Chinese Language and Literature of Yangzhou University is the doctoral degrees conferring spot authorized by the Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council in 2010. In 2011, it was listed as the First-Level Key Disciplines at the Provincial Level in Jangsu during the 12th Five-Year-Plan period. So far, these key disciplines are doctoral degrees conferring spots of second-level disciplines, including Theory of Literature and Art, Linguistics and Applied Linguistics, Chinese Philology, Studies of Ancient Chinese Documents, Ancient Chinese Literature, Modern and Contemporary Chinese Literature, Comparative Literature and World Literature, Stylistics, Comparison and Communication between Chinese and Foreign Languages and Cultures. There are 26 professors and 27 associate professors with 17 doctoral supervisors. Among them, the number of Ph. D holders reaches a new high of 57. In recent years, they committed themselves to more than 60 different research programs, 19 of which are at Ministerial level. Meanwhile, they have published more than 40 theoretical monographs and 50 more academic papers in CSSCI such as China Social Sciences, Literary Review, Literature and Art Studies and so on.

As a master degree conferring spot, Theory of Literature and Art is both a doctoral degrees conferring spots and key discipline at the Provincial Level. It includes three research directions: Aesthetics of Literature and Art, Studies on Contemporary Aesthetic Culture and Literary Theory, among which the subject of Aesthetics of Literature and Art has a long history and already forms its own characteristics and advantages. The research on the subject of Studies on Contemporary Aesthetic Culture and Literary Theory is oriented to contemporary society and reality, which combines applied research and fundamental research of Theory of Literature and Art and the construction of both material and ethical progress. To promote the healthy development of contemporary aesthetic culture, scholars are devoted to explaining the essential features of contemporary aesthetic culture and predict its potential problems. The research and teaching of subjects concerning Literary Theory has a long history and has accumulated teaching experience and achieved a good academic result since 1950s.

The discipline of Linguistics and Applied Linguistics set up three subjects: Grammatical Theories and Applications, Chinese Teaching and Overseas Promotion, Language Use and Specification. This discipline puts its emphasis on the application of theories of contemporary linguistics and the combination of linguistic theories and practical use. Subjects on Grammatical Theories and Applications center on contemporary grammatical theories, research on Chinese grammar based on corpus and research on grammar concerning Chinese courses for foreigners. Subjects on Chinese Teaching and Overseas Promotion puts its emphasis on Chinese, Chinese culture, Chinese courses for foreigners and the comparison between teaching students by use of Chinese a first language and as a second language. Subjects on Language Use and Specification pay its attention to the practical use of language in different fields, mainly focusing on literary language and rhetoric, language standardization, mandarin teaching and testing.

The discipline of Chinese Philology includes studies on history of Chinese Language, The Science of Chinese Characters, Modern Chinese Grammar and Rhetoric, Chinese Application and Chinese courses for Foreigners. This discipline has developed its own edges in some aspects such as studies on monographs of the pre-Qin period, the culture of Chinese characters, studies on Chinese grammar based on corpus and the history of Chinese rhetoric. Besides, the research on The Book of History has wielded an influence on the academic community around the world.

The discipline of Chinese Classical Philology is a key one at the university level, including literature review and research of ancient Chinese literature and ancient Chinese classics. This discipline has built up a solid foundation and enjoyed high academic status in the field. Teachers here who contributed themselves to this research advanced a lot in history of traditional Chinese opera, Chinese novel and Chinese poetry, exerting a profound influence on other fields as well.

The discipline of Chinese Ancient Literature was the first batch of doctorate and master’s degree programs authorized by Academic Degrees Committee of the State Council in 1981. Three research periods are identified: the literature from pre-Qin, Han, Wei and Jin, and the Northern and Southern Dynasties, then Tang and Song Dynasties, lastly to Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. The discipline deeply plays a traditional role in the study of Chinese Ancient Literature and takes the lead nationwide. In terms of the study on Song Ci and Yuan Qu, Jian’an Literature, literature between the southern and northern Song dynasties and Dun Huang literature, there have published a number of works and theses of quality, exerting great influence at home and abroad.

The discipline of Chinese Modern and Contemporary Literature is made up of four subareas of study: writer-oriented research, literature trends, poetic practice and historical essays. The holistic research level of the major has received attention from peers at home over the past twenty years.

The discipline of Comparative Literature and World Literature has two branches, that is, World Literature and Comparative Literature. It is characterized by two specific features. Firstly, it puts an emphasis on the study of the important writers and works in the twentieth century of the West, especially those that won Nobel Prize for Literature. It has provincial research projects like “A Centennial Study of Nobel Prize for Literature” and “A Study of Nobel Prize for Literature and Its Oriental Award-Winning Writers”. Secondly, it gives priority to female writers in modern times and witnesses the publishing of academic works. The discipline pays much attention to class teaching reform. “The Reform of Foreign Literature Class Teaching Patterns Combining Knowledge, Form and Study” is the key research project of the Tenth Five-Year Plan of educational science in Jiangsu Province and wins the second prize of provincial excellent teaching achievement in colleges and universities. Also, as a major course, History of Foreign Literature won the award of the second-class provincial excellent subject in colleges.

The discipline of Stylistics includes the study of stylistic theory, the history of styles and stylistic application and practice, which gradually forms such clear characteristics as “the introduction of hermeneutics to Confucian classics”, “the highlight of Stylistics in literary studies” and “the combination of argumentation in historical textual research”. It is based on writings of liberal arts colleges and secretary teaching-research offices, holding three professor echelons who are all doctoral supervisors and two associate professors. The number of those having doctoral degrees is seven. Disciplinary echelons successively gained seven national projects, published over one hundred papers and more than twenty academic books, two projects winning the third prize of provincial philosophy and social science and one the second prize of provincial excellent teaching achievement.

The discipline of Comparison and Commuciation between Chinese and Western Language Culture is that Chinese Language Culture, the first-level discipline of college of liberal arts, sets itself up in the subordinate doctoral-level discipline of school of foreign language. It comprises of comparative linguistics, comparison between Chinese and foreign Literary theories and the study of cross-cultural communication, which breaks the barrier between language and culture from the perspective of cross-culture and explores the hidden theory by comparison. It has made a number of great scientific and research achievements, winning the third prize excellent achievement of social and scientific research of Ministry of Education and the first prize of excellent achievements of provincial social scientific research.