Chapter 27

Map of East Asia

Section 1
1. Most of East Asia's ideas and traditions originate from China.

2. Most people in China speak the Mandarin dialect of the Han Chinese language.

creative writing: Before the 1900's, the only educated people in China were the wealthy. They learned to read, and to write. when the communist government took control of china, they pushed the need of literacy, and built schools, to make it accessible to all children. but during the "Great Leap Forward," schools were closed and so were factories: children who were put out of school were also put out of jobs, along with their parents. When Mao Zedong passed away, the government once again maintained the importance of education, and the literacy rate in China is still on the rise today.



Map of Japan



Section 2
1. Japan's dense population is distributed with an average of 875 people per square mile (338 per square kilometer). Approximately 78% of Japan's population lives in coastal urban areas, and very little people living in the mountain regions.

2. In the early to mid- 1900's  - during WWII - the Japanese military invaded much of East Asia and Oceania, creating a modern empire. But this empire came to an end in the late 1940's when the United States dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, and the Japanese military surrendered.

creative writing: Although Japan’s population is ethnically homogeneous, its culture has been influenced by many other cultures. Their language, for example, is believed to be distantly related to the Korean and Mongolian languages. secondly, Japan's religion is a blend of practices and faiths from all over the world: there are Shintos, Christians, Buddhists, and many more.

Map of both North and South Korea



Section 3
1. In reaction to contact with the West, and the Western "gunboat diplomacy," Korea became an isolated country, keeping its people in, and foreigners out. This earned it the nickname, "Hermit Kingdom."

2. The Korean way of life is mainly based on Confucianism.

creative writing: Korea was separated into North Korea and South Korea after the second World War. Although North and South Korea are predominantly ethnically homogeneous, a cultural divergence has taken place between the two countries. This growing apart of their cultures is caused by their radically different economical and political systems. the result of this is a difference in culture, education, food distribution, use of resources, trade, and virtues.