题记：

 哈佛大学李惠仪教授和王德威教授在哈佛大学合开了一门哈佛大学本科通识课程“什么是好的中国故事？”（What is the Good Chinese Story?）。本学期正好在哈佛大学访学，王德威教授和李惠仪教授都是我非常敬佩的学者，所以毫不犹豫地每周周一和周三去旁听他们的课程。

这个课程很有趣，李惠仪教授周一授课，主要讲授是古代经典故事，例如《论语》《庄子》《西游记》等等；而王德威教授周三授课，主要讲授的是现代经典故事，如鲁迅的《孔乙己》《阿Q正传》《故事新编》等。两位教授在课堂上都展开思想交锋，互有回响。

每周都有大量的阅读材料，思维也在不断转换，一下子在古代，一下子又到了现代。不过，全程学习下来，收获肯定还是非常大的。

这里将本课程的基本内容贴上来，希望有朋友喜欢。

图一 哈佛大学李惠仪和王德威教授合开“什么是好的中国故事？”课程海报

图二 李惠仪和王德威教授在哈佛大学合开“什么是好的中国故事？”课程的课程描述

图三 王德威教授在上课

该课程以 “讲好中国故事”和2020年“讲好中国故事”的号召为出发点。什么是好的中国故事？这是中国应该向世界讲述自己的故事吗？这是关于文化自我认知、理解世界、跨文化交流，还是简单的宣传？更重要的是，我们如何从中国以外的角度讲好中国故事？

似乎无可争议的是，故事的力量将中国带向世界，世界也带向中国。在探索当代中国文化政治与世界的“虚构转向”时，我们还将追溯其谱系到更早的历史时刻。故事在中国很重要，不仅在我们这个时代，而且在整个历史上，莫不如此。

叙事小说是接触中国过去和中国现在的最有效方式之一。本课程不是将中国呈现为一个单一的文明，而是从意识形态、民族、文化和地缘政治的角度来看用故事来理解“中国的世界”和“世界的中国”。该课程强调现代和前现代时期故事的多样性和活力。从宗教寓言到科幻小说，从道德寓言到奇幻爱情小说，从哲学轶事到政治讽刺，中国故事启发、激发、困惑和震惊读者，反映和构建了不断变化的世界观。

The course comprises three modules,

each addressing one aspect of China and the world in terms of storytelling:

Prelude: What is “a good China story”?

(We will begin with the world propaganda campaign that President

Xi of the PRC launched in 2013 and repackaged in 2020 in reaction to the

pandemic of coronavirus.)

1. The “soft power” of China—past and present

perspectives, views from ithin and without: 

How are canons, myths, and thought systems created and reiterated

to shape changing worldviews within China? How are Chinese sages

internationalized and modernized?

2. Community and

alternative realities:

How are “China” stories formulated in Chinese and world literature in

order to justify, disavow, or transcend communal experience? We will move from

ethnicity to consanguinity, and from ideology to territoriality.

3.

Crisis and boundaries in motion:

How are boundaries—be they corporeal, moral, and geopolitical—drawn and

hallenged at a time of crisis? A recent example is the aftermath of the

coronavirus pandemic.

The course starts with critical intervention via a recent campaign

of messaging in China, but encourages students to think beyond China to engage

with issues on the connections between communal wellbeing, national identity,

and global order.

Epilogue: Can we “tell good China stories” at

Harvard?

Papers

Students will write 3 papers (5-8 pages each). In these papers,

students are encouraged to engage with the issues raised in the class through

textual and rhetorical analysis or through imaginative reenactment of the

perspectives represented by the thinkers we study or the characters in literary

works we explore.

Suggested topics will be provided; students are encouraged to

develop their own topics in consultation with instructors.

Tentative deadlines:

1st paper: 11:59 pm, Oct 13 EST

2nd paper: 11:59 pm, Nov 17 EST

Final paper: 11:59 pm, Dec 15 EST

Section

Apart from lectures, students are required to participate in a

one-hour discussion

section each week, which counts toward their participation grade.

Grading

Papers: 20% each

Classroom participation and attendance and weekly posting (up to

150 words): 40%

Weekly postings are due at 12:00 pm Thursday EST

Course Readings and Materials

Reading materials are either on the Canvas course website or

available online through Hollis (follow clickable links in the syllabus).

Students are also encouraged to purchase the following books, all available at

the Coop:

Wu Cheng-en (attr.),

Arthur Waley, trans., MonkeyGao Xingjian, Mabel

Lee trans., Soul MountainPu Songling, John

Minford, trans., Strange Tales from a Chinese StudioFang Fang, Diary about

Coronavirus Lockdown in Wuhan

图四 李惠仪教授在上课

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