CLASSICAL CHINESE LANGUAGE 1 MOD.1

The course aims at providing the fundamentals of classical Chinese language through the analysis of the philosophical literature of the classical period.

1. Knowledge and understanding:
a) To know the basic structures of classical Chinese language.
b) To know the tools to analyze and translate texts of the classical Chinese corpus.
2. Applying knowledge and understanding:
a) to know how to identify the basic grammatical structures and being able to analyze texts in the light of their contexts.
b) to know how to identify the most appropriate tools to analyze and translate a given text.
3. Making judgements:
a) To be able to identify the grammatical structures of texts never seen before and to analyze and translate, using appropriate tools, texts from the classical Chinese corpus

Basic knowledge of the history and thought of pre-imperial China. Basic knowledge of modern Chinese Language.

Introduction to the study of classical Chinese: grammar, reading and analysis of some excerpts from classical sources.

Compulsory texts:
M. Scarpari, Avviamento allo studio del cinese classico, Venezia, Cafoscarina, 1995.

Dictionaries:
1) Grand Ricci (paper edition available in our library). The "Grand Ricci Online" is available to all Ca' Foscari students at:
http://chinesereferenceshelf.brillonline.com/grand-ricci

or

http://www.unive.it/nqcontent.cfm?a_id=32451

The Grand Ricci is available on iOS (iPhone, iPad) and Android devices (smartphones and tablets) as a module of the well known (free) Pleco Dictionary that can be bought as an in-app add-on. This "Grand Ricci" module includes the entire content of the Dictionary, but it cannot display yet the very old glyphs (the jiaguwen) which will be added in an upcoming (free) upgrade.

To get the new mobile application:
iOS (iPhone/iPad): <http://itunes.com/apps/PlecoChineseDictionary> ;
(or search Pleco Chinese Dictionary in the App Store)
Android: <https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.pleco.chinesesystem> ;
(or search Pleco Chinese System in the Google Play Store)

Once the Pleco engine has been installed, select the "add-ons" tab and buy the Grand Ricci (US$ 59.95). The dictionary is automatically downloaded and can be used immediately through the Pleco App. (A number of other free and paid dictionaries can also be obtained in the same manner for use in Pleco).

2) Kroll, Paul W., A Student's Dictionary of Classical and Medieval Chinese, Leiden, Brill, 2014.
Available also in Pleco.

Supplementary tools:
TLS - Thesaurus Linguae Sericae
http://tls.uni-hd.de/

Supplementary texts:
Scarpari, M., Breve introduzione alla lingua cinese classica, Cafoscarina, Venezia, 2002

Supplementary material will be added on MOODLE

The exam will last 30 minutes

The first 3 questions are open-questions:
3 sufficient answers: I will continue with the correction
1 insufficient answer and 2 sufficient: I will continue with the correction
2 answers not sufficient and 1 sufficient: the test is failed

The "actual" exam-test consists of:
a) 3 multiple choice questions (1 point each)
b) 3 open questions requiring a short answer (3 points each)
c) 3 open questions requiring a commented translation or a complex answer (6 points each)

Ex cathedra: during the course the teacher will guide the students through the grammatical analysis and through the comprehension of the texts and their contexts.

written