Culture in East AsiaChina, Japan, North & South Korea

China

CHina

• Mix of thousands of years of tradition and rapid modernization

• Largest population in the world• Over 1.3 billion• 19.3% of world’s population

• Main ethnicity (~92%) = Han

• Named for powerful dynasty

• Other 8% = 55 different ethnic groups

Lesser Known Areas

• Mongolia (not actually part of China, just FYI)• Mostly ethnic Mongolians• Historical tidbit: Mongolians once had the largest land empire

in the world (China to E. Europe)• think Genghis Khan

• Tibet• Ruled by China since the 1950s• NOT classified as Chinese separate histories and cultures

• Taiwan• Mostly descendants of Chinese settlers• ~2% of the population = aborigines (original inhabitants)

• Yes, they are related to similar groups in the South East Asia and Pacific regions

Too Many people

• ~90% of the population lives on 1/6 of the land• Most people live near the Huang He and Chiang Jiang

rivers• What are the other names for these two rivers?

• Urban centers located in these valleys (Shanghai, Beijing)

• Urbanization + population growth overcrowded cities

• Rural to urban shift• Migration to cities• Leads to labor shortages on farms

• Gov’t must limit population growth• 1979: One child law

Brief History

• Culture hearth – center from which ideas and practices spread to surrounding areas

• Began more than 5,000 years ago, dynasties ruled until early 1900s

• 1890s - Carved up into spheres of influence (areas in which certain Euro. countries had exclusive trading rights)

• Post WWI overthrow of Qing dynasty• Communist (People’s Republic of China) vs. Nationalist

• Nationalists flee to Taiwan (Republic of China)

• Modern Mongolia formed

Life in China

• Education/Healthcare• Communist gov’t pushes literacy and better

healthcare with basic services

• Language/Religion• Ideograms – pictures or symbols that represent ideas• Most people speak Mandarin• Many identify as atheist b/c the communist gov’t

discourages religion• Some still practice Buddhism, Confucianism, and

Daoism (also seen as Taoism)

• Arts (see next slide)

Artifacts

Japan

People

• Ethnically homogeneous• Homogeneous = same

• 78% of people live along the coasts of the southern island of Honshū• Tokyo world’s most populous urban area

• Northern island of Hokkaidō is very rural w/ few people

• Tons of urbanization• Great public transportation

• Bullet train (>160 mph)

Brief History

• Influenced by China and Korea

• Shogunate

• Shogun = military ruler supported by samurai (warriors)

• History of isolationism

• Military power through the end of WWII• Expansion into Korea and Manchuria (China)• WWII – surrendered after bombings of Hiroshima and

Nagasaki

• Rebuilt into world economic power (2nd largest economy)

Life

• Education/Healthcare• Education is highly regarded, mandatory through age 15• Gov’t provides a lot of the healthcare

• Language/Religion• Language developed in isolation but began borrowing from

Chinese and western languages• Practice Buddhism and Shintoism

• Arts• haiku

• Family/Leisure• Being part of the group is more important than being an

individual• Acculturation – absorbing popular culture from other countries

• baseball

North and South Korea

People

• Ethnically homogeneous

• Small groups of Chinese and Japanese

• 2/3 of population lives in cities such as Seoul (S. Korea) and P’yongyang (N. Korea)

• Urbanization and migration problems similar to China

• N. Korea = 60% urban

• S. Korea = 80% urban

Brief History

• Constantly facing aggression by China and Japan

• Independent until late 1800s

• Annexed by Japan in 1910

• Independent again after 1945

• Divided into North (communist) and South (capitalist)

• Demilitarized zone 38th parallel

Life• North Korea

• Education is the vehicle for communist ideology• Provides healthcare but people still lack access to

food, water, and heating supplies

• South Korea• Education improving• Healthcare system built w/ help from UN

• Both• Korean is main language, borrows from Chinese and

Japanese• Mostly Confucian but also Buddhist and Christian

Art