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
      • Xunzi (荀子)
      • Han Feizi (韓非子)
      • Daxue Yan Yi (大學衍義) by Zhu Xi
    • 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 (삼국사기 三國史記) – Oldest extant Korean historical record
      • Samguk Yusa (삼국유사 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
    • The Iliad (Ἰλιάς) by Homer
    • The Odyssey (Ὀδύσσεια) by Homer
    • The Aeneid (Aeneis) by Virgil
    • Theogony (Θεογονία) by Hesiod
    • Odes (ἐπινίκια) by Pindar
  • Ancient Greek Drama
    • Works of Aeschylus (아이스킬로스)
    • Works of Sophocles (소포클레스)
    • Works of Euripides (에우리피데스)
    • Works of Aristophanes (아리스토파네스)
  • 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)
    • The Aeneid by Virgil (Vergilius)
    • Metamorphoses by Ovid (Ovidius)
    • Odes and Epodes by Horace (Horatius)
    • Speeches and Philosophical Works by Cicero (Cicero)
    • Ab Urbe Condita by Livy
    • Annals and Histories by Tacitus
    • Works of Seneca (Seneca the Younger)
  • Canonical Religious Texts
    • Hebrew Bible / Old Testament
    • New Testament
    • Confessions (Confessiones) by Augustine of Hippo
    • City of God (De Civitate Dei) by Augustine
  • Medieval Western Classics
    • The Divine Comedy (La Divina Commedia) by Dante Alighieri
    • Confessions (Confessiones) by Augustine of Hippo
    • City of God (De Civitate Dei) by Augustine of Hippo
    • Beowulf
    • The Song of Roland (La Chanson de Roland)
    • Arthurian Romances (Chrétien de Troyes)
    • The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer
  • Early Modern Western Classics
    • Don Quixote (El ingenioso hidalgo Don Quijote de la Mancha) by Miguel de Cervantes
    • Essays (Les Essais) by Michel de Montaigne
    • Complete Works of William Shakespeare
    • The Prince (Il Principe) by Niccolò Machiavelli
    • Paradise Lost by John Milton
  • Additional Influential Texts
    • Metamorphoses by Ovid
    • The Decameron by Giovanni Boccaccio
    • Summa Theologica by Thomas Aquinas

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
    • Arthashastra by Kauṭilya
    • Manusmṛti (The Laws of Manu)
    • Nītiśāstra (various treatises on ethics and governance)
  • 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
    • Shahnameh (Book of Kings) by Ferdowsi
    • Gulistan and Bustan by Saʿdī
    • Mas̱navī by Jalāl ad-Dīn Rūmī
    • Dīvān of Hāfez
    • Khamsa (Quintet) by Nizāmī Ganjavī
  • 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
    • Luba and Lunda royal praise songs (Central Africa)
    • Zambia’s oral histories and proverbs (Bemba, Lozi traditions)
    • Nganasan, Eastern Nilotic, and other oral epics along the Nile-Congo watershed
    • Zulu and Xhosa Praise Poetry (Izibongo)
  • Additional Influential African Texts and Genres
    • Meroitic inscriptions and Nubian Christian texts
    • Coptic literature (Gnostic texts, Apocrypha)
    • Amharic folk tales and Qene (Ethiopian poetic genre)
  • 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
    • Shāhnāmeh (Book of Kings) by Ferdowsī
    • Mas̱navī-yi Maʿnavī by Jalāl ad-Dīn Rūmī
    • Dīvān of Hāfez
    • Gulistān and Bustān by Saʿdī
    • Khamsa (Quintet) by Niẓāmī Ganjavī
    • Manṭiq-uṭ-Ṭayr (Conference of the Birds) by ʿAṭṭār
  • 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
    • Ibn Faḍlān’s Risālah (travel account on the Volga Bulgars)
    • The Riḥla (Travelogues) of Ibn Baṭṭūṭa
    • Works of Al-Idrīsī (Geography)
  • 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
    • Old Church Slavonic Bible (Gospels, Psalter, and other scriptural texts)
    • Didactic and homiletic literature (Слова, Poučenija) in Church Slavonic
    • Apocrypha, Lives of saints, and moral treatises spread across Slavic lands
    • Hesychast and spiritual writings transmitted from Byzantine Orthodox monasticism to Eastern Europe
  • 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