EAST ASIA
(chapter 9)
EAST ASIA
MAJOR GEOGRAPHIC QUALITIES
OF EAST ASIA
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WORLD’S MOST POPULOUS REALM
ONE OF THE WORLD’S EARLIEST CULTURE
HEARTHS
INTENSIFYING REGIONAL DISPARITIES
POPULATION CONCENTRATIONS IN THE EAST,
SITUATED IN RIVER BASINS
PHYSIOGRAPHY OF EAST ASIA
REGIONS OF THE REALM
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CHINA PROPER
XIZANG (TIBET)
XINJIANG
MONGOLIA
JAKOTA TRIANGLE
REGIONS OF THE REALM
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CHINA PROPER- EASTERN HALF; THE CORE
XIZANG (TIBET)- TALL MOUNTAINS AND HIGH
PLATEAUS; SPARSELY POPULATED
XINJIANG- VAST DESERT BASIN AND
MOUNTAIN RIMS; A CULTURAL CONTACT
ZONE
MONGOLIA- A DESERT, BUFFER STATE
THE JAKOTA TRIANGLE
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JAPAN, SOUTH KOREA, TAIWAN
RAPID ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT
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XIZANG (TIBET)
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A HARSH PHYSICAL ENVIRONMENT
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SPARSELY POPULATED
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CAME UNDER CHINESE CONTROL DURING THE
MANCHU DYNASTY IN 1720
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BUDDHISM, THE DALAI LAMA, AND MONASTERIES
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FORMALLY ANNEXED IN 1965 AND ADMINISTERED AS
AN AUTONOMOUS REGION
XINJIANG
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COMPRISES ONE-SIXTH OF CHINA’S TOTAL
LAND AREA
A REGION OF HIGH MOUNTAINS AND BASINS
CHINESE ONLY ACCOUNT FOR 40% OF THE
POPULATION
MUSLIM UYGHURS ACCOUNT FOR HALF OF
THE POPULATION
BOASTS EXTENSIVE RESERVES OF OIL AND
NATURAL GAS
UNRESOLVED BOUNDARY DISPUTES
HONG KONG
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MEANS “FRAGRANT HARBOR”- AN EXCELLENT DEEP
WATER PORT
BOOMED DURING THE KOREAN WAR
7 MILLION PEOPLE WITHIN 400 SQ MILES
ECONOMY IS LARGER THAN HALF OF THE WORLD’S
COUNTRIES
1 JULY 1997- BRITISH TRANSFERRED CONTROL TO
CHINA
HONG KONG RENAMED XIANGGANG
MONGOLIA
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STEPPE AND DESERT PHYSICAL
ENVIRONMENT
SPARSELY POPULATED WITH AN ESTIMATED
2.6 MILLION INHABITANTS
PART OF THE CHINESE EMPIRE FROM LATE
1600s UNTIL 1911
BECAME A PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC IN THE 1920s
FUNCTIONS AS A BUFFER STATE, wedged btw
the former USSR (Russia) and China.
ECONOMY IS FOCUSED ON HERDING AND
ANIMAL PRODUCTS
PHYSIOGRAPHY OF CHINA
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TOTAL AREA OF CHINA IS ABOUT 3.6
MILLION SQ MI
LONGITUDINAL EXTENT IS COMPARABLE TO
THE U.S.; LATITUDINAL RANGE FROM
NORTHERN QUEBEC TO CENTRAL
CARIBBEAN
BORDERED (SURROUNDED) BY OCEAN,
HIGH MOUNTAINS, STEPPE COUNTRY, AND
DESERT
VAST AND VARIED TOPOGRAPHY
CLIMATE COMPARISON
INCLUDES THE LARGEST AREA OF HIGHLAND CLIMATE IN THE WORLD
Cold
Warm
Dry
Wet
COLONIAL
SPHERES
ETHNOLINGUISTIC AREAS
CHINESE PERSPECTIVES
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ONE OF THE WORLD’S GREAT
CULTURE HEARTHS
CONTINUOUS CIVILIZATION FOR
OVER 4,000 YEARS
VIEW OF CHINA AS THE CENTER OF
THE CIVILIZED WORLD
EASTERN VS WESTERN BIAS –
Romans, Greeks vs. Chinese
USED TO BE INWARD
LOOKING/CLOSED SOCIETY
KONGFUZI (CONFUCIUS)
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CHINA’S MOST INFLUENTIAL PHILOSOPHER
AND TEACHER, 551- 479 BC
CONFUCIANISM TOOK ON SPIRITUAL
PROPORTIONS AFTER HIS DEATH
FOCUSED ON THE SUFFERING OF ORDINARY
PEOPLE DURING THE ZHOU DYNASTY
TEACHINGS HAVE DOMINATED CHINESE LIFE
AND THOUGHT FOR MORE THAN 20 CENTURIES
EXTRATERRITORIALITY
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Page 469
A DOCTRINE OF EUROPEAN INTERNATIONAL
LAW (the basis of “Diplomatic Immunity”).
EMPLOYED IN CHINA DURING THE LATE 1800s
AFFORDED IMMUNITY FROM LOCAL
JURISDICTION
CONSTITUTED AN EROSION OF CHINESE
SOVEREIGNTY
DISTINCT ENCLAVES EVOLVED
CHINA’S POPULATION
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1.323 BILLION; 118 MALES /100 FEMALES
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ANNUAL NATURAL INCREASE 0.6% (1970s - 3%)
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DOUBLING TIME: 100 YEARS
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LIFE EXPECTANCY: 70 Years (males), 73 Years (females)
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ARITHMETIC DENSITY: 358 PEOPLE/SQ MI
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PHYSIOLOGICAL DENSITY: 3,612 PEOPLE/SQ MI
 ONLY 10% OF THE LAND IS ARABLE AND 69% OF THE
POPULATION LIVES ON THIS LAND
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DISTRIBUTION: WESTERN 2/3s IS SPARSELY
POPULATED (see next slide)
POPULATION DENSITY
CHINA’S LARGE CITIES
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BEIJING (CAPITAL)
SHANGHI (LARGEST CITY)
TIANJIN (PORT CITY)
CHONGQUING (INTERIOR RIVER PORT)
ECONOMIC PROBLEMS IN CHINA:
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SERIOUS ENERGY SHORTAGE
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TRANSPORTATION INFRASTRUCTURE POORLY DEVELOPED
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ENVIRONMENTAL DEGRADATION
URBAN CHINA
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41% URBANIZED
LARGEST CITIES ARE
INSIGNIFICANT ON A
GLOBAL SCALE (see
Page 459)
URBAN
ENVIRONMENTAL
PROBLEMS
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AIR POLLUTION
CONGESTION
WATER POLLUTION
REORGANIZATION UNDER COMMUNISM
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1950s-1976 COMMUNIST REGIME LAUNCHED MASSIVE
PROGRAMS OF RECONSTRUCTION AND REFORM
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BASED ON THE SOVIET MODEL
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LAND WAS EXPROPRIATED, AND FARMING WAS
COLLECTIVIZED
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INDUSTRIES WERE REORGANIZED AS STATE-OWNED
COMMUNAL ENTERPRISES
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EMPHASIS ON “HEAVY INDUSTRY”
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DRAMATIC SOCIAL CHANGES – EDUCATION, RELIGION,
POPULATION GROWTH
AGRICULTURAL
REGIONS
ENERGY
RESOURCES
SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES
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LOCATION WAS PRIME CONSIDERATION – along the coast
(pg 492)
INVESTOR INCENTIVES LIKE:
 LOW TAXES
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EASING OF IMPORT AND EXPORT REGULATIONS
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SIMPLIFIED LAND LEASES
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HIRING OF CONTRACT LABOR PERMITTED
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PRODUCTS MAY BE SOLD IN FOREIGN MARKETS AND IN
CHINA (UNDER CERTAIN RESTRICTIONS)
CHINA’S
ECONOMIC
ZONES
THE JAKOTA TRIANGLE
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CHARACTERISTICS
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Great cities
Enormous consumption of raw materials
State-of-the-art industries
Voluminous exports
Global links
Trade surpluses
Rapid development
JAPAN
•Transportation
•Cities
JAPAN’S
CORE AREA
MEIJI RESTORATION
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1868 Rebellion brought in reformers
Reinstated the emperor and began to transform
Japan from a Feudal society with pre-machine
age technology to an industrial power
Adopted aspects of the British model. See
movie “The Last Samurai”.
Launched a systematic study of the
industrialized world
Focus was on industrialization and education
system
EXPANSIONIST JAPAN
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Taiwan
1895
Korea
1910
Pacific Islands Post WW I
Manchuria
1931
China
1937
Hong Kong
1939
Southeast Asia
1941
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1945 –1952: Allied Occupation
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POPULATION COMPARISONS
300
MILLION
S
250
297
200
150
100
128
50
49
0
23
POPULATION PROFILES
JAPAN
INDIA
MALE
AGE
FEMALE
MALE
FEMALE
70+
60-69
50-59
40-49
30-39
20-29
10-19
0-9
30
15
0
15
Percent of Population
3
0
20
10
0
10
Percent of Population
20
DECLINING
JAPANESE POPULATION
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Population:
Birth rate:
Death rate:
Growth rate:
Life expectancy:
Urbanization:
127.9 million
9 births/1,000
8 deaths/1,000
0.1%
78 yrs (M), 85 yrs (F)
78%
KOREA
KOREA
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The size of Idaho but with a population of
73 million (both Koreas)
Turbulent political history
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Was a dependency of China
Was a colony of Japan
Divided into 2 Koreas along the 38th parallel
by Allied Powers > WW II (1945)
Cease-fire line established in1953
NORTH-SOUTH CONTRASTS
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NORTH KOREA
 55% of the land, 1/3 of the population, extremely rural
 Antiquated state enterprises
 Inefficient, non-productive agriculture
 Limited trade – mainly with former Soviet Union and China
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SOUTH KOREA
 45% of the land, 2/3s of the population, highly urbanized
 Modern factories
 Intensive, increasingly mechanized agriculture
 Extensive trade – US, Japan, and Western Europe
THE KOREAS
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POPULATION
23,100,000
48,700,000
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GNP (BILLIONS)
$ 21.3
$ 508.3
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GNP/CAPITA
$ 920
$ 17,930
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AGRICULTURE
RESTRICTIVE
GOOD
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(as % of GNP)
25 %
8%
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(% work force)
36 %
21 %
LAND USE PATTERNS
Rugged Mountains
Industrial Area
Main Rice Producing
Secondary Rice Producing
Free Trade Zone
SEOUL
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Capital of Korea (late 1300s - early 1900s)
9.6 million people
Located in the northwest corner of South
Korea
The urban-industrial center
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Textiles, clothing, footwear, electronic goods
TAIWAN
TAIWAN, ROC
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Historical background:
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A Chinese province for centuries
Colonized by Japan in 1895
Returned to China > WWII
1949 – Chinese Nationalists (supported by the US) fled
from the mainland and established the Republic of China
(ROC), NOT the same as the Peoples Rep. of China.
Territory - approximately 14,000 Square miles
Population – 22.8 million
78% urbanized
FOUR ECONOMIC TIGERS
Former
State
Date
of
Split
• SOUTH KOREA KOREA
1952
• TAIWAN
CHINA
1949
• HONG KONG
CHINA
1841
• SINGAPORE
MALAYSIA
1965
“TIGER”