About this ebook
It covers a wide range of Malay texts, including folk literature; the influence of the Indian epics and shadow theatre; Panji tales; the transition from Hindu to Muslim literary models; Muslim literature; framed tales; theological literature; historical literature; legal codes; and the dominant forms of poetry, the pantun and syair.
The author describes the background to each of these particular literary periods. He engages in depth with specific texts, their various manuscripts, and their contents. In so doing, he draws attention to the historical complexity of tradisional Malay society, its worldviews, and its place within the wider framework of human experience.
Dr. Liaw’s History of Classical Malay Literature will be of benefit to beginning students of Malay Literature and to established scholars alike. It can also be read with benefit by those with a wider interest in Comparative Literature and in Southeast Asian culture in general.
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About the author
Liaw Yock Fang was born in Singapore on 14 September 1936. He received his BA in Indonesian Language and Literature from the University of Indonesia in 1963 and was awarded the MA degree in 1965. He then received the degrees of Doctorandus (MA) from Leiden University in 1971 and Doctor of Letters in 1976. His doctoral dissertation was a study of the Undang-undang Melaka.
Among his many publications are Ikhtisar Kritik Sastra (with H.B. Jassin, 1970), The Complete Poems of Chairil Anwar (with the assistance of H.B. Jassin, 1974), Sejarah Kesusastraan Melayu Klasik (1975), Undang-undang Melaka (1976), Standard Malay Made Simple (1988), Speak Standard Indonesian (with Munadi Patmadiwiria & Abdullah Hassan (1990), Nahu Melayu Modern (with Abdullah Hassan), Easy Indonesian Vocabulary (1995), Indonesian Grammar Made Easy (1996), Malay Grammar Made Easy (1999), Essential Indonesian Reading, A Learner’s Guide I and II (with Leo Suryadinata (2005), Undang-undang Melaka (2003). He has published more than twenty articles with Dewan Bahasa dan Pustaka, Kuala Lumpur, and presented over twenty papers at conferences in Malaysia, Indonesia and Brunei Darussalam.
