Salazar, Mialyza October 18, 2017

4ASN3 Asian Literature

“Roles of Poets in Classical and Modern Literature and Society in Asia”

Poets and authors played a substantial role in a country’s society, especially literature.

Writers of the early times was set as a standard for classical aesthetics that was put up for modern

literature and art. These written, or oral, classics served as historical records or narratives for some

countries, as much as it was used to support legends and mythological stories.

In the three countries—China, Japan and India—poets and writers were often priests, sages,

or aristocrats and their writings were often didactic. In India, the seer-poet served as a medium

between the humans and the cosmos or the gods through their poetry or kavya (Miller 7). Didactic

texts in India were mostly centred on their beliefs and their myths which later became texts that

are made for future leaders. In Japan, the didactic texts were written by Buddhist Priests. These

texts were used to preach to illiterate audiences (44), and became part of Japan’s oral tradition.

The Buddhist writers also used their texts for their ideals on beauty and devotion (45) which was

set as part of Japan’s aesthetic later on in the Heian Period. Finally, in China, their texts were

mostly centred on philosophy, logic and their perspective of the outside world. Scholars used these

texts to explain and teach their views and philosophy about life. For example, the Tao Te Ching

(26) showed Lao Zi’s perspective on life through 81 chapters written in a poetic structure.

Other than being a didactic text, the three countries’ poets were often than not conflicted

between their philosophy, duty and their emotions, particularly between latter two. In India, poets

were torn between the function of their work and the aesthetic behind it – their sacred duty and the

rasa or emotion of their work. Indian poets emphasise on their sacred duty or dharma over
philosophy and love (8). Seeing as their texts were religious in nature their outputs always include

moral teachings and deities with or without the other categories of Indian literature. On the other

hand, Chinese writers’ focus is more on their philosophy and social duty. As stated the Tao Te

Ching was used as an example of text that focuses on Lao Zi’s teachings. Another is in

Confucianism which stresses on one’s social duty. Sima Qian concluded that “public recognition

is prerequisite to any private value” (30). Which I will relate to the point that their texts public

service (duty) overpowers their texts on emotions. Lastly, Japan’s poets and their poetry is highly

personal and intimate with the readers. It is literal and emotional at the same time. During the Edo

period, plots revolving the conflict between duty and human emotion emerged in Japan (46). In a

way, Japanese poets managed to balance the two in a melancholic set up in relation to their

aesthetic of mono no aware (Stunkel 207). This aesthetic focuses on the impermanence of things.

An example of this is in Lady Murasaki Shikibu’s Genji Monogatari which talked about the

lifestyle of the aristocracy and their affairs.

The creation myth received mixed responses from the countries. India and Japan accepts it

and their poets draw inspiration from these while China rejects the idea since the country’s poets

and classical literature focuses on what is literal—human societal history (Miller 22). As stated

India and Japan accepts the the idea of the creation myth which proposes the thought that the

universe (or in Japan’s case the Japanese archipelago) was created by a greater being. In India,

Hinduism, they believe that the universe was created by Brahma, preserved by Vishnu, and

destroyed, altered when needed, by Shiva. While in Japan, their creation myth, narrated in the

Kojiki, revolved around Izanagi and Izanami who appeared out of chaos and mixed a coral sphere

to the sea which later on became the archipelago of Japan. On top of this, Japanese poetry were
often addressed to emperors who, until Hirohito—Emperor during the Showa Period—

relinquished his divine status that will be carried unto his successors.

Poets in India and China used, poetry as a medium to connect human beings with the

cosmos (for India, the gods). India views poetry as an essential characteristic to their language (5).

It was used by priests or sages (the seer-poet) to build the connection between human beings and

their deities. This can be reflected in their classical texts and oral tradition wherein the interaction

and the relation between gods and humans are shown. For example, the intervention and

manifestation of gods in the Sanskrit epics, Mahabharata and Ramayana. In the Mahabharata some

of the characters were demigods and if not champions of the gods in the war. And in Ramayana,

the protagonist, Rama is a Hindu deity who, in the story was a prince of Ayutthaya.

China, on the other hand, is somewhat paradoxical on this. Poets, rather than creating a

connection between gods and human beings, uses poetry to connect the humans to the cosmos.

The example of this is in Taoism wherein they reject the idea of a dichotomous perception of what

is real (23). In one of our lessons in Chinese Philosophy specifically in Lao Zi’s Tao Te Ching,

our professor mentioned that the teaching of Tao is being in harmony, being part, of the natural

order of things (life). Which reminded me of what Non Iwamoto said about Zen Buddhism: “being

part of the cosmos, not something greater than it.”

Poets of the modern era developed a more critical and curious way of thinking. In India,

poets, influenced by their British colonisers, used their texts to express socio-political situations.

They focused more on the personal and psychological rather than their traditional ideational genre

(15-16). These modern literary texts of India are highly personal and sometimes revolutionary as
it talks about reforms that needed to be done, the status of women, their caste system and the

traditional restraints that they have lived with. Writers in this era also conflicted with their identity,

their Indian-ness which was an effect of their colonisers. These poets often wrote in English rather

than Sanskrit (17). This confusion with their identity can be compared to modern Chinese authors.

Modern Chinese literature has lost its connection with their classics and traditional texts during

the Cultural Revolution. During this time, books were destroyed and burnt to establish a new

conceptual order revolving Mao’s Communist ideals. Chinese poets continued to write but their

works were often adrift without its connection to their classics. Mao at some point also used the

authors to campaign his communist manifestation which led to the questioning of the author’s

legitimacy.

Out of the three countries, Japanese poets are the only ones trying to break away from their

classics and tradition which managed to be transmitted until the present. This was made possible

because of the master-disciple relationship that was brought by Zen Buddhism (48). As stated,

modern Japanese poets are trying to break away from traditional genres, this thought later on

became a theme of modern Japanese writings. Based on the examples in the book, the works of

authors who are trying to break away from tradition often revolve around freedom of expression,

loss of tradition, anti-moralist characters and existential questioning (51-52).

Kobayashi Issa is known for his melancholic writing, focusing on the loneliness of man.

This trademark was shown in the fifth haiku in the selection provided:

我のきて （われのきて）

遊べよ親の （あそべよおやの）

ない雀 （ないすずめ）
 Similar to the reports, I re-translated the poems provided. Maybe it’s because of the

mistrust towards western translators who rarely give the literal interpretation of the poem making

it similar to western texts. Literal interpretation of Japanese poems is essential especially in

understanding a haiku.

The first line 「我のきて」 translates to “Come with me”. In the second line 「遊べ」is the

Japanese word for “play”, and 「よ」(yo) here can be taken as a tone that implies persuasion, which

translates the line to “let’s play”. I connected the remaining words of the second line to the third

to fully grasp the meaning behind it. 「おや」is parents, 「の」is a possessive particle, 「ない」means

none, and lastly 「すずめ」means sparrow. Simply, the poem can be translated to:

Come with me
Let us play
Parentless sparrow
Re-translating the haiku emitted words that Harold G. Henderson added, such as “with each

other” and the adjective “little”.

This Haiku of Kobayashi Issa adheres to the Japanese aesthetics of sabi, shibui, and an

ideal influenced by the Chinese—brevity. Haikus are structured to have 17-syllables, separated in

5-7-5 syllables per line. Often, one of this lines includes a kireji or cutting-word at the end. The

kireji helps with the rhythmic flow of the poem (40). It also serves as a guide to the tone used by

the poet—his questions, emphasis and ending statements. In this poem, the 「よ」 (yo) found in the

second line is the cutting-word. It gave Kobayashi’s persuasive tone and at the same time cut the

line (while still following the 5-7-5 structure) to help with the interpretation. Without this cutting

word, the translation of the poem would be altered to: “Come with me/Play with parents/No
Sparrow.”

As stated, this poem answered to the aesthetic of sabi, derived from the word sabishi which

means lonely. Reading about Kobayashi Issa, it could be said that the sparrow in the poem is

analogous to himself since his mother died when he was young (in Henderson’s translation it stated

‘motherless’) and he grew up with his father, step-mother and step-siblings with a strained

relationship. And at a young age, he was sent away to study haiku in Tokyo. His loneliness can be

traced back to his disconnection with his family.

Haiku as a form of literature adheres to the aesthetic of shibui and the Chinese ideal of

brevity for its structure. It is simple and brief. Written in an intimate and sometimes literal manner

which creates multiple meanings or interpretation depending on the reader’s perspective.

 REFERENCES:

Stunkel, Kenneth R. Ideas and Art in Asian Civilisations: India, China, and Japan. M.E.
Sharpe, 2012.

Stunkel, Kenneth R. Ideas and art in Asian civilizations: India, China, and Japan. M.E.
Sharpe, 2012.

The Editors of Encyclopædia Britannica. “Issa.” Encyclopædia Britannica, Encyclopædia

Britannica, inc., 22 Aug. 2017, www.britannica.com/biography/Issa-Japanese-poet.

Ueda, Makoto. “Bashō and the Poetics of ‘Haiku.’” The Journal of Aesthetics and Art

Criticism, vol. 21, no. 4, 1963, pp. 423–431. JSTOR, JSTOR, www.jstor.org/stable/427098.