This document provides an overview of Asian literature. It discusses how Asian literature encompasses works from various regions across Asia, including Russia, East Asia, West Asia, South Asia, Central Asia, and Southeast Asia. It notes that while styles and themes vary, common ideas have emerged, particularly religiosity/spirituality. It also discusses defining traits like involvement of nature and exploration of topics like power and struggles. Common styles are poetry, verse, and dramatic prose. The document emphasizes the importance of Asian literature in providing cultural understanding and influencing philosophy worldwide through religious texts. It provides examples of major literary works and authors from China, Japan, and India that helped shape each country's literature. In conclusion, it states Asian literature continues to

1. CORHUM 01
21st Century
Literature from
the Philippines
and the World

2. GUESS THE
FLAG!

4. SOUTH KOREA

6. JAPAN

8. INDIA

10. CHINA

12. PHILIPPINES

13. LESSON
ASIAN
LITERATURE
6

14. Introduction 0001
Asian literature encompasses the literary works from
the various parts of the continent: we have texts from
Russia in the North; the trio of Chinese, Japanese, and
Korean masterpieces from East Asia; Arabian works
from the West; masterpieces from countries like India,
Pakistan, and Nepal in the South region; writings from
Kazakhstan and its surrounding countries in Central
Asia; and stories from countries like the Philippines,
Indonesia, and Thailand in the Southeast.

15. ● What are the defining traits of
Asian literature? Why is it
significant?
● More importantly, does it have a
place in our world now?

16. Asian Literature,
Defined

17. Asian Literature:
Asian literature is diverse in that it
showcases a selection of styles and themes, but
as it progressed over time, common ideas have
been identified between the texts from the
various regions of the Asian continent.

18. Asian Literature:
Perhaps the most similar trait of all Asian texts is
their religiosity and spirituality. Asian literature is
known to be a philosophical and contemplative art,
pondering on major matters in life such as our origins
and our death: where we come from and where we
go, how we come alive and how we die, as well as
how we should live in between.

19. Asian Literature:
Related to the spiritual feature, the involvement
of nature is evident. Besides these, Asian literature
greatly talks about race, injustice, power,
nationalism, struggles, love—and in all things at all
times, there are morals to be learned.

20. Asian Literature:
The most common styles in this type of literature are
poetry or verse and dramatic prose. Asian poetry is typically
lyrical, as in it deals with the grand scheme of emotions. A
sub-type of lyrical poetry is the ode, which we can see in
some religious texts. Asian poetry is also usually formed in
narratives or storytelling verses like epics. As for the proses
of Asia, there are collections of short stories, legends, orally
transmitted sayings, and dramas.

21. Importance of
Asian Literature

22. Importance of Asian Literature:
Naturally, while each Asian country has a unique literary
style, their literature also reflects the similarities in their customs
and traditions, struggles and successes, even their philosophies in
life, giving the rest of the world a better understanding of
Asian culture.
This is hugely important especially to Western people in the
past since they did not know a lot of Asia, much less its people’s
ways of living, due to both their geographic and cultural
distances.

23. Importance of Asian Literature:
Not only does Asian literature give us an original and fresh take on
people’s experiences, but it also contributes to our collective
perception of life through the morals and philosophies that their
literary pieces embody. One Thousand and One Nights, a collection of
Arabian folk tales, is the epitome of the value-centered pieces of Asian
literature. In its hundreds of stories, just as many moral lessons can be
gleaned. To name a few, Aladdin’s Wonderful Lamp teaches us the
meaning of identity and how it is based on merit, not wealth; Ali Baba
and the Forty Thieves characterizes loyalty, honesty, and generosity; The
Tale of the Hunchback calls out to the persistence of truth and our
conscience.

24. Importance of Asian Literature:
Asian literature has also aided the spread of Asian spirituality,
heightening the major religions that we know and are a part of until
today—all of which started in the continent itself: Christianity, Judaism,
and Islam having originated from West Asia, Hinduism and Buddhism
from the South, and Confucianism and Taoism from the East. Examples
of literary texts that support religions range from the Tao Te Ching that
exemplifies Taoism, the Analects that epitomizes Confucianism, to the
Sanskrit epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata that are important to
Hinduism, amongst many others that knit the patchwork of Asian
religions.

25. Importance of Asian Literature:
Asian literature has impacted our lives, whether we know it or
not. It is there in the way that we view certain aspects of life—
such as struggles, injustices, death—, and it is there in the way
that we treat life itself. Throughout the years and until today, all
over the world, Asian literature has helped shape our ideals
and lifestyles. It is only right that we trace the origins of such
a powerful medium that has moved our minds.

26. ASIAN LITERARY WORKS
In Asia, the literary pieces developed according to its various
regions. And while every country in these regions has their own
unique style and story to offer, there are major advancements in
Asian literature that represent the continent. Typically,
researchers of literature classify Asian literary artworks into
only three categories despite the many regions; we have
Chinese, Japanese, and Indian literature to characterize the
growth of Asian literature because they are the ones with
withstanding influence and recognition.

27. CHINESE LITERATURE
In China, the system of writing began at around 1300 BC
under the Shang Dynasty. Following suit, Chinese literature
was established using their formal language of Classical
Chinese. Under another dynasty between 1045 to 225 BC—
the Zhou dynasty—, the Chinese writing system blossomed
from mere hieroglyphs to bodies of religious texts, marking
the beginnings of Chinese literature.

28. CHINESE LITERATURE
"Do not impose on others what you do
not wish for yourself.".
-Confucius

29. JAPANESE LITERATURE
The Japanese owed the origins of their writing system to
China. Some of the oldest known pieces of Japanese literature
are the Kojiki and the Nihon Shoki, the former being a
collection of myths and legends and the latter being a historical
chronicle. A third ancient literary piece is the Man’yoshu, a vast
collection of poems. We can see in these examples, however
early, the recurring patterns and themes of Asian literature that
until today are palpable.

30. JAPANESE LITERATURE
The Kabuki drama of the Edo Period (1600-1868), as
well as the Haiku and Renga types of poetry continued to
shape the bigger picture of not just Japanese but also Asian
literature. Fiction and non-fiction pieces of every genre—
especially in the form of Manga—started to dominate the
scene, resulting to the Japanese literary landscape that we
know today.

31. INDIAN LITERATURE
Yet another epitome of Asian literature is that of India,
in which some of the oldest literary masterpieces are
religious and reflective in nature, becoming the basis for the
major religion of Hinduism. Examples include the Veda
hymns and the epics of Ramayana and Mahabharata, all of
which inspire morals and philosophy in the form of myths,
chants, narratives, and verses.

32. INDIAN LITERATURE
The rest of Indian literature molded itself over the
years after these ancient texts. India’s renowned
writer, Rabindranath Tagore, exemplified such styles
in his romantic works that spanned spiritual and
mystic themes mainly in various forms of prose and
poetry.

33. Asian
Literature
Now

34. Nowadays, although the spread of Western ideals
unmistakably and unstoppably continues to seep into
the cultures of Asians, including their literature, the
said features of Asian literary works are still
observable, albeit in a modern sense.

35. Even with shelves stacked up on new reads,
though, the classics of Asian literature—those that
shaped the religions, perceptions, and histories of
people across the globe—remain significant stories
today as we study and apply them to our daily lives,
whether knowingly or not.

36. Not only has Western literary concepts caused shifts to Asian
literature, but Asian literature in turn has changed lifestyles all
over the world. Not to mention, the dynamics of Asian literature
has been slowly taking over popular culture in the last several
years.
This goes to show that though full of tales as old as time,
Asian literature persists in flourishing today, adding more depth
and impact to already centuries’ worth of gripping experiences.

37. Do you have any
questions?

38. A Scrapbook of
Representative Texts and
Authors from
Asia
Europe
America
North America
Africa

39. GROUP ACTIVITY
Instructions: Collect pictures and
gather information on at least five
different literary works and their
authors from the continent that will be
assigned to your group. Make a
scrapbook.

40. GROUP ACTIVITY
Use the rubric below as your guide in making
your scrapbook.

41. REFERENCE:
https://www.ukiyoto.com/post/growth-of-
asian-
literature#:~:text=Asian%20literature%20is
%20known%20to,we%20should%20live%20i
n%20between

42. Do you have any
questions?

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