MA in Chinese Language and Literature

A philological course designed to examine various aspects of language pertinent to textual studies. Topics vary according to interests of instructors in charge: characters, sounds, words and meanings.

The course aims to provide a comprehensive study of Chinese with different perspectives: synchronic, diachronic, applied and comparative. Topics vary according to interests of the instructors in charge: phonology, grammar, semantics, dialectology, socio-linguistics, etc.

This course will introduce students to the contents and stylistic principles of Guangya and Guangya shuzheng. Through a study of Wang Niansun's explanations and annotations of Guangya, students will uncover the lexical system of ancient Chinese as reflected in Guangya, and understand Wang's semantic theory of deriving meanings from sounds and tracing the common origin of loan characters that were phonologically related.

From a modern philological point of view, this course introduces the classical dictionary, Shuowen Jiezi, and highlights the significance of the system it embodies in paleography, semantics, lexicology and phonology. Students are expected to have a systematic understanding of the composition of characters, the extension of meanings, and the variation of sound change. This course will help students master the basic theories and methods in analyzing written forms, word meanings and lexical changes, laying a solid foundation for academic research and future studies in philology.

Through lectures and exercises, students are introduced to fundamental theories and methods in the field of comparative linguistics. They will examine the similarities and differences, phonological, lexical and grammatical, between Cantonese and Putonghua. Students will be able to make use of such knowledge at work or in their teaching practices. This course will also improve their proficiency in Putonghua and literary Chinese, as well as their teaching of these subjects.

This course aims to help students analyze the grammatical structures of Cantonese in a principled manner, mainly focusing on syntax and syntax-semantics interface of Cantonese. It enables students to apply the knowledge of linguistics and analytical skills to making generalizations from complicated natural Cantonese data and to analyzing major grammatical differences between Cantonese and Mandarin. It also enables students to utilize their language intuition to make logical judgments.

This course focuses on questions relating to rhetoric methods, prosodic structure, and Chinese literary genres. It will explore the properties of linguistic rules that interact with literature principles. Students will learn how to apply newly developed prosodic methods to studying complex genre phenomena of different periods in Chinese literature.

The purpose of this course is to provide students with an overview of the basic principles of comparative grammar as applied to Chinese and English. Selected topics will be examined with everyday examples. Students can then apply the linguistics knowledge and analytical skills they acquire in this class to other areas of studies, and further enhance their competence to communicate in both languages.

This course aims to help students analyze words, phrases and sentences in Modern Chinese in a systematic manner. It will introduce theories of grammar at an advanced level and focus on topics that are currently discussed in the literature. The course hopes to enable students to apply the knowledge of Chinese grammar and the analytical skills they acquire in this course to further studies of the Chinese language, preparing them for resolving linguistic problems they may encounter in the workplace.

Critical exploration of selected topics in classical Chinese texts. Through a concentrated study of special topics, students may develop their critical skills in dealing with ancient documents.

This course aims at an in-depth study of works selected from Classical Chinese Texts. Topics concerning their composition, transmission, authenticity, thought and commentaries will be discussed.

This course introduces two significant works of Syncretism (zajia), Lüshi chunqiu and Huainanzi, with stress on the Daoist and the Confucian elements therein. It also compares the methods of compilation of the two texts and explores the reasons why they were classified as Syncretism by subsequent scholars. Students will master the essentials to the study of Syncretism literature.

This course will introduce students to the tenor of Zhuangzi and Xunzi, focusing on the similarities and dissimilarities between their discourses on human nature, epistemology, and the notion of tiandao. Students will understand the essentials of Confucianism and Daoism and grasp the methodology necessary to the research on pre-Qin philosophy.

This course introduces students to various types of excavated texts dated back to the pre-Qin era, and the Qin and Han dynasties. It will focus on texts of the following categories: Confucian classics and their commentaries, historical records, philosophical treatises, poetry and prose-poetry, military texts, alchemy and medicine, astronomy and astrological divination. Topics for discussion are subject to change according to the latest scholarly findings and students’ backgrounds.

This course introduces students to the study of parallel passages found in ancient Chinese texts. Students will gain a better understanding of the nature of intertextuality and the transmission of ancient texts.

This course is a study of the Analects and the Mencius. Topics concerning their composition, transmission and commentaries will be discussed. It also focuses on the relationship between the two books and their significance in Pre-Qin Confucianism.

This course provides a critical exploration of selected topics in classical Chinese poetry, including shi, ci and qu, or classical Chinese prose.

This course provides a critical exploration of selected topics in classical Chinese fiction or drama.

This course provides a critical exploration of selected topics in literary criticism in pre-modern China.

This course examines the late Ming dramatist Tang Xianzu and his works, especially his masterpiece, The Peony Pavilion. Through a critical discussion of the aesthetic and philosophical features, as well as the social significance of this play, students will understand the essence of classical Chinese drama since the 17th century and the methodology of studying classical drama.

This course introduces students to the methodologies and theories pertinent to the appreciation and criticism of traditional Chinese poetry. Traditional theories of poetry will be applied to the reading of representative works of various schools. The traditions and characteristics of classical aesthetics will also be explored.

This course will explore key aspects of traditional poetics, such as the notions of “poetry expresses intention”, physical world and human emotions, form and spirit, spontaneity and regulation, metaphor and allegory, and the aesthetic values of Chinese poetics. It will enhance students’ understanding of the systems and values of Chinese poetics and Chinese literary traditions.

This course examines some of the representative stories culled from Illustrious Words to Instruct the World, Comprehensive Words to Admonish the World and Lasting Words to Awaken the World, which are also known as Sanyan, the three collections of vernacular short stories compiled by Feng Menglong of the Ming Dynasty. Through a close and critical reading of these texts, students will understand the narrative perspectives, structures and meanings of Sanyan, as well as the compiler’s moral stance and the relationship between fiction and history. Traditional and modern scholarship on Sanyan will also be introduced.

Pre-Qin myths constitute an important part of traditional Chinese culture, and are pivotal to the development of Chinese literature. By focusing on their textual sources, contents, genres and implications, this course will introduce students to pre-Qin myths. Students will understand the essentials of pre-Qin myths and their relations with pre-Qin literature and scholarship.

One of the Five Classics and the earliest poetry anthology, Shi Jing is regarded as the origin of Chinese literature. This course focuses on the verses of Shi Jing, as well as the historical background, zeitgeist, dissemination and reception of this anthology, so as to enhance students' understanding of pre-Qin literature and culture.

Critical study of major issues in modern Chinese literature. Topics include genres, literary works, literary thoughts, literary debates, regional literature, comparative literature, etc.

Critical study of selected modern Chinese writers.

An in-depth study of selected areas in modern Chinese literary criticism and/or modern Western literary criticism.

Yu Kwang Chung is one of the most important and influential contemporary Chinese writers. This course examines his poetry and prose through a close reading of his representative works. Students will understand his literary propositions and practice.

The Creation Society is a significant literary group of the May Fourth period that shaped the literary history and cultural history of modern China. This course introduces the activities and representative works of the Creation Society in the 1920s. The transformation of the Creation Society and the significance of the change will also be addressed.

This course will introduce students to the basic principles and research methods of comparative literature. It will also examine specific topics on comparative literature with concrete examples.

This course will introduce students to the development of Chinese fiction and literary trends after the Cultural Revolution, and the initial relationship between creative writing and literary criticism. The course will enhance students’ understanding of the principal concepts of various literary trends in the New Era of China. Through a close study of selected works, it will also examine writers’ reflections on Chinese literature in the Twentieth century.

This course will introduce students to important modern Chinese fiction by mainland and overseas Chinese writers. Critical approaches to the reading of these texts will also be taught.

This course introduces students to literary works by Chinese women writers published after 1919. Through a close examination of the literary milieu and the life and works of women writers, students will understand the development of women’s creative writing as well as their views on literature in twentieth century China.

This course examines the literary characteristics and cultural reflections as demonstrated in Eileen Chang's works. Students are introduced to the literary concept and practice of Chang through a close reading of her texts.

Selected topics in Chinese culture and scholarship related to literature, language, or documentary studies. Selections range from art, philosophy, religion, institution to folklore.

Through lectures and exercises, students are introduced to the Cantonese phonological system and its correspondence with the systems of Guang Yun and the "Poetic Rhyme Dictionary (pingshui rhymes)". Students will gain a clear understanding of the prosodic nature of classical Chinese poetry, and will be able to apply such knowledge to their writing and teaching of poetry.

This course aims to introduce students to the historical origins, development and classification of major Chinese dialect groups (including Mandarin, Wu, Min, Hakka and Yue). Through application of phonological, lexical and grammatical comparisons, students are expected to acquire the characteristics and diversity of the Chinese dialects, thereby enhancing their ability in linguistic analysis.

This course introduces students to the study of meaning in natural language (Semantics, Pragmatics), with a special focus on Chinese. It familiarizes students with the basic theoretical assumptions and tools in the modern theories of meaning and examines a variety of topics on nominals, classifiers, referentiality, quantification, scope, and discourse particles in Chinese.

Ci poetry emerged during the period of late Tang and Five Dynasties, and flourished in the Song Dynasty. Breaking new ground in both prosody and aesthetics, it is regarded as a representative literary genre of the Song Dynasty. This course provides students with knowledge of the development and evolution of ci in the Song period, through reading selected works and analyzing their artistic characteristics. The reception of the Song ci in Chinese literary history will also be discussed from the double perspective of traditional and modern ci criticism.

High Tang poetry has long been regarded as the Golden Age of Chinese classical poetry. High Tang poetry boasts of the Confucian poet Du Fu, the Daoist poet Li Bo, and the Buddhist poet Wang Wei. These three master poets from the eighth-century China became an eternal source of inspiration to later poets, even up to now. This class introduces students to Du, Li, and Wang’s life-philosophy, experiences during the An Lushan Rebellion, and the aesthetics and achievements of their poetry.

Seventeenth-century China witnessed crises, transformations, and the Ming-Qing dynastic transition. The ethos of the poetry of the Ming-Qing transition demands a collective, almost fervent, effort to record and understand ongoing historical events, an effort often characterized by the pathos of introspection, retrospection, and mourning for the past. This class interprets, evaluates, and introduces to students a valuable but often neglected cluster of poems from the Ming-Qing transition.

The course offers a critical reading of Ming and Qing fiction, with a special attention to its conjunctions and intersections with the visual culture of the time. The texts to be read include: Xiyou Bu (Supplement to The Journey to the West), Li Yu’s short stories, Honglou Meng (Dream of the Red Chamber), and Lao Can Youji (The Travels of Lao Can). We will investigate the issues arising from literary texts and explore their broad ramifications for the art history and visual culture at large.

The course investigates the relationship between fiction and literary culture in the mid-Qing era, especially the Qianlong reign. The Qianlong reign was the very period when the Qing Empire reached its peak, but also the period when it began to decline. During this period, the traditional literati culture came to an end, and the influence and resources from the West were yet to come. The course helps students to historicize and contextualize the contemporary major fiction, Qilu Deng, Honglou Meng (Dream of the Red Chamber), Yesou Puyan, Rulin Waisih and Jinghua Yuan, to understand how the literati novelists responded to the challenges of their time.

In the period of 200BC to 600AD, the self-consciousness in Chinese literature gradually emerged. Through exploration and discussion of a certain number of special topics, students in this course are expected to get a deep understanding of the characteristics and development of poetry in this period.

This course focuses on the development of and current research on Hong Kong literature. Students will read, under special topics, essential literary works from various periods, examine them in their historical and social contexts, as well as their particular stylistic and literary characteristics, and consider their achievements and contributions to twentieth-century Chinese literature.

This course will introduce students to the development of the Chinese fiction and literary trends in the 1930s with a focus on the study of literary magazines. It will also examine the writing characteristics of representative writers from different literary schools in the 1930s.

The development of Hong Kong and Taiwanese cinemas have always been intertwined with the issues of Chinese history and cultural identities, which covers a broad geographic and historical terrain from mainland China, Taiwan, Hong Kong, Southeast Asia and the overseas Chinese communities. This course will discuss the cinema history of Hong Kong and Taiwan and how they were impacted by Western culture and literary trends, the Chinese diaspora, literary movements, the intellectuals and Shanghai handover, the Cold War influence on Asia, nationalism and the local identity. We will also consider how the Hong Kong and Taiwanese cinema histories have been written and whether films can truly reflect the cultural identity and history of Hong Kong and Taiwan.