This seminar examines Chinese archives and local documents from the Ming-Qing period to the present. We will be analyzing source materials such as imperial edicts, proclamations, business contracts, genealogies, inscriptions, family accounts and correspondences. This seminar is divided into three parts according to students’ own research needs. The first part introduces Hong Kong and the Mainland Archives and their collections. It will also discuss students’ research frameworks, geographical settings as well as archives and documents y that might be fundamental to individual research. The second part, using an integrated approach, introduces different types of source materials in the study of one particular research area (i.e.: a rural community, a business firm). The third part attempts to introduce and analzye several special type of documents (i.e.: genealogy, inscriptions, Taoist texts, vernacular literature) and how they are read in the context of a particular social environment.

To be able to read these texts, written in classical or vernacular Chinese, students wishing to enroll in this seminar will be required to have high level of competency in both written and spoken Chinese. All students are required to write a research proposal, weekly reading notes and a research presentation integrating various first hand source materials read.

Schedule

First round reading: Jan. 17 and 24
Second round reading: Feb. 28 and March 7
Third round reading: March 14 and 21
Fourth round reading April 18
Final presentation: May 2 and 9

Topics for 2014-15 include: (documents read will be decided according to students’ research need)

Readings (individual readings list, to be confirmed)

請注意大學有關學術著作誠信的政策和規則，及適用於犯規事例的紀律指引和程序。詳情可瀏覽此處。

學生遞交作業時，必須連同已簽署的聲明一併提交，表示他們知道有關政策、規則、指引及程序。

• 如屬小組習作，則所有組員均須簽署聲明；所有組員 (不論有否簽署聲明及不論有否直接或間接撰寫有問題的內容) 均須負上集體責任及受到懲處。
• 如作業以電腦製作、內容以文字為主，並經由大學「維誠」系統 (VeriGuide) 提交者，學生將作業的電子檔案上載到系統後，便會獲得收據，收據上已列明有關聲明。
• 學生充分知悉到他們的作業可能會被人工智能內容檢測軟件審查，以確定其原創性。
• 學生充分知悉科目中採用人工智能工具的做法。在經允許下使用某些人工智能工具的情況下，學生已按照科目老師的指示明確註明出處和引文。

未有夾附簽署妥當的聲明的作業，老師將不予批閱。

學生只須提交作業的最終版本。

學生將作業或作業的一部份用於超過一個用途 (例如：同時符合兩科的要求) 而沒有作出聲明會被視為未有聲明重覆使用作業。 學生重覆使用其著作的措辭或某一、二句句子很常見，並可以接受，惟重覆使用全部內容則構成問題。在任何情況下，須先獲得相關老師同意方可提交作業。

由大學職員/老師製作的教學材料，包括課堂筆記、作業及考試題目等，其版權屬香港中文大學擁有；學生可從大學採用的網上教學系統 (例如Blackboard) 下載由大學職員/老師製作的教學材料供其學習使用；惟未經相關職員/老師事先同意下，不得分發/分享/複製這些材料予第三者。