The Three Kingdoms History Essay Research Coursework

(1) Sections. See Slide #2 from 2/19/20 Powerpoint, available on Canvas. Like an actual Wikipedia article, your essay should consist of (a) a brief introduction providing the metadata and the "so what" of the text (b) a history of the authorship, editing, and production of the text (c) a synopsis of the content of the text (d) a literary/philosophical/thematic interpretation of the text (e) a discussion of the reception of and possible controversies around the text, and (f) a contextual argument about the larger historical significance of the text.
(2) Outside sources. I encourage you to consult, cite, and engage with the relevant introductory blurbs and footnotes in Sources of Chinese Tradition, Sources of East Asian Tradition, and/or The Shorter Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature. Beyond that, you are welcome to use outside sources for any section of the assignment, but it is not required. Again, use no more than five outside sources to keep things manageable (these should be reliable, cite-worthy sources).
(3) Scope. If you're in doubt, I think a relatively short text or portion of a text is probably best for this assignment. Of course, it might be useful to refer to other parts of the same text or to related texts in the course of your discussion. For example, it would be difficult to fully analyze the Mozi or Zhuangzi without at least some reference to the Analects.
(4) Interpretation versus argument sections. Different components of the assignment are meant to achieve different objectives and use different skills. In most cases the interpretation section should be more internal/textual, involving close reading of key passages and identification of the most important literary and/or philosophical themes/meanings of your text on its own terms. These should be primarily your own interpretations, though you can also make reference to the interpretations of others. Meanwhile, the final historical argument section should be more external/contextual, connecting the text to the history we've discussed and possibly making some plausible speculations/generalizations about what the text tells us about social reality in whatever era it comes from.
(5) Reception section. The section on reception and controversies invites you to consider what was said about the text or how it was used or reimagined in different places and times, including different periods of Chinese history (including modern times) and/or in other societies (Korea, Japan, Europe, the United States, etc.). This will not be possible in all cases, but a big hint is to try word-searching the title and/or author of your text in Victor Mair's Shorter Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature.
* - read through the guidelines and syllabus and let me know which text you decides to write on, and I will upload the text.
from client, 03.09.2020: "Please note that the assigned chapters for The Three Kingdoms are 1-7, 10-12, 14, 16, 17, and 19-26 (all from Volume I). The requirement for this essay is to choose a SHORT text/portion of a text, so you really only need to choose a short portion among these chapters to focus on and write about."

Instructions: Choose a SHORT text/portion of a text from (1) within the assigned readings so far (2) a non-assigned portion of the de Bary compilations, available on reserve here and here (3) a non-assigned portion of Victor Mair, The Shorter Columbia Anthology of Traditional Chinese Literature, available in e-book. Write a “Wikipedia page” for the text you’ve chosen that includes the following sections/information:

Introduction: 2-3 sentences conveying the most important basic information about the text and the most general statement you can make about its significance (hint: maybe do this last).

History of the text: Discuss in 1-2 paragraphs how we know the text exists, what period of history it comes from, extant versions and their location, who wrote it (hint: can be complicated), recensions, stratifications, and notable translations.

Synopsis of the text: Summarize the content of the text, primarily in your own words, in 1-2 paragraphs.

Interpretation(s) of the text: Discuss the literary and/or philosophical meanings of the text in 1-2 paragraphs.

Reception and controversies (if applicable): Briefly discuss any instances (later premodern or modern) in which the text was politicized, censored, (mis)quoted, or otherwise reimagined or reconfigured for new purposes, and why.

*Argument (the only category not in an actual Wikipedia article): What does the text tell us about Chinese/East Asian culture and history? What do culture and history tell us about the text? Themes to touch on may include but are not limited to government, military, political change, social change, social classes, gender relations, religious difference, ethnic difference.