CHINESE LITERATURE 2
- Academic year
- 2023/2024 Syllabus of previous years
- Official course title
- LETTERATURA CINESE 2
- Course code
- LT004I (AF:476336 AR:223276)
- Modality
- On campus classes
- ECTS credits
- 6
- Subdivision
- Surnames A-L
- Degree level
- Bachelor's Degree Programme
- Educational sector code
- L-OR/21
- Period
- 2nd Semester
- Course year
- 2
- Where
- VENEZIA
- Moodle
- Go to Moodle page
Contribution of the course to the overall degree programme goals
Expected learning outcomes
Pre-requirements
Contents
- The role of the author/literati through history and the ethical-political principle of wen yi zai dao 文以载道
- Song poetry: styles and main authors between amorous outbursts and cosmic melancholy
- The minor genre: prose and vernacular from huaben 話本 to zhanghui xiaoshuo 章回小說, via the fantastic
- The Ming and Qing novel: political satire, social relations and gender dynamics in four masterpieces of the era
- The literary revolution: the bumpy emergence of the ego and the relationship between the personal and the political in early 20th century writers
- Revolutionary literature: the trajectory of the poets in the shadow of the Yan'an Talks
- Wounds and roots: the literature of the 1980s, the rediscovered self and different strategies of "escape" from history
- From unrealism to reality and back: trends in contemporary literature and the author's uncertain future
- Science fiction between "soft power" and "the poetics of the invisible"
Referral texts
The reading of a classic novel is required, to be chosen from the following (please refer to the Italian-language page for Italian-language editions; English-language editions are also accepted in consultation with the instructor):
- Cao Xueqing, The Dream of the Red Chamber
- Jin Ping Mei
- Wu Cheng'en, Journey to the West
- Shi Nai’an, Water Margin
Students are also required to read at least one modern or contemporary work chosen from the following list (English-language editions are also accepted in consultation with the instructor):
- Lu Xun, Grida ed Esitazione (tr. N. Pesaro), Palermo: Sellerio, 2021 e 2022.
- Ba Jin, Famiglia (tr. L. Andolfatto), Roma: Atmosphere, 2019.
- Lao She, Il ragazzo del risciò (tr. A. C. Lavagnino), Milano: Mondadori, 2019.
- Lao She, I due Ma, padre e figlio (tr. M. Gottardo e M. Morzenti), Milano: Mondadori, 2021.
- Lao She, La città dei gatti (tr. E. Masi), Milano: Mondadori, 2024.
- Acheng, La trilogia dei re (tr. M. R. Masci), Roma: Theoria, 2018.
- Mo Yan, Sorgo rosso (tr. R. Lombardi), Torino: Einaudi, 1997.
- Mo Yan, Il paese dell’alcol (tr. S. Calamandrei), Torino: Einaudi, 2015.
- Wang Anyi, La canzone dell’eterno rimpianto (tr. M. R. Masci), Torino: Einaudi, 2011.
- Yu Hua, Vivere! (tr. N. Pesaro), Milano: Feltrinelli, 2009.
- Yan Lianke, Il sogno del villaggio dei Ding (tr. L. Regola), Roma: Nottetempo, 2011.
- Yan Lianke, I quattro libri (tr. L. Regola), Roma: Nottetempo, 2018.
- Chen Qiufan, Marea tossica (tr. Benedetta Tavani), Milano: Mondadori, 2020.
- Liu Cixin, Il problema dei tre corpi (tr. Benedetta Tavani), Milano: Mondadori, 2017.
2. HANDBOOKS
- Cai, Zong-qi (a cura di), How to Read Chinese Poetry, New York: Columbia University Press, 2007 [parte 5 “The Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty”].
- Masi, Edoarda, Storie del bosco letterario, Milano: Scheiwiller, 2002 [cap. “Il singolare e il plurale”, cap. “Il ‘romanzo’”].
- Pesaro, Nicoletta e Melinda Pirazzoli, La narrativa cinese del Novecento. Autori, opere, correnti, Roma: Carocci, 2019 [capp. 1. “Lu Xun e la narrativa sociale”, 5. “Realismo e realismi”, 7. “La ‘ricerca delle radici’ e l’‘avanguardia narrativa’”].
The slides uploaded onto Moodle are part of the examination material.
3. SUPPORTING BIBLIOGRAPHY (OPTIONAL)
- Bertuccioli, Giuliano, La letteratura cinese, Roma: L’asino d’oro, 2013 [cap. 5 “La letteratura dell’epoca delle Cinque Dinastie e della dinastia Song].
- Denton, Kirk A. (a cura di), The Columbia Companion to Modern Chinese Literature, New York: Columbia University Press, 2016.
- Knight, Sabina, Letteratura cinese (tr. F. Casalin), Milano: Hoepli, 2021.
- Masi, Edoarda, Cento trame di capolavori della letteratura cinese, Milano: Rizzoli 1991, oppure Macerata: Quodlibet, 2014.
- Pozzana, Claudia, La poesia pensante. Inchieste sulla poesia cinese contemporanea, Macerata: Quodlibet, 2010.
Assessment methods
The test consists of three questions on specific topics, and a fourth point analysing and commenting on a passage from a novel, contextualising it in relation to the themes of the course and linking it to the individual readings. It will be possible to consult the individual readings during the examination.
In addition to the necessary argumentative ability and the correctness of the answers, efforts to make links to the individual readings in an independent way will be highly valued.
Teaching methods
Further information
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 2023-24) only for the first four appeals after the delivery of the course (two in June 2024, one in September 2024 and one in February 2025). Once these four appeals have passed, students will have to take the exam with the new programme of the academic year 2024-25.