East Asian Languages and Societies Commons^™

Prison Of The Setting Sun: A Translation Of Ono Fuyumi's Rakushō No Goku, Caitlin F. Orwoll

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In this thesis, I have presented my translation of the novella Rakushō no goku (落照の獄) by Ono Fuyumi, preceded by a critical introduction. In this introduction, I have provided brief biographical information about the author, context for the story and its place in the Twelve Kingdoms series of novels, an analysis of the story's use of the death penalty as allegory, and an explanation for some of my choices in the translation.

In my introduction, my main purpose was to present the author, who has written multiple best-selling, award-winning novels that have received both popular and critical acclaim, yet has …

The Use Of Multimedia Material In Teaching Chinese As A Second Language And Pedagogical Implications, Zhongyuan Williams

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The use of Multimedia materials has been widely accepted as an useful and effective tool in the field of second language acquisition (SLA). Many studies and researchers have examined multimedia material’s effectiveness from a number of aspects, including four skills of language learning: listening, speaking, reading (including vocabulary comprehension) and writing. However, the effectiveness of multimedia material from the aspect of L2 grammar comprehension hasn’t been well explored.

This study examines the effectiveness of multimedia material in teaching second language grammar comprehension among beginning and intermediate-level Chinese learners. In particular, it investigates the relative efficacy of three different modes used …

The Foundations Of Teaching Chinese As A Foreign Language: An Investigation Of Late 19th Century Textbooks, Lena Pearson

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Although the field of Teaching Chinese as a Foreign Language (TCFL) is still a relatively emerging one, its history runs much longer than we expect. As early as the mid to late 19^th Century, Chinese was being shown in way that had not been done before – as textbooks. More importantly, these textbooks were created by non-native speakers. Yet their value as historical documents and as foundation pedagogical resources has not yet been fully recognized. The present study is an initial conversation of four late 19^th century textbooks and how they pioneered presenting Chinese to a Western audience. …

Dialects Into Films----The Element Of “Dialect” In Chinese Films, Shun Yao

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In recent years, using dialects in Chinese films has become more and more popular. By observing this phenomenon and investigating its history, I find out three functions that dialect has in cinema: severing as fun maker, indicating the identity of the speaker, helping to describe the speaker’s characteristics.

In order to understand why dialects have these functions in cinema, semiotic analysis and discourse analysis are employed in finding the reasons.

Flowers, Trees, And Writing Brushes: Extraordinary Lovers In The Otogi-Zoshi Kazashi No Himegimi And Sakuraume No Soshi, Haley R. Blum

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis presents translations of Kazashi no himegimi and Sakuraume no sōshi, two tales belonging to the genre of medieval Japanese narrative known as otogi-zōshi, and of the subcategory known as iruimono (tales of non-humans). Chapter 1 provides context, beginning with a brief history of otogi-zōshi and a description of residual challenges in its research, including the parameters of the genre and problems with its nomenclature. This is followed by a discussion of the typical physical formats of these tales, Nara ehon and emaki, and a brief history of iruimono and plant symbolism in otogi-zōshi completes the …

The Plural Forms Of Personal Pronouns In Modern Chinese, Baoying Qiu

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

There are four major patterns of the plural forms of personal pronouns in Modern Chinese, which are: Same Wording, Suffixation (Multisyllabic and Monosyllabic Suffixations), Sound Combination (Coda Suffix and New Wording), and Tonal Changes.

Same Wording was the original plural pattern since the singular form was also used as plural form in Old Chinese. Suffixation was already appeared in Middle Chinese. Author suspects that Suffixation was a concept inspired by non-Han languages such as the Buddhist Sanskrit. Each Chinese dialect chose a way to represent this concept based on its dialectal characteristic, thus there are many dialects in China. For …

Ōe Kenzaburō’S Early Works And The Postwar Democracy In Japan, Asayo Ono

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The end of the Second World War and Japan’s surrender are the established paradigm for understanding postwar Japanese society. The formulation of the new Constitution and the establishment of the postwar democracy mark a major historical turnaround for Japan. Since he debuted as a writer in 1958, Ōe Kenzaburō’s (1935 - ) published literary works are closely related to the postwar history of Japan. Ōe has been an outspoken supporter of the pacifist Constitution and “postwar democracy.” Ōe’s stories about the war are characterized by a realistic depiction at the same time as always narrating his stories in an imaginary …

The Artist As Creator: The Theory Of Art In Du Fu's Poems About Paintings, James H. Edwards

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Du Fu is one of China's most celebrated and influential poets. His poems about paintings are a highly innovative subset of poems rich with imagery and emotion. Received ideas about these poems fail to account for any role played in them by Du's aesthetic ideas. This study analyses Du's poems about paintings in order to bring to light Du's theory of art. Du's theory of art combines ancient Chinese ideas about aesthetics, literature and the nature of humanity's relationship to the universe. These traditional ideas serve as the foundation for a unique theory. Du's theory of art posits the painter …

Drops Of Blood On Fallen Snow: The Evolution Of Blood-Revenge Practices In Japan, Jasmin M. Curtis

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Blood revenge – or katakiuchi – represents one of many defining principles that characterize the Japanese samurai warrior; this one act of honorable violence served as an arena in which warriors could demonstrate those values which have come to embody the word samurai : loyalty, honor, and personal sacrifice. Blood revenge had a long and illustrious history in Japan – first, as the prerogative of the gods in the Kojiki, then as a theoretical debate amongst imperial royalty in the Nihongi, and at last entering into the realm of practice amongst members of the warrior class during Japan’s medieval period. …

"Biography: Details Lacking": Reimaging Torii Kiyotsune As A Kibyōshi Artist, Jason L. Heuer

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In the late 18^th century an artist named Torii Kiyotsune 鳥居清経inherited and mastered a style of ukiyo-e that was soon to go out of fashion. Few of his prints survived and he left little impression on Japanese art history, despite his association with such a prominent school as the Torii. Yet the very association may have contributed to his obscurity. The assumption that Kiyotsune was primarily an ukiyo-e artist led to the overshadowing of his work in another arena, popular books known as kusazōshi. In fact he was quite prolific in that medium, illustrating over 130 kibyōshi …

Writing With The Grain: A Multitextual Analysis Of Kaidan Botandoro, William D. Wood

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

As a text Botandōrō demonstrates bibliographic codes that straddle the border between modern and pre-modern literature. Wakabayashi would present his work as the fruit of his technique of ‘photographing language’ that, by extension, would provide closer and more direct access to the interiority of “author.” In his prologue he presented his shorthand method as a technique that would come to represent the new standard of modern writing. As they created a new system for transcribing language, stenographers were wrestling with the philosophical nature and limitations of language in spoken and written form, and their discoveries and accomplishments would provide a …

Kitahara Hakushū And The Creative Nature Of Children Through Dōyō, Gregory Diehl

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In 1923, the poet Kitahara Hakushū wrote an essay entitled “Dōyō shikan” 童謡私観 or “Philosophy of Dōyō.” In it, he described a perspective on children that valued their innately creative potential. Hakushū felt that this potential was something that every child had and that could be enriched and drawn out through dōyō 童謡 (children's songs.) Hakushū’s views in this sense challenged the prevailing attitudes in the Taishō period toward children and toward the function that children’s songs and poetry should serve.

Despite Hakushū’s prominence as a poet, the “Dōyō shikan” has never been translated or closely analyzed in …

Hearing Voices: Female Transmission Of Memories In Okinawan Literature In The 1970s And 1980s, Erumi Honda

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In this thesis, using Ōshiro Tatsuhiro’s “Meiro” (Maze, 1991) and Nakandakari Hatsu’s “Hahatachi onnatachi” (Mothers/Women, 1984) as primary sources, I have pursued two main questions about postwar Okinawan literature: the question of how memory is transmitted, along gender lines, about a traumatic past through the generations and the question of yuta operating as transmitters, mediators, and anchors of cultural identity under the threat of foreign influence.

Both “Maze” and “Mothers/Women” address the issue of postwar Okinawan identity in the face of an influx of new ideas and practices by portraying Okinawan women’s struggle to find their identity. These two stories …

Taira No Masakado In Premodern Literature Of Japan, Genesie T. Miller

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The tenth-century rebel Taira no Masakado occupies a unique place in the literature of Japan. His reception through history is most prominent in the works of Ōkagami, Shōmonki, Konjaku Monogatari, Jinnō Shōtōki, and Ehon Maskado Ichidaiki. The author’s geographic location often determined whether they sympathized with or demonized Masakado. Their occupations also influenced how they wrote about warrior culture, particularly the custom of buntori, or the taking of heads. Ehon Masakado Ichidaiki provides not only textual accounts of the rebellion, but numerous images depicting an Edo-interpretation of Heian-period warrior culture and but also images of the buntori of Masakado and …

The Go-Tsuchimikado Shinkan-Bon ~ Izumi Shikibu Shū: A Translation Of The Poems And An Analysis Of Their Sequence, Lisa Nelson

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The Go-Tsuchimikado Shinkan-bon ~ Izumi Shikibu Shū is a 15th century manuscript of 150 poems by the 10th/11th century poet, Izumi Shikibu. This thesis includes translations for all 150 poems with detailed translation notes and an examination of the arrangement of the poems. It seems likely that the Shinkan-bon would have been organized in a sequence that links poems together in such a way as to create a larger poetical work for the collection as a whole. Sequences are developed through a natural progression of temporal and spatial elements in the poems, as well as connections through mood, theme, imagery, …

Expressions Of Self In A Homeless World: Zhang Dai (1597-1680?) And His Writings In The Ming-Qing Transition Period, Wenjie Liu

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This essay analyzes Zhang Dai’s life and his major literary work, and argues that the expression of self is the core of his writings. By contextualizing Zhang Dai’s work in the Ming-Qing dynastic transition, this essay explains the hidden motives of Zhang Dai to justify, preserve and identify his self through literary practice, suggests that this explosion of self-expression is not only a literary response to the historical event of dynastic transition, but also a reflection of the cultural and literary trends of the 17th century. This essay also provides close readings and genre study to Zhang Dai’s poems, prose …

Poems Of The Gods Of The Heaven And The Earth, Christina E. Olinyk

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis analyzes the development of the Jingika book in the first seven Japanese waka anthologies (chokusenshū). Jingika are Japanese poems written on the gods of the heaven and the earth and illustrate man’s interactions with them through worship and prayer. They have characteristics in common with what modern scholars term the Shinto religion, and have been referenced as such in past scholarship. However, jingika are more accurately a product of the amalgamation of native kami cults and foreign Buddhist doctrine. Although the first independent Jingika book emerged in the seventh anthology (Senzaishū), poems which can be termed Jingika book …

Readings Of Chinese Poet Xue Tao, Lu Yu

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Xue Tao was one of the Tang Dynasty's best-known female poets. Her poems are beautiful and of her own style, but there have only been a few of studies on them. This study comprises nine close readings of her thirteen poems most of which can be defined as yongwu poems, as well as a conclusion which summarizes the main characteristics in these poems. The methodology of this research is based on the theory of New Criticism and combined with sinology. Every poem is studied as an independent entity, but its allusions and images are examined in the history of Chinese …

Mirrors On The Walls, Eyes In The Sky, Derek Petrarca

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

Thirteen assorted fairy tales by early 20th century Japanese poet/author Miyazawa Kenji, collected and translated with an analytical introduction by the translator. The introduction explores the presence of "the agent of the outside" in the majority of the author's work and how this literary concept serves to encourage the reader to escape subjective viewpoints.

Genre And Transgenre In Edo Literature: An Annotated Translation Of Murai Yoshikiyo's Kyōkun Hyakumonogatari With An Exploration Of The Text's Multiple Filiations., Yumiko Ono

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

In conjunction with raising some questions regarding “genre” in Edo literature, the purpose of this thesis is to introduce a complete annotated translation of Kyōkun hyakumonogatari 教訓百物語 (One Hundred Scary Tales for Moral Instruction) by the Shingaku teacher Murai Yoshikiyo 村井由清 (1752-1813). Published in 1804 and reprinted several times, this text was intended as a guide to self-cultivation and ethical living based on Shingaku 心学, a philosophico-religious movement of great importance in the latter half of the Edo era. The translation is complemented with a transcription into modern script based on publicly available (online) digital images of an 1815 xylographic …

Tainted Gender: Sexual Impurity And Women In Kankyo No Tomo, Yuko Mizue

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

This thesis consists of research on women and Buddhism in light of a medieval Japanese Buddhist tales collection called Kankyo no Ｔomo. This collection reveals the predicament in which women in medieval Japan found themselves. As the focus of sexual desire (towards them and by them), they were also inherently polluted due to their connection with blood (kegare).

Formation Of The Xikun Style Poetry, Jin Qian

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

No abstract provided.

The Moral And Racial Socialization Of Children: The Image Of Wu Feng In Taiwan School Readers, Claire R. Maccabee

Masters Theses 1911 - February 2014

The Taiwanese legend of Wu Feng who supposedly died in the mid-18th century has passed down since the late Qing dynasty. Wu Feng was considered a righteous martyr-like figure who ultimately sacrificed himself in order to dissuade the Ali Mountain aborigines from their tradition of headhunting. This tale has evolved through different periods in Taiwanese history. The legend starting in the late Qing dynasty through Japanese Colonization, the early R.O.C. in Taiwan, and modern day Taiwan has been manipulated in a number of different ways and has been included as an example for moral education in Taiwan school textbooks until …