CULTURAL FEATURES OF ASIA

PRE-HISTORYSome of the first civilizations recorded on our planet were centered around the Ganges and Indus Rivers in India and the Yangtze River in China.

SPREAD OF RELIGIONThe development of more advanced cultures in the region derives largely from the spread of India's two great religions, Hinduism and Buddhism.

Merchants gradually spread the two religions and their related architectural traditions along coastal regions on the way towards the South China Sea. At a slightly later date Buddhism spreads also from China, which it has reached along the Silk Road from India. After becoming well established in Korea, Buddhist monks bring the faith during the 6th century to Japan.

Buddhism reaches Tibet in the 8th century from two directions - from China and from Nepal, the original birthplace of the religion in India.

ISOLATIONISMIndia and China, the two ancient civilizations of east Asia, are large enough to follow their own course at this stage (1000 CE) without much influence from outside. It is instead their influence which spreads outwards, profoundly affecting the development of Sri Lanka, Korea and Japan - all of which develop their own local and lasting characteristics during this period.

IMPERIALISMIn 1498 a Portuguese ship reaches Calicut in southern India. Its captain, Vasco da Gama, sails away again after three months. But this European visit to Asia is very different from the overland journeys made by Marco Polo and others in previous centuries. Europeans now have new maritime skills and ocean-going ships. Over the coming centuries their command of the seas will give them a massive presence in Asia. The spice islands, dominated by the Dutch from the 17th century, are the first part of Asia to attract European attention. India, fought over by French and English in the 18th century, is the next focus of colonial attention. China retains a dignified isolation until brutally subdued by Britain in the two Opium Wars of the 19th century. Meanwhile China is acquiring a European neighbour to the north, with the expansion of the Russian empire to the Pacific. And the French win control of the part of southeast Asia which becomes known as Indo-China.Japan remains fairly unaffected by European Imperialism. They practice a policy of Isolationism for much of their history.

IMPERIALISMEventually, European powers grew very interested in AsiaChina Britain began to sell opium to the Chinese. As a result, Opium became Britain’s most profitable crop.

Because of the negative impact Opium had on the Chinese population (increased crime, addiction) the Manchu dynasty attacked opium imports in Canton. This lead to the Opium Wars 1839-1842

The wars ended with the unequal Treaty of Nanking (1842) which gave exclusive trading rights to Britain.

Eventually the US pushed an Open Door Policy which gave all foreign powers equal trading rights in China.

However, these foreign powers were exempt from Chinese law while on Chinese Territory.

IMPERIALISMEventually, the Chinese rebelled against the foreign powers in the Boxer Rebellion. They took over Northern China and Beijing. However, this rebellion was quickly squashed by the Europeans.

After this, Europeans supported a weak central government that would not oppose their economic involvement.

VietnamFrance had long felt like the forgotten child of European World Affairs. They had been recently defeated by Germany in 1871 and had played little roles in securing a European empire abroad.

As a result, the French sought to expand their empire as a measure of national pride and worthiness.

The French pushed into Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia in the 1870s. This became known as French Indochina.

IMPERIALISMVietnamFrench Colonizers were interested in improving infrastructure and building French plantations. They did not support the already growing Vietnamese farming population.

Those that worked for the French were paid very little and performed very dangerous jobs.

While the French were in control of the region, the Vietnamese population drastically declined.

At one point, the French required that all Vietnamese villages purchase the French alcohol. Each village was required to purchase a certain amount in proportion to their population.

During WWII, the French country fell and the territory of Indochina was ruled by the Japanese for a brief period.

In May 1941, the Viet Minh army (a Communist group led by Ho Chi Minh) staged a revolt that became known as the First Indochina War.

IMPERIALISMThe Anti-Communist state of Vietnam was granted independence in 1949 and was ruled by former Emperor  Bảo Đại in the south.

Following the Geneva Accords in 1954, the Viet Minh became the governing party in the north.

From 1956-1975 the Second Indochina war broke out. (AKA the Vietnam War)

This war was fought between North Vietnam (backed by USSR, China, and other communist states) and South Vietnam (backed by Great Britain, France, and USA)

US Involvement resulted from fears that if communism was allowed to spread that it would spread throughout Asia. This is known as the Domino Theory. This theory would be the reason for US involvement in the Korean conflict as well as in Vietnam.

Much of the country was destroyed in the war. The war seemingly ended with the Paris Peace Talks in 1973 which suspended all offensive action by the US and declared a cease fire between the North and South.

However, the with Ho Chi Minh Campaign of 1975, the rest of the country- and more importantly the capital of Saigon- was captured by the Northern forces. A mass exodus occurred out of Saigon.

IMPERIALISMJapanJapan practiced a policy of Isolationism for years before they were opened up to the West for trade by Commodore Matthew Perry.

During their period of isolationism, Japan had a Feudal society.

In 1853, US Commodore Matthew Perry negotiated a trade treaty with Japan. They were now open for trade with the rest of the world.

Tokugawa Shogunate, however, was criticized for allowing the West to interfere in Japan.

As a result, Emperor Mutsushito was restored to the throne. This was known as the Meiji Restoration. During this ruling the Japanese adopted many Western Ways

Shogun

Daimyo

Samurai Samurai

Daimyo

Samurai

IMPERIALISMBy the end of the Meiji Restoration, Japan no longer feared imperialism. Rather, they practiced it themselves.

Japan sought imperial claims on the Asia mainland and to rid the continent of European influence.

Through their success in the Sino-Japanese War and the Russo-Japanese War, Japan won:

-Ports in China

-Control of Manchuria

-Control of Korea (not split into two yet)

-Control of Sakhalin Island

In 1941, the Koreans began to resist Japanese Rule. The communist backed National Liberation Army, led by future leader Kim Il-Sung, spear headed the resistance in the North.

After the US dropped the atomic bomb on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan surrendered to Allied Forces.

IMPERIALISMAs a part of surrender, Japan forfeited its right to Korea. As a result, Soviet forces moved into Korea from the North while American forces moved into Korea from the South. They parted the country on the 38 th parallel.

However, war soon began in order to reunify the country and defeat communism which was quickly spreading in the North. See Domino Theory.

The country was never unified and is still separated at the 38 th parallel, aka DMZ

After losing WWII, Japan was occupied by the United States during which time democratic reforms were instituted. The emperor was forced to renounce his divinity and the Japanese armed forces were disbanded. A parliamentary democracy was established and the United States provided economic aid to rebuild infrastructure.

In fact the US can be credited with the fact that by the 1980s Japan was being compared to the United States and West Germany as one of the great economic powers of the world.

IMPERIALISMPhilippinesThe Philippines were ceded to the United States through the Treaty of Paris by Spain following their defeat in the Spanish American War of 1898, giving the United Sates a presence in the Pacific waters of Eastern Asia.

However, the Filipinos were not eager to be conquered yet again by a colonial power and so they waged the Philippine-American War from 1899-1902

The Filipinos lost the war and remained under American control.

In 1935, the country was granted autonomy and in 1946 they were granted full independence.

TODAYAfter many years of Imperialism and Communist rule, much of Asia has become a powerful economic entity in the world. Most countries reflect the culture of their imperial rulers.

K-Pop- Korean Pop music highly influenced by America

Asian Fast Food Commercials- Can you spot their “Americanization”?

Vietnam- Best Baguettes outside of France! Banh Mi