Voices of Southeast Asia: essential readings from antiquity to the present /

Spanning more than a millennium, this anthology gathers literary sources from across the entire region of Southeast Asia. Its 24 selections derive from a variety of genres and reflect the diverse range of cultural influences the region has experienced. The literary excerpts illustrate the impact of religious and ideological currents from early Buddhism to Islam and Roman Catholicism. The selections reveal how cultural influences from South Asia, China, the Arabic world, and Europe arrived in Southeast Asia and left their marks in the realms of literature, society, and culture. The readings include religious works, folklore, epic poems, short stories, and the modern novel. They range from the Cambodian medieval version of the Ramayana to the 16th century Javanese tales to modern Thai short stories and include selections from Cambodia, Thailand, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, and Burma. Cover 1 Half Title 2 Title Page 4 Copyright Page 5 Table of Contents 6 Introduction 8 Map of Southeast Asia 16 Kawi Inscription from Java: (894, Indonesia) 20 Shwegugyi Pagoda Inscription: (1141, Burma) 27 Viet Dinh U Linh Tap: (1329, Vietnam) 33 The Maniyadanabon: (Fifteenth Century, Burma) 42 Truyen Ky Man Luc: (Sixteenth Century, Vietnam) 51 Sejarah Melayu: (1612, Malaysia) 61 Prince Samuttakote: (Seventeenth Century, Thailand) 69 Reamker: (Sixteenth-Eighteenth Century, Cambodia) 84 Tale of Kieu: (1810s, Vietnam) 97 Glass Palace Chronicle: (1829, Burma) 105 Babad Dipanagara: (1830s, Indonesia) 116 Rantjak Dilabueh: (Nineteenth Century, Indonesia) 127 Noli Me Tangere: (1887, Philippines) 134 Letters of a Javanese Princess: (1899, Indonesia) 142 Dumb Luck: (1936, Vietnam) 151 Oil: (1938, Burma) 161 Return: (1950s, Malaysia) 170 Not Out of Hate: (1955, Burma) 179 Letters from Thailand: (1969, Thailand) 189 Sacrifice: (1980s, Laos) 198 Tales of the Demon Folk: (1984, Thailand) 206 An Umbrella: (1990, Burma) 216 The Water Nymph: (1992, Vietnam) 224 Painting the Eye: (2002, Singapore) 238 Bibliography 248 About the Editor 252 "A primary source reader featuring 24 selections from a variety of genres and designed as a resource for teaching Southeast Asian civilization courses, whether their emphasis be historical, literary, philosophical, or broadly cultural, and as a means of integrating Southeast Asian civilization into broader world history coverage ... Selections range from the Cambodian medieval version of the Ramayana to the 16th century Javanese tales to modern Thai short stories. The region is represented both temporally and geographically with selections from Cambodia, Malaysia, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, Laos, Philippines, and Burma. These readings represent a fair selection of Southeast Asia's ancient and modern classics of thought and expression. This volume constitutes a unique combination of poetry, novels, short stories, drama, and political and philosophical treatises. Although not every selection is a complete work, the material presented is both substantial and representative"-- Provided by publisher Kawi inscription from Java (894) / Anonymous Shwegugyi Pagoda inscription (1141) / King Alaungsithu Viet Dinh u linh tap (1329) / Ly Te Xuyen Maniyadanabon (15th c) / Shin Sandalinka Truyen ky man luc (16th c) / Nguyen Du Sejarah Melayu (1612) / Tun Sri Lanang Prince Samuttakote (17th c) / Phra Maharatchakhru Reamker (16-18th c) / Anonymous Tale of Kieu (19th c) / Nguyen Du Glass palace chronicle (1829) / Burmese court historians Babad Dipanagara (1830s) / Dipanagara Rantjak dilabueh (19th c) / Anonymous Noli me tangere (1887) / José Rizal Letters of a Javanese princess (1899) / Kartini Dumb luck (1936) / Vu Trong Phung Oil (1938) / Thein Pe Myint Return (1950s) / Miao Hsiou Not out of hate (1955) / Ma Ma Lay Letters from Thailand (1969) / Botan The sacrifice (1980s) / Outhine Bounyavong Tales of the demon folk (1984) / Sri Daoruang An umbrella (1990) / Ma Sandar The water nymph (1992) / Nguyen Huy Thiep Painting the eye (2002) / Philip Jeyaretnam.