China
The Book of Songs and the Songs of Chu:
The Book of Songs contains mostly folksongs, how were they collected and why?
What is the story of Qu Yuan for whom the Dragon Boat Festival is celebrated?
Daoism:
The two main books of Daoism are The Dao de Jing (Classic of the Dao), and the Zhuangzi the book of Master Zhuang; which came first and how do they differ?
Trying to find a fixed meaning in the Dao de Jing is like trying to hold water, what concepts is the author trying to convey and how does he go about conveying them?
What is a quote from the Dao de Jing that you think captures the writer's intent?
Zhuangzi tells us many stories to illustrate his interpretation of Daoism; what is one and how does he go about showing us what he wants us to see?
Confucianism:
What is the historical background of Confucius (Kong Fuzi) life and writing?
What are the Five Relationships that Confucius sees as defining society?
There are several words one must understand to see what Confucius was teaching; one is ren (humanheartedness), another is li (ritual, or rules of conduct). How did Confucius use these two and the above-mentioned Five Relationships to map out a system of ethical actions through which a society could prosper peacefully?
Mencius (Mengzi) was a follower of Confucius who furthered his teachings, how did Mencius change what Confucius taught? Note the concept yi (rightousness).
Mencius believed all people are intrinsically good and his rival Han Feizi believed all people are intrinsically bad. What metaphors did each use to describe the original nature of humans?
What is Legalism? What dynasty of China followed this philosophy to its great but short lived success? How did Legalism survive the fall of this dynasty?
Daoism, Confucianism or Legalism?
Cutting off hands for thieving
Cocks crowing and dogs barking
Standardization of weights and measures
Funeral and marriage rites
Search for immortality
Respect for parents and ancestors
Non action
Do not treat others as you would not have them treat you
Loyalty rewarded, dissenters obliterated
The emptiness inside the jar
Division of land into provinces, groups of people into units of 10 families
Four unequal relationships, one equal relationship
Retreat of disenchanted officials
Distain for ritual, community of equals in love
The nature of human beings is evil and must be re-shaped
Rules that apply to the common people
Government by example and the right of revolt; rightousness
Sima Qian (Ssu-ma Ch'ien) and the Shi ji (Classic of History): Biographies:
From his letter to Jen An, what do we know of Sima Qian's background and life: in which dynasty did he live and what is his personal story?
From the selections, who did Sima Qian write about, what are the characters of these men?
What other points was the author trying to make in these biographies other than telling us of these peoples' lives?
Writings after the fall of the Han; Buddhism in China:
Tao Qian:
According to the essay "The Peach Blossom Spring", what makes a Chinese Utopia? On what is it modeled?
Do you find anything interesting or unusual about this choice of situation for a Utopia?
Han Shan:
What is the frame for these poems? (See the prose introduction)
The time after the fall of the Han Dynasty was a time of turmoil and rejection of the Confucian ideals which had upheld the Han; how do these poems reflect the character of the age in which they were written? What philosophies do they illustrate?
What are some of the metaphors used, do any images strike you?
How is the character of Mahayana (The Greater Vehicle) Buddhism, the type which came to China, Korea, Tibet, Japan and Vietnam, different from Hinayana (The Lesser Vehicle) Buddhism, which found a home in Sri Lanka, Burma, Thailand and Cambodia?
Poets of the Tang and Song:
Wang Wei, Li Bai and Du Fu are all poets of the Tang Dynasty. How would your characterize their poetry as different one from another?
Choosing one of these poets, what sorts of images does he typically use?
Su Dongbo wrote the Red Cliff I and II. These essays are very famous
and also difficult to talk about. Here are some questions to get to an understanding
of them:
What themes do you find in both of them?
What is the atmosphere in Red Cliff I, how does it end?
How is Red Cliff II different?
How would you respond to Su Dongbo's essay?
Yuan Drama and the Xi Xiangji (Romance of the Western Chamber):
The Yuan Dynasty was a Mongol Dynasty in China; what effect did this foreign presence have on Chinese literature, especially drama?
Who are the main characters in the Romance of the Western Chamber and what is the brief story?
Consider the setting of the drama, in a Buddhist temple, how does this affect the themes of the play.
We read some excerpts from the play, have you any comments on the language or writing? How do the singing parts seem to fit into the dialogue?
What are some points of comparison with this play and Romeo and Juliet?
Chinese Novels:
There are six or seven main novels which we will mention in class, they are: The Marsh Heroes (also known as All Men are Brothers, The Water Margin and Outlaws of the Marsh); Monkey or Journey to the West; Flowers in the Mirror; The Dream of the Red Chamber; The Romance of the Three Kingdoms; The Golden Lotus, and The Scholars. We will look at the texts for the first four of these.
Sagacious Lu from The Marsh Heroes:
Most Chinese fiction contains a "kernal of truth" on which it is based. In this novel that basis is historical; what is it?
What is the story of the novel, The Marsh Heroes, that contains this excerpt? How does this incident relate to the rest of the novel?
The main themes or symbols of the novel are: the world of marginal characters inhabited by the heroes of the marsh, the symbols of the Inn and the Road, and the Code of honor that they follow. Can you see any of these in the excerpt we read?
What social commentary can you find in the story of Sagacious Lu? Give examples.
In keeping with the idea of social satire, much of the book and this excerpt are meant to be funny; give examples of a couple of incidents.
Monkey or Journey to the West:
As for the previous excerpt, give the background story of the whole book, from which these two chapters are taken. What is the, in this case historical, 'kernal of truth" for the book?
The whole of Journey to the West is an Allegory; The Monk, Pigsy, Sandy, and Monkey all stand for some facet of humankind. What are these?
In the case of Monkey himself, what is the allegorical reading of these two Chapters?
Is there any social commentary here?
What are a few qualities of Monkey that define his character?
The Country of Women from Flowers in the Mirror:
This excerpt comes from a book not unlike Gullivar's Travels, what is the surrounding story?
What Chinese institutions and customs are being satirized and strongly questioned here?
Is it effective? Give examples from the text you thought got the point across particularly well.
The Dream of the Red Chamber (Hong Lou Meng):
What is the story of the whole novel? The basis of truth here is with regard to the author's life; what are the connections?
How would you contrast the two heroines, Ying Ying from the Romance of the Western Chamber, and Black Jade from the Dream of the Red Chamber?
Have you any comments on the world depicted here?
What of the other characters, Bao Yu or the maids, how does Bao Yu measure up as a hero, how do you react to the maids; are any of them at all like Hongniang (Ying Ying's maid)?
