Table Of ContentVoices of East Asia
Voices of East Asia provides significant yet accessible readings in translation chosen to stimulate interest in the
long and rich cultural history of East Asia, the countries of China, Japan, and Korea. The readings range from
ancient to modern, elite to popular, and include poetry, stories, essays, and drama. Each section begins with a
broad but brief overview of that country’s political and cultural history. Each reading is preceded by a concise
explanation of its literary and cultural context. As expertise in East Asian studies has exploded in the West in
recent decades, a novice could be overwhelmed by all the materials available now. In this volume, however,
the reader will find a manageable set of texts that may be read on their own, as part of a world literature
course, or as supplementary readings for an East Asian history class. As economic and political news from East
Asia sweeps across the world, this anthology aims to provide a taste of the enduring traditions upon which
contemporary East Asia is built, a glimpse into the hopes and fears, love and sorrow in the hearts of the people
behind the headlines.
This anthology will be welcomed by students and scholars of Asian history, culture, society, and literature.
Margaret Childs is Associate Professor in the Department of East Asian Languages and Cultures at the
University of Kansas, USA.
Nancy Hope is Associate Director of the Kansas Consortium for Teaching about Asia and the Associate
Director for Special Projects of the Confucius Institute both at the University of Kansas, USA.
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Also Available from Routledge
Voices of South Asia
Essential Readings from Antiquity to the Present
Edited by Patrick Peebles
Voices of Southeast Asia
Essential Readings from Antiquity to the Present
Edited by George E. Dutton
Voices of East Asia
Essential Readings from Antiquity to the Present
Edited by Margaret Helen Childs and Nancy Francesca Hope
3
Voices of East Asia
Essential Readings from Antiquity to the Present
Edited by
Margaret Helen Childs and Nancy Francesca Hope
4
First published 2015
by Routledge
711 Third Avenue, New York, NY 10017
and by Routledge
2 Park Square, Milton Park, Abingdon, Oxon, OX14 4RN
Routledge is an imprint of the Taylor & Francis Group, an informa business
© 2015 Taylor & Francis
The right of the editors to be identified as the authors of the editorial material, and of the authors for their individual chapters, has been asserted
in accordance with sections 77 and 78 of the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reprinted or reproduced or utilised in any form or by any electronic, mechanical, or other means,
now known or hereafter invented, including photocopying and recording, or in any information storage or retrieval system, without permission
in writing from the publishers.
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without intent to infringe.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Voices of East Asia : readings and images from China, Japan, and Korea / edited by
Margaret Childs and Nancy Hope.
pages cm
Includes bibliographical references.
1. East Asian literature—Translations into English. 2. Chinese literature—
Translations into English. 3. Japanese literature—Translations into English.
4. Korean literature—Translations into English. I. Childs, Margaret Helen, editor. II. Hope, Nancy, editor.
PL494.V65 2015
895—dc23
2014038024
ISBN: 978-0-7656-3833-5 (hbk)
ISBN: 978-0-7656-3834-2 (pbk)
ISBN: 978-1-315-71925-2 (ebk)
Typeset in Times
by ApexCovantage, LLC
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Contents
Preface
PART I CHINA
1 Book of Songs
2 Book of Documents
3 Book of Rites
4 Analects • Confucius
5 Mencius
6 Great Learning
7 Doctrine of the Mean
8 Daoist Texts
9 Chinese Poetry
10 The West Chamber • Wang Shifu
11 Journey to the West • Wu Cheng’en
12 Outlaws of the Marsh • Shi Nai’an and Luo Guanzhong
13 Short Stories • Lu Xun
14 Essays • Mao Zedong
15 The Old Gun • Mo Yan
PART II JAPAN
16 Japanese Poetry
17 The Pillow Book • Sei Shōnagon
18 The Tale of Genji • Murasaki Shikibu
19 Tales of Times Now Past
20 The Tale of the Heike
21 Essays in Idleness • Yoshida Kenkō
22 Nakamitsu
23 Lord Kikui’s Wife
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24 Short Stories • Ihara Saikaku
25 Jusan’ya. The Thirteenth Night • Higuchi Ichiyō
26 Stories • Natsume Sōseki
27 A Sudden Flash of Light • Nakazawa Keiji
PART III KOREA
28 Tan’gun
29 The Tale of Hong Kiltong • Hŏ Kyun
30 Korean Poetry
31 Song of a Faithful Wife, Ch’un-hyang
32 Modern Korean Short Fiction
Bibliography
Thematic Index
About the Editors
7
Preface
The goal of this anthology is to provide a wide audience with significant yet accessible readings in translation
chosen to stimulate interest in the long and rich cultural history of East Asia, the countries of China, Japan,
and Korea. The readings range from ancient to modern, elite to popular, and include poetry, stories, essays, and
drama. Each section begins with a broad but brief overview of that country’s political and cultural history.
Each reading is preceded by a concise explanation of its literary and cultural context. As expertise in East
Asian studies has exploded in the West in recent decades, a novice could be overwhelmed by all the materials
available now. In this volume, however, the reader will find a manageable set of texts that may be read on
their own, as part of a world literature course, or as supplementary readings for an East Asian history class. As
economic and political news from East Asia sweeps across the world, this anthology aims to provide a taste of
the enduring traditions upon which contemporary East Asia is built, a glimpse into the hopes and fears, love
and sorrow in the hearts of the people behind the headlines.
Over the years various systems have been used to express East Asian scripts in the Roman alphabet. This
book uses pinyin, the official system devised by the People’s Republic of China, in introductory material, but
retains the system found in source texts, usually Wade-Giles, in some of the premodern readings. The
complexity of the Chinese sound system and the differing romanization systems necessitated our inclusion of a
pronunciation guide. Romanization of Japanese and Korean has been more consistent through the years and
their sound systems are simpler than Chinese. A simple rule for Japanese is that most syllables consist of a
consonant and vowel and the vowels are pronounced as in Italian (i.e., “a” as in “pasta,” “i” as in “pizza,” “u”
and “o” as in “duo,” and “e” as in “egg”). Korean has its own alphabet, called hangul, containing fourteen
consonants and ten vowels. This book uses McCune-Reischauer romanization, which is the most widely used
Korean language romanization system.
N ames are presented in the traditional East Asian order: family name first, then given name. In ancient
times in Japan, the convention was to express names using a possessive: thus, Taira no Tadanori means
Tadanori of the Taira clan. In the case of modern writers who publish in English, names tend to be written in
Western style, but Nakazawa Keiji’s autobiography is an exception. Many writers took pen names and came to
be known by those names: Ihara Saikaku is commonly referred to as Saikaku; Natsume Sōseki as Sōseki.
Such a wide-ranging anthology occasioned consultation with a wide range of colleagues. We would like first
to thank Steve Drummond for giving us this opportunity. For crucial help in choosing the selections,
translating them, and writing the introductory material, we would especially like to thank Vickie Doll, Elaine
Gerbert, Megan Greene, Michiko Ito, Ji-Yeon Lee, Keith McMahon, Laurel R. Rodd, Maya Stiller, Crispin
Williams, and Kyoim Yun. The flaws remain our sole responsibility.
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Map of Asia. (CIA, The World Factbook)
East Asian Timeline
China Japan Korea
ca. 5000-2100 BCE: Neolithic ca. 4000–300 BCE:
ca. 4000–300 BCE: Neolithic, Bronze Age and Iron Age
Jomon Period
ca. 2100–1600 BCE: Xia
Dynasty
ca. 1600–1050 BCE: Shang
Dynasty
ca. 1046–256 BCE: Zhou ca. 300 BCE–300 CE:
ca. 300–108 BCE: Old Choson
Dynasty Yayoi Period
221–206 BCE: Qin Dynasty
206 BCE–220 CE: Han
108 BCE–313 CE: Chinese colonies
Dynasty
220–589 CE: Six Dynasties
300–538: Kofun Period ca. 50 BCE–668 CE:
Period
538–710: Asuka Period Three Kingdoms Period
589–618: Sui Dynasty Koguryo 37 BCE–668 CE
Paekche 18 BCE–660 CE
618–906: Tang Dynasty Silla 57 BCE–935 CE
710–794: Nara Period
668–936: Unified Silla
794–1185: Heian Period
907–960: Five Dynasties
Period
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918–1392: Koryo Dynasty
960–1279: Song Dynasty 1185–1333: Kamakura
1279–1368: Yuan (Mongol) Period
Dynasty 1336–1573: Muromachi
Period
1368–1644: Ming Dynasty
1568–1600: Momoyama 1392–1910: Choson (Yi)
Period Dynasty
1600–1868: Edo Period
1644–1911: Qing (Manchu)
1868–1912: Meiji Period
Dynasty
1912–1926: Taishō
Period
1910–1945:Japanese colonial rule
1926–1989: Showa
1912–1949: Republic Period
Period
1949–present: People's 1989–present: Heisei 1948–present: Republic of Korea and Democratic
Republic of China Period People's Republic of Korea
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