Seminar in Vernacular Literature: Jinping Mei 金瓶梅, or, The Plum in the Golden Vase
CHIN 582A SLN 12348
TTh 1:30-3:20 pm, DEN 256
Prof. John Christopher (Chris) Hamm jcsong@uw.edu
Chinese 582 in Spring 2023 will offer an introduction to the study of pre-modern Chinese vernacular fiction via the linked-chapter novel Jinping mei 金瓶梅 (The Plum in the Golden Vase). The notoriety surrounding this work’s erotic content has undeservedly obscured its status as “a landmark in the development of narrative art, not only from a specifically Chinese perspective, but in a world-historical context” (Roy). Topics addressed in the seminar will include:
- Sources of the material and history of the text
- Structural and thematic analysis
- Critical heritage, influence, and reception
- Global histories of the novel as a genre
- The politics of obscenity, pornography, and censorship
- Sequels and adaptations
Precise topics and assignments will be tailored to the interests of students enrolled.
Enrollment by instructor’s permission. Recommended preparation: reading knowledge of standard modern Chinese, at least one year’s study of Classical Chinese, and completion of CHIN 463 or comparable coursework in Chinese literary history . The course will be taught in English. Contact instructor for further information.
Class Format
Our course meets Tuesdays and Thursdays 1:30-3:20 pm in Denny Hall 256. We will typically take a short break halfway through each session.
Our Thursday sessions will focus primarily on assigned portions of the primary text, and our Tuesday sessions primarily on assigned readings in the secondary scholarship—though we can expect frequent intersections between the two.
Our in-class discussions will begin from online postings that you will make prior to each class. After the first week, students enrolled in the course will take responsibility on a rotating basis for initiating and guiding class discussions. Your posting for each class is due no later than 11:59 pm the day prior to the class meeting, though I encourage you to post further in advance. In addition to your own original posting, you must post a response to one of your classmates’ posts for each class session. These responses are due by Friday 11:59 pm of each week (though you are welcome to make them earlier), and can reflect or extend class discussion as you wish. In some cases I will provide a specific prompt for the original posting. If no prompt is provided (and even if it is), you are welcome to comment on any aspect of the reading that you find of interest. At least one each of your two weekly original posts should be in English; if you like, one may be in Chinese. Class discussion will be in English.
Daily Assignments
A summary of our schedule for the term can be found here. For details, see the posting assignments in the course Modules.
Course Requirements
Students in the course are expected to:
- Prepare the assigned readings.
- Make bi-weekly postings as described above.
- Guide class discussions on a rotating basis.
- Complete a final project for the course.
Materials and Texts
Our course will proceed simultaneously on two intersecting tracks; that of reading and discussing the text of Jinping mei, and that of reading and discussing scholarship on a range of related topics.
Scholarship
The works of secondary scholarship we will be reading together and discussing in the course will be made available online, through links to online materials or as PDFs posted to the course Canvas page. Some additional materials may be put on library reserve.
Jinping mei
Your first task for the course is to find a text of Jinping mei that you will use as your primary reading copy as we read and study. Perhaps you own a copy; perhaps you request one from the UW Libraries; perhaps you find an online text; perhaps you come up with another solution. Find a text based on the Wanli 萬曆 Jin Ping Mei cihua 金瓶梅詞話 edition rather than the later Chongzhen 崇禎 edition (which includes the xiuxiang 繡像 edition and the Zhang Zhupo 張竹坡 Diyi qishu 第一奇書 edition). The textual history of the novel and the relationship between different editions are among the topics we will address early in the course.