Asian Literature: China, History, Classics

• Asian literature encompasses the study of literature from:
  • China
  • India
  • Japan
  • Thailand
  • Surrounding small nations

China

• Chinese civilization is the world's oldest, dating back to the Shang Dynasty in 1765 B.C., also known as "The Red Dragon."
• The Chou Dynasty followed the Shang Dynasty and was a period of great intellectual activity.
• Confucianism, Taoism, and Legalism originated during the Chou Dynasty.
• The Chou Dynasty lasted from 1122 B.C. to 256 B.C., making it the longest in Chinese history.
• The Han Dynasty followed the collapse of the Chou and strengthened the unity within the bureaucracy.
• Confucianism replaced Legalism in the Han Dynasty.

The Five Classics of China

• The Five Classics of China include:
  • The Book of Changes
  • The Book of History
  • The Book of Rites
  • The Book of Odes
  • The Spring and Autumn Annals

Key Figures in Chinese Literature

• Confucius is considered one of the world's greatest philosophers and a truly great man of China.
  • Confucius is the westernized form of Kung Fu-tze.
    • Kung is Confucius' proper name
    • Fu means revered
    • Tze means teacher
• Li Po (701-761), also known as Li tai Po, was a leading Chinese poet of the eighth century whose writings covered the good things in life and the pathos of human destiny.
  • His writings often depicted love, friendship, wine, nature, and simple village living.
• Po Chu-I (722-846) was a well-known Chinese poet who represented the classical tradition in Chinese literature, politics, and morality.

Historical Periods in Chinese Literature

• Ancient Period saw the earliest forms of Chinese literature emerge:
  • poetry
  • historical writings
• Han Dynasty:
  • the shi (shih) form of poetry crystallized
  • dominated literature for the next 1,200 years
• Tang Dynasty is known for its flourishing poetry, with works by renowned poets such as Li Bai and Du Fu.
• Song Dynasty is characterized by song lyrics (ci), a popular form of poetry.
• Ming and Qing Dynasties:
  • the "Four Great Classical Novels" were written
• Modern Chinese Literature includes works by authors such as Liu Cixin, Yu Hua, and Mo Yan.

Notable Works of Chinese Literature

• Journey to the West (西游记, Xīyóujì) is a romanticized account of a Tang dynasty monk's pilgrimage to India for Buddhist scriptures, featuring the Monkey King.
• Romance of the Three Kingdoms (三国演义, Sānguó Yǎnyì) is a historical novel about the late Han dynasty and the Three Kingdoms period.
• Outlaws of the Marsh (水浒传, Shuǐhǔ Chuán) is about a group of outlaws fighting against corruption.
• Dream of the Red Chamber (红楼梦, Hónglóu Mèng) explores the lives of a noble family and their decline.
• The Three-Body Problem (三体, Sān Tǐ) by Liu Cixin is a science fiction novel set against the backdrop of China's Cultural Revolution.
  • A secret military project sends signals into space to establish contact with aliens in this novel.
• To Live (活着, Huózhe) by Yu Hua depicts the Xu family's struggles over 40 years, from World War II through Mao's Cultural Revolution to modern Communist China.

India

• India is a vast land in Southern Asia, extending from the Himalayan Mountains to the tip of a great peninsula in the Indian Ocean.
• India is known as the "Land of prayer".
• A key characteristic of its literature is deep religious piety.
• Dravidians were the earliest people in India, dating back to:
  • 3000-2500 B.C. towards 2000 B.C.
• Sanskrit is the literature of India, with "Sanskrit" meaning cultivated or perfected.
• The Vedas are the bible of the Indians.
• Ramayana and Mahabharata are significant epics.
  • Ramayana centres on the reincarnation of Vishnu as Rama.
  • Mahabharata features Vishnu's reincarnation as Krishna and is considered India's greatest epic.
• Indians believe in reincarnation, and the reincarnation of Vishnu is called Avatars.
• Roots of Indian Literature
  • Rig-Veda is made up of hymns praising the gods.
    • The hymns are thought to be energetic religious expressions comparable to the Old Testament Psalms.
  • Upanishads consist of sketches, illustrations, explanations, and critical comments on religious thoughts suggested by the poetic hymns of Rig-Veda.
• Indian Literature is one of the oldest and richest literatures in the world. -The Indian Constitution recognizes 22 official languages, with each language having its own regional literature.
  • Rabindranath Tagore was a great Indian poet and dramatist.
    • Tagore was awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.
    • He was knighted by the British government in 1915.

Indonesian Literature

• Early Indonesian literature originates in Malay literature and maintains the influence of these roots well into the twentieth century.
• Literature by the Pujangga lama ("the old poets") was written mainly before the 20th century, but after the coming of Islam.
• Indonesia has an estimated 17,508 islands, with only 6,000 islands inhabited.
• Indonesian Literary Periods
  • Pujangga Lama
  • Sastra Melayu Lama
  • Angkatan Balai Pustaka
  • Angkatan Pujangga Baru
  • Angkatan 1945
  • Angkatan 1950-1960-an
  • Angkatan 1966-1970-an
  • Angkatan 1980-an
  • Angkatan Reformasi
  • Angkatan 2000-an
• Pujangga Lama: "Literates of Olden Times"
  • Works from this period were written before the 20th Century.
  • A lively oral tradition using traditional Malay-language literature.
• Sastra Melayu Lama: "Older Malay Literature"
  • Works from this period were popular among the people of Sumatra, the Chinese, and the Indo-Europeans (1870-1942).
  • The first works were dominated by syair, hikayat, and translations of western novels.
• Angkatan Balai Pustaka: "Generation of [Colonial] Office for Popular Literature"
  • National consciousness emerged among educated Indonesians.
  • Balai Pustaka is a Dutch government-supervised publisher.
  • Azab dan Sengsara (Torment and Misery) is recognized as the first Indonesian Novel
    • It was written by Merari Siregar.
• Angkatan Pujangga Baru: "New Literates"
  • National consciousness among young Indonesian intellectuals was well-developed.
  • Angkatan Pujangga Baru was the first national literary magazine created.
    • Greatest Poets included:
      • Sutan Takdir Alisjahbana
      • Amir Hamzah
      • Armijn Pane
      • Sanusi Pane
• Angkatan 1945: "Generation of 1945"
  • Literature during this period was dominated by the thoughts of independence and political manner.
  • Inspiration and leaders included:
    • Chairil Anwar who was a great poet
    • Pramoedya Ananta Toer who was seen as the most prominent writer
• Angkatan 1950-1960-an: "Generation of the 1950s"
  • Characterised by the Kisah magazine, which was established by H.B. Jassin.
  • Dominated by collections of short stories and poetry.
• Angkatan 1966-1970-an: "Generation of 1966 into the 1970s"
  • Rising the Horison magazine was led by Mochtar Lubis.
  • Dozens of writers previously associated with Lekra or leftist groups went into exile
• Angkatan 1980-an: "Decade of the 1980s"
  • Dominated by romance novels.
  • Poets explored ideas of femininity.
    • Lupus is noted as a popular story that was written by Hilman Hariwijaya.
• Angkatan Reformasi: post Suha "Reformation Period"
  • And The War Is Over (1977)
    • Author: Ismail Marahimin
    • Set in Indonesia following the Japanese invasion.
    • the novel was awarded the Pegasus Prize for Literature in 1984.
    • the original title of the book was Dan Perang Pun Usai
• Angkatan 2000-an: "Generation of 2000s"
  • Dewi Lestari (Dee Lestari) is a front runner in the modern Indonesian book scene.
  • As an author, Dewi Lestari has published nine books, including the anticipated Supernova series.
    • The Supernova series includes:
      • Supernova 1: Ksatria, Puteri dan Bintang Jatuh (2001)
      • Supernova 2: Akar (2002)
      • Supernova 3: Petir (2004)
      • Supernova 4: Partikel (2012)
      • Supernova 5: Gelombang (2014)

Thailand

• Siam is the old name for Thailand.
• Thailand is otherwise known as "Muang Thai,” meaning “Land of the Free."
• Thailand's prevalent religion is Theravada Buddhism.
• 94.6% of the country's population self-identified as Buddhists of the Theravada tradition, according to the 2000 census.
• Muslims are the second largest religious group in Thailand, comprising 4.6% of the population.
• Christians represent 0.7% of the population.
• Sikhs and Hindus live mostly in the country's cities. - There is also a small but historically significant Jewish population.
• It is presumed that Thais originated in China and migrated down to Thailand along the southern part of China.
• Thais split into two main groups.
  • One group settled down in the North and became the kingdom of "Lanna".
  • The other group lived further south and was defeated by the Khmers and became the kingdom of "Sukhothai".
• Thailand Literary Periods are divided into:
  • Sukhothai Period (circa 1238-1377)
  • Ayutthaya Period (1350-1767)
  • Thon Buri Period (1767-1782)
  • Rattanakosin Period (1782-present)
• Sukhothai Period literary works were designed to reaffirm national cultural identity, political stability, and spiritual values.
  • Monarchs took the lead in promoting arts, religion, and public administration.
• Ayutthaya Period produced a variety of forms on diverse subjects and created new poetic forms with different rhyme schemes and metres.
  • It is common to find a combination of different poetic forms in one poetic work:
    • resulting in lilit (a combination of rai and khlong)
    • kap ho khlong, kap he ruea (a combination of kap and khlong)
    • klonkonlabot and phlengyao
• Thon Buri Period produced Ramakian, a verse drama to which King Thaksin the Great contributed his poetic talent:
  • This occurred despite only being 15 years.
  • Revival of literature was remarkable as the country was still not recovered from the aftermath of the war.
  • Some poets who were a major force in the early Rattanakosin Period already began writing.
• Rattanakosin Period
  • early works dealt with war and military strategy.
  • laws were revised and historical events were systematically recorded.
  • sprang a great wealth of Buddhist literature.
  • a great number of emotive literary works were modeled on Ayutthaya and Thon Buri traditions.
    • others were new creations
• The Ramakian, the epic tale of Prince Rama and his wife Sita's struggles between good and evil, pervades all forms of Thai artistic expression.
  • The local version of the Indian Ramayana epic and its roll call of gods/demons essentially belongs to the Hindu world of the subcontinent rather than to the Theravada Buddhist land of the Thais.

Japan

• Japanese Literature is one of the major bodies of Oriental Literature.
  • It is less voluminous than Chinese Literature, but comparable to Arabic, Persian, and Indian Literature.
  • It covers the period from the fifth century A.D to the present.
• Poems and odes to the Gods were composed in the early Japanese Language before the art of writing was known in Japan.
  • Only fragments of this Literature have survived.
    • They are thought to have been extensive.
  • During the first centuries of writing in Japan, the spoken and written language were identical.
• Writing was introduced to Japan from China in the 5th century via the Korean peninsula.
  • The oldest surviving works are two historical records, the Kojiki and Nihon Shoki, which were completed in the early 8th century.
  • In the 11th century, The Tale of Genji, was written in Japan.
    • It is seen as the world's first novel.
• Kanji, ideographs from Chinese characters is used in the modern Japanese writing system.
  • Kana is a pair of syllabaries and consist of:
    • Hiragana, used for native Japanese words
    • Katakana, used for foreign loanwords (sometimes replaces kanji or hiragana for emphasis).
• Noh is a national theatre of Japan which was originally reserved for the nobility.
  • Legend says that the Noh dance was invented by the gods.
• Joruri is a puppet play or doll theatre wherein the dolls are elaborately made and in realistic sizes.
• Kabuki is a play for the masses and is less intellectual, but more realistic and sensational.

Japanese Literature Periods

• Ancient Literature (Until 794) saw the compilation of historical chronicles like the Kojiki (712) and Nihon Shoki (720).
  • These periods are important for understanding early Japanese mythology and history.
• Classical Literature (794-1185) is known for works.
  • The Heian period (794-1185) is known for works like The Tale of Genji (Genji Monogatari) by Murasaki Shikibu considered the world's first novel.
  • Kokin Wakashu is a celebrated poetry anthology.
• Medieval Literature (1185-1603) saw the rise of waki (linked verse) and the emergence of haikai, a precursor to the haiku.
• Early-Modern Literature (1603-1868)
  • The Edo period saw the broadening of literature's function as a means of social intercourse, with the rise of renga (linked verse) and haikai.
• Post-War Literature
  • Writers of this era grappled with the aftermath of World War II.
    • They explored themes of alienation, loneliness, and the search for meaning in a transformed world.
  • Notable authors include:
    • Yasunari Kawabata (Nobel Prize in Literature, 1968)
    • Kenzaburo Oe
    • Fumiko Enchi
    • Kobo Abe