(LAH 350 meets with ANS 320)
China's Great Wall and Silk Road Literature -- Liberal Arts Honors
This course will examine some key concepts and genres in the Chinese cultural and literary tradition that were greatly shaped by foreign non-Chinese rule and influence, as represented by the iconic Great Wall and the Silk Road. Course emphasis will be given to the literary fruits that were borne through empire expansion, war, and through extended periods of “foreign” non-Chinese rule, in particular the Yuan Dynasty under Mongol rule. These literary records also reflect travel through regions along the Great Wall and explorations made possible by the Silk Road. Readings, lectures, and in-class and online discussions will focus on formative texts such as travelogues and other personal histories, frontier and border literature, and the great dramas/operas that emerged under Mongol rule.
Course Grade Based On:
*There is no final exam in this course
I. 15% Class and online discussion, participation and “preparedness” (including
in-class informal writing)* *Including a Class Attendance Policy
II. 40% Reading and Discussion Questions – Weekly 1-2 page Response Writings
III. 30% Two 8-10 page Papers (topics related to Oral Presentations, see below)
IV. 10% Two Oral Presentations (15-20 minute formal presentations)
V. 5% “Journal” writing throughout the term (on Blackboard) – Reading
“notes” and pre-draft ideas (Evaluated CR/NC)
Required Texts for Class Discussion:
Wilt L. Idema and Stephen West, eds. with Introduction, Monks, Bandits, Lovers and
Immortals – Eleven Early Chinese Plays (Hackett, 2010)
Susan Whitfield, Life Along the Silk Road (University of California Press, 1999)
Required for Background Reading and Individual Research Projects:
J.I. Crump, Chinese Theater in the Days of Kublai Khan (rpt. Michigan, 1990)
Mark Edward Lewis, China’s Cosmopolitan Empire – The Tang Dynasty (Harvard, 2009)
Julia Lovell, The Great Wall – China Against the World 1000 B.C. - A.D. 2000 (Grove,
2006)
Oral Presentation Topics from selected readings below in consultation with instructor; other readings may be added to accommodate student interest
For Individual Presentation/Project:
Shiamin Kwa and Wilt L. Idema, Mulan: Five Versions of a Classic Chinese Legend,
with Related Texts (Hackett, 2010)
Edward H. Schafer, The Golden Peaches of Samarkand – A Study of T’ang Exotics
(University of California Press, 1985)
Jonathan Spence, The Chan’s Great Continent – China in Western Minds (Norton, 1999)
Michael Sullivan, The Three Perfections: Chinese Painting, Poetry and Calligraphy
(Revised edition: George Braziller, 1999) [out of print – available at Paradigm
Books, 24th and Guadalupe]
Jack Weatherford, Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World (Crown, 2004)
Stephen H. West and Wilt L. Idema, eds. and trans. with Introduction, Wang Shifu, The
Story of the Western Wing (California, 1995)
Sally Hovey Wriggins, The Silk Road Journey with Xuanzang (Icon Editions, Westview,
2004)
Consult For Historical Background for Projects:
Patricia Buckley Ebrey, Cambridge Illustrated History – China, 2nd ed. (1996;
Cambridge, 2010)
Colin Mackerras, ed. Chinese Theater – From Its Origins to the Present Day (Hawaii,
1983)
Frances Wood, The Silk Road – Two Thousand Years in the Heart of Asia (University of
California Press, 2002)
Recommended:
On the Qing Dynasty under Manchu Rule:
Jonathan D. Spence, The Memory Palace of Matteo Ricci (Penguin, 1985)
Historical Background:
Richard J. Smith, China’s Cultural Heritage – The Qing Dynasty, 1644-1912 (2nd ed.;
Westview Press, 1994)