1. The Cultural Geography of East Asia
Chapter 27, Section 1: China

2. Important Vocabulary
Aborigine: Taiwan’s original inhabitants, comprising of 2% of the population.
Culture Hearth: a center from which ideas and practices spread to surrounding areas.
Dynasty: a ruling family with a “mandate from heaven.”

3. Vocabulary (Cont’d)
Ideogram: pictures or symbols that stand for ideas.
Atheist: nonreligious; does not believe in God.

4. Map & Flag of China

5. People & Distribution
About 92% of China’s over 1.3 billion people are Hans. The remaining 8% belong to 55 different ethnic groups.
The former Buddhist kingdom of Tibet has been under Chinese rule since the 1950s.
Most Taiwanese are descendent from Chinese migrants.
Most people in Mongolia are ethnic Mongolians.
Over 90% of China’s population live on 1/6 of the land.

6. Urban Growth
Increasing urbanization and population growth has led to overcrowded cities.
Urbanization has led to farm labor shortages.
The Chinese Gov’t enacted the one-child policy (1979).

7. Early History
China is the region’s culture hearth; over 5,000 years ago in the Wei River Valley.
The Shang Dynasty ruled the North China Plain from 1600 to 1045 B.C.
Next came the Zhou Dynasty, ruling for 800 years.
Chinese culture and Confucianism spread, trade grew, and iron tools were developed.

8. Early History (Cont’d)
In the 200s B.C., Qin Shi Huang Di united China and built the Great Wall’s first section.
By the 1600s Western European nations established silk and tea trade routes.
Europeans used warships to open Chinese ports in the 1800s.

9. Revolutionary China
Sun Yat-sen’s revolution in ended Chinese imperial rule.
Military leader Chiang Kai-shek formed a nationalist gov’t in 1927.
Mao Zedong and the Communists rose to power in 1949.
Chinese nationalists fled to Taiwan.

10. People’s Republic of China
The Great Leap Forward ( ) led to famine and economic collapse.
Deng Xiaoping and other leaders allowed some privatization in the 1970s.
China has maintained strict, Communist political rule.

11. Taiwan
Since 1949, Taiwan has had an export economy and a democratic gov’t.
Taiwan invests billions in Chinese factories.
China has sought reunification with Taiwan.

12. Mongolia
Modern-day Mongolia came to existence after China’s revolution.
Mongolia was a Communist state from 1924 to 1991.
After 1991, Mongolia adopted democratic and economic reforms.

13. Culture
The Communist government has pushed efforts to increase education and literacy rates.
Healthcare is state-run.
Most people speak the Mandarin dialect of Han Chinese.
Beijing discourages all religious practices. Traditional faiths are Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism.
Chinese arts: music, acrobatics, and porcelain crafts.

14. The Cultural Geography of East Asia
Chapter 27, Section 2: Japan

15. Important Vocabulary
Homogeneous: a population belonging to the same ethnic group.
Clan: a family group.
Shogun: a military ruler.
Samurai: a professional warrior.

16. Vocabulary (Cont’d)
Cultural Convergence: the mixing of cultures, as interactions with other countries increase.
Haiku: a form of poetry; originally had only 3 lines and 17 syllables. It is now written in many combinations.
Acculturation: the absorption of popular culture from another country. Ex: Baseball.

17. Map & Flag of Japan

18. People & Distribution The population is 99% ethnic Japanese.
Average population density is 907 people per square mile.
86% of Japan’s million people live in coastal urban areas.
Tokyo is the capital, 35 million people.

19. Early History
In the 400s AD, Japan was ruled by many clans under the Yamato Dynasty.
Yoritomo Minamoto became Japan’s first shogun in 1192.
Samurais helped shoguns govern Japan until the late- 1800s.

20. Early History (Cont’d)
Japan’s first known contact with the West was in 1542.
In 1854, the U.S. and Japan signed the Treaty of Kanagawa.
Rebel samurais forced shoguns to return power to the emperor.

21. Modern Japan Japan’s new gov’t imposed the Meiji Restoration.
Between 1890 and 1940, Japan shifted from feudalism to modernism .
Japan used diplomacy and military power to build an empire.

22. Japanese Aggression Japan annexed Korea in 1910.
Japan invaded Manchuria in and China in 1937.
Japan signed a pact with Nazi Germany in 1936.
Japan bombed Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941.

23. Post-War Period
The U.S. dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945.
Japan adopted democracy after her defeat in WWII.
Japan rebuilt her economy and infrastructure.

24. Culture Education is highly regarded and compulsory.
Japanese and English spoken.
Many Japanese practice Buddhism and Shintoism.
Japanese arts: martial arts, origami, haikus, paintings, song, and dance.
Family is source of stability and strength.

25. The Cultural Geography of East Asia
Chapter 27, Section 3: North and South Korea

26. Important Vocabulary
Cultural Divergence: a growing apart of their cultures, because of their distinctly different political and economic systems.

27. Map & Flags of Korea

28. The People Koreans are ethnically homogeneous.
Most Koreans live in coastal plains. About 2/3 lives in cities.
North Korea’s capital is Pyongyang. South Korea’s capital is Seoul.

29. Distribution
The population density in South Korea is 1,301 people per square mile. In North Korea it is 488.
South Korea’s population is million.
North Korea has seen mass emigration, starvation, and poor living standards.

30. Early History
Chinese settlers bought their culture to Korea in 1,200 B.C.
The following centuries saw many dynasties (Silla & Koryo) unite the Korean Peninsula.
Korea endured many invasions.
By the 1800s, the European powers used Gunboat Diplomacy.

31. Modern History Korea maintained independence through isolationism.
Japan annexed Korea in 1910.
Japan enforced harsh rule over Korea.
Japanese rule in Korea ended after her defeat in WWII.

32. The Korean War
After WWII, Korea was divided between Communist- ruled North and the U.S.- backed South.
Wanting unification, North Korea invaded South Korea in
Stalemate at the 38th parallel led to a truce in 1953.

33. A Divided Korea Korea remains divided and culturally divergent.
North Korea is still under strict Communist rule.
South Korea experienced autocratic, military rule (1960s-1970s). Since then, there has been democratic reforms and economic growth.
Attempts to improve relations ended in 2002 when North Korea reactivated its nuclear reactors.

34. Culture
Improved education in South Korea. Education in North Korea teaches Communist ideology.
South Korea has strong healthcare. In the North, it is gov’t-run and inadequate.
Both nations speak Korean.
Most Koreans practice Confucianism, but Buddhism and Christianity also followed.
Arts are shaped by politics.