Graduate / A professional career in Chinese classical literature is always my pursuit. [3]

Statement of Purpose

A professional career in Chinese classical literature is always my pursuit. To fulfill the objective, I have accomplished my undergraduate degree of Chinese Language and Literature at Beijing Normal University, and my master degree at the National University of Singapore.

Through nearly ten years of studying and working in the field, I'd like to consider the process of literature study both as revealing facts and interpreting them. One of my main research works in my master period concerns about the social network of a group of ci (or Tz'u，词) poets living in Xianfeng and Tongzhi period (ca.1853-ca.1874), which recorded in a book named Qiyuan Cihua 憩园词话(Ci Discourse of the Leisure Garden), written by Du Wenlan. What makes the book particular is its purpose to identify those poets as a group. Since the social connection between those poets didn't base on their locations and schools, it's actually contradicts what is usually believed in nowadays' studies. Through my research, I'd like to reveal the the structure of a pattern of literature group which never been mentioned before and explain the narrative strategies Du has used in the book to clarify those poets as a group. To fulfill the aim of revealing and interpreting, I have a gradually awareness of the equally importance of digging into the original texts and utilizing theories, for the huge inspirations I have gotten from Bourdieu's field theory and the Pattern of Different Sequence from a Chinese sociologist Fei Xiaotong. Having received systemically and strict training in textual analysis from two leading universities in Chinese Studies, that's also why I'd like to choose to continue my academic life in a western university that have "some of the best traditions of East Asian Studies as a critical combination of humanities and social science approaches" as your website states.

In addition to the reason mentioned above, I'm drawn to your doctoral program at the Department of East Asian Studies, specifically, for two reasons. First and foremost, based on my master's studies, I have an intense interests for the narrative in shihua诗话and cihua词话. Professor Sanders' study of anecdotes in Tang poetry is one of the main attractions for me to apply. Secondly, as for the personal reason, I'm now living in Toronto with my husband, who is a current doctoral student at University of Toronto.

Although my research in my master degree mainly focuses on ci poetry, my interests of Chinese classical poetry are varies through all the periods and genres. In my doctoral period, I expect to focus on shi, which have a higher status in Chinese poetry, thus make the construction and reception of the narrative inside it more significant. I would really appreciate the opportunity if I could continue my academic studies at University of Toronto.