Asian Art History

[Yi Pressimone]

Inaddition to the PhD in East Asian Languages and Civilizations, the department also administers the PhD in History and East Asian Languages (HEAL). This degree program is designed to accommodate the particular needs of students who desire a more language-intensive program of study of East Asian history.

The success of this program, which has filled many of the major East Asian history posts in the country, has lain in its degree requirements: that the candidate must make a major investment in either Chinese or Japanese and get a basic start in the other of the two languages, and must present on his General Examination only three instead of the usual four fields of history. Since the basic requirement in this field is language competence and since its program makes allowance for this, it has become the major channel for East Asian historians at Harvard. Chinese and Japanese are of course both necessary for either Chinese or Japanese history.

As of 2019, there are 29 students registered in the HEAL PhD program, of whom approximately two-thirds are in residence. The remaining one-third are away from campus on dissertation-related research and writing.

The work of students in the HEAL program is supervised jointly by the Standing Committee on the PhD in History and East Asian Languages and the Faculty of the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. The Standing Committee meets once or twice a year to confer on admissions recommendations for the PhD and to deal with basic questions of policy. The chair of the committee is Professor Michael Puett, (EALC). Other members (in alphabetical order) are:

Students wishing to apply for admission to the HEAL degree program apply through the Department of East Asian Languages and Civilizations. Students will choose HEAL as an area of study in the application.

As might be expected, there is considerable overlap between the research interests of HEAL, EALC, and History students and faculty, and no hard-and-fast rules apply that might limit students in any of these programs in terms of region, period, or methodology. Note that although HEAL students are formally administered via EALC, it is not unheard of for advisors of some HEAL students to be faculty whose main appointment is in History. Likewise, many students concentrating on East Asia in the History Department work closely with EALC faculty. There are no high walls between these communities, which meet and mix often in language classes, seminars, lectures, conferences, receptions, etc.

In general, it can be said that the language curriculum of HEAL students looks more like that of EALC PhDs, while their non-language curriculum looks more like that of History PhDs. Thus, in order to take qualifying examinations, and depending on regional specialization, all HEAL candidates are currently required to achieve an advanced level in their primary research language (Chinese, Japanese, or Korean), a second- or third-year level in modern Japanese, and a first- or second-year level in literary Chinese. This is the same as the requirement made of all EALC students. Also like EALC students, HEAL PhDs need only present three fields for the qualifying examination (as opposed to four fields in History), and (with the exception of RSEA transfer students) they are required to take this examination by no later than the end of the G3 year (as opposed to the G2 year in History).

On the other hand, like all first-year History students, HEAL students are required to take the introductory methods seminar offered by the History Department (History 3900) in their first year of residence (EALC students may not take this course). They are also expected to take part in the annual Prospectus Conference held by the History Department in late January. Additionally, many (not all) HEAL students find it worthwhile to include at least one non-Asianist from the History Department on the examination and/or dissertation committees, and so choose to focus some part of their coursework in European, American, or another field of history taught in the History Department. This is not a requirement, however; nor is there a European language requirement for HEAL students.

Prospective students often ask about the relative competitiveness of the HEAL PhD in the job market. Though some PhDs go on to work in the government, and a few in the private sector, most HEAL graduates either apply for positions in departments of History or of East Asian Studies, or for postdoctoral fellowships. Recent HEAL PhDs have an extremely strong track record in both areas. Obviously, as is true of all doctoral programs, completion of the degree is no guarantee of landing a job. But within three years of finishing, virtually all HEAL graduates find themselves hired in tenure-track positions.

The history of Asia can be seen as the collective history of several distinct peripheral coastal regions such as East Asia, South Asia, Southeast Asia and the Middle East linked by the interior mass of the Eurasian steppe. See History of the Middle East and History of the Indian Subcontinent for further details on those regions.

The coastal periphery was the home to some of the world's earliest known civilizations and religions, with each of three regions developing early civilizations around fertile river valleys. These valleys were fertile because the soil there was rich and could bear many root crops. The civilizations in Mesopotamia, ancient India, and ancient China shared many similarities and likely exchanged technologies and ideas such as mathematics and the wheel. Other notions such as that of writing likely developed individually in each area. Cities, states, and then empires developed in these lowlands.

The steppe region had long been inhabited by mounted nomads, and from the central steppes, they could reach all areas of the Asian continent. The northern part of the continent, covering much of Siberia was also inaccessible to the steppe nomads due to the dense forests and the tundra. These areas in Siberia were very sparsely populated.

The centre and periphery were kept separate by mountains and deserts. The Caucasus, Himalaya, Karakum Desert, and Gobi Desert formed barriers that the steppe horsemen could only cross with difficulty. While technologically and culturally the city dwellers were more advanced, they could do little militarily to defend against the mounted hordes of the steppe. However, the lowlands did not have enough open grasslands to support a large horsebound force. Thus the nomads who conquered states in the Middle East were soon forced to adapt to the local societies.

Asia's history features major developments seen in other parts of the world, as well as events that have affected those other regions. These include the trade of the Silk Road, which spread cultures, languages, religions, and diseases throughout Afro-Eurasian trade. Another major advancement was the innovation of gunpowder in medieval China, later developed by the Gunpowder empires, mainly by the Mughals and Safavids, which led to advanced warfare through the use of guns.

A report by archaeologist Rakesh Tewari on Lahuradewa, India shows new C14 datings that range between 9000 and 8000 BC associated with rice, making Lahuradewa the earliest Neolithic site in entire South Asia.[2] Settled life emerged on the subcontinent in the western margins of the Indus River alluvium approximately 9,000 years ago, evolving gradually into the Indus Valley Civilisation of the third millennium BC.

China and Vietnam were also centres of metalworking. Dating back to the Neolithic Age, the first bronze drums, called the Dong Son drums have been uncovered in and around the Red River Delta regions of Vietnam and Southern China. These relate to the prehistoric Dong Son Culture of Vietnam.

The Achaemenid dynasty of the Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the Great, ruled an area from Greece and Turkey to the Indus River and Central Asia during the 6th to 4th centuries BC. Persian politics included a tolerance for other cultures, a highly centralized government, and significant infrastructure developments. Later, in Darius the Great's rule, the territories were integrated, a bureaucracy was developed, nobility were assigned military positions, tax collection was carefully organized, and spies were used to ensure the loyalty of regional officials. The primary religion of Persia at this time was Zoroastrianism, developed by the philosopher Zoroaster. It introduced an early form of monotheism to the area. The religion banned animal sacrifice and the use of intoxicants in rituals; and introduced the concept of spiritual salvation through personal moral action, an end time, and both general and Particular judgment with a heaven or hell. These concepts would heavily influence later emperors and the masses. It was itself heavily influenced by earlier much older ancient religious beliefs and practices dating to the beginning of known history and before. The Persian Empire was successful in establishing peace and stability throughout the Middle East and were a major influence in art, politics (affecting Hellenistic leaders), and religion.

Alexander the Great conquered this dynasty in the 4th century BC, creating the brief Hellenistic period. He was unable to establish stability and after his death, Persia broke into small, weak dynasties including the Seleucid Empire, followed by the Parthian Empire. By the end of the Classical age, Persia had been reconsolidated into the Sassanid Empire, also known as the second Persian Empire.

The Maurya and Gupta empires are called the Golden Age of India and were marked by extensive inventions and discoveries in science, technology, art, religion, and philosophy that crystallized the elements of what is generally known as Indian culture. The religions of Hinduism and Buddhism, which began in Indian sub-continent, were an important influence on South, East and Southeast Asia.

But by 500 BC, its political stability began to decline due to repeated nomadic incursions[8] and internal conflict derived from the fighting princes and families. This was lessened by the many philosophical movements, starting with the life of Confucius. His philosophical writings (called Confucianism) concerning the respect of elders and of the state would later be popularly used in the Han dynasty. Additionally, Laozi's concepts of Taoism, including yin and yang and the innate duality and balance of nature and the universe, became popular throughout this period. Nevertheless, the Zhou dynasty eventually disintegrated as the local nobles began to gain more power and their conflict devolved into the Warring States period, from 402 to 201 BC.[9]

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