Chinese Culture: Tradition, Transformation and Interaction

What you will learn

• To master the foundational knowledge of traditional Chinese culture
• To apply the insights of Chinese philosophy, religion and strategic thinking
• To foster skills in appreciating Chinese paintings, operas and literature
• To understand the history of China’s cultural exchanges with other countries and regions
• To connect the meanings of different Chinese cultural practices in a holistic manner

Program Overview

Introduction
This vibrant XSeries program showcases 15 experts in Chinese culture led by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University. It is composed of 3 compact courses and 15 fascinating topics. The topics touch on Chinese philosophy, Confucianism, Daoism, Buddhism, Sunzi, food and cuisine, politics, strategic thinking, literature, paintings, operas, education, and the history of China’s cultural exchanges with other countries and regions.

Why should I enrol in the XSeries on Chinese culture offered by the Hong Kong Polytechnic University?
The Hong Kong Polytechnic University is a world-class research university. In 2021, it is ranked among the top 25 and top 75 universities by the QS Asian and QS World University Rankings respectively. One of the missions of the University is to offer high-quality MOOCs. Our online courses have received a number of international awards, including the edX Prize for Exceptional Contributions in Online Teaching and Learning (Finalist) and Best Online Courses of All Time by Class Central in 2020-21.

How can I advance my knowledge and career by enrolling in this program?
A basic knowledge of Chinese culture is requisite for anyone who aims to advance their career in business or academic study in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong, Macau and Taiwan. These regions have a population of 1.4 billion (18 percent of the world’s population). This XSeries program empowers businesspeople by providing them with Chinese cultural knowledge that can inform their communication and engagement with their Chinese partners. Furthermore, students of Chinese studies who aim to further their knowledge will find new perspectives from this program. It also helps broaden the horizons of any laypeople who may currently have little knowledge of Chinese culture.

Thanks to a unique pedagogy that cross-references across the units and courses, this XSeries fosters the learner’s holistic understanding of Chinese culture. This holistic knowledge equips the learner with skills to connect different contexts of Chinese culture meaningfully in application.

For instance, in the Tradition course, you learn about Confucianism in the Zhou dynasty. In the Transformation course, you further learn about Chinese education through the private Confucian academies from the Song dynasty onwards, as well as New Confucianism in the 20th century. In the Interaction course, you discover the answer to the interesting question whether Confucius drank tea or alcohol. Likewise, in learning about Chinese thinking styles, you will be enlightened by the study of Sunzi’s The Art of War in the Tradition course, the elements of human character represented by the face make-up in Chinese Operas in the Transformation course, and the history of Chinese politics in the early 20th century in the Interaction course. There are many more connections between the units of the X series. This program is the only XSeries on Chinese culture that capitalizes on the use of powerful cross-referencing across the topics and units, with the aim to consolidate and upgrade your practical knowledge of Chinese culture.

Courses in this program

Chinese Culture: Tradition

This compact course introduces 5 interesting aspects of traditional Chinese culture. They are (a) Confucianism, (b) Daoism, (c) Buddhism, (d) Sunzi’s The Art of War and ancient Chinese warfare, and (e) the art of painting in the Song dynasty. This dynamic course forms part of the HKPolyUx series on Chinese culture.

Chinese Culture: Transformation

This compact course introduces 5 interesting aspects of Chinese culture in transformation. They are (a) The Four Great Classical Chinese Novels, (b) the art of Chinese opera, (c) private Confucian academies since the Song dynasty, (d) New Confucianism in the 20th century, and (e) gender politics in early New China. This dynamic course forms part of the HKPolyUx series on Chinese culture.

Chinese Culture: Interaction

This compact course introduces 5 interesting aspects of Chinese cultural exchange and interaction with other countries in history. They are (a) China and the West, (b) China and Central Asia (c) China and Vietnam, (d) Chinese Revolutionary Connections with Other Countries, and (e) Chinese Food and Cuisine. This dynamic course forms part of the HKPolyUx series on Chinese culture.