This unit is an introduction to basic communication skills in Modern Standard Chinese for beginners. Foundation work on pronunciation, pinyin romanisation, elementary grammar and the Chinese writing system will be followed by conversational drills, comprehension, reading and writing practice in classwork and homework.

This unit is a continuation of Chinese 1A. Emphasis will be on grammar patterns that facilitate speaking and reading skills. On completion, students should have a good grasp of common grammatical patterns and be able to communicate with Chinese native speakers in daily contexts.

A fast-paced intermediate unit of study intended primarily for native and fluent "background" speakers of Chinese languages, including Cantonese, who know few (up to about 200) characters or none at all. The objective is rapid development of Chinese-language proficiency to equip students for advanced work in Chinese Studies. Emphases include reading and writing skills and standard Putonghua pronunciation.

Continuation of Chinese 1C, with similar objectives, pace and workload. By the end of the year, students should be able to read Chinese-language materials of limited complexity, and to discuss them in Putonghua.

The unit meets the needs of students who have passed HSC Chinese (Background Speakers) or have completed a major part of their secondary education in Chinese. The unit aims to further improve their language skills and cultural awareness. It teaches advanced Chinese communication skills and sensitises students to differences between Chinese and English languages and discourses. A range of authentic material will be used, drawn from various media and literary sources, covering topics of contemporary interest.

The unit is a continuation of CHNS1303. It aims to further improve language skills and cultural awareness of students who have passed HSC Chinese (Background) or have completed a major part of their secondary education in Chinese. It teaches advanced Chinese communication skills, including basic academic research skills in Chinese writing and oral presentation, through dealing with a range of authentic material beyond that covered in CHNS1303.

The Chinese language is a complex, constantly evolving social institution with a fascinating history. Its influence has been felt throughout East Asia and much of mainland Southeast Asia. This unit of study introduces important aspects of that history to students at the early stages of learning Modern Standard Chinese. Besides acquiring insights that will aid their mastery of the modern language, students will sample the interest and beauty of the classical language, vehicle of traditional Chinese poetry and philosophy.

This unit of study introduces key topics essential to understanding contemporary Chinese society and culture, including geography and environment, recent social and political change, art, literature and cultural practice, population and economic structure, education systems and issues of gender and sexuality. As a foundational unit in Chinese studies, it assumes no background knowledge of China or the Chinese language. It will be taught in English with an interdisciplinary approach.

Intermediate unit of study in Modern Standard Chinese. Rapid vocabulary expansion, strengthening of reading, writing, listening and speaking skills, and sophistication of grammatical knowledge will be pursued in integrated fashion. On completion of this unit of study, students should be able to engage in real life communication, write short compositions and read fluently within their vocabulary range.

Continuation of Chinese 2A, with similar workload. Rapid enhancement and expansion of essential Chinese-language skills (proficiency in listening and speaking, reading comprehension, dictionary use, character knowledge, etc.). On completion of this unit of study, students be able to read Chinese-language materials of limited complexity and to discuss their content orally and write short compositions.

Foundation work in Classical Chinese, an ancient language that still plays a role in modern China and that often challenges Western notions of how languages behave. Students will develop a basic understanding of the grammar and vocabulary, thus equipping themselves for exploration of China's distinctive philosophical and literary traditions in the original language. They will undertake supplementary reading in English on a topic of their choice, thus enriching their knowledge of premodern Chinese culture.

Continued study of Classical Chinese grammar and vocabulary through original texts. Students will gain the knowledge and confidence to explore a wider range of ancient and early-imperial Chinese philosophical and literary writings, including some poetry, thereby acquainting themselves with certain major authors in the Chinese tradition. Supplementary reading in English will enable them to broaden and deepen their understanding of Chinese culture while practising some basic research skills.

This unit examines the relationship between communication and social change in contemporary China, inclusive of mainland China, Hong Kong, and regional sites. Students will learn about selected major events and trends in Chinese societies. They will also learn about the use of communications, including new media, in selected major events. Theories that examine the consequences of communication on community development and democratic participation will be introduced.

This unit introduces the institutions, theories and methods for students to understand the news media in present-day China, inclusive of mainland China, Hong Kong, and regional sites. The media system, regulations, and the major news outlets in Chinese societies are introduced. Global theories of news production provide the conceptual tool, and elementary content analysis methods provide the research tool for analyzing and comparing news reports produced in English by the Chinese and other news media.

Upper-intermediate unit of study in Modern Standard Chinese. Proficiency in reading will be developed through study of Chinese-language texts on a range of social and cultural topics. Speaking, listening, reading and writing will be enhanced through advanced language exercises, including composition and discussion, with due attention to the more sophisticated skills (e.g., use of appropriate registers, intelligent dictionary use, expressing ideas on more complex issues than at lower-intermediate level).

Continuation of Chinese 3A (Upper Intermediate). Continuing development of Chinese-language literacy through study of texts on a range of social and cultural topics, including some authentic literary texts. Further enhancement of speaking, listening and writing skills through advanced language exercises, including composition and discussion. Upon completion, students should be comfortable with both full-form and simplified characters, use dictionaries and language registers discerningly, and be confident of their ability to express ideas and arguments effectively in Chinese.

Advanced training in modern Chinese language, with a focus on reading. By studying a range of literary and non-literary texts, graded for difficulty, students will acquire the reading skills necessary for advanced work in Chinese Studies. They will enrich their knowledge of Chinese as a vehicle for discussion of important issues, while developing their own skills in oral and written expression of relatively complex subject matter.

Continuation of Chinese 4A (Advanced). Further training in the reading skills necessary for advanced work in Chinese Studies or professional work requiring Chinese-language literacy. Students will gain familiarity with a broader range of literary and non-literary texts reflecting the concerns of Chinese people in the modern world, while enhancing their ability to discuss complex subject matter in both spoken and written Chinese.

This unit is designed for advanced learners and near native speakers of the Chinese language. It emphasizes analysis and discussions in Chinese on topics that reflect aspects of modern Chinese society, culture and politics. Students will gain practice in independent library-based research through associated research project and essay work.

This unit introduces students of literary Chinese to Buddhist texts. Students read and translate text selections in a variety of genres, as well as reading secondary materials on textual analysis in order to gain familiarity with a range of styles of discourse that developed during the formative period of Buddhism in China. This unit also serves as an introduction to translation methods and linguistic problem-solving.

This unit aims to develop written fluency in Chinese and English through translation practices. The unit is designed to further develop students' advanced writing and translation skills. Practical tasks will include translation from English into Chinese and vice versa, using a wide range of texts, including newspaper reports, advertisements, product package text, film subtitles, tourist brochures, web pages, and relatively simple technical, legal and official documents.

This unit of study is intended for students who have a sound intermediate competence of Modern Standard Chinese and wish to study the language for specific purposes. The unit provides training in basic knowledge of Chinese terms, etiquette and ethics in different professions, such as medicine, law, engineering and business. It will enhance students' practical communication skills in different social and professional contexts. It will also help them develop a general understanding of inter-professional knowledge in Chinese.

The unit is a continuation of CHNS3611. It aims to further improve students' Chinese communication skills for specific purposes. The unit provides training in advanced knowledge of Chinese terms, etiquette and ethics in different professions, such as medicine, law, engineering and business. It will focus on a wide range of genres, including case studies in different social and professional contexts. It will enhance students' analytical and practical communication skills in Chinese.

The unit is designed to introduce students to the theoretical and practical aspects surrounding the work of Chinese/English translation. Through selected readings of existing translations and their associated critical apparatus, as well as theoretical treatments of the issue of translation, students will develop a detailed knowledge of the theoretical and methodological issues in Chinese translation.

Lu Xun was one of the most influential Chinese writers in the early decades of the twentieth century. The works of Lu Xun and his contemporaries marked the emergence of a modern Chinese literature that reflected its proponents' anxiety for sociocultural change and national salvation, absorbed external influences, and was intended to reach a wide readership. This unit of study highlights works by Lu Xun and other major authors in the context of the intellectual history of the time.

This unit introduces students to the cinema of mainland China, Hong Kong and Taiwan. We will view representative films of different periods and different regions, and read them within their historical and cultural context. We will explore how these films blend "traditional Chinese" and local elements -- plots, symbols, sound, music, performance styles and others -- with "modern" and "global" devices. We will also examine how Chinese cinema thus creates new definitions of Chinese identity and modernity.

How did the early Chinese come to develop one of the world's great historiographical traditions? In their narratives of both exemplary and counter-exemplary behavior, what sort of personal qualities were thought to influence the course of history? How was social change perceived? Was there an understanding of "impersonal" forces of history, such as economics? These and other questions will be explored as we read in the rich sources left by premodern China's own historians.

This unit offers students the opportunity to explore China's great philosophical traditions through readings of important pre-Qin texts in the original. While the coverage will be broad, the focus will be on Confucianism, Daoism, and Mohism. Students will be also expected to read Chinese classics in English translation and relevant secondary scholarship in the areas selected for study.

How did premodern Chinese governments keep their realms well-organised without computers? What kinds of problem did rulers and their advisors identify, and how did they propose to deal with them? In this unit of study we shall explore how premodern Chinese statesmen and political philosophers drew on both Confucian and Legalist ideas to address problems such as crime, population growth, social inequality, environmental change, famine, and despotism. We shall read some remarkable documents in the original Classical Chinese.

Critical examination of samples of admired nonfictional writing in Classical Chinese from after the foundation of the unified empire in 221 B.C. Students will gain an appreciation of the relationship between style and substance in literary Chinese prose. One or two genres (e.g., travel-related or argumentative essays) or periods (e.g., the Tang dynasty) may be studied in greater depth, and students will be expected to consult relevant secondary scholarship in the selected areas.

How does the lean prose of Classical Chinese express complexities of feeling or imagination? What issues does fiction in this ancient language raise about traditional Chinese society, beliefs and values? This unit of study examines samples of such fiction from one or more historical periods (e.g., pre-Tang tales of the supernatural, the chuanqi fiction of the Sui and Tang, the "strange stories" of the seventeenth-century scholar Pu Songling) in light of these questions and of modern scholarship.

An outstanding achievement of Chinese culture has been a vast corpus of poetry, remarkable for its aesthetic qualities and political and cultural importance. In this unit, the development and distinctive features of classical poetry will be explored through selected poems representing various genres and periods. One or two genres may be studied in greater depth, such as the ancient, richly symbolic Chu ci, the poetry of the great Tang masters, or the innovative lyric verse of the Song dynasty.

The Honours program in Chinese Studies consists of:
1. a long thesis written in English (18000 - 20000 words) and two seminars. The thesis is worth 60% of the final Honours result and the seminars 40% (each seminar 20%) or
2. a short thesis in English (12000 - 15000 words) and three seminars. The thesis is worth 40% of the final Honours result and the seminars 60% (each seminar 20%).
The following seminars are on offer in 2014:
Semester 1: Theory and Method in Asian Studies (Dr Olivier Ansart)
Semester 2: Engaging Asia (Dr Rebecca Suter) In consultation with the supervisor and with the approval of the Chair of the Department, students can also select seminars from other programs in the Faculty of Arts. The Department also offers joint Honours supervision with other programs.
For more information, contact Dr Wei Wang

Refer to CHNS4011

Refer to CHNS4011

Refer to CHNS4011