Kaarten: Terms Asia | Quizlet

Confucius

(551-473 BC) Chinese wise man who developed the philosophy that is still inspiring the majority of the population in China, Taiwan, Hongkong, Singapore, Vietnam and South Korea.

Zheng He

(1405-1433) Chinese explorer who visited Indian and African coasts with a vessel that was 10x bigger than the Santa Maria of Christopher Columbus.

Siddharta Gautama

Better known as Buddha (563-483 BC)

Utopia

Book written by St. Thomas More (1478-1535) and describing the ideal city and state. We used this as introduction of our discussion of Singapore, a city state that strives for an ideal government. In Singapore this goes hand in hand with a "guided" democracy, strong regulations and control of its citizens.

Baidu

Chinese technology company that develops internet and AI based services. Third biggest search engine behind Google and Bing.

Taobao

Chinese online shopping site, affiliate of Ali Baba with +/- 600 million user per month in 2018.

Keiretsu

Name of a conglomerate of Japanese companies (e.g. Mitsui).

Xi Jinping

The undisputed leader of the PRC since 2012/13.

Mura

A term that forms part of the 14 principles of Toyota. It means "inconsistency" in a company's operational process. It has to be avoided at all cost.

Kama

One of the 4 life objectives in Hinduism, Sikhism and Jainism. This objective stands for "pleasure of the senses" and the "aesthetic enjoyment of life".

Pune

One of the Indian centers of the IT outsourcing industry.

Xiao

One of the principles of Confucianism: "filial piety".

Lee Kuan Yew

Prime minister of Singapore (1923-2015) from 1959 (under British rule) till 1990 (as independent nation). He represented the economic growth while exercising control. In spite of political differences his ideas about economic development under strict political control were appealing to Deng Xiaoping.

Chaebol

Korean company structure. These highly diversified and large family controlled conglomerates combine several business activities (shipbuilding, automotive, steel, consumer electronics,...). The conglomerates are also known for their complex financial structure and suspicious relations with politics.

Rama

Hindu god, personifying the ideal kingship. The god is the hero of famous epos about his victory over king Ravana.

Narendra Modi

Current prime minister of India. He follows a neo-liberal course.

Tsai Ing-wen

Former (female) president of Taiwan (until May 2024).

Ratan Tata

Indian business man and philanthropist. He is president of a holding and principal shareholder of the largest industrial group in the country. This conglomerate has activities in a.o. the automotive sector (e.g. Jaguar), steel and ICT services. The assets of the group total 152 billion $.

Aryabhata

Indian Astronomer (473-550) who proved 1000 years before Western scientists that the sun is the center of our planet system (heliocentrism).

Meji

Japanese emperor under whose rule (1867-1919) the borders opened for the first time to the economic relations with the West.

Fukushima

Japanese nuclear plant where a disaster occurred as the result of an earthquake and tsunami (2011).

Karōshi

Japanese term that translates freely in "working until you drop".

Aisin-Gioro Puyi

Last emperor of China (1906-1967).

Proton

Malaysian car brand sold in 15 Asian countries. The founder was the oldest prime minister in the world.

Chiang Kai-shek

(Military) leader (1887-1975) of the Kuomintang, the nationalist republican party of China. After his defeat in the Chinese revolution against the communists, he withdrew to Taiwan. He remained undisputed leader till his death.

Han

"Miracle on the ... river". This name of the spectacular growth of the South Korean economy after the Korean war was introduced by the military leader Park Chung-Lee.

Dong

Currency of Vietnam.

Shenzhen

One can read this text on the entry of the first Special Economic Zone of .... where under the government of Deng Xiaoping the first foreign firms could open a joint venture: "Time is money, efficiency is life".

Qian

The 4 elements are represented on the South Korean flag: earth (kun), water (kan), fire (li) and heaven (...). This element is depicted by 3 uninterrupted stripes.

Dà Yuèjìn

Pinyin name of the "great leap forward" (1958-61) whose objective was the transformation of the agrarian to an industrial society in China. The movement ended in a dramatic famine with 18-43 million deaths.

Ma Yun

Pinyin name of the protagonist of the documentary "the Crocodile in the Yangtze".

Napoleon Bonaparte

Wrote the prophetic words: "Laissez donc la Chine dormir, car lorsque la Chine s'éveillera le monde entier tremblera".

Shōgun

During the Japanese Empire (1185-1868) this was the title of the chief commander of the army.

Hukou

(Traditional) system of registration of the residence of the Chinese population. The Chinese leaders use(d) this system to restrict the migration from the countryside to cities. It is also a source of economic inequality.

Sudra

Traditionally the fourth and lowest caste in the Indian society. This caste consisted of farmers and builders.

Gangnam

Trendy neighborhood in Seoul.

Sun Yat-sen

Father of modern China (1866-1925), recognized by the communists (PRC) as well as the nationalists (Taiwan). He founded the Kuomintang as nationalist movement and later political party.

Deng Xiaoping

Who wrote: "there is no fundamental difference between socialism and a market economy"?

Bhopal

Location of the Union Carbide plant where a disaster in 1984 occurred with 8200 deaths.

Sun Pharma

Fourth largest producer of generic pharmaceutical products with a turnover of 4,6 billion $ in 2021.

Thar

Desert in India.

Bong-Joon Ho

The movie "Parasite" won the Oscar for best movie in 2019. It was the first non-US film who won this prestigious award. Who is the director of this piece of art?

Jawaharlal Nehru

First prime minister of India after the independence (1889-1964).

Ravi Shankar

He was the best-known proponent of the sitar music in the second half of the 20th century and influenced many other musicians throughout the world (a.o. the Beatles and the Stones). He is the father of jazz singer Norah Jones.

Lee Hsian Loong

Current prime minister of Singapore. (He is also the son of LKY).

Changi

International airport of Singapore, aviation hub in the Far East and stop-over of the flights between the West and Oceania.

Pisa

In 2022 Singapore is the leading country in the ranking of education statistics of 15 years old students on three subjects: reading, mathematics and physics. We look for the acronym of this ranking.

Kim Jong-un

On June 12th ,2018 Singapore hosted a historic meeting between the American president Donald Trump and ....

Ang Lee

Famous Taiwanese movie director (1954-...). His best-known movies are "Crouching Tiger, Hidden Dragon", "Eat Drink Man Woman", "Sense and Sensibility", "Brokeback Mountain" and "Life of Pi".

Võ Văn Thưởng

Current chief of state in Vietnam.

Kowloon

One of the 18 districts of Hong Kong.

Yī guó liǎng zhì

Constitutional principle, developed by the Chinese leader Deng Xiaoping, applied to Hongkong since the British passed the power to the city state to the PRC. (we look for the Chinese term).

Sukarno

First president of Indonesia

Rupiah

Currency of Indonesia.

Kim Dae-jung

South Korean president who started a 'détente' with North Korea, better known as the 'sunshine policy'. He was awarded the Peace Nobel Price, in 2000.

Twice

Everybody knows BTS as the best selling K-Pop boys band all time. What is the name of the best selling Girls Band?

Yangtze

What is the longest river of China

Uyghurs

a Turkic ethnic group originating from and culturally affiliated with the general region of Central and East Asia. They are recognised as the titular nationality of the Xinjiang Autonomous Region in Northwest China. They are predominantly Muslim.

Shah Jahan

The name of the emperor who built the famous Taj Mahal?

Pol Pot

He was a Cambodian communist revolutionary, politician and a dictator who ruled Cambodia as Prime Minister of Democratic Kampuchea between 1976 and 1979. He is considered the mastermind behind the genocide in his country. Forced labour, malnutrition, poor medical care and executions resulted in the death of 21% of the Cambodian population.

Vientiane

The capital of Lao is...

Ninjas

We now them better as Leonardo, Donatello, Raphael and Michelangelo, but once they were fierceful mercenary warriors in old Japan.

Keirin

This sport means literally "racing cycle". It is a form of motor-paced cycle racing in which track cyclists sprint for victory following a speed-controlled start behind a motorised pacer. It was developed in Japan around 1948 for gambling purposes and became an official event at the 2000 Olympics in Sydney, Australia.

Aung San Suu Kyi

She was elected as the de facto leader of Myanmar in 2016. She was overthrown by the army. She is convicted to 27 years in prison in spite of worldwide protest.

the 38th parallel

What is the name of the demilitarised zone between South and North Korea. The countries are still at war