CHIN

This course is designed to prepare the fourth year Chinese students for further language and cultural studies at graduate level and help them achieve the “Advanced-plus” level of proficiency in Mandarin Chinese, meaning the students should be able to perform all Advanced-level tasks (including reading, listening, speaking and writing) with linguistic ease, confidence, and competence. In order to achieve this goal, it is necessary for the students to be able to read original and authentic Chinese writings and to understand thoroughly the grammatical, idiomatic and cultural dimensions of these writings, further developing their linguistic and analytical skills based on the readings. This course will cover the most representative prose writings in modern Chinese literary history. They are all written by major writers and will give the students a unique opportunity to get access to the essence of Chinese cultures as well as the charm of the language itself.

Students will be introduced to a few significant topics concerning Chinese culture and history written in different genres and styles by the major writers. All the texts are original and unabridged. Vocabulary list will be provided with the texts in both traditional and simplified Chinese. Class instruction and discussion, conducted only in Chinese, will focus on the literary close reading, accompanied with a less proportion of grammar practices. The texts will also serve as models of writing and literary creation.