EAST 134 - Masterworks of Classical Chinese Literature

FC ARHU CD

4 credits
This course explores some of the best-known works of the classical Chinese tradition in translation: from the early lyric poetry of the Book of Odes to the philosophy of Confucius in the Analects ; from the profound musings of the Daoist mystic Zhuangzi to the biting repartee of the medieval courtiers; from the raucous and romantic tales of the Tang dynasty to the endlessly inventive essays of the Southern Song. We shall ask what connects the many works of this vast cultural and literary tradition, with possible answers sought in cosmology and religion, love and kinship, and notions of language, empire, and identity.
This course is appropriate for new students.