Index # 10920
Will Count Towards Asian Language & Cultures MAJOR
Will Count Towards Asian Language & Cultures MINOR
The course will examine capitals in Chinese history and their relationship to the ebb and flow of historical events and cultural changes. We will consider the impact of dynastic change and population movement on the nature of language and culture. Since at least the Táng Dynasty (618-907), China has had a diverse set of languages and dialects as well as a common koinē language spoken broadly across China by officials and merchants. That koinē language has often, but not always, been associated with the dialects of capital cities. Since the various capitals of China have always been based in the north, or have had populations with northern origins, the koinē has always been a Mandarin based language. Though China’s classical written language was independent of any specific spoken dialect, the common spoken koinē did have influence on the language of literature and literary expression. Thus, literary innovation has usually flowed from north to south throughout Chinese history. This course will explore the history of a set of five historical capitals of China and consider the evolution of Chinese culture and literature as it was affected by dynastic change and the evolution of the spoken Mandarin koinē from the Táng through the Qīng (1644-1911). We will discover the many ways that wars, dynastic change, and population upheaval affect cultural development and influence cultural and linguistic norms.
About Professor Simmons
Professor Simmons’ research focuses on the history, geography, and relationships of the Chinese dialects. He has received numerous grants and awards to support his scholarship, including a multi-year grant from the Henry Luce Foundation. Simmons’ publications include Chinese Dialect Classification—A Comparative Approach to Harngjou, Old Jintarn, and Common Northern Wu (1999, with a Chinese translation published in 2010), Issues in Chinese Dialect Description and Classification (1999), Chinese Dialect Geography: Distinguishing Mandarin and Wu in Their Boundary Region (2006), Handbook for Lexicon Based Dialect Fieldwork (2006), and Shanghainese Dictionary And Phrasebook (2011).