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For Summer, 2020, Ben Wang, senior lecturer at China Institute, will offer a rare course entitled Cri-de-Coeur of Women in Classical Chinese Poetry,  focusing on two early masterpieces on Women’s lives. The first masterpiece is To the Bum (萌), the first poem/song in Chinese literature, a song sung in the State of Wei (1115-209 BC), and then collected by Confucius in the Book of Songs. Th second masterpiece is Southeast the Peacocks Fly (孔雀东南飞). Written by an anonymous poet during the 3^rd century toward the end of the Jian’an reign of the Han dynasty (206 BC-221A.D.), Southeast the Peacocks Fly is the first long narrative pentasyllabic poem composed in the style of Ballad (story telling). [Read More]

Schedule:

华文散文的新方向：当代散文阅读 (1985-2015)

This five-week course is designed for students interested in the most recent developments in Chinese essay writing from the last four decades. This period, between 1985 and 2015, witnessed the dramatic reshaping of relations between China and the West, as well as between the Mainland and both Taiwan and Hong Kong. It not only saw the first waves of globalization, but also dealt with the political, ideological, and cultural consequences brought by increased connectivity with the outside world. Such social changes were first reflected in essays before appearing in other forms of literature, and directly inspired a new generation of master essayists who searched to define their voices with distinguished writing styles and use of language.

This course will present and discuss selected works by Yu Kwang-chung  余光中,Mu Xin 木心, Dong Chiao 董桥, Lung Ying-tai 龙应台and Lin Yao-de 林耀德. [Read More]

Schedule:

The three pillars of the traditional Chinese culture, i.e. Confucianism (Rújiā), Buddhism (Fόjiā) and Daoism (Dàojiā), competed against each other, influenced each other, but maintained distinct features. Daoism (Dàojiā) originated from a book of about 5000 characters popularly named as Dao De Jing (DDJ, the Classic of the Way and Virtue) reputedly written by a legendary figure of the 6^th century BC named Laozi. For more than 2000 years this little book, in spite of its short length, has tremendously shaped the traditional Chinese culture. As Wing-Tsit Chan said, “No one can hope to understand Chinese philosophy, religion, government, art, medicine—or even cooking—without a real appreciation of the profound philosophy taught in this little book.” In the 16^th century DDJ entered the West, inspired many great thinkers such as Leibniz, Kant, Hegel, Tolstoy, Jung, Needham and so on, and became a master key to the traditional Chinese culture. DDJ is the second most translated book in the world after the Bible.  [Read More]

Schedule:

This class is designed for students who are interested in studying Mandarin Chinese at a faster pace, i.e., completing Beginning Chinese 101 and 102 in 5 weeks. Upon completion, a solid foundation will be established both in pronunciation (initials, vowels and most importantly, the tones) and fundamental knowledge of the Chinese characters. Students will be able to carry out conversations on daily activities and master about 150 Chinese words and expressions. The textbooks required for this course are Road to Success: Threshold and Lower Elementary, Vol. 1.

This course is a continuation of the beginner level classes and is designed for students who are interested in studying Mandarin Chinese at a faster pace, i.e., completing Intermediate Chinese 201 and 202 in 5 weeks. The textbook required for this course is Road to Success: Elementary, Vol. 1

This course is designed for absolute beginners with little or no knowledge of Chinese Mandarin. This class will introduce the phonics of Chinese Mandarin, sounds and tones, using the pinyin Romanization system. Upon completion, students will be expected to establish a solid foundation in Chinese pronunciation (initials, vowels and most importantly, the tones). In addition, students will easily master about 80 basic Chinese characters, most of which are very commonly used to construct other characters. Students are also expected to be able to conduct short daily conversations, including greetings, expressing gratitude, and introducing oneself and others, etc. The textbook required for this course are Road to Success: Threshold.

• [Evening] Monday & Wednesday, 6:30 – 8:30pm
• [Morning] Tuesday & Thursday, 10:00am – 12:00pm

This class will continue to build on the pronunciation and tones taught in Beginning Chinese 101. In addition, this course will cover the topics of making acquaintance, describing oneself, making appointments, discussing everyday situations, asking various types of questions, making suggestions or comments, etc. The textbook required for this course is Road to Success: Lower Elementary, Vol.1.

*Upon completion of this level, students may be eligible to take the HSK 1.

• [Evening] Tuesday & Thursday, 6:30 – 8:30pm
• [Morning] Monday & Wednesday, 10:00am – 12:00pm

This class will continue to introduce new vocabulary and sentence patterns. Upon completion of this course, students will be able to communicate about daily necessities, including shopping, making a purchase, and going to the bank, among many others.  The textbook required for this course is Road to Success: Lower Elementary, Vol.1 (Lessons 7-12).

*Upon completion of this level, students may be eligible to take the HSK 2.

• [Evening] Monday & Wednesday, 6:30 – 8:30pm
• [Weekday & Weekend] Wednesday, 6:30 – 8:30pm & Saturday, 12:30 – 2:30pm

This conversational course provides optimal opportunities for students to acquire better speaking skills in Chinese with the emphasis on natural, colloquial usage of the language. It is designed for students who have completed higher beginner classes (Levels 104-106) in our Chinese classes or at an equivalent proficiency level but wish to advance their conversation level. This class is highly conversational, interactive, and communicative.

NO textbook is required to purchase for this class. Materials will be provided in class.

• [Weekday] Wednesday, 6:30 – 8:30pm
• [Weekend] Saturday, 10:00am – 12:00pm

This course will bring students to the intermediate level courses, and covers topics of phone conversation, renting an apartment, going out to eat in a restaurant and watching TV programs, among many others. Upon completion, students will be able to discuss different aspects of daily life and use more complicated structures for language expressions. The textbook required for this course is Road to Success, Elementary Vol. 1 (Lessons 1-4).

*Upon completion of this level, students may be eligible to take the HSK 2 or 3.

This class is a continuation of Intermediate Chinese 207. Three pieces of contemporary proses and one traditional fable will be studied. Students will be able to tell a comprehensive story in an authentic way of expression. The textbook required for this course is Road to Success, Upper Elementary Vol 1 (Lesson 5-8).

*Upon completion of this level, students may be eligible to take the HSK 4.

This class is designed for students who have completed up to the Intermediate level classes (Level 201-206) in our Chinese classes or at an equivalent proficiency level. The class will help students speak the language with sufficient structural accuracy and vocabulary to participate effectively in most informal conversational and business settings. The class is highly conversational and interactive, with a focus on live conversations and discussions to achieve fluency of the spoken Chinese. Topics for discussion revolve around a wide range of themes, including latest hot topics in China and worldwide.

NO textbook is required to purchase for this class. Materials will be provided in class.

• [Weekday] Tuesday, 6:30 – 8:30pm
• [Weekend] Saturday, 10:00am – 12:00pm

This course is designed for students who have achieved an overall intermediate-advanced level of proficiency in the Chinese language and seek guided training to bridge the gap between informal spoken Chinese and more formal written Chinese. The textbook for this course is the newly published Eyes on China: An Intermediate-advanced Reader of Modern Chinese (2019). The content is not just “contemporary” china, but rather “present day” China. Texts cover a wide range of topics, including the problem of air pollution, anti-corruption, infrastructure development, rural-urban disparity and the wealth gap, the development of high-speed railways, new tech trends, and the relationship between mainland China and Taiwan, among many others.

The textbook required for this course is Eyes on China: An Intermediate-advanced Reader of Modern Chinese, 2019 by Princeton University Press, (Lessons 6- 10).

This 5-session short course is a necessary bridge between high intermediate Chinese and advanced level courses. Students will be trained to develop real-life competence in pronunciation, spoken communication and active listening skills mainly through watching selected authentic videos. Skills in writing, reading, vocabulary and grammar will progress as well. In addition, students will become familiar with Chinese customs, popular idioms, phrases and expressions used in daily life. Discussion topics are designed to allow students to apply content, language, grammar and linguistic style learned in the videos to guided speeches and presentations. This course has been designed for those who have completed high intermediate level courses (206~209) but lack the proficiency competence for the advanced courses.

This course is designed specifically for heritage Chinese students who possess speaking skills and certain reading and writing skills in Chinese. It will introduce more advanced vocabulary and functional sentence patterns and phrases that support in-depth thinking and expression. Students will learn and better understand the use of these vocabulary and sentence structures through reading texts in various topics. Writing is also an important part of the training in this class.

The textbook required for this course is Standard Course HSK Standard Course 4下, L16-L20

This course aims at pushing students’ spoken Chinese beyond daily life conversations. In this advanced course, students will be engaged in discussions on a variety of topics about China’s economy, politics, social problems and cultural issues. This is a highly interactive class and students are expected to improve speaking skills at a more sophisticated level with depth and fluency. Theme-based pre-reading materials or key vocabulary/expressions and sample sentences will be provided before each class to ensure optimal participation in class discussions.

NO textbook is required to purchase for this class. Materials will be provided in class.

• [Weekday] Monday, 6:30 – 8:30pm
• [Weekend] Saturday, 10:00am – 12:00pm

This course is designed for those who have achieved an overall high intermediate to advanced level of proficiency in the Chinese language and wish to advance their spoken fluency and sophistication.  Students will be fully engaged in discussions on a variety of reading topics about China’s economy, politics, social problems and cultural issues.

NO textbook is required to purchase for this class. Materials will be provided in class.