Classical Chinese Popular Fiction & Drama in Translation (01:165: 242) Spring 2018 Monday/Wednesday 1:10 pm 2:30 pm HC-S126 Instructor: Peng Liu Scott Hall 337 Course Description Late imperial Chinese fiction and drama witnessed the revalorization and re-exploration of individual desire. Never before were Chinese writers so openly fascinated with desire and so eager to represent it in various modes. Human desire was thus tremendously diversified and intensified in their works. Desire became increasingly important to fictional works and served as a powerful force to propel storytelling. This course focuses on two masterpieces of Chinese literature produced in the Ming and Qing dynasties: The Peony Pavilion and The Story of the Stone (also known as Dream of the Red Chamber). Based on close readings of these two works in English translations, we contemplate the following issues: What does desire mean in these stories? How do these works utilize human desire to generate narratives? More broadly, how is desire related to larger topics, such as gender, sex, objects, and religion? In each section, we focus on a specific topic and discuss the subject matter both within and beyond the texts. All readings are in English. No knowledge of Chinese language or literature is required. Students with the ability to read Chinese texts are encouraged to read the original. Requirements and Grades: 1. Class Participation 20% 2. Coursework Postings 20% 3. Midterm Paper (6 8 pages) 20% 4. Final Research Paper (8 10 pages) 40% Class Participation: In every class meeting, we need one student to give a 10 15 minute presentation. The presenter should raise two or three questions/issues based on primary and secondary sources. Please post your questions online before class. All students are expected to read them and participate actively in classroom discussion. Postings: Each student should write one or two paragraphs that reflect your own understanding of the readings. Please post your postings before 7 PM on Sunday and Tuesday. Midterm Paper: Each student should write a well-crafted and clearly argued midterm essay based on the text(s) you choose. It should present a clear argument and demonstrate your skill of close reading. You may engage relevant theoretical works if you think they are helpful to your analysis. The essay will be due at the beginning of class on the due date. It should include footnotes and a bibliography according to the MLA Style Manual or Chicago Manual of Style. 1
Final Research Paper: For the final paper, students should focus on The Story of the Stone. You are required to dissect the text thoroughly in order to present an original textual analysis with a clear argument and sufficient evidence to support your argument. The paper should contain footnotes and a bibliography according to the MLA Style Manual or Chicago Manual of Style. Statement on Academic Integrity As a member of Rutgers community, you are expected to demonstrate integrity in your academic endeavors. Your paper should be your own original work. If you want to use words or ideas from other sources, make sure you identified the original sources and provide footnotes or parentheses. If you cite from a published source or from a web site and the quotation is short, please place it in quotation marks; if you quote a longer passage from a publication or web site, please indent it and use single spacing. Any work that has been submitted for credit in another course is generally not allowed to be submitted in this course unless you have the permission from your instructor. Students with Disabilities Students with any physical, psychological, or learning disability are encouraged to talk to your instructor after class or during office hours. Required Texts: The Peony Pavilion, translated by Cyril Birch, Indiana University Press, 2002. The Story of the Stone, all five volumes, translated by David Hawkes, Penguin, 1974, 1977, 1981, 1982, 1986. Relevant Secondary Materials: Epstein, Maram. Competing Discourses: Orthodoxy, Authenticity, and Engendered Meanings in Late Imperial Chinese Fiction. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2001. Huang, Martin. Desire and Fictional Narrative in Late Imperial China. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2001. Ko, Dorothy. Teachers of the Inner Chambers: Women and Culture in Seventeenth-Century China, Stanford: Stanford University Press, 1994. Lee, Haiyan. Love or Lust? The Sentimental Self in Honglou meng. Chinese Literature: Essays, Articles, Reviews, 19 (1997): 85 111. Li, Qiancheng. Fictions of Enlightenment: Journey to the West, Tower of Myriad Mirrors, and Dream of the Red Chamber. Honolulu: University of Hawai I Press, 2004. Li, Wai-yee. Enchantment and Disenchantment: Love and Illusion in Chinese Literature, Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1993. McMahon, Keith. Polygamy and Sublime Passion: Sexuality in China on the Verge of Modernity. Honolulu: University of Hawai I Press, 2010. 2
Plaks, Andrew. Archetype and Allegory in the Dream of the Red Chamber. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1976. Rolston, David. How to Read the Chinese Novel. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 1990. Schonebaum, Andrew and Tina Lu. Approaches to Teaching The Story of the Stone (Dream of the Red Chamber), New York: MLA, 2013. Swatek, Catherine. Peony Pavilion on Stage: Four Centuries in the Career of a Chinese Drama. Ann Arbor: University of Michigan Press, 2002. Volpp, Sophie. Worldly Stage: Theatricality in Seventeenth-Century China. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2011. Wu, I-Hsien. Eroticism and Other Literary Conventions in Chinese Literature: Intertextuality in The Story of the Stone. Amherst: Cambria Press, 2017. Yu, Anthony. Reading the Stone: Desire and the Making of Fiction in Dream of the Red Chamber. Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001. Week 1 1/17 Introduction to the course Week 2 1/22 The Peony Pavilion, Scenes 1 5. Schedule 1/24 The Peony Pavilion, Scenes 6 12. Sophie Volpp. Worldly Stage: Theatricality in Seventeenth-Century China. Cambridge: Harvard University Asia Center, 2011, Chapter 3. Week 3 1/29 The Peony Pavilion, Scenes 13 19 1/31 The Peony Pavilion, Scenes 20 25 Dorothy Ko, Teachers of the Inner Chambers: Women and Culture in Seventeenth-Century China, Stanford University Press, 1994, Chapter 2, 68 114. Week 4 2/5 The Peony Pavilion, Scenes 26 32 2/7 The Peony Pavilion, Scenes 33 39 3
Week 5 2/12 The Peony Pavilion, Scenes 40 46 2/14 The Peony Pavilion, Scenes 47 55 Week 6 2/19 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 1 5 Wu, I-Hsien. Eroticism and Other Literary Conventions in Chinese Literature: Intertextuality in The Story of the Stone, 1 18. 2/21 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 6 10 Wu, I-Hsien. Eroticism and Other Literary Conventions in Chinese Literature, 19 41. Week 7 2/26 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 11 17 Wu, I-Hsien. Eroticism and Other Literary Conventions in Chinese Literature, 47 62. 2/28 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 18 25 Wu, I-Hsien. Eroticism and Other Literary Conventions in Chinese Literature, 67 81. Week 8 3/5 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 26 32 Wu, I-Hsien. Eroticism and Other Literary Conventions in Chinese Literature, 85 120. 3/7 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 33 40, Wu, I-Hsien. Eroticism and Other Literary Conventions in Chinese Literature, 127 45. Midterm paper due March 7 Week 9 Spring Recess No class Week 10 3/19 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 41 49 Wu, I-Hsien. Eroticism and Other Literary Conventions in Chinese Literature, 149 80. 3/21 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 50 54 Week 11 3/26 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 55 60 Wai-yee Li, Enchantment and Disenchantment, Chapter 4, 152 201. 3/28 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 61 66 Week 12 4/2 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 67 73 Wai-yee Li, Enchantment and Disenchantment, Chapter 5, 202 230. 4
4/4 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 74 79 Week 13 4/9 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 80 86 Wai-yee Li, Enchantment and Disenchantment, Chapter 6, 231 256. 4/11 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 87 93 Week 14 4/16 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 94 99 4/18 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 100 105 Week 15 4/23 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 106 113 4/25 The Story of the Stone, Chapters 114 120 Week 16 4/30 Students present final projects Final paper due May 10. 5