Afro Asian Lit - Chinese

Afro-Asian
Literature
Eng Ed 224
SAMBAY P. MLA, MA
Instructor
Introduction
➢ The background of
Afro-Asian literature
dates to the very
beginnings of when the
first mixed race
individual began
writing.
➢ Afro-Asian literature
is any written text
such as poems, short
stories, or novels
that are based on
African-Asian
ethnicity or African
Arab ethnicity.
Introduction
➢African and Asian cultures are some of the oldest
in the world.
➢It is thought that man started in Africa
migrating to populate the rest of the world.
➢Combinations of these ethnicities occurred giving
rise to mixed races.
➢All of this culture and thought of what happened
in the past has been revealed through written and
anthropological studies based on stories passed
by word of mouth.
Chinese Literature
Chinese Literature
❖First recorded about 5,000 years ago
❖body of works written in Chinese, including
lyric poetry, historical and didactic writing,
drama, and various forms of fiction
❖one of the major literary heritages of the world
➢uninterrupted history of more than 3,000 years
➢dating back at least to the 14th century BCE
Chinese Literature
❖reflects the political and social history of
China and the impact of powerful religions that
came from within and outside the country.
❖inspired by philosophical questions about the

meaning of life, how to live ethically in
society, and how to live in spiritual harmony
with the natural order of the universe.
Chinese Dynasties
Shang Dynasty (1600 B.C.).
➢Religion: based on the
belief that nature was
inhabited by many
powerful gods and
spirits.
➢significant advances:
bronze working, decimal
system, a twelve-month
calendar and a system of
writing consisting 3,000
characters.
Chinese Dynasties
Chou Dynasty (1100 B.C. – 221 B.C.).
➢ The longest of all dynasties
➢ China suffered from severe
political disunity and upheaval.
➢ Also known as “the Hundred Schools
period” because of the many
competing philosophers and teachers
➢ the most influential include Lao
Tzu, the proponent of Taoism, and
Confucius, the founder of
Confucianism
Chinese Dynasties
Ch’in Dynasty (221 B.C. – 207 B.C.).
➢ This is where China saw unification
and the
strengthening of central government.
➢ Roads connecting all parts of the
empire were
Built forming the GreatWall of China.
Han Dynasty (207 B.C. – A.D. 220)
➢ One of the most glorious eras of
Chinese history.
➢ This period was marked by the
introduction of Buddhism from India.
Chinese Dynasties
T’ang Dynasty (A.D. 618 – 960)
➢ The Golden Age of Chinese civilization.
➢ Fine arts and literature flourished
➢ technological advances: the invention of gun
powder and the block printing.
Sung Dynasty (A.D. 960 – 1279).
➢ characterized by delicacy and refinement
➢ inferior in literary arts but great in
learning.
➢ The practice of NeoConfucianism proliferated.
Chinese Language
❖Its origins are lost
but it has retained
its identity as the
most ancient spoken
and oldest written
language still used by
humans.
❖monosyllabic;
❖tonal language
Chinese Language
❖It has no alphabets
❖Originally consists of 50, 000
characters; each character
does not represent words; but
an idea
❖has undergone many changes
from ideographs to more
symbolic forms
❖It has basic 214 signs
❖Written from right to left in
columns from top to bottom.
China’s Literary
Development
❖conquerors were forced to
adopt the written Chinese
language
❖conquerors were
culturally assimilated
(except the Mongols, who
retreated en masse to
their original homeland
after the collapse of the
Yuan [or Mongol] dynasty
in 1368). Thus, there was
no disruption in China’s
literary development.
Chinese Literature
❖is among the most imaginative and interesting in
the world.
❖The precision of the language results in
perfectly realized images whether in poetry or
prose and, as with all great literature, the
themes are timeless.
❖The Chinese valued literature highly and even
had a god of literature named Wen Chang, also
known as Wendi, Wen Ti.
❖early Han literature is "rich in
references to spirits, portents,
myths, the strange and powerful,
the death defying and the
dazzling
Chinese Literature: ❖earliest written works are ghost

stories and myths; Chinese were
On Ghost Stories especially concerned with ghosts
❖served as cautionary tales
emphasizing important cultural
values such as the proper
treatment of the dead, honoring
one's fellow citizens, animal
welfare and care for the nature.
Chinese Literature: On Myths
❖ Ghost stories were accompanied by
myths about the Kunlun Mountains where
the gods and great men of the past
lived.
❖ myths also expressed cultural values
and impressed their lessons on
audiences.
❖ The myth of demi-god Gun who tried
to stop the great flood during the
Xia Dynasty (c. 2070-1600 BCE) but
failed and committed suicide.
❖ It was his son “Yu the Great” who
was able to complete the job.
❖ The myth became so popular it grew
into a cult, the first recorded
messianic, millenarianist movement
in Chinese history.
Chinese Literary Works and Authors
❖The Five Classics and The Five Books, became the basis for
the development Chinese scripts and so Chinese thought
significantly impacted other cultures.
❖Books like Dream of Red Mansions or Romance of the Three
Kingdoms became as popular in other cultures as they were
in China and influenced themes of those cultures' literary
works.
❖through Chinese literature, especially poetry, we are
invited into the world of the writer and experience life
directly as "we read their descriptions of home and
family, landscapes, palaces, and war, and as they speak
out on behalf of the poor and the oppressed
❖philosophers such as Confucius, Mo Ti, Mencius, Lao-Tzu, Teng Shih,
and others from the Hundred Schools of Thought
❖The Analects of Confucius,
❖The Works of Mencius,
❖The Doctrine of the Mean, and
❖Great Book of Learning
❖Recognizes the 5 Classics; serves as the foundation of their
cultural, political and traditional life.
❖The Classics of Changes
❖The Classics of History
❖The Classics of Rites
❖The Classics of Odes
❖The Spring and Autumn Annals
❖These fine works provided a cultural standard that people
were expected to meet if they wanted to work for the
government, ensured a candidate was literate and qualified
as one of the elite.
❖greatest prose master of the Tang was Han Yu (l. 768-824
CE), considered 'the Shakespeare of China’
❖essayist who advocated Confucian values
❖Shen Kuo (l. 1031-1095 CE) was a polymath of the Sung
Dynasty (960-1234 CE), whose writings on scientific
subjects were extremely influential
❖Four Great Classic Novels of China:
1. Romance of the Three Kingdoms by Luo Guanzhong (l.
1280-1360 CE)
2. Water Margin by Shi Nai'an (l.131296-1372 CE)
3. Journey to the West by Wu Cheng'en (l. 1500-1582 CE),
and
4. Dream of Red Mansions by Cao Xueqin (1715-1764 CE).
❖Of these four, Dream of Red Mansions is considered the

greatest literary masterpiece in Chinese writing because
of its style, theme, and scope.
❖It was published in 1791 CE and has remained a best-seller
in China ever since.
Major Writers
Major Writers
Philosophy and Religion
❖Chinese literature and all of Chinese culture

has been profoundly influenced by three great
schools of thought: Confucianism, Taoism and
Buddhism.
❖Chinese religions are based on the perception
of life as a process of continual change in
which opposing forces, such as heaven and earth
or light and dark, balance one another.
❖These opposites are symbolized by the Yin and
Yang. Yin, the passive and feminine force,
counterbalances Yang, the active and masculine
force, each contains a ‘seed’ of the other, as
represented in the traditional yin-yang symbol.
Philosophy and Religion
Philosophical Works
Literary
Selections
FORMATIVE ASSESSMENT

Afro Asian Lit - Chinese

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Afro Asian Lit - Chinese

Uploaded by

Document Information

Original Title

Copyright

Available Formats

Share this document

Share or Embed Document

Sharing Options

Did you find this document useful?

Is this content inappropriate?

Copyright:

Available Formats

Afro Asian Lit - Chinese

Uploaded by

Copyright:

Available Formats

Afro-Asian

❖inspired by philosophical questions about the

Chinese Literature: ❖earliest written works are ghost

❖Of these four, Dream of Red Mansions is considered the

❖Chinese literature and all of Chinese culture

You might also like