CHINESE LITERATURE 2

The course is part of the main teaching activities of the B.A. degree in Language, Culture and Society of Asia and Mediterranean Africa (curriculum China) and it will provide the students with a wider understanding of Chinese culture and literature.

At the end of the course the student will acquire a thorough knowledge of the literary genres, works and authors of Chinese literature, as well as the cultural context, from the late Tang era to the contemporary age.

There are no pre-requirements

The course will focus on genres, forms and authors of Chinese literature from the end of the Tang Dynasty to the contemporary age. Lessons of a historical-critical nature on the major works, the most influential authors and the most significant currents of the period, complemented with the reading of a number of texts in their original language.

It is required to read a classic novel to be selected from the following ((only in the indicated edition, unless otherwise agreed):
- Ts’ao Hsueh-ch’in, Il sogno della camera rossa (tr. E. Masi), Milano: BUR, 2008.
- Ch’in P’ing Mei. Romanzo erotico cinese del secolo XVI (tr. P. Jahier), Torino: Einaudi, 1955.
- Wu Ch’eng-en, Lo scimmiotto (tr. A. Motti), Milano: Adelphi, 1971.
- Shi Nai’an, I briganti. Antico romanzo cinese (tr. C. Bovero), Torino: Einaudi, 1956 (o 1974); oppure In riva
all’acqua (tr. S. Balduzzi), Milano: Luni, 2015 (solo volume I).
English editions are also accepted, after consulting the professor.

In addition, at least one modern or contemporary work must be chosen from the following list:
- Lu Xun, Grida ed Esitazione (tr. N. Pesaro), Palermo: Sellerio, 2021 e 2022.
- Ba Jin, Famiglia (tr. L. Andolfatto), Roma: Atmosphere, 2019.
- Lao She, Il ragazzo del risciò (tr. A. C. Lavagnino), Milano: Mondadori, 2019.
- Lao She, I due Ma, padre e figlio (tr. M. Gottardo e M. Morzenti), Milano: Mondadori, 2021.
- Acheng, La trilogia dei re (tr. M. R. Masci), Roma: Theoria, 2018.
- Mo Yan, Sorgo rosso (tr. R. Lombardi), Torino: Einaudi, 1997.
- Mo Yan, Il paese dell’alcol (tr. S. Calamandrei), Torino: Einaudi, 2015.
- Wang Anyi, La canzone dell’eterno rimpianto (tr. M. R. Masci), Torino: Einaudi, 2011.
- Yu Hua, Vivere! (tr. N. Pesaro), Milano: Feltrinelli, 2009.
- Yan Lianke, Il sogno del villaggio dei Ding (tr. L. Regola), Roma: Nottetempo, 2011.
- Yan Lianke, I quattro libri (tr. L. Regola), Roma: Nottetempo, 2018.

Textbooks:
- Cai, Zong-qi, How to Read Chinese Poetry, New York: Columbia University Press, 2007 [part 5
“The Five Dynasties and the Song Dynasty”].
Masi, Edoarda, Storie del bosco letterario, Milano: Scheiwiller, 2002 [cap. “Il singolare e il plurale”, cap. “Il
‘romanzo’”].
- Pesaro, Nicoletta, Pirazzoli, Melinda, La narrativa cinese del Novecento. Autori, opere, correnti, Roma:
Carocci, 2019 [capp. 1. “Lu Xun e la narrativa sociale”, 5. “Realismo e realismi”, 7. “La ‘ricerca delle radici’ e
l’‘avanguardia narrativa’”].
The slides uploaded on Moodle are an integral part of the exam material.
Support bibliography (optional):
- Bertuccioli, Giuliano, La letteratura cinese, Roma: L’asino d’oro, 2013 [cap. 5 “La letteratura dell’epoca
delle Cinque Dinastie e della dinastia Song].
- Denton, Kirk A. (a cura di), The Columbia Companion to Modern Chinese Literature, New York: Columbia
University Press, 2016.
- Knight, Sabina, Letteratura cinese (tr. F. Casalin), Milano: Hoepli, 2021.
- Masi, Edoarda, Cento capolavori della letteratura cinese, Milano: Rizzoli 1991, oppure Macerata:
Quodlibet, 2014.
- Pozzana, Claudia, La poesia pensante. Inchieste sulla poesia cinese contemporanea, Macerata: Quodlibet,
2010.

Written exam with open questions.
The final test is made up of two parts.The first one consists of three questions on specific topics and the second evaluates the students' capacity to analyze and interpret a literary text starting from a contextualization of the topics covered in the course and the individually selected readings. During the exam,it will be possible to consult the individually selected readings.
In addition to the argumentative skills needed and the correctness of the answers, the ability to establish links between texts will be especially appreciated with a mark of excellence.

The course will be carried out through frontal lessons that integrate the content of the textbooks. Lesson materials and further in-depth materials will then be uploaded to the moodle page of the course, available to both attending and non-attending students. There will be weekly receptions to assist both attending and non-attending students.
Any students with specific learning difficulties are encouraged to contact the professor to discuss possible modifications to, or additions to, teaching materials.

Students are recommended to use the moodle platform of the course to download the presentations of the lessons (uploaded on a weekly basis by the teacher and part of the programme to be carried out), further materials and details on the topics of the lessons.

For logistical reasons and to ensure the quality of teaching, it is recommended to respect the alphabetical partitions (A-L and M-Z). Please also note that you can only take the exam within your alphabetical partition.

It will be possible to take the exam with the programme carried out in this course (academic year 2022-23) only for the first four appeals after the delivery of the course (two in June 2023, one in September 2023 and one in February 2024). Once these four appeals have passed, students will have to take the exam with the new programme of the academic year 2023-24.

Weekly reception: online on Thursday from 16 to 18
The link will be created by the Professor on Meet and shared on Moodle.
Students are invited to send an email to the teacher before the meeting.

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