首页>Courses>Understanding China through Texts I

This course is designed to help Chinese studies majors enhance their Chinese language, textual research competencies, and understanding of China. The selected texts for this course vary according to the instructor’s research expertise and students’ research interests. There will be workshops helping students identify major journals and archives in Chinese language, pick relevant research texts for close reading, explore fiction writing, develop essay writing and present on the topic based on the selected reading. The class will be conducted in Mandarin to accommodate students’ language proficiency.

By the end of the term, students should have:

– improved reading and writing skills in Chinese.
– learned to use major Chinese-language databases, read Chinese-language journals, and synthesize knowledge and opinions from Chinese-language scholarship.
– grasped research skills in China-related topics and improved their ability to articulate their views in Chinese through oral and written presentations.
– basic understanding of the Chinese society.

Week 1(Sep 4)  Course Overview

I. Literature in Republican China

Week 2(Sep 11)  May Fourth Literature: Lu Xun

Week 3(Sep 18)  May Fourth Literature: Shen Congwen

Week 4(Sep 25)  Writing Workshop 1

In-class Assignment: Short Story Review

Essay 1 Due by 7pm Sep 29

Week 5   The day following National Day, No class

Week 6(Oct 9)  May Fourth Literature: Lu Yin

II. Literature in Contemporary China

Week 7(Oct 16)  Post-1949 China: Liu Xinwu, Shi Tiesheng

Week 8  Chung Yeung Festival, No class

Week 9(Oct 30) Post-1979 China: Yu Hua 1

Week 10(Nov 6)  Post-1979 China: Yu Hua 2

Week 11(Nov 13)  Writing Workshop 2: Literary Criticism

In-class Assignment 2: Essay Review

Essay 2 Due by 7pm Nov 17

Week 12(Nov 20)  Post-1979 China: Su Tong

Week 13(Nov 27)  Final Project Presentation 期末報告 I

Week 14(Dec 4)  Final Project Presentation 期末報告 II

Final Paper Due by 7pm Dec 8

1) Attendance and Participation (15%)

2) Discussion Facilitation (15%)

2) Essays (20% each – 40% total)

3) Final Project (30%)

Attention is drawn to University policy and regulations on honesty in academic work, and to the disciplinary guidelines and procedures applicable to breaches of such policy and regulations. Details may be found at http://www.cuhk.edu.hk/policy/academichonesty/.With each assignment, students will be required to submit a signed declaration that they are aware of the policies, regulations and procedures.