CHINESE LITERATURE

Confucius Lushi
(Kung Fu Tzu) Specific form of Classical Chinese poetry
Founder of Confucianism One of the most important poetry form
Eight line regulated verse
Woodblock Printing and Movable Type Printing Caesura
Gave rise to Chinese Literature Means Pause
Distinguish Poets
5 CLASSICS OF CONFUCIUS Li Po
▪Classic of Changes Li Bai
Yi King Tu Fu
Manual for divination Greatest Chinese poet
▪Classic of Poetry
Shi King Ci Form
Earliest collection First developed during Tang dynasty
305 poems Ci poetry
A valuable reference Based on the tume of popular songs
▪Classic of History Sanqu Poetry
Shu King Freer form
Collection of documents
Contains formulation of political ideals Mencius
▪Classic of Rites / Classic of Ceremonies Known for Elegant Diction
Li King Zhuang Zi
Collection of texts Known for metaphorical, anecdotal and allegorical style
Voluminous book on etiquette Han Yu
▪The Spring and Autumn Annals/ Advocated the return of Confucian Orthodoxy
Classic of Spring And Autumn Vernacular Fiction
Ch’unch’iu Became popular after 14th Century
Monthly Naraations Dream of the Red Chamber
Cao Xueqin
The Analects Greatest vernacular Novel
Book of sayings
Foundation of Chinese education Modern Literature
Period of active Intellectual Pursuits
Civilized Drama Yajur Veda
Hybrid of Chinese operatic drama “Knowledge of the sacrifice”
Baihua literature A handbook for sacrificial rituals
Uses Colloquial language Sama Veda
Lu Xun “Knowledge of the melodies”
Founder of modern Baihua literature Collection of chants
Maoist Era Atharva Veda
Placed publishing Industry “Knowledge of the fire priest”
Textbook on Life A collection of charms
Reflected historic Changes Mahabharata
Post Mao Era ▪By Vyasa
Publish large number of prose fictional ▪Narrates an ancient tale of war within a family
Literary Magazine Longest Epic poem with 100,000 verses
Became popular to young generations Ramayana
▪By Valmiki
INDIAN LITERATURE ▪About the exile and return of Rama
▪24,000 verses
▪Pakistan, India and Bangladesh were one ▪Known as Adi Kavya (Adi= Original; Kavya=poem)
▪Has 22 Official Languages The Tale of Savitri
Sanskrit ▪Another narrative found in Mahabharata
Ancient language used for writing epics and religious ▪Told to the exiled king of the Pandavas
Texts
▪Most languages used in the south come from Dradivian Japanese Literature
▪Dradivian is a different language family
▪Tamil is a Dradivian Language Manyoga
▪Indian literature incorporate Philosophical and Religious concepts Earliest form of syllabic writing
Buddhism
Vedas Gained much greater importance in Japan
Means “Knowledge in Sanskrit”
Collection of sacred books Nara Period
Most sacred of all literature Considered the Golden Age of Poetry
Rig Veda Kojiki
“Knowledge of the Verses” Known as Records of Ancient Matters
Collection of 1,028 sacred hymns divided to 10 books Contain the early traditions of Japan race
Called Mandalas
 Manyoshu Meiji Period
Known as Collection of Ten Thousand Poems Saw reopening of Japan to the West
Oldest extant anthology of Japan Kioka
Tanka Means Mad Poetry
Short Poem A comic and vulgar variety of tanka
Universal 31 syllables in five lines Higuchi
Choka Wrotes stories of powerless women
Long Poem Kyoka
Undefined 31 syllables Made use of supernatural elements
Shoku-Nihongi
A history Text Modern Period
Nihon Shoki Literature is characterized by denial of worth
Chronicles of Japan The Setting Sun
Second oldest book of classical Japanese history Reflect aftermath of war
Heian Period Abe
Classical age of Japanese Literature Wrote Woman in the Dunes
Period of Kioto (City of Peace) Todo
Largely work of women Won Naoki Prize
Kokinshu Ishiguro
Collection of Ancient and Modern Poems Won Man Booker Prize
An anthology of best poems Murakami
Tale of Genji Most popular and controversial
First Modern Novel Manga
Kamakura Muromachi Period Popular for children and youg adults
Constant sate of warfare
Saw the Buddhist monks as maintainers of learning African Period
Noh drama The primitive African people love to perform ritualistic dances.
a one-act dance performed by male actors African literature is oral in nature has to be recited
Edo Period
Literature was more voluminous Africa
Forms of popular drama developed continent often depicted as exotic
Saw the perfection of Haiku second largest continent
Kabuki houses a variety of ethnic groups
Popular Japanese theatre form People are Polytheistic (believing in more than one god)
Polyrhythmic Fasa and Aksum
African Music features Complex and interlocking These are African territories
Rhythms Were civilized societies that became very influential
Call and response
This refers to the act of having a chorus repeat Dilemma tale
GRIOT This is a form of moral tale that does not have a definite ending
is a learned storyteller and poet Chain tale or cumulative tale
It is a formulaic story, which means it has a pattern
Features of traditional African storytelling
▪It is a communal experience Joseph Hayford
▪Repetition is an important part of the storytelling. Novel is titled Ethiopia Unbound.
▪Tone is a vital part of the storytelling. Herbert Dhlomo
Wrote The Girl Who Killed to Save.
Prose writing is continuous yet systematic. Founder of the Bantu Dramatic Society
Prose is often used to narrate social memories, Ngugi Thiong’o
rules, and history. wrote Black Hermit
A versatile writer
TRICKSTER STORIES Chinua Achebe
the plot usually focuses on large animals tricked by smaller ones wrote the novel Things Fall Apart
Egypt
Centered on a polytheistic society. Five major language families used in African poetry:
Hieroglyphics ▪Afro-Asiatic languages
Greatest contributions of early Egyptians ▪Click languages
Ancient system of writing ▪Niger-Congo languages
Old Ghana ▪Sudanic languages
It is a powerful and affluent kingdom ▪Austronesian languages
Old Mali Leopold Senghor
overtook Old Ghana for supremacy. was a president of Senegal
Songhai Wole Soyinka
This is the last of the great kingdoms. well-known for utilization of English in writing poetry
Timbuktu Nadine Gordimer
This is a city that was part of both the Old Mali and Songhai empires second African writer who won the Nobel Prize for Literature
Served as a major trading center and was home to libraries John Clark
a Nigerian literary critic