CLASSIC JAPANESE LANGUAGE 1

This course falls within the characterizing teachings of the "Japan" curriculum of the graduate course in "Language and Civilization of Asia and Mediterranean Africa". Its formative objectives fall within the area of language skills learning, including also the more specific goals of the cultural and humanities areas.
The course aims at the comprehension of the basic structures of kanbun kundoku through the analysis of primary sources written in kanbun. This will contribute to a widening and a deepening of the knowledge about the so-called "Sinitic literature" in Japan, which occupies a relevant place within the classical literary corpus. Moreover, the students will understand the changes occurred in the Japanese language after its encounter with the Chinese language.

Knowledge and understanding:
- to know and understand the basic structure of kanbun kundoku reading system
- to know useful tools for conducting bibliographic research
- to know and understand the changes occurred in the Japanese language after its encounter with the Chinese language
- to deepen the knowledge of Japanese historical texts written in Chinese, which occupy a relevant place within the classical literary corpus

Applying knowledge and understanding:
- to analyze and understand Japanese historical texts written in Chinese by using concepts and tools the students will acquire through the course
- to use bibliographic references in different languages (Japanese included)
- to engage in innovative and interdisciplinary research

Making judgments:
- to produce critical judgments on the textual and socio-literary phenomena covered in the course
- to subject various types of sources (such as academic and creative texts) to critical scrutiny

Communication:
- to express one's opinion in an effective way
- to re-elaborate and express in an effective way other people's opinion

Lifelong learning skills:
- to know how to plan and conduct bibliographic research
- to know how to integrate the study of different materials (notes, powerpoints, manuals, creative texts, academic papers)
- to be able to read and re-elaborate in a synthetic way texts written in different languages

Advanced knowledge of Japanese modern language and good knowledge of classical Japanese grammar.

This course aims at providing students with the basic knowledge of kanbun, its grammar rules, conversion techniques (kundoku), linguistic features, and literary aura. By the end of the course, students are expected to demonstrate skills of reading basic kanbun texts composed both in China and Japan.
Until the Meiji period, classical Chinese was the language of choice in official and literary communication. Yet, at the same time, the Japanese also developed a special reading method to mentally punctuate, analyze, and translate classical Chinese (kanbun) into classical Japanese (wabun). Therefore, knowledge of kanbun and kanbun kundoku reading constitutes an essential asset for all students in the field of Japanese Studies, particularly for those interested in pre- and early-modern Japan.
However, the Japanese use of classical Chinese was not entirely "pure", at least from a Chinese perspective. Indeed, it led to the formation of an additional idiom that, while still looking like classical Chinese, incorporated elements of Japanese syntax, style, and lexicon. This popular—and somehow second-class—idiom of “Japanese kanbun” showed a great variety of "hybrid" styles that often lacked a systematic grammar. As a result, Japanese kanbun is often difficult to read and therefore hardly taught outside of Japan. This course is designed to fill in the gap by offering an overview of such lesser-known aspects and introducing the students to a wide range of textual typologies.

Various handouts and materials, which will be either photocopied or uploaded on the Moodle platform.

The exam will consist of the following parts:
- including short quizzes,
- true or false,
- grammar analysis,
- words reordering
- open questions.

The contents of the exam will corespond to texts and phrases presented in class, as well as simple phrases never seen before.
If you are unable to attend the course, please contact the teacher in advance.

Interactive lectures (both in presence and online) on Japanese literary and historical texts written in Chinese.

Italian

Non-attending students are kindly asked to contact the instructor by email in advance.

written

This subject deals with topics related to the macro-area "Human capital, health, education" and contributes to the achievement of one or more goals of U. N. Agenda for Sustainable Development