Early Chinese History: The Hundred Schools Period, China's Golden Age of Philosophy

This unit focuses on the philosophical battles of the late Zhou period, a period often called "the Golden Age of Chinese Philosophy," when Chinese philosophers sought to account for the chaos of the age and to articulate comprehensive plans to restore order. To emphasize the diversity of ideas put forward, the Chinese call this era the "Hundred Schools" period. In this unit students examine the four most influential of these philosophical traditions and compare the ideas of these schools and explore how such ideas were conditioned by and, in turn, impacted society, economy, government, and culture.  In so doing, they will exercise their critical reading skills as well as synthetic, group, and communication skills.