DOLE PHILIPPINES SCHOOL

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Kalsangi, Polomolok, South Cotabato

JUNIOR HIGH SCHOOL

FIRST QUARTER
ENGLISH 8: AFRO-ASIAN LITERATURE

Module 1
CHINESE LITERATURE: DRAWING
AND DISPLAYING THE WISDOM
Lesson 1: Chinese Literature
General Objectives
At the end of the modUle, yoU shoUld be able to
 Appreciate proverbs and maxims
 Interpret epigrams
 Read and appreciate folktales
Lesson Outline
1. Analects of Confucius
2. Verse from the book of Tao
3. The Wonderful Peer Tree

Discussion
Chinese Literature

Confucianism is pervasive in Chinese

What inspiring literature, the centerpiece of which are the
lessons about life Classics, contained in the two sets of books
and universe referred to as the Five Classics and the Four
are conveyed Books.
by the literature In Chinese literature, the ideal hero
of ancient China? is not the man of great strength, but the man
who has an excellent memory not the warrior
or the soldier, but the scholar.
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Poetry is at the heart of Chinese literature because
the rhythm – the harmony of sound - is innate to Chinese
temperament. Buddhism, introduced into China from India
during the Han dynasty (202 B.C.-220 A.D.), created a
momentum for literary creativity. The Golden Age of Chinese
Poetry, however, was during the T'ang dynasty (618-907 A.D.)
The three greatest Chinese poets in the middle
of the eighth century were Li Po, Tu Fu, and Po Chu-i. Li Po's
works have been widely translated, but many Chinese scholars
consider Tu Fu more superior.
Drama as a literary form had become established
by the time of the Golden Age of Poetry in the T'ang dynasty.
During the Mongol dynasty, drama reached its climax
of popularity. Today, drama is still so popular among the Chinese
that practically every Chinese town has its own theater.
The Chinese novel developed gradually and has flourished
from the thirteenth century to the present. In the Chinese
literary works of the last century, Russian influence
has been very evident.

Module 1 | English 8 Understand

Honesty Author’s
is the foundation Profile
of TRUST. Page 2 of 17
Confucius is the Latin form
of the Chinese Kung-fu-tze, Kung being
the family name; fu, the given name;
and tze, the word for Master.
Confucius was born in the
province of Lu, now Shantung. His
father, an elderly
military commander, died
when Confucius was three years old, but
the boy was precocious. At an early age,
he mastered the learning of his day.
The death of his mother drove him
to despair. He secluded himself
for more than two years. It was during
his seclusion that he formulated much of
his philosophy. By putting together
the materials which make up the Five
Classics, he became the founder
of Chinese literature.

#Reading 1
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Translated by: Herbert A. Giles

The Master said-A plausible tongue and a fascinating

expression are seldom associated with true virtue. Let loyalty
and truth be paramount with you. If you have faults, shrink not
from correcting them.
Learning without thought is labor lost. Thought
without learning is intellectual death. In mourning, it is better to be
sincere than to be punctilious.
The faults of men are characteristic of themselves.
By observing a man's faults you may infer what his virtues are.
The commander-in-chief of an army can be carried captive,
but the convictions of even the meanest man cannot be taken from
him.
A youth should be filial at home, respectful abroad.
He should be earnest and truthful. He should overflow in love to all,
but cultivate the friendship of the good. Then, whatsoever of
energy may be left to him, he should devote to the improvement of
(A disciple having asked for a definition of charity,
the Master said:) LOVE ONE ANOTHER!
Module 1 | English 8 Honesty is the foundation of TRUST. Page 4 of 17
(Having been further asked for a definition of knowledge,
the Master said:) KNOW ONE ANOTHER!
Supplementals
Read the handout, “Proverbs and Maxims” attached to this
module.

Exercises 1.1
Answer the following questions in your activity notebook
and send a photo of your answers to our online platform.

Note: Your answers should be written in 3-5 sentences.

Usenotes from the lesson to support your arguments.
Some items demand your observation and opinion
only.

1. According to Confucius, how should we treat a person who

flatters us?
2. What does Confucius mean by "learning without thought?”
3. What, do you think, does Confucius mean by intellectual
death?
4. Do you agree that judgment or opinion, based on lack of
understanding of facts, has no weight or is without merit?
Explain.
5. Do you agree that love is an important element of charity?

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Explain.

Exercises 1.2

Distinguishing Between Significant and Insignificant Ideas

Note: In looking for information or data about the topic

for an assignment or research work, it is importnant to
locate and identify ideas that are significant and discard
those that are not.

Keyword
Significant means relevant to the topic. It either give main
ideas or support main ideas. An outline will help you distinguish
which ideas are significant and which are not.

Gather information on China. Organize your information

under the following headings. Write your answer on a short
bond paper.

I. Historical Periods
II. Cultural and society
A. Religion and thought
B. Language and literature
C. Arts
III. Encounter with the West
IV. Geography
A. Natural features
B. Major provinces
C. Important cities

Module 1 | English 8 Honesty is the foundation of TRUST. Page 6 of 17

Understand Author’s Profile

Lao-tse, also known as Lao-tzu (low'dzu)

or Master Lao is widely believed
to be the author of the Taoist classic
Tao Te Ching and the founder of Taoism.
Legend has it that when he was eighty
years old, he became sad and
disillusioned at the unwillingness of
people to follow his path to natural
goodness. He set out for the western
border of China toward what is now
Tibet. At the border, the
guard requested him to record
his teachings before he left.
The result is his famous Book of Tao
(Tao Te Ching or the Scripture
of the Way and Its Power), the essential
teaching of which is the Tao or Way
to ultimate reality.

#Reading 2
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Verses from the Book of Tao

By L a o – T s e

Translated by: Lin Yutang

VII. Living for Others

The universe is everlasting
The reason the universe is everlasting
Is that it does not live for Self.
Therefore it can long endure.
Therefore the Sage puts himself last,
And finds himself in the foremost place;
Regards his body as accidental,
And his body is thereby preserved.
Is it not because he does not live for Self
That his Self achieves perfection?
Supplementals

Module 1 | English 8 Honesty is the foundation of TRUST. Page 8 of 17

Read the handout, “ Interpreting Epigrams” attached in this
module.

Exercises 2.1
Answer the following questions on your activity notebook
and send a photo of your answers to our online platform.

Note: Your answers should be written in 3-5 sentences.

Use notes from the lesson to support your arguments.
Some items demand your observation and opinion only.

1. Explain the verse, “why does the universe live forever?”

2. What does a wise person do, so that:

(1) he or she can become first in rank?
(2) his or her body can be preserved ?
(3) he or she can attain perfection?

3. Do you agree with the ideas stated in the last stanza?

Support your answer by giving examples from
your experiences and observations.

Exercises 2.2
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Read the following epigrams from Lao-tse's Book of Tao
and explain the message. Write your answer on the lines
provided in 2-3 sentences.

1. Rule a big country as you would fry a small fish.

Leave it alone; otherwise, the fish will become paste
by constant turning about.

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______________________________________________

______________________________________________

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2. Beautiful sayings can be sold at the market, Noble conduct

can be presented as a gift.

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Module 1 | English 8
Understand Literary Background
Honesty is the foundation of TRUST. Page 10 of 17
The
Classic
of
Tea
by
Chinese
writer Lu
Yu,
is
the
first A study of the historical
known
background of Chinese literature reveals
monograph
on that "China has preserved her literature
tea as a continuous and living influence
in
the world.
up to the present." As proof,
one of the songs of the twenty- fourth
century BC was adopted as the national
anthem when the Chinese republic
was established in 1911. In addition,
Mei Sheng, who died in 140 BC has been
called "the father of modern poetry."
"The Wonderful Pear Tree"
shows the love of magic which permeated
Chinese life in antiquity.

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#Reading 3

The Wonderful Pear Tree

A Chinese Folktale
Translated by Herbert A. Giles

Once upon a time a countryman came into the town

on market-day, and brought a load of very special pears with him
to sell. He set up his barrow in a good corner, and soon had a great
crowd round him; for everyone knew he always sold extra fine
pears, though he did also ask an extra high price. Now, while he
was crying up his fruit, a poor, old, ragged, hungry-looking priest
stopped just in front of the barrow, and very humbly
begged him to give him one of the pears. But the countryman, who
was very mean and very nasty-tempered,
wouldn’t hear of giving him any, and as the
priest didn’t seem inclined to move on, he began calling him all the
bad names he could think of.

Module 1 | English 8 Honesty is the foundation of TRUST. Page 12 of 17

“Good sir,” said the priest, “you have got hundreds of pears
on your barrow. I only ask you for one. You would never even know
you had lost one. Really, you needn’t get angry.”
“Give him a pear that is going bad; that will make him
happy,” said one of the crowd. “The old man is quite right; you’d
never miss it.”
“I’ve said I won’t, and I won’t!” cried the countryman:
and all the people close by began shouting, first one thing,
and then another, until the constable of the market, hearing the
hubbub, hurried up; and when he had made out what was the
matter, pulled some cash out of his purse, bought a pear, and gave
it to the priest. For he was afraid that the noise would come
to the ears of the mandarin who was just being carried down the
street.

The old priest took the

pear with a low bow, and held it
up in front of the crowd, saying,
“You all know that I have no
home, no parents,
no children, no clothes of my
own, no food,
because I gave everything up
when I became a priest.
So it puzzles me how anyone
can be so selfish and so stingy
as to refuse to give me one
single pear. Now I am quite a
different sort of man from this
countryman. I have got here some perfectly
exquisite pears, and I shall feel most deeply honored if you will
accept them from me.”
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“Why on earth didn’t you eat them yourself,
instead of begging for one?” asked a man in the crowd.
“Ah,” answered the priest, “I must grow them first.”
So he ate up the pear, only leaving a single pip. Then he
took a pick which was fastened across his back, dug a deep hole
in the ground at his feet, and planted the pip, which he covered all
over with earth. “Will someone fetch me some hot water to water
this?“ he asked. The people, who were crowding round,
thought he was only joking, but one of them ran and fetched a
kettle of boiling water and gave it to the priest, who very
carefully poured it over the place where he had sowed the pip.
Then, almost while he was pouring, they saw,
first a tiny green sprout, and then another, come
pushing their heads above the ground; then one leaf uncurled,
and then another, while the shoots kept growing taller and taller;
then there stood before them a young tree with a few branches
with a few leaves; then more leaves; then
flowers; and last of all clusters of huge, ripe, sweet-smelling pears
weighing the branches down to the ground! Now the priest’s face
shone with pleasure, and the crowd roared with delight when he
picked the pears one by one until they were all gone,
handing them round with a bow to each man present. Then the old
man took the pick again, hacked at the tree until it fell with a
crash, when he shouldered it, leaves and all, and with a final bow,
walked away.
All the time this had been going on, the countryman,
quite forgetting his barrow and pears, had been in the midst
of the crowd, standing on the tips of his toes, and straining his
eyes to try to make out what was happening. But when the old
priest had gone, and the crowd was getting thin, he
turned round to his barrow, and saw with horror
that it was quite empty. Every single pear had gone!
Module 1 | English 8 Honesty is the foundation of TRUST. Page 14 of 17
In a moment he understood what had happened.
The pears the old priest had been so generous in giving away were
not his own; they were the countryman’s! What was
more, one of the handles of his barrow was missing,
and there was no doubt that he had started from home with two!
He was in a towering rage, and rushed as hard as he could after
the priest; but just as he turned the corner he saw, lying close
to the wall, the barrow-handle itself, which without any doubt
was the very pear-tree which the priest had cut down. All the
people in the market were simply splitting their sides with
laughter; but as for the priest, no one saw him
anymore.

Supplementals
Read the handout, “ Reading a Folktale” attached in this
module.

For Your Information

Folktales are stories about legendary traditions of

common people about themselves, their original beliefs
and practices which have been handed down by word of
mouth from generation to generation. Like the
Filipinos, the Chinese have their folktales
which are rich in the local color of their country.

Exercises 3
Answer the following questions on your activity notebook
and send a photo of your answers to our online platform.

Note: Your answers should be written in 3-5 sentences.

Use notes from the lesson to support your arguments.
Page 15 of 17 DPS PROPERTY Module 1 | English 8
Some items demand your observation and opinion only.

1. What is the tale about? What happens in the story?

2. What Chinese customs are revealed in the story?

3. What did the priest do to make the pears grow on his “Pear
Tree?”

Weekly Task 1

Do a research on local folktales that may have originated

in your own hometown/place. Work on the table below for
your report. Videotape yourself while telling your story.
(Minimum of 3 minutes and maximum of 5 minutes.)

Title Characters Setting Plot Impression

Scoring Rubric

This rubric is applied to all Exercises/ Performance Task.

Criterion Points
Content 1O pts.
Organization, Coherence and Cohesion 5 pts.
Legibility and Technicalities 5pts.

Output Format

Module 1 | English 8 Honesty is the foundation of TRUST. Page 16 of 17

• Must be handwritten in a whole white paper.
(Except those exercise that have specific format)
• Must follow the standard DPS header.
• Upon submission, the student must take a picture
of the output and submit it in JPEG / JPG format.

Submission Guidelines

• Submit the output(s) via e-mail [email protected]

please use the following subject line and file- name format:

• [Subject], [Reading #], [“Module Title”], [Last Name].

• Example: English 8, Reading 1, “Analects of Confucius”, Nieves

In this module, I have learned that…

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Reference

Page 17 of 17 DPS PROPERTY Module 1 | English 8

Galvez N., Malicsi M., Ribo., Rijos L. et. al. (2016).

Language in Literature Afro-Asian Literature:

Manila, Vibal Group Inc.

Module 1 | English 8 Honesty is the foundation of TRUST. Page 18 of 17