Topics to be discussed include performance, improvisation, creativity, memorization, transmission, gender, genre, and the interplay between written and oral, folk and classical traditions. No knowledge of South Asian languages is assumed and all works will be read in English translation. Many lessons are conveyed in these stories on ways of resolving conflict, especially when integrity is at stake. Among questions to consider is how such stories bear on our views of both pre-modern and modern Chinese society. This course is intended for all graduate students interested in these questions.
Most text exists in translation, and most films are subtitled.