SCIENZE UMANISTICHELinguistic and intercultural mediationAcademic Year 2022/2023

9795561 - CULTURA E LETTERATURA CINESE II

Teacher: MARCO MECCARELLI

Expected Learning Outcomes

Knowledge and understanding: general overview of the historical, philosophical, and artistic basic themes and issues of Chinese civilization for understanding the events and critical debate on Chinese literature, from the thirteenth century to contemporaneity.

 

Applying knowledge and understanding: Students will be able to understand and relate main historical events in the cultural and literary fields.

 

Making judgment: students will be able to obtain critical skills with the Chinese reality, in a different context of everyday life and professional life.

 

Communication skills: students will be able to express their ideas, projects, and results obtained in a complex and articulated way.

 

Learning skills: students will be able to interact with different professional and cultural contexts. They know how to interpret, understand and use independently their expressive capabilities.

 

Course Structure

Lectures but the teaching provides for the active participation of students during the lessons.

If the teaching is given in a mixed or remote mode, the necessary changes with respect to what was previously stated may be introduced, in order to comply with the program envisaged and reported in the syllabus.

Required Prerequisites

Passing the exam of "Chinese Culture and Literature I"

Detailed Course Content

The course will focus on the evolution of Chinese literature, from the Song dynasty at the threshold of contemporaneity, especially on erotic fiction. The students are required to study the historical, philosophical, and artistic contexts and the critical analysis of most representative literary works. Active participation in class will be strongly encouraged. In addition to the reference manuals, the teacher will submit additional materials during the semester. The course will focus on the evolution of Chinese literature, from the Yuan dynasty at the threshold of contemporaneity, especially on erotic fiction. The students are required to study the historical, philosophical, and artistic contexts and the critical analysis of most representative literary works. Active participation in class will be strongly encouraged. In addition to the reference manuals, the teacher will submit additional materials during the semester.

The main topics to be studied are:

- Period of the Five Dynasties and Song dynasty: prose (cultured and popular), story (huaben), and poetry (fu, shi and ci)

- Yuan dynasty: poetry sung on arias (qu) and theater (zaju)

- Ming and Qing dynasties: poetry (educated and popular), literary schools, theater (zaju and chuanqi), the novel (different phases and the four great novels), crime literature, the influence of Western literature, and Translation studies.

- Literature until the 1920s of the 20th century

Moreover, phenomena transversal to the different epochs will be studied, such as:

 The imperial exams (the different levels); the social and cultural transformations from the tenth century onwards (urbanization, expansion of education, relationship between culture, literature, and power) the role of the literate official (the three sublime arts of painting, poetry, and calligraphy); the philological question (the jinwen, the guwen and the hanxue) and the crime literature (theories and literary works). During the lessons, we will analyze literature passages contained in the manual and other literary sources.

 

Textbook Information

1. Cheng A., Storia del pensiero cinese, Einaudi, Torino, 2000. (volume II, parte V e VI)

2. Bertuccioli G., La Letteratura Cinese , L’asino d’oro, Roma, 2013 (dal VI capitolo in poi) oppure Idema W. - Haft L., Letteratura cinese, Cafoscarina, Venezia, 2000 (dal cap. XVIII in poi)

3. Sabattini M., Santangelo P., Il Pennello di Lacca. La narrativa cinese dalla dinastia Ming ai giorni nostri, Laterza, Bari, 2008 (prima parte);

4. Benedetti L. Suriano A. R., Villani P, (a cura di), Stigma, censure e oscenità. Lindicibile nelle culture del Mediterraneo e dell'Asia orientale, Orientalia, Roma, 2020, pp. 168-215;

5. Pesaro N., “Letteratura cinese moderna e contemporanea” in G. Samarani e M. Scarpari (a cura di), La Cina. Verso la modernità, Torino, Einaudi, vol. III, pp. 693-745​.

  1. A reading is chosen from the following classic novels, in any available translation (Italian, English, French, German, etc.):
    - Sanguozhi yanyi (Il Romanzo dei Tre Regni)
    - Shuihu zhuan (Sul bordo dell’acqua/I briganti)
    - Xi you ji (Viaggio in Occidente/Lo scimmiotto)
    - Jinpingmei (Chin P’ing Mei)
    - Honglou meng (Il sogno della camera rossa/Storia della pietra)

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying please refer to the regulations on copyright (Linee Guida sulla Gestione dei Diritti d’Autore) provided by AIDRO - Associazione Italiana per i Diritti di Riproduzione delle opere dell’ingegno (the Italian Association on Copyright).

All the books listed in the programs can be consulted in the Library.

Please remember that in compliance with art 171 L22.04.1941, n. 633 and its amendments, it is illegal to copy entire books or journals, only 15% of their content can be copied.

For further information on sanctions and regulations concerning photocopying, please 

Learning Assessment

Learning Assessment Procedures

Oral exam

Knowledge and skills required to pass the exam. With reference to the decisions voted unanimously in point 2 of the Department Council meeting of 6 May 2020, and relating to the measures to contain the number of out-of-course students, the knowledge and skills necessary to achieve the passing exam of Chinese Culture and Literature I

DISCUSSION OF THE TOPICS COVERED IN THE LESSON AND OF THE TEXTS INDICATED IN THE EXAMINATION PROGRAM

 Knowledge of the contents of the texts discussed and ability to refer to the topics covered in class. Learning of definitions and technical terms of the discipline. Ability to link exam texts. The ability to revise the acquired knowledge in a personal and critical way. Expressive properties of use, in particular, of specialized terminology. Ability to grasp linguistic aspects.

Sufficient 18-21

Good 22-24

Very good 25-27

Great 28-30

Excellent 30 cum laude

For the assessment of the exam, the mastery of the contents and skills acquired, the linguistic accuracy and lexical property, as well as the argumentative ability demonstrated by the candidate, will be taken into account.

Examples of frequently asked questions and / or exercises

Evolution of the aesthetic canons of Chinese literature of the Ming era

Birth and evolution of Chinese novels.

Analysis of one of the classic novels of Chinese literature

The philosophical, historical framework of Chinese literature at the end of the Qing dynasty.

Analysis of Chinese literary texts

Versione in italiano