REPRESENTATIVE TEXTS

AND AUTHORS FROM

ASIA AND AFRICA
 LESSON OBJECTIVES:
At the end of the lesson you are expected to:
• Recognize representative texts and authors from
Asia and Africa
• Write a close analysis or critical interpretation of
literary texts
• Appreciate the aesthetic and cultural diversity of
the Asian and African literature
 DIRECTIONS: WITH THE USE OF THE WORLD MAP, DETERMINE
THE CONTINENTS FROM THE FOLLOWING JUMBLED LETTERS.
WRITE THE ANSWER IN THE SPACE PROVIDED

1.AASI 1. ASIA
2. RICAAF 2. AFRICA
3. SOTHU MEACARI 3.SOUTH
4.RTHNO ACARIME 4.
AMERICA NORTH
5. TARCANRICA AMERICA
5. ANTARCTICA
6. ROEUPE
6. EUROPE
7. TRAAUSLIA
7. AUSTRALIA
 REPRESENTATIVE TEXTS AND
AUTHORS FROM AFRICA
• Africa, the “Cradle of the humankind” according to
scientists, has a literature that is filled with the
human spirit, desiring for freedom and
contentment. African literature consists of oral
tradition and written literature ranging from local
languages brought by the colonizers (English,
Portuguese, and French). The experiences of the
colonization and post colonization shape the
African literature.
 REPRESENTATIVE TEXTS AND
AUTHORS FROM AFRICA
• In the 19th century, European countries compete for
the colonization of the African territory to gain
political and economic edge. The colonization and
slave trade has awaken the African psyche incredibly.
• The literary works are the vehicle, specifically the
newspaper, in exposing the psychological social
impact of colonization. African writers express their
cry for freedom from oppression through their poetry
and narrative works
 CHINUA ACHEBE
• He was a Nigerian novelist, poet, critic,
and professor and was honored as
Grand Prix de la Memoir of the 2019
edition of the Grand Prix of Literary
Associations. His first novel and
masterpiece, “Things Fall Apart”, is
the most widely read book in modern
African literature. It concerns the
traditional Igbo life at the time of the
advent of missionaries and the colonial
government in his homeland.
 WOLE SOYINKA
• He was the first black African to be
awarded the 1986 Nobel Prize for
Literature. One of his famous works is
his first important play “A Dance of
the Forests” which was written for
the Nigerian independence
celebrations. It parodies the emerging
nation by stripping it of romantic
legend and by showing that the
present is no more a golden age than it
was before.
 KOFI AWOONOR
• He was a Ghanian novelist and poet who
wrote “This Earth, My Brother”, a cross
between a novel and a poem. It was told on
two levels each representing a distinct reality.
The first level is a standard narrative which
details a day in the life of an attorney named
Amamu. The second level is a symbol-laden
mystical journey filled with biblical and
literary allusions. These portions of the text
deal with the new nation of Ghana, which is
represented by a baby on a dunghill. The
dunghill is a source of both rot and renewal,
and in this way represents the foundations
 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. 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
 CHINA
1. 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.
2. 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. 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.
3. 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.
4. 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.
5. 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
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 7th century. 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.
 KOREA
1. 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.
2. 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 undergo
3. 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”.
4. Yun Hunggil - He 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.
5. 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
 JAPAN
1. Abe Kobo - He 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 the present
age." He also won 1967 Akutagawa Award. He also won the 1951 Akutagawa Award for his short
novel Kabe the (“The Wall”).
2. Kimitake Hiraoka - He 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 the
Golden 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
3. 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 Akutagawa Prize, Japan’s premier literary
award was named after him to honor his memory after he died by committing suicide.
4. Haruki Murakami - He 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 muses about life and intimacy. Murakami’s work has
been translated into more than fifty languages
MIDDLE
EAST
 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
 JAPAN
1. Abe Kobo - He 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 the present
age." He also won 1967 Akutagawa Award. He also won the 1951 Akutagawa Award for his short
novel Kabe the (“The Wall”).
2. Kimitake Hiraoka - He 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 the
Golden 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
3. 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 Akutagawa Prize, Japan’s premier literary
award was named after him to honor his memory after he died by committing suicide.
4. Haruki Murakami - He 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 muses about life and intimacy. Murakami’s work has
been translated into more than fifty languages
1.Who is the most famous Chinese poet?
a. Li Po b. Du Fu c. Bai Juyi d. Mao Zedong

2. Who is the traditional Japanese popular drama with

singing and dancing performed in a highly stylized
manner?
a. Haiku b. Kabuki c. Noh d. Bugako

3. What is the Korean’s distinctive writing system that

gave birth to a new wave of Korean literature?
a. Hangul b. Haiku c. Sanskrit d. Arabic
4. What is considered as a clear cultural giant in South
Asia?
a. Philippines b. India c. Indonesia d. Thailand
5. Which continent has a colossal literary tradition in
terms of scope and length of existence?
a. Europe b. Africa c. Asia d. America
6. Who is considered as the Hindu Shakespeare?
a. Kalidasa b. Tagore c. Javadeva