I’m currently a student at George Washington University double majoring in E. Asian Studies and Chinese Language and Literature. I spent a year as an exchange student in Taipei before going to college, and for various reasons I took two semesters of intro to Classical Chinese (wenyan wen) my freshman year. Unfortunately, the class is generally taken by college seniors, and so there is only one higher level classical class that is only taught in the spring semester, and due to scheduling conflics with my internship this semester, I was unable to take it. Thankfully, I was lucky enough to get the opportunity to have 1 on 1 sessions with my Classical Chinese professor, who is absolutely brilliant. I’ll be finishing up my second semester of these sessions in a few weeks. I’ve really taken a liking to Classical Chinese, and I will be returning to Taipei this summer and fall, and I’m looking for a way to continue my studies. I don’t think most of the classes offered at language centers will be suitable since I’ve already studied the subject matter for two years now, and I was looking into doing something similar to a 1 on 1 with a Taiwanese professor if possible.
Does anyone know of any higher-level classical Chinese classes offered in Taipei and/or a professor or scholar I could contact?
You should be able to study classical literary Chinese at Shida. There are always Korean and Japanese students studying classical Chinese there to prepare for grad school. I think you will find the level sufficent. If 唐九重 (sp.) is still there take his class.
How are you studying classical Chinese now? In English or in Mandarin? Are you deeply into the grammar/syntax or do you mainly translate and gloss into modern Chinese. I ask because many students of classical Chinese who started out learning it in the US or Europe can get very frustrated with the lack of analytic rigor that characterizes the teaching of classical Chinese here. In other words, most teachers here will just tell you what it means (or what they think it means) without really being interested or able to tell you why it means what they say it means. For people of a certain intellectual bent, this can be infuriating.
That said, I think both approaches complement each other well and that the way classical Chinese is taught here helps you read more and develop a more organic, holistic method of reading that will serve you well in the long run. I highly recommend studying it in Taipei.
You are unlikely to find a university professor to teach you one on one. I would recommend trying to find a grad student to be your tutor. NT$300/hour will suffice if you are near campus and have flexible hours
. I may be able help PM me.
Perhaps if you gave us some outline of what you studied and how – ie started with what textbooks, have since read which works, have used what method (C-E, C-C, or trying to read wenyanwen in itself (which can be done far less willy-nilly than Feiren seems to suggest; in fact they don’t study it in a willy-nilly way here in high school) – other persons might be able to make better suggestions.
Sure. For the two semesters of intro last year we used Shadick’s textbook “A First Course in Literary Chinese.” We got through almost all of it and towards the end we started reading assorted texts from 古文觀止。 Here are the texts that I’ve translated this semester for my 1 on 1, just from looking through my folder:
Chapter 1 of 三國演義
北山移文 by 孔稚珪 (by far the hardest thing I’ve ever translated, check it out online sometime if you’d like severe headaches)
大學章句序 by 朱熹
放鶴亭記 by 蘇軾
出師表 by 諸葛亮
and I’m currently translating a few stories by 蒲松齡
Last semester I did similar things, a good chunk of my time was devoted to translating some passages from 莊子 and 列子. I’ve never translated from Classical to Modern Chinese, but I suppose it wouldn’t be too difficult, although my Baihua is definitely lacking…it’s been two years since I’ve really been able to speak Chinese on a daily basis.
If I understand you correctly, you don’t read the classical texts you work with but translate them into English, piece by piece (parsing).
Have I understood you correctly?
Even Sanguo?
If this is the case, what is it that you hope to do in Taipei? You want to find a Taiwanese scholar of classical Chinese who also speaks good English? I imagine it’s possible, but they can’t be easy to find.
[quote=“um”]If I understand you correctly, you don’t read the classical texts you work with but translate them into English, piece by piece (parsing).
Have I understood you correctly?
Even Sanguo?
If this is the case, what is it that you hope to do in Taipei? You want to find a Taiwanese scholar of classical Chinese who also speaks good English? I imagine it’s possible, but they can’t be easy to find.[/quote]
I’m not sure if you’ve understood me correctly. I read the classical texts, but my professor is American, and thus I translate them into English for our 1 on 1 sessions. The way the sessions are run is that I read a part in Chinese, then how I’ve translated it into English, and the necessary corrections are made. However, I generally prepare for several hours before the sessions so I do fully read the Chinese texts. Does that make any sense?
All I’d like to find is a Taiwanese scholar of classical Chinese. English is not a factor here, since my Chinese is pretty decent and will be improving significantly over the summer (I’m doing the ICLP summer language program at NTU). Hope this helps.
I think you will have a much better idea of what you can handle while you are in the ICLP program this summer. When you come here to study, be it at ICLP or Shi Da, they are going to give you a placement test. This means they will decide what courses you will take based on that test…they have to be convinced you are ready for it. It actually doesn’t matter to them, from what I understand, what you have studied before, as they want to see what level you are at based on the tests. These tests include listening and speaking; if your reading is Classical level, but your listening is much lower, they probably won’t let you study Classical. Recently, Shi Da has become much more picky about this because of too many students in classes that they just weren’t ready for.
I don’t know how much time you have spent in a Chinese speaking environment; The classes at the programs are in Chinese only…many of the teachers can’t speak English, even if they wanted to. The ones who can will not, and you will quickly get menacing looks from classmates if you speak English. The fact that you can translate Classical into English will mean nothing to them because they teach classes that talk about Classical in modern Mandarin. I don’t know your level, so I have no idea how you would handle a course in Classical Chinese that ignores English; the problem is, you probably don’t know either because it is based on their placement tests (I want to rant about how insane that is, but it’s probably best for another topic). So, in short, see how you do in the ICLP program and talk with them about what your goals are. If they think you aren’t ready for Classical in Taiwan, they will tell you what classes to take here to prepare. FYI, Shi Da does have a lot of courses in Classical right now, from 入門 to 莊子 to 老子. Good luck!
[quote=“suiyuan31”]
I don’t know how much time you have spent in a Chinese speaking environment; The classes at the programs are in Chinese only…many of the teachers can’t speak English, even if they wanted to. The ones who can will not, and you will quickly get menacing looks from classmates if you speak English. The fact that you can translate Classical into English will mean nothing to them because they teach classes that talk about Classical in modern Mandarin. I don’t know your level, so I have no idea how you would handle a course in Classical Chinese that ignores English; the problem is, you probably don’t know either because it is based on their placement tests (I want to rant about how insane that is, but it’s probably best for another topic). So, in short, see how you do in the ICLP program and talk with them about what your goals are. If they think you aren’t ready for Classical in Taiwan, they will tell you what classes to take here to prepare. FYI, Shi-Da does have a lot of courses in Classical right now, from 入門 to 莊子 to 老子. Good luck![/quote]
After high school I lived in Taipei for a year as a Rotary exchange student, and lived with a family. Thus, my listening comprehension (at least by the time I left Taiwan) was pretty damn good and was probably the best aspect of my Chinese language ability. Currently, however, I’ve spent 2 years studying classical Chinese, and my current internship at the China Commission has left with me with a pretty solid reading ability, but the lack of practice with speaking and listening has left my conversation skills a bit lacking. I’m pretty sure they’ll rebound rather quickly once I arrive in Taipei in May, otherwise I’ll have a hard time speaking to my host family and friends from my last visit. Also, I do have experience taking Chinese classes where no English is spoken. I took a semester of Chinese at Shi Da and I had no difficulty with the adjustment. Thank you for the useful tips about the placement test, hopefully I will do well enough that they’ll allow me to consider taking some classical over the summer.
It sounds like with your experience, you’ll do just fine. After a semester at ICLP, I think you will be able to get into a Classical course anywhere else. I would also suggest that at any of the language programs in Taipei, persistence is the key; politely push them, and they may just give in. Good luck!