CHINESE LITERATURE 2

The course is part of the main teaching activities of the B.A. degree in Language, Culture and Society of Asia and Mediterranean Africa (curriculum China) and it will provide the students with a wider understanding of Chinese culture and literature.

At the end of the course the student will acquire a thorough knowledge of the literary genres, works and authors of Chinese literature, as well as the cultural context, from the late Tang era to the contemporary age.

There are no pre-requirements

The course will focus on genres, forms and authors of Chinese literature from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the contemporary age. Lessons of a historical-critical nature on the major works, the most influential authors and the most significant currents of the period.

Mair, Victor H. (2001). "The Columbia History of Chinese Literature". New York: Columbia University Press (saggi numero 15, 17, 24, 34, 35, 38, 39, 42)
Pesaro, Nicoletta; Pirazzoli, Melinda (2019). "La narrativa cinese del Novecento". Roma: Carocci (capp. 1, 2, 5, 7, 8.1, 8.3, 8.4, 8.5, 9.1, 9.2, 9.4, 10.1, 10.5)
Denton, Kirk A. (ed.) (2016). "The Columbia Companion to Modern Chinese Literature". New York: Columbia University Press (capp. 13, 15, 28, 37, 38, 40, 50, 56).

The files of the lessons uploaded on the moodle page of the course at the end of each lesson.

A list of poems, chosen among those analysed during the lessons, will be provided at the end of the course: these poems will be required for the exam in their original Chinese version and without translation.

All of the following texts will be required for the exam (only in the following translations):

a. Luo Guanzhong (2018). “The Romance of the Three Kingdoms”, translated by Martin Palmer, He Yun, Jay Ramsay, Victoria Finlay. London: Penguin.
b. Shen Fu (2019). “Racconti di una fugace esistenza. Memorie di un povero erudito”, translated by V. Cerqua e A. Pensante. Milano: Luni.
c. Lao She (2019). “Il ragazzo del risciò”, translated by Alessandra Lavagnino. Milano: Mondadori.
d. Mo Yan (1997). “Sorgo rosso”, translated by Rosa Lombardi. Torino: Einaudi.

Exam in written form with multiple-choice and open questions.

The course will be carried out through frontal lessons that integrate the content of the textbooks. Lesson materials and further in-depth materials will then be uploaded to the moodle page of the course, available to both attending and non-attending students. There will be weekly receptions to assist both attending and non-attending students.

Students are recommended to use the moodle platform of the course to download the presentations of the lessons (uploaded on a weekly basis by the teacher and part of the programme to be carried out), further materials and details on the topics of the lessons.

For logistical reasons and to ensure the quality of teaching, it is recommended to respect the alphabetical partitions (A-L and M-Z). Please also note that you can only take the exam within your alphabetical partition.

It will be possible to take the exam with the programme carried out in this course (academic year 2020-21) only for the first four appeals after the delivery of the course (two in June 2021, one in September 2021 and one in February 2022). Once these four appeals have passed, students will have to take the exam with the new programme of the academic year 2021-22.

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