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106-424: Bai was also influential in the historical development of Japanese literature , where he is better known by the on'yomi reading of his courtesy name, Haku Rakuten ( shinjitai : 白楽天). His younger brother Bai Xingjian was a short story writer. Among his most famous works are the long narrative poems " Chang Hen Ge " ("Song of Everlasting Sorrow"), which tells the story of Yang Guifei , and " Pipa xing " ("Song of

212-570: A Cat (1905) with humor and satire, then depicted fresh and pure youth in Botchan (1906) and Sanshirō (1908). He eventually pursued transcendence of human emotions and egoism in his later works including Kokoro (1914) and his last and unfinished novel Light and darkness (1916). Shimazaki shifted from Romanticism to Naturalism which was established with his The Broken Commandment (1906) and Katai Tayama 's Futon (1907). Naturalism hatched "I Novel" ( Watakushi-shōsetu ) that describes

318-507: A Chinese-Japanese creole language. Indian literature also had an influence through the spread of Buddhism in Japan . During the Heian period , Japan's original kokufū culture ( lit.   ' national culture ' ) developed and literature also established its own style, with the significant usage and development of kana ( 仮名 ) to write Japanese literature. Following the end of

424-691: A base located on the Sakurajima volcanic island, close to Kagoshima , on the southern tip of Kyushu . Osamu Dazai 's novel The Setting Sun tells of a soldier returning from Manchukuo . Shōhei Ōoka won the Yomiuri Prize for his novel Fires on the Plain about a Japanese deserter going mad in the Philippine jungle. Yukio Mishima , well known for both his nihilistic writing and his controversial suicide by seppuku , began writing in

530-400: A bedridden invalid for several months. After his partial recovery, he spent his final years arranging his Collected Works, which he presented to the main monasteries of those localities in which he had spent time. In 846, Bai Juyi died, leaving instructions for a simple burial in a grave at the monastery, with a plain style funeral, and to not have a posthumous title conferred upon him. He has

636-444: A best-selling contemporary author whose "manga-esque" style of writing sparked much controversy when she debuted in the late 1980s, has come to be recognized as a unique and talented author over the intervening years. Her writing style stresses dialogue over description, resembling the script of a manga , and her works focus on love, friendship, and loss. Her breakout work was 1988's Kitchen . Although modern Japanese writers covered

742-450: A bit poor ( 立部賤，坐部貴 ). In Bai Juyi's time, those two performances were full of foreign music, the Yayue ( 雅樂 , literally: "elegant music") was no longer be performed in those two sections. The Yayue music was only performed by the players who were eliminated from those two sections ( 立部又退何所任，始就樂懸操雅音 ). This poem shows the culture changing in the middle Tang dynasty and the decline of Yayue,

848-447: A cat as the narrator, and he also wrote the famous novels Botchan (1906) and Kokoro (1914). Natsume, Mori Ōgai , and Shiga Naoya , who was called "god of the novel" as the most prominent " I novel " writer, were instrumental in adopting and adapting Western literary conventions and techniques. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa is known especially for his historical short stories. Ozaki Kōyō , Kyōka Izumi , and Ichiyo Higuchi represent

954-468: A celestial war, and is found and raised by a bamboo cutter. She is later taken back to her extraterrestrial family in an illustrated depiction of a disc-shaped flying object similar to a flying saucer . During the Kamakura period (1185–1333), Japan experienced many civil wars which led to the development of a warrior class, and subsequent war tales, histories, and related stories. Work from this period

1060-653: A decline in the importance of the imperial court, aristocratic literature remained the center of Japanese culture at the beginning of the Kamakura period. Many literary works were marked by a nostalgia for the Heian period. The Kamakura period also saw a renewed vitality of poetry, with a number of anthologies compiled, such as the Shin Kokin Wakashū compiled in the early 1200s. However, there were fewer notable works by female authors during this period, reflecting

1166-546: A form of classical music and dance performed at the royal court and temples In those two poems of Bai reflected the situation of political and culture in the middle Tang dynasty after the An Lushan Rebellion, and he was concerned that the popularity of foreign music could lead the Tang society into chaos. The pipa in the poems of Bai Juyi represents the expression of love, the action of communicating, and especially

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1272-671: A good society using the principle of filial piety. Filial piety is central to Confucian role ethics . In more general terms, filial piety means to be good to one's parents; to take care of one's parents; to engage in good conduct, not just towards parents but also outside the home so as to bring a good name to one's parents and ancestors; to show love, respect, and support; to display courtesy; to ensure male heirs; to uphold fraternity among brothers; to wisely advise one's parents, including dissuading them from moral unrighteousness; to display sorrow for their sickness and death; and to bury them and carry out sacrifices after their death. Filial piety

1378-654: A government official, at Zhouzhi , which was not far from Chang'an (and also in Shaanxi province). He was made a member (scholar) of the Hanlin Academy , in 807, and Reminder of the Left from 807 until 815, except when in 811 his mother died, and he spent the traditional three-year mourning period again along the Wei River, before returning to court in the winter of 814, where he held the title of Assistant Secretary to

1484-427: A group of poets who rejected the courtly style of the time and emphasized the didactic function of literature, Bai believing that every literary work should contain a fitting moral and a well-defined social purpose. That makes him not satisfied with cultural performance styles of Tang court. For instance, in his work of Faqu ge ( 法曲歌 ), translated as Model Music , is a poem regard to a kind of performing art, he made

1590-399: A high degree of individualism. Children's works re-emerged in the 1950s, and the newer entrants into this field, many of the younger women, brought new vitality to it in the 1980s. Manga — Japanese comics — have penetrated almost every sector of the popular market. They include virtually every field of human interest, such as multivolume high-school histories of Japan and, additionally for

1696-522: A long and successful career both as a government official and a poet, although these two facets of his career seemed to have come in conflict with each other at certain points. Bai Juyi was also a devoted Chan Buddhist . Bai Juyi was born in 772 in Taiyuan , Shanxi , which was then a few miles from location of the modern city, although he was in Zhengyang , Henan for most of his childhood. His family

1802-547: A major work in the form of a travel diary , considered "one of the major texts of classical Japanese literature." Fukuda Chiyo-ni (1703–1775) is widely regarded as one of the greatest haiku poets. Before her time, haiku by women were often dismissed and ignored. Her dedication toward her career not only paved a way for her career but it also opened a path for other women to follow. Her early poems were influenced by Matsuo Bashō, although she did later develop her own unique style as an independent figure in her own right. While still

1908-400: A rare female writer in this era, wrote short stories on powerless women of this age in a simple style in between literary and colloquial. Kyōka Izumi , a favored disciple of Ozaki, pursued a flowing and elegant style and wrote early novels such as The Operating Room (1895) in literary style and later ones including The Holy Man of Mount Koya (1900) in colloquial language. Romanticism

2014-765: A story capturing the complex psychology of modern women. Other award-winning stories at the end of the decade dealt with current issues of the elderly in hospitals, the recent past (Pure-Hearted Shopping District in Kōenji , Tokyo), and the life of a Meiji period ukiyo-e artist. Haruki Murakami is one of the most popular and controversial of today's Japanese authors. His genre-defying, humorous and surreal works have sparked fierce debates in Japan over whether they are true "literature" or simple pop-fiction: Kenzaburō Ōe has been one of his harshest critics. Some of Murakami's best-known works include Norwegian Wood (1987) and The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle (1994–1995). Banana Yoshimoto ,

2120-528: A strain of writers whose style hearkens back to early-Modern Japanese literature. In the early Meiji period (1868–1880s), Fukuzawa Yukichi authored Enlightenment literature, while pre-modern popular books depicted the quickly changing country. Realism was brought in by Tsubouchi Shōyō and Futabatei Shimei in the mid-Meiji period (late 1880s–early 1890s) while the Classicism of Ozaki Kōyō, Yamada Bimyo and Kōda Rohan gained popularity. Ichiyō Higuchi ,

2226-474: A teenager, she had already become very popular all over Japan for her poetry. Her poems, although mostly dealing with nature, work for unity of nature with humanity. Her own life was that of the haikai poets who made their lives and the world they lived in one with themselves, living a simple and humble life. She was able to make connections by being observant and carefully studying the unique things around her ordinary world and writing them down. Rangaku

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2332-501: A timely manner; and, on July 13, 815, before dawn, the Tang Prime Minister Wu Yuanheng was set to go to the palace for a meeting with Emperor Xianzong. As he left his house, arrows were fired at his retinue. His servants all fled, and the assassins seized Wu Yuanheng and his horse, and then decapitated him, taking his head with them. The assassins also attacked another official who favored the campaign against

2438-731: A tomb monument in Longmen, situated on Xiangshan across the Yi River from the Longmen cave temples in the vicinity of Luoyang , Henan . It is a circular mound of earth 4 metres (13 ft) high and 52 metres (171 ft) in circumference, with a 2.8-metre (9 ft 2 in) tall monument inscribed "Bai Juyi". Bai Juyi has been known for his plain, direct, and easily comprehensible style of verse, as well as for his social and political criticism. Besides his surviving poems, several letters and essays are also extant. He collected his writings in

2544-432: A wide variety of subjects, one particularly Japanese approach stressed their subjects' inner lives, widening the earlier novel's preoccupation with the narrator's consciousness. In Japanese fiction, plot development and action have often been of secondary interest to emotional issues. In keeping with the general trend toward reaffirming national characteristics, many old themes re-emerged, and some authors turned consciously to

2650-488: Is " Chang hen ge " ("Song of Everlasting Sorrow"), a long narrative poem that tells the story of the famous Tang dynasty concubine Yang Guifei and her relationship with Emperor Xuanzong of Tang . Han's sovereign prized the beauty of flesh, he longed for such as ruins domains; For many years he ruled the Earth and sought for one in vain. A daughter there was of the house of Yang, just grown to maturity, Raised deep in

2756-682: Is "The Song of the Pipa Player". Like Du Fu , Bai had a strong sense of social responsibility and is well known for his satirical poems, such as The Elderly Charcoal Seller . Also he wrote about military conflicts during the Tang dynasty. Poems like "Song of Everlasting Sorrow" were examples of the peril in China during the An Lushan rebellion. Bai Juyi also wrote intensely romantic poems to fellow officials with whom he studied and traveled. These speak of sharing wine, sleeping together, and viewing

2862-461: Is a combination of the character lao (old) above the character zi (son), that is, an elder being carried by a son. This indicates that the older generation should be supported by the younger generation. In Korean Confucianism , the character 孝 is pronounced hyo ( 효 ). In Vietnamese, the character 孝 is written in the Vietnamese alphabet as hiếu . In Japanese, the term

2968-475: Is also known as Japan's Shakespeare . Many different genres of literature made their debut during the Edo period, helped by a rising literacy rate among the growing population of townspeople, as well as the development of lending libraries. Ihara Saikaku (1642–1693) might be said to have given birth to the modern consciousness of the novel in Japan, mixing vernacular dialogue into his humorous and cautionary tales of

3074-479: Is an awareness of repaying the burden borne by one's parents. As such, filial piety is done to reciprocate the care one's parents have given. However, it is also practiced because of an obligation towards one's ancestors. According to some modern scholars, xiào is the root of rén ( 仁 ; benevolence, humaneness ), but other scholars state that rén , as well as yì ( 義 ; righteousness ) and li ( 禮 ; propriety ) should be interpreted as

3180-557: Is believed that Chinese characters came to Japan at the very beginning of the 5th century, brought by immigrants from Korea and China. Early Japanese texts first followed the Chinese model, before gradually transitioning to a hybrid of Chinese characters used in Japanese syntactical formats, resulting in sentences written with Chinese characters but read phonetically in Japanese. Chinese characters were also further adapted, creating what

3286-520: Is considered a key virtue in Chinese and other East Asian cultures, and it is the main subject of many stories. One of the most famous collections of such stories is The Twenty-four Cases of Filial Piety . These stories depict how children exercised their filial piety customs in the past. While China has always had a diversity of religious beliefs, the custom of filial piety has been common to almost all of them; historian Hugh D.R. Baker calls respect for

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3392-563: Is considered the pre-eminent novel of Heian fiction. Other important writings of this period include the Kokin Wakashū (905), a waka -poetry anthology, and The Pillow Book ( Makura no Sōshi , 990s) . The Pillow Book was written by Sei Shōnagon , Murasaki Shikibu's contemporary and rival, as an essay about the life, loves, and pastimes of nobles in the Emperor's court. Another notable piece of fictional Japanese literature

3498-648: Is generally rendered in spoken and written language as 親孝行 ( oyakōkō ) adding the characters for parent and conduct to the Chinese character to make the word more specific. Confucian teachings about filial piety can be found in numerous texts, including the Four Books , that is the Great Learning ( 大學 ), the Doctrine of the Mean ( 中庸 ), Analects ( 論語 ), and the book Mencius , as well as

3604-618: Is known as man'yōgana , the earliest form of kana , or Japanese syllabic writing. The earliest literary works in Japan were created in the Nara period. These include the Kojiki (712), a historical record that also chronicles ancient Japanese mythology and folk songs; the Nihon Shoki (720), a chronicle written in Chinese that is significantly more detailed than the Kojiki ; and

3710-579: Is known as Japan's Mark Twain and wrote Tōkaidōchū Hizakurige , which is a mix of travelogue and comedy. Tsuga Teisho , Takebe Ayatari , and Okajima Kanzan were instrumental in developing the yomihon , which were historical romances almost entirely in prose, influenced by Chinese vernacular novels such as Sangoku-shi ( 三国志 , Three Kingdoms ) and Suikoden ( 水滸伝 , Water Margin ) . Two yomihon masterpieces were written by Ueda Akinari (1734–1809): Ugetsu Monogatari and Harusame Monogatari . Kyokutei Bakin (1767–1848) wrote

3816-619: Is notable for its more somber tone compared to the works of previous eras, with themes of life and death, simple lifestyles, and redemption through killing. A representative work is The Tale of the Heike ( Heike Monogatari , 1371) , an epic account of the struggle between the Minamoto and Taira clans for control of Japan at the end of the 12th century. Other important tales of the period include Kamo no Chōmei 's Hōjōki (1212) and Yoshida Kenkō 's Tsurezuregusa (1331). Despite

3922-525: Is one of the main characters of the 2017 Chinese fantasy film Legend of the Demon Cat , where he is portrayed by Huang Xuan . It the movie, the poet is solving a murder mystery and struggles to finish his famous poem, "Song of Everlasting Regret." The American poet, Allen Ginsberg , wrote "Reading Bai Juyi" during his 1984 trip to China. The poem was written in Shanghai over the course of one day and

4028-496: Is recognized as the greatest master of haiku (then called hokku ). His poems were influenced by his firsthand experience of the world around him, often encapsulating the feeling of a scene in a few simple elements. He made his life's work the transformation of haikai into a literary genre. For Bashō, haikai involved a combination of comic playfulness and spiritual depth, ascetic practice, and involvement in human society. In particular, Bashō wrote Oku no Hosomichi ,

4134-538: Is the virtue of exhibiting love and respect for one's parents, elders, and ancestors, particularly within the context of Confucian , Chinese Buddhist , and Daoist ethics. The Confucian Classic of Filial Piety , thought to be written around the late Warring States - Qin - Han period, has historically been the authoritative source on the Confucian tenet of filial piety. The book—a purported dialogue between Confucius and his student Zengzi —is about how to set up

4240-453: The Man'yōshū (759), a poetry anthology. One of the stories they describe is the tale of Urashima Tarō . The Heian period has been referred to as the golden era of art and literature in Japan. During this era, literature became centered on a cultural elite of nobility and monks. The imperial court particularly patronized the poets, most of whom were courtiers or ladies-in-waiting. Reflecting

4346-514: The sakoku policy and especially during the increasing westernization of the Meiji era , Western literature has also had an influence on the development of modern Japanese writers, while Japanese literature has in turn become more recognized internationally, leading to two Japanese Nobel laureates in literature, namely Yasunari Kawabata and Kenzaburō Ōe . Before the introduction of kanji from China to Japan, Japan had no writing system; it

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4452-399: The 1980s. Many popular works fell between "pure literature" and pulp novels, including all sorts of historical serials, information-packed docudramas, science fiction, mysteries, detective fiction , business stories, war journals, and animal stories. Non-fiction covered everything from crime to politics. Although factual journalism predominated, many of these works were interpretive, reflecting

4558-547: The Dunes (1960), wanted to express the Japanese experience in modern terms without using either international styles or traditional conventions, developed new inner visions. Yoshikichi Furui related the lives of alienated urban dwellers coping with the minutiae of daily life, while the psychodramas within such daily life crises have been explored by a rising number of important women novelists. The 1988 Naoki Prize went to Shizuko Todo  [ ja ] for Ripening Summer ,

4664-562: The Dutch-language anatomy book Ontleedkundige Tafelen . As a full-blown translation from a Western language, it was the first of its kind in Japan. Although there was a minor Western influence trickling into the country from the Dutch settlement at Nagasaki , it was the importation of Chinese vernacular fiction that proved the greatest outside influence on the development of Early Modern Japanese fiction. Jippensha Ikku (1765–1831)

4770-469: The Han Daqu-the original form of Daqu. Tang culture was an amalgamation of the culture of the ethnic Han majority, the culture of the " Western Region " ( 西域 ), and Buddhism . The conflict between the mainstream Han culture and minority culture exposed after the An Lushan Rebellion. The alien culture was so popular and it had seriously threatened the status of Han culture. Musical performances at

4876-491: The Japanese god of poetry repelling the Chinese poet from Japan, in opposition to Bai's (perceived) challenge to the country's poetic autonomy. Bai Juyi was known for his interest in the old yuefu form of poetry, which was a typical form of Han poetry , namely folk ballad verses, collected or written by the Music Bureau . These were often a form of social protest. And, in fact, writing poetry to promote social progress

4982-481: The Japanese literary language, even at a time when the authors themselves experienced challenges due to their gender. One Meiji-period writer, Shimizu Shikin , sought to encourage positive comparisons between her contemporaries and their female forebears in the hopes that female authors would be viewed with respect by society, despite assuming a public role outside the traditional confines of a woman's role in her home (see Good Wife, Wise Mother ). Other notable authors of

5088-1250: The Meiji period included Hiratsuka Raicho , Higuchi Ichiyo , Tamura Toshiko , Nogami Yaeko and Yosano Akiko . Japan has some literary contests and awards in which authors can participate and be awarded. The Akutagawa Prize is one of the most prestigious literary awards, and receives wide attention from media. Filial piety Confucianism Persons Topics Neo Confucianism New Confucianism Daoism Persons Topics Legalism Mohism Military and Strategy Han Buddhism Tibetan Buddhism Maoism General topics Vedic philosophy Mimamsa Vedanta Samkhya Yoga Nyaya Navya-Nyāya Vaisheshika Nāstika (heterodox) Tamil Other General topics Jainism Buddhism Traditions Topics Japanese Buddhism Japanese Confucianism Kokugaku Modern Thought Statism Kyoto School Korean Buddhism Korean Confucianism Persons Topics Donghak Modern Thought Persons Topics Filial piety

5194-792: The Moon and mountains. One friend, Yu Shunzhi, sent Bai a bolt of cloth as a gift from a far-off posting, and Bai Juyi debated on how best to use the precious material: About to cut it to make a mattress, pitying the breaking of the leaves; about to cut it to make a bag, pitying the dividing of the flowers. It is better to sew it, making a coverlet of joined delight; I think of you as if I'm with you, day or night. Bai's works were also highly renowned in Japan, and many of his poems were quoted and referenced in The Tale of Genji by Murasaki Shikibu . Zeami Motokiyo also quoted from Bai, in his Noh plays , and even wrote one, Haku Rakuten , about

5300-682: The Nobel Prize for Literature . Mitsuharu Inoue had long been concerned with the atomic bomb and continued in the 1980s to write on problems of the nuclear age, while Shūsaku Endō depicted the religious dilemma of the Kakure Kirishitan , Roman Catholics in feudal Japan, as a springboard to address spiritual problems. Yasushi Inoue also turned to the past in masterful historical novels of Inner Asia and ancient Japan, in order to portray present human fate. Avant-garde writers, such as Kōbō Abe , who wrote novels such as The Woman in

5406-719: The Pipa"). Bai Juyi lived during the Middle Tang period. This was a period of rebuilding and recovery for the Tang Empire, following the An Lushan Rebellion , and following the poetically flourishing era famous for Li Bai (701－762), Wang Wei (701－761), and Du Fu (712－770). Bai Juyi lived through the reigns of eight or nine emperors, being born in the Dali regnal era (766-779) of Emperor Daizong of Tang . He had

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5512-461: The Prince's Tutor. It was not a high-ranking position, but nevertheless one which he was soon to lose. While serving as a minor palace official in 814, Bai managed to get himself in official trouble. He made enemies at court and with certain individuals in other positions. It was partly his written works which led him into trouble. He wrote two long memorials, translated by Arthur Waley as "On Stopping

5618-442: The Tang court are of two types: seated performances ( 坐部 ) and standing performances ( 立部 ). Seated performances were conducted in smaller halls with a limited number of dancers, and emphasized refined artistry. Standing performances involves numerous dancers, and were usually performed in courtyards or squares intended for grand presentations. Bai's another poem, Libuji ( 立部伎 ), translated as Standing Section Players , reflected

5724-572: The Tokugawa period, as in earlier periods, scholarly work continued to be published in Chinese, which was the language of the learned much as Latin was in Europe. The Meiji period marked the re-opening of Japan to the West, ending over two centuries of national seclusion , and marking the beginning of a period of rapid industrialization. The introduction of European literature brought free verse into

5830-605: The War", regarding what he considered to be an overly lengthy campaign against a minor group of Tatars ; and he wrote a series of poems, in which he satirized the actions of greedy officials and highlighting the sufferings of the common folk. At this time, one of the post- An Lushan warlords ( jiedushi ), Wu Yuanji in Henan , had seized control of Zhangyi Circuit (centered in Zhumadian ), an act for which he sought reconciliation with

5936-470: The Xiangshan Monastery, at Longmen , about 7.5 miles south of Luoyang. Bai Juyi moved to this location, and began to refer to himself as the "Hermit of Xiangshan". This area, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site , is famous for its tens of thousands of statues of Buddha and his disciples carved out of the rock. In 839, he experienced a paralytic attack, losing the use of his left leg, and became

6042-435: The adult market, a manga introduction to economics, and pornography ( hentai ). Manga represented between 20 and 30 percent of annual publications at the end of the 1980s, in sales of some ¥400 billion per year. Light novels , a Japanese type of young adult novel , often feature plots and illustrations similar to those seen in manga. Many manga are fan-made ( dōjinshi ). Literature utilizing new media began to appear at

6148-408: The advance on Nanjing. Writers who opposed the war include Denji Kuroshima , Mitsuharu Kaneko , Hideo Oguma and Jun Ishikawa . World War II , and Japan's defeat, deeply influenced Japanese literature. Many authors wrote stories of disaffection, loss of purpose, and the coping with defeat. Haruo Umezaki 's short story Sakurajima shows a disillusioned and skeptical Navy officer stationed in

6254-735: The anthology called the Bai Zhi Wen Ji  [ zh ] . One of the most prolific of the Tang poets, Bai Juyi wrote over 2,800 poems , which he had copied and distributed to ensure their survival. They are notable for their relative accessibility: it is said that he would rewrite any part of a poem if one of his servants was unable to understand it. The accessibility of Bai Juyi's poems made them extremely popular in his lifetime, in both China and Japan , and they continue to be read in these countries today. His writings are also popular in Korea and Vietnam . One of Bai's most famous poems

6360-453: The aristocratic atmosphere, the poetry was elegant and sophisticated and expressed emotions in a rhetorical style. Editing the resulting anthologies of poetry soon became a national pastime. The iroha poem, now one of two standard orderings for the Japanese syllabary , was also developed during the early Heian period. The Tale of Genji ( Genji Monogatari ) , written in the early 11th century by female courtier Murasaki Shikibu ,

6466-510: The authors themselves and depicts their own mental states. Neo-romanticism came out of anti-naturalism and was led by Kafū Nagai , Jun'ichirō Tanizaki , Kōtarō Takamura , Hakushū Kitahara and others in the early 1910s. Saneatsu Mushanokōji , Naoya Shiga and others founded a magazine Shirakaba in 1910. They shared a common characteristic, Humanism. Shiga's style was autobiographical and depicted states of his mind and sometimes classified as "I Novel" in this sense. Ryūnosuke Akutagawa , who

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6572-494: The capital. He then served in various official posts in the capital, and then again as prefect/governor, this time in Henan , the province in which Luoyang was located. It was in Henan that his first son was born, though only to die prematurely the next year. In 831 Yuan Zhen died. For the next thirteen years, Bai Juyi continued to hold various nominal posts but actually lived in retirement. In 832, Bai Juyi repaired an unused part of

6678-500: The common people, and setsuwa such as the Nihon Ryoiki were created by Buddhist priests for preaching. The development of roads, along with a growing public interest in travel and pilgrimages, brought rise to the greater popularity of travel literature from the early 13th to 14th centuries. Notable examples of travel diaries include Fuji kikō (1432) and Tsukushi michi no ki (1480). Literature during this time

6784-546: The construction of a causeway to allow walking on foot, instead of requiring the services of a boat. A causeway in the West Lake (Baisha Causeway, 白沙堤) was later referred to as Bai Causeway in Bai Juyi's honor, but the original causeway built by Bai Juyi named Baigong Causeway ( 白公堤 ) no longer exists. In 824, Bai Juyi's commission as governor expired, and he received the nominal rank of Imperial Tutor, which provided more in

6890-460: The debut of several authors best known for the beauty of their language and their tales of love and sensuality, notably Jun'ichirō Tanizaki and Japan's first winner of the Nobel Prize for Literature , Yasunari Kawabata , a master of psychological fiction. Ashihei Hino wrote lyrical bestsellers glorifying the war, while Tatsuzō Ishikawa attempted to publish a disturbingly realistic account of

6996-482: The end of 2007 cell phone novels comprised four of the top five fiction best sellers. Female writers in Japan enjoyed a brief period of success during the Heian period , but were undermined following the decline in power of the Imperial Court in the 14th century. Later, in the Meiji era , earlier works written by women such as Murasaki Shikibu and Sei Shonagon were championed amongst the earliest examples of

7102-412: The end of the 20th century. Visual novels , a type of interactive fiction , were produced for personal computers beginning in the 1980s. Cell phone novels appeared in the early 21st century. Written by and for cell phone users , the novels — typically romances read by young women — have become very popular both online and in print. Some, such as Love Sky , have sold millions of print copies, and at

7208-685: The extremely popular fantasy/historical romance Nansō Satomi Hakkenden over a period of twenty-eight years to complete (1814–1842), in addition to other yomihon . Santō Kyōden wrote yomihon mostly set in the red-light districts until the Kansei edicts banned such works, and he turned to comedic kibyōshi . Genres included horror, crime stories, morality stories, comedy, and pornography — often accompanied by colorful woodcut prints. Hokusai (1760–1849), perhaps Japan's most famous woodblock print artist, also illustrated fiction as well as his famous 36 Views of Mount Fuji . Nevertheless, in

7314-405: The family the one element common to almost all Chinese people. The western term filial piety was originally derived from studies of Western societies, based on Mediterranean cultures. However, filial piety among the ancient Romans , for example, was largely different from the Chinese in its logic and enactment. Filial piety is illustrated by the Chinese character xiao (孝). The character

7420-419: The final section is a "transformation" (Ginsberg's description) of a poem by Bai. Japanese literature Japanese literature throughout most of its history has been influenced by cultural contact with neighboring Asian literatures , most notably China and its literature . Early texts were often written in pure Classical Chinese or lit.   ' Chinese writing ' ( 漢文 , kanbun ) ,

7526-419: The following statement: "All the faqu's now are combined with songs from the barbarians ; but the barbarian music sounds evil and disordered whereas Han music sounds harmonious!" ( 法曲法曲合夷歌，夷聲邪亂華聲和 ) Faqu is a kind of performing style of Yanyue, a part of court music performance. In this poem, Bai Juyi strongly criticized Tang Daqu, which was itself heavily influenced by some nonnative musical elements absent in

7632-492: The imperial government, trying to get an imperial pardon as a necessary prerequisite. Despite the intercession of influential friends, Wu was denied, thus officially putting him in the position of rebellion. Still seeking a pardon, Wu turned to assassination, blaming the Prime Minister, Wu Yuanheng , and other officials: the imperial court generally began by dawn, requiring the ministers to rise early in order to attend in

7738-459: The law to bring this under control." Bai was also criticized for his "carelessness and repetitiveness", especially his later works. He was nevertheless placed by Tang poet Zhang Wei ( 張爲 ) in his Schematic of Masters and Followers Among the Poets ( 詩人主客圖 ) at the head of his first category: "extensive and grand civilizing power". Burton Watson says of Bai Juyi: "he worked to develop a style that

7844-482: The lead before offering his own criticism. This was not the only charge which his opponents used against him. His mother had died, apparently caused by falling into a well while looking at some flowers, and two poems written by Bai Juyi — the titles of which Waley translates as "In Praise of Flowers" and "The New Well" — were used against him as a sign of lack of Filial Piety , one of the Confucian ideals. The result

7950-424: The lowered status of women. As the importance of the imperial court continued to decline, a major feature of Muromachi literature (1333–1603) was the spread of cultural activity through all levels of society. Classical court literature, which had been the focal point of Japanese literature up until this point, gradually disappeared. New genres such as renga , or linked verse, and Noh theater developed among

8056-523: The market place." Bai's poetry was immensely popular in his own lifetime, but his popularity, his use of vernacular, the sensual delicacy of some of his poetry, led to criticism of him being "common" or "vulgar". In a tomb inscription for Li Kan ( 李戡 ), a critic of Bai, poet Du Mu wrote, couched in the words of Li Kan: "...It has bothered me that ever since the Yuanhe Reign we have had poems by Bai Juyi and Yuan Zhen whose sensual delicacy has defied

8162-428: The norms. Excepting gentlemen of mature strength and classical decorum, many have been ruined by them. They have circulated among the common people and been inscribed on walls; mothers and fathers teach them to sons and daughters orally, through winter's cold and summer's heat their lascivious phrases and overly familiar words have entered people's flesh and bone and cannot be gotten out. I have no position and cannot use

8268-449: The past. Strikingly, Buddhist attitudes about the importance of knowing oneself and the poignant impermanence of things formed an undercurrent to sharp social criticism of this material age. There was a growing emphasis on women's roles, the Japanese persona in the modern world, and the malaise of common people lost in the complexities of urban culture. Popular fiction, non-fiction, and children's literature all flourished in urban Japan in

8374-545: The phenomenon of "decline in imperial court music". In this poem, Bai mercilessly pointed out that music style of both seated performances and standing performances were deeply influenced by foreign culture. Seated performances are more elegant than standing performances. Players in the Seating Section were the most qualified performers, while the performing level of the players in the Standing Section were

8480-432: The pleasure quarters, the so-called Ukiyozōshi (" floating world ") genre. Ihara's Life of an Amorous Man is considered the first work in this genre. Although Ihara's works were not regarded as high literature at the time because it had been aimed towards and popularized by the chōnin (merchant classes), they became popular and were key to the development and spread of ukiyozōshi . Matsuo Bashō (1644–1694)

8586-428: The poet's feelings on listening to music. Bai Juyi is considered one of the greatest Chinese poets, but even during the ninth century, sharp divide in critical opinions of his poetry already existed. While some poets like Pi Rixiu only had the highest praise for Bai Juyi, others were hostile, like Sikong Tu ( 司空圖 ) who described Bai as "overbearing in force, yet feeble in energy ( qi ), like domineering merchants in

8692-421: The poetic repertoire. It became widely used for longer works embodying new intellectual themes. Young Japanese prose writers and dramatists faced a suddenly-broadened horizon of new ideas and artistic schools, with novelists amongst some of the first to assimilate these concepts successfully into their writing. Natsume Sōseki 's (1867–1916) humorous novel Wagahai wa neko de aru ( I Am a Cat , 1905) employed

8798-417: The point that the local farmers were suffering from severe drought. He ordered the construction of a stronger and taller dike, with a dam to control the flow of water, thus providing water for irrigation, relieving the drought, and improving the livelihood of the local people over the following years. Bai Juyi used his leisure time to enjoy the beauty of West Lake, visiting the lake almost every day. He ordered

8904-564: The post-war period. Nobuo Kojima 's short story "The American School" portrays a group of Japanese teachers of English who, in the immediate aftermath of the war, deal with the American occupation in varying ways. Prominent writers of the 1970s and 1980s were identified with intellectual and moral issues in their attempts to raise social and political consciousness. One of them, Kenzaburō Ōe , who published one of his best-known works, A Personal Matter in 1964, became Japan's second winner of

9010-439: The rebellious warlords, Pei Du, but was unable to kill him. The people at the capital were shocked and there was turmoil, with officials refusing to leave their personal residences until after dawn. In this context, Bai Juyi overstepped his minor position by memorializing the emperor. As Assistant Secretary to the Prince's Tutor, Bai's memorial was a breach of protocol — he should have waited for those of censorial authority to take

9116-410: The roots of xiào . Rén means favorable behavior to those whom we are close to. Yì refers to respect to those considered worthy of respect, such as parents and superiors. Li is defined as behaving according to social norms and cultural values. Moreover, it is defined in the texts as deference , which is respectful submission, and reverence , meaning deep respect and awe. Filial piety

9222-465: The throne, Muzong spent his time feasting and heavily drinking and neglecting his duties as emperor. Meanwhile, the temporarily subdued regional military governors, jiedushi , began to challenge the central Tang government, leading to the new de facto independence of three circuits north of the Yellow River , which had been previously subdued by Emperor Xianzong. Furthermore, Muzong's administration

9328-399: The time was serving an assignment in nearby Ningbo , also in what is today Zhejiang , so the two could occasionally get together, at least until Bai Juyi's term as Governor expired. As governor of Hangzhou, Bai Juyi realized that the farmland nearby depended on the water of West Lake, but, due to the negligence of previous governors, the old dike had collapsed and the lake had dried out to

9434-404: The way of official salary than official duties, and he relocated his household to a suburb of the "eastern capital," Luoyang . At the time, Luoyang was known as the eastern capital of the empire and was a major metropolis with a population of around one million and a reputation as the "cultural capital," as opposed to the more politically oriented capital of Chang'an . In 825, at age 53, Bai Juyi

9540-618: The women's quarters where no man knew of her. When Heaven begets beauteous things, it is loath to let them be wasted, So one morning this maiden was chosen to be by the ruler's side. When she turned around with smiling glance, she exuded every charm; In the harem all who wore powder and paint of beauty then seemed barren. In springtime's chill he let her bathe in Huaqing Palace's pools Whose warm springs' glistening waters washed flecks of dried lotions away. Those in attendance helped her rise, in helplessness so charming— This

9646-625: The works Classic of Filial Piety ( 孝經 ) and the Book of Rites ( 禮記 ). In the Classic of Filial Piety , Confucius (551–479  BCE ) says that "filial piety is the root of virtue and the basis of philosophy" and modern philosopher Fung Yu-lan describes filial piety as "the ideological basis for traditional [Chinese] society". For Confucius, filial piety is not merely a ritual outside respect to one's parents, but an inward attitude as well. Filial piety consists of several aspects. Filial piety

9752-495: Was Konjaku Monogatarishū , a collection of over a thousand stories in 31 volumes. The volumes cover various tales from India , China and Japan. The 10th-century Japanese narrative, The Tale of the Bamboo Cutter ( Taketori Monogatari ) , can be considered an early example of proto- science fiction . The protagonist of the story, Kaguya- hime , is a princess from the Moon who is sent to Earth for safety during

9858-400: Was also in exile and with whom he explored the rock caves located at Yichang . Bai Juyi was delighted by the flowers and trees for which his new location was noted. In 819, he was recalled back to the capital, ending his exile. In 819, Bai Juyi was recalled to the capital and given the position of second-class Assistant Secretary. In 821, China got a new emperor, Muzong . After succeeding to

9964-518: Was an intellectual movement situated in Edo and centered on the study of Dutch (and by subsequently western ) science and technology, history, philosophy, art, and language, based primarily on the Dutch books imported via Nagasaki. The polymath Hiraga Gennai (1728–1780) was a scholar of rangaku and a writer of popular fiction. Sugita Genpaku (1733–1817) was a Japanese scholar known for his translation of Kaitai Shinsho (New Book of Anatomy) from

10070-406: Was brought in by Mori Ōgai with his anthology of translated poems (1889) and carried to its height by Tōson Shimazaki , alongside magazines such as Myōjō and Bungaku-kai in the early 1900s. Mori also wrote some modern novels including The Dancing Girl (1890), The Wild Geese (1911), then later wrote historical novels. Natsume Sōseki, who is often compared with Mori Ōgai, wrote I Am

10176-458: Was characterized by massive corruption. Again, Bai Juyi wrote a series of memorials in remonstrance. Again, Bai Juyi was sent away from the court and the capital, but this time to the important position of the thriving town of Hangzhou , which was at the southern terminus of the Grand Canal and located in the scenic neighborhood of West Lake . Fortunately for their friendship, Yuan Zhen at

10282-401: Was delayed by seven years due to his father's death. He passed the jinshi examinations in 800. Bai Juyi may have taken up residence in the western capital city of Chang'an , in 801. Not long after this, Bai Juyi formed a long friendship with a scholar Yuan Zhen . 806, the first full year of the reign of Emperor Xianzong of Tang , was the year when Bai Juyi was appointed to a minor post as

10388-615: Was exile. Bai Juyi was demoted to the rank of Sub-Prefect and banished from the court and the capital city to Jiujiang , then known as Xun Yang, on the southern shores of the Yangtze River in northwest Jiangxi Province. After three years, he was sent as Governor of a remote place in Sichuan. At the time, the main travel route there was up the Yangzi River. This trip allowed Bai Juyi a few days to visit his friend Yuan Zhen, who

10494-560: Was explicitly one of his objectives. He is also known for his well-written poems in the regulated verse style. Bai was a poet of the middle Tang dynasty. It was a period after the An Lushan Rebellion , the Tang Empire was in rebuilding and recovery. As a government official and a litterateur, Bai observed the court music performance that was seriously affected by Xiyu ( 西域 , Western regions), and he made some articles with indignation to criticize that phenomenon. As an informal leader of

10600-467: Was given the position of Governor (Prefect) of Suzhou , situated on the lower reaches of the Yangtze River and on the shores of Lake Tai . For the first two years, he enjoyed himself with feasts and picnic outings, but after a couple years he became ill and was forced into a period of retirement. After his time as Prefect of Hangzhou (822-824) and then Suzhou (825-827), Bai Juyi returned to

10706-531: Was highly praised by Soseki, wrote short stories including Rashōmon (1915) with an intellectual and analytic attitude and represented Neo-realism in the mid-1910s. During the 1920s and early 1930s the proletarian literary movement, comprising such writers as Takiji Kobayashi , Denji Kuroshima , Yuriko Miyamoto and Ineko Sata produced a politically radical literature depicting the harsh lives of workers, peasants, women, and other downtrodden members of society, and their struggles for change. Pre-war Japan saw

10812-406: Was poor but scholarly, his father being an Assistant Department Magistrate of the second-class. At the age of ten he was sent away from his family to avoid a war that broke out in the north of China, and went to live with relatives in the area known as Jiangnan , more specifically Xuzhou . Bai Juyi's father died in 794, his father's death caused his family to undergo hard times. Bai Juyi's official

10918-465: Was simple and easy to understand, and posterity has requited his efforts by making him one of the most well-loved and widely read of all Chinese poets, both in his native land and in the other countries of the East that participate in the appreciation of Chinese culture. He is also, thanks to the translations and biographical studies by Arthur Waley , one of the most accessible to English readers". Bai Juyi

11024-483: Was taught by Confucius as part of a broad ideal of self-cultivation ( Chinese : 君子 ; pinyin : jūnzǐ ) toward being a perfect human being. Modern philosopher Hu Shih argued that filial piety gained its central role in Confucian ideology only among later Confucianists. He proposed that Confucius originally taught the quality of rén in general, and did not yet emphasize xiào as much. Only later Confucianists such as Tseng Tzu focused on xiào as

11130-582: Was the moment when first she enjoyed the flood of royal favor. Tresses like cloud, face like a flower, gold pins that swayed to her steps; It was warm in the lotus-embroidered tents where they passed the nights of spring. And the nights of spring seemed all too short, the sun would too soon rise, From this point on our lord and king avoided daybreak court. 漢皇重色思傾國， 御宇多年求不得。 楊家有女初長成， 養在深閨人未識。 天生麗質難自棄， 一朝選在君王側。 回眸一笑百媚生， 六宮粉黛無顏色。 春寒賜浴華清池， 溫泉水滑洗凝脂。 侍兒扶起嬌無力， 始是新承恩澤時。 雲鬢花顏金步搖， 芙蓉帳暖度春宵。 春宵苦短日高起， 從此君王不早朝。 Another of Bai's famous poems

11236-463: Was written during the largely peaceful Tokugawa shogunate (commonly referred to as the Edo period ). Due in large part to the rise of the working and middle classes in the new capital of Edo (modern Tokyo ), forms of popular drama developed which would later evolve into kabuki . The jōruri and kabuki dramatist Chikamatsu Monzaemon (1653–1725) became popular at the end of the 17th century, and he

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