OVERVIEW

What is Afro-Asian Literature?

Afro-Asian literature, also sometimes

referred to as the Literature of the
East, in its simplest sense, is the
literary output of the different
countries and cultures in Africa and
Asia. First coined around 1950 to
1955, Afro-Asian literature refers to
the literary works written for and/or
by people from mixed African-Arab
or African-Asian heritage. It
encompasses African and Asian
nations of South Africa, Egypt, Saudi
Arabia, Israel, India, Japan,
Philippines, North and South Korea,
Vietnam, China, Malaysia,
Indonesia, and Thailand.

As Asian and African people’s historical experiences have been deeply

intertwined with each other for centuries, their literature reflects the similarities
of their people’s cultures, customs, traditions, and philosophy of life, as well
as their storm and stresses as developing nations.

Importance of Afro-Asian Literature

A number of Afro-Asian literature, have greatly influenced the rest of the

world. One such literary work is the Holy Bible, which still remains to be the
best-selling and most influential book of all time. The Analects of Confucius is
another well-known literary work written and re-written in different languages
and impacts the beliefs and values of not only the Chinese, but also of the
rest of its readers.

Afro-Asian authors also influence the society today. Nelson Mandela, who
advocated against racial oppression throughout his life, remains as one of the
greatest moral and political leaders of today. Also, Lao Tzu and Confucius are
two of the greatest ancient philosophers and writers whose teachings are still
relevant and applicable today.

The study of Afro-Asian literature, and of literature in general, leads to the

understanding of history, unfamiliar customs, new cultures and traditions, as
well as give some kind of satisfaction and renewed world view (Betita, 2016).
Unit 1

AFRICA:

THE DARK CONTINENT

At the end of this unit, you should be

able to:
1. characterize and identify the unique features and qualities of African
literature;
2. identify the writers and prominent works from African Literature; and
3. analyze the theme and mood in writings of various writers/poet.

This unit encompasses a brief background of Africa, its people, their

languages, and their literature and writers. It also includes a collection of
some of the literary works that express the Afro-Asian people’s aspiration and
passion, and works that dramatize the African people’s struggle for equal
recognition. Through this unit, it is expected that you will gain intercultural
awareness and therefore minimize generalized thinking, stereotypes,
prejudices, and racism – things that are not only important as a future
educator, but as a human as well.

Introduction

African literature, according to Castro (2017), consists of a body of work in

different languages and various genres, ranging from oral to written literature,
from local to colonial languages (French, Portuguese, and English). While
African literature is rich and vast, its two work impulses remain to be
reclaiming of voice and subjectivity, and the critique of abusive powers that
riddled the continent and its people.
History of Africa and its Literature

African literature traces its origins to

ancient Egypt and hieroglyphs
thousands of years ago. The
conquest of Egypt by the Arabs has
led to the spread of Arabic poetry.
When the Arabs continued their
conquest to Africa, the established
Roman culture there was
overwhelmed. This has resulted to
the blend of African, Arabic, and
European culture and literature to
form a unique African literary form
that we know today.

Colonization has left Africa several

hardships, throughout its long history,
which has impacted the themes of its
literature. One such hardship is slavery, where millions of African people were
brought and sold as slaves to Western countries, largely against their will,
from sixteenth to nineteenth centuries. This forced mass dispersion of African
people for slavery is called the African Diaspora.

Like most civilizations, oral literature was widespread throughout the Africa.

Their oral literature included :

Songs Stories
Dramas Riddles
Myths Proverbs
Histories

which are usually used for entertainment and served as a reminder of their
ancestors’ pasts and their acts of heroism, which preceded their traditions and
customs.

With the coming of European missionaries to Africa to build churches and

language schools in order to translate religious texts, Africans began writing in
both European and indigenous languages.

Their narratives and poetry before and even after the declaration of
independence revolved around; protesting against African history, correcting
the false images forced upon Africa, venting their opposition against colonial
repression, describing the horrors of slavery and slave trade, and asserting
their own cultures over those of the colonials who tried to crush them.
Negritude

Negritude can be defined as an aesthetic

and literary movement that began in the
1930s. It centered on the creative and
expressive potential of black
consciousness, and through its
transnational scope became one of the
pre-emptive cultural phenomena of the
twentieth century.

This was a political philosophy/literary

movement whose scholars included
statesman-poet Leopold Sedar Senghor.
Negritude was a reaction to the French
colonial administrative policy of
assimilation; this policy was predicated on
the belief that Africans possessed neither culture nor history and therefore
French culture could be used to civilise them. Negritude desired a deep and
almost essentialist re-grounding of Africans in the history, values, cultures of
the Black people, while being open to friendship with other civilisations.

Negritude was engendered and flourished in Paris in the mid-1930s, largely

as a response to the implicit superiority of white colonizing cultures.

It was led and fed by the writings of two black scholars from the French
colonies, Aimé Césaire of Martinique and Léopold Sédar Senghor of Senegal,
each would play a leading role in the political life of their respective countries
of origin. (Murdoch, 2012).

African Literature

Characteristics

 African literature is unique compared to the literary works from the rest of
the world. 

 Many African literatures, both early and contemporary, expose the

people’s disappointment and opposition in their living status. 

 Their literary works reflect their perspective of what and how Africa is, as
well as their experiences with colonization, segregation, and racial
discrimination. 
 Many African writers incorporate other arts like music in to their works and
often interlace oral conventions into their writings, which brings about the
ethnicity of their community.
African Writers and Their Works

Below are some of the most renowned African writers and authors, and their
most notable literary works. African Writer Literary Work

Chinua Achebe

- He is a Nigerian novelist and poet,

and critic who used the pseudonym
Albert Chinualumogu Achebe.
- He wrote about his country’s
colonial past and its present as an
independent nation.
- He received the International
Booker Prize in 2007 for his novel
Things Fall Apart.

Things Fall Apart

- Published in 1958, it tells of the story of pre-
colonial life in the south-eastern Nigeria and the
arrival of the Europeans in the late nineteenth
century. Recognized as the representative
contemporary African novel in English, it is one of
the first to receive global critical acclaim. It is a
staple book in schools throughout Africa and is
widely read and studied in English-speaking
countries around the world.

Civil Peace
- This is a short story written in 1971. It is about the
effects of the Nigerian Civil War (1967– 1970) on
the people, and the "civil peace" that followed. -

Ngugi wa Thiong’o
- Kenyan writer and playwright
- writes in English and Kikuyu
- was considered as one of the best
candidates for the Nobel Prize in
2010 and 2014

A Grain of Wheat
- First published in 1967
- Considered to be artistically more mature, it focuses on the
many social, moral, and racial issues experienced by the
African people in their struggle for independence
Nelson Mandela
- Black nationalist and the first Black president of South Africa (1994- 1999)
awarded the Nobel Prize for Peace in 1993, along with then South African
Pres. F.W. de Klerk for their efforts in ending the country’s system of racial
segregation and ushered in a peaceful transition to majority rule

Dare Not Linger: The Presidential Years

- This is a book by Nelson Mandela and Mandla Langa describing Mandela's
term as President of South Africa and details the challenges Mandela
overcame to make a reality of his cherished vision for a liberated South Africa.
- It was published in 2017, four years after Mandela's death, and is based on
an unfinished memoir that Mandela had worked on after his term as president,
as well as archive material and interviews.

I Am Prepared to Die
- This is a three-hour speech that Mandela gave on the 20th of April in 1964
from the dock of the defendant at the Rivonia Trial. The speech ends with the
words “it is an ideal for which I am prepared to die.” The speech is considered
to be one of the 20th century great speeches, and a key moment in the history
of South African democracy.
African Poetry

Africa
By David Diop

Africa my Africa
Africa of proud warriors in ancestral Savannahs
Africa of whom my grandmother sings
On the banks of the distant river
I have never known you
But your blood flows in my veins
Your beautiful black blood that irrigates the fields
The blood of your sweat
The sweat of your work
The work of your slavery
Africa, tell me Africa
Is this your back that is unbent
This back that never breaks under the weight of humiliation
This back trembling with red scars
And saying no to the whip under the midday sun?
But a grave voice answers me
Impetuous child that tree, young and strong
That tree over there
Splendidly alone amidst white and faded flowers
That is your Africa springing up anew
springing up patiently, obstinately
Whose fruit bit by bit acquires
The bitter taste of liberty.

About the Author:

David Léon Mandessi Diop was born in 1927

in Bordeaux, France, to a Senegalese father
and a Cameroonian mother. During his
literary career, he was a proponent of
Negritude. The poem below by Diop reflects
those values. David Diop died in an airplane
crash in 1960. He was 33.
 Africa’s Plea
By Roland Tombekai Dempster

I am not you – but you will not

give me a chance
will not let me be me
‘If I were you’ – but you know
I am not you, yet you will not
let me be me. You meddle, interfere
in my affairs
as if they were yours
and you were me. You are unfair, unwise, foolish to think
that I can be you, talk, act
and think like you. God made me me. He made you you. For God’s sake
Let me be me.

Roland Tombekai Dempster 

(1910–1965) was a Liberian writer and literary figure. He was born in

Tosoh (on the banks of Lake Piso), Grand Cape Mount County in
the Republic of Liberia. He wrote The Mystic Reformation of Gondolia in 1953.
On January 4, 1960, he wrote A Song Out of Midnight: Souvenir of the
Tubman-Tolbert Inauguration. He also wrote the poem "Africa's Plea".
African Prose

The Hands of the Blacks

by Luis Bernardo Honwana

I don’t remember now how we got on to the

subject, but one day, Teacher said that the palms
of the Blacks’ hands were much lighter than the
rest of their bodies. This is because only a few
centuries ago, they walked around with them like
wild animals, so their palms weren’t exposed to
the sun, which made the rest of their bodies
darker. I thought of this when Father Christiano
told us after catechism that we were absolutely
hopeless, and that even the pygmies were better
than us, and he went back to this thing about their
hands being lighter, and said it was like that
because they always went about with their hands folded together, praying in
secret. I thought this was so funny, this thing of the Blacks’ hands being
lighter, that you should just see me now. I do not let go of anyone, whoever
they are, until they tell me why they think that the palms of the Blacks’ hands
are lighter. Doña Dores, for instance, told me that God made Blacks’ hands
lighter so they would not dirty the food they made for their masters, or
anything else they were ordered to do that had to be kept clean.

Señor Antunes, the Coca-Cola man, who only comes to the village now and
again when all the Cokes in the cantinas have been sold, said it was a lot of
baloney. Of course, I do not know if it was really such, but he assured me, it
was. After that I said, “All right, it was baloney,” and then he told me what he
knew about this thing of the Blacks’ hands. It was like this: “Long ago, many
years ago, God the Father, Jesus Christ, the Virgin Mary, St. Peter, many
other saints, all the angels that were in Heaven, and some of the people who
had died and gone to Heaven—they all had a meeting and decided to create
the Blacks. Do you know how? They got hold of some clay and pressed it into
some second-hand molds and baked the clay of creatures, which they took
from the heavenly kilns. Because they were in a hurry and there was no room
next to the fire, they hung them in the chimneys. Smoke, smoke, smoke—and
there you have them, black as coals. And now, do you want to know why their
hands stayed white? Well, didn’t they have to hold on while their clay baked?”

When he told me this, Señor Antunes and the other men who were around us
were very pleased and they all burst out laughing. That very same day, Señor
Frias told me that everything I had heard from them there had been just one
big pack of lies. Really and truly, what he knew about the Blacks’ hands was
right—that God finished men and told them to bathe in a lake in Heaven. After
bathing, the people were nice and white. The Blacks, well. They were made
very early in the morning and at this hour, the water in the lake was very cold,
so they only wet the palms of their hands and the soles of their feet before
dressing and coming to the world.
But I read in a book that happened to mention the story, that the Blacks have
hands lighter like this because they spent their lives bent over, gathering the
white cotton of Virginia and i don’t know where else. Of course, Doña
Estefania did not agree when i told her this. According to her, it is only
because their hands became bleached with all that washing.

Well, i do not know what to think about all this but the truth is that however
calloused and cracked they may be, Black hands are always lighter than the
rest of him. And that’s that!

My mother is the only one who must be right about this question of a Black’s
hands being lighter than the rest of his body. On the day that we were talking
about it, i was telling her what I already knew about the question, and she
could not stop laughing. When i was talking, she did not tell me at once what
she thought about all this and she only talked when she was sure that I
wouldn’t get tired of bothering her about it. And even then, she was crying and
clutching herself around the stomach like someone who had laughed so much
that it was quite unbearable. What she said was more or less this:

“God made Blacks because they had to be. They had to be, my son. He
thought they really had to be. Afterwards, He regretted having made them
because other men laughed at them and took away their homes and put them
to serve as slaves and not much better. But because He couldn’t make them
all white, for those who were used to seeing them black would complain, He
made it so that the palms of their hands would be exactly like the palms of the
hands of other men. And do you know why that was? Well, listen: it was to
show that what men do is only the work of men... that what men do is done by
hands that are the same—hands of people. How, if they had any sense,
would know that before anything else they are men. He must have been
thinking of this when He made the hands of those men who thank God they
are not black!”

After telling me all this, my mother kissed my hands. As i ran off to the yard to
play ball, I thought that i had never seen a person cry so much as my mother
did then.
Unit 2

EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

At the end of this unit, you should be

able to:
1. familiarize themselves with the different genre present in among Egyptian
literature;
2. be acquainted with the different representative writers/works of Egyptian
literature; and
3. analyze the features, structure, and characteristics of the literary pieces.

Introduction

Located in the northeastern corner of Africa and in the southwest corner of

Asia, Egypt is arguably one of the civilizations with the richest history, culture,
and literature. Its land, made fertile by the Nile River through the process
known as ‘flooding’, has given birth to an ancient Egyptian civilization that built
the pyramids, hieroglyphs (pictorial writing), and some of the earliest written
literary form on papyrus.
History of Egyptian Literature

Egyptian literature traces its

origin to the ancient Egyptian
civilization and is some of the
earliest know written form of
literature. Ancient Egyptian
literature dates from the ‘Old
Kingdom’

EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

INTRODUCTION

 Egypt, officially called as the Arab Republic of Egypt,

 is a transcontinental nation located in the northeastern corner of Africa

and in the southwest corner of Asia. 

 It is arguably one of the civilizations with the richest history, culture, and
literature. 

 Its land, made fertile by the Nile

River through the process known
as ‘flooding’, has given birth to an
ancient Egyptian civilization that
built the pyramids, hieroglyphs
(pictorial writing), and some of
the earliest written literary form
on papyrus.

EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

 Egyptian literature traces its origin to the ancient Egyptian civilization and
is considered to be the earliest known written form of literature. 

 Dating back from the Old Kingdom (c. 2755 – 2255 B.C.) into the Greco-
Roman period (after 332 B.C.), 

 ancient Egypt was the source of great works written on papyrus or on the
walls of temples, tombs, pyramids, obelisks, portraits and monuments. 
 It mostly consists of spells, incantations, lists, medical and scientific texts
and descriptions of the netherworld. They produced fables, heroic tales,
love poems and descriptions of battles.

However, as leadership and civilization changed, many of these artworks did

not survive. Most of those that survived were priestly texts on papyrus (a form
of writing materials taken from reed which grew in the Nile), or those written
on tablets and pieces of broken pottery of flakes and limestone.

Ancient Egyptian literature rose and grew in the bosom of religious beliefs, but
it quickly evolved to deal with man’s ordinary day-to-day life. Literary works
occupied a distinguished position in the ancient Egyptian thought and
civilization. The ancient Egyptians viewed literature as a source of spiritual
nourishment and a unique way to elevate style of expression. Refined literary
style was a source of pride for the writer and appreciation and enjoyment for
the reader.

Ancient Egyptian literature tackled almost all aspects of life. Literary works
were classified by subjects into various genres such as novels, short stories,
poetry, folkloric tales, proverbs, wise- sayings, moral teachings, philosophical
meditations and literary messages. They also wrote plays, dramatic poetry,
songs, religious hymns and love poetry, in addition to description of nature,
and poems to glorify their kings and their glorious battles, and songs for
workers and farmers and others to be sung in parties.

Forms of Egyptian Writing

 Hieroglyphics – the oldest form which used line drawings, representing

characters that depict objects and ideas.

 Hieratic Symbol – simpler and more conventionalized in form than the

hieroglyphs, and was used by the priests. 

 Demotic Symbols – used in commercial documents at about the 17

 th century B.C. 

 Greek – was used in Egyptian literature since the conquest of Alexander

the Great.
HISTORICAL BACKGROUND

Old Kingdom

Although very few literary texts from this period have survived, it has
produced important literatures. Among them were:

a. Pyramid Texts - the oldest religious writings in the world and make up the
principal funerary literature of ancient Egypt. They comprise the texts which
were inscribed on the sarcophagi and walls of the pyramids. The texts were
reserved for the soul of the deceased pharaoh by his scribes and priests and
were a series of spells and incantations designed to free the soul of the
pharaoh from the body and help it ascend toward the heavens.

b. Cannibal Texts – also known as Cannibal Hymn, it is the Utterances 273

and 274 of the Pyramid Texts. It describes the king hunting and eating parts
of the gods. It preserves an early royal butchery ritual in which the deceased
king—assisted by the god Shezmu— slaughters, cooks and eats the gods as
sacrificial bulls, thereby incorporating in himself their divine powers in order
that he might negotiate his passage into the Afterlife and guarantee his
transformation as a celestial divinity ruling in the heavens.
c. The Maxims of Ptahhotep - probably the earliest large piece of Egyptian
wisdom literature available to modern scholars, was written primarily for
young men of influential families who would soon assume one of the higher
civil offices. Ptahhotep’s proverbial sayings upheld obedience to a father and
a superior as the highest virtue, but they also emphasized humility,
faithfulness in performing one’s own duties, and the ability to keep silence
when necessary.

Middle Kingdom

It is known as the classical age of the Egyptian literature, which saw the
flourishing of works which became popular for hundreds of years. Among
these were:

a. Tale of Sinuhe – It was written during the ancient Egyptian

period and is one of the earliest known literary texts. It relates
the flight of refugee courtier, Sinuhe, from Egypt to Syria for
political reasons, his life exile, and his homecoming.

b. Tale of the Shipwrecked Sailor – It was story

of redemption about a servant, who used to be a
sailor, who tells his story of surviving from a
shipwreck and of an island of riches and magic
from which he was rescued and returned home a
richer man after receiving help from a serpent.

New Kingdom
During this period, the style of writing changed and
the language of the day was used, which brought
forth a more natural manner of writing, replacing the
artificialities of the Middle Kingdom. Among the
famous writings of this period were

  The Quarrel of King Apophis and Seqenenre

  The Tale of Two Brothers.
TYPES OF EGYPTIAN LITERATURE

1. Religious Literature, which includes the

 Pyramid Texts (discussed above),
 Coffin Texts (texts that appear on
the printed and sculpted coffins), 
 Book of the Dead (ancient Egyptian
collection of mortuary texts made up
of spells or magic formulas, placed in
tombs and believed to protect and aid
the deceased in the hereafter), 
 Hymns to the Sun-God (songs of
praise and thanksgiving which were
addressed to the Sun- god by
orthodox Egyptians under the 18th
dynasty, and Hymn to Osiris (a
homage to Osiris, the god of fertility, agriculture, the afterlife, the dead,
resurrection, life, and vegetation in ancient Egyptian religion).

2. Wisdom Literature, which can be found throughout all periods of

ancient Egyptian history from the Old Kingdom through to the New Kingdom,
represent one special category of literature because they look at codes of
behavior and ethical values of the ancient Egyptian society, what they thought
was right and wrong, and how they taught people and passed on moral
codes. The wisdom texts were textbooks for teachers, for children to be
brought up
and taught a particular set of morals, ethics and values. The texts are not
about the afterlife, they concerned with living a good life and how to conduct
your life on earth, and as such give us a different view of the ancient
Egyptians.

2. Pessimistic Literature, which include texts that lament about the insecure
state of society and nature, and assert the hopelessness of discussing these
problems. The authors wrestle with the problem that reality does not match
the Egyptian ideal of justice. It is a reproach or accusation against the gods
for allowing chaotic conditions between the end of the Old Kingdom and the
establishment of the Middle Kingdom.

3. Love Poems, which are some of the rarest literary finds from ancient
Egypt, are poetry and songs meditating on love, romance and desire. Often,
the songs list the beautiful qualities of their subjects, detailing just how
wonderful their lover is.
UNIT 3:

CHINESE LITERATURE

Chinese literature, considered as one of

the major literary heritage of the world,
refers to the body of works written in
Chinese and includes lyric poetry,
historical and moral writing, drama, and
various forms of fiction. Chinese literary
works were also regarded as some of
the most imaginative and interesting in
the world, with their timeless themes.

The Chinese valued literature highly and

had a god of literature in their pantheon
named Wen Chang (also known as
Wendi, Wen Ti), who was believed to keep
track of all the writers in China and what
they produced to either reward or punish them according to how well or poorly
they had used their talents.

Exactly when writing was first used in China is not known since most writing
would have been done on perishable materials like wood, bamboo, or silk.
The earliest written works in China are ghost stories and myths. The Chinese
were especially concerned with ghosts because the appearance of someone
who had died meant that the living had somehow failed them, usually by
improper honor in burial, and the dead would haunt the living until the wrong
was righted. If the dead could not find their family, they would find anyone
nearby.

One popular myth was about the Queen

Mother of the West. This myth became so
widespread that a cult developed, people
began wearing talismans, and the
government had to erect shrines for the
supposed spirit. These myths and folktales
led to more formal writing.

Chinese produced poetry, literature, drama, histories, personal essays, and

every other kind of writing imaginable all of which was done by hand and then
copied until the creation of woodblock printing, a kind of printing press that
made making copies of text easier and faster, thus making books more
available to people.
Literary Works and Writers

Spanning for some 2,000 years, Chinese literature were many, but most that
we know of were from the Tang Dynasty. Below are the well-known POETS of
the Tang dynasty. 

Li Po (also known as Li Bai) – regarded as

the greatest poet of the Tang Dynasty. His
work was so popular in his time that it was
considered one of the Three Wonders of the
World (along with Pei Min's ability with a
sword and Zhang Xu's beautiful calligraphy).


Du Fu (also known as Tu Fu) – friend of

Li Po and was equally popular. The two
are regarded as the most important poets
of the Tang dynasty. 

Bai Juyi (also known as Bo Juyi) – his

poem "Song of Everlasting Sorrow", is a
romanticized version of the tragic love affair
of emperor Xuanzong and Lady Yang. It
became so popular that it entered the public-
school curriculum and students had to
memorize in part or in full to pass exams. This poem is still required reading in
Chinese schools in the present day.

Older works of PHILOSOPHERS such as Confucius, Mo Ti, Mencius, Lao-

Tzu, and others from the Hundred Schools of Thought were also widely
available from the Tang Dynasty onward. 

Confucius (Kung-fu-tzu)

 the father of Confucianism,

 he believed that human beings were
essentially good and only strayed due to
lack of a strong moral standard.
 If people were thoroughly instructed in how
to develop their own individual moral
standard, and the ways in which to adhere
to that standard, they would then
consistently behave well. 
 Confucianism, therefore, stressed the
importance of ritual. One could become
“good” by observing rituals which made one
“good”. 
Mo Ti - 

 the founder of Mohism, 

 Mohism, emphasized universal love
as the means to better one's self and
one's community
 as well as the concept of
consequentialism (one's actions
define one's character) as the
standard of determining who is “good”
and who is “bad”.Ti attempted to
neutralize the various warring states
by providing them with the same
defenses and strategies so that none
would gain an advantage, would
recognize the futility of war, and
agree to live in peace. 

Mencius - (or Mengzi)

 i s c o n s i d e r
himself. Like Plato to Socrates, 
 M e n c i u s w a s
have been a pupil of Confucius's
grandson, Zisi. 
 H e i s b e s t k n o w
Mencius’s most influential views was
his list of four innate ethical
dispositions, which he treats as what
Western ethicists would call cardinal
virtues: benevolence (rén),
righteousness (yì), wisdom (zhì), and
propriety (lĭ). Each of the four virtues
is associated with a characteristic
emotion or motivational attitude: “The feeling of compassion is
benevolence. The feeling of disdain is righteousness. The feeling of
respect is propriety. The feeling of approval and disapproval is wisdom”
(Mengzi 6A6; Van Norden 2008, 149). 
Lao Tzu (otherwise known as ‘Laozi’) -
As the author of the Tao Te Ching, Lao
Tzu, considered the father of Taoism and
revered as a deity and ‘One of the Three
Pure Ones,’ along with Confucius and
Buddha. Taoism is a Chinese religion that
is mainly concerned with the spiritual
elements of life, including the nature of the
universe. Its guiding principle is roughly
translated as “the Way,” which is a
harmonious natural order that arises
between humans and the world, and that
Taoists should strive to achieve. The most
important of these philosophical writings, as far as Chinese culture are
concerned, are the texts known as The Five Classics and The Four Books.
Collectively called The Four Books and The Five Classics, they cover such
a wide range of subjects as literature, history, philosophy, politics, economics,
education, moral ethics, geology, arts, science and technology, etc. and are
the most important textbooks for the Confucian scholars to disseminate the
educational thoughts of the Confucian School and a must for ancient scholars
who had to pass the imperial competitive examination to become government
officials. In short, they have a far-reaching influence on the way of existence,
intellectual quality, moral ethics and esthetic values of the Chinese nation. 

The Five Classics – also called as the Confucian Classics (even though they
are not written by Confucius), constituted the program of learning for anyone
in the upper classes, the ruling classes, or the educated classes. The Classics
not only recorded early Chinese history infallibly, they also completely
contained all the ethics and wisdom of China.

a. The Book of Changes (I Ching) – The Book of Changes contains a

system of divination, which is centered largely around the principles of yin and
yang. The Book of Changes has also been translated as I Ching or Classic of
Changes. Some of the divination practices are still used today.

b. The Book of History (Shujing) – also called as the Book of Documents, it

is a compilation of 58 chapters detailing the events of ancient China. The
Book of History tells the deeds of the early sage-kings Yao and Shun. These
narratives are influential in the development of the understanding of a sage.
The compilation also includes the history of the Xia, Shang, and Zhou
dynasties. It is often considered the first narrative history of ancient China.

c. The Book of Odes (Shih ching) – The Book of Odes is also translated as
the Book of Songs or Book of Poetry. The Book of Odes is comprised of 305
poems dealing with a range of issues, including love and marriage,
agricultural concerns, daily lives, and war. The Book of Odes contains
different categories of poems, including folk songs and hymns used in
sacrifice. Kongzi is believed to have selected the 305 poems in this collection
from a much wider collection.

d. The Book of Rites (Li chi) – The Book of Rites described the social
norms, governmental organization, and the ritual conduct during the Zhou
dynasty. Believed to have been compiled by Kongzi, the Book of Rites is the
foundation of many ritual principles that arise in later imperial China.
According to the Book of Rites, proper ritual conduct would maintain harmony
in the empire, as well as emphasize the virtue of piety.

d. The Spring and Autumn Annals (Chunqiu) – As the longest of the Five
Classics, the Spring and Autumn Annals is a historical chronicle of the State
of Lu. Unlike the Book of Documents, the Spring and Autumn Annals appear
to have been created specifically for annalistic purposes. The Spring and
Autumn Annals was traditionally understood as being written by Confucius,
but modern scholars believe the text was actually written by various
chroniclers from the State of Lu. 
The Four Books – are Chinese classic texts that Zhu Xi selected, in the Song
dynasty, as an introduction to Confucianism. They were, in the Ming and Qing
Dynasties, made the core of the official curriculum for the civil service
examinations.

a. The Doctrine of the Mean - attributed to Zisi, Kongzi's grandson, it deals

with how to maintain perfect balance and harmony in one's life. The Doctrine
of the Mean focuses on following the Way and acting in accordance with what
is right and natural, but acknowledges that people often do not act properly.
To rectify the situation, people are encouraged to engage in moral self-
cultivation to act properly. In addition, the Doctrine of the Mean emphasizes
the fact that the good governance rests with men and that rulers who maintain
balance are not only more effective, but also encourage the Way in
others.

c. The Great Learning - a guide for moral self-cultivation. According to the

Great Learning, the key to moral self-cultivation is learning, or the
investigation of things. Through the investigation of things, one comes to
understand the principle in all things, which allows one to better comprehend
the world. Through this moral self-cultivation, one's li (principle) and qi
(psychophysical stuff) are in harmony, leading to consistent moral behavior.

c. Mencius - a collection of conversations Mencius had with Kongzi. Mencius

places a strong emphasis on the responsibility of the emperor to practice
good governance through following the Way. Additionally, Mencius believes
that all human beings are inherently good. One of the most popular passages
from Mencius notes that all humans instinctively respond with alarm and
compassion when we see a child teetering on the edge of a well, suggesting
that everyone is innately good and moral. Yet, he notes that not everyone
actually rushes to save the child and emphasizes the idea that though we are
all born with the seeds of righteousness and goodness, but must learn how to
nurture and cultivate those seeds.

Analects - Written during the Spring and Autumn period through the Warring
States period, the Analects is a collection of Kongzi's teachings and
discussions with disciples. Just as The Great Learning emphasized learning,
so did the Analects. According to the Analects, the first step in knowing the
Way is to devote oneself to learning. In addition to learning, the Analects
emphasize the importance of good governance, filial piety, virtue, and ritual.
UNIT 4:

HEBREW LITERATURE

Hebrew literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern writings in the

Hebrew language. It is cataloged within classical literature and corresponds to
the compilation of works (in verse and prose), written in Hebrew by Jewish
and non-Jewish authors, whose origins date back to the 12th century BC. C.
Within the Hebrew literature stand out the books of the Old Testament,
section of the Bible and the Torah. Hebrew literature is one of the most
widespread and extensive cultural manifestations in the world.

Origins and History of Hebrew Literature

The first antecedents of the Hebrew Literature date from the expressions and
oral lessons from the time of Abraham, considered one of the most important
figures in Christianity and Judaism.

This sacred language was transcribed in what Jews have known as The Law
or the Torah. In this text we find everything concerning the patrimony of the
Israelite people: from the origin of the world to the delivery of the tablets with
the 10 commandments.
After the post-biblical era, Hebrew literature found another type of flourishing
during the medieval period, since it is there when a set of moral and ethical
precepts for the behavior that the Jew should have is established.

Other literary genres were also developed, such as poetry, which became
fertile ground for secular and non-secular pieces. Even some of these pieces
are included in liturgies read by rabbis today.

Later, in the modern era, Hebrew authors went a little further by exploring
other genres such as fiction and written essays, which added to the poetry
that had already developed for the time.

In the modern era one begins to write about the inconveniences that the Jews
suffer in exile, satires towards the behavior of the rabbis and even criticisms
towards certain superstitions of this culture.

The diversity of Jewish works in recent times has also allowed the expression
of conflicts of religious and political tendencies among practitioners of
Judaism.

With the creation of the State of Israel there is a new

need to give diffusion and importance to Hebrew
works, especially in the field of literature and
language. The intention is to promote the translation
of modern non-Hebrew and Jewish works to this
type of language, for the inclusion and knowledge of
literary movements in the world.

Shmuel Yosef Agnón, Jewish writer who won the Nobel

Prize for Literature in 1966 thanks to his stories about the life of the Jews and
the process that was experienced during the founding of the State of Israel.
Characteristics of Hebrew Literature

• Much of literature is related to religion. It also has chants and poems made
in order to propagate the basic precepts of religion.

• Hebrew literature is historical, national, deed-based narrative prose. In other

words, it is narrative prose that is based on an understanding of time as the
flow of history, of man as part of a nation, and of reality as a series of actions
rather than a constellation of objects in space.

• Narrative prose is the authentic form of Hebrew literature. Narrative prose,

as a cultural preference, is the innovation of the Bible. This revolutionary
decision was a critical element of the monotheistic revolution of Hebrew
culture. Unlike the writings of the other cultures in antiquity, the Bible could
only have been written in prose. Its message was, in no small measure, its
narrative style; its form expressed its content.

Main Works of Hebrew Literature

The Tanach
The main books of Hebrew
literature are those that make up
the Tanach, a Jewish-Jewish
work in which the sacred
precepts of the Jewish and
Christian religions are found. It
consists of three essential parts:
The Law (Torah), The Prophets
and The Writings.

• The Law (Torah) - Also called Pentateuch, it compiles the first five books of
the Old Testament: Genesis, Exodus, Leviticus, Numbers and Deuteronomy.
These describe the most important events, such as the creation of the world,
the departure of the Jewish slaves in Egypt and the delivery of the 10
commandments. The Torah, or Jewish Written Law, consists of the five
books of the Hebrew Bible - known more commonly to non-Jews as the "Old
Testament" - that were given by G-d to Moses on Mount Sinai and include
within them all of the biblical laws of Judaism. The Torah is also known as the
Chumash, Pentateuch or Five Books of Moses.

• The Prophets - It receives the name

of Nabim. The writings that these
books contemplate have to do with the
meaning of the prophecies, which
rather make an invitation towards the
hope of the arrival of a Messiah.
Highlights the works of Joshua, Isaiah,
Jeremiah and Ezekiel. It divided into
two sections: the Former Prophets
and the Latter Prophets. The Former
Prophets contains four historical books—Joshua, Judges, Samuel, and Kings.
The Latter Prophets includes four prophetic works—the books of Isaiah,
Jeremiah, Ezekiel, and the Twelve (Minor) Prophets.

• The writings - It is the third major division of the Old Testament. They are
related to chants, poems and historical books, as well as more dramatic and
painful works such as those contemplated in the book of Job, in the Bible. The
Writings section can be arranged in three parts: Poetic books: Psalms,
Proverbs and Job; Five Festival Scrolls (also called the Megilloth): Song of
Solomon, Ruth, Lamentations, Ecclesiastes and Esther; and Historical books:
Daniel, Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles.

The 5 Most Prominent Authors of Hebrew Literature

As at the beginning the Jewish precepts were transmitted orally, the names of
some authors were lost in history. However, the following are the most
important writers:

• Isaiah - He was the

son of Amoz and is often
thought of as the
greatest of the writing
prophets. His name
means “the Lord saves.”
One of the most relevant
prophets of Hebrew
literature, Isaiah reflects
a series of visions and prophecies of what would await the world in the future.
He was the 8th century BC Israelite prophet after whom the Book of Isaiah is
named. The Book of Isaiah, also spelled Isaias, was one of the major
prophetical writings of the
Old Testament.

• Joshua - Also
spelled Josue,
Hebrew Yehoshua
means “Yahweh is
deliverance.” He was
the leader of the
Israelite tribes after
the death of Moses.
He led the conquer of
Canaan and distributed its lands to the 12 tribes. His story is told in the Old
Testament’s Book of Joshua. The Book of Joshua records the culmination of
Israel’s journey to the Promised Land. Here we see God fulfill His promise to
give the land of Canaan to Jacob’s descendants. It was written to the
descendants of those who conquered the land, as a historical account of how
they had come to settle there. It celebrates God as general, defender, and
king.
• Dunash Ben Labrat - Labrat, also spelled Librat, also called Al-abrad, or
Adonina Ha-levi, was a Hebrew poet, grammarian, and polemicist who was
the first to use Arabic meters in his verse, thus inaugurating a new mode in
Hebrew poetry. He also wrote an unpublished treatise on grammar in which
he reveals his understanding (unusual for his time) that, although Hebrew
verbs are based on three-consonant roots, in some conjugations a root letter
may be dropped.

• Semuel ibn Nagrella - Author of religious and secular poetry, his works also
related to the Talmud and the Torah. scholar, grammarian, philologist, soldier,
merchant, politician, and an influential poet who lived in Iberia at the time of
the Moorish rule. He was perhaps the most politically influential Jew in Muslim
Spain.

• Shmuel Yosef Agnón - Win the Nobel Prize for Literature by creating short
stories about the experiences in the founding of the State of Israel. His prose
combines biblical style and modern Hebrew. His famous masterpiece, the
novel Only Yesterday, tells a seemingly simple tale about a man who
immigrates to Palestine with the Second Aliya--the several hundred idealists
who returned between 1904 and 1914 to work the Hebrew soil as in Biblical
times and revive Hebrew culture.

Your Reading:

• Psalm 23
• The Story of Ruth
UNIT 5:

INDIAN LITERATURE


Indian

literature, considered as one of the most ancient of literature, refers to the

literary work that had been produced in various Indian languages, since
thousands of years ago.
 In ancient times, the literary work used to be imparted orally.
 The first ever ancient Indian literature was Sanskrit
literature comprising of

1.Rig Veda
2.the Ramayana and
3.Mahabharata which were written in first millennium BCE.
Among the Indian literary personnel, the name of Bengali
writer Rabindra Nath Tagore shines the brightest. He
became the first Indian to receive Nobel Prize for his literary
genius. 

 The first ever literary scripts produced in ancient India were the Vedas
(sacred texts of the Brahmans) that are based on Hinduism.

 They comprise of verses written in Sanskrit, the primary sacred language

of Hinduism, and were handed down orally from one generation to the
other. 

 The scripts written in Sanskrit are the Hindu epics – Ramayana and
Mahabharata.
Background

Religions.

Indian creativity is evident in religion as the country is the

birthplace of two important faiths:

1. Hinduism, the dominant religion,

2.Buddhism, which ironically became extinct in India but spread throughout
Asia.

1. Hinduism, literally “the belief of the people of India,” 

 is the predominant faith of India and of no other nation.
 Attaining heaven (Mukti) and Reincarnation are the two main focus of
Hinduism.
 Charity (Dana) is the concept that is emphasized in Vedas to attain
heaven according to the doctrine of Karma. 
 The Hindus are deeply absorbed with God and the creation of the
universe. 
The Hindus regard Purusha, 
 the Universal Spirit, as the soul and original source of the universe. 
 As the universal soul, Purusha is the life-giving principle in all animated
beings. 
 As a personified human being, Purusha's body is the source of all
creation. 

The four Varnas serve as the theoretical basis for the organization of the
Hindu society. These were thought to have been created from Purusha’s
body:

1. The Brahman (priest) was Purusha’s mouth. 

Their duty is;
a. to perform sacrifices
b. to study and to teach the Vedas, and
c. to guard the rules of dharma. 

Because of their sacred work, they are supreme

in purity and rank.

2. The Ksatriyas (warriors) are the arms of Purusha. 

From this class arose the kings who are the
protectors of society.

3. The Vaisyas (peasants) are the thighs of Purusha. 

They live by;

a. trading,
b. herding, and
c. farming.

4. The Sudras (serfs) are the feet.

1. They engage in handicrafts and manual occupation and

2. they are to serve meekly the three classes above them.
3. They are strictly forbidden to mate with

 persons of a higher varna.

2. Buddhism
 originated in India in the 6th century B.C. 
 This religion is based on the teachings of Siddhartha Gautama, called
Buddha, or the ‘Enlightened One.’ 
 Much of Buddha’s teaching is focused on

a. self-awareness and
b. self-development in order to attain nirvana or
enlightenment. 
According to Buddhist beliefs, human beings are bound to the wheel of life
which is a continual cycle of birth, death, and suffering.

This cycle is an effect of karma in which a person’s present life and

experiences are the result of past thoughts and actions, and these present
thoughts and actions likewise create those of the future. 

The Buddhist scriptures uphold the Four Noble Truths and the Noble Eight-
fold Path. 

The Four Noble Truths are:

1. life is suffering;
2. the cause of suffering is desire
3. the removal of desire is the removal of suffering; and
4. the Noble Eightfold Path leads to the end of suffering. 

The Noble Eightfold Path consists of:

1. right understanding;
2. right thought;
3. right speech;
4. right action;
5. right means of livelihood;
6. right effort;
7. right concentration;
8. right meditation. 

 The Buddhist truth states that bad actions and bad feelings such as
selfishness, greed, hostility, hate are evil not because they harm others
 but because of their negative influence on the mental state of the doer. It
is in this sense that evil returns to punish the doer. 

 The Dhammapada (Way of Truth) is an anthology of basic Buddhist

teaching in a simple aphoristic style. 

One of the best-known is

 Pali Buddhist canon, it contains 423

stanzas arranged in 26 chapters. 
 These verses are compared with the
Letters of St. Paul in the Bible or that of
Christ’s Sermon on the Mount. Literary
Periods. 

 The Indus Valley civilization flourished in

northern India between 2500 and 1500
B.C. 
 The Aryans, a group of nomadic warriors
and herders, were the earliest known
migrants into India.
 They brought with them a well-developed
language and literature and a set of
religious beliefs.

1. Vedic Period (1500 B.C. –500 B.C.). 

 This period is named for the Vedas,
 a set of hymns that formed the cornerstone of Aryan culture. 
 Hindus consider the Vedas, which were transmitted orally by priests, to be
the most sacred of all literature for they believe these to have been
revealed to humans directly by the gods. 

The Rigveda
 which has come to mean “hymns of supreme sacred knowledge,” 
 is the foremost collection or Samhita made up of 1,028 hymns. 
 The oldest of the Vedas, it contains strong, energetic, non-speculative
hymns, often comparable to the psalms in the Old Testament. The Hindus
regard these hymns as divinely inspired or ‘heard’ directly from the gods.

2. Epic and Buddhist Age (500 B.C. – A.D.). 

The period of composition of the two great epics,

Mahabharata and the Ramayana. 

Ramayana. - This time was also the growth of

a. later Vedic literature,
b. new Sanskrit literature, and
c. Buddhist literature in Pali. 

The Mahabharata
 considered the greatest epic of India. 
 It tells the story of a civil war that might have taken place in the early
years of the Aryan occupation of India. Obviously, the products of many
centuries and many hands, 
 it is a long poem, almost as long as the combined epics of all Europe. 

 The Mahabharata tells of two rival bands of brothers, descendants of a

common grandfather King Panda. 
 When he died, he left his five sons in the care of his brother who was to
be regent while his sons were still minors. 
 The regent himself had many sons, and they coveted the kingdom for
themselves. 
 The result was a period of intrigues and battles which resulted in the exile
of the five brothers. 

The Bhagavad Gita (The Blessed Lord’s Song) is

 one of the greatest and most
beautiful of the Hindu scriptures.

 It is regarded by the Hindus in
somewhat the same way as the
Gospels are by Christians. 
 It forms part of Book IV and is
written in the form of a dialogue
between the warrior Prince
Arjuna and his friend and
charioteer, Krishna, who is also
an earthly incarnation of the god
Vishnu. 

The Ramayana
 was composed in Sanskrit, probably not before 300 BC, by the poet
Valmiki
 It consists of some 24,000 couplets divided into seven books. 
 Ramayana is the story of Rama, the reincarnation of Lord Vishnu. 
 It reflects the Hindu values and forms of social organization, the theory of
karma, the ideals of wifehood, and feelings about caste, honor and
promises. 
The Ramayana recounts the adventures of Rama and his wife Sita.Legend
has it that Sita was born of a furrow, the child of Mother Earth. Sita is
regarded by the woman of India as the perfect symbol of wifely devotion
and self-sacrifice for the beloved.

3. Classical Period (A.D. – 1000 A.D.). 

 The main literary language of northern India during this period was
Sanskrit, in contrast with the Dravidian languages of southern India. 
 Sanskrit, which means ‘perfect speech’ is considered a sacred language,
the language spoken by the gods and goddesses. 
 As such, Sanskrit was seen as the only appropriate language for the
noblest literary works. Poetry and drama peaked during this period. a.
 Beast fables such as the Panchatantra were popular and often used by
religious teachers to illustrate moral points. 

The Panchatantra is a collection of Indian

beast fables originally written in Sanskrit. In
Europe, the work was known under the title
The Fables of Bidpai after the narrator, and
Indian sage named Bidpai, (called
Vidyapati in Sanskrit). It is intended as a
textbook of artha (worldly wisdom); the
aphorisms tend to glorify shrewdness and
cleverness more than helping of others.
The original text is a mixture of Sanskrit
prose and stanzas of verse, with the
stories contained within one of five frame
stories. The introduction, which acts as an
enclosing frame for the entire work,
attributes the stories to a learned Brahman
named Vishnusarman, who used the form
of animal fables to instruct the three dull-
witted sons of a king.

• Sakuntala, a Sanskrit drama by Kalidasa, tells
of the love between Sakuntala and King
Dushyanta. What begins as a physical attraction
for both of them becomes spiritual in the end as
their love endures and surpasses all difficulties.
King Dushyanta is a noble and pious king who
upholds his duties above personal desire.
Sakuntala, on the other hand, is a young girl
who matures beautifully because of her
kindness, courage, and strength of will. After a
period of suffering, the two are eventually
reunited. Emotion or rasa dominates every
scene in Sanskrit drama. These emotions vary
from love to anger, heroism to cowardice, joy to
terror and allows the audience to take part in the
play and be one with the characters.

• The Little Clay Cart is attributed to Shudraka, a king. The characters in this
play include a Brahman merchant who has lost his money through liberality, a
rich courtesan in love with a poor young man, much description of resplendent
palaces, and both comic and tragic or near tragic emotional situations.

4. Medieval and Modern Age (A.D. 1000 – present). Persian influence on

literature was considerable during this period. Persian was the court language
of the Moslem rulers. In the 18th century India was directly under the British
Crown and remained so until its Independence in 1947. British influence was
strong and modern-day Indians are primarily educated in English. Many have
been brought into the world of Western learning at the expense of learning
about their own culture.

• Gitanjali: Song Offerings was originally published in India in 1910 and its
translation followed in 1912. In these prose translations, Rabindranath Tagore
uses imagery from nature to express the themes of love and the internal
conflict between spiritual longings and earthly desires.

• The Taj Mahal, a poem by Sahir Ludhianvi, is

about the mausoleum in North India built by the
Mogul emperor Shah Jahan for his wife Mumtaz-i-
Mahal. The façade of this grandiose structure is
made of white marble and is surrounded by water
gardens, gateways, and walks. The tomb at the
center of the dome stands on a square block with
towers at each corner. The construction of the
building took twenty years to complete involving
some 20, 000 workers.

• On Learning to be an Indian an essay by Santha Rama Rau illustrates the

telling effects of colonization on the lives of the people particularly the younger
generation. The writer humorously narrates the conflicts that arise between
her grandmother's traditional Indian values and the author’s own British
upbringing.

Characteristics of Indian Literature

1. Indian literature is based on piety, a deeply religious spirit. Indians believe

that a knowledge of gods and a strong belief in Hinduism is necessary to save
mankind. Their earliest poems, the Vedas, are the Bible of the Indians.

2. Indian literary masterpieces are written in epic form, corresponds to the

great epochs in the history of India. The Ramayana by Valmiki and the
Mahabharata by Ved Vyasa are regarded as the greatest and most important
Sanskrit epics; the latter is the longest epic in the world. The Indians believe
in reincarnation, meaning that the soul of a person after death returns to the
earth in the body of another person, animal or even a plant. Consequently,
they believe in kindness to other people and to animals. They also abstain
from destroying plants because in that plant might be reincarnated one’s dead
relative.

Their gods are believed to be reincarnated into human beings or even

animals. Thus, the Ramayana is about the reincarnation of the creator god
Vishnu in the person of Rama, who is a hero of the epic. The Mahabharata
deals with another reincarnation of Vishnu in the person of Krishna. These
reincarnations of Vishnu are called avatars or descending from the god.
Vishnu is supposed to have ten avatars. Nine avatars have already taken
place, and the tenth is yet to come. When this last avatar takes place, Vishnu
will descend from heaven to destroy the present world and restore peace and
purity.
Major Writers

1. Kalidasa a Sanskrit poet and dramatist is probably the greatest Indian

writer of all time. As with most classical Indian authors, little is known about
Kalidasa’s person or his historical relationships. His poems suggest that he
was a Brahman (priest). Many works are traditionally ascribed to the poet, but
scholars have identified only six as genuine.

2. Rabindranath Tagore (1861-1941). The son of a Great Sage, Tagore is a

Bengali poet and mystic who won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1913.
Tagore managed his father's estates and lived in close contact with the
villagers. His sympathy for their poverty and backwardness was later reflected
in his works. The death of his wife and two children brought him years of
sadness but this also inspired some of his best poetry. Tagore is also a gifted
composer and a painter.

3. Prem Chand pseudonym of Dhanpat Rai Srivastava (1880-1936). Indian

author of numerous novels and short stories in Hindi and Urdu who pioneered
in adapting Indian themes to Western literary styles. He worked as a teacher
before joining Mahatma Gandhi’s anticolonial Noncooperation Movement.

• Sevasadana (House of Service). His first major novel deals with the
problems of prostitution and moral corruption among the Indian middle class. •
Manasarovar (The Holy Lake). A collection of 250 or so short stories which
contains most of Prem Chand’s best works.

• Godan (The Gift of a Cow). This last novel was Prem Chand’s masterpiece
and it deals with his favorite theme – the hard and unrewarding life of the
village peasant.

4. Vir Singh (1872-1957). A Sikh writer and theologian, he wrote at a time

when Sikh religion and politics and the Punjabi language were under heavy
attack by the English and Hindus. He extolled Sikh courage, philosophy, and
ideals, earning respect for the Punjabi language as a literary vehicle.

• Kalghi Dhar Chamatkar. This novel is about the life of the 17th century
guru Gobind Singh.
• Other novels on Sikh philosophy and martial excellence include Sundri
(1898) and Bijai Singh (1899).
UNIT 6:

PERSIAN LITERATURE

Among the oldest in the world, the literature of Persia spans thousands of
years, and has influenced the literary works of many other cultures. This
refers to literary writings in the Persian language, nearly all of it written in the
area traditionally known as Persia, now Iran.

The greatest and most influential work is the Shahnameh – the Persian Book
of Kings – written by the poet Abolqasem Ferdowsi between 977-1010 CE.
The Shahnameh epitomizes the spirit of Persian literature, up through the
present day, in that it preserves the ancient stories of the past while keeping
them relevant for every new generation who reads them (Mark, 2020). Before
we discuss Persian literature further, let us first learn about the ancient
Persian Empire.

The Persian Empire

The Persian Empire is the name given to a series of

dynasties centered in modern-day Iran that
spanned several centuries—from the sixth
century B.C. to the twentieth century A.D. The
first Persian Empire, founded by Cyrus the
Great around 550 B.C., became one of the
largest empires in history, stretching from
Europe’s Balkan Peninsula in the West to India’s
Indus Valley in the East. This Iron Age dynasty,
sometimes called the Achaemenid Empire, was a
global hub of culture, religion, science, art and technology for
more than 200 years before it fell to the invading armies of Alexander the
Great.
Cyrus the Great

The Persian Empire started as a collection of semi-nomadic tribes who raised

sheep, goats and cattle on the Iranian plateau. Cyrus the Great—the leader of
one such tribe—began to defeat nearby kingdoms, including Media, Lydia and
Babylon, joining them under one rule. He founded the first Persian Empire,
also known as the Achaemenid Empire, in 550 B.C.

The first Persian Empire under Cyrus the Great soon became the world’s first
superpower. It united under one government three important sites of early
human civilization in the ancient world: Mesopotamia, Egypt’s Nile Valley and
India’s Indus Valley.

Cyrus the Great is immortalized in the Cyrus Cylinder, a clay cylinder

inscribed in 539 BC with the story of how he conquered Babylon from King
Nabonidus, bringing an end to the Neo Babylonian empire.

Persian Culture

The ancient Persians of the Achaemenid

Empire created art in many forms, including
metalwork, rock carvings, weaving and
architecture. The history of carpet weaving
in Persia dates back to the nomadic tribes.
The ancient Greeks prized the artistry of
these hand- woven rugs— famous for their
elaborate design and bright colors. Today,
most Persian rugs are made of
wool, silk, and cotton.

Persepolis

The ancient Persian capital city of Persepolis, situated in southern Iran, ranks
among the world’s greatest archeological sites. It was named a UNESCO
World Heritage Site in 1979.

The Achaemenian palaces of Persepolis were built upon massive terraces.

They were decorated with ornamental facades that included the long rock
relief carvings for which the ancient Persians were famous.

Persian Religion

Many people think of Persia as

synonymous with Islam, but Islam only
became the dominant religion in the
Persian Empire after the Arab
conquests of the seventh century. The
first Persian Empire was shaped by a
different religion: Zoroastrianism, which
was named after the Persian prophet Zoroaster. One of the world's oldest
monotheistic religions, it is still practiced today as a minority religion in parts of
Iran and India. It taught its followers to
worship one god instead of the many deities worshipped by earlier Indo-
Iranian groups.

The Achaemenian kings were devout Zoroastrians. By most accounts, Cyrus

the Great was a tolerant ruler who allowed his subjects to speak their own
languages and practice their own religions. While he ruled by the Zoroastrian
law of Asha (truth and righteousness), he didn’t impose Zoroastrianism on the
people of Persia’s conquered territories.

Subsequent rulers in the Achaemenid Empire followed Cyrus the Great’s

hands- off approach to social and religious affairs, allowing Persia’s diverse
citizenry to continue practicing their own ways of life. This period of time is
sometimes called the Pax Persica, or Persian Peace.

The Persian Language

The Old Persian of the Achaemenian

Empire, preserved in a number of
cuneiform inscriptions, was an Indo-
European tongue with close affinities
with Sanskrit and Avestan (the
language of the Zoroastrian sacred
texts). After the fall of the Achaemenians the ancient tongue developed, in the
province of Pars, into Middle Persian or Pahlavi. Pahlavi was used
throughout the Sassanian period, though little now remains of what must once
have been a considerable literature. About a hundred Pahlavi texts survive,
mostly on religion and all in prose. Pahlavi collections of romances, however,
provided much of the material for Ferdowsi's Shahnameh.

After the Arab conquest a knowledge of Arabic became necessary, for it was
not only the language of the new rulers and their state, but of the religion they
brought with them and - later- of the new learning. Though Pahlavi continued
to be spoken in private life, Arabic was dominant in official circles for a century
and a half. With the weakening of the central power, a modified form of
Pahlavi emerged, with its Indo-European grammatical structure intact but
simplified, and with a large infusion of Arabic words. This was the Modem
Persian in use today.

Arabic continued to be employed in Iran, though on a decreasing scale, as

Latin was used in Europe -that is, as a language of the learned. The use of
Arabic declined and Persian developed rapidly to become the vehicle of a
great literature, and before, long spread its influence to neighboring lands like
India and Turkey. Persian heavily influenced the language and literature of
Turkey. Even the Turkish verse was based on Persian models as regards
form and style, and borrowed an extensive vocabulary.

The Fall of the Persian Empire

The Persian Empire entered a period of decline after a failed invasion of
Greece by Xerxes I in 480 BC. The costly defense of Persia’s lands depleted
the empire’s funds, leading to heavier taxation among Persia’s subjects.

The Achaemenid dynasty finally fell to the invading armies of Alexander the
Great of Macedon in 330 B.C. Subsequent rulers sought to restore the
Persian Empire to its Achaemenian boundaries, though the empire never
quite regained the enormous size it had achieved under Cyrus the Great.

Characteristics of Persian Literature

• There is exceptional prominence of poetry. Until quite recently there was

practically no drama, and no novels were written; prose works were mostly
confined to history, geography, philosophy, religion, ethics and politics, and it
was poetry that formed the chief outlet for artistic expression.

• Classical Persian literature was produced almost entirely under royal

patronage.

• It was also highly influenced by religion, and in particular Sufism, which

inspired the remarkably high proportion of mystical poetry.

History of Persian Literature

The richness of Persian literature, one of the world’s oldest, can be traced
back to medieval classical Persian. Beginning in the tenth century and lasting
well into the sixteenth century, classical Persian poetry and prose flourished.
During this classical period, poetry became the dominant form of literary
expression. It was the medium in which almost all intellectual pursuits were
expressed, a tradition often supported by royal patronage.

By the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries, increased contact with Europe,

especially with Russia and Britain, changed the traditions of writing poetry,
literature, and history.

However, Persian-speaking communities, which had for centuries prized

Persian calligraphy as a high art form, did not immediately adopt the printing
press. From the mid nineteenth century to the early twentieth century
lithography became the preferred medium used to print Persian books, since
it could better replicate calligraphic styles.

During the early modern period, Persian literature evolved to include genres in
prose such as short stories, novels, satire, and humor. Persian writers
introduced new themes related to nationalism and national identity. Free
verse poetry also found an audience among the new literary elites. Prose
became an important literary form and flourished in the twentieth and the
twenty-first centuries. The number of authors greatly increased, and women
writers gained much higher visibility. Today, Persian writers, some using
regional and national variations of the Persian language, continue to create
poetry, prose, novels, short stories, essays, and children’s stories.

Persian Poetry
From the tenth century to the sixteenth century
Persian classical poetry developed as a literary
language by adapting the meter and rhyme
scheme of the Arabic poetic tradition. Even the
written works by philosophers, historians, and
scientists were often delivered in verse. Classical
Persian poetry is always rhymed. The principal
verse forms are:

• Qasideh or Ode - is a long poem in monorhyme, usually of a panegyric,

didactic or religious nature;

• Masnavi - is written in rhyming couplets, is employed for heroic, romantic, or

narrative verse;

• Ghazal (ode or lyric) - is a comparatively short poem, usually amorous or

mystical and varying from four to sixteen couplets, all on one rhyme; and

• Ruba'I - is a quatrain with a particular meter, and a collection of quatrains is

called "Rubaiyat" (the plural of ruba'i).

Persian Poets

1. Rudaki - Often referred to as the father of modern

Persian poetry, is regarded as the first great literary
genius of modern Persian and the founder of Persian
classical literature. He is regarded as the national
symbol and poet of Tajikistan, his birthplace. He
helped launch a revival of the Persian language and
the development of modern Persian in the modified
Arabic script. He wrote a very large quantity of verse, of
which but little has survived. His style was direct, simple and
unadorned, and appeals more to modem tastes.

Daqiqi - A composer of epics, Daqiqi was commissioned

to write a work on the ancient kings of Persia, but only
completed a thousand couplets before his death. Some of these were later
incorporated in the celebrated Shahnameh.

Omar Khayyam - He is the best-known Persian poet in

the West, the best known and most appreciated Persian
poet in Europe and America. In the Muslim world,
however, Khayyam is more often identified with his
scientific works rather than his literary
accomplishments. When Fitzgerald's translation of his
work Rubaiyat made him suddenly popular in the west
the Iranians began to reassess his merits as a poet.

Rumi - Often referred to by his honorary name

Mawlana (Mevlana), he left behind a number of
works in prose, but his two masterpieces of Persian
poetry, the Masn̲avī-i (Spiritual Couplets) and his
Divān-i Shams-i Tabrīz (Mystical Anthology) have
come to represent the spiritual blueprints of Sufi
thought to Persian speakers.

Jami - Universally regarded as the last eminent figure in the

history of classical Persian literature, Jami was man of
considerable erudition as well as of poetic genius. He
produced some forty-five works, of which the best known
are the Baharistan, the Divan, and the Haft Aurang or
Seven Thrones, a series of four didactic works and three
romances (Salaman o Absal, Yosef o Zoleikha and Laila
o Majnoun).

Saeb - the greatest literary figure of the seventeenth

century, is considered by some to be the best
Persian poet after Jami. In early life he spent some
time in India as court poet to the Moghul emperor
Shah Jahan, and returned to Iran to become poet
laureate to Shah Abbas II. Saeb was a vivid and
original poet who infused fresh life into the old forms
and founded a new school.
UNIT 7:

JAPANESE LITERATURE

Spanning a period of almost two millennia and comprising one of the major
literatures in the world, Japanese literature is comparable to English
literature in age and scope. 

 Japanese Literature is one of the major literatures of the world

comparable to English literature in age and variety. 

 Japanese literature is one of the major bodies of Oriental Literature. It is

less voluminous than Chinese Literature, but comparable to Arabic,
Persian and Indian Literature. It covers the period from the fifth century
A.D to the present.

 Early Japan borrowed much from Chinese culture but evolved its own
character over time.

 Early Japan’s political structure was based on clan, or family. Each clan
developed a hierarchy of classes with aristocrats, warriors, and priests at
the top and peasants and workers at the bottom. 

 During the 4th century A.D. the Yamato grew to be most powerful and
imposed the Chinese imperial system on Japan creating an emperor, an
imperial bureaucracy, and a grand capital city.

History of Japanese Literature

1. The Nara Period - Japanese literature traces its beginnings to oral
traditions that were first recorded in written form in the early eighth century
after a writing system was introduced from China. The Kojiki or Record of
Ancient Matters (an anthology of myths, legends, and other stories) and Nihon
shoki or Chronicle of Japan (a chronological record of history) were completed
in 712 and 720, respectively, as government projects. The Fudoki or Records
of Wind and Earth, compiled by provincial officials beginning in 713, describe
the history, geography, products, and folklore of the various provinces.

The most brilliant literary product of this period was the Manyoshu (Collection
of Ten Thousand Leaves), an anthology of 4,500 poems composed by people
ranging from unknown commoners to emperors and compiled around 759.

2 .The Heian Period (794–1185) was the period of peace and prosperity, of
aesthetic refinement and artificial manners. The emperor began to diminish in
power but continued to be a respected figure.

 Since the Japanese court had few official responsibilities, they were able
to turn their attention to art, music, and literature. 

 is noted for the Kokinshu (905), an anthology of poetry commissioned by

the emperor; its preface paid high tribute to the vast possibilities of
literature. It has provided a pattern for tanka or short poems comprising of
31 syllables (5-7-5-7-7). 

 Classical prose developed during this

period and accounts of court life
flourished. The most significant work was
Murasaki Shikibu's Genji monogatari
(The Tale of Genji), the first true novel
ever written. It is a psychological novel
that takes a look into what court life was
like during the Heian period. 
 Another author during the period was Sei Shonagon, wrote Makura no
soshi (The Pillow Book), a diverse collection of jottings and essays.

2. The Kamakura-Muromachi Period

In

the
latter half of the twelfth century warriors of the Taira clan (Heike) seized
political power at the imperial court, virtually forming a new aristocracy. Heike
mono-gatari (The Tale of the Heike), which depicts the rise and fall of the
Taira with the spotlight on their wars with the Minamoto clan (Genji), was
completed in the first half of the thirteenth century. It is a grand epic deeply
rooted in Buddhist ethics and filled with sorrow for those who perished,
colorful descriptions of its varied characters, and stirring battle scenes. In
former times the tale was narrated to the accompaniment of a Japanese lute.

The Shin kokin wakashu (New Collection of Poems from Ancient and
Modern Times), an anthology of poetry commissioned by retired Emperor Go-
Toba, was also completed around this time; it is dedicated to the pursuit of a
subtle, profound beauty far removed from the mundane reality of civil strife. 

The Nō drama was refined, and ‘war tales’, such as Heike Monogatari, were
developed. It is a highly sophisticated dance, music, dramatic form with
important religious connections to all the religions of premodern Japan. The
Nō drama was influenced by Zen, and the actors were originally Buddhist
priests. The plots were taken chiefly from Japanese mythology and poetry. It
seeks to convey a moment of experience or insight. It is highly
stylized and uses masks, music, dance and song.

3. The Edo Period 1603-1868

 Also known as the Tokugawa Period, it was around this time that the
function of literature as a means of social intercourse broadened.
Composing renga (successive linked verses by several people forming a
long poem) became a favorite pastime, and this gave birth to haikai (a
sort of humorous renga) in the sixteenth century. It was the renowned
 seventeenth century poet Matsuo Basho who perfected a new condensed
poetic form of 17 syllables (5-7-5) known as haiku, an embodiment of
elegant simplicity and tranquility.

4. The Meiji Period to present

 It was when the unification of the written and spoken language was
advocated.

 Futabatei Shimei 's Ukigumo (Drifting Clouds) won acclaim as a new form
of novel. In poetry circles the influence of translated foreign poems led to
a "new style" poetry movement, and the scope of literary forms continued
to widen. 

 Akutagawa Ryunosuke, wrote many superb novelettes based on his

detailed knowledge of the Japanese classics. His suicide in 1927 was
seen as a symbol of the agony Japan was experiencing in the process of
rapid , a major theme of modern Japanese literature. 

 In 1968 Kawabata Yasunari became the first Japanese to win the Nobel
Prize for literature, and Oe Kenzaburo won it in 1994.

Reading Material: “The Madman on the Roof” by Kikuchi Kan (Hiroshi

Kikuchi)

Madmad on the roof the story is about a father

who was deeply concerned about his son, who
always climbs on the roof for reasons they
could not understand.

Characters:
Yoshitaro – the 24-year old madman who climbed up the roof suejiro –
yoshitaro’s 17-year old younger brother who was a high school student
gisuke – their father, who was the richest on the island
oyoshi – their mother
tosaku – their neighbor
kichiji – the family’s 20-year old manservant
priestess – believed to be a holy woman of about fifty years of age
The story opens with gisuke asking their servant, kichiji, to help bring yoshi
down safely from the roof. However, yoshi refuses as he claims to be seeing
shonenbo, priest of the god kompira (the god of merchant sailors) is dancing
in a cloud with the angels. Both gisuke and kichiji thought that yoshi was
talking nonsense and that he was under the influence of
an evil spirit.

They mentioned several possible reasons for an evil spirit to cause this until a
neighbor, tosaku, suggested that they enlist the help of a powerful priestess.
She prayed for yoshi, then claimed that it was an evil fox spirit that is
influencing him. She, then asked gisuke and kichiji to hang yoshitaro up on a
branch of tree to “purify” Him with the smoke of green pine needles. They
obeyed and did exactly that, until suejiro, yoshi’s tounger brother came and
stopped them. He exposed that the “priestess” Was a fraud and that she was
only conning them for money. He even went and literally kicked her for
keeping up with the pretense. He argued that if the real doctors couldn’t cure
his brother, no one could. Ending: Suejiro joined his brother on the roof. He
affectionately talked with yoshitaro, entertained his imaginary stories, and
watched the sunset with him.

In the end, his brother showed deep love and compassion for him and he
seemed to share those feelings for his brother as well. So, the story may
convey many different meanings.

Among them may be the following:

1. A person may be a madman, but he is able to see and appreciate the

beauty of things that normal people tend to take for granted or ignore. “a
madman who sees the beauty of a sunset is far better off than a sane man
who doesn’t.”

2. Despite what everyone might think or say, a person only needs one to
believe and listen to him or her to feel better and carry on.

Haiku

A traditional Japanese haiku is a three-line

poem with seventeen syllables, written in a 5/7/5
syllable count. Often focusing on images from
nature, haiku emphasizes simplicity, intensity,
and directness of expression. Below is a famous
haiku written by Matsuo Basho.

An old pond!

A frog jumps in—

 the sound of water.

As the form has evolved, many of its regular traits—including its famous
syllabic pattern—have been routinely broken. However, the philosophy of
haiku has been preserved: the focus on a brief moment in time; a use of
provocative, colorful images; an ability to be read in one breath;
and a sense of sudden enlightenment.

Other examples of a Haiku

1. The light of a candle

is transferred to another candle—
spring twilight. (by Yosa Buson)

2. A world of dew, And within every dewdrop

A world of struggle. (by Kobayashi Issa)

3. Over the wintry

Forest, winds howl in rage
With no leaves to blow. (by Natsume Sōseki)