Asian Literature Overview

• East Asia is home to the Korean literary tradition.
• China's cultural dominance in East Asia became evident with Korean poets writing poetry in Classical Chinese as early as the 4th century CE.
• By the 7th century, transliterations of classical Chinese works were seen.
• Hangul, the distinct Korean writing system, was developed in the 15th century, leading to a new wave of Korean literature.
• South Asia recognizes India as a significant cultural center.
• The roots of Indian literature can be traced to Hindu writings like the Vedas, Brahmanas, and Upanishads.
• The Vedas were written in Sanskrit, giving rise to literary works around 1500 BCE.
• Written Indian literature emerged relatively late, around the 16th century, despite the existence of an ancient oral tradition.
• British colonization brought English literature as a major influence.
• Central Asia has a diverse literary landscape.
• The region includes Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Tibet, and Nepal.
• Central Asian literature was political, shaped by tsarist and Soviet regimes.
• The Arabic literary tradition thrived in the Middle East.
• Islam was a fundamental aspect of the culture and Arabic literature influenced Persian, Byzantine, and Andalusian traditions.
• European civilizations emulated Arabic literature in the Middle Ages.
• Southeast Asian literature is briefly surveyed.
• Literature in Burma has been influenced by Buddhist, Thai, and English cultures.
• Thailand had two golden eras of literature: during the reign of King Narai (1657-1688) and King Rama II (1809-1824).
• Malaysia and Indonesia's literary traditions owe much to Sanskrit and Islamic culture.

Contemporary Times: A Snapshot

• Chinese writers have remained prolific in modern times.
• Mo Yan, a fictionist, won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature.
• Other remarkable figures include Yu Hua, Wang Shuo, Shi Tiesheng, Gao Xiaosheng, Wang Zengqi, and Zhang Chenzhi.
• Western influences have permeated Japanese literature since the Meiji Restoration in the 19th century.
• Modern Japanese novels, translations of Western poetry, and reinventions of traditional forms like tanka and haiku emerged.
• Playwrights like Abe Kobo and Mishima Yukio became known for their world-renowned dramas.
• The Korean War significantly impacted Korean literature, leading to the creation of North and South Korea.
• Themes of alienation, conscience, and disintegration have appeared in Korean literature since the 1950s.
• Self-identity has become a strong theme in Korean poems, novels, and plays into the 20th century.
• India gained independence in the 20th century, but the impact of colonial rule continued through the endurance of the English language.
• Several Indian writers gained international acclaim, including Rabindranath Tagore, Prem Chand, Raja Rao, and R.K. Narayan.
• Russian influence continued to have a stronghold on literature from Central Asia.
• During the Soviet era, Abdullah Qadiriy produced pioneering novels in Uzbek.
• Mukhtar Auez-uli became a noteworthy writer in Kazakh, and Chingiz Aytmatov gained recognition as a successful writer in Russian in the 20th century.

Arabic Tradition

• Freedom of expression has become a problematic issue for Arabic writers in the 21st century, as has the tension between religious and secular movements.

Southeast Asia

• Colonial and postcolonial experiences were clear in Burmese works in the 20th century.
• In Thailand, Western literature became influential after contact with the West during World War II.
• Writers in Malaysia and Indonesia developed distinct voices when the new Malay and Indonesian languages were born.

African Literature

• African literature resonates with the human spirit.
• Africa has a captivating oral tradition and written literature shaped by colonial and postcolonial experiences.
• African literature has linguistic flavors from local languages and colonizers' tongues.
• Oral literature documented exploits, reminded about traditions, and entertained while educating.
• Genres included myths, stories, riddles, proverbs, and dramas.
• Praise singers called griots enhanced narratives with music.
• Oral tradition flourished until the 15th century due to interactions with Europe and Asia.
• The slave trade in the 1400s shaped the collective African psyche, compounded by European colonization in the 19th century.
• Colonization's psychological and social impact manifested in literature.

Literary Works

• "The Interesting Narrative of the Life and Adventures of Olaudah Equiano or Gustavus Vassa, the African" (1789) depicted a slave's suffering.
• Poetry was also used to convey the horrors of slavery, as exemplified by George Moses Horton's "On Liberty and Slavery."
• Resistance movements in the 19th century led to literary works expressing the desire for freedom.
• Newspapers were used for bold African writers.
• The negritude movement became prominent in the 1930s.
• Léopold Senghor, Aimé Césaire, and Léon Damas were French-speaking poets of the movement.
• Narratives like Thomas Mofolo's "Chaka" drew inspiration from local figures to express reactions against colonial repression.
• After World War II, the cry for independence intensified, with African writers embodying the spirit of nationalism.
• Significant writers included Chinua Achebe, Wole Soyinka, Kofi Awoonor, Ngugi wa Thiong'o, Okot p'Bitek, Dennis Crutus, Es'kia Mphahlele, Nadine Gordimer, and Jacques Rabémananjara.

Contemporary Times

• African writers chronicle new challenges in their societies after colonialism.
• New governments may have been installed, but their problems caused writers to react.
• Ngugi wa Thiong'o was imprisoned for a play considered subversive.
• Corruption in society, a theme in postcolonial times, was reflected in V.Y. Mudimbe's "Before the Birth of the Moon" (1989).
• Must-reads include "The Cardinals" by Bessie Head.