Chinese (minor only)
Chinese (minor only)
This calligraphy is a poem written by Zhao Ji (1082-1135), an emperor of the Song Dynasty. The translation is below.
The language of nearly 1/4 of the world's population
The Chinese Program at Wooster introduces students to both Chinese language and culture. Its objective is to teach students the basic skills of reading, listening, speaking, and writing Chinese.
Besides providing practical training in Chinese for career purposes, the program is also designed to familiarize students with non-Western conceptual schemes and modes of thought.
The courses in Chinese language and literature, together with related courses in the departments of Anthropology, History, Philosophy, and Religious Studies, will give students a strong background in China and East Asia; and in turn these content courses also contribute to distribution requirements of majors such as Cultural Area Studies (CAS), Comparative Literature, Film Studies, and Women's, Gender, & Sexuality Studies.
To the Moon of the Second Month of Mid-Autumn of the Intercalary Lunar Year*
Sweet osmanthus and full moon of the mid-August,
Becoming fresh and clear in this second mid-autumn month;
As my excitement of watching the first mid-autumn moon lingered,
I as a poet am spared of all the lamentation about having to wait another year;
All phenomena in the world become magnificent in your pale light,
With the whole universe entering into the dark night to help you shine;
The wide sky and clouds filled my heart with joy,
How can I fail to write this panegyric to honor you as my moods rise.
*The solar year does not have a whole number of lunar months either, so a lunisolar calendar must have a variable number of months in a year. This is usually 12 months, but sometimes a 13th month (an intercalary or embolismic month) is added to the year. In this poem, it is pointed out that in this particular lunar year, there are two months of August.