The Hong Kong Polytechnic University Subject Description

The Hong Kong Polytechnic UniversitySubject Description FormPlease read the notes at the end of the table carefully before completing the form.Subject CodeCBS2C04PSubject TitleAppreciation of the Four Great Classical Chinese NovelsCredit Value3Level2Pre-requisite /Co-requisite/ExclusionNilObjectivesThe course was modeled on the old 3 credit course GEC235 and the 2 credit course ofGEC2609 with a similar title. This new subject is specially re-designed for studentswho have little knowledge of classical Chinese novels. The four great classicalChinese novels, namely, Outlaws of the Marsh. The Romance of the Three Kingdoms,Journey to the West, and The Dream of the Red Chamber, are undoubtedly the greattreasures of Chinese literature and culture. They are widely circulated and read bygenerations and have evidently had remarkable impact and influence on Chinesesociety.The subject will provide a basic overview of the historical, social, literary and culturaltraditions of the Ming and the Qing Dynasties which were the nourishing grounds forthese classical novels. Fictional works will be examined both from literary, aesthetic,cultural and comparative perspectives. Students are expected to think and arguecritically and relate the classical texts to their contemporary worlds.Intended LearningOutcomesUpon completion of the subject, students will be able to:(a) discuss the historical, social, literary and cultural backgrounds of the classicalnovels;(b) appreciate the narrative and structural characteristics, thematic treatments,characterizations, literary techniques and other artistic aspects of classicalChinese novels;(c) compare and contrast various adaptations with the original text so as tosharpen artistic sensibilities towards literature and performance;(d) analyze the relationship between fiction and society;(e) apply the wisdom learned from the classical texts to issues in their own world.Please explain how the stated learning outcomes relate to the following threeessential features of GUR subjects: literacy, Higher order thinking, and Life-longlearning.7.2009Definitive Programme Document and Programme File C4 - 1

LiteracyThe course is by nature reading and writing intensive. The subject requires students toread the original texts of the four great novels and other scholarly articles on the fournovels.Higher-order thinkingStudents are expected to analyse/ debate on the themes and moral judgments expressedby the authors as well as the aesthetic and cultural value of the great works.Life-long learningThe course encourages the application of classical wisdoms to contemporary world.Students are also required to understand and criticize old society with newperspectives.Subject Synopsis/Indicative SyllabusTeaching/LearningMethodology7.20091. IntroductionHistorical background and the development of classical Chinese novels.2. Outlaws of the Marsha. Debates on different versions of the novel.b. Themes: “To Do Heaven’s will,” “Twin virtues of Righteousness andLoyalty,” “Heroism VS violence and revenge”c. Characterization: heroes, bandits, corrupt government officialsd. Images of women: virtuous VS treacherous wives, heroines ofLiangshan.3. The Romance of the Three Kingdomsa. Textual development: from history to different versions of the novel.b. Themes of the novel: The Will of Heaven, loyalty and righteousness,c. Application of wisdom and strategiesd. Narrative structure of the novele. Heroic Images and characterization4. Journey to the Westa. Origin and development of the Monkey King myth.b. Different versions and sequels of the novel.c. Philosophical and religious issues of the novel: Taoism/Buddhism orConfucianism?d. Images and characterization of gods and goddesses, Xuanzang and hisdisciples, spirits and monsters5. The Dream of the Red Chambera. Debates on authorship and versions of the novelb. Recent development of Redologyc. Themes: Fate Vs characters, IIIustion Vs realityd. Images of Jia Baoyu and the 12 Golden Hairpins.e. Poetry and lyrics.Lectures and tutorialsTeaching will be conducted in a 3 hour session subdivided into a 2-hour lecture and aone-hour tutorial. In the lectures, the historical, social, literary and culturalbackgrounds of the classical novels will be introduced. For textual analysis, emphasiswill be put on the narrative and structural characteristics, thematic treatments,Definitive Programme Document and Programme File C4 - 2

characterizations, literary techniques and other artistic aspects of the novels. Duringtutorials, students have to give presentations on one of the topics such as themes orcharacterizations outlined in the subject synopsis. They are highly encouraged tocompare and contrast different versions and adaptations of the novels in movies, TVdrama series and opera.In the written papers and the quizzes, students are expected to reflect upon the valuesystems and ideologies inherent in the stories such as the roles of women and men infeudal societies of old China. They are encouraged to identify problems in the oldsocieties such as in the Outlaws of the March and the Red Chamber’s Dream and atthe same time learn from ancient wisdoms as strategies for life and business like thoseused by the Monkey King in Journey to the West and in The Romance of the 3Kingdoms.The subject encourages students to read the original texts of the four great novels andto analyse/ debate on the themes and moral judgments expressed by the authors as wellas the aesthetic and cultural value of the great works. The process will involve anumber of self study and group discussion activities, embedding the above essentialfeatures. Students have to spend a minimum of 10 to 12 hours reading for wholesubject. They are also encouraged to read different versions of the four great novels ontheir own.Each student has to hand in a 3000 words paper in Chinese on a topic of the fournovels in the last week.AssessmentMethods inAlignment withIntended LearningOutcomesSpecific assessmentmethods/tasks% weightingIntended subject learning outcomesto be assessed (Please tick asappropriate)abcde1. attendance10%2. tutorial: participation,presentations, discussion40% 3. paper50% Total100 %Explanation of the appropriateness of the assessment methods in assessing theintended learning outcomes:Student StudyEffort RequiredClass contact: 13 X (2 hours lecture 1 hour tutorial) Other student study effort:39 Hrs. reading self-study7.200942 Hrs.40-48 Hrs.Definitive Programme Document and Programme File C4 - 3

Reading List andReferencesTotal student study effort121-129 Hrs.Textbooks:《三國演義》、《西遊記》 、《紅樓夢》。香港 : �古籍。Intensive Reading List (Readings on this list are specially designed to fulfill theintensive reading requirement):1. �，1996。2. �第二版。北京：華藝出版社，1993。頁 105-119。3. 頁 275-354。4. �。武漢：湖北教育，2000。頁 102169。5. ��6. Plaks, Andrew H. �沈亨壽譯。北京：中國和平，1993。頁 149-200。7. �冊。台中：好讀，2006。頁 186-222。8. �2005。頁 1-19；頁 83-89。9. ��2004。頁 隱》。台北：金楓，1998。陳 平 原 ： 《 中 國 小 說 敘 事 模 式 的 轉 變 》 。 上 海 ： 上 海 人 民 ， 1988 。［PL2415.C452 1988］何 錫 章 ： 《 幻 象 世 界 中 的 文 化 與 人 生 西遊記》。雲南：人民， 1999。［PL2697.H753 H49 2。［PL2436.H83 1992］林 以 亮 等 ： 《 中 國 古 典 小 說 論 集 》 。 台 北 ： 幼 獅 文 化 事 業 ， 1988 。［PL2416.C468 1975］劉 耕 路 ： 《 紅 樓 夢 詩 詞 解 析 》 。 吉 林 文 史 出 版 社 ， 1999 。7.2009Definitive Programme Document and Programme File C4 - 4

［PL2727.S2 L575 ��香港：三聯，1990。［PL2694.S53 L57 1990］羅 爾 綱 ： 《 水 滸 傳 原 本 和 著 者 研 究 》 。 江 蘇 ： 江 蘇 古 籍 ， 1992 。［PL2694.S53L65 ��圖書，1986。［PL2416.L86 �［PL2694.S53 經，2005。［PL2694.S53 M3278 9。［PL2727.S2 O885 1999］Plaks, Andrew H., ed. Chinese Narrative: Critical and Theoretical Essays. Princeton,New Jersey: Princeton UP, 1977. ［PL2415.C456 1977］Plaks, Andrew H. The Four Masterworks of the Ming Novel. Princeton, New Jersey:Princeton UP, 1977. ［PL2436.P53 �北京大學，1995。［PL2415.P47 1996］Riftin, B. L. �籍，1997Rolston, David L. Traditional Chinese Fiction and Fiction Commentary. Stanford,Calif: Stanford UP, 1997. ［PL2415.R65 北京圖書館，2005。［PL2727.S2.H7824 2005］Yu, Anthony C. (余國藩) . Rereading the Stone: Desire and the Making of Fiction inDream of the Red Chamber. Princeton, NJ: Princeton UP, 1997.余 英 時 ： 《 紅 樓 夢 的 兩 個 世 界 》 。 上 海 ： 上 海 社 會 科 學 院 ， 2006 。［PL2727.S2 Y857 2002］張 立 憲 、 劉 春 主 編 ： 《 大 話 西 游 寶 典 》 。 現 代 出 版 社 ， 2000 。［PN1997.D334 D334 2000］7.2009Definitive Programme Document and Programme File C4 - 5

The Romance of the Three Kingdoms a. Textual development: from history to different versions of the novel. b. Themes of the novel: The Will of Heaven, loyalty and righteousness, c. Application of wisdom and strategies d. Narrative structur