Chapter 28 East Asia

China

28-1 China Early History China’s history dates back to more then 4,000 years ago. It has been ruled by many dynasties. The first dynasty was the Shang, which arose during the 1700s B.C. This family ruled for over 600 years, until it was overthrown by the Zhou Dynasty.

Dynasty

The next important dynasty was that of the Han. They pushed the size of the empire into new lands once controlled by nomadic warriors. In 1644, the last dynasty came to power, the Qing Dynasty. In 1911 they were overthrown by revolutionaries.

China Opens up to the World China and Europe had few contacts until the 1800s. Then, European powers wanted access to Chinese markets. Europe imposed treaties that granted them special privileges. Trade in China was divided into spheres of influence.

Spheres of Influence.

In the Boxer Rebellion in the 1900, Chinese militants attacked and killed Europeans in China. After the attempted Rebellion, the Manchu rulers tried to reform the government. It was to late. During the 1920’s and 30’s, the Communist Party became increasingly powerful.

In 1949, the Communist party led by Mao Zedong took control. They named the country the People’s Republic of China.

Rural and Industrial Economies When the Communist Party came to power in 1949, it promised to modernize China. It planned to encourage the growth of industry. This approach failed. Since the 1980s, China has allowed the marketplace and the consumer to play a role in the economy.

China remains largely rural. About 60% of China’s workers work on farms, but only about 13% of the land is usable for farming. The Industrial heartland is in the Northwest part. Here, important resources to manufacturing, such as coal, iron ore, and oil are found.

A rich and Complex Culture The Chinese invented paper, printing, gunpowder, the compass an d cloth made from silk. China has three major religious or ethnical traditions. Confucianism – is based on the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius. Confucius lived in the 500s BC.

Confucianism

Taoism got its name from a book called the Tao Te Ching. The book is said to be based on the teaching of Lao Tzu, who also lived in the 500s BC. Buddhism came to China from India. It had grown into an important religion by 300 A. D. Both religions influenced Buddhism as it developed in China.

Taoism Buddhism

The Most Populous Country China is the most populous country in the world. Its estimated population in 2010 was over 1.3 billion. China has been able to provide health-care to all its people. Villages have clinic with trained medical workers called “barefoot Doctors”.

Mongolia and Taiwan 28-2

A History of Nomads and Traders The Mongols were nomadic herders for thousands of years. In 1206, Genghis Khan united the Mongol clans an lead them in conquering Central Asia. The Empire broke up in the 1300s. In the 1600s, the Chinese gained control of Mongolia.

In 1911, the Mongolians finally pushed the Chinese out. With Russia’s guidance Mongolia became a communist country in 1924. After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1989, the communist party in Mongolia lost its power.

Over the centuries, many groups from China came to the island of Taiwan. The Japanese seized Taiwan after winning a war with China in 1895. Japan kept it until their lost in WWII. The Nationalist party in China that had lost to the Communist party fled to Taiwan.

There they established the Republic of China. However, China’s Communist government has never recognized Taiwan as a separate country.

Taiwan's Economy Taiwan is considered one of the economic tigers of Asia, along with Singapore and South Korea. Taiwan is one of the prosperous, industrialized nations of the Pacific Rim.

Cultures of Mongolia and Taiwan The culture of Taiwan is Chinese. The island has many universities and about 30 daily newspapers. Most people speak Mandarin, the official language of Northern China. In Taiwan, about half of the people practice a blend of Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism.

Daily Life Many people of Mongolia are farms or nomadic. While Mongolia remains isolated, Taiwan has opened itself up to many Western influences. For example, baseball has become popular in Taiwan and many other Asian countries.

The Koreas: North and South 28-3

Korea

A Divided Peninsula Korea is a peninsula. The ancestors of today’s Koreans came to the peninsula at least 5,000 years ago form Manchuria and North China. About 100B.C., China conquered the northern half of the peninsula. This began a history of conquest and invasions by China and Japan.

Korea was partially conquered by China Korea was partially conquered by China. Koreans gradually won back their territory. By the late 300’s AD, the three kingdoms had formed on the peninsula. Koguryo was the kingdom in the Northeast.

Paekche was in the Southwest Silla was in the Southeast. Silla conquered the other two and controlled the peninsula for hundreds of years. In 1910 Japan, took control of the peninsula. And controlled the country until after WWII.

After WWII the northern part became under the control of the Soviet Union. – communist The southern half came under the influence of the US. In 1950 North Korean troops invaded South Korea. This started the Korean war.

Fighting stopped in 1953 A treaty was signed that divided the peninsula between the communist North and the democratic South. In 2000 the two countries started to talk about reuniting.- those talks have gone stalled.

Influences on Korean Culture In philosophy and religion, Korea has adapted many ideas from China. Since WWII two major influences have had a profound effect on Korea Communism in the North Western Culture in the South

Night over Korea

Economic and Human Resources Before the Korean War, the economies of North and South Korea were agricultural. After the war, industry gained in importance in both countries. If North and South reunite, they would form an economic powerhouse.

The North would supply the raw materials the industries of the South needs. South Korea, like Taiwan, is one of the economic tigers of Asia. Most people in Korea live on plains along the coast or in river valleys among the mountains. SK has 45% of the land, but it has about 66% of the people.

Of Korea’s cities, Seoul is by far the largest. It has a population of more then 10 million. The largest city in the north is Pyongyang. Its population is near 2.5 million.

Japan 28-4

Japan Map

Samurai and Shogun Japan was close enough to China to feel its civilizing effects. However, they were far enough away to be protected from invasion. Some evidence suggests that the ancestors of today’s Japanese came across Siberia to Japan.

Until well into the 300s AD, Japan was not a unified country. By the 400’s AD, the Yamato clan had become the ruling clan. By the 600’s AD, the leaders of the Yamato clan called themselves emperors of Japan. In 794, the rulers moved their capital to Heian (modern Kyoto)

The era from 794 to 1185 is called the Heian period. Japan had a strong central government. However, in time, the great landowners and clan chiefs acted as independent rulers. Professional soldiers called samurai served the landowners and clan chiefs as bodyguards and warriors.

Samurai Samurai means “one who guards”

In 1192, after a struggle between two powerful clans, the Japanese emperor created the position of shogun. The shogun was the general of the emperor’s army

Rule by the shoguns lasted for about 700 years. In 1853, they received Commodore Matthew Perry from the United States. Perry’s arrival ended Japan’s isolation. During the late 1800’s, Japan’s government began bringing Japan into the modern age.

By the early 1900s, Japan had become a major power. In the first part of 1900s, Japan expanded its empire. On December 7, 1941, the Japanese made a surprise attack at Pearl Harbor. This attack brought the US into WWII.- Japan surrendered in 1945.

Pearl Harbor

An Economic Powerhouse The population of Japan is about 126 million. About 75% of Japan’s people live in cities. Japan has few minorities. Most of Japan’s population and most of its industry are on the east coast of the main island of Honshu.

Tokyo

That’s it you are done with notes for Mr. Tarantur’s class Today western influences can be see all over Japan’s major cities. Such influences included sports, music and fashion. That’s it you are done with notes for Mr. Tarantur’s class