of Practical Experience and Class Contents based on it

Message The instructor will offer off-course Q&A in English. However, please note that this course is conducted entirely in Japanese. A Japanese language proficiency level above JLPT N2 is required to participate. Although the final examination will not assess Japanese writing ability itself, an above-average level of Japanese listening and writing proficiency is required. The instructor will not provide accommodations or remedies for students who underperform due to language proficiency issues.

Other

Please fill in the class improvement questionnaire which is carried out on all classes.
Instructors will reflect on your feedback and utilize the information for improving their teaching.

Academic Year	2026Year	School/Graduate School	Liberal Arts Education Program
Lecture Code	54008001	Subject Classification	Area Courses
Subject Name	アジアの近現代
Subject Name （Katakana）	アジアノキンゲンダイ
Subject Name in English	Modern History of Asia
Instructor	GAO XIAOYAN
Instructor (Katakana)	コウ　ギョウゲン
Campus	Higashi-Hiroshima	Semester/Term	1st-Year, First Semester, 2Term
Days, Periods, and Classrooms	(2T) Weds1-4：IAS L201
Lesson Style	Lecture	Lesson Style (More Details)	Face-to-face

Credits	2.0	Class Hours/Week	4	Language of Instruction	J : Japanese
Course Level	1 : Undergraduate Introductory
Course Area（Area）	23 : Arts and Humanities
Course Area（Discipline）	07 : History
Eligible Students
Keywords	Asian History, International Politics, Qing Dynasty, Tributary and Investiture System, Westphalian System, Sovereign State, Nation-State, Yalta System, Cold War
Special Subject for Teacher Education		Special Subject
Class Status within Liberal Arts Education	Area Courses（Courses in Arts and Humanities/Social Sciences)　Category：Anthropology / Geography / History *Students who got admitted in 2018 or after can take this course as an “Area Course”. For this group of students, credits from this course will be regarded as credits from an “Area Course”. If students who got admitted in 2017 or before take this course, it is regarded as a “Package-Based Subject”. The latter group of students cannot take this course as an “Area Course”.
Expected Outcome	1. To be able to explain the formation and development processes and contemporary issues of each academic discipline. 2. To be able to explain historical and contemporary issues that span multiple academic disciplines from multifaceted perspectives.
Class Objectives /Class Outline	Premodern Asia was characterized by a distinctive international order known as the tributary system. This course examines how this uniquely Asian diplomatic order transformed under the impact of the Western World. Focusing primarily on China, it explores how relations with neighboring countries changed—or were compelled to change—during the process of modernization. This course provides the students with fundamental historical facts about Asian international politics from the nineteenth century through the early Cold War period.
Class Schedule	lesson1 Orientation lesson2 The Qing Dynasty as a Multiethnic State lesson3 The Reality of the Tributary and Investiture System lesson4 The Peace of Westphalia and the Modern International Order lesson5 International Trade in the Late Qing Dynasty lesson6 The Unequal Treaties and the Partition of China lesson7 The Transformation and Collapse of the Tributary and Investiture System lesson8 Japan’s Modernization and the Transformation of Its Diplomacy lesson9 The First Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War lesson10 The Boxer Incident and the Reorganization of the International Order in Asia lesson11 The Twenty-One Demands on China lesson12 The Japanese Army’s Continental Policy—From the Manchurian Incident to the Sino-Japanese War lesson13 The Yalta Conference and Postwar Visions for the International Order in Asia lesson14 The Formation and Consolidation of the Cold War Order in Asia lesson15 Conclusion A final examination will be conducted in which handwritten or printed materials are permitted.
Text/Reference Books,etc.	Reference Materials: [IN JAPANESE] Danjo Hiroshi, Tenka to Tenchō no Chūgokushi, Iwanami Shoten, 2016. [IN JAPANESE] Kawashima Shin, Hattori Ryūji (eds), Higashi Ajia Kokusai Seijishi, Nagoya Daigaku Shuppankai, 2007.
PC or AV used in Class,etc.
(More Details)
Learning techniques to be incorporated
Suggestions on Preparation and Review	Lesson 1: None Lesson 2: Understand the Qing dynasty as a polity incorporating multiple ethnic groups. Lesson 3: Understand how the tributary system functioned. Lesson 4: Understand the process of formation and the basic structure of the modern international order, Westphalian system, in Europe. Lesson 5: Understand regulated trade and international trade in the late Qing dynasty. Lesson 6: Understand the background and impact of the unequal treaties. Lesson 7: Understand how the tributary system transformed and ultimately collapsed in the late Qing dynasty. Lesson 8: Understand the formation process of cooperative diplomacy among the great powers in Japan. Lesson 9: Understand the shift in Japan from cooperative diplomacy with the great powers to diplomacy aimed at acquiring interests and concessions. Lesson 10: Understand changes in international relations in Asia before and after the Boxer Rebellion Lesson 11: Understand the background and impact of the Twenty-One Demands on China. Lesson 12: Understand how the Japanese military formed its own independent China policy. Lesson 13: Understand the fundamental characteristics of the international order as presented at the Yalta Conference. Lesson 14: Understand the development of the Yalta system in Asia and the formation of the Cold War order. Lesson 15: None.
Requirements	None
Grading Method	In class performance (40%), Final examination (60%).
Practical Experience
Summary of Practical Experience and Class Contents based on it
Message	The instructor will offer off-course Q&A in English. However, please note that this course is conducted entirely in Japanese. A Japanese language proficiency level above JLPT N2 is required to participate. Although the final examination will not assess Japanese writing ability itself, an above-average level of Japanese listening and writing proficiency is required. The instructor will not provide accommodations or remedies for students who underperform due to language proficiency issues.
Other
Please fill in the class improvement questionnaire which is carried out on all classes. Instructors will reflect on your feedback and utilize the information for improving their teaching.

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