This course is offered for both native and non-native speakers of Chinese as free elective.

The course aims to introduce students to representative writings selected from a given area of Chinese studies. Through reading and discussion of these texts, students will be guided to an understanding of various aspects of Chinese culture, such as traditional values, ethics, religious thought, inter-personal relationships, aesthetics, and so forth. Throughout the course students will also be encouraged to cultivate a positive attitude towards life and extend their global horizons. Furthermore, the course will lead students to consolidate their reading and analytical skills, expand their knowledge of composition, and prepare for their future careers and pursuits of higher degrees.

The course caters for the needs of both native and non-native Chinese speakers. It serves as a gateway for non-native speakers whose Chinese proficiency has not reached a level adequate for reading the texts in their original language, to cultivate their interest in traditional Chinese culture. For native speakers, the course provides a different kind of training whereby students may expand their problem-solving skills, be inspired by new insights and approach, and enhance their open-mindedness, through exposing them to alternative ways of looking at traditional Chinese culture. In this unique learning environment, they will be prompted to contemplate and reconsider their approach to and understanding of the culture in which they have been brought up.