Pleasure, Amusement, and Play: Entertainment Culture in Premodern China

How do people in premodern China talk and write about pleasure? What can be learned about Chinese culture and society through pleasure, amusement, and play? This course explores the entertainment culture in premodern China, mainly from the 16th to the 18th century-an important historical moment of technological, economical, and political transformations. Throughout the semester, students will follow the scholar-officials, urban nouveau riche, courtesans, and entertainers in their travel through city spaces into gardens and pleasure quarters. Students will witness how they seek and take pleasure through reading a wide range of primary texts, including short stories, novels, essays, scholars' notation books, entertainment manuals, and philosophical writings. Students may have the opportunity to join and/or have conversations with them through in-class activities like role-play games and a mid-term creative adaptation assignment. By exploring the entertainment culture in premodern China, this course pays attention to the distinctive aspects in Chinese cultures such as gender dynamics, construction of public and private spaces, the promotion of personal emotions, as well as memories and nostalgia. All readings are in English. Prerequisites: None.
Course Attributes: AS HUM; AS LCD; EN H; FA HUM; AR HUM

Pleasure, Amusement, and Play: Entertainment Culture in Premodern China

CHINESE 3510

Section 01