EAS257H1S: Chinese Literature, Song to Qing
Midterm Examination
Due March 2, 2018 by 11:59 p.m. via portal submission.
Instructions
The exam is open note and open book, and will be graded accordingly. Discussion can
be an enjoyable and productive way to study, but each student is expected to compose
unique exam responses in their own words, using references when appropriate. In the
matching section, matches and their corresponding responses should vary from student
to student. In cases when matches are the same, the wording of the response needs to
be different, and not just superficially so. If you use wording from any outside source,
you must reference it. Any borrowed wording or ideas need to be properly credited.
Matching Terms
From the 30 terms below create matches of ten pairs. The matching portion of the exam
will constitute 50% of the exam grade (5 points/match). You will not get extra credit for
making more than ten matches. Multiple correct matches are possible. You may match
two historical figures together, or match related concepts together, as you see fit. As
long as you can provide an accurate and informed explanation, any match is possible
within reason. Write 4-5 sentences per match to identify both terms in the match, and to
explain why you have paired them together. Include dates, and make connections to the
required readings when possible.
• Zhou Dunyi 周敦頤
• Cult of qing 情
• Zhu Xi 朱熹
• Cheng Yi 程颐
• Feng Menglong 馮夢龍
• Taiji Tushuo 太極圖說, (“Explanations of the Diagram of the Supreme Ultimate,”
or “Diagram Explaining the Supreme Ultimate”)
• Tang Xianzu 湯顯祖
• Heavenly Principle 天理
• Widow Remarriage
• Li Qingzhao 李清照
• Wang Yangming 王陽明
• Four Dreams of Linchuan 臨川四夢
• Cai Jing 蔡京
• Hundred Beauties of Jinling (Nanjing) 金陵百媚
• Luo Rufang 羅汝芳
• Guan Hanqing 關漢卿
• courtesan culture
• Su Shi/Su Dongpo 蘇軾/蘇東坡
• liangxin 良心 (conscience), liangzhi 良知 (innate knowledge)
• zaju 雜劇
• Neo-Confucianism 理學
• School of the Mind (heart/mind xinxue 心學)
• “Epilogue to Records on Metal and Stone” Jinshi lu houxu 金石綠後序
• huaben xiaoshuo 話本小說 (vernacular short fiction)
• “Family Rituals” 家禮
• Romantic Dream 風流夢
• Taizhou School 泰州學派
• chuanqi drama 傳奇
• Zhao Mingcheng 趙明誠
Essay Questions
Respond to two of the three essay questions below. Each essay question is worth 25
points. You will not get extra credit for answering all three questions. Previous to the
midterm, we have covered: Zhu Xi’s “On Reading,” Li Qingzhao’s “Loneliness,” Guan
Hanqing’s The Injustice Done to Dou’e, Tang Xianzu’s Peony Pavilion, and Feng
Menglong’s “Jiang Xingge Reencounters his Pearl Shirt.” The essay question portion of
the examination is intended to give you the opportunity to show your careful reading and
analysis of these readings. Quotations from the required readings are expected, as is
proper referencing. Additionally, you should also be able to situate these texts within
their cultural and historical background. Readings from Pre-modern East Asia, to 1800:
A Cultural, Social, and Political History, or other secondary sources will help
contextualize your literary analysis of the primary sources. Include dates when relevant.
Be strategic in your use of quotations. Do not let the quotation overshadow your own
contribution. Essay responses should be in the range of 750 words.
1. The expansion of the market economy had a profound effect on Early Modern
Chinese culture. Reviewing the primary source readings, analyze exchanges of money,
goods, and/or services. How do these exchanges relate to the plot and narrative
development? How does commerce reflect on the characters involved in it? It what
ways is commercialism encouraged and/or frowned upon in literature? In what contexts
does commercialism lead to upward social mobility, and in what contexts does it lead to
moral corruption and ruin?
2. In Early Modern Chinese literature, narratives frequently play out a conflict between
feelings qing 情, and principle li 理, or between personal desires and social
responsibility. Drawing examples from the required readings, explain how this conflict
unfolds and affects characters. What variables affect the outcome of this conflict on
characters: gender, social status, age?
3. In Early Modern Chinese literature, women symbolize virtue, purity, and authenticity,
along with temptation, carnal desires, and excess. Find and analyze examples of this
dual-sided nature in woman characters from the required readings.
