Chinese Course Descriptions
Chinese 110
- First-Year Chinese
Full course for one year. A beginner’s course in standard
(Mandarin) modern spoken and written Chinese, aimed at building a
solid foundation in all its aspects: pronunciation (especially the
tones), syntax, and basic vocabulary. Attention is given to a
balanced development of all the basic skills of the language:
listening and reading comprehension, speaking, and writing. Pinyin
is the romanization system used in this and all other Chinese
language courses. Both the traditional and simplified characters
are taught. Students are expected to read both and write one of the
two versions. Lecture-conference.
Chinese 210
- Second-Year Chinese
Full course for one year. This course continues to build students’
basic skills and take them to intermediate-level proficiency.
Prerequisite: Chinese 110 or acceptance through placement test.
Lecture-conference.
Chinese 311
- Third-Year Chinese
Full course for one semester, designed to develop all the four
skills to higher levels of proficiency. Particular emphasis is
placed on reading and speaking. Greater facility in writing Chinese
characters and competence in simple essay writing are the aims of
written work in this course. Prerequisite: Chinese 210 or
acceptance through placement test. Conference.
Chinese 325
- Songs to Lost Music: Readings in Ci-Poetry
Full course for one semester. This course investigates the rise and
the development of ci-poetry, a genre related closely to
music. The formal features and their emotional qualities, major
modes of expression, and different stages of its development from
the ninth to thirteenth centuries are the foci in the close reading
of selected poems. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Conference.
Cross-listed as Literature 325. Not offered 2005-06.
Chinese 316
- Classical Chinese
Full course for one semester. Intensive introduction to the grammar
of classical Chinese through the study of selections from ancient
literary, historical, and philosophical texts. Readings include the
Analects, Mencius, Zhuangzi,Shiji, and
Tang-Song prose essays. Conducted in Chinese. Prerequisite: Chinese
210 or equivalent. Conference.
Chinese 325
- Songs to Lost Music: Readings in Ci-Poetry
Full course for one semester. This course investigates the rise and
the development of ci-poetry, a genre related closely to
music. The formal features and their emotional qualities, major
modes of expression, and different stages of its development from
the ninth to thirteenth centuries are the foci in the close reading
of selected poems. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Conference.
Cross-listed as Literature 325. Not offered 2005-06.
Chinese 326
- Chinese Narrative Tradition
Full course for one semester. This course surveys the narrative
tradition in Chinese literature, including narrative poetry,
storytelling, short story, and full-length narrative in the context
of the narrative tradition in China. While primary emphasis is on
the late imperial period that produced the monumental works, such
as Outlaws of the Marsh, Romance of the Three
Kingdoms, Journey to the West, and the Dream of the
Red Chamber, works of the earlier periods are also introduced
to show early stages of the development, formation of the source
materials, and the continuity of the tradition. Readings in
English. Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Conference. Cross-listed
as Literature 326. Not offered 2005–06.
Chinese 327
- Representations of the Cultural Revolution
Full course for one semester. The Cultural Revolution (1966–76),
the longest single political crisis in recent Chinese history, has
been amply represented, even in English, by its victims, critics,
and contemporary eulogists in various forms of expression,
including official and unofficial historiography, personal memoirs,
fiction, cinema, visual arts, and icons turned into memorabilia.
Using selected texts and items from these different genres, the
course explores representation, memory, reality, genre, sign, and
interpretation. Although much of the material is sociopolitically
oriented, the focus of the course is within the realm of literary
and cultural criticism. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.
Lecture-conference.
Chinese 334
- The Yijing: Text and Tradition of the Book of Changes
Full course for one semester. The Yijing, or Book of
Changes, is a text of limitless possibilities. This course
explores various strategies of reading the text and examines
philosophical, religious, historical, and literary critical
implications of the text and the tradition associated with it. The
system and the language of the 64 hexagrams and various layers of
attached verbalization are the focus of investigation. Readings are
in English. Students who take the course for Chinese credit meet
for additional tutoring to read parts of the text in the original.
Prerequisite: sophomore standing. Conference. Cross-listed as
Literature 334.
Chinese 344
- Chinese Drama and Theater
Full course for one semester. This course examines two interwoven
subjects: the literary values of classical and modern Chinese
drama, and the multidimensional forms of Chinese theatrical art.
Texts include classics of Yuan and southern drama and
representative works of the present century. Both primary and
secondary materials are in English. Film adaptations and
documentaries on video are also used for close study. Tutoring is
available for students taking the course for Chinese credit.
Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 345. Not offered 2005–06.
Chinese 346
- Avant-Garde Fiction and Contemporary Chinese Cinema
Full course for one semester. This course investigates interactions
between avant-garde writers and contemporary Chinese cinema since
the 1980s. Issues to be explored include loss and gain through
movie adaptation, representations of reality, and modes of
narration. Through a comparative analysis of literary works and
related movies, negotiation between individuality and conformity
will be discussed in the context of a commercializing society.
Readings are in translation, and films selected are subtitled in
English. No Chinese language training is required. Readings in the
original Chinese and additional instruction will be offered for
students taking this course for Chinese credit. Prerequisite:
sophomore standing. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 346. Not
offered 2005–06.
Chinese 347
- Generations of Chinese Cinema
Full course for one semester. The course examines the growth of
Chinese cinema in the hands of five "generations" of filmmakers and
beyond, focusing on the development of aesthetics of Chinese film
and the changing role of film as social commentary and cultural
critique. Most of the films on tape have English subtitles.
Readings include basic film theories and materials specific to
Chinese film. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 347.
Chinese 355
- Early Chinese Philosophical Texts
Full course for one semester. This course examines various
philosophical discourses in the early period leading to the
unification in 221 B.C. It will be a selective discussion of a few
major philosophical texts and schools of thought. We will
investigate the predominant interest in human nature and
cultivation, the epistemological models for understanding such
emphases, and the implications of Chinese epistemology. Readings in
translation. Students taking the course for Chinese credit will
meet for additional hours for the guided reading of selected texts
in the original Chinese. Conference. Cross-listed as Literature
355. Not offered 2005-06.
Chinese 368
- Literature and Culture of Late Imperial China
Full course for one semester. This course examines the major
authors, genres, literary works and textual and cultural artifacts
of late imperial China (fourteenth to nineteenth centuries), a
period marked by distinctive modes of urban life, material
connoisseurship, and expanding commercialism. We will read popular
literary forms such as fiction, drama, and encyclopedias as well as
works in classical traditions, focusing on issues such as gender
and masculinity, desire and homo/hetero-eroticism, theater and
print, and text and commentary. All readings will be in English.
Additional instruction will be arranged for students taking the
course for Chinese credit. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.
Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 368. Not offered 2005–06.
Chinese 378
- Chinese Mainland Women Writers Since the 1980s
Full course for one semester. This course introduces representative
women writers from mainland China since the 1980s with a focus on
their projections of women’s image in conflict either with
traditional values and expectations or official ideology. Their
search for self and individuality will be discussed in the context
of a fast-changing society in which Western influences find various
expressions in and beyond literature. This course is a window
towards a better understanding of Chinese women and Chinese
culture. Readings in translation. Readings in the original Chinese
and additional instruction will be offered for students taking this
course for Chinese credit. Prerequisite: sophomore standing.
Conference. Cross-listed as Literature 378. Not offered 2005–06.
Chinese 411
- Selected Readings and Essay Writing
Full course for one semester. This is an advanced-level Chinese
language course aimed at further developing reading knowledge and
writing skills. All reading texts are unadapted originals in
twentieth-century Chinese literature. Regular exercises in
narrative and expository writing. Conducted in Chinese.
Prerequisite: Chinese 311, 316, or equivalent. Conference.
Chinese 470
- Thesis
One-half or full course for one year.
Chinese 481
- Independent Study
One-half or full course for one semester. Prerequisite: approval of
instructor and division.
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