University of Eastern Philippines

College of Arts and Communication

Department of Languages and Communication

AFRO-ASIAN
LITERATURE

MARIA CORA E. CABACANG, DALL

Associate Professor III

First Semester 2020-2021

Module 1
MCCABACANG 1
Literatures of Africa

Table of Contents
Page Number
Objectives .............................................. 2
Introduction .............................................. 2
Africa, the Dark Continent .............................................. 2
Racial types .................................................................... 3
The king, head of state .............................................. 3
Literatures of Africa ......................................................... 4
Discussion and Activities ........................................................ 4
The Leopard ........................................................ 5
How the Ethiopian Woman Tamed her Husband ........... 6
Assessment ................................................................... 7
Resources ................................................................... 7

Objectives
At the end of the module , the students are expected to:
1. explain why Africa is considered the dark continent;
2. identify the four racial types of Africa;
3. discuss how the king was revered by the people;
4. read the tales The Leopard and How the Ethiopian
woman tamed her husband;
5. compare and contrast the charaters in the story;
6. write an ending of the story; and
7. illustrate how the Ethiopian woman tamed the lion.

Introduction
Africa, the Dark Continent

Africa is the world’s second largest continent after Asia, covering about one fifth on
the Earth’s total land area. Only artificial divide of the Suez Canal, in Egypt, separates
it from the vast landmass of Europe and Asia. The West African coast curves out into
the stormy waters of the Atlantic Ocean, while the Atlantic Ocean borders the East
African Coast, while the Red Sea and the India Ocean border the East African coast.
The fertile Mediterranean coast gives way to the ranges of the Atlas Mountains in the
northwest and the scorching wilderness of the Sahara, which is the world’s biggest
desert. The river Nile, carrying water from central Africa, has provided a lifeline through
the deserts of Egypt for thousands of years.

MCCABACANG 2
From the 1960’s onwards-African people once again began to rule their own nations,
many of so long. However, the years of foreign rule had left the continent with huge
problem. Most of its people were poor and had received little education or training.

Many countries suffered years of dictatorship and millions of people become refugees
from war, drought and famine. White South Africans refused to give the vote to the
black people who made up most of this nation’s population.

In 1994 hope was brought to the continent when Nelson Mandela became South first
black president.

Africa is one of the last places in the world where great herds of wild animals can still
be seen migrating in their thousands across the plains. In the savanna you can hear
the loud trumpeting of a bull elephant and the roar of a lion at kill. Deep in the equatorial
rainforest are families of gorillas; the immensely powerful yet gentle great apes.

Tragically, wildlife is under threat all over the African continent. Many creatures have
already been haunted to extinction. Their habitats are destroyed and new roads and
cities block their migratory routes.

Why Africa is called the dark continent?

It is not because of the complexion of the original inhabitants but because most people
know very little about it. Africa is not a Dark Continent; it is a land flushing with
sunshine and vivid light. It is the last continent to feel the influence of western
civilization; therefore many people consider it a backward nation.

Racial types in Africa

There are four racial types among the natives of Africa:

1. The first type was the ancestor of the present Bushmen. This race seemed to
have occupied the dry and open spaces, the Sahara Desert, Ethiopia, and the
East African plateau.
2. The Negroes appeared in the thickly forested region in west central Africa.
3. The Pygmies, the third types to appear are supposed to be descended from the
Bushmen or Negroid types.
4. The fourth racial type is race similar to the Caucasian or white race.

King, head of state

Extending right across the Sahara and sub-Sahara region, down the central highland
of Rhodesia, we find an extensive area of land, which seemed from a long time ago to
have had a similar political structure. The head of each state was a king who was
worshipped as a god and to whom divine powers were attached. This king was
secluded from the people; he spoke behind a curtain. Not even the closest of his
friends and officers ever saw him eat, drink, or sleep. This king was not allowed to die
a natural death. When seriously ill or very old, he was poisoned or suffocated. After
death, the royal corpse was embalmed. The funeral ceremonies involved the sacrifice
of human beings. His hair and fingernails were removed and considered sacred relics.

MCCABACANG 3
The important “offices” of the state were held by his mother, his sisters, his brothers,
and a number of his “great wives”

When people approached the king, they fell on their knees and sprinkled their head
with dust. African states described above were studied accurately by European
travelers who penetrated these regions as early as 1000 A.D.

African Art

Primitive African art has been copied and imitated by Western nation. African art is
closely associated with religion. It is very primitive in nature and is closely associated
with superstition. Masks are terrifying because they are intended to frighten away evil
spirits.
Contemporary dance music is based on African music its short rhythmic rhythm.
It is based largely on the drumbeat. African music is bound up with religious ceremony-
composed as a prayer for rain, for succes in hunting, and succes in war. It is believed
that the invention of the drum was related to the ritual of believed that spirits of the
dead away. African drums are so constructed that the sound travels over a long
distance, more than eight or nine miles. In some parts of tropical Africa, drums never
stop beating.

THE AFRICAN HERITAGE

More and more the eyes of the world are being focused on African creative
expression. This people had been for a long time misunderstood, misinterpreted and
underestimimated. For so long they had been under superior culture and superior
power and had been dormant. Now they suddenly wake up to show the tremendos
contribution they are capable of.

AFRICAN LITERATURE

Discussion and Activities

In the field of literature, African conribution ranges from recordings of oral
tradition, which used to be in their aboriginal languages but were translated to English
and French. Poetry and prosody are fast being produced to make people of the world
aware of both the literary potentials of African culture.

The oral literature of Africa consists of myth tales songs and proverbs that are
the prime repository for the wisdom of the people. For African, they are evening theater
and daytime school. From them we can learn something of the forms of the feeling
and imagination that are in the grain of African culture. The influence of the oral
literature is likely to persist, not only because tribal and rural life will not soon be
finished in Africa, but also new generations of African writers will probably continue to
refresh themselves at the source, no matter how many springs of world literature they
choose to drink from.

MCCABACANG 4
 One of the tales that you will love reading is The Leopard. Most readers cosider
this as an interesting story of different kinds of courage. The point of the story is, Who
was the bravest of the three persons involved?

The Leopard
Ki, the Pygmy, had married a Pygmy girl from another village. The girl was
called Luetsi and she now becomes Ki’s wife. With them lived Ntio. Ki’s brother. After
a year, Luetsi wished to visit her mother, as was the custom. Ki agreed and gave Luetsi
a big piece of meat to take to her mother. As a big hunt was imminent, Ki could not go
with his wife, but he promised to fetch her from her mother’s house in four weeks time.
Now it happened that Ki was bitten in the foof by a snake and he could not walk.
So he asked his brother to fetch his wife Ntio. did not want to go and said, “In a few
day’s time you will be able to walk again. It is better for you fetch your wife yourself.”
“No,” said Ki. “It is better not to leave Luetsi in uncertainly. She would not wait
for me but start the journey home alone. Fetch her home for me, and I’ll give you my
best bow.”
So Ntio went and fetch Luetsi. They took the path through the jungle, the woman
ahead the man, armed, closed behind her, as was proper.
Suddenly, a leopard appeared among the trees, and it crouched ready to
spring. The woman was paralyzed with fear. Ntio, however, threw himself on the
leopard and thrust his knife into its heart. As it fell, the claws tore open Ntio’s shoulder.
Then the beast fell dead. Luetsi cleansed Ntio’s wound, dressed it with healing herbs
and put a bandage around it. Then she said, “You are brave Ntio. You saved my life I
wonder if Ki would have done as much for me.”
“You ought not to say such things,” said Ntio.
But Luetsi continued, “One has heard of men who allowed their wives to be
eaten by the leopards, while they themselves disappeared faster than snake.”
“Not my brother Ki,” protested Ntio.
Then Luetsi said,” I have no child of his.
It is because he does not love me enough.”
“You shouldn’t not talk such nonsense, said Ntio, he loves you and he does not
lack courage either. Perhaps, he is the bravest of us three.”
“Let’s put it to the test!” said Luetsi suddenly
“What do you mean” inquired Ntio.
Eagerly Luetsi told him. “I shall lie down as if the leopard had jumped on me
and pinned me to the ground. You roll the leopard over on top of me, so that it looks
as if it just going to eat me up. Then you run to Ki as fast as you can, tell him that the
leopard has attacked me, and bring him hear.”
“Very well,” said Ntio. He rolled the leopard over on top of the obstinate woman
and then ran home to fetch his brother. However, as soon as Luetsi could no longer
see him, he decoded to take his time.
And so Luetsi had to lie there for hours, beneath the dead leopard.in the
distance she could hear the roaring of the leopardess, looking for its dead mate. The
jungle was full of threatening voices. At last she begun to imagine that the leopard
lying on top of her was moving, as if had budge from the spot, so keen was she to find
out her husband would behave.
Meanwhile, Ntio had arrived at the village. He burst into the hut where his
brother lay and repeated the words that Luetsi had told him. Ki sprang to his feet, he

MCCABACANG 5
ran after his brother. Soon, indeed, he overtook him, and although he was unarmed,
he threw himself on the leopard.
The woman rolled the beast over and stood up laughing.
“What does this mean?” asked Ki.
“I wanted to see which of us was the greatest here,’ said Luetsi.
“ And that is my question too as we come to the end of the story: Which of the
three showed the greatest courage?
Was it Ntio, who stabbed the leopard in the heart with his knife, although he
could have run away? Or was it Ki, who ran up, unarmed in order to snatch his wife
from the leopard’s claws?

Do you love the story? Now, please try doing the activity.
1. Describe the characters in the story. A one word
is enough and try to explain.
2. Who do you think is the bravest of them all? Why?
3. If you are to end the story, what ending do you
like? Discuss.

Another tale is about the Ethiopian woman who wanted to tame her husband. She felt
that she was no longer loved by her husband and so the story.

Before reading, ask first yourself as to what you are going to do if you ecountered the
same problem.

HOW THE ETHIOPIAN WOMAN TAMED HER HUSBAND

(An African Tale)
Once there was a woman who was greatly troubled by her husband. He no
longer loved her husband. He no longer loved her. He neglected her and seemed to
care little whether she was happy or sad.
So the woman took her troubles to the local witchdoor. She told him her story,
full of pity for herself and her sad plight. “Can you give me a charm to make him love
again?” she asked anxiously.
The witchdoor thought for a moment and replied,”I will help you, but first you
must bring to me three hairs from the mane of a living lion. These I must have before
I can make the charm for you.”
The woman thanked the witchdoctor and went away. When she came near her
home, she sat down on a rock and began to think. “How shall I do this thing? There is
a lion that comes often near to my village, it is true. But he is so feirce and he roars
fearfully.” Then she thought again and at last she knew what she would do.
And so, rising early next morning, she took a young lamb and went to the place
where the lion was accustomed to stroll about. She waited anxiously. At last, she saw
the path of the lion approaching. Now was the time. Quickly, she rose and, leaving the
lamb in the path of the lion,she went home. And so it was that everyday early in the
morning, the woman would arise and take a young lamb to the lion. Soon the lion came
to know the woman, for she was always in the same place at the same time everyday

MCCABACANG 6
with a young lamb, which she brought for his pleasure. She was indeed kind and
attentive woman.
It was not long before the lion began to wag his tail each time he saw her and
coming close to him, he would let her stroke his head and soothe his back. And each
day, the woman would stay quitely stroking the lion gently and lovingly. Then one day,
when she knew that the lion trusted her, she carefully pulled three hairs from his mane
and happily set out for the witchdoctor’s dwelling.
“See,” she said triumphantly as she entered. “Here they are!” And she gave
him three hairs from the lion’s mane.
“How is it you have been so clever?” asked the witchdoctor in amazement.
And so the woman told him the story of how she had patiently won the hairs
from the lion.
A smile spread over the face of the witchdoctor and, leaning forward, he said,
“In the same way you have tamed the lion, so may you tame your husband.”

Activity
Answer the following questions:
1. What is the advise of the witchdoctor?
2. How did the Ethiopian woman tame the lion?
3. Can the Ethiopian woman tame her husband?
Why?
4. Explain the saying, The way to a man’s heart is
through his stomach.
5. How does it find bearing in the story?

Assessment
1. Prepare a Venn diagram in comparing the characters in The Leopard.
2. Illustrate how the woman tamed the lion.

Resources
Billones, Patricia S. Exploring Life Through Afro-Asian Literature, Phoenix Publishing
House, Incorporated, Quezon City, 2004.

Calixilam, et al. Gems in Afro-Asian Literature.

Duka, Carolina R. The Literatures of Asia and Africa, Rez Bookstore, Manila
Philippines, 2005.

Nem Singh, Rosario P. Et al., Gems in World Literature, National Bookstore,

Mandaluyong City, 1990.

MCCABACANG 7
Module 2
Literatures of Asia

Literatures of China

Table of Contents
Page Number
Introduction ................................................. 9
Objectives ................................................. 10
Literatures of China ................................................. 10
Discussion and Activities
The Treasures of Lao Tsu ................................................. 10
Classic Poetry ................................................. 12
Nocturne ................................................. 12
Conversation in the Mountains ........................... 12
The Emperor ...................................... 13
A Flower ............................................................ 13
The Soul of the Great Bell ................................................. 14
Spring Fever ........................................................... 17
Confucius, Sage of China ..................................... 19
Assessment ...................................... 21
Resources ...................................... 22

MCCABACANG 8
Introduction
Asia is the world’s largest continent. It stretches about 5,500 miles from the north of
Arctic Circle to south of the equator. From east to west, Asia stretches nearly halfway
around the worls. Map shows that the continents of Asia and Europe are connected.
Together they make up a large continent mass called Eurasia.

The continent is bounded on the north by the Arctic Ocean. On the east lies the Pacific
Ocean with the lengthy island arcs of the Kurtis, Japan, the Ryuku Islands, Taiwan
(Formosa), and the Philippines. To the southeast is the archipelago of Indonesia,
including the huge islands of Borneo, Sumatra, and Java and to their west the Indian
ocean. In the southeast, the Red Sea separates Asia from Africa. The two continents
are joined by the Isthmus of Suez.

Why study about Asia?

There are some specific reasons why one shoud study and know about Asia:

1. It is the key to understanding much of this interdependent world where people

of both the East and the West may recognize each other as fellow human
beings subject to identical love, hate, hope, and frustration. An understanding
of Asia may help promote universal peace.
2. The literature, art and even the science of Western nations are not complete in
themseleves, they can only be enriched by contributions from the intellectual
treasure houses of people of Asia.
3. They are the people of Asia not Europe, who have discovered and preserved
the best possible ways of life. Asians long thought deeply about the problems
of God, nature, and society without benefit of contact with Europeans.
4. Asia is the cradle of the human race, of civilization, of world religions. It is not
Greece or Rome but the East, particularly China, and India which are credited
with the finer achievements of the human mind. The great spiritual leaders of
the world evolved in Asia- Buddha, Confucius, Jesus Christ, Mohammed and
others.

Today, scholarship and practice have developed the great divisions of Asia into five
(5) distinct groupings:
1. East Asia includes China, Korea, and Japan.
2. South Asia includes India, Pakistan, and Ceylon.
3. Southeast asia includes Burma, Thailand, Indochina (Laos, Cambodia, and
Vietnam), Malaysia, the Philippines, and Indonesia.
4. Soutwest Asia includes the Levant, Iraq, the Arabian Peninsula, Iran, and
Afghanistan. The Levant refers to the coast of the eastern Mediterranean from
western Greece to western Egypt which includes part of Turkey, Syria,
Lebanon, Israel, Jordan, and part of Egypt.
5. Russian (or Soviet Asia) includes Western or Russian Turkestan, Kazakhstan
(the Kasakh Soviet Socialist Republic), and Siberia.

MCCABACANG 9
Literatures of China

Objectives
At the end of the module , the students are expected to:
1. discuss the treasures of Lao Tsu;
2. memorize the selected poems in Chinese Classic Poetry;
3. write a poem about the nocturne;
4. read the story of the Great Bell;
5. identify the cultures of China as depicted in the story;
6. define spring fever;
7. explain the words /ideas of Confucius; and
8. appreciate the literatures of China.

Discussion/Activities

One of the finest works of Lao Tsu is the poem that you will be reading in a while. It depicts the
virtues of Taoism that the said author founded many years ago.

You might be thinking of treasures as worldly things but in the poem it is love, moderation and
never be the first in the world.

Please memorize the poem as you can for it will help you guide in your everyday living. You
may own it to better taste the power of literature.

Start reading now.

The Treasures of Lao Tsu

From the Book of Tao

I have three treasures

Guard them and keep them safe
The first is Love.
The second is Moderation. The third is
Never be the first in the world.
Having Love, one will be courageous.
Through Moderation, one has power to spare.
Through not presuming to be the first in the world,

MCCABACANG 10
 One can develop one’s talent and let it mature.
If one forsakes love and courage,
Forsakes restraint and reserve power,
Forsakes following behind and rushes infront,
He is doomed!
For love is victorious in attack
And secure in defense.
Heaven arms with love those
It would not see destroyed.
How does the sea become the king of all streams?
Because it lies lower than they!
Hence it is the king of all streams.
Therefore, to rise above the people, you must
Humble yourself in your speech.
To be a leader of the people, you must
Put yourself behind them.
Thus it is that when a Sage stands above the
People, they do not feel the heaviness of his weight,
And when he stands in front of the people, they do not feel hurt.
Therefore, the entire world is glad to push him
Forward without being tired of him.
Just because he strive with no body
Nobody can ever strive with him.
For every creature has a time for going ahead,
A time for going behind.
A time for slowing behind and a time for fast breathing.
A time to grow in strength and a time to decay,
A time to be up and a time to be down.
To know others is to be clever,
To know oneself is to be enlightened.
He who conquers others is strong.
But he who conquers himself has strength and courage together.
To know when one has enough is to be rich.
He who follows a course with spirit may attain his goal,
But to remain intact is to endure.
Those who accept oblivion yet remain
Imperishable become the immortals.

Please try the guide questions below to help you understand clearly the
poem.

I. Guide questions:
1. Who is the persona in the poem?
2. Who could be the addressee in the poem?
3. What are the three treasures of Lao Tsu?
4. Why each treasure beneficial?
5. How each treasure affects life if forsaken?

MCCABACANG 11
 6. How to become a leader of the people?
7. How does the sea become the king of all streams?

II. Express your thoughts. Discuss the following lines:

1. For every creature has a time for going ahead,

A time for going behind.
2. A time for slowing behind and a time for fast breathing.
A time to grow in strength and a time to decay,
3. To know others is to be clever,
To know oneself is to be enlightened.
4. He who conquers others is strong.
But he who conquers himself has strength and courage together.
5. To know when one has enough is to be rich.

III. Choose a line/lines in the poem that best attract/s you.

Explain.

Now is the time to look at some short poems. Let

us see if you can describe what is being depicted
in the poem.

Chinese Classic Poetry

Nocturne
Li Po

Blue waters...A clear room.

In the moonlight the white herons are flying.
Listen! Do you hear the girls who gather water chestnuts?
They are going home in the night singing.

Conversation in the Mountains

If you were to ask why I dwell among the green mountains,

I shall laugh silently, my soul is serene
The peach blossom follows the moving water.
There is another heaven and earth beyond the world of men.

MCCABACANG 12
The Emperor
Tu Fu

On a throne of new gold the son of the Sky

Is sitting among the Mandarins, he shines
With jewels and is like a sun surrounded by stars.
The mandarins speak gravely of grave things,
But the Emperor’s thought has flown out by the open window.
In her pavilion of porcelain the Empress is sitting among her women.
She is like a bright flower among leaves.
She dreams that her beloved stays too long
At council, and wearily moves her fan.
I breathing of perfumed air kisses the face
Of the Emperor.
“My beloved moves her fan, and sends me a
Perfume from her lips”.
Towards the pavilion of porcelain walks the
Emperor, shining with his jewels, and leaves his
Grave Mandarins to look at each other in silence.

A Flower
Po Chu-I

It seems a flower, but not a flower.

It seems a mist, but not a mist.
It comes at midnight.
It goes in the morning.
It is coming like a spring dream that does not last long.
And its going is like the morning cloud, you will find it nowhere.
Looking at the lake
I looked at my shadow over and over in the lake.
I see no white face, only the white hair.
I have lost my youth, and shall never find it again.
Useless to stir the lake.

Activities
I. Questions to answer:
1. What are the descriptions given in the “Nocturne” and “Conversation in
the Mountains”?
2. What do you mean by nocturne?
3. What situation is depicted in the first two poems?

II. Prepare a literary cartoon to easily picture what is described in the

“Nocturne”.

III. Draw a picture to best portray “Conversation in the Mountains”.

MCCABACANG 13
 IV. Have time to sit and relax in your most convenient place where nobody
disturbs you. Feel the beauty of a night scenery and try to write a poem
about the nocturne.

V. The Emperor is full of metaphors. List down all the metaphors/similes

contained in the poem.

VI. What lessons in life are highlighted in the poem “The Emperor”?

VII. Make a comparison of the emperor and the empress.

VIII. What is being talked about in “A Flower”?

IX. What are the words compared to a flower in the poem?

X. Why is youth likened to a flower? Explain.

Discussion
Let us try now reading one of China’s best stories of all times. Take time in
reading The Soul of the Great Bell. See how a daughter sacrificed her own
life for her beloved father. Please take note of China’s cultures embodied in the
story.
.

The Soul of the Great Bell

Lafcadio Hearn

Nearly five hundred years ago the Celestial August, the Son of Heaven, Yong-Lo, of
the “Illustrious,” or Ming, dynasty, commanded the worthy official Kouan-Yu that he
should have a bell made of such size that the sound thereof might be heard for one
hundred li. And he further ordained that the voice of the bell should be strengthened
with brass, and deepened with gold, and sweetened with silver; and that the face and
the great lips of it should be graven with blessed sayings from the sacred books, and
that it should be suspended in the center of the imperial capital, to sound through all
the many colored ways of the City of Pe-king. Therefore the worthy mandarin Kouan-
Yu assembled the master-molders and the renowned bell smith of the empire, and all
men of great repute and cunning in foundry work; and they measured the materials for
the alloy, and treated them skillfully, and prepared the molds, the fires, the instruments,
and the monstrous melting-pot for fusing the metal. And they labored exceedingly, like
giants,—neglecting only rest and sleep and the comforts of life; toiling both night and
day in obedience to Kouan-Yu, and striving in all things to do the behest of the Son of
Heaven. But when the metal had been cast, and the earthen mold separated from the
glowing casting, it was discovered that, despite their great labor and ceaseless care,
the result was void of worth; for the metals had rebelled one against the other,—the

MCCABACANG 14
gold had scorned alliance with the brass, the silver would not mingle with the molten
iron. Therefore the molds had to be once more prepared, and the fires rekindled, and
the metal remelted, and all the work tediously and toilsome repeated.

The Son of Heaven heard, and was angry, but spoke nothing. A second time the bell
was cast, and the result was even worse. Still the metals obstinately refused to blend
one with the other; and there was no uniformity in the bell, and the sides of it were
cracked and fissured, and the lips of it were slag and split asunder; so that all the labor
had to be repeated even a third time, to the great dismay of Kouan-Yu. And when the
Son of Heaven heard these things, he was angrier than before; and sent his
messenger to Kouan-Yu with a letter, written upon lemon-colored silk, and sealed with
the seal of the Dragon, containing these words:— “From the Mighty Yong-Lo, the
Sublime Tait-Sung, the Celestial and August,—whose reign is called ‘Ming,’—to
Kouan-Yu the Fuh-yin: Twice thou hast betrayed the trust we have deigned graciously
to place in thee; if thou fail a third time in fulfilling our command, thy head shall be
severed from thy neck. Tremble, and obey!”

Now, Kouan-Yu had a daughter of dazzling loveliness, whose name—Ko-Ngai—was

ever in the mouths of poets, and whose heart was even more beautiful than her face.
Ko-Ngai loved her father with such love that she had refused a hundred worthy suitors
rather than make his home desolate by her absence; and when she had seen the
awful yellow missive, sealed with the Dragon-Seal, she fainted away with fear for her
father’s sake. And when her senses and her strength returned to her, she could not
rest or sleep for thinking of her parent’s danger, until she had secretly sold some of
her jewels, and with the money so obtained had hastened to an astrologer, and paid
him a great price to advise her by what means her father might be saved from the peril
impending over him. So the astrologer made observations of the heavens, and marked
the aspect of the Silver Stream (which we call the Milky Way), and examined the signs
of the Zodiac,—the Hwang-tao, or Yellow Road,—and consulted the table of the Five
Hin, or Principles of the Universe, and the mystical books of the alchemists. And after
a long silence, he made answer to her, saying: “Gold and brass will never meet in
wedlock, silver and iron never will embrace, until the flesh of a maiden be melted in
the crucible; until the blood of a virgin be mixed with the metals in their fusion.” So Ko-
Ngai returned home sorrowful at heart; but she kept secret all that she had heard, and
told no one what she had done.

At last came, the awful day when the third and last effort to cast the great bell was to
be made; and Ko-Ngai, together with her waiting-woman, accompanied her father to
the foundry, and they took their places upon a platform overlooking the toiling of the
molders and the lava of liquified metal. All the workmen wrought their tasks in silence;
there was no sound heard but the muttering of the fires. And the muttering deepened
into a roar like the roar of typhoons approaching, and the blood-red lake of metal slowly
brightened like the vermilion of a sunrise, and the vermilion was transmuted into a
radiant glow of gold, and the gold whitened blindingly, like the silver the soul of the
great bell face of a full moon. Then the workers ceased to feed the raving flame, and
all fixed their eyes upon the eyes of Kouan-Yu; and Kouan-Yu prepared to give the
signal to cast. But ere ever he lifted his finger, a cry caused him to turn his head; and
all heard the voice of Ko-Ngai sounding sharply sweet as a bird’s song above the great
thunder of the fires, —“For thy sake, O my Father!” And even as she cried, she leaped
into the white flood of metal; and the lava of the furnace roared to receive her, and

MCCABACANG 15
spattered monstrous flakes of flame to the roof, and burst over the verge of the earthen
crater, and cast up a whirling fountain of many-colored fires, and subsided quakingly,
with lightning and with thunders and with mutterings. Then the father of Ko-Ngai, wild
with his grief, would have leaped in after her, but that strong men held him back and
kept firm grasp upon him until he had fainted away and they could bear him like one
dead to his home. And the serving woman of Ko-Ngai, dizzy and speechless for pain,
stood before the furnace, still holding in her hands a shoe, a tiny, dainty shoe, with
embroidery of pearls and flowers,—the shoe of her beautiful mistress that was. For
she had sought to grasp Ko-Ngai by the foot as she leaped, but had only been able to
clutch the shoe, and the pretty shoe came off in her hand; and she continued to stare
at it like one gone mad.

But in spite of all these things, the command of the Celestial and August had to be
obeyed, and the work of the molders to be finished, hopeless as the result might be.
Yet the glow of the metal seemed purer and whiter than before; and there was no sign
of the beautiful body that had been entombed therein. So the ponderous casting was
made; and lo! When the metal had become cool, it was found that the bell was beautiful
to look upon, and perfect in form, and wonderful in color above all other bells. Nor was
there any trace found of the body of Ko-Ngai; for it had been totally absorbed by the
precious alloy, and blended with the well-blended brass and gold, with the
intermingling of the silver and the iron. And when they sounded the bell, its tones were
found to be deeper and mellower and mightier than the tones of any other bell,—
reaching even beyond the distance of one hundred li, like a pealing of summer thunder;
and yet also like some vast voice uttering a name, a woman’s name,—the name of
Ko-Ngai! And still, between each mighty stroke there is a long low moaning heard; and
ever the moaning ends with a sound of sobbing and of complaining, as though a
weeping woman should murmur, “Hiai!” And still, when the people hear that great
golden moan they keep silence; but when the sharp, sweet shuddering comes in the
air, and the sobbing of “Hiai!” then, indeed, do all the Chinese mothers in all the many
colored ways of Peking whisper to their little ones: “Listen! that is Ko-Ngai crying for
her shoe”. https://loa-shared.s3.amazonaws.com/static/pdf/Hearn_Great_Bell.pdf

Discussion Questions / Activities

I. Answer all the questions that follow:
1. What are the cultures of China depicted in the story?
2. What is the command of the Mighty Yung Lo to the mighty official Kuan-
yu?
3. What is the message written in a yellow missive?
4. What did Kong-ai do after knowing the message of the Mighty Yung Lo?
5. How did the great bell of China become popular to all mothers and
children?
II. Group activity: Discuss among your group the advise of the astrologer to
Kong-ai and how it affected the characters in the story. Present you output
in the class.

MCCABACANG 16
 Another prominent literature in China is the essay Spring Fever by Lin Yutang.
Many of us has experienced spring fever in our lives. But the question is...do
you really know what spring fever means? Now, start reading this essay.

Spring Fever
Lin Yutang

Dr. Lin Yutang is a noted Chinese scholar and philosopher pursued advanced studies in the U.S. and
is a prolific writer in the English language. For thirty years he has lived the humanist’s ideal of living
according to reason. Then he became dissastified with humanism as a world philosophy. He returned
to Christianity because he is convinced that it is the only civilizing influence that can save the world. Dr.
Lin wrote My Country and My People and the importance of living both in English.

I have come back from the trip to Ahnwei to find spring in my garden. Her steps had
lightly tripped over the lawn, her fingers caresses the hedgerows, and her breath had
touched the willow branches and the young peach trees. Therefore, although I had not
seen her coming, I knew she was here. The rose bugs, of the same green as the stem
on which they thrived, were again in evidence,earthworms again by throwing up little
clusters and mud in the garden beds, and even those popular branches that i had
chopped up into sections, of one or two feet long lying in a heap in the yard, performed
a miracle by putting forth green and merry leaves. Now after three weeks I could
already see the shadows of leaves dancing on the ground on a sunny day a sight that
I had not seen for a long time .

What is happening to men and animals is a different story. There is sadness all around.
Perhaps it isnt sadness, but i have no other word for it. Spring makes you sad and
spring makes you sleepy. It shouldn’t. I know, and if I were a peasant boy, of if
everyone in my householf from master to cook had only to look after buffaloes I am
sure we would not feel and sad about it. But living in the city in spring is different.
Consciously nothing is happening, but the unconscious self, with the heritage of million
of years, tells us that we are deprived of something, missing something.

I think I had found the word now: It is called “spring fever”. Everyone is having a spring
fever by taking a trip ton Ahnwei and seeing those emerald pools near Yulingkuan.
But I had boasted of my trip before my cook and he happened to be from Ahnwei and
it made him extremely sad. For he is washing dishes and cutting carrots and cleaning
kitchen utensils in spring, and that makes him sad. Then we have the cooks wife in
our household as washer woman-by the way, I like her extremely, because she is fairly
good looking and has all the virtues of a good Chinese girl; she keeps her mouth shut
and works the whole day, moving about on little half-emancipated feet, and ironing
and not saying a word, and she does not giggle but laughs in a natural way, quiet when
she laughs, and talks n a low voice. Perhaps she alone is not feeling sad, for she is
grateful that we have spring in the garden already, and there is much green and so
many leaves and so many trees and such good breeze. But her husband, the cook, a
handsome dandy, is growing impatient of his work and giving us worse food than
usual. He is listless most of the time, and makes his wife wash all the dishes in order

MCCABACANG 17
that he may go out early. Then Ah Ching the “boy”. He is really a tall man-came one
day to me and said that he wanted leave for an afternoon. A leave from Ah Ching! I
was completely surprised. I had told him to make a day off every month, but he had
never done so. And now he wants a half-day’s leave to arrange an important matter
with a friend from his native district. So he, too, has caught the spring fever...

While Ah Ching was taking leave from my home somebody else was taking leave from
office to visit my garden. It was the messenger boy from the K-Book Company. He
had not appeared for a long time, for a grown-up man had been delivering the
manuscripts and proofs in the last man or so. Now the boy must take his place and
deliver the proofs, or perhaps a single letter, or a copy of a magazine, or even to
convey me a good wish. That boy- I know he is living down in the eastern district,
where you can see only walls and back doors and refuse cans and cement floors, ith
not a green leaf around. Yes, green leaves could grow from the crevices of rocks, but
not grow the cracks of cement floors...

There is sadness, too, among the animals. Chubby has been a monk, and so long
spring isn’t here, he is a contented dog. I always thought my garden is big enough for
him to play about, so I never let him out... but now the garden isn’t big enough for him,
not by a long shot, in spite of all the bones and the delicious leftover. Of course, it isn’t
that. I understand him. He wants her, no matter blond or brunnette, pretty of ugly, so
long as she is a she. But what could I do? Chubby is very sad.

Then a tragedy happened in our little household piggeons. There is really only a
couple. There were six or seven of them when I took over the house, but all left and
only this sweet couple remained. They had tried to raise a family in the left of my
garage, but always have no luck. Two or three times the young was hatched and then
i would learn to fly before it could walk and would fall dead. I didn’t like that look in the
parents eye twinkling and twinkling, and they standing silently on the opposite roof to
contemplate the funeral. This last time it looked as if they were going to be successfu,
for the young one was growing bigger every day, and had even come out to the loft
window and gazed at the outside world and could already flap its wings, but one day,
our whole household was thrown into flurry by the announcement of the rickshaw boy
that the young pigeon was dead. How had he died? The rickshaw boy had seen him
just roll on the ground and die. It called for a Sherlack Holmes brain like mine.

Mysteriously, I felt over the body of the dead young pigeon. The pouch under the neck
that used to be full of food was evidently empty. Two eggs were lying in the nest. The
mother pigeon had been hatching again.

“Have you seen the father pigeon lately?” I opened the query.
“Not for a few days alrearly,” said the rickshaw boy.
“when did you see him last?”
“Last Wednesday”
“Have you seen the mother about?” I asked again.
“She didn’t leave the nest much.”
“Hm-hm!” said.

MCCABACANG 18
It was evident there had been desertion. The spring fever had done it. It was death
from starvation beyond the shadow of a doubt. The mother pigeon could no leave the
nest, and she could not find food for the young one.

“Like all husbands,” I muttered. Now with her husband deserting her, and her young
one dead, the mother pigeon would not even sit on the eggs. The family has been
broken up . sitting for a while at the opposite roof corner, and taking a last look at her
former happy home (where her two eggs still lay), she flew away, I don’t know where.
Perhaps she will never trust a male pigeon again.

Activities
I. Group activity: Each group is given a situation based on the read
essay. Discuss with your group members how is spring fever
described/explained in the given situation. Afterwards, presentation of
the discusion in the class should follow.

II. Individual Activity: Define in your own words what is spring fever.
Relate it to your experience and if possible share with the class
something that has changed your life.

China’s greatest philosopher is Confucius. It is time to know who he really is by reading

his words.

Confucius Sage of China

He is one of the truly great men that China has produced. The word Confucius is the westernized form
of his name, which is Kung Fu Tze, Kung being his proper name, Fu, signifying reverened, and Tze
signifying teacher. He was born in 551 B.C. at lu (modern Dhantung). At three he lost his father, got
married at 19 and became father at 20.

He reached a very high position in the government as Prime Minister, but he gave up his position and
travelled extensively over China preaching justice and virtue wherever he went. His teachings have
exerted a powerfull influence on his countrymen.. It would seem that he did not intend to find religion,
but after his death in 479 BC., he was revered as a saint and his moral ideas became the foundation of
a religion. He was a man of great charm and personality.

Yean Huei and Tselu were sitting together with Confucius and Confucius said, “Why
don’t you each tell me your ambitions in life?” Tselu replied, “It is my ambition in life to
go about with a horse and carriage and a light fur coat and share them with my good
friends until they are all worn out without any regret.” Yen Huei said, “It is my ambition
never show off and never to brag about myself.” Then Tselu said, “May I hear what is
your ambition?” and Confucius replied, “It is my ambition that the old people should be
able to live in peace, all friends should be loyal and all young people shoul love their
elders.”

MCCABACANG 19
Confucius said, “There is pleasure in lying pillow against a bent arm after a meal of
simple vegetables with a drink of water. On the other hand, to enjoy wealth and power
without coming by it through the right means is to me like to many floating clouds.”

Confucius said, “There are three things about the superior man that I have not been
able to attain. The true man has no worries, the wise man has no perplexities and the
brave man has no fear.” Tsekung said, “But, Master, you are exactly describing
yourself.”

Confucius said, “There are some people who do not understand a subject, but go
ahead and invent things out of their own head. I am not like those people. One can
come to be a wise man by hearing a great deal and following the good, and by seing
a great deal and remembering it.”
Confucuis said, “Sometimes I have gone the whole day without food and a whole night
without sleep, occupied in thinking and unable to arrive at any results. So I decided to
study again.”

Confucius said, “Whenever walking in a company of three, I can always find my

teacher among them (or one who has something to teach me). I select a good person
and follow his example, of I see a bad person and avoid being like him myself.

The young man of a certain village, Hu, were given to mischief. One day some young
people from that village came to see Confucuis and the disciples were surprised that
Confucius saw them. Confucius said, “Dont be too hard on people. What concerns me
is how they come, and not what they do when they go away. When a man approaches
me with pure intentions, although I cannot guarantee what he does afterwards.”

Shusuan Wushu said to the officials at court, “Tsekung is a better man than
Confucius.” Tsefu Ciangpo told this to Tsekung, and Tsekung said, “it is like a matter
of house-walls. My house-walls come up only to the shoulder, and the people outside
are therefore able to see my beautiful house, whereas the wall of Confucius is twenty
or thirty feet high, and unless you go right inside, you do not see the beauty of its halls
and the grandeur of its furniture. But there are very few people who can penetrate
inside that household. What Shusuan says is therefore perfectly easy to understand.”

Baron K’ang Chi was worried about thieves and burglars in the country and consulted
Confucius about it. Confucius replied, “If you yourself don’t love money, the people will
not steal, eventhough you reward the thieves.”

Confucius said, “To know what you know and know what you don’t correct is commiting
another mistake.”

Confucius said, “A man who has a beautiful soul always has some beautiful things to
say, but a man who says beautiful things does not necessarily have a beautiful soul.
A true man (or truly great man) will always be found to have courage, but a courageous
man will not always be found to have true manhood.” Confucius said, “In speaking to
a sovereign, one must look out for three things: to talk before you are asked is called
‘impulsiveness’ To fail to talk when you are asked is called “lack of candor” and to talk
without noticing the sovereign’s mood is called ‘blindness’.”

MCCABACANG 20
Tsulu asked about the worship of the celestial and earthly spirits. Confucius said, “We
dont know yet to serve men. How can we know about serving the spirits? We don’t
know yet about life, how can we know about death?”

Confucius said, “the superior man understands what is right, the inferior man
understands what will sell.” Confucius said, “The superior man love his soul; the
inferior man loves his poetry. The superior man always remambers how he was
punished for his mistakes, the superior man always remembers what present he got.”

Confucius said, “The superior man is liberal towars others’ opinions, but does not
completely agree with them; the inferior man completely agrees with other’s opinions.
But is not liberal towards them.
Confucius said, “the superior man is firm, but does not fight; he mixes easily with others
but does not form cliques.”

Confucius said, “the superior man blames himself, the inferior man blames others.”

Discussion/Activity

I. Thoughts to ponder: Explain in your own words the following:

1. “There is pleasure in lying pillow against a bent arm after a meal of

simple vegetables with a drink of water. On the other hand, to enjoy
wealth and power without coming by it through the right means is to
me like to many floating clouds.”.

2. “Whenever walking in a company of three, I can always find my teacher

among them (or one who has something to teach me). I select a good
person and follow his example, of I see a bad person and avoid being
like him myself.

3. “To know what you know and know what you don’t correct is commiting
another mistake.”

II. Compare and contrast:

1. A true man vs. A courageous man
2. An inferior man vs. A superior man

Assessment
1. Please recall the poems you read. Start memorizing them and submit in two
weeks your audio record.
2. Email your written poem about the nocturne. Try using your creativity by using
colors or paints to emphasize your thoughts.

MCCABACANG 21
Resources
Billones, Patricia S. Exploring Life Through Afro-Asian Literature, Phoenix Publishing
House, Incorporated, Quezon City, 2004.

Calixilam, et al. Gems in Afro-Asian Literature.

Duka, Carolina R. The Literatures of Asia and Africa, Rez Bookstore, Manila
Philippines, 2005.

Nem Singh, Rosario P. Et al., Gems in World Literature, National Bookstore,

Mandaluyong City, 1990.

MCCABACANG 22