Why do people only talk about the English, French, and Russian Canons?

[Mr.lucifer]

What is it all people talk about the English, French, and Russian Canons except for a few italian, german, and and spanish great writers?

What about the Chinese, Japanese, Spanish etc. Canons? Theres a wealth of world literature out there. How about people talk about say for example the four great chinese novels, or the short stories of Lu Xun? Or how the latin american Boom?

[mortalterror]

How about people talk about say for example the four great chinese novels, or the short stories of Lu Xun?

Alright, what did you think about them?

[JCamilo]

The USA blocking starts :D

[sixsmith]

:beatdeadhorse5:

[OrphanPip]

:beatdeadhorse5:

Let's have another 5 page debate about whether or not this emoticon is appropriate.

[JCamilo]

I am sure the horse can be replaced by the word slave. It is now a trademark solution.

[Drkshadow03]

Personally, I always wonder why nobody ever talks about the Finnish, Bohemian, and Kazakhastan literary Canons.

[mortalterror]

Personally, I always wonder why nobody ever talks about the Finnish, Bohemian, and Kazakhastan literary Canons.

I always wonder why nobody ever checks the threads we have open on all of these foreign canons before posting a new one.

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

I guess a discussion on the Chinese, Japanese, Spanish, etc. canons would have to start with some sort of interesting comment pertaining to them. I don't have one, though.

[hanzklein]

Why is every thread on this forum in the form of an unanswerable question?

[mortalterror]

Underrated Spanish http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=59086

German Poetry http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46488

Spanish Poetry http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=48460

Japanese Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=25843&highlight=japanese

Good Japanese Writers http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54100&highlight=japanese

Japanese Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53341&highlight=japanese

A Brief Introduction to Classical Chinese Poetry http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=44201&highlight=chinese

Chinese Novels http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=58154&highlight=chinese

Italian Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2908&highlight=Italian

German Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=621&highlight=german

German Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=13238&highlight=german

German Lit http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=46095&highlight=german

Contemporary Poets of the Middle East http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=38418&highlight=east

South African Reading Poll http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29733&highlight=african

Russian Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=14658

Which Country Has Produced the Greatest Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=22078

The best Non-English/American Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=32892

Brazilian Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34862

Russian Essentials http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=29370

French Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=34302

The Other Cannon http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=37176

Best Books by Country http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=50857

Spanish Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53862

Greek Tragedy http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2233

Canadian Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2471

Latin American Literature Recommendations http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=3841

Favorite French Author http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=54428

Soviet Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=19475

World Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=42229

Italo Calvino http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=55189

French Authors With Easy Styles http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=45368

Indian Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18660

Polish Writers http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2849

The Oresteia http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=18409

What About Arabic Literature http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=27392

The Great Canadian Novel http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=51489

Canadian Writers http://www.online-literature.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15349

[Mutatis-Mutandis]

Mortalterror: Doing the work other members are too lazy to do.

[arrytus]

How about people talk about say for example the four great chinese novels, or the short stories of Lu Xun?

Thanks to someone's prompting on this site I started reading a copy of Lu Xun I had. It was fabulous. He really is the Chinese Chekov, not only because both studied to be doctors prior to writing humorous realism for nominal payment prior to huge cultural changes in their respective countries.

As for the 4 Chinese novels, I actually had a chance to purchase a 4 volume novel to which you might be alluding, just 2 days ago but I turned it down simply because I don't know enough about it and because my reading list is so long.

As it stands we here in the west aren't educated in the least about eastern cultures and only nominally with middle-eastern until we decide to do so for ourselves, usually in college for the quorum who actually take it upon themselves to do so. And if we don't have Asian friends or formal propadeutic to influence we have to wend by intuition or through the vague and limited connections we can discern from our haphazard starting points.

[kelby_lake]

What is it all people talk about the English, French, and Russian Canons except for a few italian, german, and spanish great writers?

Because people don't know very much about them (maybe lack of translations), and because the French and Russians have produced some epic stuff :)