The course provides good training in the skills required to pursue research in the field of Chinese history. Introducing students to a range of methodologies including research designs, data collection and mining, textual analyses and criticisms, argument formation and literature reviews, this course is designed to acquaint students with a variety of approaches taken by historians to perceive the past and enhance their abilities in investigating Chinese history. It primarily focuses on the following sections: 1) Learning how to skillfully use research tools with regard to historical characters, eras, geography, systems and ancient records to examine Chinese history. 2) Studying the important theories and concepts put forth by historians in recent years. Teachers will analyze the construction and deconstruction of historical thinking in China. 3) Referring to distinguished ancient and contemporary historians and precisely illustrating the principles and techniques of differentiating, utilizing, examining and analyzing historical materials. Students will be asked to read a number of books and articles written by leading historians, which demonstrate excellent application of historical methods to their research.