Course teached as: B005604 - LINGUA E LETTERATURA CINESE Second Cycle Degree in LANGUAGES AND CULTURES OF ANCIENT AND MODERN EAST
Teaching Language
Italian,English, Chinese
Course Content
The course provides an introduction to the most important literary movements, authors and works in Chinese literature from the Treaty of Nanjing (1842) to the establishment of the People Republic of China (1949). Part of the course is then dedicated to presenting the most common strategies used to translate literary texts from Chinese to Italian and to the analysis and translation of original literary texts from the era covered during the course.
Manuals of history of Chinese literature:
- Bertuccioli G., La letteratura cinese (pp. 323-412);
- McDougall B. S., Kam L., The Literature of China in the Twentieth Century (solo la prima parte)
- Mostow J. S. (ed), The Columbia Companion to Modern East Asian Literature (pag. 57-80);
- Goldman M. (ed), Modern Chinese Literature in the May Fourth Era (pp. 17-61; 145-159);
- Pesaro N., "Letteratura cinese moderna e contemporanea", in Scarpari M. (a cura di), Cina. Verso la modernita' (pp. 693-720).
For exercising in translation:
Lao She, Diamoci un tono!
The student will also pick a reading for each of the following categories:
1) Context: Lavagnino A. ,Mottura B., Cina e modernità (only the period covered by the course)
2) Focus on fiction: one reading to be chosen between Hsia C.T. A History of Modern Chinese Fiction (only the period covered by the course); Sabattini M., Santangelo P. Il pennello di lacca (only the introduction and the second part).
3) A literary work to be chosen between Yu Dafu Naufragio; Lu Xun Fuga sulla luna.
4) A literary work to be chosen between Shen Congwen Città di confine; Qian Zhongshu Uomini, bestie, demoni;
5) Focus on translation strategies, a reading to be chosen between: Eco U. Dire quasi la stessa cosa, Osimo M. Manuale del traduttore.
Other texts in Chinese to be considered part of the program will be made available on moodle.
As for dictionaries, students can use the Zanichelli “Il dizionario di cinese” or take advantage of online dictionaries.
Learning Objectives
1. Knowledge and understanding: the course aims to provide a comprehensive knowledge of the most relevant literary genres, authors, works and literary events between the mid XIX century and the mid XX century.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding: by the end of the course students are able to apply the acquired knowledge, using it in the more complex field of Chinese civilization studies and they are able to compare it to cultural elements belonging to the European tradition.
3. Making judgements: by the end of the course students are able to independently pursue the study of Chinese modern literature, deriving information from specialized bibliographies and choosing by themselves readings pertaining to the historical period they have studied in class. Moreover, students are able to critically frame the contents of these readings and works.
4. Communication skills: by the end of the course, students are able to clearly illustrate the knowledge acquired, proving their competence in using technical terminology and their ability to analyze different literary events.
5. Learning skills: by the end of the course students are able to improve their knowledge on Chinese Modern literature exchanging views with teachers and other students. In addition, they are able to independently find both bibliographic and audio-visual tools, useful to research the field of Chinese literature, which can be used as an instrument to an additional and independent in-depth study of the discipline.
Prerequisites
It is required an intermediate competence in Italian and a level of Chinese similar to that of HSK 3/4 or CEFR B1/2.
Teaching Methods
frontal class, students' presentations, materials discussion, language exercise
Further information
none
Type of Assessment
At least a week before the day of the exam, the students are invited to send via email the written translation of one of the courses studied in class. Besides this written assignment, the students must pass an oral test. The oral test consists in the reading and translation of one of the Chinese language literary texts studied in class and in two open questions, one on the reading list and one on a literary phenomenon covered in class.
The final grades are constituted by the valuation of the three parts of the exam, that is the written assignment, the oral Chinese language performance, and the answers to the questions provided during the exam.
The exam aims to ascertaining:
- A basic knowledge on the history of the Chinese literature from the Opium wars to the establishment of the People’s Republic of China;
- The competence to recognize and describe literary phenomena in Chinese history.
- The skill to read, comprehend and translate texts in Chinese language previously studied in class.
- The skill to properly use the terminology in use in this discipline.
Course program
The course introduces to the students the main stages of the development of Chinese literature from the Opium wars and the consequent violent penetration of European powers in China to the civil war between Guomindang and the Chinese Communist Party, that will end with the establishment of the People’s Republic of China. The topics covered are as follows: anti Manchu literature, wuxia literature and mandarin ducks literature, the reformers, the translators, the birth of the Republic, the literary revolution, May 4th movement, the literary societies, short stories in the first half of the XX century, Lu Xun, Yu Dafu, Shen Congwen, Qian Zhongshu, women writers of the first half of the XX century Bing Xin, Ding Ling, Zhang Ailing, modern Chinese novels, Mao Dun, Lao She, Ba Jin, modern Chinese poetry, Guo Moruo, Xu Zhimo, Wen Yiduo, Ai Qing, Tian Jian, Modern Chinese theatre Cao Yu, Tian Han; Chinese modernism, Mu Shiying and the rise of communism.