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2026-2027 Chinese Courses

The Chinese Department offers courses in Chinese language and in Chinese literature, media, and film, both in translation and the original.

All Chinese literature, media, and film courses are taught in English and are cross-listed as Chinese (Chin) and Literature (Lit). If you would like the opportunity to work with course materials in the original Chinese, you should enroll under the Chin designation and expect to take part in additional one-hour meeting weekly to read, discuss, and translate course-related materials with your professor and your peers. 

A full list of courses offered by the Chinese department can be found here. All classes are in-person unless otherwise specified. 

• Spring courses

Fall Courses

Chin 111 - Beginning Chinese I

A beginner’s course in standard (Mandarin) modern spoken and written Chinese, aimed at building a solid foundation in all its aspects: pronunciation (especially the tones), syntax, and basic vocabulary. Attention is given to a balanced development of all the basic skills of the language: listening and reading comprehension, speaking, and writing. Pinyin is the romanization system used in this and all other Chinese language courses. Both the traditional and simplified characters are taught. Students are expected to read both and write one of the two versions. One-unit semester course. Lecture-conference. 

Chin 211 - Intermediate Chinese I

This course is designed to build the skills of students who have studied at least one year of Chinese (or equivalent) to achieve intermediate-level proficiency in the oral and written use of the language through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Emphasis in the course will be placed on learning to recognize and reproduce the natural flow of the spoken language, expanding vocabulary, and learning to write short essays in Chinese. Prerequisite: Chinese 112 or acceptance through placement test. One-unit semester course. Lecture-conference.

Chin 311 - Advanced Chinese I

This course is designed for students who have completed at least two years of Chinese language (or equivalent). The course will focus on student acquisition of near-native fluency in spoken Chinese, competence in reading a variety of contemporary texts (with a dictionary), and employment of different registers and genres of Chinese in students’ writing. Prerequisite: Chinese 212 or acceptance through placement test. One-unit semester course. Conference.

Chin 329/Lit 329 - The Strange and the Supernatural in Medieval China

Alexei Ditter - M/W 2:40–4:00 p.m.

This course examines how people in medieval China (roughly the fourth through tenth centuries) understood and interpreted strange phenomena, uncanny encounters, and the supernatural. Through close reading of literary, historical, and religious accounts of ghosts, spirits, anomalous beings, and extraordinary events, students explore how these works were used to make sense of the world, articulate moral values, and negotiate the boundaries between human and non-human realms. The course pays particular attention to cultural fears and aspirations, ideas of self and “other,” and the interactions among Confucian, Daoist, and Buddhist worldviews. Students registering under the CHIN designation will complete an additional hour of guided reading in the original Chinese. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. For Chinese credit, CHIN 212 or equivalent. One-unit semester course. Conference.

Chin 346/Lit 313- Modern China on the Silver Screen: From Allegories to Documentaries

Jing Jiang - M W 6:10–7:30 p.m.

This course introduces students to important Chinese-language films created over the past 100 years or so, starting from early pioneering works in the silent era, and going all the way to contemporary documentaries made in the digital age. The focus of the course will be on cinema produced in mainland China, with occasional exceptions. With its advent in China more or less coeval with the beginning of the nation’s modern chapter, cinema affords us a unique window to look into a diverse and rapidly changing China throughout the twentieth century and beyond. The films we watch in this class cover a broad range of topics: the woman question, family and gender, revolution, the urban/rural divide, economic reform and migrant labor, LGBTQ issues, health care and an aging population, etc. Through a combination of closely viewing, reading and writing, conference discussion and presentations (one collaborative), we’ll familiarize ourselves with the historical and cultural contexts of these films’ creation and representation, and identify values and attitudes expressed in them as well as the formal means of their expression. We will explore films made by critically acclaimed directors, such as Cai Chusheng, Chen Kaige, Zhang Yimou, Jiang Wen, Wang Xiaoshuai, Wang Bing, Jia Zhangke, Xu Anhua, and Wu Hao, among others. Readings are in translation, and films selected are subtitled in English. Students who take the course for Chinese credit meet for additional instruction and readings in the original Chinese. Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. For Chinese credit, CHIN 212 or equivalent. One-unit semester course. Conference.

Spring Courses

Chin 112 - Beginning Chinese II

A beginner’s course in standard (Mandarin) modern spoken and written Chinese, aimed at building a solid foundation in all its aspects: pronunciation (especially the tones), syntax, and basic vocabulary. Attention is given to a balanced development of all the basic skills of the language: listening and reading comprehension, speaking, and writing. Pinyin is the romanization system used in this and all other Chinese language courses. Both the traditional and simplified characters are taught. Students are expected to read both and write one of the two versions. Prerequisite: Chinese 111 or acceptance through placement test. One-unit semester course. Lecture-conference.

Chin 212 - Intermediate Chinese II

Two-unit yearlong course; one unit per semester. This course is designed to build the skills of students who have studied at least one year of Chinese (or equivalent) to achieve intermediate-level proficiency in the oral and written use of the language through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Emphasis in the course will be placed on learning to recognize and reproduce the natural flow of the spoken language, expanding vocabulary, and learning to write short essays in Chinese. Prerequisite: Chinese 211 or acceptance through placement test. One-unit semester course. Lecture-conference.

Chin 312 - Advanced Chinese II

Dong Xiao - M/W/F 11:00-11:50 a.m.

Two-unit yearlong course; one unit per semester. This course is designed to build the skills of students who have studied at least one year of Chinese (or equivalent) to achieve intermediate-level proficiency in the oral and written use of the language through speaking, listening, reading, and writing. Emphasis in the course will be placed on learning to recognize and reproduce the natural flow of the spoken language, expanding vocabulary, and learning to write short essays in Chinese. Prerequisite: Chin 311 or acceptance through placement test. One-unit semester course. Lecture-conference.

Chin 316 - Classical Chinese

Alexei Ditter - T/Th 10:30-11:50 a.m.

Classical Chinese (also known as wenyan 文言) was the standard written language of China from around the seventh century BCE through the early twentieth century, and continues to shape both written (e.g., journalistic, academic, and legal writing) and spoken (e.g., proverbs and aphorisms) modern Chinese. This course introduces students to Classical Chinese through reading, translation, and discussion of philosophical, political, literary, and historical writings-including anecdotes, arguments, poetry, and inscriptions-from early (seventh century BCE-third century CE) and medieval (third-tenth centuries CE) periods. Emphasis is placed on learning the grammatical structures, vocabulary, and interpretive strategies necessary to read Classical Chinese texts with care and precision, and on developing habits of close textual analysis essential for advanced study of Chinese literature, history, religion, and culture. Discussions of grammatical and philological issues will be conducted primarily in English, and translation will be from Classical Chinese into English. Prerequisite: Chinese 212 or equivalent. One-unit semester course. Conference.

Chin 380/Lit 320 - Dream of the Red Chamber and the Literary Traditions of China

This course will approach the Chinese narrative tradition through close reading of Dream of the Red Chamber and its literary antecedents. First published in 1792, The Dream of the Red Chamber (紅樓夢, also commonly known as Story of the Stone 石頭記) recounts the experiences of a magical stone from heaven reborn as the male heir of the immensely wealthy and aristocratic Jia family. Through reading and discussion of poetry, drama, short story, and longer works of fiction from earlier periods alongside selected chapters from the novel, we will explore the ways in which Dream of the Red Chamber self-consciously adapts literary conventions, techniques, and motifs from the narrative tradition, and learn to appreciate both China’s rich literary tradition and the unique artistic achievements of this novel. Readings in English. An additional hour of class of guided readings in the original will be offered for students taking the course for Chinese credit.  Prerequisite: Sophomore standing. For Chinese credit, CHIN 212 or equivalent. One-unit semester course. Conference.

Chin 412 - Stories of China: Ten Voices, One Hundred Years

This course introduces modern and contemporary Chinese literature through sustained engagement with ten major writers whose works collectively span more than a hundred years of Chinese experience. Reading their works in the original Chinese, students will develop advanced literary reading skills, learn how to conduct literary interpretation and critical analysis in Chinese, while also becoming more familiar with the historical and cultural forces that shaped these works: the fall of empire, the Maoist era, the Cultural Revolution, Reform and Opening, and the complexities of Chinese life in a globalized present. Authors include Lu Xun, Xiao Hong, Eileen Chang, Wang Anyi, Wang Shuo, Wang Xiaobo, Alai, and Mo Yan, among others. This course is intended for students with advanced proficiency in Mandarin, and all texts, coursework, and class discussions are in Chinese. Prerequisite: 300-level Chinese proficiency or equivalent. One-unit semester course. Conference.