Unit III: Southeast Asia: Our Home

• The term Southeast Asia refers to the huge peninsula of Indochina and the extensive archipelago of what used to be called the East Indies
• Political units in Southeast Asia

  • Brunei
  • Burma (now Myanmar)
  • Thailand
  • Laos
  • Cambodia
  • Vietnam
  • Malaysia
  • Singapore
  • Indonesia
  • Philippines
• Major regions of Southeast Asia from the point of view of classical literature

  • Sanskrit region of Cambodia and Indonesia
  • Region of Burma where Pali was used
  • Chinese region of Vietnam
• Vernacular literature emerged in Burma and Java in the 14th-15th centuries
• A "nationalistic" literature appeared in Vietnam during the 14th-15th centuries
• The emergence of vernacular and "nationalistic" literature was occasioned by a feeling of nationalistic pride, the desire of the people to find solace in literature, and the lack of wealth and patronage to channel artistic expressions into building temples and tombs
• During the time of kings, a Southeast Asian writer enjoyed patronage and prestige, but could not make a living through writing as a profession
• Manuscripts had to be written by hand in Southeast Asia
• By the time printing presses were introduced in the 19th century, the kings were mostly gone and with them their writers
• Only oral literature prevailed in the form of folktales and folk songs in Southeast Asia after the kings were gone
• Today, various genres of written literature flourish in Southeast Asia as these once colonized countries start to enjoy freedom and independence