21st Century Literature

The Classics of History (Book of A collection of rhetorical prose

Chinese Literature
Documents) attributed to figures of ancient
Classical Chinese - formal written language China. It is possibly the oldest
1. Hsia Dynasty (Xia) Chinese narrative.
a. first dynasty
b. recorded in ancient Chinese writings such as Classic The Classics of Rites (Book of Ancient rites, social forms and
of History and Records of the Grand Historian Rites) court ceremonies.
c. found by Yu the Great
2. Shang Dynasty The I-Ching (Book of Changes) A book of oracles containing the
whole of human experience.
a. Mandate of Heaven (Divine Right Theory) - belief
It is used for divination or
that the Chinese emperor had a divine right to rule
method of exploring the
given by the god or divine force known as Heaven unconscious.
b. The first dynasty for which there is historical record
and archaeological evidence of oracle bones and The Spring and Autumn Annals An ancient Chinese chronicle
bronze wares. that has been one of the core
c. Development of Chinese writing Chinese classics since ancient
times.
3. Zhou Dynasty (Chou)
a. Longest dynasty 4. Qin Dynasty (Chin)
b. great literary works of philosophy and religion that a. The Great Wall of China was built and was credited
became the basis for Chinese religious and social to their first emperor Shi Huangdi
belief stem, education, and innovation. b. The emperor wanted to reduce the school of
c. Prose prevailed, writings were expressions of true thought, so he ordered The “Book Burning and
feelings, and there was flexibility of formats and Burial of Scholars” all over the empire
patterns. c. LEGALISM - philosophy of rule that regards the
state as being more important than the citizen or
KUNG FU TZE Filial piety, Analects, Golden Rule
individual
(Confucianism)
d. Standardized the written Classical Language to
help control the society and to communicate more
LAO TZU (Taoism- The Harmony with nature/environment
clearly.
Way) Wu Wei- doing nothing
e. Li Si introduced a writing system that later
developed into modern Chinese writing.
MENCIUS All human beings share an innate
5. Han Dynasty
goodness
a. Regarded as the Golden Age or the Greatest
dynasty
HSUN TZU (Xunzi) Characterizes human nature as bad
b. Cai Lun - first person in the world to create a writing
Art of War (presents a philosophy of
paper
war for managing conflicts and
c. Sima Qian - wrote Historical Records which is
winning
considered to be the most important history of
China.
MOZI (Mohism) Everyone is equal in the eyes of d. At the beginning of the era, Confucianism was
heaven revived. Confucian texts were rewritten and
republished.
d. “One Hundred Schools of Thought”
e. Prose was further developed. Essays combining
FOUR BOOKS (Sishu)
prose writings and rhymes became popular.
The Analects of Confucius pithy sayings attributed to f. New format "Fu" emerged and developed in
Confucius and recorded mainstream format of literature.
by his disciples 6. Tang Dynasty
a. "Golden Age of Literature"
b. Diamond Sutra - a Buddhist text which is known as
The Works of Mencius collection of political dialogues
the oldest surviving printed book in the world
with extensive prose
c. Poetry in this era has conciseness, magnificent
The Doctrine of the Mean demonstrate the usefulness of a words and phrasing, rhythms and rhymes that
golden way to expresses one's thoughts and emotions.
gain perfect virtue

Li Bai - "Poet Immortal one of the greatest romantic

The Great Book of Learning
FIVE CLASSICS
The Classics of Poetry
about education, self-cultivation
and the Dao
A collection of 305 poems
divided into 160 folk songs
● 105 festalsongs sung at
court ceremonies
● 40 hymns and eulogies
sung at sacrifices to
heroes and ancestral
spirits of the royal
house
Du Fu - "Poet Saint"
poets of ancient China
He wrote at least a thousand
poems on a variety of subjects
from political matters to natural
scenery.
one of the greatest realist poets
of China
His poems reflect the hard
realities of war, dying people
living next to rich rulers, and
primitive rural life.
Known for his works of lüshi,
 11. Modern Era
which has eight lines, each of
a. There was a lot of politically oriented literature
which has five or seven syllables
following a strict printed. Scholars had access to foreign literature,
tonal pattern. and many students studied abroad.
b. Under the national government, there was some
freedom of expression, and lots of views and styles
7. Song Dynasty
of literature were popular.
a. Travel literature became famous, in which authors
wrote about their trips and about various
JAPANESE LITERATURE
destinations
Tanka - began to emerge which consists of 31 syllables
b. The three perfections - Known for its great
KOJIKI(Record of AncientMatters) - relates to the creation of the
achievements in terms of combining poetry,
worlds, anthology of myths, legends and other stories
painting, and calligraphy into a shared art form, or
Nihon Shoki(chronicle of Japan) - chronologial history of Japan in
as complementary activities
poetry
c. Ci - Poetry evolved into a genre. song poems
Man'yōshū (Collection of Myriad Leaves) - most important literary
composed for banquets and such events.
piece and oldest collection of Japanese poetry
d. There were strict rules on number of sentences and
Kakinomoto Hitomaro - Japan's first great literary figure
words and on intonation of each word.
Wrote in two Japanese poetic forms:
e. Song Ci is considered as kind of music literature
● CHOKA (long poems)
whose musicality has high aesthetic value.
● TANKA or Mijikauta (short poems)
f. Composed of two schools, "Bold and
Unconstrained" and "Graceful and Restrained"
1. HEIAN PERIOD
8. Yuan dynasty
a. Golden era of art and literature.
a. First Mongol Dynasty
b. Literature became centered on a cultural elite of
b. Kublai Khan - leader
nobility and monks.
c. Dramatic operatic theaters with human actors
c. Poetry was elegant and sophisticated and
speaking in vernacular language was a favorite form
expressed emotions in a rhetorical style.
of entertainment and some of China’s best
● THE TALE of GENJI - World's first novels an absorbing
dramatic scripts were written then.
introduction to the culture of aristocracy, manner of
d. Dramas and plays were rich in subjects and
dressing, daily life, and moral code
characters, and are flexible and diverse in creation.
○ Murasaki Shikibu - Japanese novelist, poet and
e. Shadow puppet plays were also known during that
lady-in-waiting at the Imperial court in the Heian
time.
period.
f. The Yuan “Zaju” style of opera was similar to their
● THE TALE of BAMBOO CUTTER - Tale of Princess Kaguya,
shadow plays.
oldest surviving piece of Japanese Fiction
g. Guan Hanqing - regarded as one of the best
● THE TALE of HEIKE - An epic account compiled prior to 1330
playwrights of the times. He wrote Midsummer
of the struggle between the Taira clan and Minamoto clan
Snow,
for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century in the
h. The Romance of the Western Chamber, written by
Genpei War
Wang Shifu, is considered one
○ The Heike is considered one of the great classics of
of the best romantic dramas ever written in China.
Medieval Japanese literature.
i. Wildy known novel - Water Margin and The
○ It is also a samurai epic focusing on warrior culture –
Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
an ideology that ultimately laid the groundwork for
9. Ming Dynasty
bushido.
a. Novels were the main contribution of this era that
● Chikamatsu Monzaemon - considered the Japanese
focuses on descriptions of characters and reflects
“Shakespeare” for his assortment of plays staged by puppets
social life through a complete storyline and
in the early era of bunraku stage plays.
environmental description.
● Jōruri - the form of puppet theater that later came to be
b. Journey to the West
known as bunraku
i. Based on the historical journey of a
● Kabuki - the live-actor drama
Buddhist to India during the Tang era to
● Matsuo Bashō - greatest Japanese Haiku writer
learn Buddhist teachings and bring back
○ The Narrow Road to the Deep North, The Old Pond
scriptures and information.
● Haiku - poetic form consisting of 17 syllables arranged in
ii. The characters in the book are well known
three lines of 5, 7, and 5 syllables respectively.
to Chinese children, and they often appear
in martial arts movies and cartoons.
2. Meiji Period
a. introduction of European literature brought free
10. Qing Dynasty (Manchu)
verse into the poetic repertoire.
a. Cao Zhan’s Hongloumeng (Dream of the Red
b. Themes such as Romanticism, Naturalism , Political
Chamber) - Novel of a love triangle and the fall of a
and Post-war literature emerged.
great family. Known as the first outstanding piece of
3. MODERN LITERATURE
Chinese fiction with a tragic ending.
a. Rise of Manga (comics)
b. Foreign literature and the West
b. Emergence of Cell Phone Novel
became better known; and near
the end of the era, modernistic
INDIAN LITERATURE
literature developed.
One of the world's oldest and richest literature. It started with oral
traditions.
HINDUISM - dominant religion
It was also influenced by their religious
concept of Karma, myths, and legends. b. Weep not, Child - first major novel in English by an
SANSKRIT LITERATURE East African
● Sanskrit is the classical language of India.
● It is considered as a sacred language and most used
language in their literature.
● KAVYA was the major form of classical literature in Sanskrit.
Vedas - "Book of Knowledge" considered as their SACRED HYMNS
The Four VEDAS
1. RIG-VEDA (oldest among vedas)
2. SAMA-VEDA
3. YAJUR-VEDA
4. ATHARVA-VEDA
Sacred texts
1. BRAHMANaS
2. ARANYAKAS
3. JATAKAS
4. UPANISHADS
5. TIPITAKA
Heroic texts
1. Mahabharata
a. longest epic poem in the world
b. Written by VYASA, who also collected the VEDAS
and PURANAS.
2. Ramayana by Valmiki
a. "The Way of Rama" - an ancient Sanskrit epic which
follows Prince Rama's quest to rescue his beloved
wife Sita from the clutches of Ravana with the help
of an army of monkeys.
Sanskrit drama
1. Panchatantra - an ancient Indian collection of interrelated
animal fables in Sanskrit verse and prose, arranged within a
frame story
2. Puranas - It is a genre of mythological Narratives
a. a vast genre of Indian literature about a wide range
of topics, particularly about legends and other
traditional lore.

KALIDASA "Indian's Shakespeare" - ancient India's greatest poet and

playwright
● SHAKUNTALA - poetic drama, tells the story of love affair
between a king and a woodland maiden Shakuntala
● Raghuvamsa - Epic poem
● Meghaduta Lyric poem about separated lovers
Rabindranath Tagore - " Indian national poet", The first non-European
winner of the Nobel Prize award for literature
● GITANJALI
○ Song offerings
○ Most famous work of Tagore.

AFRICAN LITERATURE
Africa possesses both written and unwritten traditions.
ORATURE - coined by Pio Zirimu, an African Oral Literature in the form
of prose, verse, and proverb
CALL & RESPONSE - verbal & non-verbal interaction
TRICKSTER STORY-African folktale

Prominent Writers and their Works

1. CHINUA ACHEBE
a. "Father of African Literature"
b. things fall apart - most widely studied, translated,
and read African novel
2. WOLE SOYINKA
a. First African to win a NOBEL PRIZE for LITERATURE
3. NADINE GRODIMER
a. Second African to win a NOBEL PRIZE for
LITERATURE
4. Ngũgĩ wa Thiong'o
a. East Africa's leading novelist, also known as James
Ngugi