East Asia Exam Review Notes

Continuous civilization for $>4000$ years; geographic isolation fostered unique development
Key dynasties: Shang $(1700s\,BC)$ → Zhou → Qin $(221\,BC,\,first\,empire)$ → Han $(push\,westward)$ → Qing $(1644\text{--}1911,\,last)$
$19^{\text{th}}$ -cent. weakness → unequal treaties, foreign “spheres of influence”; Boxer Rebellion $(1900)$ opposed outsiders
$1949$ Communist victory (Mao); reforms under Deng $(1976\text{--}1980s)$ ; continued modernization under Hu Jintao & Wen Jiabao $(2003)$
Rural focus: $\approx60\%$ workforce farming; only $\approx13\%$ land arable; rice/maize/wheat in east & south river basins
Industrial core in northeast (coal, iron, oil); Shanghai leads manufacturing; major outputs: steel, machinery, electronics, textiles (large exports)
Cultural legacy: inventions (paper, printing, gunpowder, compass, porcelain, silk); religions — Confucianism (education, order), Buddhism, Taoism (harmony with nature)
Demographics: $22$ provinces; population $>1.4\,\text{billion}$ (≈ $\tfrac15$ of world); state health care mixes traditional medicine & Western hospitals

Nomadic herders for millennia; Genghis Khan forged vast empire $13^{\text{th}}$ cent. (collapsed $1300s$ )
Qing China ruled $17^{\text{th}}$ - $20^{\text{th}}$ cent.; independence $1911$ → Mongolian People’s Republic $1924$ (Soviet-aligned) → transition after USSR fall $1989$
Culture blends Chinese & steppe traditions; Naadam Festival $11\,July$ (wrestling, archery, horse racing)
Economy: livestock remains vital; rich coal, petroleum, copper, gold, iron deposits targeted for diversification
Lifestyle: many still in felt-covered yurts; part-nomadic amid harsh climate

Settled from S China & SE Asia; Manchu annexation $1683$ ; Japan controlled $1895\text{--}1945$ ; Nationalists retreated here $1949$ ; PRC views island as province
Population largely Han Chinese; Mandarin dominant; $\approx90\%$ mix Buddhism-Confucianism-Taoism
“Economic tiger”: export-oriented electronics (radios, TVs, calculators, computers); success from skilled workforce despite scarce resources; integral to Pacific Rim trade
Select Western influences (e.g., baseball) alongside Chinese cultural core

Early state Choson $\approx2000\,BC$ ; Chinese conquest $100\,BC$ ; Three Kingdoms (Koguryo, Paekche, Silla) by $AD\,300$ ; Silla unified $660s$ ; Yi dynasty $1392\text{--}1910$
Japan ruled $1910\text{--}1945$ ; post-WWII: Soviet North / US South; Korean War $1950\text{--}1953$ ended with DMZ and enduring hostility
Military: North $>1\,\text{million}$ troops & WMD tests; South $>0.6\,\text{million}$ ; summit $2000$ sought détente, tensions rose again $2010$ (ship sinking)
Culture: Chinese roots; North restricts arts to communist themes; South embraces Western influences & artistic freedom
Economies: South = economic tiger (shipbuilding, autos, steel, chemicals); North = command, self-reliant, opaque data
Population: South holds $45\%$ land yet $66\%$ people; Seoul $>10\,\text{million}$ ; North capital Pyongyang $>2.5\,\text{million}$

Ancestors entered via Siberia & Korea; agriculture & metallurgy by $\approx1500$ years ago
Not unified until Yamato clan $5^{\text{th}}$ cent.; emperors from $7^{\text{th}}$ cent.; capital Heian $794$ ; samurai served landowners
Shogunate started $1192$ ; daimyo governed provinces; repelled Mongols; isolation ended with Commodore Perry $1853$ ; last shogun resigned $1868$ (Meiji restoration)
Post-WWII rebuild → world economic power; manufacturing corridor on Honshu; imports resources, exports vehicles & electronics; slowdown $1990s$ due to regional competition & domestic savings tendency
Culture merges East & West: Chinese heritage (language, religion, arts), traditional drama & temples; Western sports, music, fashion; recognition of cultural figures as “Living National Treasures”
Society: $>129\,\text{million}$ people, $79\%$ urban, dense settlement on $\approx2.7\%$ land; rigorous education (school $6$ days/week, competitive universities); current concerns—pollution, overcrowding, work-life balance