CCSS2030 Modern Chinese Literature Syllabus

Home , Everlasting Regret, In the Heat of the Sun

CCSS2030 Modern Chinese Literature1 Spring 2019, CUHK

Time: Wed 14:30-17:15 Venue: WMY 506 Instructor: Prof. GAO Yunwen Office: Room 1107, 11/F, Yasumoto International Academic Park Office Hours: Tues 14:00-17:00 or by appointment via email

COURSE DESCRIPTION Critical changes in literature and culture took place across the twentieth century in China. These changes were in response to the self-strengthening demands of young revolutionaries after decades of war and national humiliation. Over several decades, Chinese writers experimented with Western literary genres, including realism, romanticism, imagism, modernism, critical realism, magical realism, postmodernism, and so on. Chinese writers constantly probed the issue of literary modernity and attempted to redefine China and Chineseness by incorporating Western influences into classical Chinese aesthetics.

This class explores Chinese literary tradition in the twentieth century and early twenty first century through fiction (novels, short stories, poetry, etc.) and films from Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Mainland China. Major themes we will discuss include socio-political reformation, gender relations, urban space, the environment, and individual subjectivity. Creatively engaging with Western influences and classical literary traditions, Chinese writers and filmmakers we examine showcase how the Chinese reconstructed modern literature in relation to China's nation-building process. All readings are available in English translations of Chinese originals. No prior knowledge of Chinese is assumed or required.

LEARNING OUTCOMES 1) Demonstrate a basic familiarity with modern Chinese literature and culture; 2) Critically analyze important literary texts and films in relation to their historical contexts; 3) Develop reading, writing, and presentation skills in a professional manner

COURSE ASSESSMENT 1) Participation (15%) Students are required to come to class prepared, having watched the film and completed the required readings. Students are expected to critically engage with the course content and contribute to class discussion. Unexcused absences will result in loss of points, and students with more than 3 unexcused absences will receive no points for participation. Extreme lateness will be counted as absence.

2) Three (3) Discussion Posts (5% each - 15% total) Students should post initial responses (no less than 400 words, no more than 500 words in 12-point Times New Roman font, 1-inch margin at all sides, double-spaced, page numbered) to the Blackboard together with a PDF file of the signed Veriguide receipt. Each post should address a piece of novel, a short story, or a poem listed in the weekly readings. Posts should not be simple plot summaries, but should engage with critical issues

1 This is a working syllabus. Readings and assignments are subject to change upon notification.

discussed in class; address specific passages, quotes, or scenes from the assigned readings. Posts are due by 7pm every Sunday before the class.

3) Pop Quizzes (3% each - 15% total) Each of the five (5) quizzes will consist of two (2) multiple-choice questions.

4) Group Presentation (20%) Each student will be assigned to a group to present a critical reading of assigned materials and external sources for 15-20 minutes with the aid of PowerPoint or other visual materials. Students will be asked to sign up for a group in Week 2. Instructions and grading rubric will be posted on the Blackboard.

5) Term Paper Proposal (5%) Students will submit a proposal of 300-500 words to the Blackboard by April 12. In the proposal, students should cover the proposed topic, its significance, an outline of the paper, and primary and secondary sources.

6) Term Paper (30%) Students are expected to analyze a piece of literary work or a film that we have read or watched for this course, and write a paper of 2000-2500 words (12pt, Times New Roman, double-spaced) by the end of the semester. Essay prompts will be posted on the Blackboard. Term paper should be uploaded to the Blackboard together with a PDF file of the signed Veriguide receipt no later than April 26. No late submission will be accepted.

COURSE READINGS 1) Joseph Lau and Howard Goldblatt, eds. The Columbia Anthology of Modern Chinese Literature, 2nd edition. Columbia University Press, 2007. ISBN: 978-0231138413 (abbreviated as Anthology) 2) All other readings are available in PDF format from the lecture website in the “Required Readings” folder. All films are available at University Library at the circulation desk and will not be screened during class. You must complete each week’s reading and film prior to the lecture. 3) Recommended readings are listed at the end of each week’s required reading with *. You are encouraged to incorporate recommended readings for assignments such as group presentation, discussion board posts, and term paper.

Academic Honesty: Students should submit the papers to the Veriguide system and print out the Veriguide receipt and scan it into a PDF file before submitting to the Blackboard. See the website: https://services.veriguide.org/academic/login_CUHK.jspx. Any cases of plagiarism will be severely penalized and reported to the Dean of the Faculty of Arts, which could result in failure or expulsion from the University.

COURSE SCHEDULE

I. The Obsession with China

Week 1 (Jan 9) Course Overview & The Origins of Modern Chinese Literature

➢ C. T. Hsia, “Obsession with China: The Moral Burden of Modern Chinese Literature.” A History of Modern Chinese Fiction, 533-55. (PDF) ➢ Sher-shiueh Li, “The Multiple Beginnings of Modern Chinese ‘Literature,’” in A New Literary History of Modern China, 29-34. (PDF)

➢ *Leo Ou-fan Lee, “The Quest for Modernity, 1895-1927” in An Intellectual History of Modern China 152-195. (PDF)

Week 2 (Jan 16) May Fourth Movement: Literature and the Nation

➢ Lu Xun, “A Madman’s Diary,” “Preface to the First Collection of Short Stories, Call to Arms,” in Anthology, 3-16. ➢ Chow, Rey. Primitive Passions: Visuality, Sexuality, Ethnography, and Contemporary Chinese Cinema, 4-18. (PDF)

➢ *Xiaobing Tang, “Lu Xun’s ‘Diary of a Madman’ and a Chinese Modernism” 1222- 1234.

Week 3 (Jan 23) Iconoclasts of Modern China

➢ Yu Dafu, “Sinking,” in Anthology 31-55. ➢ Kirk Dention, “The Distant Shore: Nationalism in Yu Dafu’s ‘Sinking’” 107-115. (PDF)

II. The Lure of the Modern

Week 4 (Jan 30) New Sensationism and the Rise of Urban Centers

➢ Shi Zhecun, “One Evening in the Rainy Season,” in Anthology 116-124. ➢ Mu Shiying, “Shanghai Foxtrot” in Mu Shiying: China's Lost Modernist. 103-118. (PDF)

➢ *Leo Ou-fan Lee, “The Erotic, The Fantastic and the Grotesque” in Shanghai Modern 173- 181. (PDF)

Week 5 (Feb 6) No Class, Lunar New Year

Week 6 (Feb 13) Constructing the New Woman

➢ Ding Ling, “Miss Sophia's Diary,” in I Myself Am a Woman 49-81. (PDF) ➢ Tani Barlow, “Introduction” in Barlow, ed. I Myself Am a Woman: Selected Writings of Ding Ling, 1-46. (PDF)

➢ *Film: New Woman (Dir. Cai Chusheng, 1934) ➢ *Film: Center Stage (Dir. Stanley Kwan, 1992)

Week 7 (Feb 20) Women's Writing and the Quotidian

➢ Eileen Chang, “Sealed Off” in Anthology 235-252. ➢ Eileen Chang, Lust, Caution. 3-57. (PDF)

➢ *Film: Lust, Caution (Dir. Ang Lee, 2007)

III. New China and the Age of Revolution

Week 8 (Feb 27) The Beginning of the New Era and Root-Seeking Literature

➢ Mao Zedong, “Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art.” (1943) In Kirk A. Denton ed., Modern Chinese Literary Thought: Writings on Literature, 1893-1945. (PDF) ➢ Yu Hua, “On the Road at Eighteen,” in Anthology 439-444. ➢ Han Shaogong, “Introduction” and “Homecoming?” in Homecoming And Other Stories 1-20. (PDF)

➢ *Film: In the Heat of the Sun (Dir. Jiang Wen, 1994)

Week 9 (March 6) Subversive Voices: Bei Dao and Jintian Poetry

➢ Bei Dao: “Declaration,” “Resume,” in Anthology 576-578. ➢ Film: The Gate of Heavenly Peace (Dir. Richard Gordon and Carma Hinton, 1995)

IV. Gender in Fin-de-siècle Literature

Week 10 (March 13) Women and the Nation

➢ Wang Anyi, The Song of Everlasting Sorrow. (selected chapters in PDF) ➢ *Film: Everlasting Regret (Dir. Stanley Kwan, 2005)

Week 11 (March 20) Homosexuality, Censorship, and the Nation

➢ In-class screening: Film: Happy Together (Dir. Wong Kar-wai, 1997)

➢ *Film: Lan Yu (Dir. Stanley Kwan, 2001)

V. The Postmodern in Chinese Literature

Week 12 (March 27) Magical Realism and the Nobel Prize

➢ Mo Yan, Life and Death Are Wearing Me Out. (Selected chapters in PDF)

Week 13 (April 3) Hong Kong and the Post-colonial Identity

➢ Xi Xi, My City: A Hong Kong Story. (Selected chapters in PDF) ➢ Ackbar Abbas, “Introduction: Culture in a Space of Disappearance” 1-15. (PDF)

➢ *Film: My City (Dir. Fruit Chan, 2015)

Week 14 (April 10) Displacement and Nostalgia in Taiwan Literature

➢ Bai Xianyong, “Wandering in the Garden, Waking from a Dream.” (PDF) ➢ David Wang, “Preface” in Writing Taiwan vii-x. (PDF)

Week 15 (April 17) Imagining the Post-human: From Science Fantasy to Science Fiction

➢ Liu Cixin, The Three Body Problem. (Selected chapters in PDF) ➢ Mingwei Song, “After 1989: The New Wave of Chinese Science Fiction,” Chinese Perspectives. 101 (2015): 7-13. (PDF)