EAST ASIA
EAST ASIA
REALM
Topics:
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China: Emerging superpower
Japan’s monster 2011 earthquake and tsunami
East Asia: The world’s economic powerhouse
North Korean provocations
The Taiwan conundrum
EAST ASIA
THE GEOGRAPHIC PANORAMA
• Triangular wedge between
Russia and Southeast Asia.
• Mountains and plateaus.
• Three major river valleys.
• Deserts:
‒ Takla Makan, Gobi, Ordos
• Sichuan Basin.
• Islands:
‒ Japan
• Hokkaido—cold northern island
• Kyushu—warm southern island
• Honshu—core area
‒ Kurile Islands
‒ Taiwan
‒ Hainan
• Peninsulas:
‒ Korean
‒ Shandong
‒ Liaodong
• A myriad of tectonic plate boundaries, island
chains, and smaller islands in the East/South
China Seas and the Pacific Ocean.
EAST ASIA
A GEOPOLITICAL REALM
• China—People’s Republic of
China (PRC)
‒ Dominant country • Demographically, economically, and
politically.
• 85% of realm’s population.
• Communist government.
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Japan—monarchy
South Korea—democracy
North Korea—failed state
Mongolia—buffer state
Taiwan—Republic of China
(ROC)
‒ Political entity—not recognized as
a sovereign state.
‒ “1 Nation, 2 Systems” possible.
(Ex. Hong Kong)
EAST ASIA
ENVIRONMENT/POPULATION
• Collision of Indian and Eurasian tectonic plates.
‒ Himalayan Mountains
‒ Qinghai-Xizang (Tibetan) Plateau
• Earthquakes
‒ 2008—Sichuan Province
‒ Magnitude 7.9, killed 90,000
• Pacific Ring of Fire
‒ Pacific Plate subducting beneath the North
American Plate.
‒ March 11, 2011—Tohoku earthquake (Japan)
• Tsunami (seismic sea wave).
• Vulnerability of Japan
‒ Particularly active tectonic-plate collision zone.
‒ Densely populated areas in confined, low-lying
plains on the east coast open to flooding.
‒ Most nuclear power plants along susceptible
shorelines.
EAST ASIA
ENVIRONMENT AND POPULATION
Western and northern sectors
•H (highland) climates
‒ Tibet (Xizang) and Qinghai
•B (desert and steppe) climates
‒ Mongolia
Northeastern sectors
•D climates
Eastern and southern sectors
•C (humid-temperate) climates
‒ Majority of East Asia’s population
found in easternmost one-third of the
realm’s territory.
• Most densely settled population cluster
in the world.
• Agriculture, Fisheries, Resources.
• Pacific ports and commerce.
The Great Rivers
• Huang He (Yellow River)
‒ Historic core area.
‒ North China Plain.
‒ Beijing.
‒ Flows into the Bo Hai.
• Chang Jiang (Yangzi)
‒ Shanghai (China’s largest city)
at the mouth of the river.
‒ Three Gorges Dam—world’s
biggest dam.
• Xi Jiang (Pearl)
‒ Hong Kong and Shenzhen.
‒ Hub of globalization.
• Liao
‒ Northeast China Plain.
‒ Mining and industry.
Major DAMS built in
China for water and
hydroelectricity.
EAST ASIA
NATURAL RESOURCES
• 1/4th of world’s population.
• High demand for natural resources.
• Japan
‒ Limited domestic resources.
‒ Set up global networks.
‒ Urbanized and modern populations
demand for consumer goods.
• China
‒ Cities and industries grew rapidly in
1980s.
‒ Needs for oil, gas, metals, food,
electricity, and water multiplied.
‒ China replaced Japan as Australia’s
primary customer.
• Environmental costs in terms of air
pollution and water contamination.
‒ Ex. Chinese Olympic Games and
SMOG hazards.
EAST ASIA
HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY
Ancient China
•State formation—long before
Greece or Rome.
•Neolithic (New Stone Age)
‒ Millet, rice, and wheat
domesticated.
•Dynasties:
‒ Han Dynasty—one of the
longest lasting.
• People of Han—ethnic Chinese.
•Korea and Japan influenced by
Chinese norms.
‒ Japanese borrowed heavily from
Chinese culture
•Confucianism—infusions.
“The Great Wall of China”
China’s Imperial Geography
•Expanded and contracted over time.
•Sinicization or Hanification = Growing
state territory and centralized power.
‒ Chinese cultural imprint from:
• Korea to Vietnam,
• Mongolia to Burma (Myanmar).
•Diverse mosaic of ethnicities…
End of the Chinese Empire
•Qing Empire—largest and last.
•Europeans, Russians, Japanese Colonists.
‒ Outsiders controlled trade, forced
concessions and leases to foreign
merchants.
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British—Hong Kong
Portugal—Macau
Germany—Shandong Peninsula
France—in the south
Russia—Northeast (Manchuria)
Japan—Korea, Ryukyu Islands, Taiwan
•Extraterritoriality—colonial powers
immune to Chinese law.
•Boxer Rebellion (1900)—resistance to
foreigners.
Revolutionary China
•Nationalist movement
‒ Sun Yat-sen
‒ Overthrew Qing Dynasty (1911)
•Chinese Communist Party
‒ Mao Zedong
•1920s - Nationalists and Communists cooperated.
•Chiang Kai-shek became the Nationalists’ leader.
•Long March—Communist column of 100,000 people marched westward.
‒ Nationalist forces attacked.
‒ 20,000 survivors in Shaanxi Province.
‒ Prepared for renewed campaign against Nationalists.
JAPAN’S HISTORICAL ROLE IN EAST ASIA
From Isolationism to Imperialism
•Isolationism
‒ Foreign influence shunned.
‒ Japanese people not allowed to travel
outside Japan.
‒ Foreigners not tolerated on Japanese soil.
•Meiji Restoration—1868
‒ Introduced wholesale change in Japanese
foreign policy.
‒ Aimed at rapid modernization.
‒ Emulated the West.
‒ Moved the capital from Kyoto to Edo
(renamed Tokyo).
•Modernization built on Japanese cultural
traditions.
‒ Increased efficiency, from producing goods
to running railroads to fighting war.
•Westernization not desirable.
•Japan was a unique combination of
modern and traditional elements.
JAPAN’S HISTORICAL ROLE IN EAST ASIA
Japan in China
•1894-1895 - First Sino-Japanese War.
‒ Long-term Japanese presence on the mainland in the Northeast,
Korea, and Taiwan.
•1904-1905 - Japanese defeated Russia.
•More aggressive foreign policy.
•1910—annexed Korea.
•1931—took firm control of Manchuria (Northeast China).
•1937—full-scale war with China.
•1940—invaded French Indochina, Philippines, Dutch East Indies
(Indonesia), Burma (Myanmar) and Malaysia.
•1941—attacked the U.S. at Pearl Harbor.
*Militaristic History!
POST-WORLD WAR II EAST ASIA
Communist China
•October 1, 1949—birth of People’s Republic
of China (PRC).
‒ Communists completely overhauled Chinese
society.
•Great Leap Forward
‒ Worst human-engineered catastrophe in
history.
‒ Estimated 30 to 45 million deaths.
•Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (19661976).
‒ Campaign against contamination from Soviet
“deviationism and emerging elitism in
society.
‒ Youth organized into Red Guards.
• Ordered to attack “bourgeois” elements and
“opponents” of the system.
• China’s leading intellectuals, moderate leaders,
teachers, elderly citizens, and older
revolutionaries were killed or tortured.
•Deng Xiaoping became leader in the postMao period of economic transformation.
Japan’s Defeat and Recovery
Japan’s Economic Miracle
•World War II expansion ended when U.S.
nuclear bombs devastated two Japanese cities.
•Japanese surrendered.
•Country lay in ruins.
•Japan forced to accept a new constitution and
territorial adjustments.
•Could not spend more than 1% of GDP on
military.
•Accepted U.S. troops on its soil.
•Japan induced to shift its focus to economic
prowess.
•Accelerated economic recovery:
Tokyo, Japan
- modern day.
‒ Industrial giant .
‒ Technological pacesetter.
‒ Fully urbanized society.
‒ Political power.
‒ One of the most affluent nations on
Earth.
•Stalled economy:
‒ Third-largest economy in the world.
‒ Lost its dynamism and momentum.
EAST ASIA’S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
The Asian Tigers
•Hong Kong, South Korea, Taiwan, and
Singapore.
•Replicated the Japanese economic miracle
‒ Rapid industrialization.
‒ Foreign investment.
‒ Export processing zones for high value-
added goods.
• Computers, mobile phones, kitchen appliances,
and electronic devices.
•Became trading nations oriented to rich
Western markets.
•Most of world’s largest ports are located in
East Asia.
•Exports shipped mainly to North America
and Europe.
GROWTH!
Chengdu City, China
EAST ASIA’S ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION
China’s Even Greater Economic Miracle
•Historic transformation:
‒ Creation of favorable environment for
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foreign investment to support the growth
of manufacturing sector.
Chinese wages kept low.
Training programs aimed at upgrading
skills of local workforce.
Stable political conditions with tight
government control.
Adept at understanding how global
capitalism works and how to put it to use.
•Emerged as the most dynamic and fastestgrowing component of the world economy.
‒ 2010—surpassed Japan to become the
second-largest economy in the world.
‒ Example Chinese City =
• Shenzhen: fastest growing city in
human/world history!
• 9 million people today.
• Mandarin speakers.
• Business-friendly.
GEOPOLITICS OF EAST ASIA
Sino-Japanese Relations
• Chinese and Japanese relations are
problematic.
• Japan invaded Manchuria in 1931 and
occupied China, committing atrocities.
• 1990s renewed Japanese presence after
China’s economic reforms.
• China has surpassed Japan in economic size
and is the biggest exporter in the world.
• Diplomatic relations are strained by clashing
interests, historical memory, and cultural
friction.
• Senkaku Islands in East China Sea.
‒ Seized by Japan in 1895, claimed by China and
Taiwan.
‒ Matter of national pride.
‒ Recently discovered oil and gas deposits in
territorial waters.
• Ownership of islands and resources a modern issue.
GEOPOLITICS OF EAST ASIA
The Korea Factor
• Divided, partitioned, colonized, and occupied by
Chinese and Japanese.
• 1910—annexed by Japan.
• 1945—Allied powers divided Korea into North
and South along 38th parallel.
• 1950—North Korean Communist forces invaded
South Korea.
• 1953—military stalemate ended at the Cease-Fire
Line.
• North Korea’s nuclear capability.
• Japan and South Korea opposed to North Korean
regime and China takes a neutral position.
• Leaders = Kim Jong-il (recently deceased), Kim
Jong-un (son newly ascended into dictatorship).
• North Korea - Dictatorship, harsh rule, human suffering.
GEOPOLITICS OF EAST ASIA
Taiwan: The Other China
• 1895—stolen from China by Japan.
• 1949—Nationalists fled after Communist
defeat on the mainland.
‒ Chiang Kai-Shek named his regime the
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Republic of China (ROC).
Declared the ROC China’s “legitimate”
government.
Installed in UN in China’s seat.
Received aid and weapons from the United
States.
Grew economically and democratically.
• 1972—Nixon arrived in Beijing.
‒ ROC’s United Nations seat replaced by Beijing.
• Economies of Taiwan and the PRC tightly
integrated.
‒ Taiwanese entrepreneurs built thousands of
factories in mainland China.
‒ 40% of Taiwan’s exports to China.
‒ Two-thirds of Taiwanese “foreign” investments
in China.
‒ Many Taiwanese live and work on mainland.
Tibet - Similar to China’s
conquer of Taiwan.
• Buddhist/peaceful culture
• Dalai Lama (leader)
• Traditional methods
• Popular resistance to
China’s rule.
Homework
1. Read Textbook Chapter 9
2. Homework:
• Choose one “@from the Field Notes”
subsection topic in Ch.9 textbook; research
and summarize (1 page).
OR
• Choose a realm/region within or adjacent
to South Asia to review in detail (1 page).
Regions include China, Mongolia, Korea(s),
Japan, Taiwan. Choose a culture, country,
or feature to research and write about.