Literary Chinese 1
UndergraduateANU-CHIN20192026
Course information for 2026 intake View information for 2025 course intake
- Study method
- 100% online
- Assessments
- 100% online
- Enrol by
- 15 Feb 2026
- Entry requirements
- Prior study needed
- Duration
- 14 weeks
- Price from
- $1,700
- Upfront cost
- $0
- Loan available
- FEE-HELP available
Literary Chinese 1
About this subject
Upon successful completion, students will have the knowledge and skills to:
- Recognise and translate in a way appropriate to context a vocabulary of about 600 items.
- Identify and explain the basic grammar and sentence structures used in a range of short anecdotal and philosophical texts from pre-Qin (before 221 BCE) and Han (206 BCE to 220 CE) times.
- Differentiate linguistic registers used in basic texts of Classical and Literary Chinese, and reflect these accurately in English.
- Identify and evaluate basic historical and other references in the texts under study through the use of standard dictionaries and Sinological reference tools.
- Critically appraise the meanings and implications of texts under study, with particular reference to the relevant intellectual and cultural contexts of pre-Qin and Han China.
- Literary Chinese
Literary Chinese is a written language that matured long before the Qin dynasty (221-206 B.C.), when China first became an empire. It continued to be used by China's governing and elite cultures for nearly three millennia. A command of Literary Chinese is therefore indispensable for the study of any aspect of Chinese literature, thought, history, politics, or society before the twentieth century.
The idioms, syntax, style, and allusions of Literary Chinese continue to pervade the modern language. Its enduring influence results from the fact that the great legacies of Chinese culture, right down to the present day, have been largely preserved in this medium. Contemporary Chinese political and social discourse, and education, places increasing emphasis on knowledge of pre-modern Chinese culture and on familiarity with texts written in Literary Chinese. So without a grounding in Literary Chinese, it is impossible to gain a full understanding of the language or content of political speeches, newspaper articles, literary works, and scholarly prose written in contemporary Taiwan, Hong Kong, and the People's Republic of China. It has also shaped the linguistic and cultural traditions of Korea, Japan, and Vietnam.
This subject focuses on the analysis and translation of a selection of texts for beginners from the pre-Qin (before 221 BC) and Han (206 BC to 220 AD) periods. Students develop an understanding of the main grammatical forms, function words, and sentence patterns of this formative period of Literary Chinese. Students also study the cultural backgrounds essential to understanding and interpreting the texts at hand.
- Preparatory textual analysis (20%)
- Analytical quizzes (20 exercises, each 1%) (20%)
- Mid-semester test (20%)
- Final examination (40%)
For textbook details check your university's handbook, website or learning management system (LMS).
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Entry requirements
Others
If you have studied or have previous experience with the language and are not sure which course level is right for you, please take a language proficiency assessment, or reach out to our friendly student services team at ANU: cap.student@anu.edu.au.
Additional requirements
- Equipment requirements - To successfully engage in this subject, students will need a laptop or computer with a camera (inbuilt or webcam), a headset with a microphone, Mozilla Firefox or Google Chrome, reliable internet access, and access to a scanner or smartphone.
Study load
- 0.125 EFTSL
- This is in the range of 10 to 12 hours of study each week.
Equivalent full time study load (EFTSL) is one way to calculate your study load. One (1.0) EFTSL is equivalent to a full-time study load for one year.
Find out more information on Commonwealth Loans to understand what this means to your eligibility for financial support.
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