Western writers often express sympathy with women in pre-modern China. One of them has remarked: “Suffering, privation, contempt, all kinds of misery and degradation, seize on her in the cradle and accompany her pitilessly to the tomb.” Please compare the role and status of women in the Peony Pavilion and the Family

Western writers often express sympathy with women in pre-modern China. One of them has remarked: “Suffering, privation, contempt, all kinds of misery and degradation, seize on her in the cradle and accompany her pitilessly to the tomb.” Please compare the role and status of women in the Peony Pavilion and the Family

In your opinion, does the above remark describe accurately the experience of women in pre-modern China? Please compare and contrast the hopes, fear, and power of women in the two literary works.

  1. To what extent do the ideas and actions of the major characters of the two novels represent a challenge to Confucianism? If Confucianism is under attack, is it attacked for the same reasons and from the same perspective?
  1. Topics on Chushingura and the Autobiography of Fukuzawa Yukichi

 

  1. What was the status of a samurai in Tokugawa society as it is defined in the Autobiography? Fukuzawa was a samurai by his own definition and by contemporary practice. Ii what ways is her different from the image of a samurai portrayed in Chushingura?

 

  1. Compare and contrast the samurai’s sense of loyalty in Chushingura and the Autobiography. Was Fukuzawa a loyal samurai? Did loyalty as a value of the samurai class matter to him and his samurai friends?

 

  1. Fukuzawa’s pursuit of Western Learning was atypical of the samurai of his times. Was his interest in foreign knowledge a result of foresight? If not, how do you explain his decision and experience in terms of the social structure of Tokugawa Japan?

 

  1. Other topics not listed above but must have the approval of the Instructor.

 

            You are encouraged to write on a topic of your choice. However, you need to consult your Section teaching assistant first. Since not all topics are feasible for a short paper, only with the approval of the instructor may you choose this option.

  1. Paper Requirements and Stylistic Matters

 

  1. Students are encouraged to research their topic through consulting further readings. At least five additional sources are required (excluding the textbooks). Use books published by university presses and articles in scholarly journals only. Use information from the internet sites only as supplementary sources. Of the five sources, no more than two may be cited from the internet.

 

  1. Criteria for using Internet sources: only internet sources from websites hosted by universities or academic institutes and research centers are admissible.

 

  1. Except primary sources or translated works, sources cited in your paper should be published within the last 25 years.

 

  1. All notes and bibliography must conform to the stylistic rules in either the Chicago Manual of Style or the Modern Language Association Handbook.

 

  1. Double spaced, 12 point in either New Times Roman or Courier font. No fancy fonts. Double-sided preferred and pages stapled.

 

  1. Your paper must include

 

  1. A Title Page

 

  1. On the Title Page you must include the following information:

 

Title of your paper, Student Name, Course number, Date, Instructor,                           Name of T.A. and Section Number

 

  1. A Bibliography: If your notes do not contain full citation of the references, a             separate bibliography is required.

 

  1. The title page and bibliography are excluded from the required paper length.

 

  1. H. Proofread your paper for grammatical and spelling mistakes.