ASIAN LITERATURE

ASIA
The world’s largest and most diverse continent.
The word Asia is believed to be derived from the Assyrian word asu which means “east”
Countries in Asia
East Asia
*China *Japan *South Korea *North Korea *Taiwan *Mongolia
Southeast Asia
*Brunei *Burma or Myanmar *Cambodia *Timor-Leste *Indonesia *Laos *Malaysia
*Philippines * Singapore *Thailand * Vietnam
West Asia
*Armenia *Azerbaijan *Bahrain *Cyprus *Georgia *Iraq *Israel *Iran *Jordan *Kuwait
*Lebanon *Oman *Palestine *Qatar *Saudi Arabia *Syria *Turkey *United Arab Emirates
*Yemen
South Asia
*Afghanistan *Bangladesh *Bhutan *India *Maldives *Nepal *Pakistan *Sri Lanka
Central Asia
*Kazakhstan *Kyrgyzstan *Tajikistan *Tibet *Turkmenistan *Uzbekistan
North Asia
*Russia
Top 15 mostly used Asian Language
1. Khmer- Cambodia and some in Southeast of Thailand and Southern Vietnam
2. Russian- Central Asia and Kazakhstan, Kyrgyz republic, Tajikistan Turkmenistan and
Uzbekistan in addition to their language.
3. Cantonese- Places in China like Hong Kong, Macau and Canton. Ancestor of all modern
language in China.
4. Laotian- Laos
5. Tibetan- Tibet, Bhutan, Nepal and some parts in India.
6. Chinese Mandarin- China and is natively spoken around the world with 1.3 billion
speakers
7. Hindi- India
8. Malay-Malaysia, Singapore, Brunei and Indonesia
 9. Indonesian- Indonesia
10. Thai-Thailand
11. Burmese- Myanmar
12. Filipino- Philippines
13. Japanese- Japan
14. Vietnamese- Vietnam
15. Korean- Korea
Culture
The culture of Asia encompasses the collective art, diverse customs and traditions of art,
architecture, music, literature, lifestyle, philosophy, politics and religion that have been practiced
and maintained by the numerous ethnic groups of the continent of Asia since prehistory.
Religions
Asia being the largest continent in the world, it is also the birthplace of numerous religions like
Islam, Hinduism, Buddhism, Sikhism, Christianity, Confucianism, Jainism, Judaism, Shintoism
and Zoroastrianism.
The three (3) major religions in Asia are Islam, Hinduism and Buddhism.
SIGNIFICANT LANDMARK IN ASIA
1. ANGKOR WAT
The 12th century Angkor Wat is possibly the largest religious landmark in the world. 
Built in Northern Cambodia by Emperor Suryavarman II, initially as a Hindu temple in
the 12th century, Angkor Wat became a Buddhist temple when King jayavarman VII
turned into Buddhism following the sacking of Angkor by the champ 117.  And icon on
the flag of Cambodia, Angkor Wat mean city of temples in the Khmer language.
2. BOROBUDUR
The entire site contains 504 statues of Buddha. 1,460 stone reliefs on the walls and
opposite balustrades decorate the first four galleries, with an additional 1212 decorative
reliefs augmenting path.
3. TAJ MAHAL
The Taj Mahal is located on the right Bank of the Yamuna river in the INDIAN city of
Agra, Uttar Pradesh, India.  The construction started in 1632 and was completed in 1648
AD, but with the mosque, the guest house and the main gateway on the south, the outer
Courtyard and it's Cloisters added, it was completely finished in 1653 AD.

4. THE GRAND PALACE

The Grand Palace is a complex of buildings at the heart of Bangkok, Thailand. The palace has
been the official residence of the kings of Siam since 1782. Several Royal ceremonies and state
functions are held within the walls every year. The palace is one of the most popular tourist
attractions in Thailand.
LITERARY WORKS OF DIFFERENT ARTIST IN ASIA

1. Tum Teav by Venerable Butumthera Som

Tum Teav is a mid 19th century Cambodian romantic tragedy folktale. It is originally based on a
poem and is considered the "Cambodian Romeo and Juliet". The story is originally based on the
poem written by the Venerable Butumthera Som, but it was popularized by writer George Chigas
and has been the compulsory part of the Cambodian secondary National curriculum since 1950s.

2. Muna Madan by Laxmi Prasad Devkota

Muna Madan is a folk Epic narrating the tragic story of Muna and Madan that was
written in the poetic version in 1935 by the Nepalese poet Laxmi Prasad Devkota. It is
one of the most popular Works in Nepali literature. Just before the death of Devkota he
made his famous statement "It would be all right if all my works were burned, except for
Muna Madan". For it is the most commercially successful Nepali book ever published. 

3. Shahnameh by Abul Qasem Ferdowsi

The Shahnameh is a long narrative poem. It is a Persian Epic, the longest poem by a
single author about 50,000 couplets or lines. This was written thousand years ago, in the
early 11th century. This is not only a masterpiece of literature, but also a book that has
helped define Iran and the Iranian people as well as safeguard the Iranian language. A
story of four generations of Father and Sons, courage and skill, love and honor, war
and grief, and of Father's making mistakes, sometimes putting their mistakes right,
sometimes forgetting. The story is mainly about the Kings, battles, Heroes, Myths, and
Tails that have passed down orally or Generations before Ferdowsi compiled them in a
single book before.

SIGNIFICANT WRITERS IN ASIA

1. Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910)
A Russian novelist and moral philosopher ranks as one of the world's great writers
and his book " War and Peace" has been called the greatest novel ever written.
Between 1871 and 1874, Tolstoy tried his hand at poetry, branching out from his
usual prose writings. He received a wider recognition for his work when some of his
poems were published in the Sovremennik  magazine in 1854. His early works are
"Childhood" published on the year 1852, "Boyhood" published on the year 1854, "
Youth" that was published on 1856 and his notable work is " War and Peace" in  1869
and Anna Karenina on 1877. Tolstoy was born on September 9th 1828 in  Russia, and
died November 20,  1910 at the age of 82.

2. Goh Poh Seng

 Goh Poh Seng was born in July 1936 and died January 10 2010 at the age of 73. He is
a Singaporean dramatist, novelist, doctor and poet. His first novel was published in
1972 entitled "If we dream too long". The novel won the national book Development
Council of Singapore's fiction award and has been translated into Russian, Japanese
and Tagalog. In 1982, Goh Poh Seng received the cultural medallion for his
contribution to literature. His other books entitled The immolation on the year 1977
and A Dance of Moths on year 1995 also received NBDCS fiction award in the year
1996 and some of his poetry collections like his 1976 Eye Witness 1978 lines from
Batu Ferringhi and 1982 Bird with One Wing.

3. Abul- Qasem Ferdowsi

Ferdowsi was born 940 and died on the year 1019 or 1025 CE  at the age of 87, he is
a persian poet and author of Shahnameh or "The Book of Kings" which is one of the
world's  longest epic poems created by a single poet and the greatest epic of Persian
speaking countries. Ferdowsi is celebrated as one of the most influential figures of
Persian literature in the history of literature. He is also known as the poet who rescued
Iran. As Iranian says it was Ferdowsi, with a single great book, who preserved the
Persian language, history and mythology from being erased.

Asian literature is diverse in that it showcases a selection of styles and themes, but as it
progressed over time, common ideas have been identified between the texts from the various
regions of the Asian continent.

Perhaps the most similar trait of all Asian texts is their religiosity and spirituality. Asian
literature is known to be a philosophical and contemplative art, pondering on major matters in
life such as our origins and our death: where we come from and where we go, how we come
alive and how we die, as well as how we should live in between.
Related to the spiritual feature, the involvement of nature is evident.

Besides these, Asian literature greatly talks about race, injustice, power, nationalism, struggles,
love—and in all things at all times, there are morals to be learned.

The most common styles in this type of literature are poetry or verse and dramatic prose. Asian
poetry is typically lyrical, as in it deals with the grand scheme of emotions. A sub-type of lyrical
poetry is the ode, which we can see in some religious texts. Asian poetry is also usually formed
in narratives or story-telling verses like epics. As for the proses of Asia, there are collections of
short stories, legends, orally transmitted sayings, and dramas.