Not the greatest GE to take. There are a lot of things you have to cover, with three essays (the second one overwrites the first tho) and you have to memorize 30 artifacts (5 of which will be tested on the midterm) and another 30 artifacts (10 tested on the final), 7 terms (5 on the final) and 5 essay prompts (3 on the final). Take the following with a grain of salt, but I don't think they look at the final essays, as we got our grades back within 6 hours, and I know I didn't write anything of substance.

Both professors (Falkenhausen and Hui Shu Lee) are hard to understand and follow along with. Lectures are very boring and hard to follow/not clearly organized, and your grade is mostly based on how hard you study for both the midterm and the final, which consist of memorization and short answer/essay responses.

Do not mistake this class as an easy GE. The lectures were disorganized and sometimes confusing to really take note. Sometimes I wasn't able to hear clearly of what the professor would say, so my notes would be incomplete, but it was still do-able. There is a lot of reading that you need to stay up-to-date simply to participate during discussions. I had a strict TA so I had to be very precise with dates and the dynasties talked about in class. The midterm was okay, but the final was brutal. You needed to memorize 11 terminologies, 30 images, and be prepared for any of the 5 essay questions that would be chosen (3 selected). I am glad to have passed the class but be prepared for the long readings and boring lectures.

Although I passed, I don’t recommend this class. Lectures are boring, with slides showing only an image, date, and author. The professor’s quiet tone makes it hard to focus, and since lectures are optional, I stopped attending by week 3. Discussion takes participation, but is more engaging and my TA was kind, understanding with deadlines, and graded leniently. Our section made a study guide which SAVED me for the midterm and final.

The workload is manageable: optional readings, three papers (the second being a rewrite), a midterm requiring memorization of 20 figures (write-ups on 5), and a final with 11 terms, 30 paintings, and 5 essays to prep for. Even though not all terms, paintings, and essays were chosen, it was HELL to study for. Recalling information was incredibly hard as there were no activities to solidify concepts. It may seem easy but you'd probably be focused on topics in your other classes than this irrelevant one... Overall, there are better GE options don't do this one.

If you are interesting in art history, and reading about the art and history of Chinese empires, this class might be interesting and fun for you. However, don't gaslight yourself into thinking you can just fulfill it easily as a GE. If you aren't interested, I wouldn't take it. Dropped second week when they started teaching mandarin. Lots of reading every week, probably doable but didn't interest me at all.