31608 - Chinese Culture and Literature 2

Learning outcomes

At the end of the course, students will be able to read, understand and translate short Chinese literary texts into Italian. They will also be able to place the text in its historical and cultural context.

Course contents

The course is designed for students who have already acquired basic knowledge of the history, thought and society of modern and contemporary China through at least one of the following courses: History of East Asia, Philosophy of East Asia, Sociology of Asian Countries. The course aims to provide students with the theoretical knowledge necessary to develop a critical interpretation of forms and content, and to comment and expound using specific languages and methodologies for the analysis of literary texts. Therefore, students are required to have a knowledge of the fundamentals of Chinese literary history from the May Fourth Movement of 1919 to the present day. This knowledge can be acquired in the following courses: Chinese Literature 2, Chinese Culture and Literature 1.

 

The course is divided into two modules, which address common themes but are developed according to different and complementary perspectives and methodologies.

 

Both modules are divided into thematic areas corresponding to phases of contemporary Chinese history.

 

First thematic area: the 1980s: initial openings and “cultural fever”

- The narrative of national identity

- The reinvention of language and the role of intellectuals and writers

- The relationship with natural environment

 

 

Second thematic area: the 1990s: full embrace of the market

- The narrative of individual and gender identity / private literature / body literature / internet literature / queer narratives

- Intertwining of literature and pop music

- The case of the “Dongbei Renaissance”

 

 

Third thematic area: the 21st century: old and new social inequalities

- The representation of work and precariousness

- New identities in the stories of migrant workers

- Rural China as a place of tradition and idealisation

 

 

Fourth thematic area: Visions of the future

- Literature as socio-economic, political and ecological criticism

- Science fiction and proposals for alternative realities

 

 

Students will be offered a range of literary texts of different kinds, belonging to different genres, already translated and published in Italian and English. Literary works, popular culture and transmedia works (visual culture, film and television adaptations, mixed media, etc.), gender studies and cultural studies will also be analysed.

 

 

Module 1 (Prof. Valeria Zanier)

 

This module focuses on the mutual influences between economic, social and cultural change in recent times. Starting from the end of the Maoist period, the reforms introduced by Deng Xiaoping in the late 1970s and the Tiananmen Square demonstrations of 1989, we will address some key issues and explore the most significant literary genres in the process of economic liberalisation and the opening up of Chinese society to globalisation. The module will adequately cover various forms of cultural production, ranging from fiction to non-fiction and reportage literature, and also including cinematographic works (in particular arthouse films and documentaries).

 

Module 2 (Prof. Gaia Perini)

 

The module focuses on textuality, intertextuality and translation, providing the theoretical and practical tools needed to carry out a close reading of the work in its original language and to compare the available translations, becoming aware of possible translation strategies. In addition to working on the text in the original language and in translation, students will be encouraged to engage with the intertextual dimension, where present: the dialogue between texts will be explored, as they quote each other or respond to the same historical and social issues.

 

 

 

 

Readings/Bibliography

1. Historical-literary outlines of Chinese contemporary literature (highly advised for those who need to strengthen their background competencies):

- Routledge Handbook of modern Chinese literature, a cura di Ming Dong Gu (2020)

- The Columbia Companion to Modern Chinese Literature, a cura di Kirk Denton (2016)

 

2. Literary texts 

(Module 1)

· Beijing Tongzhi, Beijing Story, transl. from Chinese by Lucia Regola, Milano, Nottetempo, 2009

· Chi Ta-Wei, Membrana, transl. from Chinese by Alessandra Pezza, Torino, Add editore, 2022

· Chi Zijian, La luna non sparirà, transl. from Chinese by Valentina Potì, Piemme, 2024

· Hao Jingfang, Pechino pieghevole, transl. from Chinese by Silvia Pozzi, Add editore, 2020

· Liang Hong, China in one village. The story of one town and the changing world, transl. from Chinese by Emily Goedde, New York, Verso, 2021

· Mo Yan, I tredici passi, transl. from Chinese by Maria Rita Masci, Torino, Einaudi, 2019

· Qiu Miaojin, Notes of a crocodile, transl. from Chinese by Bonnie Hue, The New York Review of Books, Inc., 2017

· Sheng Keyi, Northern Girls. Life goes on, transl. from Chinese by Shelly Bryant, London, Penguin Books, 2015

· Yan Lianke, Gli anni, i mesi, i giorni, transl. from Chinese by Lucia Regola, Milano, Nottetempo, 2019

· Xu Zechen, Correndo attraverso Pechino, transl. from Chinese by Paolo Magagnin, Palermo, Sellerio, 2014

· Wang Shuo, Metà fuoco, metà acqua, transl. from Chinese by Rosa Lombardi, Roma, Orientalia, 2024

 

(Module 2)

AA.VV., Nuovi Poeti Cinesi, translated from Chinese by Claudia Pozzana and Alessandro Russo, Torino, Einaudi, 1996

Acheng, Il Re degli Alberi, translated from Chinese by Maria Rita Masci, Milano, Bompiani, 2000 (o altre edizioni)

Liu Cixin, Il Problema dei Tre Corpi, translated from English by Benedetta Tavani, Milano, Mondadori, 2017

Mo Yan, Sorgo Rosso, translated from Chinese by Rosa Lombardi, Einaudi 2014

Shuang Xuetao, Mosé sulla Pianura, translated from Chinese by Paolo Magagnin, Roma, Atmosfere, 2021

Yu Hua, Il settimo giorno, translated from Chinese by Silvia Pozzi, Milano, Feltrinelli, 2013

 

3. Critical essays (valid for both modules):

Bao Hongwei, Queer China: Lesbian and Gay literature and visual culture under Postsocialism, Routledge 2020

Carson, Rachel, Primavera Silenziosa, Milano, Feltrinelli 1966 (more versions exist)

Evans, Harriet (2008). Sexed Bodies, Sexualized Identities, and the Limits of Gender, China Information, Vol. XII (2), pp. 361-386

Garrard, Greg, Ecocriticism, London & New York, Routledge, 2012

Geng Song and Derek Hird, Men and Masculinities in Contemporary China, Brill 2014

Hockx, Internet Literature in China, Columbia University Press, 2015

Hunt, Pamela, Rebel Men: Masculinity and Attitude in Postsocialist Chinese Literature, Hong Kong University Press, 2022

Liu Kang, Tang Xiaobing (edited by), Politics, Ideology and Literary Discourse in Modern China: Theoretical Interventions and Cultural Critique, Duke University Press, 1993

Liu, Petrus, Queer Marxism in Two Chinas, Duke University Press, 2015 

Riemenschnitter, Andrea, Jessica Imbach, Justyna Jaguscik (a cura di), Sinophone Utopias: Exploring Futures beyond the China Dream, Cambria, 2023

Swanpitak, Ruttapond, Subjectivity and Sexuality in Contemporary Chinese Feminist Writing. Representations of Transgressive Women, Singapore, Springer, 2024

 

4. Theory and pratice of translation from Chinese:

– Silvia Pozzi. Il carattere e la lettera. Tradurre dal cinese all'italiano, Hoepli, Milano 2022.

- Nicoletta Pesaro (a cura di). La traduzione dal cinese. Riflessioni, strategie e tipologie testuali, Hoepli, Milano 2023.

Teaching methods

Lectures, seminar meetings, in-class film viewings with discussion, group work.
Active student participation is strongly encouraged.

Assessment methods

The exam consists of a single oral test for both teaching modules. During the test, the teachers will assess the students' knowledge of the topics covered in the two modules:
- Knowledge of the main social, cultural and literary transformations from the late 1970s to the present day.
- Knowledge of the main literary trends, authors and critical texts covered in the two modules.
- In-depth reading and analysis of at least two works in Italian or English translation (one from module 1 + one from the module 2 list).


The assessment of the exam will be based on the following parameters:
- Knowledge of the topics and language skills;
- ability to critically use the texts and concepts studied;
- ability to create logical and descriptive links between texts and related cultural/social phenomena;
- ability to propose and argue personal considerations;
- ability to contextualise phenomena historically and identify the distinctive features of the texts studied.

Teaching tools

The topics covered in the lectures will be developed through guided group work on specific topics and/or texts. Details on the content and organisation of the work will be defined at the beginning of the course.


A series of films will be screened during the course. To complement the lectures, there will be film screenings and seminars held by renowned experts in Chinese and Sinophone literature, as well as other initiatives involving Italian and international guests. These supplementary activities are an integral part of the exam programme. A programme of additional activities will be provided at the beginning of the lectures.

Office hours

See the website of Valeria Zanier

See the website of Gaia Perini