AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

Lecture Notes/ Reviewer by: FGMR2019

OBJECTIVES:
 Explore literary selections from Afro-
Asian countries

 Show appreciation of the writings of

great Africans and Asians

 Discover literature as a means of

understanding others’ culture and of
developing sensitivity and diversity
Behind every story is the human
being. Behind every human being
is the race. Behind every race is
the whole world of humankind.
 AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

refers to the literary output of the various

countries and cultures in Africa and Asia.
This includes their oral traditions and from
the first to the contemporary written and/or
published prose and poetry.
 AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE
mirrors not only the customs and traditions
of African and Asian countries but also their
philosophy of life which on the whole are
deeply and predominantly contemplative and
hauntingly sweet
is the reflection of the storm and the stress
of developing nations seeking a place under
the sun which readers must understand so
they may know how this literature affects the
history and culture of a nation.
 AFRICAN LITERATURE

 rich in oral traditions

 Oral traditions are messages passed down through

speech or song and may take the form of folktales
and fables, epic histories and narrations, proverbs or
sayings, and songs. They help people make sense
of the world, teach children and adults about
important aspects of their culture, and guide social
and human morals -- giving people a sense of place
and purpose.
Oral traditions - have a strong influence
on modern African literature. The
most successful African writers know
what to do with the oral tradition, and
understand how its structures and
images can be transformed to a literary
mode.They place their literary works
into the forms of the oral tradition.
African literature can be divided into three distinct
categories:
precolonial, colonial and postcolonial.

Precolonial literature - often takes the form of oral

narratives that are sometimes accompanied by music
and center around the trickster figure.

Colonial literature - examines the horrors of slavery

and the slave trade, revolting against colonialism and
drawing inspiration from Africa's past.

Postcolonial literature - focuses on the clash

between indigenous and colonial cultures, expressing
hope for Africa's future.
Some of the first African writings to gain attention in
the West were slave narratives, which described
vividly the horrors of slavery and the slave trade. As
Africans became literate in their own languages,
they often reacted against colonial repression in
their writings. As Africans began demanding their
independence, more African writers were published.
They often shared the same themes: the clash
between indigenous and colonial cultures,
condemnation of European suppression, pride
in the African past, and hope for the continent's
independent future.
 Famous Writers

 Mariama Ba - So Long a Letter (novel)

- Scarlet Song (novel)

 Buchi Emecheta - In the Ditch (autobiographical novel)

- The Second Class Citizen
- The Joys of Motherhood
- The New Tribe

 Bessie Head - When Rain Clouds Gather (novel)

- Maru (novel)
- A Question of Power (novel)
 Famous Writers

 Wole Soyinka -(Nobel Prize in Literature 1986)

- The Man Died: Prison Notes (memoir)
- Mandela's Earth and Other Poems

 Chinua Achebe - Things Fall Apart (novel)

 Nadine Gordimer - (Nobel Prize in Literature)

- Burger's Daughter (novel)

 Ayi Kwei Armah - The Beautyful Ones Are Not Yet Born
(novel)
 ASIAN LITERATURE

study of the literature of the people in:

1. China
2. India
3. Japan
4. Other small nations that surround
them
 ASIAN LITERATURE
China

 has very ancient beginnings

 began about 5,000 years ago and has recorded the dreams
abd visions of a people who number about half of all the
people of the world
 Chinese recognize FIVE BOOKS which they call the
Chinese classics.
The Book of Changes form the
The Book of History foundaton of
The Book of Rites their cultural,
The Book of Odes political and
The Spring and Autumn Annals traditional life
 ASIAN LITERATURE
China
 China has a wealth of classical literature whose
compilation is atributed to CONFUCUIS.

 Two forms of literature in China:

Poetry - most highly regarded literary genre; divided
into Shi, Ci and Qu. There is also a kind of prose-
poem.
Prose - neo-classical style of prose influenced prose
writing for the next 800 years
 ASIAN LITERATURE
China
Famous Writers:

Zhuang Zi - The Great Happiness

On Arranging Things

Mo Zi - Against Confucianism
The Ethical and Political Works of Motse

Sima Qian - Annals of Spring and Autumn

The Records of Grand Historian ( Shiji)

Wen Yiduo - Red Candle

The Dead Water
 ASIAN LITERATURE
Egypt
 Egyptian novelists and poets were among the firsts to experiment with
modern styles of Arabic literature and the forms they developed have
been widely imitated throughout the Middle East.

 Vernacular Poetry - most popular literary genre among Egyptians.

 Egyptians were the first culture to develop a book. The Nile had a strong
influence on the writing of the ancient Egyptians.

 LIterary Forms:
Secular Literature - short stories
Instructive Literature - Wisdom texts
Poems
Biological and Historical texts
Scientific Treaties - Mathematical and Medical Texts
 ASIAN LITERATURE
Egypt
Famous Writers:

Nawal El Saadawi - Memoirs of a Woman Doctor

God dies by the Nile

Naguib Mahfouz - The Day the Leader was Killed

Wedding Song

Salah Jaheen - Ruba'iyat

Dawawin Salah Jahin

Muhammad Husaya Haykal - Biographies of Egyptian and Western

Personalities
In the House of Revelation
 ASIAN LITERATURE
India
 As early as 300 B.C., India had already produced a considerable body
of literature written in several Indian tongues derived from a common
ancestral language - Sanskrit

 Sanskrit literature begins with the Rig Veda, a collection of sacred

hymns addressed to the Indian gods who are very numerous. They also
contain stories about these gods.

 Hindu literature reveals the inner and outer life of a remarkable people: it
extends from a remote past to the present.

 Two major literaray awards in contemporary Indian literature:

Sahitya Akademi Fellowship
Jnanpith Award
 ASIAN LITERATURE
India
Famous Writers:

RAbindranath Tagore - Gitanjali

Koro-o-Kamal

Bankim Chanra Chatterjee - Vande Mataran

Kapalkundala

Arundhati Roy - The God of Small Things

BAndit Queen

Anita Desai - Fire on the Mountain

The Village by the Sea

Valmiki -Mahabharata two famous epics that have influenced India

Ramayana
 ASIAN LITERATURE
Japan
 one o the major Oriental literature. It is less voluminous
than Chinese literature but comparable to Arabic, Persian
and Indian literature.

 EArly works were heavily influenced by cultural contact

with China and Chinese Literature

 Japanese literature developed into a separate style in its

own rights as Japanese writers began writing their own
works about Japan
 ASIAN LITERATURE
Japan
FAmous Writers:
Murasaki Shikibu (Lady Murasaki) - The Tale of Genji
The Murasaki Shikibu Collection

Sei Shonagon - The Pillow Book

Yasunari Kawabata - Snow Country

Beauty and Sadness

Matsuo Basho - Haiku

MANGA
 ASIAN LITERATURE
Malaysia

 Literature styles changed with the influences of Europeans.

The classical style was eventually replaced in print with
vernacular language

 Serajah Melayu (Malay Annals) - written in the 1500s, the

most important Malaysia literary works and tells the story of
a Malacca sultanate
 ASIAN LITERATURE
Malaysia
Famou Writers:

Uthaya Sankar - Oran Dimensi

Panshayat

Pak Sako - Budak beca

Judi karam

Munshi Abdullah - Hikayat Munshi Abdullah

 ASIAN LITERATURE
Korea
 Korean literature was written in Chinese and in Korean

 Korean literature shows a significant difference before and after

Western influences. In the pre-Western period, literature was
influenced by Shamanism, Buddhism and Confucianism. Under
these influences, individuals accepted the status quo and had a
fatalistic view of life. Early literature depicted a love of nature
and man and held that nature and man are one. Another
special aspect of the early period of Korean literature was that it
began as an oral tradition. Therefore, many literary works, also
tales and legends sung or spoken by the ancestors of various
Korean tribes, were presented at tribal rites, religious festivals,
sacrifices and political gatherings.
 ASIAN LITERATURE
Korea
Korean literature was largely unknown to the world
until the 1980s, when translations of Korean
literary works began to appear in foreign countries.
Since then, the types of works selected for
translation have become increasingly diverse, and
the quality of the translations themselves have
improved steadily. Furthermore, as the translations
principally are being published by overseas
publishers, the translations have became available
to a wider reading public.
 ASIAN LITERATURE
Korea
Famous Writers:

Yi Mun-yoi - Change
Bird with Golden Wings

Linda Sue Park - The Kite Fighters

A Single Shard

King Sejong - Korean Alphabet - hangul

Yongbi Eocheon Ga

KOREAN DRAMA (K-drama)

 ASIAN LITERATURE
Singapore
 comprises a collection of literary works by Singaporeans in any of the
country's four main language: English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil

 Some poets have been labeled Confessional for their personalized

writing, often dealing with intimate issue such as SEXUALITY

 Literary Forms:

Poetry - often deals with intimate issues

Drama
Fiction - Fiction writing in English did not start in earnest until after
independence. Short stories flourished as a literary form, the novel
arrived much later.
 ASIAN LITERATURE
Singapore
FAmous Writers:
CAtherine Lim - The Teardrop Story Woman
The Shadow of a Shadow of a
Dream: Love Stories of Singapore

Su-Chen Christine Lim - The Amah: A Portrait in

Black and White
Hua Song: Stories of the
Chinese Diaspora

Alfian bin Sa'at - Confession of 300 Unmarried Men: Blush

Don't Say I Say
 ASIAN LITERATURE
Thailand

 Early Thai Literature was primarily concerned with religion.

Thai verse was written exclusively by the aristocracy or
royalty.

 Ramakian, (an important Thai Literary work)) a Thai version

of the Indian epic, The Ramayana
 ASIAN LITERATURE
Thailand

Famous Writers:

Dean Barett - Images of Thailand

Girls of Thailand

David YOung - The Scribe

Thailand Joy

Christopher Moore - A Killing Smile

Asia Hand