WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

CHAPTER 4
CHINESE LITERATURE
(Part 1)

I. Identification: Read the following statements carefully and identify what is being referred to. Write
your answers on the spaces provided. (5 points)
__________________1. It refers to the official name of China.
__________________2. In what part of Asia is China located?
__________________3. It is the capital of China.
__________________4. It is the national spoken language of China.
__________________5. These are the two major religions of China.

II. Perform what is being asked in the following.

1. Explain the Five Books of Confucius: (5 points each)
2. How significant are the six principles to Chinese? Explain. (10 points)
3. Are the six principles significant to life in general? Cite examples to support your answer. (15 points)
4. Based on the teachings of Confucius, explain the meaning of, “‘Well done’ is better than ‘well said.’”

(Part 2)
I. Study the following analects of Confucius. Reflect on each and discuss its value to human life. Answers must
be in a minimum of 50 words. (10 points each)
a. The superior man understands what is right; the inferior man understands what will sell.
b. The superior man loves his soul; the inferior man loves his property.
c. A man who has committed a mistake and does not correct it is committing another mistake.
d. A man who has a beautiful soul always has some beautiful things to say, but a man who says
beautiful things does not necessarily have a beautiful soul.
e. Do not worry about people not knowing you, but strive to be worth knowing.

(Part 3)
I. Examine the following poem. Then, answer briefly the questions. (50 points)
A Wife Mourns for Her Husband
Confucius
Translated by: James Legge

The dolichos grows and covers the thorn,

O'er the waste is the dragon-plant creeping.
The man of my heart is away and I mourn--
What home have I, lonely and weeping?

Covering the jujubes the dolichos grows,

The graves many dragon-plants cover;
But where is the man on whose breast I'd repose?
No home have I, having no lover!
 WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

Fair to see was the pillow of horn,

And fair the bed-chamber's adorning;
But the man of my heart is not here, and I mourn
All alone, and wait for the morning.

While the long days of summer pass over my head,

And long winter nights leave their traces,
I'm alone! Till a hundred of years shall have fled,
And then I shall meet his embraces.

Through the long winter nights I am burdened with fears,

Through the long summer days I am lonely;
But when time shall have counted its hundreds of years
I then shall be his--and his only!

1. What is the main theme of a poem? Cite lines from the poem to support your answer.
2. List lines or phrases from the poem that use imagery or figure of speech.
3. What does the last stanza mean? Cite lines to support your answer.
4. How does distance affect relationship? Explain.

(Part 4)
1. Pick out some catchy or interesting lines from the poems found in your handouts on pages 90 to 94.
2. What figures of speech are used in the poems? Interpret the lines that use such figures of speech.
3. Relate the poems to the lives of the poets. Do the poems speak about the lives of the poets? Why? Justify
your answer.
(Part 5)
Chapter Test
1. Write a short biography of Confucius. Include the most significant details about him and his teachings. (25
points)
2. From his teachings, choose three which you think are universal. Explain. (25 points)

(Part 6)
HINDU LITERATURE
I. Provide what is asked in the following.
1. List 10 facts and figures of India.
a.
b.
c.
d.
e.
f.
g.
 WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

h.
i.
j.
2. Describe in your own words the people, languages, and religion of India. (20 points)
3. One of India’s famous personality is Mahatma Gandhi. Write a short essay based on the life and Mahatma
Gandhi and his contribution politics. (20 points)

(Part 7)
I. Answer the following questions as briefly as possible. (10 points each)
1. What is the importance of India to the earliest forms of civilization? Why do many parts of the world owe a
great deal to India?
2. Why is Indian literature rich in spirituality and morals? What are its most common topics?
3. What are the two qualities of Indian literature?
4. In Indian belief, can a person be reburned? How is this phenomenon called?

(Part 8)
1. Give at least two great writers of India. Characterize them.
2. Describe Kalidasa. Why is he regarded as Shakespeare’s counterpart in India?
3. What is the subject matter of Shakuntala?
4. Why is the Panchatantra important?

(Part 9)
I. Answer the following questions/statements based on one of the greatest literary work of India, the
Ramayana. (10 points each)
1. Who are the main characters in the story?
2. How did Kaikeyi blackmail Dasa-ratha in order to remove Rama from the kingdom? Who will take the place

of Rama?
3. How did Sita and the other people react to Rama’s banishment? How does this show the kind of Rama had?
4. How have Rama and Sita come to be revered in modern times? Can they be called cultural icons? Why?
5. What was the symbolism of Rama’s sandals on the throne of Ayodia?
 WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

(Part 10)
I.

Indian Literature

Complete the following graphic organizer based on the main idea. Answers must be complete sentences.
 WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

(Part 11)
I. Complete the following
graphic organizer based
on the main idea. Answers
must be complete
sentences.

Rabindranath
Tagore

(Part 12)

I. Write an essay discussing the life of Mahatma Gandhi and his contribution to the political and economic
aspect of India. You may cite any of his principles in life that greatly contributed to the people’s view of
leadership in general. (50 points)
WORKSHEET IN SURVEY OF AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE