Asian Lit
Asian Lit
Asian Lit
It is among the most imaginative and interesting in The surviving works comprise a literary tradition
the world. The precision of the language results in extending from the 7th century CE to the present;
perfectly realized images whether in poetry or prose during all this time there was never a “dark age”
and, as with all great literature, the themes are devoid of literary production.
timeless. Not only do poetry, the novel, and the drama have
The Chinese valued literature highly and even had a long histories in Japan, but some literary genres not so
god of literature named Wen Chang, also known as highly esteemed in other countries—including diaries,
Wendi, Wen Ti. travel accounts, and books of random thoughts—are
also prominent.
Wen Chang kept track of all the writers in China
and what they produced to reward to punish them Writing was introduced to Japan from China in the
according to how well or poorly they had used their 5th century via the Korean peninsula.
talents. This god was thought to have once been a man The oldest surviving works are two historical
named Zhang Ya, a brilliant writer who drowned records, the Kojiki (also sometimes read as
himself after a disappointment and was deified. He Furukotofumi or Furukotobumi, is an early Japanese
presided not only over written works and writers but chronicle of myths, legends, hymns, genealogies, oral
over Chinese script itself. traditions, and semi
Ancient Chinese script evolved from the practice of historical accounts down to 641 concerning the origin
divination during the Shang Dynasty (1600-1046 of the Japanese archipelago, the kami, and the
BCE). The pictographs made on oracle bones by Japanese imperial line) and Nihon Shoki (sometimes
diviners became the script known as Jiaguwen (c. translated as The Chronicles of Japan, is the second-
1600-1000 BCE) which developed into Dazhuan (c. oldest book of classical Japanese history, also called
1000-700 BCE), Xiaozhuan (700 BCE - present), and
the Nihongi), which were completed in the early 8th lived in northwest India during the 2nd millennium
century. BCE), which were written in Sanskrit.
In the 11th century, during the peak of the Because Sanskrit was identified with the
HeianPeriod, the world's first novel, The Tale of Genji, Brahminical religion of the Vedas, Buddhism and
was written in Japan. Jainism adopted other literary languages (Paliand
Ardhamagadhi, respectively).
Kakinomoto Hitomaro, was a Japanese waka poet
and aristocrat of the late Asukaperiod. He was the The literature of those languages depended largely
most prominent of the poets included in the on the ancient Indian background, which includes two
Man'yōshū, the oldest waka anthology, but apart from Sanskrit epic poems, the Mahabharata and Ramayana,
what can be gleaned from hints in the Man'yōshū, the as well as the Bhagavata-purana and the other Puranas.
details of his life are largely uncertain. He was Japan’s
The Mahabharata is an ancient Indian epic where
first literary figure, was known for his works of tanka
the main story revolves around two branches of a
and chōka.
family - the Pandavas and Kauravas - who, in the
Tanka is the basic form of Japanese poetry, has five Kurukshetra War, battle for the throne of Hastinapura.
lines in five-seven-five-seven-seven syllable pattern. Interwoven into this narrative are several smaller
stories about people dead or living, and philosophical
Chōka is a form of waka (Japanese poem). It
discourses.
consists of 5-7 syllables repeated and concludes with a
5-7-7 ending. The phrases 5-7 are repeated at least The poem is made up of almost 100,000 couplets—
three times and 7 syllables are added at the end. about seven times the length of the Iliad and the
Odyssey combined—divided into 18 parvans, or
Hitomaro’s works were included in Man’yōshū, the
sections, plus a supplement titled Harivamsha
oldest anthology of Japanese poetry which was
(“Genealogy of the God Hari”; i.e., of Vishnu).
produced during the Nara Period (710–784).
Ramayana, (Sanskrit: “Rama’s Journey”) shorter of
Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694) was regarded as the
the two great epic poems of India, the other being the
supreme haiku poet. Emerged from the early
Mahabharata (“Great Epic of the BharataDynasty”).
Tokugawa period (1603–1770), the haiku is composed
The Ramayana was composed in Sanskrit, probably
of three lines with five-seven-five syllable pattern. It
not before 300 BCE, by the poet Valmiki and in its
originated from the hokku, the first three lines of a
present form consists of some 24,000 couplets divided
renga, a poem usually with a hundred linked verses.
into seven books.
Bashō’s verses appear with his travel accounts like
The Narrow Road to the Deep North (1694). The poem describes the royal birth of the god Rama
in the kingdom of Ayodhya (Oudh), his tutelage under
the sage Vishvamitra, and his success in bending
INDIAN LITERATURE, WRITINGS OF THE Shiva’s mighty bow at the bridegroom tournament of
INDIAN SUBCONTINENT, PRODUCED THERE IN Sita, the daughter of King Janaka, thus winning her for
A VARIETY OF VERNACULAR LANGUAGES, his wife.
INCLUDING SANSKRIT, PRAKRIT,
“The Panchatantra” is one of the best-known
PALI,BENGALI, BIHARI, GUJARATI, HINDI,
collections of old stories. "Panchatantra" is a Sanskrit
KANNADA, KASHMIRI, MALAYALAM, ORIYA,
word that means "five books." Each book has a
PUNJABI, RAJASTHANI, TAMIL, TELUGU,
framework story, sort of like “Arabian Nights”, into
URDU, LAHNDA, SIRAIKI, AND SINDHI,
which shorter stories are interwoven. The fable-like
AMONG OTHERS, AS WELL AS IN ENGLISH.
stories are full of humor and sagely advice. Many
INDIAN LITERATURE scholars say that “The Panchatantra” was originally
composed in Kashmir about 200 B.C. According to
The term Indian literature is used here to refer to legend, it was written for three princes to teach them
literature produced across the Indian subcontinent the principals of "right living." Many of the stories are
prior to the creation of the Republic of India in 1947 attributed to a writer named Bidpai, a wise man from
and within the Republic of India after 1947. India.
The earliest Indian literature took the form of the Storytelling has been a popular form of
canonical Hindu sacred writings, known as the Veda (a entertainment in India for centuries. Many regions and
collection of poems or hymns composed in archaic ethnic groups have their traditions of folk stories. The
Sanskrit by Indo-European-speaking peoples who “Hitopadesa” ("Book of Good Counsel" in Sanskrit)is
another book of fables written after “The
Panchatantra”. The stories from “Arabian Nights” are
very popular in India, many of the stories originated in
India. Ancient philosophers were articulated by
Shakyamuni.
R.K Narayan is one of the greatest and celebrated
novelists in India. He is distinguished for his simple
and unpretentious English writing style and is one of
the most widely read Indian novelists.
His popular works include The English Teacher,
The Financial Expert and Waiting for the Mahatma.
Rabindranth Tagore (1861-1941), a poet,
philosopher and writer from Calcutta, was the first
nonEuropean to win the Nobel Prize in literature. He
was a formidable personality who played a major
role in shaping the cultural life of India at the turn of
the 20th century, “when the country was struggling for
its independence and searching for its identity in the
international community. He also helped introduce
Indian literature to the West.