CHIN 31200
Jim Bonk, PhD
MWF 11-11:50
Syllabus:
Literary Chinese
Course Description
This course provides an introduction to classical Chinese, the shared written language of premodern East Asia. The language is an essential tool for advanced historical, literary, or cultural study in any part of East Asia. The course provides an introduction to texts that were widely-read across the region as well as a selection of Chinese historical documents. These texts will include historical writings from Sima Qian’s Shiji; biographies from Liu Xiang’s Lienü zhuan; and excerpts from Daoist and Confucian classics such as Zhuangzi and Mengzi.
The course is open to Chinese native speakers and language learners who have taken CHIN 302. Others who wish to register should first contact Dr. Bonk (jbonk@wooster.edu).
Student Learning Goals:
- Students will learn essential grammar and vocabulary of classical Chinese
- Students will be familiar with the range of genres written in classical Chinese
- Students will be able to use tools for translating and analyzing classical Chinese texts in their original context
- Students will gain a greater knowledge of the East Asian cultural tradition and become familiar with non-Western conceptual schemes and modes of thought