ASIAN QUIZ

Assyrian-Asia means east

Asian Lit.-encompasses the rich and widely

diverse cultural and ethnic heritages, literary
products made in continent Asia throughout history.

Countries- China, India, Japan, Vietnam, Korea,

Importance- reflect the similarities

of customs and traditions, provides readers with opportunities to explore various cultures through a
wide variety of literary genres

Characteristic- Religiosity and Spirituality Philosophical and Contemplative art

Theme- Greatly talks about race, injustices, power, nationalism, struggles,love-and in all things at all
tmes,

Genre- Poetry or verse-lyrical, Dramatic prose- such as collecting short stories, Narrative or story- telling
verse like epics, Historical

South Asian Literature -

Indian Literature

Pakistani Literature

Bangladeshi Literature

Sri LankanLiterature

East Asian Literature-

ChineseLiterature

JapaneseLiterature

KoreanLiterature

West Asian Literature

PerssianLiterature

ArabicLiterature

JewishLiterature
TurkishLiterature

Southeast Asian Literature

Thai Literature

PhilippineLiterature

MalaysianLiterature

Indonesian Literature Burmese Literature

Vietnamese Literature

CHINESE LITERATURE

A body of work written in Chinese One of the major literary heritages in the world

Shang Dynasty- in 1765. It is known as "The Red Dragon" The evolution of literary genres is roughly
based on the rise and fall of dynasties. Came under the influence of
Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism.

Shang Dynasty
(1700 BC - 1050 BC)
Development of Chinese writing: hieroglyphic writing on bronze wares and oracle bones.

Zhou Dynasty
(1045-255 BC)
Basic philosophical and religious literature
main contributions of this period to Chinese literature were the prose works of the Confucian Classics
and the Taoist writings, and preserved poems and songs. Spring and Autumn Period (770- 476) and the
Warring States Period (475-221)

Pre-qin Period
prose was prevailing
Poetry originated
Writings were made consist of true feelings and have a freedom to use any kind of format and patterns
Essays and writings penetrated strong political colors .
Famous Writers:
Confucius
Mozi
Mencius

Qin Dynasty
Literary Disaster and Legalism standardized the written Classical Language
Han Dynasty (206 BC – 220 AD)

Prose was further developed Essays combining prose writings and rhymes became more popular, and a
new format "Fu" emerged and developed into the mainstream format of literature.

Tang Dynasty (618-907)

Poetry became popular (has certain rhythms and rhymes that can better express one's thoughts and
emotions.) Known for its conciseness, magnificent words and phrasing. Famous poets:
Li Bai, the "Poet Immorta"
Du Fu, the "Poet Saint"

Song Dynasty (960-1279)

Bai Juyi, the "Poet Magician"; and Li He, the "Poet Wizard"
Poetry evolved into a genre called "Ci"
Ci - song poems for events such as a banquet, with strict rules on the number of sentences and words
and on the
intonation of each word.

Ming (1368-1644) and Qing dynasties

(1644-1911)

Novel prevailed, focusing on the description of characters and reflecting social life through a complete
storyline and environmental description.
The four great classical novels of ancient China:
Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong
Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en

Modern Era (1912-present)

Westernized Literature
politically oriented literature printed

INDIAN
LITERATURE
A body of work written in Indian Language.
One of the most Ancient Literature The Indus Valley Civilization or known as (Harrapan Civilization)
marks the birth of Indian History
Indian Literature was produced on the Indian Subcontinent until 1947, thereafter Republic of India has
22 recognised languages.

WHAT IS THE CORE OF INDIAN

WRITING?
The term Indian literature is used here to refer to literature
produced across the Indian subcontinent prior to the creation of the Republic of India in 1947 and within
the Republic of India after 1947.
The earliest Indian literature took the form of the canonical Hindu sacred writings, known as the Veda,
which were written in Sanskrit.
COMMON GENRE OF INDIAN
LITERATURE

Indian literature can divided in various types namely;

Biography
Poetry
Drama
Novels
Short stories and
Epics.

CHARACTERISTICS OF INDIAN LITERATURE

Indian Literature is based on Piety, a deeply religious spirit.

Masterpiece are written in epic form, corresponds to the great epochs in the history of India.
The earliest works in many languages of Medieval Indian Literature were sectarian, intended to advance
or celebrate certain orthodox regional belief
Writings are produced in a variety of Vernacular Languages.

HINDI LANGUAGE

Hindi is the most spoken

language in India.
It is one of the official
languages of the country.
After Mandarin, Spanish and English, Hindi is also the fourth most spoken language in the world.

BENGALI
LANGUAGE

India's second most spoken language is Bengali.

It was a secular language of old Indo Aryans in the beginning and was influenced by Persian and Arabic.
This language varies in different states, especially in usage,
pronunciation, words, and phonetic form.

MARATHI
LANGUAGETELUGU LANGUAGE

Marathi isan Indo-Aryan language that is spoken as theofficial languageofthe states inthewesternpartof
thecountry, includingGoa andMaharashtra.
Telugu isaDravidian language that is widely spoken in India in many states of the country.
This language is mainly spoken in Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, and Yanam states.

MARATHI WRITINGS
TAMIL
LANGUAGE
The roots of the Tamil language are
associated with the Dravidian language.
Although, it is the official language of both
Singapore and Sri Lanka and is also a
widely spoken language in India.
oldest surviving languages of the world.TAMIL WRITINGSTamil is remarkably known as one of the

JAPANESE
LITERATURE

Japan “The Land of the Rising Sun”

Japanese literature reveals a lot of influence by Chinese literature from the ancient period all the way to
the Edo period (1603-1868) which corresponds to the early modern Japanese literature.
one of the major bodies of Oriental literature. It covers the period from the 5th Century A.D. to the
present. It spans a period of almost two millennia and comprises one of the major literature in the world,
comparable to English literature in age and scope.
It comprises a number of genres, including novels, poetry, and drama, travelogues, personal diaries and
collections of random thoughts and
impressions.
FOUR
PERIODS OF JAPANESE
LITERATURE
ANCIENT LITERATURE
(UNTIL 794)
Before the introduction of kanji from China, there was no Japanese writing system. The earliest
Japanese literary works date to the 8th century and mostly deal with Japanese legends and myths.
FAMOUS WORKS:

Kojiki
- written by O no Yasumaro in the early 8th century
- an important source book for ceremonies, customs,
divination, and magical practices of ancient Japan. It includes
myths, legends, and historical accounts of the imperial court
from the earliest days of its creation up to the reign of
Empress Suiko (628).

Nihon Shoki
- finished in 720 under the editorial supervision of Prince Toneri and with the assistance of Ō no
Yasumaro
- translated as “The Chronicles of Japan”
- second oldest book of classical Japanese history
- explaining the origin of the world and the first seven generations of divine, and goes on with a number
of myths as does the Kojiki, but continues its account through to events of the 8th century.

Man’yoshu
- also called as the “Collection of the Ten Thounsand Leaves” - oldest (c. 759) and greatest of the
imperial anthologies of Japanese poetry
- it is not only a poetic anthology, but also an encyclopedia of Ancient Japanese literature, history,
mythology, religion, and anthropology. It is also the most important source on the Old Japanese
language, its dialects, and historical change.
CLASSICAL LITERATURE (794 – 1185)
Generally refers to literature
produced during the Heian Period, what some would consider a golden era of art and literature.
FAMOUS WORKS:
The Tale of Genji
- early 11th century
- Written by Murasaki Shikibu
- considered the pre-eminent masterpiece of Heian fiction and an early example of a work of fiction in
the form of a novel.

Kokin Wakashu
- is an early anthology of the waka form of Japanese poetry, dating from the Heian Period
- is one of the 21collections of Japanese poems that were compiled by imperial request. This collection
consists of about 1111 Japanese poems written by many authors.
- This collection was divided into 20 books and edited by four court poets, who
The Pillow Book
- written during the 990s by Sei Shonagon
- the work is a collection of essays, anecdotes, poems, and descriptive passages that have little
connection to one another except for the fact that they are ideas and whims of Shōnagon's spurred by
moments in her daily life.

are: Ki no Tsurayuki, Ki no Tomonori, Mibu no Tadamine, and Mitsune Oshikochi

]
MEDIEVAL PERIOD (1185-
1603)

Medieval Japanese literature was

greatly influenced by civil wars
and the emergence of the warrior
class, resulting in the rise of war
tales.

MODERN PERIOD (1603-

PRESENT)

Modern Japanese literature is

typically further divided into early
modern and modern literature. The
first period corresponds to the Edo
period, while the second starts
with the Meiji period (1868-1912)
when Japan opened to the West
and entered the period of
industrialisation.

PERIODS AND
DYNASTIES