History

Indian Literature is generally acknowledged as one of the oldest in the world. India has 22 officially
recognized languages, and a huge variety of literature has been produced in these languages over the
years. In Indian literature, oral and written forms are both important. Hindu literary traditions dominate a
large part of Indian culture. Vyasas Mahabharata and Valmikis Ramayana, written in Epic Sanskrit, are
regarded as the greatest Indian epics. The greatest Sanskrit poet was Kalidasa, known as the Shakespeare
of India with hie greatest drama entitled Sakuntala.
During the Tang and Sung Dynasty, Chinas famous poets such as Li Bai authored works of great
importance. They wrote shi ( Classical Chinese poems), which have lines with equal numbers of
characters, as well as ci poems with mixed line varieties. The earliest record were inscriptions dating to the
2nd century BC. Among the oldest works are I Ching (Book of Changes), and the 11th century collection, the
Shih Ching (Book of Songs), a 9th century song book, the Tao Te Ching (The Way of Virtue) by Lao Tzu; and
the Analects of Confucius. During the Han Dynasty, Suma chien and Pan Ku and his sister Pan Chao,
produced celebrated historical works. The Sung Dynasty was chiefly noted for its scientific and
geographical writing. The Yuan Dynasty saw the development of drama and novels. A classical novel of the
Manchurian Dynasty was Hung Lou Lieng (Dream of the Red Chamber).
The earliest literary documents of Japan date from the 8th century, in two great chronicles the Kojiki and
the Nihongi. During the 11th century, prose literature had a great revival, the Murasaki Shikibu wrote Genji
Vonagalari (The Tale of Genji). The 14th and 15th centuries saw the rise of the theater (Kabuki and Noh), and
more popular literature suited for the increasing spread of education in Japan. Early modern Japan
literature (17th - 19th centuries) developed comparable innovations such as haiku, a form of Japanese
poetry that evolved from the ancient hokku mode. Haiku consists of three lines: the first and third lines
each have five morae (the rough phonological equivalent of syllables), while the second has seven.
Original haiku masters included such figures as Edo period poet Matsuo Basho; others influenced by Basho
include Kobayashi Issa and Masaoka Shiki.

Persian literature spans two and a half millennia, though much of the pre-Islamic material has been
lost. Its sources often come from far-flung regions beyond the boarders of present-day Iran, as the Persian
language flourished and survives across wide swaths of Central Asia. However, the Koran (7th century AD)
became the basis for codifying the Arab language. Persian literature contains Zoroastrian religious texts
and heroic and epic romances. The greatest Persian epic poet was Firdusi. Two other leading poets were
Omar Khayyam and Hafiz. Persian poets such as Sadi and Rumi are well known in the world and have
influenced the literature of many countries. The literature of Babylonia and Assyria include elegies, hymns,
and songs in praise of kings, and epic stories, of which the most famous is the epic of Gilgamesh.