Littera : Lesson 2, Quarter 2

• East Asian Literature

- Chinese, Japanese, Korean
• South Asian Literature
- Indian, Pakistani, Bangladeshi, Sri
Lankan
• South East Asian Literature
- Thai, Philippine, Malaysian,
Indonesian, Burmese/Myanma,
Vietnamese
• West Asian Literature
- Persian, Arabic, Jewish, Turkish
• As an effect of Tiananmen
massacre of 1989, literature and
culture turned commercial and
escapist.
• Literature exposed social
problems
- “Dreams of Ding Village” (Yan
Lianke) – plight of AIDS victims
• Women writers explored female
subjectivity in a radically
changing society.
• Trends: cult literature (“Cry Me
a Sad River”), vagabond
literature, underground
literature, literature of the mega
cities, women’s literature
• Chinese language literature also
flourishes in South East Asia,
America and Europe
• Publishes books, magazines,
newspapers in the world
• More than 600 literary journals
• Produced Nobel Prize for
Literature awardees (Year 2000
and 2012)
• Cao Wenxuan – Hans Christian
Andersen awardee
• Literary themes: Buddhists’
attitudes about the importance
of knowing oneself, criticism of
materialism, women’s roles,
Japanese persona in the modern
world, disintegration of the
common people in the
complexities of urban culture
• Popular fiction, non fiction and
children’s literature flourished in
the 1980’s
• Genres: historical serials, docu-
dramas, sci-fi, detective fiction,
war journals, animal stories
• Manga (comics) became
extremely popular
• Cell phone novels – romance
read by young women (“Love
Sky” - sold million of print
copies
• Post-war literature : dealt with
daily lives of ordinary people and
their struggles with national
pain.
• 1960’s-1970’s: Literature
became a means for political
expression; Western modernism
influence
• 20th century : literature was
concerned with national division
• Some North Korean writers were
highly appreciated in the South
• 2005: Writers from both Koreas
held a literary congress
• “Flowers of Fire” – first
anthologies of Korean literature
published in English (1974)
• Korean films became popular
even in China and Japan
• There are several languages used
in India (22 languages) and
literary works are written on
these many languages
• Examples: Bengali, Urdu, Tamil,
Hindi, Kashmiri, English, etc.
• English – an official language of
Pakistan since the British colonial
era.
• Poetry written in Pakistani English
• Pakistani fiction was recognized
only in the latter part of the 20th
century
• Pakistani novelists writing in
English gained international
awards
• 20th century Thai writers wrote
light fiction
• The ‘serious’ works of some Thai
writers were translated to English
• Bangkok Writers Group
• Angkatan (1980-1990’s) –
dominated by romance novel
• Poets wrote about femininity
and ‘third gender’
• After independence in 1948,
their literature assimilated
Western styles of writing
• Burmese Translation Society –
was founded to translate foreign
works esp. those related to
science and technology
• Burmese Literary Commission –
formed by the gov’t to censor
literary works
• Popular novels depicted similar
themes - adventure, romance,
detective work, espionage
• Short stories published on
magazines had political
messages and subtle criticisms
• Poetry were not written in
literary Burmese but in the
vernacular
• Persian literature in Tajikistan :
new poetry – revolutionary
• The impact of modernization
drive was strong
• Tajik poets imitated foreign
writers
• Short stories and novels
modeled Russian and European
works
• Tahirih – the earliest prominent
female Arabic writer of the
modern period. She wrote fine
Arabic and Persian poetry.
• Christian Arabic-speaking women
dominated the women literary
arena in the Arab world (19th and
20th centuries)
• Contemporary Arabic language
women’s literature are written in
other languages (English, French,
German)
• Modern Hebrew poetry –
contributed to the revival of the
Hebrew language
• Hayim Nahman Bialik – Israel’s
national poet
• Poets wrote about nature and the
culture of ancient Greece
• One Israeli writer has been a
recipient of Nobel Prize for Literature
for writing in biblical Hebrew and
modern Hebrew
• The works of Israeli authors are
translated in various languages and
received international recognitions
• 1896 – the first collective literary
movement arose
• 1923 – the Republic of Turkey
was officially founded
• 3 Primary Literary Movements:
a. New Literature movement
b. Dawn of the Future movement
c. National Literature movement
• Characterize Old Man Xin
Jiang.
• Why is he called old man Xin
Jiang?
• Who is the woman he keeps
on visiting?
• Why is he with another man?
• What is old man Xin Jiang’s
philosophy in life?
• Analyzes the culture of the society
including standards of behavior,
etiquette and the relations
between opposing groups.
• Analyzes the economy and politics
of the society, i.e, system of
government, the rights of
individuals, how wealth is
distributed and who holds the
power.
• What is the relationship between
the characters and their society?
• Does the story address societal
issues such as race, gender and
class?
• How does the story reflect the
urban, rural or suburban values?
• How do economic conditions
determine the direction of
characters lives?
Colloquially, "the press" or the
"press gang", refers to the act of
taking men into a military or naval
force by compulsion, with or
without notice. Navies of several
nations used forced recruitment by
various means.
• The setting of the story is
during the beginning of
the reign of Mao Zedong
in the latter part of the
1940’s.
• Sino-Japanese War ended
in 1945
A. Discuss how the war
affected the lives of the
early Chinese people as
illustrated in the life of old
man Xin Jiang.
B. Discuss the current society
of old man Xin Jiang, their
economic condition and
how the poor and the old
are being treated.
 “The Cleft” by Prajwal
Parajuly
-One of the stories in
Parajuly’s book, “The
Gurkha’s Daughter”
• Its characters
• Indian Customs on Death
• Characterization of Parvati
- Her relationship with her mother
in law
- Her treatment of Kaali
- Sarita’s treatment of Kaali
 Kaali’s daydream
• What social issue is shown in the
story?
• In what ways does Kaali
experience this?
• What rights of Kaali are being
violated?
• What examples of discrimination
do people experience
nowadays?
 “Recipe”
by: Janice Mirikitini
Ms. Mirikitini is a third-
generation Japanese
American. She wrote this
poem in 1987.
Round eyes

Ingredients: scissors, Scotch

magic tape, eyeliner – water
based, black
Optional: false eyelashes.

Cleanse face thoroughly.

For best results, powder entire
face, including eyelids.
(lighter shades suited to total
effect desired)
With scissors, cut magic tape
depending on length of
eyelid.
Stick firmly unto mid-upper
eyelid area
(looking down into handmirror
facilitates finding adequate
surface)
If using false eyelashes, affix
first on lid, folding any excess
lid over the base of eyelash
with glue
Paint black eyeliner on tape
and entire lid.

Do not cry.