The premier narrative of the Qing dynasty (1644-1911) is the Honglou meng (translated as Dream of the Red Chamber or Story of the Stone), which, in the words of one scholar, provides "a summation of the three-thousand year span of Chinese literary history." As a consequence, Honglou meng belongs to a unique genre known as the encyclopedic narrative (a work of fiction that is also a rich compendium of the core beliefs and knowledge of a national culture). During the semester, students will explore East Asian culture, history, and philosophy through the prism of this unique encyclopedic narrative. Thus, the course is not about "one novel" - however long - but about the Chinese narrative tradition and Chinese culture in general. Offered every two years.