PHILIT 12 (Asian Literature Quiz)

Asia is the largest continent with a rich and diverse literary heritage. Its major literary contributors include which of the following countries?

• France, Germany, Italy, and Greece

• China, Japan, Korea, India, and the Philippines

• Egypt, Turkey, Iran, and Iraq

• Russia, Poland, and Ukraine

Which Chinese philosopher’s work, The Analects, records his teachings on ethics and harmonious living?

• Laozi

• Zhuang Zi

• Confucius

• Mencius

Who is considered the father of modern Chinese literature and a key figure of the May Fourth Movement (1919)?

• Han Yu

• Mo Yan

• Lu Xun

• Li Po

What is considered the greatest example of 18th-century vernacular Chinese literature?

• Dream of the Red Chamber

• The Analects

• Classic of Poetry

• The Art of War

Which dynasty marked the Golden Age of Chinese poetry, featuring poets like Li Po (Li Bai) and Tu Fu (Du Fu)?

• Zhou Dynasty

• Tang Dynasty

• Ming Dynasty

• Song Dynasty

During Japan’s Nara Period, what work was known as the oldest anthology of Japanese poetry?

• The Tale of Genji

• Man’yōshū

• Kokinshū

• Nihon Shoki

Which Japanese literary period is known as the Classical Age of Literature, dominated by women writers like Murasaki Shikibu?

• Nara Period

• Heian Period

• Edo Period

• Meiji Era

What is the most famous work produced during Japan’s Heian Period, sometimes called the first modern novel?

• Kokinshū

• The Tale of Genji

• Heike Monogatari

• Tsurezuregusa

The Edo Period of Japanese literature is notable for the rise of which poetic form and theatrical style?

• Tanka and Kabuki

• Haiku and Kabuki

• Haibun and Noh

• Sonnet and Opera

Who is Japan’s second Nobel Prize winner for Literature, author of A Personal Matter (1964)?

• Haruki Murakami

• Kenzaburō Ōe

• Kazuo Ishiguro

• Osamu Dazai