East Asian literature has a long history, with China having an unbroken literary tradition dating back to the 14th century BCE. Japan was influenced by Chinese language and literature but developed unique genres like haiku. Korean poetry was originally written in Classical Chinese but later included transliterations of Chinese works. Indian literature has roots in ancient Hindu scriptures like the Vedas, Brahmanas, and Upanishads. Contemporary Asian writers have continued strong literary traditions while also being influenced by Western ideas, with some facing challenges around censorship and political conflicts.

1. ASIAN LITERATURE

2. How the Growth Occurred
• East Asia is a good place to start this literary exploration. China, one of
the world’s cradles of civilization, has had an unbroken literary tradition
that started back in the 14th century BCE. This unfathomable longevity
was achieved in large part, thanks to the preservation of the Chinese
language (both in the spoken and written aspects) across 3,000 years.
• Tang Dynasty – Finest Era of Chinese Literature
• Tu Fu, Li Po, and Wang Wei

3. Japan, a close neighbor of China, also has a rich literary history.
Though evidently influenced by the Chinese language and Chinese
literature, the Japanese tradition has nevertheless created its unique
legacy. This includes the world-renowned poetic genre known as the
haiku (a short descriptive poem with 17 syllables) and the diverse
forms of theater such as the Noh and the Kabuki.

4. Rounding up this exploration of East Asia is a discussion of the
Korean tradition. China's cultural dominance in the region
became even more evident when Korean poets wrote poetry in
Classical Chinese as early as the 4th century CE. Three centuries
later, this progressed to transliterations of Chinese works.

5. Over in South Asia, India is the clear cultural giant. The roots of Indian
literature may be traced to the hallmark Hindu writings, such as the
Veda, the Brahmanas, and the Upanishads.
Veda - The most ancient Hindu scriptures, written in early Sanskrit and
containing hymns, philosophy, and guidance on ritual for the priests of
Vedic religion.
Brahmanas - Brahmanas are ancient Indian texts. These consist of
prose commentaries on the four Vedas, the oldest Hindu sacred texts,
in which the word, yoga, is first used and defined.
Upanishads - The Sanskrit term Upaniṣad (from upa "by" and ni-ṣad
"sit down") translates to "sitting down near", referring to the student
sitting down near the teacher while receiving spiritual knowledge.

6. Contemporary Times:
A Snapshot

7. China - In Modern times, Chinese writers have remained
prolific. Though the social impact of literature may be as
monumental as it was in the past, the Chinese literary tradition
is nevertheless prosperous.

8. Mo Yan - A fictionist who
won the 2012 Nobel Prize for
Literature.

9. Japan - Ever since the Meiji Restoration in the 19th
century, Western influences have permeated Japanese
literature. Manifestations of this include the pioneering
of modern Japanese novels, translations of poetry
from the West, and reinventions of traditional Japanese
poetic forms like the tanka and the haiku.

10. Abe Kobo - He is best
known for his 1962
novel The Woman in the
Dunes which was made
into an award-winning film
by Hiroshi Teshigahara in
1964.

12. Mishima Yukio - as a
writer was extremely prolific,
with thirty-four novels,
almost two hundred short
stories, seventy plays, and
countless essays, poems,
interviews, and more to his
name.

13. Korea - The Korean War, which led to the creation of
North Korea and South Korea, has created an indelible
mark on Korean literature. Themes of alienation,
conscience, and disintegration have been present in
Korean works since the 1950s.

14. India - India gained independence in the 20th
century, but the impact of colonial rule continued
to manifest through the endurance of the English
language and the emergence of postcolonial texts.
Several Indian writers became highly accomplished,
internationally acclaimed names.

15. Rabindranath Tagore
(1861 – 1941) is best
known as a poet, and in
1913 was the first non-
European writer to be
awarded the Nobel Prize
for Literature.

16. Central Asia - Russian influence continued to have
a stronghold on literature from Central Asia.
During the era of the Soviet Union, Abdullah
Qadiriy produced pioneering novels in the Uzbek
language and Mukhtar Auez-uli became a
noteworthy writer in Kazakh.

17. Chinghiz Aytmatov -
was a Kyrgyz author who
wrote mainly in Russian,
but also in Kyrgyz. He is
one of the best-known
figures in Kyrgyzstan's
literature.

18. His representative works :
'Jamila' (1958),
'The First Teacher (1967),
'Farewell, Gyulsary!' (1967),
'The White Ship' (1972), and
'The Day Lasts More Than a Hundred Years (1988)
was translated into more than 20 languages across the world.

19. Arabic Tradition - The issue of freedom of expression has
become problematic for Arabic writers in the 21st century.
Another pressing concern is the tension between religious and
secular movements-a conflict that also impacts the way that
Arabic writers produce their texts.

20. Southeast Asia - Colonial and postcolonial experiences
were evident in Burmese works in the 20th century; to
this day, these themes are still dominant. In Thailand, the
influence of Western literature became truly pronounced
after the country came into contact with the West during
World War II.