Prof. Egan is very knowledgeable about chinese history and the characters. However, he talks fairly slow and his lectures are a bit boring. He is a nice guy but usually put way too much info on his slides.

simple class if you prepare beforehand. for the tests memorize his translations given in class. final was "open book" in the sense that we could use online dictionaries. overall easy A as long as you work hard to prepare and memorize before tests.

Fun guy, easy class. You can get a good grade just by attending class and not reading, but the reading does help on some quiz questions and on the final. Easy to follow and take notes, really interesting topics. I knew nothing about pre-modern China (and little about modern China) before taking this class, but now I feel I know a lot.

I had Egan for 101A and B. This class is tough. You HAVE to come prepared. He takes attendance very seriously and will notice if you're gone. He seems scary and really intense, maybe because he kind of is, but he really does know his stuff. Be prepared to be doing homework every night for a few hours. Midterm, final and quizzes: fair if prepared.

The class is really hard, so don't sign up for it if you're not in for some hardcore Chinese. On the other hand, this class will teach you more than I could ever explain here. The Professor seems scary at first, but in fact cares about his teaching and the subject. Recommended for Asia-philes.

you need to read the stuff before class. He will ask students to translate the texts. As long as you go to class, take good notes/write down the translations, you will be fine. He's a very nice old man. very approachable in and outside of class.