History of Chinese Literature: 1300 to 1900 (01:165:462)
Course Guidelines and Syllabus
Fall 2014
T 1:10-4:10
Instructor: Peng Xu
Scott Hall 337
xupeng.2013@ rutgers.edu
Course Description: This survey course introduces major authors, works, and movements that
have constituted the development of Chinese literature from the Yuan Dynasty to the dawn of the
20th century. Students are introduced to the most representative works in a variety of genres as
well as different ways of approaching literary texts critically. Course materials are organized
chronologically around different themes, using each work as a starting point to engage a larger
topic important to the social and intellectual history of late imperial China. Issues we will address
include the “vernacular” writing and classical storytelling, the cult of qing in late imperial China,
and the inception of literary modernity around the turn of the twentieth century. Relevant cultural
and historical contexts will be provided in class. Students are expected to participate actively in
class discussions, during which the texts will be read closely. In addition to class discussion,
students are required to do at least one in-class presentation on the assigned readings. No
background in Chinese language or literature is required. Students with reading ability in modern
and literary Chinese are encouraged to read the texts in the original, though class discussions will
be based on the English translations.
Requirements and Grading
Undergraduate students:
Attendance and Participation (10%): Students are required to attend all classes. Should your
absence be unavoidable, please use the Absence Self-Reporting system
(https://sims.rutgers.edu/ssra/) to indicate the date and reason for your absence. Students will
need to come to class having read and pondered all of the assigned texts (both primary and
secondary). Students must bring a copy of the reading assignment to class. Participation does
not mean just attendance; rather it means active engagement in group discussion.
Class Presentations (20%): Students taking the class will take turns presenting individual readings
to the class. The goal of your presentation in general is to call our attention to the distinctive
literary features of the piece. Ideally you will use this presentation to produce an introductory
paragraph for your term paper. You should answer the following separate but interrelated
questions in your presentation (not necessarily in lock-step fashion, but they should be easy to
discern):
Fiction: 1) Who is the narrator? 2) What backstory is provided? Why is it necessary? 3) How are
the characters defined? 4) In what ways does the main character (and other characters) change in
the course of the story? 5) Has the story given a new twist to Confucian values? If so, how is this
made? 6) Have you encountered a similar theme? If so, where?
Drama: 1) Which character(s) get the sung part and which character(s) get only the spoken part?
Are the singers and the protagonists the same ones? If not, why? 2) What are the actions of the
characters? 3) What props and distinct costume designs are indicated in the stage directions? 4)
What kind of new audience can you imagine the new stories in the medium of drama were told
to? 5) Choose from the list of dramatic terminology (see handout “Dramatic Terminology”) one
specific term that you think would enhance our understanding of the play, and explain how the
term is significant in understanding the play. Or 6) If it is an adaptation, how are the old stories
and tales molded to the playwright’s own purposes?
Each presentation should be 5-10 minutes.
Note on civility in the classroom: students are expected to uphold basic standards of classroom
decorum, which means arriving to class on time, no texting or surfing the internet, no chatting
with your neighbors, and no eating during class.
Term Paper (30%): 5-7 pages in length. Choose a theme, issue or author and construct an
argument based on close reading of two or more texts. Try to be original and careful in your
analysis. Students must retain a copy of each paper. Written work for this course must be entirely
your own and careful citation of credible sources should conform with The Chicago Manual of
Style. For guidelines, see: http://www.chicagomanualofstyle.org/tools_citationguide.html.
Violations of academic integrity, such as cheating, plagiarism, helping others to violate academic
integrity, or submitting another’s work as your own, will not be tolerated. Any violation will
result in zero credit for that assignment and will be reported to the Office of Student Conduct.
Ignorance of the rules and conventions of attribution and citation is not considered a mitigating
factor. See Rutgers University guidelines on academic integrity at:
http://academicintegrity.rutgers.edu/integrity.shtml
Final exam (40%): The exam will consist of 75 short answer questions, of which you need only
answer 50. Most of these questions will be factual (though interpretation will come into them).
It’s in your best interest to answer as many questions as possible, because I will choose your 50
best answers.
The point of the exam is to make sure you have a general template/ timeline of the development
of fiction and drama in your head; that you are familiar with the various genres, terms, major
works and important authors we have talked about in class.
Your best tools for studying for the exam are the bibliographies uploaded on sakai, which map
out the topics, my handouts that include lists of terms, and notes you took in class. I will ask at
least one question for each bibliography. You can use the explanatory essays in the Indiana
Companion and the Cambridge History of Chinese Literature volumes of fiction and drama to
supplement.
Graduate students:
Graduate students will be introduced to the basic historiography, sources, and methods for the
study of pre-twentieth century Chinese fiction and drama. Beyond primary and secondary texts
assigned to undergraduate students, graduate students should read intensively and focus primarily
on understanding the field: that is, the invention of Chinese literary history as a discipline in the
Republican period.
1.
Attendance and Participation (10%): See above.
2.
Book review (20%): You are asked to write 1 8-page book review, which focuses
on a specific book from your bibliography. The book should be published no later than
2010. Instructions on how to write an academic book review will be offered in class.
3.
Bibliography (30%): At the beginning of the semester, you will consult with me
and choose one specific topic most relevant to your research interest. You will be sent a
file of bibliography by email attachment (in Word) to expand, update, and revise.
Working on a bibliography from scratch is encouraged and will be given extra credit.
You are responsible for emailing me your bibliography the day before the bibliography
will be used. I will then read and adjust your update accordingly and duplicate it for the
class.
In class you will report your findings in the form of a brief lecture, which should address
the following questions: 1) who are the founding scholars of the field and how did they
shape the field? 2) what are the current trends in the field? 3) what are the major works?
What contributions do the authors of these works make to the field? Your lecture will be
followed by an open-floor discussion.
The point of doing such a project is basically to add important secondary works,
contemporary editions, and translations. You should be more judicious with articles;
include them only if they seem particularly important and interesting. Be selective: we
can’t and don’t want to include everything. Annotation (just a few lines explaining what
something is about or what special features it includes) also transforms a bibliography
from a mere list into something much more useful.
4.
Final Exam (40%): See above.
Course Materials:
I. There are two types of required reading materials, of which students will need a hard copy:
A) A course reader in a PDF file, which will be made available to students enrolled in the
course
B) The following textbook may be purchased at Barnes and Noble and NJ Books. It is also
on reserve at the Alexander Library.
Stephen Owen, An Anthology of Chinese Literature: Beginnings to 1911. New York: W.W.
Norton & Company, 1996.
II. The following history books provide useful background and context.
The Cambridge History of China. Vols. 7&8. The Ming Dynasty
The Cambridge History of China. Vols. 9&10. Ch’ing Empire to 1800
The Cambridge History of China. Vols. 11&12. Late Ch’ing 1800 to 1911
Patricia Ebrey, The Cambridge Illustrated History of China
Syllabus:
Week 1 Overview of the course
Lecture: Methods and major issues.
Definitions of xiaoshuo; the creation of this field by Lu Xun and other early 20th century
scholars; the idea of “classical language fiction” (wenyan xiaoshuo) vs “vernacular
fiction” (baihua xiaoshuo)
Reading: Zeitlin, “Xiaoshuo” in The Novel, ed. Moretti, vol. 1, 249-262.
Week 2
1. Lecture: What is the vernacular (baihua)? What is “literature for
common folk?” (su wenxue)
2. Prosimetric literature (shuochang wenxue ; sometimes translated as
chantefable)
Readings: Stephen Owen, “The Yuan and Ming Dynasties: Period Intro”;
“Mahamaudgalyayana Rescuing His Mother” in Mair, Columbia Anthology of
Traditional Chinese Literature, 1093-1127.
Week 3
1.
2.
Early fictionalized history: pinghua or “plain tales”
Sangguo or Three Kingdoms
Readings: Chapters 41-50 in Brewitt-Taylor, The Romance of the Three
Kingdoms
*recommended: “Introduction” in C. T. Hsia, The Classic Chinese Novel
Week 4
1. The vernacular short story (“huaben” )
2. Religion, fantasy, and the novel: Xiyou ji (Journey to the West); other adventures
of gods and immortals
Readings: Feng Menglong (1574-1645), “The Oil Peddler” in Stories to Awaken
the World, 9-47; “Tripitaka does not forget his origin; The Four Sages test the priestly
mind,” and “The Cadaver Demon three times makes fun of Tripitaka T’ang; In spite the
holy monk bank banishes the Handsome Monkey King,” from The Journey to the West.
Week 5
1. Shuihu (Water Margin)
2. Jin Ping Mei (Plums in the Golden Vase)
Readings: “Wu Sung Fights the Tiger” with Commentary by Jin Shengtan, from
Water Margin; Chapter 27 from JPM
Week 6
The literati novel I: Rulin waishi (The Scholar)
The literati novel II: Honglou meng (Story of the Stone)
Readings: “Examiner Chou picks out true talent; Butcher Hu cuts up rough after good
news,” from The Scholars, 32-48; C.T. Hsia, “Foreword”; The Story of the Stone, Chapters 14-16,
18 (271-323, 353-374); Hawkes, “Introduction”
Week 7
The later novel I: the 18th century novel
The later novel II: 19th century fiction
Readings: Pu Songling (1640-1715), “The Laughing Girl” in Minford, Strange Tales
from a Chinese Studio (Liaozhai zhiyi), 152-167; “Lian-xiang”, “Xiao-cui” in Owen,
1103-1119; Selections from Han Bangqing, Flowers of Shanghai
Week 8
1. Lecture: How to study drama
Topics to be covered include the material study of drama; performance and ritual;
and early performance; basic reference tools for the study of drama
2. zaju (Yuan through Qing); the qu verse form; antecedents of zaju
Readings: "Moving Heaven and Shaking Earth: The Injustice to Dou E" in Idema and
West, Monks, Bandits and Immortals, 9-36; “Orphan of Chao” in Liu, Six Yuan Plays, 44-81.
Week 9
1. Xixiang ji 西廂記 (Story of the Western Wing)
2. nanxi (Southern Play), chuanqi drama
Readings: Selections from West & Idema, Story of the Western Wing
Week 10
1. Pipa ji (The Lute)
2. kunqu opera
Readings: Scene 2 from Mulligan, The Lute
Week 11
1. Mudanting (Peony Pavilion)
2. Taohua shan (Peach Blossom Fan)
Readings: Owen, An Anthology in Chinese Literature, “The Peony Pavilion: Selected
Acts,” 880-906; “Peach Blossom Fan: Selected Acts”
Week 12
1. Changsheng dian (Palace of Lasting Life)
2. Lecture: the shift from full-length plays to zhezi xi (performed excerpts from plays)
Readings: Selections in Owen, An Anthology in Chinese Literature
Week 13
1. The rise of Peking opera; yabu vs huabu
2. Lecture: The actor and the amateur; local opera (difang xi 地方戲); the invention of
“tradition”
Readings: Goldman, Andrea. Opera and the City, “Metropolitan Opera, Border
Crossings and the State,” 63-114.
Week 14
1. Review
2. Final Exam