An introduction to the history of China, Japan, and their East Asian neighbors from earliest times through the sixteenth century. From sages and monks to merchants and samurai, the course examines the cultural, religious, political, and economic interactions that shaped premodern East Asia. The main focus of the course will be on China and Japan, with secondary attention to Korea, Vietnam, and regional interactions in Eurasia and maritime East Asia. Key factors will be the development of political and religious systems influenced by Confucian teachings, the spread and diffusion of Buddhism in East Asia, the construction of diplomatic and tributary systems within Asia, the rise of Mongol rule in East Asia, and Asia's initial contacts with the West.