Early Literature including Indian, Sanskrit, Chinese, Persian and Faith-based Literature

Vendidad

"Code against the demons"; a book of purification in the Avesta, read at night in a lengthy ritual.

Dhammapada

A collection of short sayings attributed to the Buddha

Panchatantra

A collection of stories produced during the Gupta era, including "Sinbad the Sailor" and "Jack the Giant Killer." Best-known Indian stories around the world.

The Seven Voyages of Sinbad the Sailor

A famous sailor named Sinbad tells the stories of his Homeric travels to a poor porter. The tales include shipwrecks, ferocious beasts, the Old Man of the Sea, and other dangers. The thrill of life at sea leads Sinbad to keep exploring despite the danger, but after his seventh voyage, Sinbad finally decides to settle down. Sinbad's stories are another famous section of the collection, but they weren't added until later compilations - they date back to a Turkish collection in 1637.

Upanishads

A major book in Hinduism that is often in the form of dialogues that explored the Vedas and the religious issues that they raised.

The Fisherman and the Jinni

A poor fisherman casts out his net after calling upon God and pulls out a copper jar. When he opens it, pleased to have found something so valuable, a powerful genie is released. Having been kept captive in the jar for so long, the genie is furious with humanity and vows to kill whoever released him. The fisherman, a wise old man, has no success pleading with the genie, so he tricks the genie into returning to the jar. Trapped again, the genie pledges to reward the fisherman with a lake full of exotic fish if he is released. The fisherman agrees and sells the fish to the sultan as the genie instructed. When the sultan investigates the lake where the fish came from, he meets a prince who is half stone. The sultan helps the prince and continues to stay friends with the fisherman.

Hadith

A report of the words or actions of a Muslim religious figure, most frequently the prophet Muhammad. Each consists of a matn, or text of the original oral law itself, as well as an isnad, or chain of authorities through which it has been passed by word of mouth through the generations. Collectively, the hadith point Muslims toward the Sunna, or practice of the Prophet, which together with the Qur'an forms the basis for shari'a, usually translated as Islamic law.

Aladdin's Wonderful Lamp

Although it wasn't added to the collection until the 18th century by French scholar Antoine Galland, 'Aladdin' is one of the most popular tales from 1,001 Nights because of its modern Disney adaptation. In the original tale, Aladdin is a poor, young man in 'one of the cities of China.' A sorcerer deceives Aladdin and persuades him to steal an oil lamp from a magic cave. Aladdin accidentally releases a genie from the lamp, and so a series of events unfold in which Aladdin's every wish comes true, but only to be dismantled by the villain.

Yijing

An ancient Confucian book of divination, one of the Five Classics, still in use today

Tattvartha Sutra

An important philosophical text accepted by all Jaina sects. composed by Umasvati in the 2nd century CE.

The Vedas

Ancient Sanskrit writings that are the earliest sacred texts of Hinduism.

Avesta

Book that contains the holy writings of Zoroastrianism.

Yajurveda

Contains prose mantras for worship rituals. Another one of the Vedas. Used to perform ritual actions.

The Vizier and the Sage Duban

Duban is a sage, or a wise healer, who works for King Yunan who has leprosy. Yunan's advisor warns the king that Duban is going to try to kill him, and Yunan executes the healer, fearing for his life. Duban gives the king a magic book just before he is beheaded. After the execution, the king reads through the book and later dies because of a secret poison Duban left on the pages.

Gan De

Early Chinese author; around 4th century BC

Atharva Veda

Final book of the Vedas. Contains procedures for everyday life.

Hammurabi's Code of Laws

Hammurabi's Code of Laws is one of the most famous collections of laws from the ancient world. Hammurabi (reigned from 1792-1750 B.C.) was the sixth ruler of the First Dynasty of Babylon. During his long reign, he oversaw the great expansion of his empire, and made Babylon a major power in Mesopotamia. By the time of Hammurabi's death, Babylon was in control of the whole of Mesopotamia, although his successors were not able to maintain this control. Despite the rapid disintegration of his empire, his code of laws has survived the ravages of time, though it was only in the 20th century that they were rediscovered by archaeologists. These laws defined various types of crimes and the penalties to be applied, and is typically described as an 'eye for an eye' system of justice

The Lovers of Bassorah

Harun al-Rashid, the caliph in the story, asks the famous writer al-Asma'i and the poet Husayn al-Khali to tell him a story. Husayn tells him of visiting Bassorah to present a poem. Husayn went inside a house to ask for a glass of water, and there he met a beautiful woman who confessed her love for a young man who used to pass by the house, but stopped when he saw the woman playing with her slave. Husayn decides to help her meet him again by taking him a note, but the man refuses to come back. When he visits the house a year later, however, he finds the two married.

Gathas

Hymns or poems written by Zarathustra; considered to be the most authoritative expressions of the Zoroastrian religion.

Lu Xun

In 1918, he published his first short story, A Madman's Diary, the first colloquial story in modern Chinese literature. His writings comprised many genres, from fiction to zawen (satire) to a historical account of Chinese fiction. Mao Zedong called Lu "the standard-bearer" of the new Chinese culture that arose after the May Fourth Movement.

The Tale of the Hunchback

In Basrah, a tailor and his wife came upon an amusing hunchback who they decided to invite to their home for dinner. While the hunchback was eating and joking, he choked on a huge, sharp fishbone. The two wrapped the dead man up in cloth and pretended he was a child with smallpox so everyone would leave them alone. The two left the hunchback at the doctor's house and ran away. The doctor was eager to see his patient, and he tripped down the stairs, falling onto the hunchback. Believing he killed a patient, the doctor pawns the dead body off on his neighbor. The hunchback is passed around until the king's broker is found with the dead body, and just as the broker is about to be executed, a string of confessions comes from all the assumed murderers. But it turns out the hunchback was never dead at all - a barber brings him back to life.

The Three Apples

In this tale, a fisherman discovers a chest in the Tigris River that he sells to Harun al-Rashid, the Abbasid Caliph. Harun finds that it contains the body of a dead woman and orders his adviser, Ja'far, to solve the crime. The dead woman's husband and father both claim to have killed her, but the caliph believes the story of the husband who believed her to have been unfaithful. The husband had bought three unique apples for his wife when she was ill, and when he found a slave with one of the apples, the slave claimed his girlfriend gave it to him. In a rage, the man killed his wife. The slave who stirred up all the trouble ends up being Ja'far's slave, and Ja'far begs for a pardon.

Khurda

Lesser known hymns and rhymes of Zoroastrianism

The ancient texts of Timbuktu

Located at the gateway to the Sahara desert in what is now Mali, within the confines of the fertile zone of the Sudan, Timbuktu is one of the cities of Africa whose name is the most heavily charged with history. Founded in the 5th century, it became an intellectual and spiritual capital, reaching its golden age in the 15th and 16th centuries. Around seven hundred years ago, it was a bustling hub where travellers from Europe, sub-Saharan Africa, Egypt, and Morocco met to trade in salt, gold, ivory and unfortunately, slaves. But it wasn't only 'goods' that were exchanged. Timbuktu was a place where ideas, philosophies, intellectual thought, and religious beliefs came together in a dynamic mix, and one of the primary ways in which such ideas were exchanged was through the sale of books. The ancient texts of Timbuktu are an impressive sight - bundled in camel skin, goat skin, or calf leather and inscribed in gold, red, and jet-black ink, their pages are filled with words in striking calligraphy from Arabic and African languages, and contain an intriguing array of geometric designs. Subjects in the collections, spanning the 13th through 17th century, include the Koran, Sufism, philosophy, law, maths, medicine, astronomy, science, poetry and much more. The manuscripts provide a window into the minds of the times' leading thinkers as they pondered the meanings of their circumstances.

The Coffin Texts

Much like the Pyramid Texts, the Coffin Texts are a collection of funerary works consisting of 1,815 spells to help bring the deceased to the afterlife safely and to protect them from danger in their journey. No longer reserved for pharaohs, anyone who could afford to be buried in a coffin could have access to parts of the text. Due to often being written on the interior of coffins, the Coffin Texts' spells were often shortened or simplified. More complex, full versions were found in later works that it inspired, such as the Book of the Dead, which we'll discuss a little later in this article. The Coffin Texts mainly focus on and describe the afterlife governed by the god Osiris. One of the most important books out of this collection of texts is the Book of Two Ways, which is the first text found that maps out the Ancient Egyptian idea of the underworld.

Book of Documents

One of the earliest Chinese books, containing documents, speeches, and historical accounts about early Zhou rule.

Yashts

One of the four parts of the Avesta; means "Hymns" and contains hymns praising sacred beings and heroic humans.

Rigveda

One of the world's oldest religious texts. It is a book composed by Vedic Brahman priests that contains hymns and Sanskrit poetry. It is one of four parts of The Vedas.

The Sumerian King List

Out of the many incredible artefacts that have been recovered from sites in Iraq where flourishing Sumerian cities once stood, few have been more intriguing that the Sumerian King List, an ancient manuscript originally recorded in the Sumerian language, listing kings of Sumer (ancient southern Iraq) from Sumerian and neighbouring dynasties, their supposed reign lengths, and the locations of "official" kingship. What makes this artefact so unique is the fact that the list blends apparently mythical pre-dynastic rulers with historical rulers who are known to have existed. Among all the examples of the Sumerian King List, the Weld-Blundell prism in the Ashmolean Museum cuneiform collection in Oxford represents the most extensive version as well as the most complete copy of the King List. The 8-inch-high prism contains four sides with two columns on each side. It is believed that it originally had a wooden spindle going through its centre so that it could be rotated and read on all four sides. It lists rulers from the antediluvian ("before the flood") dynasties to the fourteenth ruler of the Isin dynasty (ca. 1763-1753 BC). The list is of immense value because it reflects very old traditions while at the same time providing an important chronological framework relating to the different periods of kingship in Sumeria, and even demonstrates remarkable parallels to accounts in Genesis.

Apocrypha

Protestants and Jews assign lower authority to it because it was written between 300 and 100 BC, but Catholics and Orthodox Christians consider the books that make it up to be "deuterocanonical," meaning that they are just as important and divinely-inspired as other parts of the Old Testament/Hebrew Bible. The word it is derived from means "something outside an accepted canon," and, in particular, in ancient Greek it meant "hidden things." Denominations differ as to which books make it up, but Tobit, Judith, 1 and 2 Maccabees, Wisdom, Sirach (or Ecclesiasticus), and Baruch are almost always included.

Bamboo Annals

Shang stories and foundation myths that were written on bamboo strips and later collected.

Jade Flower Palace by Tu Fu

Speaker is first person, the tone is depressed, the mood is sad and pitiful, the setting is a palace in China, it is a conceit, the main idea of the poem is a man reminiscing on what he had and he feels insignificant after the ruination of his palace

The Book of the Dead

The Book of the Dead isn't exactly a book - it is a large amount of texts compiled. This funerary text describes a list of spells that can be used by individuals to make their journey from the underworld to the afterlife. There are some alternate translations of the title of this work, including the "Book of Coming Forth by Day" and the "Book of Emerging Forth into the Light". The book was placed into the coffin or burial chamber of those who had passed away, with its contents derived from years and years of spells written by many different priests. The earliest spells are taken from the aforementioned Pyramid and Coffin texts. Written on papyrus with hieroglyphic or hieratic script, no canonical version of the Book of the Dead exists due to the countless variations discovered over the years. Knowledge of the existence of this holy text was present since the Middle Ages, so it's not possible to accurately say when it was discovered, and by who.

The Copper Scroll

The Copper Scroll is part of the extraordinary cache of 1st Century documents first discovered in caves at Qumran, popularly known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The Copper Scroll, however, is very different from the other documents in the Qumran library. In fact, it is so anomalous among the Dead Sea Scrolls - its author, script, style, language, genre, content, and medium all differ to the other scrolls - that scholars believe it must have been placed in the cave at a different time to the rest of the ancient documents. As Professor Richard Freund stated, the copper scroll is "probably the most unique, the most important, and the least understood." Unlike the other scrolls, which were literary works, the copper scroll contained a list. It was no ordinary list, rather it contained directions to 64 locations where staggering quantities of treasure could be found. Sixty-three of the locations refer to treasures of gold and silver, which have been estimated in the tonnes. Tithing vessels are also listed among the entries, along with other vessels, and three locations featured scrolls. One entry apparently mentions priestly vestments. In total, over 4,600 talents of precious metal are listed on the scroll, making the total haul worth in excess of a billion dollars.

The Dunhuang Manuscripts

The Dunhuang Manuscripts are a cache of around 20,000 important scrolls found in the Mogao Caves of Dunhuang. The Dunhuang manuscripts date to between the 5th and 11th centuries A.D., and were sealed up in a chamber in a cave, hidden for about 900 years. Although the Dunhuang Manuscripts contain mostly Buddhist texts, there were other forms of sacred texts as well. These include Taoist, Nestorian Christian, and Manichaean texts. In addition, there were also secular texts that dealt with various areas of knowledge, such as mathematics, history, astronomy and literature. One of the significant aspects of the Dunhuang Manuscripts can be seen in the large amount of folk literature in it. As this form of literature is about the lives of ordinary people, it provides a unique perspective on their experiences, the way they associated with the wider society and the government, as well as their relationships with family and friends

The Egyptian Dream Book

The Egyptian 'Dream Book' is preserved in the form of a papyrus with a hieratic script. This papyrus was found in the ancient Egyptian workers' village of Deir el-Medina, near the Valley of the Kings. This papyrus has been dated to the early reign of Ramesses II (1279-1213 B.C.). Each page of the papyrus begins with a vertical column of hieratic signs which translates as 'If a man sees himself in a dream'. In each horizontal line that follows, a dream is described, and the diagnosis 'good' or 'bad', as well as the interpretation is provided. Thus, as an example: 'If a man sees himself in a dream looking out of a window, good; it means the hearing of his cry'. The good dreams are listed first, followed by the bad ones (written in red, as it is the colour of bad omens).

The Legendary Emerald Tablet

The Emerald Tablet is said to be a tablet of emerald or green stone inscribed with the secrets of the universe. The source of the original Emerald Tablet is unclear, hence it is surrounded by legends. The most common legend claims that the tablet was found in a caved tomb under the statue of Hermes in Tyana, clutched in the hands of the corpse of Hermes Trismegistus himself. Another legend suggests that it was the third son of Adam and Eve, Seth, who originally wrote it. Others believed that the tablet was once held within the Ark of the Covenant. Some even claim that the original source of the Emerald Tablet is none other than the fabled city of Atlantis. The Emerald Tablet would become one of the pillars of Western alchemy. It was a highly influential text in Medieval and Renaissance alchemy, and probably still is today. In addition to translations of the Emerald Tablet, numerous commentaries have also been written regarding its contents. Yet, despite the various interpretations available, it seems that none of their authors claim to possess knowledge of the whole truth. Furthermore, readers are encouraged to read the text and try to interpret and find the hidden truths themselves.

Kesh Temple Hymn

The Kesh Temple Hymn is one of the oldest surviving pieces of literature in the world. It is often also known as the "Liturgy to Nintud" or "Liturgy to Nintud on the creation of man and woman". The first discovered tablets that were a part of this work were found during the excavations of a library temple in Nippur, the most ancient Sumerian city which focused on the worship of the gods Enlil and Nenlil, who Sumerians believed created all things. The hymn consists of 134 lines, originally split into eight different houses, each ending with a unique rhetorical question

Pyramid Texts

The Pyramid Texts are known as one of the oldest religious texts in the world. During the 5th or 6th Dynasties of the Old Kingdom in Ancient Egypt, the text was carved on to the walls and within the sarcophagi of the Saqqara pyramids. These texts were meant to be for the pharaoh and were reserved for him. The text of this religious script had to do with the protocol of dealing with the pharaoh's body after his death, including how to protect his remains and ensure his reanimation after his passing, which would allow him to carry on to the afterlife and ascend to heaven. These ways were known as "utterances" or spells and could be used to ask for the help of the gods and even punish or threaten gods who decided not to lend their help.

The Takenouchi Manuscripts

The Takenouchi manuscripts are a set of mysterious documents that were rewritten by a man named Takenouchino Matori 1,500 years ago in a mixture of Japanese and Chinese characters, transcribed from even older texts. According to legend, the original documents were written in divine characters many millennia ago by 'the gods'. The unusual texts tell a story of humanity in a way that has never been told before, starting from the beginning of creation up until the emergence of Christianity. They talk of an era in our ancient past where mankind lived in peace and harmony, united under the rule of the son of a Supreme God. Trying to unravel the origins and authenticity of the Takenouchi documents is now an impossible task as the original manuscripts were allegedly confiscated by government authorities and later lost. As a result, much speculation has circulated regarding the accuracy, and indeed the agenda, of the Takenouchi texts.

Analects

The book that Kong Fuzi wrote and that stresses the values and ideas of Confucianism.

The Analects

The book that Kong Fuzi wrote and that stresses the values and ideas of Confucianism.

Talmud

The collection of Jewish rabbinic discussion pertaining to law, ethics, and tradition consisting of the Mishnah and the Gemara.

Torah

The first five books of Jewish Scripture, which they believe are by Moses

The Bible

The holy book of Christianity

The Bhagavad-Gita

The most important work of Indian sacred literature, a dialogue between the great warrior Arjuna and the god Krishna on duty and the fate of the spirit.

Mencius

This Confucian book (one of the 4 Books) emphasizes the responsibility of the emperor, named after its writer (Mencius)

The Great Learning

This Confucian book (one of the 4 Books) is a guide to moral self-cultivation

The Doctrine of the Mean

This Confucian book (one of the 4 Books) is attributed to Confucius' grandson Zisi; short book on moderation and harmony

Book of China

This Confucian classic contains a system of divination, revolving around yin and yang

Ali Baba and the Forty Thieves

This famous tale is another that was added by Galland in the 18th century. Ali Baba is a poor but hardworking woodcutter who finds a thieves' hideout protected by magic, which he enters by saying, 'Open Sesame.' The den is filled with treasures, and Ali Baba lets the secret out to his brother Cassim, who is killed by the thieves while trying to steal the treasure. The thieves find out Ali Baba knows how to get into their hideout, so they set off to kill him, but they are outwitted by Ali Baba's clever slave, Morgiana.

Shahryar and Scheherazade

This frame story for the entirety of the work is the common thread between each edition of Nights. Shahryar is a king who rules over India and China. He becomes aware of his wife's infidelity and has her executed, and afterward, in anger and sadness, decides all women are guilty and must be executed. Shahryar marries and executes several virgins, each on the morning after they are married. When the king takes Scheherazade as his wife, she tells him a story on the night of their marriage, but she doesn't have time to finish it. The king postpones her execution to find out the end of the story. The next night she finishes her story but begins a new one, and Shahryar postpones her execution again. They continue this for 1,001 nights.

Ferdowsi

This man wrote the national epic of Iran, called the Shahnameh, or Epic of Kings

Institution of Amenemope

This particular Egyptian work is believed to have close ties with the Book of Proverbs and was written sometime between 1300-1075 BC - a few centuries after The Book of the Dead. Unfortunately, very little of the work from that period has survived and to date, there aren't any coherent translations available.

Wang Wei

This poet-painter of the Tang dynasty is credited with the development of the monochrome landscape painted in the broken ink or "P'o-mo" style. A famous later day poet and critic said that he found paintings in his poems and poems in his paintings.

Old Testament

This section of the Bible overlaps with the Hebrew Bible/Tanakh and the Greek Septuagint

Septuagint

This version of the bible contains the Apocrypha, which are writings not within the canon of Scripture

Arabian Nights (1001 Nights)

This was a book thought to be written by a courtier from the court of Harun al-Rashid. Story telling like this one was created by the Arabs and was considered high art. It is one of the most famous books of fictional history in the world.

The Epic of Gilgamesh

Thought it is more of an epic story than a religious text, the Epic of Gilgamesh is often cited as a piece of holy literature. In fact, it is widely considered the earliest great literary work. This great tale tells the story of Gilgamesh, the king of Uruk. The very first parts of this story, including five Sumerian poems, were written first, then combined with future works to create one large epic. The oldest surviving completed compilation of the completed work is dated to the 18th century BC and is widely known as the Old Babylonian version, which was subtitled Shūtur eli sharrī, which translates to "Surpassing All Other Kings". The cumulation of the story involves Gilgamesh discovering, after years of dangerous and exhausting travel to discover the secret of eternal life, that "Life, which you look for, you will never find. For when the gods created man, they let death be his share, and life withheld in their own hands."

The Three Princes and the Princes Nouronnihar

Three princes all want to marry their cousin Nouronnihar, and the Grand Sultan, their father, guarantees the woman's hand to the brother who finds the item with the highest value. They each work to bring the best item to the table, including a magic carpet to ride, a magical tube that shows the viewer his deepest wishes, and a healing apple. After finding the items, the princes hear that Nouronnihar is ill, and rather than fighting over her, they bring all of their items together to save her life.

The Kangyur Written with 9 Precious Stones

Tibetans practised a form of Shamanism called Bon. From the 6th to 8th centuries A.D., Buddhism slowly penetrated this mountainous region. The teachings of the Buddha were translated into Tibetan, but its final compilation was only achieved in the 14th century. This resulted in the creation of the Tibetan Buddhist Canon, which consisted of the Kangyur, the "translated words (of the Buddha)". As copies were made of the original Kangyur, this text was disseminated throughout Tibet. One of these copies is the Kangyur written with 9 precious stones, which is the only copy in the world. The ink used in the writing of this Kangyur is literally made from precious stones. 9 types of 'precious stones', namely gold, silver, coral, pearl, mother of pearl, turquoise, lapis lazuli, copper and steel, were first made into powder and placed into cups designated for each 'stone'. Some fresh water from a mountain spring or rain water would then be mixed with special sweet adhesives, goat's milk, and added to the cups to produce the ink. Then, using a painting brush made of sable fur, the ink would be used to write on processed black paper. In addition to the text, paintings were also added to the Kangyur. These images were painted according to the artistic tradition of Zanabazar, and is said to "immediately give peace of mind and admiration to anybody who looks at it."

The Art of War

Written by Sun Tzu, this book presents military strategy and is still used today.

Mishnah

Written down in about AD 200; contains collected teachings of the rabbis of the preceding four centuries; along with the Talmud, is the most important text of the oral Torah.

Kālidāsa

Wrote the Abhijñānaśākuntalam, Meghadūta, Raghuvaṃśa, Kumārasambhava, Vikramōrvaśīyam, Mālavikāgnimitram, Ṛtusaṃhāra

Nagarjuna

Wrote the Mūlamadhyamakakārikā, Śūnyatāsaptati, Vigrahavyāvartanī, Vaidalyaprakaraṇa, Vyavahārasiddhi, Yuktiṣāṣṭika, Catuḥstava, Ratnāvalī, Pratītyasamutpādahṝdayakārika, Sūtrasamuccaya, Bodhicittavivaraṇa, Suhṛllekha, Bodhisaṃbhāra

Bhāsa

Wrote the Svapnavasavadatta, Urubhanga, Pratima-nataka, Abhisheka-natka, Pancharatra, Madhyamavyayoga, Duta-Ghattotkacha, Duta-Vakya, Karna-bhara, Harivamsa (Bala-charita), Pratijna Yaugandharayaanam

Abhinavagupta

Wrote the Tantraloka (Indian Work)

Book of Rites

Zhou book explaining the rules of etiquette and rituals required of aristocrats in China under the Zhou dynasty.

The Zoroastrian Texts

Zoroastrian Texts depict one of the world's oldest monotheistic religions practiced in Iran around 600BC-650CE. The religion is believed to have influenced many of other world religions, including Christianity. For example, the story of creating the world in seven days is told in Avesta - one of the texts that predate The Bible. Several parallels can also be traced between another text called the Gathas of Zarathushtra Yasna and the Book of Isaiah. Zoroastrianism is also responsible for the angels and demons hierarchy and notions of Heaven and Hell.

Spring and Autumn Annals

a chronological account of events from 720 to 480 B.C. in Confucius' home state of Lu; one of Five Classics of Chinese tradition possibly edited by Confucius

Classic of Poetry

a collection of 305 poems and songs, many from the early Chou period; one of Five Classics of Chinese tradition possibly edited by Confucius

The Upanisads

a collection of Hindu texts concerning ultimate reality (brahman) and ultimate human destiny (moksha)

Samaveda

a collection of hymns, was used in ancient times with religious rituals. Another one of the Vedas. Part of the scriptures of Hinduism.

I Built My House Near Where Others Dwell

a poem written by T'ao Ch'ien

Luo Guanzhong

a prolific writer who has had many anonymous works attributed to him over the years. Historians agree that the second of the "four great classical novels," Sanguo yani (Romance of the Three Kingdoms), was written by Luo. Over 750,000 Chinese characters long, the novel told the story of three kingdoms over the course of a century. It was based on a historical account and contained historical figures, but also incorporated folk stories and plots from popular dramas of the time.

Qu Yuang

a statesman and poet during the Warring States period. He has been attributed to the first seven poems of the Chu ci (Songs of Chu). He served under King Huai but was banished after composing the poem "Li Sao" (Encountering Sorrow), which attacked the court for failing to listen to his advice. He committed suicide by throwing himself in a river

Tanakh

a term for the books of the Bible that make up the Hebrew canon.

Wu Cheng'en

author to whom the third of the "four great classical novels," Xi you ji (Journey to the West), is attributed. Loosely based on the historical account of the Buddhist monk, Xuanzang, the novel humorously followed a group of pilgrims on a journey to India and back. The novel contained religious themes, witty dialogue, and elegant poems, as well as critical commentary on contemporary Ming-era China.

Ba Jin

born Li Yaotang, began his career as a poet but achieved fame as a novelist. His most famous novel was Jia (The Family); in addition to these novels, he also translated Russian, British, German, and Italian works. Ba Jin's most famous later work was Suixiang lu (Random Thoughts), a painful reflection on the Cultural Revolution in which he was persecuted as a "counter-revolutionary."

Raghuvamsha

epic written by ancient poet and playwright Kalidasa and was his only epic

Visparat

homages to spiritual leaders of Zoroastrianism

Agamas

main scriptures of the Jains

The Instruction of Amenemope

often credited for its strong resemblance and relationship to the Bible's Book of Proverbs. On top of that, it is often considered a masterpiece and an essential part of wisdom literature. The text consists of a whopping thirty chapters of advice written by a scribe named Amenemope to pass on to his son and provide him with wisdom on how to live a successful life. It discusses values and attitudes needed in order to live happily despite the increasing social and economic difficulties in the world. The format of the Instruction of Amenemope somewhat resembles that of an earlier, non-religious ancient text called The Maxims of Ptahhotep.

Erya

oldest dictionary in China, written around 3rd century BC, anonymously written

Ramayana

one of two classical Hindu epics telling of the banishment of Rama from his kingdom and the abduction of his wife by a demon and Rama's restoration to the throne

Puranas

popular epics, collections of stories and poems about favorite sectarian gods and sages

Laws of Manu

rules and regulations of hindu social order authorized by the first human being

Sent to Li Po as a Gift by Tu Fu

second of four pieces written by Tu Fu

Ashtadhyayi

standardized the grammar and phonetics of Classical Sanskrit, written by Panini

Shi Nai'en

the author of the first of the "four great classical novels," though some historians believe his mentor Luo Guanzhong played a role its writing. Not much is known about Shi, but the work attributed to him, Shuihu zhuan (Water Margin), about a rebellious leader of outlaws, has been equally banned and celebrated over hundreds of years. Water Margin was written in popular vernacular and expanded on its characters in contrast to the historical writings of the time, advancing the art of the novel.

Cao Xueqin

the author of the fourth of the "four great classical novels," Honglou meng (Dream of the Red Chamber), which told the story of an aristocratic family and its downfall. The novel was written in vernacular and published in two editions: the 80-chapter version reportedly based on Cao's life, and the 120-chapter "Cheng edition," published posthumously in 1791 and believed to have been enhanced by the scholar Gao E. Cao's novel is so important to Chinese literature that an entire field of study called hongxue (redology) arose in the 1920s

Tao Te Ching

the central text of Daoism.

Book of Songs

the earliest collection of Chinese poetry; it provides glimpses of what life was like in the early Zhou Dynasty

Loneliness by Tu Fu

the fourth of the four books written by Tu FU

Mahabharata

the longest single poem in the world, about a war fought between two branches of the same family. One of India's greatest epics written between 1000 and 700 BC

Laughing Scholar of Lanling

the pseudonym of the unknown author of the controversial novel Jin Ping Mei (The Plum in the Golden Vase). It has been frequently banned for its pornographic nature since its publication around 1610. American translator David Todd Roy suspected poet Xu Wei (1521-1593) to be its author. Wei was famous for his painting and calligraphy, and he was an early proponent of women's rights, writing a popular play on the legend of Mulan; however, he was also imprisoned for the murder of his second wife.

Quran

the sacred writings of Islam revealed by God to the prophet Muhammad during his life at Mecca and Medina

Poem on Returning to Dwell in the Country

the second poem written by T'ao Ch'ien

The Return of the Wanderers

third of four pieces written by Tu Fu

zuo zhuan

was compiled no later than 389 BC, and is attributed to the blind 5th-century BC historian Zuo Qiuming