KSCB913 Reading in Chinese literature in baihua

Faculty of Arts
Spring 2025
Extent and Intensity
0/2/0. 5 credit(s). Type of Completion: k (colloquium).
Taught in person.
Teacher(s)
Mgr. Ondřej Vicher (lecturer)
Guaranteed by
Mgr. Ondřej Vicher
Department of Chinese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Contact Person: Mgr. Ondřej Vicher
Supplier department: Department of Chinese Studies – Asia Studies Centre – Faculty of Arts
Prerequisites
TYP_STUDIA ( N )
The course is offered to the students of the MA programme in Chinese Studies.
Course Enrolment Limitations
The course is only offered to the students of the study fields the course is directly associated with.
fields of study / plans the course is directly associated with
Course objectives
The course will focus on the genre of Chinese adventure story, which flourished in the Chinese vernacular literature of Song, Ming and Qing dynasties, however its roots lie in the earliest periods of Chinese literature. While concentrating on the works in Baihua (vernacular Chinese), the course will also offer a historical perspective of the genre from Chinese myths to Chinese modernism, showing the development of traditional plots and protagonists throughout the history of Chinese literature. This approach will give the students an understanding of the evolution of Chinese literature and the Chinese language.
Learning outcomes
At the end of the course the students should be able to:
- read and translate samples of vernacular Chinese prose, in comparison with Classical and Modern Chinese.
- describe the various forms of Baihua prose (huaben, ni huaben, zhanghui xiaoshuo), its various themes and typical structures.
- discuss the concept of fiction in the traditional literature.
- define basic outline of the Chinese adventure story from its roots in ancient Chinese philosophical works and chronicles through the medieval novellas and stories in classical and vernacular Chinese to modern and contemporary stories.
- identify the main genres of the Chinese adventure story throughout its history: philosophical parable, fragment from a chronicle, anecdote (stories about strange things, stories about people), classical Chinese story, vernacular story, modern martial arts story, interpretation of the traditional genre in romanticism, realism and modernism.
Syllabus
  • Course Schedule:
  • 1. Myths and parables of classical Chinese philosophers.
  • 2. Adventure stories in Chinese chronicles.
  • 3.Early medieval stories about strange things and stories about people.
  • 4. Tang dynasty stories.
  • 5. Song dynasty vernacular stories.
  • 6. Ming dynasty vernacular stories.
  • 7. Qing dynasty classical Chinese stories.
  • 8. Early 20th century adventure stories.
  • 9. Interpretation of traditional adventure plots in Chinese romanticism and realism.
  • 10. Interpretation of traditional adventure plots in modernism.
Literature
    recommended literature
  • Negotiating masculinities in late imperial China. Edited by Martin W. Huang. Honolulu: University of Hawai'i Press, 2006, 284 p. ;. ISBN 0824828968. info
  • HANAN, Patrick. Chinese fiction of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries : essays. New York: Columbia University Press, 2004, vi, 285. ISBN 9780231133241. info
  • The Indiana companion to traditional Chinese literature. Edited by William H. Nienhauser - Charles Hartman - Scott W. Galer. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 1998, xxxv, 547. ISBN 025333456X. info
  • HSIA, C. T. The classic Chinese novel : a critical introduction. Ithaca, N.Y.: East Asia Program Cornell University, 1996, xiii, 413. ISBN 1885445741. info
    not specified
  • Rozmarné a tajuplné příběhy ze staré Číny. Edited by C. R. Harington. Vydání třetí. Praha: Vyšehrad, 2017, 416 stran. ISBN 9788074297007. info
  • OLIVOVÁ, Lucie, ed. Klenoty čínské literatury. 1st ed. Praha: Portál, 2006. info
  • Podivuhodné příběhy z čínských tržišť a bazarů. Praha: Odeon, 1991. ISBN 8020703187. info
  • Chinese narrative : critical and theoretical essays. Edited by Cyril Birch - Andrew H. Plaks - Kenneth J. DeWoskin - Eugene Chen Eoya. Princeton, New Jersey: Princeton University Press, 1977, xii, 365. ISBN 0691063281. info
  • Skřínka s poklady : milostné povídky staré Číny. Edited by Milada Šťovíčková, Translated by Zdenka Heřmanová. 1. vyd. Praha: Mladá fronta, 1961, 249 s. URL info
Teaching methods
The course is designed as a series of seminars. Students are required to read literary writings in the original and in translation throughout the semester. The volume of fragments in the original will be adjusted in accordance with the difficulty level of the texts.
Assessment methods
One unexcused absence allowed, preparedness and active participation in class and submitting a written translation at the end.
Language of instruction
English
Further comments (probably available only in Czech)
The course is taught once in two years.
The course is taught: every week.
Teacher's information
Additional readers:

Ancient and early medieval Chinese literature : a reference guide. Edited by David R. Knechtges - Taiping Chang. Leiden: Brill, 2010. x, 791. ISBN 9789004191273.

Classical Chinese literature : an anthology of translations. Edited by John Minford - Joseph S. M. Lau. New York: Columbia University Press, 2000. lix, 1176. ISBN 0231096763

The course is also listed under the following terms Spring 2017, Spring 2020.
  • Enrolment Statistics (Spring 2025, recent)
  • Permalink: https://is.muni.cz/course/phil/spring2025/KSCB913