Editing Central Java (section)

==== Literature ====
It can be argued that Javanese literature started in Central Java. The oldest-known literary work in the [[Javanese language]] is the [[inscription of Sivagrha]] from [[Kedu Plain]]. This inscription, which is from 856 AD, is written as a ''[[kakawin]]'' or Javanese poetry with Indian metres.<ref>De Casparis, "A Metrical Old Javanese Inscription Dated 865 A.D." in ''Prasasti Indonesia II'' (1956:280–330)</ref> The oldest of narrative poems, ''[[Kakawin Ramayana]]'', which tells the well-known story of [[Ramayana]], is believed to have come from Central Java. It can be safely assumed that this ''kakawin'' were written in the central Java region in the 9th century.<ref>{{cite book|last=Zoetmulder|first = Petrus Josephus|title = Kalangwan: a survey of old Javanese literature |date =1974|page =231|publisher = Martinus Nijhoff}}</ref>

After the shift of Javanese power to eastern Java, it had been quiet from Central Java for several centuries concerning Javanese literature until the 16th century. At this time, the centre of power was shifted back to Central Java. The oldest work written in modern Javanese language concerning Islam is the so-called "Book of Bonang" or also "The Admonitions of Seh Bari". This work is extant in just one manuscript, now kept in the University of Leiden as codex Orientalis 1928. It is assumed that this manuscript originates from Tuban, in eastern Java and was taken to the Netherlands after 1598.<ref>{{cite book|first =G.W.J.|last= Drewes|title = The Admonitions of Seh Bari|date =1969|pages =1–2|isbn = 978-90-04-24793-2|publisher = Brill}}</ref> However, this work is attributed to [[Sunan Bonang]], one of the [[Wali Sanga|nine Javanese saints]] who spread Islam in Java and Sunan Bonang came from Bonang, a place in [[Demak Regency]], Central Java. It can be argued that this work marked the beginning of Islamic literature in the region.

However, the pinnacle of Central Javanese literature was created at the courts of the kings of Mataram in Kartasura and later in Surakarta and Yogyakarta that are mostly attributed to the Yasadipura family. The most famous member of this family is [[Rangga Warsita]] who lived in the 19th century. He is the best-known of all Javanese writers and also one of the most prolific. He is also known as ''bujangga panutup'' or "the last court poet".

Following independence, the Javanese language as a medium was pushed to the background. Still, one of the greatest contemporary Indonesian authors, [[Pramoedya Ananta Toer]] was born in 1925 in [[Blora]]. He was an author of novels, short stories, essays, polemics, and histories of his homeland and its people. A well-regarded writer in the West, his outspoken and often politically charged writings faced censorship at home. He faced extrajudicial punishment for opposing the policies of both President [[Sukarno]] and [[Suharto]]. During imprisonment and house arrest, he became a ''cause célèbre'' for advocates of freedom of expression and human rights. In his works, he writes much about life and social problems in Java.