Classical Literature

Classical Literature (non-Confucian)

Other East Asian Classics (東亞古典 동아고전)

- Chinese Classics (中國古典)
  - (All of the aforementioned Confucian classics above)
  - Other Confucian and Philosophical Classics
  - Daoist Classics
    - Daodejing (道德經) by Laozi
    - Zhuangzi (莊子)
    - Liezi (列子) and other Daoist texts
  - Historical Works
    - Shiji (史記) by Sima Qian – Foundational grand history of China
    - Hanshu (漢書), Hou Hanshu (後漢書), Sanguozhi (三國志) – Key standard histories (정사)
    - Zizhi Tongjian (資治通鑑) by Sima Guang – General chronicle of Chinese history
  - Literary and Poetic Masterpieces
    - Chuci (楚辭) – The Songs of Chu (Qu Yuan’s poetry)
    - Tang Poetry (唐詩), e.g. Li Bai, Du Fu, Wang Wei
    - Song Ci (宋詞) – Song Dynasty lyric poetry (Su Shi, Li Qingzhao)
  - Other Classic Works
    - Huangdi Neijing (黃帝內經) – Foundational Chinese medical text
    - Writings of the Hundred Schools of Thought – Mozi, Guanzi, Lüshi Chunqiu
    - Encyclopedic compendia like Taiping Guangji and Taiping Yulan
- Japanese Classics (日本古典)
  - Mythological and Historical Records
    - Kojiki (古事記) – Records of Ancient Matters
    - Nihon Shoki (日本書紀) – Chronicles of Japan
    - Fudoki (風土記) – Regional gazetteers detailing geography and folklore
  - Literary Masterpieces
    - Man’yōshū (萬葉集) – Oldest extant collection of Japanese poetry
    - The Tale of Genji (源氏物語) by Murasaki Shikibu
    - The Tale of the Heike (平家物語) – Epic war tale
    - Kokin Wakashū (古今和歌集) – Imperial poetry anthology
  - Court and Cultural Texts
    - The Pillow Book (枕草子) by Sei Shōnagon
    - Honchō monzui – Literary anthology
  - Buddhist and Philosophical Works
    - Shōbōgenzō (正法眼藏) by Dōgen – Zen Buddhist classic
    - Commentaries on Lotus Sutra and other sutras in Sino-Japanese canon
  - Medieval and Edo Period Writings
    - Eihei Kōroku and other Zen texts
    - Tsurezuregusa (徒然草) by Yoshida Kenkō – Essays in Idleness
    - Haikai and Haiku poetry collections – Matsuo Bashō, Buson, Issa
- Korean Classics (韓國古典)
  - Historical Records and Chronicles
    - Samguk Sagi (三國史記) – Oldest extant Korean historical record
    - Samguk Yusa (三國遺事) – Collection of legends, folktales, and historical accounts
    - Goryeosa (高麗史) – Official history of the Goryeo Dynasty
    - Joseon Wangjo Sillok (朝鮮王朝實錄) – Annals of the Joseon Dynasty
  - Confucian and Educational Texts
    - Sohak (小學) – Basic Confucian primer
    - Saja Sohak (四字小學) – Four-character elementary learning text
    - Gyeokmong Yogyul (擊蒙要訣) by Yi I (Yulgok) – Guide to Confucian learning
  - Literary and Poetic Masterpieces
    - Yongbi Eocheonga (龍飛御天歌) – Royal song in hangul celebrating the Joseon founders
    - Worin Cheon’gang Jigok (月印千江之曲) – Buddhist verse in hangul by King Sejong
    - Gajeonche literature – Didactic tales personifying objects (e.g. Geumo Sinhwa by Kim Si-seup)
    - Sijo poetry – Classical Korean poetic form
  - Philosophical and Religious Works
    - Collected Works of Yi Hwang (Toegye), Collected Works of Yi I (Yulgok) – Neo-Confucian scholarship
    - Korean Buddhist canons – Tripitaka Koreana (팔만대장경), woodblock printed
  - Miscellany
    - Hunminjeongeum (訓民正音) – Original promulgation of the Korean alphabet
    - Uibang Yuuchwi (醫方類聚) – Medical encyclopedia of Joseon Korea
    - Dongmong Seonseup (童蒙先習) – Elementary textbook
- Mongolian and Other East Asian Traditions
  - Mongolian
    - The Secret History of the Mongols – Key epic narrative of Mongol origins and Chinggis Khan’s life
    - Yassa (Mongol law code) – Although not fully extant, its influence is legendary
    - Mongolian Buddhist translations and commentaries derived from Tibetan canons
  - Other Influences and Interactions
    - Khitan (Liao) and Jurchen (Jin) inscriptions and texts – Fragments of early non-Han East Asian states
    - Ryukyuan songs and legends – Oral traditions from the Ryukyu Kingdom (Okinawa)
    - Manchu script chronicles – Jurchen/Manchu histories like the Manchu Veritable Records of the Qing Dynasty
- Additional East Asian Cultural and Intellectual Heritage
  - Literary Anthologies and Encyclopedias
    - Wenxuan (文選) – Chinese literary anthology widely read in East Asia
    - Works of notable Confucian scholars spread across East Asia
  - Religious Canonical Works
    - Chinese Buddhist Canon (대장경, Taishō Shinshū Daizōkyō) and its influence on Japanese, Korean, and Vietnamese literati
  - Oral Traditions and Folk Epics
    - Korean Pansori tales (later transcribed)
    - Japanese Kagura songs and oral Shinto myths that predate written records

Western Classics (西洋古典 서양고전)

- Ancient Greek Epics and Poetry
- Ancient Greek Drama
- Greek Philosophical and Historical Works
  - Pre-Socratic fragments (e.g., Heraclitus, Parmenides)
  - Works of Plato (Πλάτων)
  - Socratic dialogues (via Plato and Xenophon)
  - Works of Aristotle (Ἀριστοτέλης)
  - Histories (Ἱστορίαι) by Herodotus
  - History of the Peloponnesian War by Thucydides (Θουκυδίδης)
  - The Histories by Polybius
- Roman Classics (Epics, Poetry, and Prose)
- Canonical Religious Texts
- Medieval Western Classics
- Early Modern Western Classics
- Additional Influential Texts

South Asian or Indian Classics (남아시아 또는 인도 고전)

- Vedic and Upanishadic Literature
  - The Vedas (Rigveda, Yajurveda, Samaveda, Atharvaveda)
  - The Upanishads (e.g., Brihadaranyaka, Chandogya)
  - The Brāhmaṇas and Āraṇyakas
- Epic and Itihasa Traditions
  - The Mahabharata
  - The Ramayana
  - The Bhagavad Gita (within the Mahabharata)
  - The Puranas (e.g., Vishnu Purana, Bhagavata Purana)
- Sanskrit Poetry, Drama, and Classical Works
  - Abhijñānaśākuntalam by Kālidāsa
  - Works of Kālidāsa (e.g., Meghadūta, Kumārasambhava)
  - Works of Bāṇabhaṭṭa (e.g., Harṣacarita, Kādambarī)
  - Pañcatantra
  - Kirātārjunīya by Bhāravi
  - Śiśupālavadha by Māgha
- Philosophical and Dharmic Texts
- Buddhist and Jain Classics
  - Tripiṭaka (Pali Canon) – Sutta Piṭaka, Vinaya Piṭaka, Abhidhamma Piṭaka
  - Milinda Pañha (Questions of King Milinda)
  - Jātakas (Buddhist birth stories)
  - Jain Agamas (Śvētāmbara and Digambara traditions)
- Grammar, Linguistics, and Science
  - Aṣṭādhyāyī by Pāṇini (Sanskrit grammar)
  - Amarakosha (Sanskrit lexicon)
  - Suśruta Saṃhitā (ancient Indian medical treatise)
  - Caraka Saṃhitā (another key medical text)
  - Works of Bhāskara, Āryabhaṭṭa (astronomy & mathematics)
- Regional Literatures (Tamil and Other Indian Languages)
  - Tamil Sangam literature (e.g., Ettuthogai, Pattupāṭṭu)
  - Silappatikaram (Tamil epic)
  - Manimekalai (Tamil epic)
  - Tirukkural by Tiruvalluvar (classical Tamil ethical treatise)
- Bhakti and Devotional Classics
  - Gītagovinda by Jayadeva
  - Bhakti poetry (e.g., works of Mirabai, Tulsidas’s Ramcharitmanas, Nammalvar)

Middle Eastern Classics (중동 고전)

- Ancient Mesopotamian and Near Eastern Literature
  - Epic of Gilgamesh (Sumerian/Akkadian)
  - Enūma Eliš (Babylonian creation epic)
  - Atra-Hasis (Akkadian flood story)
  - Code of Hammurabi (Babylonian law code)
  - The Descent of Inanna (Sumerian myth)
  - Ugaritic texts (e.g., Baal Cycle)
- Ancient Egyptian Literature
  - The Book of the Dead
  - Pyramid Texts (Old Kingdom funerary texts)
  - Coffin Texts (Middle Kingdom funerary texts)
  - The Tale of Sinuhe
  - The Story of Wenamun
- Hebrew and Judean Classics
  - Hebrew Bible (Tanakh)
  - Talmud (Rabbinic literature)
  - Dead Sea Scrolls (Second Temple period texts)
  - Mishnah (Core of Rabbinic tradition)
  - The Guide for the Perplexed by Maimonides (Jewish philosophy)
- Zoroastrian and Middle Persian Classics
  - Avesta (Zoroastrian scripture, including the Gathas of Zoroaster)
  - Bundahishn (Zoroastrian cosmogony text)
  - Dādestān-ī Dēnīg (Zoroastrian religious questions and answers)
- Persian Classics
- Arabic and Islamic Classics
  - Qur’an
  - Hadith Collections (e.g., Sahih al-Bukhari, Sahih Muslim)
  - The Mu‘allaqāt (Pre-Islamic Arabian odes)
  - Kalīla wa Dimna (Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ’s translation/adaptation of Panchatantra)
  - Muqaddimah by Ibn Khaldun
  - The Epistle of Forgiveness (Risālat al-Ghufrān) by Al-Maʿarrī
  - Kitāb al-Tawḥīd by Ibn ʿAbd al-Wahhāb (Theological literature, later period)
  - Fihrist by Ibn al-Nadīm (10th-century catalogue of Arabic literature)
- Syriac and Armenian Literature
  - Writings of Ephrem the Syrian (4th century Christian hymns/theology in Syriac)
  - The History of the Armenians by Movses Khorenatsi (Armenian classic)
- Later Ottoman and Turkish Classics
  - Works of Rūmī (also listed under Persian) in Ottoman/Turkish adaptation
  - Divan poetry collections by Ottoman poets such as Fuzuli, Bâkî, Nefʿī
  - Fusūs al-Ḥikam (The Bezels of Wisdom) by Ibn ‘Arabī (Andalusian/Levantine mystic tradition)
- Additional Influential Texts and Genres
  - Jewish Midrashic Literature (e.g., Midrash Rabbah)
  - Sufi treatises and poetry collections (e.g., ʿAttār’s Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr)
  - Works of Avicenna (Ibn Sīnā) and Averroes (Ibn Rushd) (Philosophical classics)

African Classics (아프리카 고전)

- Ancient Egyptian Literature
  - The Book of the Dead (Papyrus of Ani, etc.)
  - Pyramid Texts (Old Kingdom funerary texts)
  - Coffin Texts (Middle Kingdom funerary texts)
  - The Tale of Sinuhe
  - The Story of Wenamun
  - Instruction of Ptahhotep (Old Kingdom wisdom literature)
  - Instruction of Merikare
- Ethiopian (Aksumite and Post-Aksumite) Literature
  - Kebra Nagast (The Glory of Kings)
  - Ge’ez Bible (Ethiopic Bible, including the Book of Enoch)
  - Fetha Nagast (Law of the Kings)
  - Ge’ez Hagiographical Texts (Lives of the saints and Ethiopian Orthodox traditions)
  - Monastic and theological works from Ethiopian Christian tradition
- Sahelian and West African Islamic Literature
  - Timbuktu Manuscripts (Malian scholarly tradition: astronomy, medicine, history, jurisprudence)
  - Works of Ahmed Baba, Abd al-Rahman al-Sa’di (e.g. Tarikh al-Sudan, Tarikh al-Fattash)
  - Sufi treatises and religious poetry from West African Tijani and Qadiriyya scholars
- Epic and Oral Traditions of West Africa
  - Epic of Sundiata (Mali/Mande tradition)
  - Mande Hunters’ Epics (e.g., Sunjata’s hunters’ predecessors)
  - Jeli (Griot) oral traditions – praise poems, genealogies, proverbs
  - Yoruba Ifá Divination Corpus (Odù Ifá)
  - Hausa and Fulani oral epics and praise poems
  - Akan proverbs and Ananse tales (Ghana)
- North African and Berber Traditions
  - Berber oral poetry and folk tales
  - Early Christian texts from the Church of Carthage (e.g., Tertullian’s Latin works)
  - Kabyle epics and oral narratives
- Eastern African Traditions
  - Early Swahili poetry and prose (e.g., "Utendi wa Tambuka")
  - Somali Oral Poetry (Gabay)
  - East African historical and clan narratives
- Central and Southern African Traditions
- Additional Influential African Texts and Genres
- Modern Written Classics with Ancient Roots (Transitional Works)
  - Early written records by African historians and chroniclers under colonial influence, reflecting older oral forms
  - Works by African scholars in Arabic from Nigeria, Chad, and Sudan continuing classical traditions

Mesoamerican and South American Classics (메소아메리카 및 남아메리카 고전)

- Mesoamerican Classics
  - Maya
    - Popol Vuh (Kʼicheʼ Maya creation myth, compiled in post-conquest era)
    - Chilam Balam (Yucatec Maya prophetic and historical books)
    - Dresden Codex (Maya hieroglyphic codex)
    - Madrid Codex (Maya codex of rituals and divinatory material)
    - Paris Codex (Maya astronomical and historical text)
  - Aztec (Mexica) and Nahua Traditions
    - Florentine Codex (Compiled by Bernardino de Sahagún, documenting Nahua culture and literature)
    - Huei Tlamahuiçoltica and other Nahuatl annals
    - Codex Borbonicus (Aztec divinatory manuscript)
    - Codex Borgia (Ritual and divinatory Aztec manuscript)
    - Huehuetlatolli (Collections of ancient Nahuatl speeches and moral discourses)
  - Mixtec and Other Mesoamerican Cultures
    - Codex Nuttall (Mixtec codex depicting genealogies and histories)
    - Codex Selden (Mixtec pictographic narrative)
    - Codex Bodley (Mixtec historical codex)
    - Regional oral traditions and annals recorded by colonial-era chroniclers
- South American Classics
  - Inca and Andean Traditions
    - Quipus (Inca knotted string records, not a “book” but a data system used for historical and administrative knowledge)
    - Huarochirí Manuscript (Quechua religious and mythological traditions recorded in colonial times)
    - Visitation documents, annals, and narratives recorded by early Spanish chroniclers, reflecting Inca lore
    - Royal Commentaries of the Incas (Comentarios Reales) by Inca Garcilaso de la Vega (a mestizo perspective blending Inca oral tradition with European forms)
    - El Primer Nueva Corónica y Buen Gobierno by Felipe Guaman Poma de Ayala (Andean worldview, history, and critique of colonial rule)
  - Other Andean and South American Cultures
    - Muisca (Chibcha) myths and calendrical traditions (Colombia)
    - Aymara oral traditions (Bolivia/Peru)
    - Mapuche oral epics and heroic narratives (Chile/Argentina)
    - Guaraní creation myths and epic narratives (Paraguay, Brazil, Argentina)
    - Quechua and Amazonian tribal oral literature (myths, ritual chants)
  - Colonial-Era Indigenous and Mestizo Chronicles
    - Crónicas del Perú by Pedro Cieza de León (Documenting Inca and other native traditions)
    - Narratives by Juan de Betanzos (Quechua language informant for Inca history)
    - Local cabildo records, testaments, and narratives merging indigenous oral memory with Spanish script
- Additional Mesoamerican and South American Texts
  - Stelae inscriptions, murals, and iconographic narratives (Classic Maya city-states: Tikal, Palenque, Copán)
  - Accounts by indigenous nobles and informants collaborating with Spanish chroniclers
  - Oral epic traditions of smaller Amazonian tribes (e.g., Yanomami, Shipibo, Asháninka)

Classical Islamic World and Central Asia (이슬람 세계 및 중앙아시아 고전)

- Foundational Islamic Texts
  - Qurʼan (Islam’s central religious text)
  - Hadith Collections – Ṣaḥīḥ al-Bukhārī, Ṣaḥīḥ Muslim, Sunan Abī Dāwūd, Jāmiʿ at-Tirmidhī, etc.
  - Tafsīr literature (Qur’anic exegesis), e.g. Tafsīr al-Ṭabarī
  - Sīra (Prophetic biography) literature – Ibn Hishām, Ibn Isḥāq
- Islamic Law and Theology
  - Fiqh manuals and legal commentaries – al-Risālah of al-Shāfiʿī, Mukhtaṣar al-Qudūrī
  - Kalām (Islamic theology) works – al-Ashʿarī, al-Māturīdī treatises
  - The Revival of the Religious Sciences (Iḥyāʾ ʿUlūm al-Dīn) by Al-Ghazālī
- Historical and Biographical Works
  - Tārīkh al-Rusul wa al-Mulūk (History of Prophets and Kings) by al-Ṭabarī
  - Muqaddimah by Ibn Khaldūn
  - Murūj al-Dhahab by al-Masʿūdī
  - Al-Kāmil fī al-Taʾrīkh by Ibn al-Athīr
  - Bāburnāma (Memoirs of Babur) – Reflecting the Timurid/Mughal transition from Central Asia to India
- Persianate Literary and Intellectual Traditions
- Central Asian Intellectual Heritage
  - Works of al-Fārābī (Turkic philosopher, important in logic and metaphysics)
  - Works of Ibn Sīnā (Avicenna) – The Canon of Medicine (Qānūn fī al-Ṭibb), The Book of Healing (Kitāb al-Shifāʾ)
  - Works of al-Bīrūnī – Al-Āthār al-Bāqiyah (Chronology of Ancient Nations), Kitāb fī Taḥqīq mā li-l-Hind
  - Rubāʿiyyāt of Omar Khayyām (Philosophical quatrains)
  - Al-Kashshāf by al-Zamakhsharī (Qur’anic commentary by a scholar from Khwarezm)
  - Sufi treatises by ʿAbd al-Qādir al-Jīlānī – Central in spiritual literature
- Sufi and Mystical Texts
  - Fuṣūṣ al-Ḥikam (Bezels of Wisdom) by Ibn ʿArabī
  - Manāzil al-Sāʾirīn by Al-Harawī (Sufi path stations)
  - Naqshbandīya Sufi order writings originating in Central Asia
- Turkic and Chaghatai Literature
  - Works of ʿAlī Shīr Navāʾī (Chaghatai Turkic poet and mystic)
  - Poetry of Maxtumquli Pyragy (Turkmen poet, slightly later period but building on classical tradition)
  - Kutadgu Bilig by Yūsuf Khāṣṣ Ḥājib (Wisdom literature from the Karakhanid period)
  - Dīwān Lughāt al-Turk by Maḥmūd al-Kāshgharī (Early Turkic dictionary and cultural compendium)
- Arabic Literary Classics
  - Muʿallaqāt (Pre-Islamic “Hanging Odes”)
  - Kalīla wa Dimna (Ibn al-Muqaffaʿ’s Arabic adaptation of Indian fables)
  - Kitāb al-Ḥayawān (Book of Animals) by al-Jāḥiẓ
  - Maqāmāt (assemblies) by al-Hamadhānī and al-Ḥarīrī (Early Arabic prose narrative)
  - Ḥayy ibn Yaqẓān by Ibn Ṭufayl (Philosophical tale)
- Scientific and Philosophical Works
  - Works of al-Kindī (Philosophy, mathematics, medicine)
  - Al-Khwārizmī’s Algebra (Al-Kitāb al-Mukhtaṣar fī ḥisāb al-jabr wal-muqābala)
  - Kitāb al-Manāẓir (Book of Optics) by Ibn al-Haytham
  - Works of al-Rāzī (Rhazes) (Medicine, philosophy, alchemy)
  - Works of al-Juwaynī and al-Ghazālī on theology and jurisprudence
- Historical and Geographical Works from Central Asia and the Islamic World
- Additional Cultural and Literary Heritage
  - Commentaries and literature by al-Bayḍāwī (Tafsir, theology)
  - Local oral narratives, heroic epics, and folk stories across Iranian and Turkic regions preserved in later manuscripts

Classical Russian and Eastern European Traditions (러시아 및 동유럽 고전)

- Early East Slavic and Kievan Rus’ Literature
  - The Primary Chronicle (Повесть временных лет) – Attributed to Nestor, a key source on early Rus’ history
  - The Tale of Igor’s Campaign (Слово о полку Игореве) – Epic narrative poem of heroic struggle
  - Novgorod and Pskov Chronicles – Regional annals detailing local history
  - Hagiographies of early Rus’ Saints (e.g., Boris and Gleb)
  - Old Church Slavonic translations of the Bible and liturgical texts by Saints Cyril and Methodius’ disciples
- Church Slavonic and Orthodox Literary Traditions
- Medieval Russian Legal and Instructional Texts
  - Russkaya Pravda – Early Rus’ law code
  - Domostroi – 16th-century Muscovite manual of household management and moral instruction
- Belarusian, Ukrainian, and Ruthenian Traditions
  - Lithuanian–Ruthenian Chronicles – Chronicling the Grand Duchy of Lithuania and Ruthenian lands
  - Polyk’s Chronicle and others documenting regional histories
  - Ukrainian “Dumy” (epic songs) – Oral poetic traditions later recorded in writing
- South Slavic (Bulgarian, Serbian, Croatian, Bosnian) Medieval Literature
  - Literature of the First Bulgarian Empire (9th–10th centuries) – Works of the Preslav and Ohrid literary schools
  - Cyrillic manuscripts such as the Codex Suprasliensis, Codex Zographensis, and others
  - Lives of Saints Clement of Ohrid, Naum, and other disciples of Cyril and Methodius
  - Serbian epic poetry – Oral epics of the Kosovo cycle and the Marko Kraljević cycle, later transcribed
  - Ragusan (Dubrovnik) and Dalmatian Latin/Slavonic literary traditions in the medieval Adriatic
- Czech and Slovak Medieval Works
  - Dalimil Chronicle (Kronika tak řečeného Dalimila) – Old Czech verse chronicle
  - Czech Apocrypha and medieval legends (e.g., about St. Wenceslas)
  - Writings of Jan Hus and Hussite religious texts – Though later than medieval classics, they had a formative influence
- Polish Medieval and Renaissance Classics
  - Chronica Polonorum by Gallus Anonymus – Early Polish history
  - Marcin Bielski’s Chronicles – Renaissance era, reflecting medieval traditions
  - Works of Jan Kochanowski (Renaissance Polish poet) – Bridges medieval and early modern
  - Polish religious texts and lives of saints in early vernacular
- Hungarian Medieval Classics
  - Gesta Hungarorum – Latin chronicles describing the origins of the Hungarians
  - Gesta of King Béla and other medieval Hungarian chronicles
  - Old Hungarian Lamentations and Codices (e.g., Halotti Beszéd, the earliest Hungarian sermon)
- Romanian and Moldavian Traditions
  - Early Romanian chronicles (e.g., Letopisețul Țării Moldovei)
  - Byzantine Orthodox influences and translations into Old Romanian script
  - Oral epic traditions and Doina (lament poetry) eventually recorded in writing
- Baltic and Finno-Ugric Oral Traditions (Later Recorded)
  - Latvian Dainas – Brief folk songs and verses (oral to written)
  - Kalevala (Finnish) & Kalevipoeg (Estonian) – Not Eastern Slavic, but Finno-Ugric epics often considered in broader Eastern European context
  - Lithuanian folk songs, sutartinės – Collected and published in modern times, reflecting older traditions
- Additional Influential Eastern European Texts
  - Byzantine-Slavonic liturgical texts and translations – Binding cultural and religious continuity
  - Ballads, legends, and heroic narratives from Eastern Carpathians to the Balkans
  - Folk tale collections later compiled by scholars (e.g., Afanasyev’s Russian Fairy Tales, though 19th century, contain old motifs)
  - Proverbs, riddles, and wisdom literature passed down orally, forming the bedrock of regional cultural identity

Oceanian Classics (오세아니아 또는 대양주 고전)

- Polynesian Traditions
  - Kumulipo (Hawaiian creation chant) – A genealogical prayer chant tracing the Hawaiian cosmos’ origins
  - Other Hawaiian genealogical chants (Mele Ko‘ihonua) and hula chants preserving ancestral lines and mythic events
  - Māori oral tradition (Kōrero Tuku Iho) – Whakapapa (genealogies), karakia (prayers), and waiata (songs) transmitted by tohunga (specialist priests)
  - Mōteatea (Māori chanted poetry) – Lyrical laments, love songs, and historical narratives
  - Cook Islands (Rarotongan, Mangaian) legends – Creation stories, chiefly genealogies, and migratory chants
  - Tongan oral traditions – Tales of Maui, genealogical recitations of Tongan kings, and langi (ceremonial songs)
  - Tahitian and Society Islands cosmogonies – Narratives centered on Ta‘aroa, Oro, and the pantheon of gods
  - Samoan creation stories and genealogical lore – Oral histories of Tagaloa and migration myths
- Micronesian Traditions
  - Marshallese navigational chants and lore – Stick chart knowledge, star paths, and clan genealogies
  - Chuukese (Trukese) myths and legends – Stories of ancestral spirits, islands’ origins, and social norms
  - I-Kiribati genealogical chants – Origin narratives linking islands, ancestors, and moral instructions
  - Palauan legends and myths – Clan histories, supernatural beings, and traditional moral values
- Melanesian Traditions
  - Fijian oral histories – Tales of first arrivals, cultural heroes (e.g., Lutunasobasoba), and kava rituals
  - Solomon Islands epic narratives – Clan genealogies, spirit beings, and moral lessons embedded in stories
  - Vanuatu kastom stories – Myth cycles explaining land names, rituals, and social laws
  - Papuan (New Guinea) epic chants and cosmologies – Complex origin stories, river spirits, and ancestral migrations
  - Melanesian dance-dramas and ceremonial chants – Initiation rites, healing songs, and knowledge of land and lineage
- Aboriginal Australian and Torres Strait Islander Traditions
  - The Dreaming (Tjukurpa) narratives – Cosmological accounts of how ancestral beings shaped the land, establishing law and custom
  - Songlines – Routes connecting sacred sites across Australia, embedding geography, history, and moral law in music and chant
  - Aboriginal hero tales and clan genealogies – Oral knowledge transmitted through corroborees (ceremonial gatherings)
  - Torres Strait Islander myths and dance-epics – Stories of ancestral heroes, cosmological journeys, and cultural protocols
- Additional Oceanian Cultural Expressions
  - Rongorongo glyphs of Rapa Nui (Easter Island) – Undeciphered script possibly linked to oral recitations and calendrical knowledge
  - Polynesian/Micronesian wayfinding lore – Oral instructions for open-ocean navigation using stars, swells, and bird patterns
  - Marquesan legends and genealogies – Islands’ origins, ancestor cults, and heroic figures
  - Initiation chants and “magic words” – Used in gardening, fishing, and healing across various Oceanian islands
  - Anthropologically recorded proverbs, riddles, and moral tales – Preserved by scholars, reflecting age-old wisdom and identity

Classical Southeast Asian Literature (동남아 고전)

- Mainland Southeast Asia
  - Khmer (Cambodia)
    - Reamker – The Cambodian adaptation of the Ramayana, inscribed in verse and performed in dance drama
    - Inscriptions of Angkor (e.g. Prasat Kôk Po inscriptions) – Early Khmer epigraphy containing royal edicts, religious dedications, and eulogies
    - Khmer Buddhist Jātaka stories and moral tales – Adaptations and retellings of Pali sources into Khmer
  - Thai (Siam)
    - Ramakien – Thai version of the Ramayana narrative, composed in the Ayutthaya and Rattanakosin periods
    - Trai Phum Phra Ruang (Three Worlds According to King Lithai) – Cosmological treatise blending Buddhism and indigenous beliefs
    - Lilit Phra Lo – A classical Thai lyrical narrative poem
    - Royal chronicles of Ayutthaya and Lanna – Historical prose traditions chronicling royal lineages and events
  - Lao (Laos)
    - Phra Lak Phra Lam – Lao adaptation of the Ramayana epic
    - Sin Xay – A Lao heroic epic poem reflecting moral and cultural values
    - Jātaka-based narratives and oral poetry (Mor Lam tradition)
  - Burmese (Myanmar)
    - Yama Zatdaw – Burmese Ramayana adaptation
    - Glass Palace Chronicle (Hmannan Yazawin) – Semilegendary royal chronicle of Burmese kings
    - Commentaries on Pāli Buddhist canon, Nissaya literature – Burmese translations and exegeses of Buddhist texts
    - Jātaka stories, dhamma literature, and Sān kyam (didactic texts)
  - Vietnamese
    - Chữ Nôm literary works – Adaptations of Chinese classics, folk tales, and poetry in the vernacular script
    - Medieval Vietnamese annals (e.g., Đại Việt sử ký toàn thư) combining Confucian historiography with indigenous elements
    - Legends of Lạc Long Quân, Âu Cơ, and Thánh Gióng recorded in folk narratives and later chronicles
- Maritime Southeast Asia
  - Indonesian (Javanese, Balinese, Sundanese)
    - Nagarakretagama by Mpu Prapañca – A 14th-century Javanese eulogy to the Majapahit Empire, a key kakawin (court poetry)
    - Kakawin Rāmāyaṇa – Old Javanese rendition of the Ramayana
    - Javanese Mahabharata and Arjunawijaya kakawin – Courtly adaptations of Indian epics
    - Panji Tales – Indigenous Javanese cycle of romantic and heroic stories widely diffused across Southeast Asia
    - Balinese lontar manuscripts preserving kakawin literature, ritual texts, and treatises on dance, music, and moral conduct
  - Malay World (Malaysia, Brunei, Sumatra, Borneo)
    - Sejarah Melayu (Malay Annals) – A chronicle of the Malacca Sultanate blending history and legend
    - Hikayat Hang Tuah – Epic romance about the legendary hero Hang Tuah, reflecting loyalty and valor
    - Hikayat Iskandar Zulkarnain and other Hikayats – Adaptations of Islamic, Persian, and Indian narratives into Malay court literature
    - Syair and pantun – Malay classical poetic forms encapsulating wisdom, moral lessons, and social values
  - Philippine Archipelago
    - Pre-Hispanic epics such as the Hinilawod (Hiligaynon) – Oral epic narratives celebrating culture heroes, ancestors, and deities
    - Ifugao Hudhud chants, Kalinga Ullalim, Maranao Darangen – Precolonial oral epics recognized by UNESCO, preserving heroic and cosmological narratives
    - Chants and genealogies from various Philippine ethno-linguistic groups – Recorded in colonial era, but reflecting ancient oral traditions
  - Other Archipelagic Traditions
    - Wayang kulit and wayang beber narratives – Shadow play scripts based on the Ramayana and Mahabharata performed across Java, Bali, and Lombok
    - Sureq Galigo (La Galigo) – Epic literature of the Bugis of Sulawesi, one of the longest literary works in the world
    - Batak pustaha (magic books), Minangkabau tambo, and oral genealogies – Reflecting indigenous cosmologies, customary laws (adat), and historical memory
- Cross-Influences and Religious Texts
  - Pāli Canon translations throughout Theravāda Buddhist Southeast Asia (Thailand, Myanmar, Laos, Cambodia) influencing local literature
  - Adoption of Islamic literature (Hikayat, Suluk) in Malay, Acehnese, and Javanese traditions
  - Sanskrit inscriptions, Khmer and Cham adaptations of Hindu and Buddhist tales linking to Indian and East Asian classics
- Additional Expressions
  - Classical moral and didactic texts (e.g. Panung Sastra in Thai, Nīti literature in Burmese)
  - Versified historical chronicles, royal genealogies, and courtly poems (e.g., Lilit and Kap compositions in Thai and Lao tradition)
  - Collections of proverbs, riddles, and folk narratives that form the moral and cultural backbone of local communities

Classical Literature

Contents

Classical Literature (non-Confucian)

Other East Asian Classics (東亞古典 동아고전)

Western Classics (西洋古典 서양고전)

South Asian or Indian Classics (남아시아 또는 인도 고전)

Middle Eastern Classics (중동 고전)

African Classics (아프리카 고전)

Mesoamerican and South American Classics (메소아메리카 및 남아메리카 고전)

Classical Islamic World and Central Asia (이슬람 세계 및 중앙아시아 고전)

Classical Russian and Eastern European Traditions (러시아 및 동유럽 고전)

Oceanian Classics (오세아니아 또는 대양주 고전)

Classical Southeast Asian Literature (동남아 고전)

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Classical Literature

Classical Literature (non-Confucian)

Other East Asian Classics (東亞古典 동아고전)

Western Classics (西洋古典 서양고전)

South Asian or Indian Classics (남아시아 또는 인도 고전)

Middle Eastern Classics (중동 고전)

African Classics (아프리카 고전)

Mesoamerican and South American Classics (메소아메리카 및 남아메리카 고전)

Classical Islamic World and Central Asia (이슬람 세계 및 중앙아시아 고전)

Classical Russian and Eastern European Traditions (러시아 및 동유럽 고전)

Oceanian Classics (오세아니아 또는 대양주 고전)

Classical Southeast Asian Literature (동남아 고전)

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