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ASIAN HISTORY AND LITERATURE

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Online Session 6OVERVIEW OF ASIAN

HISTORY The following slides provide an overview of

Asian history…

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Asian literature encompasses the rich and widely diverse cultural and ethnic heritages found in such countries as China, India, Japan, Vietnam, and Korea◦“Asian” is a misnomer…there are many cultures

in “Asia” Asian American literature also shows the impact of

immigrating to a new country, with the Asian characters trying to retain their previous cultures and adjust to new situations

Asian literature provides readers with opportunities to explore various cultures through a wide variety of literary genres

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Asian Literature

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Chinese Civilizations and Their

Contributions to ‘Literature’

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Chinese Civilization Shang Dynasty (1,600 B.C. - 1,047 B.C.)

◦ 31 kings of same family◦ Weak central control◦ Written records

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Zhou Dynasty (1047-256 B.C.)

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Qin Dynasty (221-206 B.C.) Qin Shi Huang (“First Emperor of Qin”)

◦ Unification◦ Centralized control

Laws, measures, currency, roads, Great Wall, thinking

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Later Dynasties Han (206 B.C. - 220 A.D.) Jin (265 - 420) Sui (581 - 618) Tang (618 - 907) Song (960 - 1279) Yuan (1271 - 1368) Ming (1368 - 1644)

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Online Session 6China’s Tributary

System Traditional system for managing

foreign relations The “Central Kingdom” worldview Ming dynasty (1368 - 1644) had the most

extensive tributary system◦ Tributes from East Asia, South Asia, Southeast

Asia, and even West Asia and Africa

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Online Session 6Zheng He’s fleet (1405-

33) Over 300 ships & 20,000 men Trade and commerce Southeast Asia, South Asia,

West Asia, and East Africa

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Online Session 6Zheng He’s

expeditions

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Ancient Southeast Asia Buddhist kingdoms and empires

◦ Trade with East and South Asia◦ Nearly continuous warfare

Invasion by Mongols in the 1300’s Spread of Islam in 1400 - 1620 Mosaic of small states

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Online Session 6Cause of the Opium War

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The Opium War (1840-42) British navy captured Hong

Kong and defeated China

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Historic Turning Point Series of Western invasions Unequal treaties with Western powers

◦ Extraterritorial jurisdiction◦ Tariffs subject to approval by Western powers

Shattered tributary system Exacerbated domestic crises Culminated in the fall of Qing dynasty

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Online Session 6 Japan’s Meiji

Restoration Similar challenges, different response Japan’s 250-year seclusion American Commodore Matthew Perry’s

warships entered Tokyo Bay in 1853

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Western Challenges Series of treaties with Britain, France,

Russia, and the Netherlands◦ Opening ports◦ Low customs duties◦ Extraterritorial jurisdiction

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Domestic Problems Shogun (literally, “general”) in Edo (Tokyo)

controlled the Emperor in Kyoto Shogun’s government didn’t have strong

central control Japan was divided into some 260

semiautonomous and mutually jealous domains

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Meiji Restoration - I Broke down shogun’s polity

◦ Military coup Created centralized national government

◦ Used Emperor as focus of loyalty and symbol of legitimacy

◦ Incremental steps to replace the autonomous domains with prefectures

◦ Imperial Guard of 10,000 men

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Two most important constituencies: ◦ Samurai and farmers

Samurai: privileges gradually removed Farmers: land-tax reform

◦ Eradicated payment in produce◦ Basis for modern capitalist economy◦ 109 million certificates of land ownership

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Meiji Restoration - I

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Meiji Constitution of 1889◦ Limited constitutional monarchy after

Bismarck’s Germany◦ Male suffrage based on property rights◦ Bicameral legislature with budgetary power◦ Emperor’s rights, prerogatives, and power

Commanded the military War Minister or Navy Minister from military

Education◦ Established elementary schools◦ Universal compulsory education

Military◦ Universal conscription (citizen army)

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Meiji Restoration - I

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Self-Modernization Industrialization, technological innovations,

and growth of trade

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New Imperialist Power Japan defeated China in 1894-5 Japan defeated Russia in 1905

◦ Theodore Roosevelt: “if [the Japanese] win out, it may possibly mean a struggle between them and us in the future”

Japan annexed Korea in 1910

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Asia by World War IIwww.olemiss.edu/courses/pol337/asiahist.ppt

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View the following slides to get a brief overview of part of the history of Asian literature…

Slides 44 - 53 Reference www.seasite.niu.edu/TAGALog/SoutheastAsianLiterature.ppt

Southeast Asian Literature History

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Oriental Philosophy – a system that harmonizes the natural and social world that includes humanity in the center, uniting with nature and society

Oriental Philosophy discovered not only the three directions of time – past, present, and future – but also a 4th direction – the direction of spiritual life

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Themes

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Nature and society and humanity unite with one another in a harmony of beauty. The link of human generations and thousands of living creatures never ends (Phuc Cu De, 1999)

NONE turns HAVE◦ NONE means endless, boundless, immense, infinite, numberless

in moving and changing movements and the developing process of everything

◦ HAVE is not simply possessive in meaning but it means the limitation of changing and the developing process of everything

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Oriental Philosophy

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Buddhism

Anti-government, exposure of government corruption

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Burma

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Ramayana – The Journey of Rama

◦ Purpose: To conquer evil with good

◦ Important Notions: Meditation, Power of Language, Hierarchy/caste

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Indonesia

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Secular texts – much richer than religious texts◦ Popular and classical literature are well known at all

levels of society although authors’ names are unknown; texts are undated and un-datable1. Stories, legends and poems of oral tradition are satirical

in tone 2. Stories called sysva have strong moral and

education content3. Tales that comment on the naivety of the peasantry,

the greediness of the wealthy and the demands of the royalty

4. Judicial stories which include commentaries on ancient Lao codes

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Laos

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6. Historical Legends – e.g. History of Khun Purom which recount the legendary migration of the Tai Peoples from China to Luang Prabang

7. Poetry that is predominantly Buddhist and inspired to the licentious

8. Classical Lao Literature – written in prose and verse form, lengthy and not original Themes include handsome priest, the heroin is a

beautiful princess and the antagonist a demon There is also a Lao version of the Ramayana

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Laos

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Literature based on expressive culture◦ Epics◦ Myths◦ Legends, tales◦ Riddles, proverbs and rituals◦ Balagtasan

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Philippines

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Cultural Values and Universal Themes of Epic Poetry◦ Miraculous birth of the hero◦ His precocious strength◦ Magical Powers◦ Herculean deeds◦ Extraterrestrial journeys to the underworld and sky

world◦ His death and resuscitation

Epic of Romance Epic of Migration

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Philippine Epics

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Religion◦ Jataka Tales – comparable to Aesop’s Fables

◦ Fate and Karma

◦ Buddhist Concepts of Merit and Demerit

◦ The Theme of Rice – gather as much as you need for one day

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Thailand

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Rich and varied over the centuries Depicts humor, realism, and irony of the

Vietnamese people Focus on:

◦ Buddhism◦ Confucianism◦ Taoism – that is mainly a combination of folk beliefs and

high regard of nature◦ Animism (10th Century) – where strong winds, the

waters, and the mountain were worshipped

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Vietnam

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Asian Literature Rich and diverse cultural and ethnic heritage

◦ China, India, Japan, Vietnam, and Korea

Impact of emigrating to a new country◦ Trying to retain their previous cultures and adjust to

new situations

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Piety in China (Holzman, 1998)

Importance of respect for ancestors and utmost regard for parents◦ “That a son should love his parent is fate—you

cannot erase this from his heart—to serve your parents and be content to follow them anywhere—this is the perfection of filial piety” (p.190)

◦ Piety toward parents and society◦ Virtues of righteousness, love, goodness,

and truth

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Laurence Yep (2000) Difficulty in writing when he tries to bridge two

cultures…◦ “Now, though, I am not so sure that it is possible to blend two

cultures together. Asian cultures are family-and cooperation-oriented. American culture on the other hand emphasized the individual and competition. The two cultures pull in opposite directions. So I see myself now as someone who will always be on the border between two cultures. That works to my benefit as a writer because not quite fitting in helps me be a better observer” (p.101)

NOTE: These observations are extremely important to a teacher in understanding how a student’s parents view society and human relationships

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Robert Beer (2003)

Importance of the “Five Buddhas” or the “Five Enlightened Families” ◦ “Essentially the Five Buddhas represent the

transmutation of the five delusions or poisons (ignorance, hate/anger, desire, jealousy, and pride) into the five transcendent windows (all-pervading, discriminating, mirror-like, all-accomplishing, and equanimous)” (p.234)

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Online Session 6 Stereotypes in Past

Literature Today there are many more excellent books

written from an Asian or Asian American perspective than there were in the past

The stereotypes in earlier books were influenced by the Chinese Exclusion Act, passed by Congress in 1882◦ “Fennelly (2007) states that this legislation forever

changed American’s relationship to immigration by endorsing definitions of race and class as criteria to define particular groups as ‘undesirable aliens’” (p.5)

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New Stereotypes of Asia Americans High achievement

◦ Asians are only 5% of the U.S. population, but 48% of freshmen at Berkeley; 24% at Stanford; 18% at Harvard; 27% at MIT; and 25% at Carnegie Mellon

Some Asian groups are almost invisible in current literature such as:

Laotian Americans; Guam; and Micronesian cultures

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Norton Chapter 5Asian Literature

Recommended Books

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AsianLiterature

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