Asian Literature

• Literature in the Eastern hemisphere chronicles the history of civilizations spanning thousands of years
• As religion, war, and politics shaped Asian societies, literature prospered to mirror these developments
• As children of this continent, we need to appreciate the literary outputs of our Asian neighbors
• The literary traditions of Asia


  Colossal in terms of scope and length of existence
• It is wise to study Asian literature by geographical region
• East Asia


  A good place to start this literary exploration
• China


  One of the world's cradles of civilization, has had an unbroken literary tradition that started back in the 14th century BCE
• The preservation of Chinese language (both in the spoken and written aspects) across 3,000 years contributed to the unfathomable longevity of Chinese literature
• China has retained its reputation of keeping the fundamentals of its identity intact from a cultural standpoint
• The Tang dynasty (618-907)


  Perhaps the finest era of Chinese literature, when poets like Tu Fu, Li Po, and Wang Wei created landmark works unrivalled elsewhere in the world
• Japan


  A close neighbor of China, also has a rich literary history
• Though evidently influenced by Chinese language and Chinese literature, the Japanese tradition has nevertheless created its unique legacy
• Unique Japanese literary legacy


  • The world-renowned poetic genre known as the haiku (a short descriptive poem with 17 syllables)
  • The diverse forms of theater such as the Noh and the Kabuki
• Japanese literary tradition dates all the way back from

  7th century CE
• Japanese literature


  Reflects the traditional Japanese cultural identity: simple yet complex, imperfect yet abounding with beauty
• Rounding up this exploration of East Asia is a discussion of the Korean tradition
• China's cultural dominance in the region became even more evident when Korean poets wrote poetry in Classical Chinese as early as the 4 century CE
• Three centuries later, this progressed to transliterations of Chinese works
• It was only in the 15m century that the Koreans developed Hangul, their distinct writing system that gave birth to a new wave of Korean literature
• India


  The clear cultural giant in South Asia
• The roots of Indian literature may be traced to the hall mark Hindu writings, such as the Veda, the Brahmanas, and the Upanishads
• The Veda was written in the Sanskrit language, which first gave birth to literary works as early as 1500 BCE
• Though the oral tradition of India had its origins in antiquity, written literature appeared in India much, much later-around the 16 century, in fact
• The British colonization of subsequent centuries meant that English literature would emerge as a key influence an influence that pervades up to the present day
• Central Asia


  Has an altogether different literary flavor
• Parts of the region include Afghanistan, Kazakshtan, Turkmenista, Uzbekistan, Mongolia, Tibet and Nepal
• Central Asian literature this time political in culture-were the tsarist and Soviet regimes that emanated from what is now Russia
• Islam


  • A foundation of culture in the area
  • An essential component
• As literature in the Arabic language grew


  It began to influence (and, in turn, was influenced by) cultures that the Arabian people came into contact with
• Cultures that the Arabian people came into contact with


  • Persian
  • Byzantine
  • Andalusian
• In the Middle Ages, even European civilizations came to emulate Arabic literature
• The Southeast Asian region's literary tradition has been explored extensively in other parts of this book
• Burma's literature


  • Heavily influenced by the Buddhist, Thai, and English cultures
• Thailand's literature


  Experienced two golden eras: the first during the era of King Narai (1657-1688) and the second during the rule of King Rama II (1809-1824)
• Malaysia and Indonesia's literary traditions

  • Owe their literary traditions in large part to the Sanskrit language and the Islam culture
• Chinese writers in modern times


  Remain prolific, though the social impact of literature may be less monumental than in the past, the Chinese literary tradition is nevertheless prosperous
• Western influences on Japanese literature


  Permeated since the Meiji Restoration in the 19th century, including the pioneering of modern Japanese novels, translations of poetry from the West, and reinventions of traditional Japanese poetic forms like the tanka and the haiku
• Notable Japanese playwrights


  • Abe Kobo
  • Mishima Yukio
• Impact of the Korean War on Korean literature


  Themes of alienation, conscience, and disintegration have been present in Korean works since the 1950s. Self-identity has also become a strong theme in Korean literature, such as poems, novels, and plays, well into the 20th century
• India


  Gained independence in the 20th century, but the impact of colonial rule continued to manifest through the endurance of the English language, and the emergence of postcolonial texts