Eastern and Southern Asia Essential Questions
Students will understand that the culture of a
society is the product of the religion, beliefs,
customs, traditions, and government of that
society
1-What are the differences between an ethnic group
and a religious group? An ethnic group is a group of
people brought together by race or culture. A
religious group is a group of people grouped
together by religion or beliefs. Religious groups are
Hinduism, Buddhism, Islam, Christian, Taoism,
Confucianism and Shintoism. Ethnic groups are
Chinese, Japanese, Vietnamese, Korean, Pilipino.
2-What are the similarities and differences of
Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, Shinto, and the
philosophy of Confucianism?
Buddhism- Buddah, do not believe in 1 god; 4
Noble Truths; Enlightenment/Nirvana; large in
India
Hinduism- large in India; doesn’t come from
teachings of one man; many gods and goddesses;
Karma; Reincarnation; many sacred text but not one
sacred book; Caste system
Islam- ME, southeastern Asia; teachings of
Mohammad; 5 pillars; Koran; 2 types: Shia and
Sunni
Shinto- Japan; the spirit of god; no single ruling
god; reverent; physical purity; Kami; philosophy,
not a religion
Confucianism- philosophy, not a religion; based on
tradition; 5 types of relationships; rulers respected;
family relationships important
3-How does literacy rate affects the standard of
living in East and South Asia? If you have a high
Literacy rate you will have a high standard of
living. Because Literacy rate is how well one can
read and write, so if you can read and write good
then you will have a good standard of living.
Students will understand that as a society
increases in complexity and interacts with other
societies, the complexity of the government also
increases.
4-How do the unitary, confederation, and federal
government systems distribute power? A Unitary
System gives all the power to the central
government. A Confederation is a loose alliance
that distributes power to the countries/states that
gives it control over its own laws and citizens.
Federal system divides power between central and
smaller governments like states.
5-What is the role of the citizen in autocratic,
oligarchic, and democratic governments?
Autocratic- no real citizen role in government (king,
dictator); leader has all the power
Oligarchic- ruled by few; citizen can vote in some
oligarchic countries
Democratic- citizens vote for all people in
government; Parliamentary and Presidential
6-What are the components of parliamentary and
presidential governments? The Legislative Branch
in Parliament rules the government and then in a
presidential system, the executive Branch holds the
power. Parliament has a Prime Minister and
presidential gov’t a President. They both have
cabinets, but the Parliamentary uses it for different
reasons than the Presidential Government.
7-What are the similarities and differences between
leadership, voting rights, and personal freedoms in
the Federal Republic of India, The People’s
Republic China, and Japan? China is moving
towards a government with more rights for its
citizens, but it is almost completely controlled by
the gov’t. In China, you can be 18 to vote, which is
the same as India and two years younger than Japan
(20). Many personal freedoms are broken by the
gov’t in China. India and Japan both have a prime
minister who is democratically elected; China’s
officials are often put in place by Communist rule.
In India and Japan, people have many freedoms
such as religion. China only allows Confucianism
as a religion. People have less human rights’ in
China.
Students will understand that location affects a
society’s economy, culture, and development.
8-Where are the Ganges River, Huang He (Yellow
River), Indus River, Mekong River, Yangtze
(Chang Jiang) River, Bay of Bengal, Indian Ocean,
Sea of Japan, South China Sea, Yellow Sea, Gobi
Desert, Taklimakan Desert, Himalayan Mountains,
and Korean Peninsula?
9-Where are the countries of China, India,
Indonesia, Japan, North Korea, South Korea, and
Vietnam?
10-What is the impact of climate and location on
population distribution in Southern and Eastern
Asia? The biggest impact on location and climate of
southern and eastern Asia is basically the location.
A large part of Asia is desert, but much of southern
and southeastern Asia gets large amounts of rain.
About 90% of China’s people live plateaus, plains
and river valleys. This is where there is fertile soil
and plentiful rain. Since about half of India’s land
is suitable for crops, most Indians work in
agriculture. The population is lower in the
mountains of China and Japan b/c the winters are
long and cold and summers are short. Desert areas
of China have very low populations, because of the
harsh climate.
11-How do the mountain, desert, and water features
of Southern and Eastern Asia affect the population
in terms of where people live, the types of work
they do, and how they travel? In Southern Asia,
there is a very sacred river called the Ganges River
that flows through India and Bangladesh. The
population around there is mostly Hindu since the
river is named after a Hindu goddess. There is also
the Gobi desert that is very close to the center of
China, so few people live there. If one lives around
a river or ocean, their work will revolve around the
water industries. People travel easier by rivers.
The student will understand that the production,
distribution, and consumption of goods/services
produced by the society are affected by the
location, customs, beliefs, and laws of the society.
12-What are the advantages and disadvantages of
specialization on trade between countries in
Southern and Eastern Asia? An advantage is that a
country can get what it needs at the lowest cost
(efficiency) when it is produced by another country
that specializes it. A disadvantage is opportunity
cost. This is the amount of money that they could
have if they specialized in another item. Japan
specializes in making cars so other countries buy a
lot of cars from them. They also make a lot of
pencils but they don’t specialize in them so they
don’t make as much money.
13-How are tariffs, quotas, and embargos barriers to
trade in Southern and Eastern Asia? Not all
countries have all the products that they need.
Embargos prevent transfer of goods between two or
more countries.
A tariff is a tax on imported goods. Taxes can
make the price of a good higher.
One country may trade all the time with another
country.
Some countries make deals with one another where
they must trade a certain number of goods (quota)
14-Why does international trade require a system
for exchanging currencies between nations? Every
country does not use the same type of money so
international trade requires a system for exchanging
currency b/w nations. Money from one country
must be converted into the currency of the other
country to pay for goods in that country. This
system is called foreign exchange.
15-What is the relationship between investment in
human capital (education and training) and gross
domestic product (GDP)? Human Capital are the
workers of a businesses or company. The workers
have to be trained and educated on how to do their
job. The GDP is the total market value of the goods
and services produced by a country’s economy
during a specific period of time. Investment in
human capital delivers long-lasting rewards. Some
studies have shown that investment in education
and skills training leads to a higher GDP. If demand
for a product goes up, then GDP will too.
16-What is the relationship between investment in
capital (factories, machinery, and technology) and
gross domestic product (GDP)? The higher the
GDP, the more capital a country can afford. The
GDP is a measurement of how well an economy is
doing. Capital is machinery and factories.
Investing your money is a smart move to enable
your production rate and have a higher economic
rate.
17-How do natural resources affect a countries’
economy? A country may have a resource another
country may have the need for. So one country
sells to another and gets money, making the
economy stronger. Some countries have very few
natural resources (Japan) and have to import many
common natural resources.
18-What is the role of entrepreneurship in Southern
and Eastern Asia? Entrepreneurship is rising
dramatically in India and China. Entrepreneurs take
a risk of starting a business. There are many
entrepreneurs in Asia with new ideas and
inventions. They have many ideas for their
countries. Businesses must make a profit in order
to stay in business.
19-How do the traditional, command, and market
economies of Southern and Eastern Asian countries
answer the economic questions of (1) what to
produce, (2) how to produce, and (3) for whom to
produce? A command economic system tells
industries and people what to produce, how to
produce it and for whom to produce it. The
government has control. In a market economy,
people in a country can decide what to buy, how
much can buy and for whom they buy. The Mixed
economic system is in the middle and many
countries have this kind of economic system. They
take something from both sides of the situation. A
traditional economic system is based on a system of
bartering and usually takes place in remote regions.
20-Where are the economic systems of Southern
and Eastern Asia located on a continuum between
pure market and pure command? Japan is located
centrally on the continuum because it is purely
mixed. North Korea would fall directly command
because of the communist control in the country.
India and China fall between command and mixed.
21-What are the similarities and differences
between the economic systems in China, India,
Japan, and North Korea.? Japan has one of the
strongest economies in the world. It is mixed.
China is growing out of a total command economy,
trying to become mixed. India is mixed as well, but
poverty plays a role. North Korea is totally
command because of their communist leaders.
The student will understand that humans, their
society, and the environment affect each other.
22-How has pollution affected the Yangtze and
Ganges Rivers?
23-What are the causes and effects of air pollution
and flooding in India and China?
Conflict and Change: The student will
understand that when there is conflict between
or within societies, change is the result.
24-How did nationalism lead to independence in
India and Vietnam?
25-What was the impact of Mohandas Gandhi’s
belief in non-violent protest?
26-What was the role of the United States in the
rebuilding of Japan after WWII?
27-How did communism influence China in terms
of Mao Zedong, the Great Leap Forward, the
Cultural Revolution, and Tiananmen Square?
28-What were the reasons for foreign involvement
in Korea and Vietnam in terms of containment of
communism?