English Afro-Asian

• Lessons from East Asian literature

  • Human wisdom
  • Insights
  • Institutions
• East Asian literature teaches about the way of life, ideals, visions, standards of excellence and beauty, and aspirations of our East Asian neighbors
• Studying East Asian literature helps in communicating more effectively, becoming proficient in the use of the English language, polishing pronunciation and oral speech, strengthening study and research abilities, and developing sensitive awareness of literature as an art
• Poetry is at the heart of Chinese literature due to the innate rhythm and harmony of sound in Chinese temperament
• Classics in Chinese literature

  • Five Classics
  • Four Books
• Li Po's works have been widely translated, but many Chinese scholars consider Tu Fu more superior
• Confucius was born in the province of Lu, now Shantung
• Russian influence has been evident in Chinese literary works of the last century
• The Golden Age of Chinese Poetry was during the T'ang dynasty
• Drama reached its climax of popularity during the Mongol dynasty in China
• The word literature is derived from the Latin word littera, which means letter
• Confucius secluded himself for more than two years after the death of his mother and formulated much of his philosophy during this time
• General kinds of literature

  • Noncreative literature
  • Creative literature
• Creative literature

  Product of writer's imagination, originality, artistic skill, and intellectual inventiveness, carries writer's individuality and vision
• Confucianism is pervasive in Chinese literature
• East Asian literature helps in understanding the legacy shared by Asians
• East Asia is a part of Asia, the world's biggest continent, the cradle of civilization, and the birthplace of the five greatest religions of the world
• East Asian literature focuses on human wisdom, insights, and institutions
• Greatest Chinese poets in the middle of the eighth century


  • Li Po
  • Tu Fu
  • Po Chu-i
• In Chinese literature, the ideal hero is the man with an excellent memory, not the man of great strength
• Buddhism introduced during the Han dynasty created momentum for literary creativity in China
• Chinese novel development started in the thirteenth century and has flourished to the present day
• Confucius is the Latin form of the Chinese Kung-fu-tze
• Drama as a literary form was established during the Golden Age of Poetry in the T'ang dynasty
• Confucius became the founder of Chinese literature by putting together the materials which make up the Five Classics
• Confucius mastered the learning of his day at an early age
• Noncreative literature

  Written record of facts, accuracy in presenting or treating subject matter
• Literature

  Writings in prose and verse dealing with themes of permanent value and universal interest, characterized by creativeness, imagination, grace of expression, and emotional effect
• Lao-tse, also known as Lao-tzu, is widely believed to be the author of the Taoist classic Tao Te Ching and the founder of Taoism
• Vision

  The writer's view of life and the interpretation he or she gives
• Lao-tse recorded his teachings in the Book of Tao (Tao Te Ching or the Scripture of the Way and Its Power) at the western border of China
• Creative literature

  The product of the writer's imagination, originality, artistic skill, and intellectual inventiveness
• China has preserved her literature as a continuous and living influence up to the present
• Connotative meaning of charity is love
• Confucius defines charity as love
• Mei Sheng, who died in 140 B.C., has been called "the father of modern poetry"
• A sentence fragment is a group of words that does not express a complete idea
• The complete predicate includes its modifiers
• Pronunciation includes correct stress in addition to vowel and consonant sounds
• The simple subject is either a noun, pronoun, or a phrase used as a noun