This seminar will focus on theories of the Chinese arts by critically introducing various theoretical texts on music, painting, calligraphy, and literature, in the form of special treatises and as recorded in the Classics. It will cover topics such as the relation between li (ritual) and yue (music), the ideal of renpin (human personality) in portrait paintings, the aesthetic value of xian (leisure) in Chinese art, the humanistic spirit of Chinese literati painting. Other topics such as evaluation, taste, boundaries, playing, etc., will also be discussed in this course. Students will be expected to attend regularly, to have read the assigned readings carefully enough to engage actively in discussion, and to periodically lead discussion in class.