Unit CHINESE LITERATURE II

Course

Foreign languages and cultures

Study-unit Code

GP000079

Curriculum

In all curricula

Teacher

Ester Bianchi

Teachers

Ester Bianchi

Hours

54 ore - Ester Bianchi

CFU

Course Regulation

Coorte 2024

Offered

2025/26

Learning activities

Caratterizzante

Area

Letterature straniere

Sector

L-OR/21

Type of study-unit

Opzionale (Optional)

Type of learning activities

Attività formativa monodisciplinare

Language of instruction

Italian

Contents

This course is to impart a basic knowledge of Classical and Literary Chinese language through the study of a selection of classical philosophical texts

Reference texts

1) Andreini, Attilio, Baccini, Giulia, Scarpari, Maurizio, Corso di Lingua Cinese Classica e Letteraria, Hoepli, Milano, 2022. 2) Ann Cheng, Storia del Pensiero cinese, vol. 1: Dalle origini allo «studio del Mistero», Torino, Einaudi, 2000. 3) Dictionaries (suggested): - Le Grand Ricci numèrique: dictionnaire encyclopédique de la langue chinoise, (updated electronic version of the Grand dictionnaire Ricci de la langue chinoise, Association Ricci e Descléè de Brouwer, Paris, 2001, 6 voll.), Association Ricci, Paris, 2010 (digital version for Pleco also available). - Paul W. Kroll (ed.), A Student's Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese, Brill, 2014. 4) Other material and texts will be provided during the course. TEXTS IN ENGLISH LANGUAGE (IN LIEU OF THE ABOVE LIST OF STUDIES): 1) E.G. Pulleyblank, Outline of Classical Chinese Grammar, UBC Press, Vancouver 1995. 2) C. Graham, Disputers of the Tao: Philosophical Argument in Ancient China, La Salle, Ill.: Open Court, 1989. *** Optional Text: Scarpari, Maurizio, e Andreini, Attilio, La lingua cinese classica, Hoepli, Milano, 2020.

Educational objectives

The main objective of the course is to enable students to read passages in the original language from the principal philosophical texts of classical China, in line with the educational goals of the Degree Program in Foreign Languages and Cultures (providing students with a solid foundation in the chosen foreign languages and literatures, within a framework of strong humanistic skills, and with adequate preparation in the main methodologies of philological-literary analysis, acquiring the necessary competencies to enroll in a master’s degree) and the Degree Program in Philosophy and Ethics of Relations (enhancing general knowledge of the historical evolution of philosophical thought and acquiring additional cultural foundations necessary for teaching philosophy) (knowledge). The course aims to provide the fundamentals of Classical Chinese, also with a view to a more conscious use of classicisms in modern Chinese, in line with the objectives of the Degree Program in Foreign Languages and Cultures (skills). Furthermore, the course also aims to develop the ability to theoretically elaborate, within East Asian thought, issues concerning the human being in their social and political, religious, aesthetic, and cognitive dimensions, in line with the objectives of the Degree Program in Philosophy and Ethics (skills).

Prerequisites

Knowledge of classical Chinese history and thought. A basic command of modern Chinese language is necessary (at least A1 level ).

Teaching methods

The course is organized as follows: - standard classes on Classical Chinese grammar; - reading, analysis and translation of the selected philosophical texts (students are requested to prepare the texts before class). UNISTUDIUM e-learning platform will be broadly used both to share information and materials, and to communicate with students.

Other information

The course is targeted at MA students in Religions and Philosophy of China, and at BA students in Chinese Literature II. ** Students who do not have a basic command of modern Chinese language and do not intend to study Chinese language, can follow the workshop: Lo studio dei principi della mente: diffusione e pratiche della psicologia in Cina; (please preaviously contact professor Bianchi to discuss this).

Learning verification modality

The optional mid-term exam aims at testing students' knowledge of classical Chinese grammar. The final oral exam will last ca. half an hour and include a grammar test (students who have taken the mid-term exam are exempt) and in the reading, analysis and translation of the texts translated in class. The two tests (grammar test and reading and comprehension) are aimed at verifying the knowledge of classical Chinese grammar (with a focus on the use of classical patterns in the modern language) and at examining students' understanding of the selected readings and their philosophical context in ancient China. In general terms, the exam focuses on the following aspects: *Knowledge and understanding - Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: Summary. *Knowledge and understanding - Ability to apply knowledge and understanding: Detail. *Autonomy of judgment, understood as the ability to produce autonomous judgments, arriving at coherent reflections on social, scientific or ethical issues; *Communication skills, conceived as the ability to communicate information, ideas, problems and solutions to other interlocutors; *Learning ability, understood as the necessary skill to advance in studies with a high degree of autonomy. ***In case a student intends to anticipate his/her exam in a year preceding the one it is scheduled in his/her curriculum, it is recommended to anticipate as well the attendance of the lessons and to schedule the exam in the first useful session after the lessons have been concluded. ***For information on support services for students with disabilities and / or DSA visit the page http://www.unipg.it/disabilita-e-dsa

Extended program

The main purpose of the course is to provide students with a basic knowledge of Classical Chinese language through the study of fundamentals of grammar (first module) and the analysis and translation of selected texts from philosophical texts such as the Lunyu, Mozi, Mengzi and Xunzi, Laozi, Zhuangzi.

Obiettivi Agenda 2030 per lo sviluppo sostenibile

4 Qualiy of Education