Seminar Objectives

The purpose of this special seminar is to afford serious students of Chinese history, historiography, literature, philosophy or art the opportunity to read and analyze original Ming texts through in-depth study of language and content.  Because formal academic study of advanced classical Chinese is difficult to pursue in the USA, this seminar offers structured study of Ming texts from different genres to a small group of students with a minimum of one year classical Chinese training.  This class is especially intended to benefit professionals already pursuing academic careers who wish to augment their skills in reading classical Chinese documents from the Ming period.

Course Description

Advanced Classical Ming Readings offers students and scholars with prior training in classical Chinese (wenyan) an opportunity to read and examine in detail different types of texts from the Ming dynasty.  Students are expected to have completed at least first year classical Chinese and to have studied the suggested textbook: Classical Chinese:  A Basic Reader, by N.Y. , H.T. Tang and J.P. Geiss. All classes and assignments will use putonghua.

Text Explications of Classical Chinese Grammar, Vocabulary, and Meaning

Study of tone and style in different types of Classical Chinese texts.

Textbook and Other Texts

Selected Readings of Ming Dynasty Documents, collated and edited by H.T. Tang and Y.N. , are divided between texts and glossaries.  Texts are separated into four categories:

(1)  Edicts and Memorials

(2)  Eunuchs and Party Politics

(3)  Ming Civil Service Examination and the Eight-Legged Essays

(4)  Late Ming Political Practice, Political Figures, and Emotive Events as Revealed in
       Literature and Miscellaneous Works.

See Ming Reader's Table of Contents.   Selected Readings of Ming Dynasty Documents can be bought after 1 January 2006 from the James P. Geiss Foundation at a subsidized cost of $25.- each.   Other texts from students will be considered for reading if submissions are made by 1 December 2005 and once study of Textbook documents are completed.

Announcement

Ming Reader