CHINESE PHILOLOGY

1. to be interested and curious in the subject, building up motivation for potential further education;
2. to understand the link between modern Chinese social mentality / culture / art etc. and classic literature, answering the ‘why-to-learn’ question;
3. to master a clear study method, answering the ‘how-to-learn’ question;
4. to be familiar with the linguistic evolution and the principles of Chinese character formation, with which one should be able to guess the meaning of an unknown character;
5. to be familiar with a couple of basic Chinese classics;
6. to be able to read and understand simple classical texts in Chinese, which requires: to understand basic grammatical phenomenon and to manage the use of often-seen key words;
7. to some extent, to be able to re-use the knowledge from classic literature in modern-day Chinese speaking and writing;
8. to be able to understand the aesthetics of classical Chinese poetry, and to be able to recite at least one poem.

Section 1: ‘What & How’ – introduction to the subject, content and teaching method of the course;

Section 2A: ‘Why’ – introduction to the purpose and goals of the course, from the approach of history, art and culture;

Section 2B: ‘Why” – introduction to the purpose and goals of the course, from the approach of present, ideology and future;

Section 3: Reading textbook and materials provided by the teacher, interpretation and grammatical analysis. Should teaching be carried out in a mixed or remote mode, necessary changes with respect to what was previously stated may be introduced, in order to respect the program envisaged and reported in the syllabus.

Should teaching be carried out in mixed mode or remotely, it may be necessary to introduce changes with respect to previous statements, in line with the programme planned and outlined in the syllabus.

Section 1

1. definition of ‘classical Chinese’;
2. time plan, textbook and exam requirements of the course;

Section 2A

1. ‘Stele’, the Chinese way of arousing sense of history through reading classical texts on monumental stones in situ. Poem: Yu Zhu Zi Deng Xian Shan [与诸子登岘山] by Meng Haoran [孟浩然]. Text: the story of Cao Cao [曹操] and Yang Xiu [杨修] from Shi Shuo Xin Yu [世说新语];
2. ‘Ornamental Significance’, the Chinese way of artistic appreciation through making reference to classic literature. Poem: Qing Liang Tai [清凉台] by Shi Tao [石涛], Jiang Cun [江村] by Du Fu [杜甫]. The story of Lan Ting Xu [兰亭序]. Text: Zhuang Zi ·Qiu Shui [庄子·秋水];
3. ‘Fortune’, literature reference in Chinese visual folk art. Text: Han Wu Di Nei Zhuan [汉武帝内传], and the story of Confucius mourning Qilin [麒麟] from Shi Yi Ji [拾遗记].

Section 2B

‘Old Bottle with New Wine’, reference of ancient classics in contemporary Chinese society. Text: Lun Yu ·Xue Er [论语·学而], Zhong Yong [中庸]. Liu Shu [六书], the six principles of Chinese character formation. Poem: Shui Diao Ge Tou [水调歌头] by Su Shi [苏轼].

Section 3

1. Text: Zheng Ren Mai Lü [郑人买履], Zi Xiang Mao Dun [自相矛盾]. Poem: Chun Xiao [春晓] by Meng Haoran;
2. Text : Yu Bang Xiang Zheng [鹬蚌相争], Hua She Tian Zu [画蛇添足]. Extra text: Hu Jia Hu Wei [狐假虎威];
3. Text: Wei Xue Yi Shou Shi Zi Zhi [为学一首示子侄]. Poem: Jing Ye Si [静夜思] by Li Bai [李白];
4. Text: Ai Lian Shuo [爱莲说]. Poem: Wang Lu Shan Pu Bu [望庐山瀑布] by Li Bai;
5. Text: Qian Zhi Lü [黔之驴]. Poem: Jiu Yue Jiu Ri Yi Shan Dong Xiong Di [九月九日忆山东兄弟] by Wang Wei [王维];
6. Text: Lang [狼]. Poem: Chun Ye Xi Yu [春夜喜雨] by Du Fu;
7. Text: Lun Yu Jiu Ze [论语九则]. Poem: Mai Tan Weng [卖炭翁] by Bai Juyi [白居易];
8. Text: Yan Zi Shi Chu [晏子使楚]. Poem: Feng Qiao Ye Bo [枫桥夜泊] by Zhang Ji [张继];
9. Text: Yu Gong Yi Shan [愚公移山]. Poem: Wang Yue [望岳] by Du Fu.

GUDAI HANYU (XIUDING BEN) SHANG CE [古代汉语（修订本）上册, Ancient Chinese (re-edition) Volume I], Beijing Language and Culture University Press, 2010 ISBN 978-7-5619-2701-4

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