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