Representative Texts and Authors from Asia

• Asia, the largest continent in the world, has a vast literary tradition in terms of scope and
length of existence.
• The literary traditions of Asia are quite diverse, including a wide range of cultures,
languages, and genres. They have been around for thousands of years and contain a wide
variety of traditions. Ancient literature, poetry, drama, epics, folktales, and other forms of
literature are included. Therefore, the literatures of Asia are a monument or a testament
to the depth, complexity, and enduring imagination of the creative mind. They provide
insights into the cultural, historical, and philosophical characteristics of the continent that
is the largest in the world.
• Literature in the Eastern hemisphere prospered and mirrored the developments in religion,
war, and politics. It is wise to study the Asian literature by geographical region.

EAST ASIA

China, one of the world’s cradles of civilization, has started its unbroken literary tradition in
the 14th century BCE. The preservation of the Chinese language (both spoken and written),
has made the immeasurable prolonged existence of their literary traditions possible.

• It has retained its reputation by keeping the fundamentals of its identity intact. Poets like
Du Fu, Li Po, and Wang Wei of the Tang Dynasty (618-907), the finest era of
Chinese literature, has produced world-renowned literary works. Chinese writers in
modern times are still creative and productive and have kept the Chinese literary
tradition prosperous.
Authors:

➢ Du Fu
- He is also known as Tu fu. According to many literary critics, he was the
greatest Chinese poet of all time.
- He wrote the poem “The Ballad of the Army Cats” which is about conscription—and
with hidden satire that speaks of the noticeable luxury of the court.
- It vividly portrays the suffering and hardships endured by soldiers and their families
during times of war. In the poem, Du Fu describes the scenes of soldiers marching off
to battle, leaving behind their loved ones and the difficulties they face on the battlefield.
The poem captures the sense of loss, sacrifice, and the harsh realities of war, while
also expressing empathy for the soldiers and their families.
- Du Fu's poetry is renowned for its emotional depth, vivid imagery, and social
commentary, and "The Ballad of the Army Carts" is no exception. It remains a powerful
and enduring work that continues to resonate with readers centuries after it was
written.
➢ Li Po
- He is also known as Li Bai, a Chinese poet who is a competitor of Du Fu as China’s
greatest poet.
 -He was romantic in his personal life and his poetry. Li Bai is considered one of the
greatest poets in Chinese literature, known for his romanticism, lyrical style, and love
of nature. His works are known for its conversational tone and vivid imagery.
- He wrote the poem “Alone and Drinking under the Moon” that deals with the ancient
social custom of drinking.
- In this poem, Li Bai describes the scene of himself drinking alone under the moonlight.
Despite being alone, he finds solace and companionship in the moon and his shadow.
The poet creates a sense of intimacy with the natural world, as he shares a moment
of contemplation and enjoyment with the moon and his own reflection.
➢ Wang Wei
- He was a poet, painter, musician, and statesman during the Tang dynasty (the golden
ages of the Chinese cultural history).
- He was the established founder of the respected Southern school of painter-poets.
Many of his best poems were inspired by the local landscape. Wang Wei is renowned
for his mastery of landscape poetry and his deep connection to nature. Example: “Lu
Zhai” reflects Wang Wei's profound appreciation for the natural world and his ability to
capture its serene beauty in his poetry. Through simple yet elegant language, the
poem invites readers to share in the poet's contemplative experience and to find
solace in the quietude of the mountains.
➢ Mo Yan
- He was a fictionist who won the 2012 Nobel Prize for Literature. His first novel was
“Red Sorghum”, and still his best-known work.
- It tells the story of the Chinese battling Japanese intruders as well as each other during
the 1930s. It relates the story of a family in a rural area in Shandong Province during
this turbulent time.
➢ Yu Hua
- He was a world-acclaimed short story writer and considered as a champion
for Chinese meta-fictional or postmodernist writing.
- His widely acclaimed novel “To Live” describes the struggles endured by the
son of a wealthy land-owner while historical events caused and extended
by the Chinese Revolution are fundamentally altering the nature of Chinese society.

Korea’s literary tradition is greatly influenced by China’s cultural dominance. As early as the 4th
century CE, Korean poets wrote literary pieces in Classical Chinese poetry then transformations
happened at the 7thcentury.

• Hangul, Korean’s distinct writing system and national alphabet, is developed in the 15th
century that gave new beginnings of Korean literature.
• In contemporary times, the Korean War has made a significant mark on Korean
literature. In 1950, the themes present in the literary works are about alienation,
conscience, disintegration, and self-identity.

Authors:

➢ Ch’oe Nam-Seon
 - He was considered a prominent historian, pioneering poet, and publisher in the Korean
literature. He was also a leading member of the modern literary movement and
became notable in pioneering modern Korean poetry.
- One of his works, the poem "The Ocean to the Youth” made him a widely acclaimed
poet. The poem aimed to produce cultural reform. He sought to bring modern
knowledge about the world to the youth of Korea.
➢ Yi Kwang-su
- He was also the one who launched the modern literary movement together with
Ch’oe Nam-Seon.
- He was a novelist and wrote the first Korean novel “The Heartless” and became
well-known because of it. It was a description of the crossroads at which Korea
found itself, stranded between tradition and modernity, and undergoing conflict
between social realities and traditional ideals.
➢ Kim Ok
- He was a Korean poet and included in the early modernism movement of
Korean poetry.
- He wrote the first Korean collection of translation from Western poetry “The Dance of
Agony”
➢ Yun HunggilHe
- was a South Korean novelist who won the 1977 Korean Literature Writers Award. He
wrote the classic novel “Changma”(The Rainy Spell) that on a post-war family with two
grandmothers and their shared grandson.
➢ Pak Kyongni
- She was a South Korean poet and novelist.
- She wrote the Korean’s masterpiece and internationally acclaimed 21-volume epic
novel T’oji (“The Land”), wherein she chronicled the violent Korean history from 1897
to 1945.

Japan has a rich and unique literary history even though it has been influenced by the Chinese
language and Chinese literature.

• It has a world-renowned poetic genre called haiku ( a short descriptive poem with 17
syllables) and the diverse forms of theatre Noh (traditional Japanese theatrical form
and one of the oldest extant theatrical forms in the world) and Kabuki (traditional
Japanese popular drama with singing and dancing performed in a highly stylized
manner).
• Japanese literature reflects simple yet complex, imperfect yet abounding with beauty
–the traditional Japanese cultural identity.
• In contemporary times, Western influences take part in the Japanese literature, specifically
in the pioneering of modern Japanese novels, translations of the poetry, and reinventions
of traditional Japanese poetic forms like haiku and tanka. Playwrights like Abe Kobo and
Mishima Yukio are Japan’s notable literalists.
Authors:
➢ Abe Kobo
- was a Japanese novelist and playwright and also known by the pseudonym of Abe
Kimifusa. He wrote the best-known play "Tomodachi" (Friends) which is a story, with
dark humor, reveals the relationship with the other, and exposes the peculiarity of
human relations in thepresent age."
- "Tomodachi" explores themes of friendship, loyalty, and the complexities of human
relationships. It delves into the dynamics of power and influence within friendships, as
well as the blurred boundaries between admiration and manipulation. The story also
touches on the disillusionment that can arise when one discovers the flaws and
vulnerabilities of a beloved friend.
- He also won the 1967 Akutagawa Award. He also won the 1951 Akutagawa Award for
his short novel Kabe (“The Wall”).
➢ Kimitake Hiraoka
- is also known by the pen name Mishima Yukio, the most important Japanese
novelist of the 20th century.
- He was one of the finalists of the 1963 Nobel Prize for Literature and won numerous
awards for his works. He wrote the novel “The Temple of the Golden Pavilion” and
won Yomiuri Prize from Yomiuri Newspaper Corporation for the best novel. “The
Temple of theGolden Pavilion”, translated into the English language by Ivan Morris,
based on the burning of the Reliquary (or Golden Pavilion) of Kinkaku-Ji in Kyoto
by a young Buddhist acolyte in 1950.
- The Temple of the Golden Pavilion" explores themes of beauty, obsession, and the
destructive impulses that lie within the human psyche. Through Mizoguchi's character,
Mishima delves into the complexities of desire, identity, and the search for meaning in
a world that often seems indifferent and chaotic.
- The novel is renowned for its rich and evocative prose, as well as its exploration of
existentialist themes and the clash between traditional Japanese values and the
modern world. It remains a powerful and enduring work that continues to captivate
readers with its psychological depth and philosophical insights.
-
➢ Ryūnosuke Akutagawa
- He was a Japanese writer and regarded as the Father of the Japanese short story.
- He wrote the short story “Rashomon” that recounts the encounter between a servant
and an old woman in the dilapidated Rashōmon, the southern gate of the then-ruined
city of Kyoto, where unclaimed corpses were sometimes dumped.
- The story is famous for its exploration of the nature of truth and the subjectivity of
human perception. The story raises questions about memory, perception, and the
inherent ambiguity of storytelling. It also delves into themes of morality, justice, and
the darker aspects of the human psyche.
- The Akutagawa Prize, Japan’s premier literary award was named after him to honor
his memory after he died by committing suicide.
➢ Haruki Murakami
- was a Japanese novelist who won the international award Jerusalem Prize. He also
won the Gunzou Literature Prize for his first novel “Hear the Wind Sing”.
 - It featured episodes in the life of an unnamed protagonist and his friend, the Rat, who
hang out at a bar.
- The unnamed protagonist reminisces and musesabout life and intimacy. Murakami’s
work has been translated into more than fifty languages
- Existentialism: focuses on the individual's experience of existence and the search for
meaning in a seemingly indifferent or absurd world. It emphasizes the importance of
individual freedom, choice, and responsibility, as well as the inherent anxiety and
uncertainty that accompany human existence.
MIDDLE EAST

Arabic literary tradition has been flourishing in the Middle East. Islam is the foundation of
culture in this region -an essential component.

• Its literary tradition has grown and influenced others like Persian, Byzantine, and
Andalusian traditions.
• In return, Arabic literature has also been influenced by other literary traditions of different
countries. Even European literature followed and imitated Arabic literature.
• In contemporary times, Arabic writers experience difficulties in producing their literary texts
due to the issue of freedom of expression and the tension between religious and secular
movements.
Authors:

➢ Abbas Mahmoud al-Aqqad

- He was an Egyptian poet, journalist, and literary critic, an innovator of the 20th-century
Arabic poetry and criticism.
- He became famous for his Abqariyat series, a seven-book compilation that covers the
life of seven of the most important Sahabah (the disciples and followers of
Muhammad).
➢ Taha HusseinHe
- was an Egyptian novelist, essayist, critic, and an outstanding figure in Egyptian
literature. His nickname was “The Dean of Arabic Literature”.
- He wrote the novelized autobiography “The Days”, one ofthe most popular works of
modern Arabic literature that deals with his childhood in a small village, then his studies
in Egypt and France.
➢ Ali AhmadSaid EsberHe
- is known also as Adonis as his pseudonym. He is an award-winning Syrian-
born Lebanese poet,literary critic, and is a leader of the modernist movement in
contemporary Arabic poetry.
- He was the recipient of numerous honors, including the 2011 Goethe Prize and the
2017 PEN/Nabokov Award for Achievement in International. Some of his famous
poems are “First Poems” and “Leaves in the Wind”.
➢ Etgar KeretHe
 - is an Israeli writer known for his short stories, graphic novels, and scriptwriting
for film and television. His 2019 Fly Already (“Glitch at the Edge of the Galaxy”)
published in English won Israel’s prestigious Sapir Prize in Literature.

SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST ASIA

India is the cultural giant over South Asia. Hallmark writings such as Veda, the Brahmanas,
and the Upanishads are the roots of Indian literature.

• As early as 1500 BCE, the Veda written in the Sanskrit language introduced the birth
of Indian literary works.
• Around the 16th century, written literature in India appeared. In the succeeding centuries
of British colonization, English literature emerged that happen to be the significant
influence of Indian literary traditions until the 21st century period.
• Kalidasa is a notable and famous Indian writer considered to be the Hindu Shakespeare.
The literary traditions of Southeast Asia possess the influences of Buddhist, Thai, and
English cultures, especially in Burma literature. Malaysian and Indonesian literature
reflects a large part of the Sanskrit language and Islam culture.
• In contemporary times, India still manifests the impact of colonial rule through the
presence of the English language in literary traditions. Numerous Indian writers like
the Rabindranath Tagore, Prem Chand, Raja Rao, and R.K. Narayan are highly
accomplished and internationally known. Southeast Asia literature presents themes on
colonial and postcolonial experiences in Burmese literature and western literature
influences in Thailand literature.

Authors:

➢ Rabindranath Tagore
- He was a Bengali poet, short-story writer, song composer, playwright, essayist,
and painter.
- He was referred to as “the Bard of Bengal”.
- He is a towering figure of world literature and the most famous modern Indian poet.
He won the 1913 Nobel Prize for Literature award for his book The English Gitanjali
or Song Offerings.
- It is a volume of poetry which is a collection of devotional songs to the supreme.
➢ Dhanpat Rai Srivastava
- Also known by his pseudonym Prem Chand, he is a famous Indian author of novels
and short stories of his modern Hindustani literature.
- He pioneered in adapting Indian themes to Western literary styles.
- He wrote the most popular Hindi novel “Godaan”(Cow Donation) and considered
one of the greatest Hindi novels of modern Indian literature. Its theme was around the
socio-economic deprivation as well as the exploitation of the village poor.

➢ Raja Rao
- He is an Indian writer of novels and short stories in the English language.
 - His famous novel “The Serpent and the Rope”, a semi-autobiographical account of
the narrator, a young intellectual Brahman, and his wife seeking spiritual truth in India,
France, and England, recognized him as one of the fines Indian prose Stylists.
- It won him the Sahitya Akademi Award. He was also rewarded the Neustadt
International Prize for Literature. His literary works in various genres had a
significant contribution to Indian and to world literature.
➢ Rasipuram Krishnaswami Narayan(R. K. Narayan)
- One of the finest Indian authors in the English language, he wrote the Sahitya Award-
winning novel “The Guide” which was adapted for film and for Broadway.
- It was based on the fictional town in South India and describes the transformation of
the protagonist from a tour guide to a spiritual guide and one of the greatest holy men
of India.
- Narayan typically portrays the peculiarities of human relationships and the ironies of
Indian daily life, in which modern urban existence clashes with ancient tradition. His
style is graceful, marked by genial humour, elegance, and simplicity.
➢ Chart Korbjitti
- is the most successful Thai writer. He was recognized by his publication of his novel
Khamphiphaksa (The Judgment).
- His novel was named as Book of the Year by Thailand's Literature Council and won
him the S.E.A Write Award.
- He was awarded the National Artist in Literature (2004) and was among the honourees
of the inaugural Silpathorn Award, given to Thai contemporary artists.
➢ Nguyen Du
- best-loved poet and the father of Vietnamese literature, he was most known
for his epic poem “The Tale of Kieu” that recounts the life, trials, and tribulations
of Thuy Kieu, a beautiful and talented young woman, who has to sacrifice herself
to save her family.
- She sells herself into marriage with a middle-aged man, not knowing that he is a pimp,
and is forced into prostitution.
➢ Tengku Amir Hamzah
- was an Indonesian poet and National Hero of Indonesia.
- His poem collection “Nyangi Sunyi”is considered the most developed and shows the
theme of God and His relationship to humanity, fate, dissatisfaction, and escape.
- Some literary critics think that the collection is an attempt to address the worldly
problems of Amir. He was the only Indonesian poet recognized internationally
- Tengku Amir Hamzah (February 1911 – 20 March 1946) was an Indonesian poet and
National Hero of Indonesia. Born into a Malay aristocratic family in the Sultanate of
Langkat in North Sumatra, he was educated in both Sumatra and Java. While
attending senior high school in Surakarta around 1930, Amir became involved with the
nationalist movement and fell in love with a Javanese schoolmate, Ilik Sundari.

CENTRAL ASIA
Literature from Central Asia is rich and diverse, reflecting the region's complex history, cultural
heritage, and linguistic diversity. Central Asia encompasses countries such as Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, each with its own unique literary traditions.

Oral Literature: Central Asia has a long tradition of oral literature, including epic poems, folk tales,
and legends passed down through generations. These stories often reflect the nomadic lifestyle
of the region's inhabitants and incorporate elements of mythology, history, and cultural values.

Classical Literature: Persian literature has had a significant influence on the literary traditions of
Central Asia, particularly in Tajikistan and parts of Uzbekistan. The works of poets such as Rumi,
Omar Khayyam, and Ferdowsi are widely revered in the region.

Central Asian literature has different literary characteristics and political in culture.

• In contemporary times, Russian influence continues to be present in Central Asia

literature.
• Some of the Central Asian writers and their literary works pave their way to be known
worldwide.

Authors:

➢ Abdullah Qodiriy
- He was known by the pseudonym Julqunboy.
- He was one of the most influential Uzbek writers of the 20thcentury and Soviet
playwright, poet, writer, and literary translator.
- His most famous work is the historical novel O’tgan kunlar (Days Gone By), the
first Uzbek full-length novel.
➢ Mukhtar Auez-uli
- was a Kazakh writer, a social activist, a Doctor of Philology, a professor and honored
academic of the Soviet Union(1946).
- He was born on September 28, 1897 in the old town of Semei in Kaskabulak, where
he spent all his childhood. He grew up under the spiritual influence of the poet Abai.
- He was an early Soviet Kazakh writer and won recognition for the long novel
“Abay” which is based on the life and poetry of Kunanbay-uli.
➢ Chingiz Aytmatov
- was a Soviet and Kyrgyz author and the best-known figure in Kyrgyz and Russian
literature. “Jamila”, his first major novel was told from the viewpoint of a fictional
character that tells the story by looking back on his childhood.
- The story recounts the love between his new sister-in-law Jamilya and a local crippled
young man, Daniyar, while Jamilya's husband, Sadyk, is "away at the front" (as a
Soviet soldier during World War II).

Overall, Central Asian literature offers a fascinating window into the cultural, historical, and social
dynamics of this diverse and dynamic region. From ancient epics to contemporary novels, poetry,
and short stories, the literature of Central Asia continues to captivate readers around the world
with its rich storytelling traditions and unique perspectives.
Representative Texts from Asian Countries:
1. Battle by Chu’u Yuan
2. A thousand Splendid Suns by Khaled Hosseini

Approaches in Literary Criticism

Literary criticism is the comparison, analysis, interpretation, and/or evaluation of

works of literature. Literary criticism is essentially an opinion, supported by evidence,
relating to theme, style, setting or historical or political context.
Literary Approaches

1. Biographical criticism - focuses on the author’s life. It tries to gain a better

understanding of the literary work by understanding the person who wrote it.
2. Formalism, along with one of its more conspicuous modern iterations, New
Criticism, focuses on a literary text itself, aside from questions about its author
or the historical and cultural contexts of its creation. Formalism takes a story,
poem, or play “on its own terms,” so to speak, viewing it as a self-contained
unit of meaning.
3. Historical criticism - focuses on the historical and social circumstances that
surrounded the writing of a text. It may examine biographical facts about the
author’s life (which can therefore connect this approach with biographical
criticism) as well as the influence of social, political, national, and international
events.
4. Feminist criticism - focuses on prevailing societal beliefs about women in an
attempt to expose the oppression of women on various levels by patriarchal
systems both contemporary and historical. It also explores the marginalization
of women in the realm of literature itself.
5. Marxist criticism - emphasizes class, socioeconomic status, power relations
among various segments of society, and the representation of those segments.
Marxist literary criticism is valuable because it enables readers to see the role
that class plays in the plot of a text.
6. Moralist criticism – it focuses on evaluating literature based on its ethical and
moral content. This approach seeks to understand the moral messages
conveyed by the text and assesses whether those messages align with societal
values or moral standards.
7. Reader-response Approach - suggests that the role of the reader is essential
to the meaning of a text, for only in the reading experience does the literary
work come alive. Its purpose is to examine, explain, and defend your personal
reaction to a text. There is no right or wrong answer to a reading response.
Nonetheless, it is important that you demonstrate an understanding of the
reading and clearly explain and support your reaction.