East Asia Vocabulary

UNIT 9: EAST CHINA-VOCABULARY

• Kunlun Mountains- Mountains located in west of China that are the source of two of China's great rivers: Huang He (Yellow River) and Chang Jiang (Yangtze River)
• Qinling Shandi Mountains- Mountains in southeastern & east-central China, divides the northern and southern part of China
• Huang He- (Yellow River) in northern China, starts in the Kunlun Mountains & winds east for about 3,000 miles, emptying into the Yellow Sea
• Chang Jiang- (Yangtze River) longest river in all of Asia, flowing about 3,900 miles from Xizang (Tibet) to the East China Sea
• Xi Jiang- (West River) flows eastward through southeast China & joins the Zhu Jiang (Pearl River) to flow into the South China Sea, forming an estuary between Macao and Hong Kong
• Three Gorges Dam- Began in the late 20th century on the Chang Jiang in China to help control flooding, to generate power and help ships sail further into China
• PCB's- industrial compounds accumulated in animal tissue & can cause birth defects and harmful effects; banned in the U.S. in 1977
• Landfill- Method of disposing solid waste by burying the refuse between layers of dirt in order to fill in or reclaim low-lying ground
• Dynasty- a series of rulers from the same family
• Spheres of Influence- Method of dividing foreign control in China, where it was forced to sign a series of treaties granting special privileges to Europeans; China was partitioned for control by Britain, France, Russia, and Germany among others
• Boxer Rebellion- An uprising in 1900, spurred by angry Chinese militants or boxers, over foreign control; several hundreds of Europeans, Christians, and Chinese died
• Mao Zedong- Leader of the communists in China who defeated the nationalists in 1949; he died in 1976
• Confucianism- Movement based on the teachings of Confucius, a Chinese philosopher who lived about 500 B.C.; Confucius stressed the importance of education in an ordered society in which one respects one's elders and obeys the government
• Taoism- Philosophy based on the book Tao Te Ching & the teachings of Lao-Tzu, who lived in China in 6th century B.C. & believed in preserving & restoring harmony in the individual, with nature and in the universe with little government interference
• Buddhism- A religion that originated in India about 500 B.C. & spread to China where it grew into a major religion by 400 A.D.
• Economic Tiger- A country with rapid economic growth due to cheap labor, high technology, and aggressive exports
• Pacific Rim- An economic and social region including the countries surrounding the Pacific Ocean, extending clockwise from New Zealand in Western Pacific to Chile in Easter Pacific, includes the west coast of the U.S.
• Three Kingdoms- Kingdoms formed in the peninsula of Korea by 300 A.D.-Koguryo in the northeast, Paekche in the southwest, and Silla in the southeast
• Seoul- Largest city in South Korea, with a population of more than 10 million people
• Pongyang- Largest city in North Korea with a population of more than 2.5 million people
• Samurai- Professional soldiers in Japan who served the interest of land-owners and clan chiefs
• Shogun- General of the emperor's army with powers of a military dictator, a position created by the Japanese emperor in 1192 after a struggle between 2 powerful clans
• Ring of Fire- Chain of volcanoes that lines the Pacific Rim
• Great Kanto Earthquake- An earthquake in 1923 in Japan that killed an estimated 140,000 people & left the city of Tokyo in ruins
• Tsunami- Giant ocean wave, caused by an underwater earthquake or volcanic eruption, with great destructive power
• UNICEF- (United Nations Children's Fund) an international watchdog & relief organization for children
• Global Economy- The merging of regional economies in which nations become dependent on each other for goods or services
• Jakota Triangle- A zone of prosperity during the 1980's & early 1990's: Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan
• Recession- An extended period of decline in general business activity
• Sweatshop- A workplace where people work long hours for low pay under poor conditions to enrich manufacturers

India

INDIA

History

• India's history dates back 4,000 years
• Conquers that invaded were absorbed into Indian life creating a very diverse culture
• Indian civilization began in the Indus Valley- Aryans spread down from Iran pushing the native Indians toward the south
• Greeks & Persians moved in but could not conquer the Aryans and so two great empires emerged
• Later, the Mongls and Muslims entered India; the Muslims were more effective, creating the Mughal Empire throughout India
• Muslims brought new customs that often conflicted with the native Hindus
• Europeans arrived in India in the 1500's looking for spices & cloth
• They established trade relations with the rulers of India
• British East India Company gained control over India's trade with Europe in 1757
• In 1857 the British government put down a revolt and established direct rule
• Called the raj, which lasted 90 years
• Britis rule brought some benefits but most Indians did not like it
• Mohandas Gandhi began nonviolent resistance- a protest movement that does not use violence to achieve its goals
• Eventually, Britain gave in and India was free as of August 14, 1947
• Freedom brought division- Pakistan and Bangladesh chose to separate from India because of religious reasons
• This separation caused violence to break out between the two groups

Government

• India is the world's largest democracy as of 1950
• It reflects both the American and British systems: a federation of states led by a strong, central government with a prime minister as the head of the government (determined by the majority party in parliament)
• Factors that influence Indian politics are religion, culture, and ethnicity
• Most people are Hindu however there are over 150 million Muslims in India
• Muslims and other minorities play a key role in Indian politics

Economy

• Promoting economic growth and raising the standard of living are two of India's main goals
• 2/3 of India's people rely on farming for their livelihood
• Most farms are very small and families struggle to survive on what they grow
• Land reform- a more balanced distribution of land, is one solution that India has tried to put into effect
• 5% of the families own 25% of theland which makes them powerful politically- they very easily have stopped land reform from occuring
• The Green Revolution-1960's: new farming techniques and higher-yielding grain varieties improved production increasing crop yields- great for many people, the peasant poor were not belped by it at all

Industry

• Cotton textiles (cloth) have been a major product for many years
• Right after independence other industries began: iron and steel, machinery and food products
• Mumbai is India's most prosperous city and leading commercial area

Life Today

• Even as it is modernizing many Indians follow the traditional ways: marriage & family are the center of daily life
• Arranged marriages are very common
• Large families with several generations living the same house

Education

• Because most Indians still work on farms or small craft industrieseducation isn't as important
• In the cities where people work in factories and offices it is stressed but there ate still very low literacy rates

Culture

• Languages- there are 18 major language groups with over 1000 languages/dialects spoken
• Hindu & English are the most widely spoken
• Hinduism- makes up about 80% of the population
• Beliefs of Hinduism: many gods, reincarnation (rebirth of souls after death), karma (moral consequences of a person's actions- helps to determine how a person is reincarnated)
• The caste system- the Aryan system of social classes
• Caste system is made of 4 basic castes: Brahmans (priests & scholars), Kshatriyas (rulers & warriors), Vaisyas (farmers & merchants), and Sudras (artisans & laborers)
• Over time the castes were further divided and another group as added- the Dalits, the Untouchables
• The Dalits were completely outside the caste system and were the lowest status in Indian society- eliminated by the Indian constitution
• Hindus believe that each person is born into a caste and has a certain moral duty (dharma) that is specific to that caste
• During reincarnation is the only time you can change castes