Asia and Pacific

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The
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Modern World
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Civilizations of Asia and the Pacific
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VOLUME 5
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(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

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The Modern World
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Civilizations of Asia and the Pacific
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Volume 5
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GENERAL EDITOR
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Sarolta Takács, Ph.D.

Rutgers University
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DEVELOPED, DESIGNED, AND PRODUCED BY DWJ BOOKS LLC
Principal Authors: Kenneth R. Hall and Misty Urban
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SHARPE REFERENCE
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Sharpe Reference is an imprint of M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
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M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
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80 Business Park Drive
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Armonk, NY 10504
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© 2008 by M.E. Sharpe, Inc.
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All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored in
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a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical,
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photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior permission of the copyright holders.
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data in

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The modern world / Sarolta Takács, general editor.
p. cm.
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Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-0-7656-8096-9 (set : alk. paper)
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1. Civilization, Modern—Encyclopedias.
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2. World history—Encyclopedias.
I. Takács, Sarolta A.
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CB357.M65 2008
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903—dc22 2007044253
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Printed and bound in Malaysia

The paper used in this publication meets the minimum
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requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of

Paper for Printed Library Materials,
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ansi z 39.48.1984
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TI (c) 10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
Cover images (clockwise, from top left) were provided by Getty Images and the
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following: Catherine Henriette/AFP; D.R. Austen/Taxi; David McLain/Aurora;

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VEER Beth Dixson/Photonica; Amanda Hall/Robert Harding World Imagery

Contents
List of Illustrations vii Indian Nationalism 60

Topic Finder viii Indonesia 61
Japan 64
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Preface x
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TURNING POINT: Opening of Japan by
Modern Challenges in Ancient Lands xi Commodore Perry 67
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Map of Modern Asia and the Pacific xvi Korea 68
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Language 71
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Aboriginal Peoples 1 TURNING POINT: Language of Respect 74
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Afghanistan 2 Laos 75
Literature and Writing 77
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Agriculture 4
TURNING POINT: Green Revolution 8 INTO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: Manga 81
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Art and Architecture 9 Manchuria 82
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TURNING POINT: Taj Mahal Maori 83
Australia 16 Micronesia 85
Bangladesh 19 in
Myanmar (Burma) 86
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Brunei (Brunei Darussalam) 20 Nationalism and Nationalist
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Cambodia 21 Movements 87
China 22 TURNING POINT: Meiji Restoration 88
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GREAT LIVES: Mao Zedong (1893–1976) 25 New Zealand 91

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Colonization 27 TURNING POINT: Treaty of Waitangi 92

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Communism 30 Pakistan 94
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INTO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: Great Philippines 95

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Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) 33

Polynesia 97
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Culture and Traditions 34

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Refugees 98
INTO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY:
Religion 99
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Asian Martial Arts 38

GREAT LIVES: The Buddha 103
Democracy and Democratic
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Movements 39 Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) 106

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MODERN WEAPONS: Land Mines and

Economic Development and Trade 43
Trench Warfare 107
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Environmental Issues 49
TURNING POINT:
Singapore 107
51 TURNING POINT: Singapore’s Public Housing 109
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Tsunami of December 2004
Great Leap Forward 53 Slavery, Slave Trade, and Piracy 111

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Imperialism 54 Society 112

India 57
Chinese Secret Societies 115
GREAT LIVES:
Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948) 59 Spheres of Influence 118

vi | CONTENTS
Sri Lanka (Ceylon) 120

TURNING POINT: Tamil Nationalism 121
Taiwan 122
Taliban 123
Technology and Inventions 124
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China’s Four Modernizations (1978–1987) 127
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Thailand 129
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Tibet 131
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GREAT LIVES: Dalai Lama 132
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Vietnam 134
MODERN WEAPONS: Agent Orange 136
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Weapons 137
MODERN WEAPONS: Hiroshima and
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Nagasaki 138
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World War I 140
World War II 143
TURNING POINT: Battle of Midway 147
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Glossary 148
Selected Bibliography 152

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Index 156
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List of Illustrations
Time Lines China, Japan, and Korea, 1840–1937 119

Modern World Time Line Endpapers World War II in Asia and the Pacific,
1937–1945 145
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Art and Architecture 10
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Important Events in Modern China 23 Photos
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The Spread of Communism 31 Montagnards fleeing repression
in Vietnam 2
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Democratic Progress and Setbacks
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in Asia and the Pacific 40 Rice cultivation in Bali, Indonesia 6
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Key Dates in Japan’s Modern History 65 The Taj Mahal in India 11
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Literature of Asia and the Pacific 79 Young Indian women performing
the giddha 13
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Nationalist Movements in Asia 89
Statue of Mao Zedong 24
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Religion in Asia and the Pacific 100
Student demonstration at Tiananmen
Technological Advances in
Modern Asia 125 in
Square, April–June 1989 32
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Hong Kong Island skyline 45
World War I and Asia 141
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Damage from 2004 tsunami in

World War II and Asia 144
Indonesia 50
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Maps Mohandas Gandhi 58

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Map of Modern Asia and the Pacific xvi Commodore Perry’s gift to the
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Japanese 66
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Australia, New Zealand, and the

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Pacific Basin, ca. 1788–1914 17 Japanese manga comic book 80

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Colonial Empires in Asia and the Aung San Suu Kyi addressing
Pacific Basin, ca. 1900 28 press conference 87
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Maritime and Overland Passages Maori tribesmen perform a haka 91

between Asia and the West,
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Statue of the Buddha 104

ca. 1430–1700 44
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High-rise apartment in
British and French Empires in India,
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Singapore 108
Sri Lanka, and Southeast Asia,
ca. 1890 55 Female protesters in India 117
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Language Regions of Asia and the Computer factory in Japan 128

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Pacific 72
Dalai Lama, the Tibetan
Religions in Contemporary Asia 101 spiritual leader 133
East Asia, ca. 1600–1800 113 Hiroshima Prefectural Industry
Promotion Building 139

Topic Finder
Civilizations and Peoples Periods and Events

Aboriginal Peoples Colonization
Indian Nationalism Communism
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Democracy and Democratic Movements
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Culture and Language Environmental Issues
Aboriginal Peoples Great Leap Forward
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Art and Architecture Russo-Japanese War
Communism Slavery, Slave Trade, and Piracy
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Culture and Traditions World War I
Economic Development and Trade World War II
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Environmental Issues
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Language Places
Literature and Writing Afghanistan
Nationalism and Nationalist Movements Australia
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Bangladesh
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General Topics Brunei
Agriculture Cambodia
Art and Architecture in
China
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Culture and Traditions India
Democracy and Democratic Movements Indonesia
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Economic Development and Trade Japan

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Environmental Issues Korea

Language Laos
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Literature and Writing Manchuria

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Nationalism and Nationalist Movements Micronesia

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Spheres of Influence (and Myanmar

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Foreign Concessions) New Zealand

Technology and Inventions Pakistan
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Philippines
Notable Figures Polynesia
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Buddha (see Religion) Singapore

Dalai Lama (see Tibet) Sri Lanka
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Mao Zedong (see China) Taiwan

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Mohandas K. Gandhi (see India) Thailand

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Tibet
Vietnam
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TO P I C F I N D E R | ix
Society, Religion, and Way of Life War and Military Affairs

Aboriginal Peoples Communism
Agriculture Imperialism
Colonization Refugees
Communism Russo-Japanese War
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Culture and Traditions Weapons
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Democracy and Democratic Movements World War I
Economic Development and Trade World War II
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Nationalism and Nationalist Movements
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Religion
Slavery, Slave Trade, and Piracy
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Society
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Taliban
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Preface
In ancient times, barriers such as mountain for example, in gastronomy; modern Indian
ranges and great bodies of water slowed cuisine was created when chilies from South
the cultural interaction between peoples. America arrived in India and then influenced
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The modern era, however, is defined by the the tastes of British colonists.
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shrinking of frontiers as revolutions in trans- In the twentieth century, former colonies
portation and technology closed distances. became independent. The struggle for inde-
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Around the turn of the sixteenth century, pendence was often fierce and the creation of
European nautical technology allowed the democratic governments hard fought. The
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transport of people and goods over dis- endurance and spirit of Nelson Mandela, for
tances never before fathomed. The Age of example, helped South Africa overcome apart-
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Exploration had begun and with it came the heid. The last century also saw two World
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Modern Age. The groundwork for this age Wars, as well as devastating regional conflicts
had been set in the preceding centuries by and civil wars. While technological advances
the conflicts between two religions, Christi- have made it possible to explore space, the
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anity and Islam. The Crusades, armed Chris- same advances also have the capability of
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tian campaigns against various Muslim destroying property and life.
groups from the eleventh century through Articles in the five volumes of The Modern
the fifteenth century, sought to wrest the in
World: Civilizations of Africa, the Americas,
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holy city of Jerusalem from Islamic control. Asia and the Pacific, Europe, and the Middle
The mustering and marching of crusaders East and Southwest Asia are arranged alpha-
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across Europe helped develop trade routes betically with time lines and cross-references
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throughout the continent. The interactions in that provide the reader a greater historical
the Middle East, born in conflict, brought to context in which to understand each topic.
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the European market a taste for the products Features expand the coverage: “Turning
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of the Middle East and the Far East. Ad- Points” describe cultural, political, and tech-
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vances in mathematics, astronomy, and other nological changes that have had a lasting ef-
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sciences were also imported from the Middle fect upon society; “Great Lives” profile indi-
East to Europe. These advances and an in- viduals whose deeds shaped a people’s
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creased economic interest in regions outside history and culture; “Modern Weapons” de-
Europe led to the explosion of trade and ex- livers hard facts on modern warfare; and
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ploration that ushered in the Modern Age. “Into the 21st Century” provides an introduc-
From the sixteenth through the nine- tion to topics that are important for under-
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teenth centuries, European commercial pow- standing recent dramatic developments in

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ers became colonial powers. The Spanish, world history. Each volume will be your
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Portuguese, French, Dutch, and British es- guide in helping you to explore the rich and
tablished colonies across the globe in order varied history of the modern world and par-
to assure ownership of trade routes. Trading ticipate in its future. May this journey offer
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posts guaranteed the continual supply of you not only facts and data but also a
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goods and natural resources, such as spices deeper appreciation of the changes
and precious metals. During this period, the throughout history that have helped to form
cultures of the colonizers and the colonized the modern world.
would greatly influence each other. Such
mutual influences and blending can be seen, Sarolta A. Takács

Modern Challenges in
Ancient Lands
The geography of modern Asia and the Pa- separate volume of this series, includes
cific covers an area of great geological, eth- two countries also discussed in this work,
nic, cultural, political, religious, and linguis- Afghanistan and Pakistan. Central Asia in-
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tic diversity. The region incorporates more cludes five nations formed from the for-
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than thirty countries across five subregions, mer Soviet Union (USSR): Kazakhstan,
stretching from the Hindu Kush mountains Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and
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in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. Uzbekistan. Most of the ethnic groups of
The area called the Pacific, also referred to these areas, except for the Tajiks, have
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as Oceania, covers many thousand square Turkic roots. While settled economies de-
miles of ocean, from New Zealand to Easter veloped along the paths of the trans-
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Island. Asian exchange route called the Silk
While it is possible to speak of an Asia- Road, many societies in these areas re-
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Pacific region geographically, it is more dif- mained seminomadic. Now predominantly
ficult to trace a shared character or even a Islamic, the area has a legacy of Russian
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shared history in this vast area, whose peo- colonialism that shaped its intellectual and
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ples belong to more than 1,000 cultural cultural institutions.
groups and speak thousands of languages. Southeast Asia includes Brunei, Cambo-
Just as they vary greatly in size, the coun- in
dia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar
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tries of modern Asia and the Pacific host a (formerly Burma), the Philippines, Singa-
huge array of populations, natural resources, pore, Thailand, Vietnam, and the most re-
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and cultures. Some countries have econo- cent addition, East Timor. These countries
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mies based on agricultural or nomadic life- share a tropical climate, with an annual
styles; others have highly developed indus- monsoon season that greatly affects the
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trial centers. Governments in the region predominantly rural, agricultural way of life.
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range from constitutional monarchies and The region was home to many powerful
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democratic republics to Communist states pre-1500 C.E. civilizations, such as Angkor in

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and military dictatorships. Also, due to Cambodia, Champa in Vietnam, the Ayut-
migrating ethnic populations, some broad thaya in Thailand, and the Majapahit realm
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influences have crossed national borders, in Java. Portugese, Spanish, British, Dutch,
including the influence of Indian and Chi- French, and American colonialism all had a
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nese civilizations, of European and Japan- lasting impact in many parts of the region,
ese colonialism and imperialism, the reach while Chinese, Indian, and Islamic influences
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of religions such as Islam and Buddhism, also contributed to the unique character of
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and the effects of worldwide wars. As a re- the modern societies that evolved. Al-
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sult, the peoples and societies of Asia and though hosting diverse religions, govern-
the Pacific remain extremely diverse. ments, and economic development, the na-
tions of Southeast Asia banded together in
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GEOGRAPHICAL DISTINCTIONS 1967 in the Association of Southeast Asian

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AND COMMON GROUND Nations (ASEAN) to promote political, eco-

Modern Asia can be thought of as compris- nomic, and cultural cooperation within the
ing Five Subregions: Southwest, Central, region.
Southeast, South, and East Asia. The south- The region referred to as South Asia in-
western region, which is the subject of a cludes the countries of Bangladesh, Bhutan,

xii | MODERN CHALLENGES IN ANCIENT LANDS
India, Nepal, Sri Lanka, the Maldives, Mauri- innovations, and other services can be
tius, Pakistan, and Afghanistan. Unifying shared. All to some extent face the increas-
ties among the continental countries in this ing need to establish peaceful relations
region were historically provided by the between different ethnic or religious groups;
major religions of Hinduism, Buddhism, and such tensions were especially prevalent in
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Islam. Both the ancient system of caste and India, Pakistan, Indonesia, and Sri Lanka at
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the legacy of British administration helped the turn of the twenty-first century. In addi-
structure the social system in this region, tion, all the countries of Asia and the Pacific
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where up to three-quarters of the popula- face the challenge of addressing key envi-
tion in many areas are rural farmers. South ronmental issues, many resulting from high
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Asia is considered one of the most ethni- population. As of 2007, approximately 4 bil-
cally and linguistically diverse regions of lion people lived in Asia, 35 million more in
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the world. the Pacific, and the numbers are growing.
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East Asia typically includes China, Japan, Bridging the growing gaps between rural
North and South Korea, Mongolia, and Tai- and urban populations as well as those
wan. Buddhism and Confucianism, embod- among the elite, middle, and lower classes;
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ied in Chinese artistic and cultural move- preserving native traditions while inviting
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ments, characterized this region and were contact with the larger world; and strength-
incorporated—in individual ways—into the ening national governments and economies
native cultures of Japan and Korea. In the in
while maintaining friendly relations with
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late twentieth century, most of these coun- other world powers have all presented on-
tries, at various times, experienced a swift going challenges to the nations of Asia and
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economic boom. Today, China and India are the Pacific. A glance at the region’s modern
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quickly becoming two of the largest world history, from 1500 to the present, and the
economies, rivaling Japan, which long entries in this volume show how each na-
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stood second only to the United States in tion has chosen to meet these challenges.
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buying power and production.

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The Pacific region, sometimes referred to COLONIALISM, NATIONALISM, AND

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as near and remote Oceania, includes Aus- INDEPENDENCE

tralia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, and In 1500, the peoples of Asia saw their na-
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the island groups of Polynesia, Micronesia, tions as the center of the world, with India
and Melanesia. These areas reflect Euro- and China leading the world economically,
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pean influence to a greater extent than the politically, technologically, and culturally.
countries of Asia, and while Australia and Asian civilizations were prosperous, with
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other countries have long been indepen- political and economic institutions that sup-
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dent, some Pacific islands remain territories ported expanding empires. Governed by
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of a former colonial power. hereditary monarchies and ruled by a land-

With all their diversity, the countries of owning aristocracy, these economies pros-
modern Asia and the Pacific do share some pered by depending on the labor of farmers
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common resources and face some common and artisans. A developing urban merchant
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challenges. All have had and continue to ex- community traded with Europe, Africa, and
perience some contact with the West, both the Middle East.
historically, during the age of imperialism, Many Asian empires left an enduring
and today. All exhibit efforts to join a glo- cultural legacy in the form of religious
bal marketplace, where goods, information, monuments; the visual and performing arts;

MODERN CHALLENGES IN ANCIENT LANDS | xiii
and sophisticated literature including the beginning of the colonial period were
poetry, historical annals, and other schol- reasonably comfortable, stable, and well
arly writings. For example, temples built at endowed with natural resources. As a result,
the Khmer capital of Angkor Wat (present- Asian rulers supported technological inno-
day Cambodia) and Borobudur in Java, In- vation to improve farmers’ and artisans’
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donesia, provide evidence of the techno- productivity and concentrated their military
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logical and artistic accomplishments of on defense rather than conquest.
these early modern kingdoms. The Mughals By contrast, Western colonial powers
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in India (1526–1739) and the Ming dynasty in used modern technology for military ag-
China (1368–1644) produced classical writ- gression and conquest in hopes of corner-
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ings and decorative arts admired as much ing Asian goods and resources to benefit
in their own time as now. Other Asian peo- the growing European marketplace. In the
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ples and outside visitors valued and tried to sixteenth and seventeenth centuries, war-
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reproduce the highly evolved courtly eti- fare between Westerners and Asians, as
quette and the scientific advancements of well as among Asians themselves, increas-
these powerful realms. Luxury items such ingly focused on the Europeans’ attempts
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as Indian steel, Indonesian spices, and Chi- to establish economic monopolies over
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nese silks and porcelains were highly prized Asian raw materials and local production.
in the West. These so-called “gunpowder empires” later
Beginning in the sixteenth century, in- in
evolved into Western control of territories
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creased external contact with Europeans and their resident populations.
exposed Asian and Pacific societies to new Throughout the eighteenth, nineteenth,
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political and economic ideologies that had and early twentieth centuries, foreign
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a dramatic impact in many areas. Portu- powers made deep inroads into the Asian
guese, Dutch, and British companies estab- region, destroying ancient patterns of po-
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lished trading outposts from India to Indo- litical power and social organization. West-
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nesia in their attempts to monopolize the ern colonial regimes replaced the heredi-
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market sources of goods such as tea, tary kingdoms that prevailed in many
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spices, rubber, and opium. Growing Euro- regions. In time, Western imperialism or
pean colonies in the region attracted mis- empire-building brought almost all of Asia
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sionaries and adventurers who brought the and the Pacific under some degree of West-
Christian religion and, in some cases, Euro- ern control. Sometimes, power and influ-
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pean diseases. ence were achieved through direct control,

Western values and cultural traditions as in British India and French Indochina. In
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presented a significant contrast to the es- other cases, Western dominance took the
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tablished Asian societies that initially coop- form of forced trade treaties, as in the
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erated, either freely or under compulsion, spheres of influence established over China.
with the Western colonials. Asian cultural In still other cases, Western influence oc-
tradition marginalized the individualistic curred through an infusion of Western tech-
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values associated with the profit-centered nology, as in Japan and Thailand.

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urban marketplace in favor of the communal Colonial empires, while enormously prof-
values of traditional rural society. For most itable for the colonizers, held few benefits
Asians, obligation to the community took for native citizens who did not own land or
precedence over individual needs or de- gain high-paying government positions in
sires. Furthermore, many Asian societies at the colonial regime. Beginning in the late

xiv | MODERN CHALLENGES IN ANCIENT LANDS
nineteenth century, nationalistic move- exhausted by internal conflict, autocratic

ments began to gather force in India, regimes tried to impose stability; some
China, and Indonesia. By the beginning of were ruled by religious fundamentalists,
the twentieth century, independence such as the Taliban in Afghanistan, while
movements throughout Asia had gained others took the form of a military dictator-
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the support of leading intellectuals as well ship, such as the junta governing Myanmar
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as urban workers and rural laborers who (Burma).
constituted the bulk of the population. Conflicts in political, ethnic, or religious
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Between the two world wars, from 1917 to ideology continued to fracture certain areas
1945, many Asian nations struggled to free of Asia well into the twentieth century. Ex-
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themselves from colonial control exercised amples include the Chinese occupation of
by European powers and from an aggres- Tibet, the rule of the Khmer Rouge in Cam-
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sively expanding Japan. Mohandas Gandhi bodia, the struggles between the Sinhalese
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in India, Sukarno in Indonesia, Mao Zedong and Tamil populations of Sri Lanka, the strife
in China, and other nationalist leaders between India and Pakistan over the Kash-
played central roles in shaping the political mir region, and the displacement of ethnic
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and economic visions that guided their groups like the Hmong in Laos and its neigh-
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emerging countries. boring areas.
However, many Asian and Pacific popula-
A GLOBAL ECONOMY in
tions found themselves uniting in the goal
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Homegrown independence movements re- to establish stable societies and build econ-
placed most of the colonial regimes in Asia omies that could promote a better standard
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after World War II. In laying the foundation of living for all citizens. Again assessing and
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for their newly independent states, new adapting Western models of education and
leaders drew on their own ancient cultural industrialization to their individual nations,
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traditions and studied the strengths and Asian leaders attempted to maximize tech-
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weaknesses of Western models of political nological advancement and economic

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and social organization. Communist govern- growth while still preserving their unique
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ments in China, Cambodia, Vietnam, and cultures. A group of east Asian nations
Korea developed national philosophies grew so rapidly in the 1980s and 1990s that
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that their leaders adapted to the perceived they were called economic “Tigers.” Al-
national character. In China, for instance, though an economic slump damaged many
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Mao Zedong proclaimed that the proletar- Asian economies in 1997 and 1998, most
ian revolution must take place among had regained their strong position in the
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China’s predominantly peasant population, international marketplace by the turn of the

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not among the urban workers as had oc- century. Even Asian economies based on
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curred in European Communist states. communist models, such as that of China,

Democracies in India, Pakistan, and Ban- are increasingly adopting free market fea-
gladesh struggled to establish a system of tures to stimulate growth.
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representation and administration that re-

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flected the needs of their ethnically and reli- A GLOBAL CULTURE

giously diverse populations. Countries such Today, Asian and Pacific nations continue to
as Cambodia, Thailand, Bhutan, and Nepal incorporate and adapt outside influences,
turned to constitutional monarchies for including Western influence, to their
their governing structures. In fragile areas unique local cultures. The appearance of

MODERN CHALLENGES IN ANCIENT LANDS | xv
Western chain restaurants and luxury China, animistic rituals in the Pacific is-
hotels alongside skyscrapers housing thriv- lands, and shamanism in South Korea exist
ing commercial and banking interests at- side by side with modern technology and
tests to the brisk and vigorous exchange of conveniences. The Hindu majority in India
ideas between Asia and the rest of the still maintains a traditional caste system of
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world. Western popular culture, evident, for hereditary social ranking and follows prac-
76
example, in film and fashion, has inspired tices of arranged marriages and the giving
similar industries in the urban areas of India of dowries. Although important to the
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and South Korea, while Japanese and Tai- preservation of a culture, these Hindu
wanese manufacturers set a world stan- practices pose a problem for the Indian
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dard for products such as automobiles and government, which has outlawed them be-
media technology. Also, many Asian and cause they restrict civil liberties especially
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especially Pacific Island nations benefit those of women and the poor. This exam-
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from the tourist industry, while ancient ple illustrates how the blending of
Asian philosophies and practices such as millennia-old traditions with contemporary
yoga, martial arts, and herbal medicine thought may preserve a culture’s distinct
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have attracted followers throughout the character but also present a significant
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world. The terms East and West are rapidly challenge to the nations of modern Asia
coming to signify a mere geographical dis- and the Pacific.
tinction, rather than divergent political and in
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cultural realities. The economic advances FURTHER READING
enjoyed in the crowded cities of Asia, how- Kort, Michael G. Handbook of East Asia. Brookfield, CT:
up
ever, have yet to substantially benefit rural Twenty-First Century Books, 2006.
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and urban laborers. Maidment, Richard, and Colin Mackerras, eds. Culture and
Along with this infusion of foreign culture, Society in the Asia-Pacific. New York: Routledge, 1998.
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many modern Asian citizens retain deep re- Mines, Diane P., and Sarah Lamb. Everyday Life in South
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spect for tradition. To preserve their distinct Asia. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002.
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cultural heritage, for instance, young cou- Schirokauer, Conrad, and Donald Clark. Modern East Asia:
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ples in Japan continue to marry according to A Brief History. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson, 2007.
Shinto customs, which are based on the ear-
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liest religion of Japan. Ancestor worship in Kenneth R. Hall

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Map of Modern Asia and
the Pacific
MODERN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
The diverse geography of Asia and speaking hundreds of languages as Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, and
2
the Pacific includes the highest and dialects, following many ancient lands such as China and
76
mountains in the world—the different faiths, and practicing Japan. North Korea is one of the
Himalayas—and some of the unique customs. Politically, the world’s most secretive nations,
83
world’s harshest deserts—the Gobi nations of the region include long- with its people living under an
3
in central Asia and the Great Sandy established democracies such as authoritarian communist regime.
-2
Desert in Australia. The people of Australia and New Zealand,
this vast region are diverse as well, recently independent nations such
01
03
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Ab
Q
A.
xvi

A–E
Aboriginal Peoples
2
The original or native inhabitants of a region, also known as indigenous peoples, who
76
have historically faced enormous legal, social, and cultural pressures from other groups
migrating into Asia and the Pacific. The societies of later settlers have tended to heavily
83
limit or modify the lifestyles of aboriginal peoples, often restricting their traditional
practices, forcibly relocating families or tribes, or attempting to absorb them into the
3
-2
majority culture.
01
Some indigenous peoples, like the Maori persecution. In the 1830s, European settlers
03
of New Zealand, have managed to retain in Australia removed the aboriginal peoples
lands and rights despite invasion. Other to reservations where they were not al-
peoples, such as the Ainu of Japan, face ex- lowed to teach their traditional languages
#
tinction. Still more struggle to maintain and customs, while their lands were confis-
us
their cultural heritage and legal rights cated for sheep and cattle farms. In other
within a contemporary society that often instances, forced assimilation threatened
misunderstands or exploits their native prac- in
aboriginal ways of life. During the Japanese
jo
tices and beliefs. occupation of Taiwan between 1895 and
The aboriginal peoples of Asia and the 1945, the children of the mountain and
up
Pacific often lived in communities consist- plains tribes indigenous to Taiwan were re-
ro
ing of interrelated families, depended on quired to attend Japanese schools and

hunting or farming for their livelihood, and forced to abandon their native Formosan
G
practiced an animistic religion with close languages and traditional practices such as
p
ties to nature and natural events. Individual tattooing.

p
groups developed distinct cultures with The preservation of aboriginal groups

sa
special traditions and practices, a separate and cultures remains an ongoing concern in
language, and a unique cultural history. many parts of Asia and the Pacific. While
t
ha
More than 200 distinct indigenous groups aboriginal groups in Australia and Japan
once lived across India; more than 50 popu- have become largely assimilated into mod-
iW
lated mainland China. Before European col- ern society, enjoying full legal rights as citi-
onization began in the late eighteenth cen- zens, groups elsewhere remain isolated
s
tury, more than 500 distinct aboriginal from and unprotected by the social main-
ba
groups lived in Australia, inhabiting ances- stream. For instance, at least twelve differ-
Ab
tral lands, living as hunters and gatherers, ent groups living in northern Thailand, in-
and preserving a religious tradition called cluding the Hmong, Akha, and Karen, are
the Dreaming that had evolved during more still considered isolated hill tribes whose
Q
than 40,000 years of occupation. loyalty to the Kingdom of Thailand is sus-

A.
In almost every instance, the coming of pect. Many tribes, such as the Akha, live at
new settlers meant conflict for aboriginal the subsistence level, following agricultu-
peoples, forcing migrations and resettle- ral practices their ancestors employed for
ment, curtailing their ancient freedoms, and centuries. Some add to their income by sell-
leading to death from battle, disease, and ing handicrafts or performing for tourists.

2 | ABORIGINAL PEOPLES
Indigenous groups in
several Asian countries
suffer from discrimination
in their native lands. Here,
a group of Montagnards,
2
an ethnic minority fleeing
76
repression in Vietnam in
2004, is shown arriving at
83
the airport in Phnom
Penh, Cambodia. (AFP/
3
-2
Getty Images)
01
03
#
us
Many aboriginal peoples struggle for in
from their rural homes to the cities. Such
jo
recognition and support from their govern- isolation, repression, and dislocation not
ments. The indigenous peoples of central only cause hardship for indigenous peo-
up
Vietnam, called the Montagnards, still face ples, but also result in a loss of cultural and
ro
resistance from the Vietnamese govern- ethnic diversity that would otherwise en-
ment in response to their requests for reli- rich the countries of modern Asia and the
G
gious freedom and the return of their an- Pacific.

p
cient lands. Disappearing homelands and a

p
lack of recognized rights have forced large See also: Colonization; Laos; Maori;
sa
numbers of the 8 million Mons, living in Refugees; Taiwan; Vietnam.

Myanmar (Burma) and Thailand, to become
t
ha
refugees sheltered by neither country. In an FURTHER READING

attempt to improve standards of living for Nicholas, Colin, and Rajeen Singh, eds. Indigenous Peo-
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the dozens of indigenous peoples living in ples of Asia: Many Peoples, One Struggle. Bangkok,
Laos, who constitute an estimated 70 per- Thailand: Asia Indigenous Peoples Pact, 1996.
s
cent of the population, the Laotian govern- Wilds, Mary C. Southeast Asia. Indigenous Peoples of
ba
ment in 2001 began deporting citizens the World. San Diego: Lucent Books, 2002.
Ab
Q
Afghanistan
A.
A country in south-central Asia, once home to thriving Muslim empires but plagued by
political and religious civil wars in the late twentieth century. From ancient times,
Afghanistan’s location along trade routes connecting Southeast Asia, Europe, and the
Middle East has made it a political battleground.

A F G H A N I S TA N | 3
Although Afghanistan claimed indepen- foreign relations, and economic develop-

dence in 1747, ethnic and religious differ- ment within the country, keeping Afghani-
ences among its people have led to long- stan neutral during World War II (1939–
standing conflicts. In the last quarter of the 1945) and the Cold War that followed
twentieth century, a series of upheavals— between the Soviet Union and the West.
2
prolonged civil war, rule by the radical Mus- During his reign, Afghanistan reformed its
76
lim Taliban, and occupation by foreign educational policies and relaxed restric-
troops—left Afghanistan in a state of physical tions on women. In 1965, the Grand Assem-
83
and economic devastation. These events bly, the Loya Jirga, introduced a new consti-
have bequeathed the Afghan people pov- tution that created 300 seats in a bicameral
3
-2
erty, hardship, and ongoing religious warfare. legislature, making Afghanistan a constitu-
tional monarchy. Ties between Afghanistan
01
PREMODERN HISTORY and the Soviet Union strengthened as the
03
Afghanistan’s position along the Silk Afghan economy relied on the Soviet Union
Road—the trade route linking China, India, as a trade partner.
and Europe—brought contact with various In 1973, prime minister Daud Khan led a
#
civilizations and religions, including Bud- coup to depose Zahir Shah and declared
us
dhism, Hinduism, and Islam. From the early himself president of the Republic of Afghani-
sixteenth to the eighteenth century, Af- stan. The Afghanistan Communist Party, sup-
ghanistan was divided between two em- in
ported by the Soviet Union, overthrew Daud
jo
pires: the Safavid dynasty of the Persians Khan in 1978. Unrest followed as Afghan citi-
and the Mughal dynasty established by zens feared that Communist policies would
up
Babur (r. 1526–1530), a descendant of the undermine the country’s traditional Islamic
ro
Mongol emperors Timur (r. ca. 1383–1405) values. Late in 1979, Soviet troops invaded
and Genghis Khan (r. 1206–1227). Afghanistan to support the Communist
G
Movements for independence began government. In response, Afghan rebels

p
during the early eighteenth century. Ahmad called mujahideen (“fighters” in Arabic)
p
Shah Durrani, crowned king in 1747, unified formed a military alliance to oppose the So-
sa
Afghanistan and established a Muslim em- viet presence. The mujahideen, aided by
pire that stretched from northern India to arms and financial assistance from the
t
ha
the Arabian Sea, surpassed only by the Ot- United States, eventually forced Soviet
toman Empire in size and importance. Dur- troops to withdraw from Afghanistan in 1989.
iW
ing the nineteenth century, Britain seized Civil wars between opposing political parties
control over much of Afghanistan in a series continued, however, and in 1992, the mujahi-
s
of Anglo-Afghan conflicts. In 1919, the Af- deen forced the resignation of the Commu-
ba
ghan ruler Amanollah (r. 1919–1929) re- nist president, Mohammad Najibullah.
Ab
stored his country’s independence from the In the two years that followed, Afghani-
British Empire in the Third Anglo-Afghan stan was effectively controlled by groups of
War. He simultaneously recognized the militia leaders who acted as warlords over
Q
Bolshevik regime that had been established their territories. The economy suffered, and
A.
in the Soviet Union in 1917, paving the way millions of Afghans whom war had deprived
for relations between the two countries. of their homes and livelihoods sought shel-
ter in refugee camps in Iran and Pakistan. In
MODERN TENSIONS 1994, in an attempt to bring stability, a po-
King Zahir Shah (r. 1933–1973) fostered trade, litical faction called the Taliban (Persian for

4 | A F G H A N I S TA N
“students”) began to restore order in south- Hamid Karzai the first elected president of
ern Afghanistan. Most of its members were Afghanistan.
religious students who adhered to conser- Despite steps toward democracy, Af-
vative Islamic values. Supported by the ghanistan faces several challenges in the
Pashtun, an ethnic group living in southern twenty-first century. Tensions between the
2
Afghanistan, as well as other conservative various ethnic groups and differences
76
Islamic groups outside the country, the Tali- between the Sunni and Shia, two branches
ban eventually gained control of the capital, of Islam, continue to pose barriers to social
83
Kabul. By 2001, the Taliban ruled all of Af- harmony. The nation must cope with wide-
ghanistan except a small region in the spread poverty, continued fighting among
3
-2
north, which was held by a collection of mu- regional warlords, and weak communica-
jahideen called the Northern Alliance. tion, economic, and educational networks.
01
Resistance to Taliban rule, however, came Afghanistan’s most financially profitable ex-
03
from within and without. Other ethnic port remains opium, a sign of the fragile,
groups living in Afghanistan, including the unstable nature of the Afghan state. It re-
Hazara, Uzbek, and Tajik, resented Pashtun mains strategically important as the inter-
#
domination of the government. The Taliban mediary for oil pipelines that connect Cen-
us
also earned international censure for its tral Asia to the Indian Ocean and because
policies of destroying non-Islamic religious Afghanistan’s stability is important to its
artifacts, denying employment or educa- in
neighbors in Pakistan, Iran, and Central
jo
tion to women, and harboring militant Is- Asia.
lamic groups such as al-Qaeda, headed by
up
Saudi Arabian terrorist Osama bin Laden. See also: Pakistan; Refugees; Religion;
ro
After bin Laden engineered terrorist at- Taliban.

tacks against the American cities of New
G
York and Washington, DC, on September 11, FURTHER READING

p
2001, U.S. troops joined with the Northern Einfeld, Jann, ed. Afghanistan. Detroit: Greenhaven
p
Alliance to invade Afghanistan and over- Press/Thomson-Gale, 2005.

sa
throw the Taliban. Emadi, Hafizullah. Culture and Customs of Afghanistan.

Following the fall of the Taliban regime,
t
Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2005.

ha
transitional governments worked to re- Gritzner, Jeffrey A. Afghanistan. 2nd ed. New York: Chel-
build Afghanistan and draft a new consti- sea House, 2006.
iW
tution. In 2004, democratic elections, in Streissguth, Thomas, ed. Afghanistan. Farmington Hills,
which women were allowed to vote, made MI: Greenhaven, 2006.
s
ba
Ab
Agriculture
Q
The practice of raising crops and animals for food remains the main occupation and
A.
source of economic production for the majority of Asians. Since 1500, rapid population
growth in Asian countries has made it necessary for farmers to improve agricultural
productivity and find ways to further increase crop yields and land output. To support
the ever-growing demand for food, farmers in Asia and the Pacific have focused on
increasing the pool of potential agricultural workers, bringing new lands under

A G R I C U LT U R E | 5
cultivation, and advancing agricultural technology. In the twentieth century, Asia’s entry
into the global marketplace triggered increasing commercialization of agriculture, which
turned farming into a profit-driven business and greatly changed the traditional
agricultural practices that had been employed for hundreds of years.
2
TRADITIONAL FARMING grow potatoes, barley, and buckwheat at
76
For centuries, the first inhabitants of Asia high elevations, while the Apatanis of
and the Pacific lived at a subsistence level, northeast India raised fish in the water of
83
meaning they rarely produced more food their rice paddies to round out their diets.
than families or communities needed to Pacific Islanders have also adapted to
3
-2
survive. Some cultures, like the aboriginal their climates. For example, the Maori of
peoples of Australia, relied entirely on hunt- New Zealand traditionally raised cattle and
01
ing and gathering for their food sources sheep in addition to crops such as sweet
03
and never depended on domesticated potatoes, and inhabitants of the Marshall Is-
plants or animals. lands, part of Micronesia, keep chicken and
Other groups used slash-and-burn agri- pigs in addition to living on seafood, coco-
#
cultural techniques, clearing forested land, nut, breadfruit, and papaya.
us
burning cut timber and dry vegetation, and However, for most of South, East, and
then planting and harvesting a variety of Southeast Asia, the staple crop historically
crops. In one to ten years, when the land in
has been rice. Rice cultivation was and re-
jo
ceased to be fertile, farmers moved on to a mains the primary use of the fertile plains
new section of forest, leaving the depleted and valleys stretching from the Indian sub-
up
land to recover slowly. Some peoples, such continent, through Manchuria, Inner Mon-
ro
as hill tribes in parts of Laos, Thailand, and golia, and the countries of Southeast Asia,
Vietnam, still follow these traditional farm- to the islands of Japan, Indonesia, and the
G
ing practices. However, in many parts of Philippines. While the northern regions of
p
Asia, contact with or colonization by Euro- Asia grew varieties of dry rice (sorghum
p
pean settlers, which happened at various and millet), in Asia’s more tropical southern
sa
times, significantly changed the ways in regions, which were subject to substantial
which agriculture was handled.
t
rainfall from seasonal monsoons, wet-rice

ha
cultures prevailed by 1500.

Types of Agriculture
iW
Asia’s inhabitants have learned to adapt to Rice Cultivation

their geography, varying crops and agricul- Lowland or wet-rice cultivation requires a
s
tural practices according to the region. great deal of labor. Rice fields or paddies
ba
Populations living in the steppes and might be developed in existing lowlands or

Ab
deserts of northern China and the Tibetan formed by creating hillside terraces. After
plateau traditionally relied on animal herd- clearing and leveling the land, farmers tra-
ing for their livelihoods; many peoples liv- ditionally used a simple plow, in some cases
Q
ing on the Mongolian steppes herded drawn by water buffalo, to prepare the field,
A.
sheep, while groups like the Yolmo in the then dragged a log over the paddy to
Himalayan regions of Tibet raised yaks or smooth the surface. They then built a dike
cows in addition to tending crops like around the paddy, which was flooded using
wheat, potatoes, turnips, or corn. The either irrigation or rainwater. Animal ma-
Sherpa in the Himalayas of Nepal learned to nure and plant residue served as fertilizer.

6 | A G R I C U LT U R E
Wet-rice cultivation, as
shown here in Bali,
Indonesia, is the most
common form of
agriculture in Asia.
2
Terracing—creating a
76
series of small individual
fields on the slopes of
83
hills and mountains—
3
allows farmers to grow
-2
crops on terrain that is
difficult to plant by
01
traditional methods.
03
(D.R. Austin/Taxi/Getty
Images)
#
us
Rice seeds are first planted in nursery beds, 4,000 years, the term agriculture refers
where the growing seedlings are tended for in
specifically to rice culture. From ancient
jo
one to two months. Seedlings are trans- times, China was the most technologically
planted by hand to the flooded paddies; the advanced among Asia’s societies.
up
water level must be carefully monitored to

ro
nourish but not drown the plants. Canals or Developments in China

hand-watering provide irrigation. When the Although the basic tools remained simple—
G
rice plants are mature, workers drain the generally iron plows and sickles for plowing
p
paddy of water and harvest the grain. After and harvesting and mortars for dehusking
p
harvesting, workers thresh the rice to re- grains—Chinese farmers proved innovative
sa
move the hull, then winnow the remainder in their use of land. They developed crop
to separate the grain from the chaff. Varie- rotation, practiced multiple cropping (fit-
t
ha
ties of rice grown in this manner are called ting two or even three plantings into a
lowland or wet rice. In contrast, dry rice, growing season), and continually brought
iW
grown in Asia’s northern river plains and at even sandy or arid lands under cultivation.
higher elevations, does not depend on irri- By the eleventh century, farmers in South
s
gation and produces lower yields than wet and Central China were growing a type of
ba
rice. In part, this is because wet-rice regions rice originally from Champa, a region in
Ab
will often harvest at least two rice crops per Vietnam, that could mature in anywhere
year, supplemented by vegetable and fruit from thirty to ninety days, thus allowing
cultivation in the dry months of the year. multiple crops.
Q
To this day, around 90 percent of the China also provides an example of how
A.
world’s rice supply is grown and consumed foreign contact changed agricultural prac-
in Asia. Rice is such an important part of the tices within the country. Wheat was tradi-
Asian diet that, in many languages, the tionally the main crop of the regions north
word for rice is synonymous with food. In of the Tsinling Mountains, while farmers in
China, where farming records stretch back the south grew rice. In the sixteenth century,

A G R I C U LT U R E | 7
however, trade contacts with the Americas French Indochina. The Spanish-controlled
introduced new crops such as corn, pota- Philippines also became a major center of
toes, sweet potatoes, and peanuts. These plantation agriculture, producing pineapple
crops could be grown in areas inhospitable and abaca, a plant used to make Manila rope.
to wheat or rice, expanding the lands used The tropical climate, reliable monsoon
2
for farming and increasing food production rainfall, and yearlong growing season of
76
to support China’s growing population. these regions, in addition to the availability
of largely uncultivated and unoccupied
83
COLONIAL PLANTATION SYSTEMS lands, made them seem ideal for European
After 1498, when Portuguese navigator exploitation. Dutch, British, French, and
3
-2
Vasco de Gama sailed from Europe to India, Spanish plantations fed Western industries
European contacts with India and then the with rubber (from trees initially trans-
01
rest of Asia led to vast social changes, planted from Brazil), sugar, palm and coco-
03
which had implications on the agriculture of nut oil, kapok, tea, and coffee.
many regions. While Portuguese merchants Plantations consisted of large estates
dominated Europe’s trade with Asia in the controlled by a single owner, most often a
#
sixteenth century, by the seventeenth cen- European, sometimes a Chinese merchant
us
tury both Great Britain and the Dutch Re- or a member of the local elite. Indentured
public had launched efforts to gain control or hired laborers grew a single commer-
of the lucrative spice trade. France entered in
cial crop that was normally exported
jo
the competition soon after. Trade contacts after some preliminary processing at the
turned into colonizing efforts as foreign plantation. These laborers typically were
up
powers attempted to control the sources of landless local residents or immigrants

ro
such valuable crops as cotton, indigo (a from India, China, and other overpopulated
plant that produces a blue dye), sugar, and, Southeast Asian islands working to pay off
G
later, tea and opium. debts.

p
The Dutch were the first to develop plan- In Australia and New Zealand, British set-
p
tations in the East Indies, modern-day Indo- tlers established huge livestock ranches to
sa
nesia, in the eighteenth century. By the early raise sheep and cattle, at the expense of the
nineteenth century Dutch colonists required aboriginal peoples, who were removed to
t
ha
local farmers to grow cash crops as a form reservations. In other parts of Asia, too,
of labor tax. Farmers were required to con- plantation farming resulted in loss of land
iW
vert wet-rice lands into plantations that pro- for owners of smaller farms and a poverty-
duced sugar and coffee for export to Eu- level existence for plantation laborers.
s
rope (leading Europeans to refer to coffee

ba
as “Java”). The Dutch also extended the cul- MODERN DEVELOPMENTS

Ab
tivation of cash crops (eventually rubber) In the twentieth century, agriculture contin-
into previously uncultivated marginal lands. ued to offer a primary occupation for many
By the 1850s, British plantations in India inhabitants of Asia and the Pacific. About
Q
cultivated tea, cotton, and indigo. Also in the 60 percent of the population of South Asia
A.
nineteenth century, the British extended currently works in agriculture. In Cambodia

plantation agriculture into Sri Lanka and and Laos, over three-quarters of the popu-
British Malaysia, which became major pro- lation make their living from farming, while
ducers of rubber. These British faced com- in China and Thailand, agricultural workers
petition from large rubber plantations in compose half the work force. Rice is the

8 | A G R I C U LT U R E
TURNING POINT
Green Revolution
2
During the 1960s and 1970s, many South- resist insects and disease, ripen quickly, and
76
east Asian countries, including India, Paki- survive storage. When the project met with
stan, Sri Lanka, Taiwan, and the Philippines, success in Mexico, it was introduced into
83
significantly increased their agricultural out- India and then elsewhere in Asia. Between
3
put through the use of new hybrid seeds, 1961 and 1985, increasing cereal production
-2
better irrigation, chemical fertilizers, and in developing countries fed millions of peo-
other new farm technologies. This Green ple, prevented famine, improved nutrition,
01
Revolution made countries that had for- and supported growing populations.
03
merly imported grain able to grow more However, the Green Revolution also pre-
food supplies, thus reducing starvation, im- sented problems for farmers in Asia and the
#
proving regional living standards, and creat- Pacific. Small farmers have lost their land
ing surplus wheat and rice for export. While and their jobs due to mechanization on
us
the new practices generally increased crop large-scale industrial farms. Dependence on
yields, the Green Revolution has been fol- single crops can be dangerous if a crop fails,
lowed by concerns about cost, the fate of
in
which happens when a seed cannot adapt to
jo
small farmers, and potentially harmful ef- local pests or growing conditions. The use of
up
fects on the environment. chemicals and pesticides is costly and

The Green Revolution first began in the causes pollution, while the use of fossil fuels
ro
1940s as a collaboration between the Mexi- such as petroleum to power farm machinery
G
can government and charitable organiza- continues to deplete a limited resource. As a

tions in the United States to improve farm- response to these problems, global organ-
p
ing practices in Mexico. Leaders of the Green izations in support of agriculture have
p
Revolution built irrigation systems, used worked since the 1980s to develop more
sa
pesticides and synthetic fertilizers, and sup- sustainable approaches to farming and to in-
t
plied farmers with seeds that were geneti- volve local farmers in solutions.
ha
cally engineered to produce higher yields,

iW
most common food crop, claiming anywhere parts of Asia, agriculture in rural areas re-
s
from one-fourth to one-half of the arable mains a small-scale, family affair. The inabil-
ba
land in South and Southeast Asia. Wheat is ity of small farmers to compete with the in-
Ab
the dominant crop in Central Asia, Afghani- dustrial farms presented an increasing
stan, and Pakistan, while soybeans, corn, concern in the twentieth century, leading
barley, and dry rice are other staples. A wide several Asian governments, beginning with
Q
variety of fruits and vegetables flourish in India, to support a movement that became
A.
Asia’s tropical regions, but difficulties in known as the Green Revolution.

storage and transportation often limit the Although the use of high-yielding seed
profitability of these items as exports. varieties, chemical fertilizers, and other ag-
Although commercial agriculture, first ricultural technology significantly increased
established under colonial rule, continues in levels of food production, the Green Revo-

ART AND ARCHITECTURE | 9
lution did not lead to agricultural equity, Developing sustainable agricultural prac-
nor did it eliminate hunger. In countries tices that support local populations, balance
where the new technology was introduced the health and welfare of human and animal
along with a redistribution of land, as in populations, and ensure the preservation of
Taiwan, Vietnam, and China, or where the environment as a whole presents a sig-
2
farmers were able to exploit previously nificant, but not impossible, challenge for
76
uncultivated lands, as in Malaysia and Asian farmers of the new century.
India, the new efforts led to considerable
83
success. Since using the new seeds and See also: China; Colonization; Economic
fertilizers was expensive, however, large Development and Trade; Environmental
3
-2
landowners rather than small farmers en- Issues; Great Leap Forward; India;
joyed most of the benefits of the Green Philippines; Society; Technology and
01
Revolution. For example, in the Philip- Inventions.
03
pines, owners of large estates increased
their income using the new agricultural FURTHER READING
techniques, but among the 70 percent of
#
Boomgaard, Peter, and David Henley, eds. Smallholders
the rural population who did not own land, and Stockbreeders: Histories of Foodcrop and Live-
us
poverty actually increased. stock Farming in Southeast Asia. Leiden, Nether-
In the twenty-first century, agriculture lands: Kitlv Press, 2005.
continues to provide the mainstay of many in
Chapman, Graham P., and Kathleen M. Baker, eds. The
jo
Asian economies. These farmers try to ad- Changing Geography of Asia. New York: Routledge,
just to changes in worldwide food de- 2005.
up
mands, including a slowing demand for Ingco, Merlinda D., ed. Agriculture, Trade, and the WTO
ro
wheat and rice, prevalent since the 1990s, in South Asia. Washington, DC: World Bank, 2003.
and increasing demand for fruits, vegeta- Ludden, David. The New Cambridge History of India: An
G
bles, meat, dairy, and fish. However, since Agrarian History of South Asia. New York: Cambridge
p
farming yields only a subsistence-level in- University Press, 1999.

p
come in many areas, fighting poverty Marten, Gerald G. Traditional Agriculture in Southeast
sa
among Asia’s rural farmers remains an on- Asia: A Human Ecology Perspective. Boulder, CO:
going concern for many governments.
t
Westview, 1986.
ha
iW
Art and Architecture

s
ba
Since 1500, the visual, performing, and musical arts of Asia and the Pacific have evolved
Ab
into many varied and distinct styles that incorporate social and religious values while
balancing local cultural traditions with outside influences. Similarly, the architecture in
many parts of Asia and the Pacific reflects the ambitions of regional rulers and dynasties as
Q
well as cultural exchanges over the centuries. Modern Asian art and architecture combine
A.
local traditions with responses to Western influences and the demands of functionality.
Although architecture and the arts vary including Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam, and
by region, they have some common fea- native shamanism furnish motifs, stories,
tures across Asia and the Pacific. Religions and a purpose for decorative arts and

10 | ART AND ARCHITECTURE
ART AND ARCHITECTURE
CA. 1420 Imperial palace in Beijing built on 1857 Construction by Burmese king Mindon
ancient Chinese principles of design Min of the Mandalay Palace as a locus for
2
imperial power
1509 Death of Shen Zhou, Chinese painter who
76
exemplified the tradition of the “literati” 1865–1867 Restoration of Kyongbok Palace in
83
or educated artists Seoul, containing a throne hall that is the
largest wooden building in Korea
1599–1614 Roman Catholic Church of San
3
-2
Augustin built by Portuguese colonials in 1909 Construction by a British architect of the
Manila, Philippines Toksu Palace in Seoul, Korea, now the
01
National Museum
CA. 1631 Construction begun by Indian emperor
03
Shah Jahan on the Taj Mahal in Agra, 1957 Construction begun on Opera House in
India, as a monument to his wife Sydney, Australia, a landmark of modern
#
architecture
1648 Construction complete on Potala Palace in
us
Lhasa, Tibet, incorporating Indian and 1976 Tomb of Chinese Communist leader Mao
Nepalese styles with decorative motifs of Zedong modeled after Lincoln Memorial
Tibetan Buddhism in in Washington, DC
jo
CA. 1687 Garden of Pure Light, north of Beijing, 1992 Hindu-Buddhist temples at Angkor in
up
built by Italian Jesuit missionaries for the Cambodia declared a World Heritage Site,
Chinese emperor, blending Chinese reflecting global efforts to preserve the
ro
elements with European rococo motifs artistic and architectural history of Asia
G
CA. 1745 Birth of Korean painter Kim Hong-do, 2002 Minaret of Jam, a pillar in western
p
who introduced the lower classes as Afghanistan devoted to the Islamic

p
subjects for Korean art religion, declared a World Heritage Site in

sa
Danger, bringing worldwide attention to

1782 Grand Palace in Bangkok built by Thai
t
the need for preservation

ha
king Rama I as a monument to the glory

of the Chakri dynasty
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drama. Music, dance, and theater offer en- broad and diverse geographic and cultural
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tertainment or celebrate important reli- region. While colonial influences, especially

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gious or social rituals. Public buildings serve from the West, have left their mark on Asian
the purpose of glorifying imperial authority art, Western scholars have partnered with
as well as supporting urban life, and reli- Asian colleagues to lead a modern global
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gious monuments provide a focal point for movement to preserve the architectural
A.
worship, pilgrimage, and prayer. Folk art heritage of Asia’s many lands.
and music often preserve the traditional
stories and values of an indigenous or na- CENTRAL ASIA
tive people, while shared artistic styles The development of the arts in Central
serve to unite groups across a uniquely Asia offers an example of the exchange of

The Taj Mahal at Agra,

India, built by Emperor
Shah Jehan from 1632 to
1648 as a memorial and
mausoleum for his wife,
2
Mumtaz, is one of the
76
most recognizable
buildings in the world.
83
The Taj Mahal is perhaps
the finest example of the
3
-2
architecture of the Islamic
Mughal Empire. (Joseph
01
Van Os/The Image Bank/
03
Getty Images)
#
us
cultural influences. Kazakhstan, Turkmeni- During the decades of Soviet influence in
stan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, and in
the twentieth century, the pictorial arts dis-
jo
Afghanistan preserved a tradition of folk played a natural realism, though stylized
arts, including music and dance, alongside motifs featuring animals and vegetation
up
the arts inspired first by Buddhism and continued to appear in jewelry and pottery.
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then, beginning in the seventh century, by People living in Afghanistan and Bhutan still
Islam. The Islamic arts in these regions in- produce fine tapestries, woven silks, and
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cluded ceramic works, metalwork, wood- embroideries prized throughout the world.
p
work, and illuminated manuscripts. Irides- Tibetan metalworkers have likewise devel-
p
cent glass and Arabic calligraphy brought oped their skills over centuries, as seen in
sa
colorful, graceful touches to artistic pieces. the decorations of the famous Jokhang
The arts in areas of Mongolia, Tibet, Temple in Lhasa.
t
ha
Nepal, and Bhutan, in contrast, more often

reflect a Buddhist inheritance. Motifs such Religious Architecture
iW
as dragons, lions, and the lotus could be While most of the ordinary buildings in
found in decorations across Mongolia and Central Asia were historically made of
s
Tibet. Dance and theater are also important brick baked in the sun, people reserved
ba
to the religious and community life of their finest architectural efforts for reli-
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dwellers in Central Asia. gious purposes. Buddhist temples and

monasteries were typically built with a
Decorative Arts shrine or stupa set within a courtyard sur-
Q
In many parts of Central Asia, decorative rounded by residences and other build-
A.
arts developed to a high degree. Artists liv- ings. The temples were decorated with
ing in the Emirate of Bukhara, a state ruled wooden carvings on doorways, paintings
between 1747 and 1920 by emirs based in and frescoes on ceilings and walls, sculp-
Bukhara, Uzbekistan, created carpets, em- tures of terracotta or stucco, and painted
broidery with gold thread, and other textiles. banners. The Potala Palace in Lhasa, Tibet,

completed in 1648 to house Tibet’s spiri- India

tual leader, the Dalai Lama, incorporated Indian art and architecture reached a pinna-
Indian, Nepalese, and Chinese architectural cle of achievement under the rule of the
influences into its elaborate design. In Af- Mughal dynasty (1526–1739), a series of
ghanistan, intricate decorations cover the Muslim rulers who governed most of north-
2
Minaret of Jam, a brick pillar 215 feet (65 ern India. The Emperor Humayun, returning
76
m) high erected around the twelfth cen- from exile in Persia in 1555, brought with
tury to celebrate the spread of Islam. The him Persian painters who developed a new
83
designs include geometric patterns, callig- style of painting, used to illustrate manu-
raphy, and verses from the Koran, the Is- scripts (especially royal chronicles) and
3
-2
lamic holy text. otherwise capture the life of the emperor
and his court. Also in the sixteenth century,
01
SOUTH ASIA painters in Rajasthan, an area of western
03
Many artistic themes and elements are India under mostly Hindu rulers, developed
shared across the South Asian countries of a style of miniature painting that explored
India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, and Sri Lanka, themes of love, heroism in war, and other
#
among them the close link between art and human emotions. Rajput miniatures were
us
religion. Stories relating the birth of Bud- popular into the eighteenth century.
dha, the founding figure of Buddhism, or re- The Mughal period also witnessed a revi-
counting the epic tales of Hindu mythology in
val of Islamic architecture, distinguished by
jo
have historically been the most popular brick and mortar domes, minarets, circular
subjects for art, music, and theater. arches, vaulted halls, and central courtyards.
up
Since Islam forbids the representation of

ro
Music and Dance Traditions human or animal forms in sculpture, Mughal-

South Asians share a love of the performing era architects decorated their walls with bor-
G
arts. Among the many types of dance prac- ders of Arabic calligraphy and inlays of
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ticed in India, a classical form that devel- glazed tiles, marble, and semiprecious stones
p
oped in the seventeenth century is the ka- forming geometric and floral designs. Shah
sa
thak or dance-drama, which used dance, Jahan (r. 1628–1658) commissioned the most
music, and mime to act out the stories of splendid court projects, including a fortress-
t
ha
characters from Hindu epics like the Mahab- palace at Delhi and the Taj Mahal, a mauso-
harata. In the kandyan, first developed in leum for his wife and his tomb at his death.
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the sixteenth century and now the national

dance of Sri Lanka, dancers bedecked with EAST ASIA
s
silver and ivory dazzle viewers with their The arts of China, Korea, and Japan are
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swift, energetic movements. Several mod- linked by Buddhist practices as well as

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ern forms of ancient dance among the shared languages and political connections.
Pashtun in Pakistan require dancers to exe- Chinese art and architecture have had a
cute gymnastic feats with swords or, among wide influence throughout Asia, and for
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the Mashud, loaded rifles. Women perform centuries Chinese arts such as porcelain
A.
the giddha, a traditional dance celebrating were highly prized in the West.
the harvest in India, Pakistan, and the Pun-
jab. In Bangladesh, a type of folk theater China
called jatra retells stories from Muslim his- China’s prosperity during the Ming dynasty
tory and Persian legend. (1368–1644) led to many achievements in

Young Indian women

perform a traditional
dance from the Punjab, a
region of far
northwestern India.
2
Dance is a popular form
76
of cultural and creative
expression in many South
83
and Southeast Asian
3
societies. (Narinder Nami/
-2
Stringer/Getty Images)
01
03
#
us
the arts, as well as impressive architecture. peans began to influence Chinese art styles.
Around 1420, the emperor moved to a res- in
Around 1687, the Qing emperor commis-
jo
idence in Peking (now Beijing) called the sioned a garden complex north of Beijing
Forbidden City, an imperial complex in- called the Garden of Pure Light. The Italian
up
cluding temples, state halls, and living Jesuit missionaries employed to design the
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quarters for the enormous royal house- garden blended traditional Chinese ele-
hold. The symmetrical layout of the com- ments with motifs of rococo art, popular in
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plex reflected the ancient Chinese design Europe at the time.

p
practice of feng shui, while the gold-tiled Though Qing architecture was known for
p
roofs symbolized the emperor’s wealth its lavish decoration and ornamentation,
sa
and authority. The emperor alone had full Chinese architecture during the twentieth
access to the 178 acres (72 ha) of the century became very utilitarian and bor-
t
ha
compound. rowed even more heavily from Western in-

Ming artists excelled in decorative arts fluences. The tomb of Chinese Communist
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such as pottery, bronzes, sculptures of jade, leader Mao Zedong (d. 1976) in Tiananmen
ivory, and wood, lacquerware, furniture de- Square, Beijing, bears a close resemblance
s
sign, and textiles. Painting and calligraphy to the Lincoln Memorial, dedicated to the
ba
drew a series of talented students, among nineteenth-century president of the United

Ab
them Shen Zhou (d. 1509), who set a prece- States, which stands in Washington, DC.
dent in Chinese painting with his delicate
landscapes. Zhou exemplified the ideal of Korea
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the Chinese “literati,” cultured scholars pro- Korean art is notable for its simplicity and
A.
ficient in all the arts. sense of harmony with nature. During the
During the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), Choson dynasty (1392–1910), ideals in-
Chinese artists became internationally fa- spired by the teachings of the ancient Chi-
mous for their jade carvings and porcelain nese philosopher Confucius came to re-
work. This was also the period when Euro- place Buddhist themes in art. Choson art

TURNING POINT
Taj Mahal
2
Located in Agra, India, the Taj Mahal is a domes or kiosks. Inside, an octagonal cham-
76
magnificent mausoleum built by the Mughal ber holds the monuments of both Mumtaz
emperor Shah Jahan (r. 1628–1658) to house Mahal and Shah Jahan, who was buried next
83
the remains of his wife, Mumtaz Mahal, who to her after his death. Inlaid designs of semi-
3
died in 1631. Construction on the Taj Mahal precious gems in the pattern of plants and
-2
lasted twenty-two years and employed over flowers cover the walls, with borders of Ara-
20,000 workers. The Taj Mahal is considered bic calligraphy quoting passages from the
01
one of the finest architectural achievements Koran, the Islamic sacred scripture. A red
03
of the Mughal era (1526–1739) and one of the sandstone mosque stands to one side of the
most beautiful buildings in the world. tomb, with an identical building on the op-
#
Fronted by an entrance gateway and an posite side to give the complex a sense of
elaborate garden, the mausoleum, made of balance and symmetry.
us
white marble, stands on a high marble slab The unique style of the Taj Mahal com-
marked at each corner by a 130-foot (40-m) bines elements of Persian, Central Asian,
tower called a minaret. Each of the four fa-
in
and Islamic architecture. Thousands of visi-
jo
cades of the tomb contains an arch 108 feet tors come to Agra each year to view this
up
(33 m) high, with the whole surmounted by monument to a historic love affair and the
a huge bulb-shaped dome and four smaller glory of the Mughal dynasty.
ro
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during the seventeenth and eighteenth Japan

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centuries showed attention to the land- Japanese art shows the impact of Zen Bud-
p
scape and daily life of Korea, as seen in the dhism in its deep attention to nature as a ve-
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works of Kim Hong-do (b. ca. 1745), who hicle for the spiritual world. Drama, one of
made Korean commoners the subjects of Japan’s most sophisticated art forms, en-
t
ha
his masterful paintings. joyed a unique evolution during the Toku-

Korean architecture exhibited a unique gawa period (1603–1867). Kabuki theater,
iW
style of bracketed columns, as seen in the which combined stylized music, dance, and
Kyongbok Palace in Seoul, rebuilt between mime with elaborate costumes and staging,
s
1865 and 1867. The throne hall within the became popular as a daring new genre
ba
palace is still the largest wooden building wherein actors routinely engaged with
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in Korea. Western influences made their spectators during the performance. In

way into Korea at the turn of the twenti- contrast, Noh theater, developed in the four-
eth century in projects such as Toksu Pal- teenth century, remained a more courtly,
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ace, completed by a British architect in ceremonial type of drama. In the late seven-
A.
1909. Traditional Korean art and architec- teenth century, audiences become en-
ture, which declined during the Japanese chanted with puppet theater, called joruri, in
occupation (1910–1945), enjoyed a revival which a story was chanted to the accompa-
in the later twentieth century. niment of a stringed instrument.

SOUTHEAST ASIA Western influence in Asia. Among South-

The visual arts of Southeast Asia frequently east Asia’s most notable recent architectu-
borrow artistic themes from Buddhist and ral achievements is the Petronas Towers
Hindu epics but also incorporate native ani- skyscraper in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, once
mistic traditions, such as a belief in magical the world’s tallest building at 1,483 feet
2
figures and ancestral heroes. Fantastic (452 m), and the innovative urban archi-
76
creatures such as demons, dragons, flying tecture of Singapore.
horses, and winged maidens add a lively,
83
energetic element to the decorative arts. AUSTRALIA AND THE PACIFIC
Music plays an important role in ceremonies In many parts of the South Pacific, contact
3
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ranging from community festivals to family with the West proved disastrous to native
events and also accompanies the perform- art traditions as missionaries destroyed arti-
01
ing arts in both popular folk and imperial facts they considered offensive or inappro-
03
court traditions. priate. At the same time, European visitors
The most impressive post-1500 architec- eagerly consumed art they admired—for in-
tural accomplishments in Southeast Asia stance, the green pottery of Fiji, the woven
#
are the Buddhist temples of Myanmar and mats of Samoa, and the intricate wood
us
Thailand, and the mosques of Southeast sculptures found throughout Polynesia. Tat-
Asia. Other distinguished architectural tooing was a prized art form on many is-
achievements are the mortar-covered and in
lands, as seen among the Maori of New Zea-
jo
gold-guilded wooden palaces built to land. Sculptures in stone also expressed the
house rulers, their extended families, and talents of local artists; the massive human
up
members of the ruling elite. A notable ex- figures found on Easter Island weigh up to
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ample was Mandalay Palace in Burma (now 20 tons (18 metric tons).
Myanmar), built in 1857 for King Mindon The pioneering spirit of the Europeans
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Min, a complex 1.25 miles (2.2 km) long on who settled Australia in the eighteenth cen-
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each side and surrounded by a brick wall 25 tury later expressed itself in the innovative
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feet (8 m) high. modern architecture of the continent. Two

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Architecture throughout Southeast Asia world-famous examples in Sydney are the

shows the blending of many influences, re- opera house, begun in 1957 and completed
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cording a long history of cultural ex- in 1973, and the stadium built for the 2000
change. The Grand Palace in Bangkok, Olympics, both of which broke with existing
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Thailand, originally built in 1782 by King architectural conventions.

Rama I along traditional lines, gained a The preservation of the artistic and archi-
s
new hall in 1882 that combined Italian Re- tectural accomplishments of Asia and the
ba
naissance designs with the distinct spires Pacific is an issue that has gained world-
Ab
and gables of Thai styles. Vietnamese art wide attention. The United Nations Educa-
and architecture likewise adopted Euro- tional, Scientific, and Cultural Organization
pean and Chinese influences, while the Phi- (UNESCO) strives to protect important
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lippines developed a blend of Muslim, Chi- architectural areas and monuments consid-
A.
nese, and European architectural styles. In ered World Heritage Sites. Angkor, a
Manila, the Roman Catholic Church of San twelfth-century complex in Cambodia, was
Augustin, built by the Portuguese between declared a World Heritage Site in 1992, and
1599 and 1614, stands as a monument to the Minaret of Jam was declared a World

Heritage Site in Danger in 2002, in response FURTHER READING

to concerns that continual warfare in Af- D’Alleva, Anne. Arts of the Pacific Islands. New York:
ghanistan is destroying the country’s rich Harry N. Abrams, 1998.
artistic history. These World Heritage Sites Doherty, Charles. Far Eastern Art. New York: Facts On
are protected by international treaty, an ef- File, 1997.
2
fort to preserve the artistic treasures of Geoffroy-Schneiter, Berenice. Asian Art: India, China,
76
Asia and the Pacific for the benefit of the Japan. Paris: Assouline, 2002.
global community. Kerrigan, Michael. Asian Art. Old Saybrook, CT: Konecky
83
and Konecky, 2005.
See also: China; Culture and Traditions;
3
Lim, William S.W., and Tan Hock Beng. The New Asian
-2
India; Indonesia; Japan; Korea; Literature Art: Vernacular Traditions and Contemporary Style.
and Writing; Religion; Society. Boston: Periplus, 1998.
01
03
Australia
#
us
An island nation located between the Pacific and Indian oceans, Australia constitutes the
world’s smallest continent but the sixth-largest nation. Like neighboring New Zealand,
in
Australia was settled by Europeans in the eighteenth century, becoming one of the most
jo
Westernized nations of the modern Pacific. Modern Australia comprises six states, two
territories, and, as of 2006, more than 20 million people.
up
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WESTERN SETTLEMENT and convicts arrived in the harbor of Port

The first Europeans to reach Australia—in Jackson. This initial settlement became the
G
1606—were Dutch sailors led by sea captain site of Sydney, Australia’s largest city.
p
Willem Jansz, who named the continent By the mid-1800s, Britain had shipped
p
Terra Australis Incognita (“unknown south- about 150,000 convicts to its colonies in
sa
ern land”). For the next two centuries, Euro- New South Wales and Western Australia.
pean ships explored the Australian coastline, Most were illiterate and unskilled; about 20
t
ha
many of them Dutch East India Company percent were women. The British officers
ships based in the Dutch East Indies (mod- who oversaw the prisoners received enor-
iW
ern Indonesia). In the mid-seventeenth cen- mous tracts of land and used convicts as la-
tury, Abel Tasman, for whom modern Tasma- borers. After 1793, free settlers also began
s
nia is named, charted the north, west, and to arrive in Australia, helping build the Brit-
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south coasts, which he called New Holland. ish colonies of Tasmania (established in
Ab
In 1770, the Endeavour, sailing under Brit- 1825), Western Australia (1830), South Aus-
ish captain James Cook, landed at Botany tralia (1836), Victoria (1851), and Queens-
Bay on the eastern coast of Australia. Cook land (1859). The Northern Territory,
Q
claimed the territory for Great Britain, nam- founded in 1863, eventually became part of
A.
ing it New South Wales. Although remote the Province of South Australia.
and already occupied, the new land pre-
sented a solution to the problem of over- ABORIGINAL RELATIONS
crowding in British prisons. In 1788, the first Aboriginal peoples had populated Australia
of hundreds of shiploads of British sailors for some 40,000 years before the arrival of

AUSTRALIA | 17
EXPLORATION OF AUSTRALIA, NEW ZEALAND, AND THE PACIFIC BASIN, CA. 1788-1914
The European colonization of barren landscapes of Australia. continent were joined together
Australia and New Zealand began Settlement increased after 1851, forming the Commonwealth of
slowly because of geographic however, when gold was Australia. In 1876, New Zealand
obstacles, namely the great discovered in New South Wales became a united dominion within
2
distance from Europe, the high and Victoria. The scattered the British Commonwealth.
76
mountains of New Zealand, and the colonies on the Australian
3 83
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01
03
#
us
in
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up
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p p
t sa
ha
s iW
ba
Ab
Q
A.
Europeans, numbering an estimated 1 mil- icy was to treat the indigenous inhabitants
lion people in 1788. They became part of as equals, European settlers felt the need to
the white settlements through assimilation, convert the aborigines to Christianity and
blending in with the ways of the European Western forms of civilization. Throughout
settlers. While Britain’s official colonial pol- the nineteenth century, European sheep

18 | AUSTRALIA
and cattle ranches stretched into aboriginal government dealt with defense, foreign
hunting lands, and in Tasmania, frontier dis- policy, domestic customs such as marriage,
putes turned into full-scale land wars. In and other national concerns, one of which
many other places on the white frontier, ab- was setting limits on the growing number
original peoples were hunted, massacred, of Asian immigrants. Women’s suffrage (the
2
or forcibly removed in “dispersals.” right to vote) was enacted in 1902, and in
76
Violence, disease, and limited food re- 1927, the capital moved to its present loca-
sources due to reduced territory led to a tion, Canberra.
83
sharp decline in the aboriginal populations, Australia participated in the global arena
finally provoking government concern. In in the twentieth century, suffering along
3
-2
the 1920s and 1930s, the Australian govern- with much of the world through World War
ment established reservations for aborigi- I (1914–1918), the Great Depression of the
01
nal peoples to preserve their traditional 1930s, and World War II (1939–1945). Aus-
03
ways. In 1967, aborigines were recognized tralia also aided efforts by the United States
as full Australian citizens, and in 1984 a Her- to check the spread of communism in Asia
itage Protection Act was passed to officially by sending troops during the Korean War
#
guard the rights and culture of aboriginal (1950–1953) and Vietnam War (1954–1975).
us
Australians, who numbered about 250,000 In the last decades of the twentieth cen-
at the end of the twentieth century. tury, all three of Australia’s major political
in
parties—the Liberal Party, representing
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ECONOMIC AND POLITICAL business and commercial interests; the con-
DEVELOPMENT servative National Party; and the Labor
up
The discovery of gold in 1851 transformed Party, representing urban workers—have

ro
Australia’s economy and society by attract- taken turns at managing Australia’s thriving
ing large numbers of new settlers. By the economy and growing diplomatic relations
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middle of the nineteenth century, with the outside world. In the 1990s, many
p
Australia’s individual colonies had managed Australians advocated making Australia an

p
to achieve a form of democratic self-rule. independent republic by severing the last

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Farming and mining proved lucrative for symbolic ties with the British monarchy, but
the expanding settlements, and railway a 1999 referendum confirmed the British
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construction, urban expansion, and large monarch as the head of state.

numbers of Asian immigrants contributed At the turn of the twenty-first century,
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to a “Long Boom” in Australia’s economy, Australia remained a stable democracy with

which lasted from 1851 to 1890. The colonies a strong economy and high standard of liv-
s
began to negotiate terms of federation, or ing. The government retains close ties to
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union, and in 1901, the Commonwealth of the West, and English remains the official
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Australia was established. language, but the country continues to

The constitution of the commonwealth grow more culturally diverse, with a grow-
established a prime minister to lead the ing Muslim population and a steady stream
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federal government, a high court to oversee of immigrants and refugees. Securing

A.
judicial matters, and a bicameral (two- peaceful relations with Indonesia, especially
house) parliament. However, Australia offi- East Timor, and protecting coastal treas-
cially remained a dominion of the British ures such as the Great Barrier Reef from ec-
Empire, which meant the British monarch ological damage remain chief concerns for
was the supreme head of state. The federal the coming century.

BANGLADESH | 19
See also: Aboriginal Peoples; Colonization; Conrad, Peter. At Home in Australia. London: Thames
Communism; New Zealand; Refugees; and Hudson, 2003.
World War II. Kerns, Ann. Australia in Pictures. Minneapolis: Lerner,
2004.
FURTHER READING Mattanza, Alessandra. Australia: The New Frontier.
2
Clancy, Laurie. Culture and Customs of Australia. West- Northampton, MA: White Star, 2006.
76
port, CT: Greenwood, 2004.
83
Bangladesh
3
-2
01
Bangladesh is a small, mainly Islamic country in South Asia that has faced ongoing
political and economic difficulties since gaining independence in 1971. Bordered primarily
03
by India as well as Myanmar (Burma) and the Bay of Bengal, Bangladesh is one of the
most densely populated nations in the world, with more than a quarter of a billion people
#
living within an area roughly 55,000 square miles (142,450 sq km). The largely flat
us
country suffers from ongoing poverty due to frequent cyclones and annual monsoons
that cause flooding in the fertile Ganges-Brahmaputra river delta and routinely damage
the agriculture upon which the country’s economy depends. in
jo
Historically known as Bengal and tied to new nation of Pakistan. However, the union
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the empires variously ruling India and Paki- of West and East Pakistan (East Bengal)
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stan, Bangladesh embraced Islam during faced many difficulties, including geo-
the twelfth century. Between 1576 and 1739 graphical separation by a thousand miles
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the Mughal dynasty of northern India ruled (1600 km) of Indian territory. From the
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the territory, but after 1757 the British, 1950s, a group of separatists called the
p
based in Calcutta, India, came to govern Awami League advocated for Bengali inde-
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Bengali politics. Class divisions developed pendence. Frustrations increased when the
along the lines of religion, as the owners of Pakistani government failed to provide ade-
t
ha
large jute plantations, mainly Hindus of the quate relief after a cyclone devastated East
upper castes, appointed Bengali agents, Pakistan in 1970.
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also upper-caste Hindus, to collect reve- That same year, the Awami League won
nues from the peasant workers, who were the Pakistan national elections but was
s
mostly Muslims. In 1905, the British viceroy prohibited from assuming power. Respond-
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divided the territory into West Bengal, with ing to riots and strikes in East Pakistan, the
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its capital at Calcutta, and East Bengal, with Pakistani military invaded on March 25,
its capital at Dhaka. Hindu-dominated Cal- 1971, beginning a civil war that killed at
cutta became wealthy from processing and least a million Bengalis and caused 10 mil-
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shipping jute (used in the manufacture of lion to flee to India. In December, Indian
A.
rope), while Muslim East Bengal remained a troops forced a Pakistani surrender, and on
society of poor farmers. December 16, 1971, the Awami League’s
After the British withdrew from India in leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman proclaimed
1947, the Muslim regions of Pakistan and East Bengal the independent republic of
East Bengal seceded from India to form the Bangladesh.

20 | BANGLADESH
In subsequent years, Bangladesh suffered See also: Colonization; Democracy and

from political instability, including four mili- Democratic Movements; India; Myanmar;
tary coups and two presidential assassina- Nationalism and Nationalist Movements;
tions. In 1979, President Zia ur-Rahman insti- Pakistan.
tuted a new democratic government
2
comprised of a president, prime minister, FURTHER READING
76
and one-house parliament. After 1990, in- Baxter, Craig. Bangladesh: From a Nation to a State.
dustrial development in and around the Boulder, CO: Westview, 1997.
83
capital of Dhaka began to provide the foun- Glassie, Henry. Art and Life in Bangladesh. Bloomington:
dation for greater social stability. However,
3
Indiana University Press, 1997.
-2
political disruptions continued, and clashes Whyte, Mariam. Bangladesh. New York: Marshall Caven-
between supporters of former prime minis- dish, 1999.
01
ters Khaleda Zia ur-Rahman and Sheikh Ha-
03
sina resulted in a state of emergency being
declared in early 2007.
#
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Bhutan See Culture and Traditions; Democracy and Democratic Movements.
in
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Brunei (Brunei Darussalam)
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Brunei is a small country on the northwest coast of Borneo, neighboring Malaysia, known
for its wealth from oil and natural gas deposits. The population of about 300,000 is
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made up largely of ethnic Malay, Chinese, and indigenous peoples. Because tropical rain
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forests cover much of Brunei, about 60 percent of the population reside in urban areas.
p
The majority of Brunei’s people practice Islam, though others follow Buddhist, Christian,
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and animistic traditions.

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Brunei is ruled by a hereditary sultan During the sixteenth century, Portuguese,

who is, thanks to his controlling interest in Dutch, and British merchants rivaled
iW
the nation’s oil resources, one of the richest Brunei’s shipping. In 1841, after helping the
people in the world. Brunei’s citizens share sultan subdue a revolt, British soldier James
s
in their sultan’s wealth, enjoying a high per Brooke was made governor, and in 1888 the
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capita income and tax-free standard of liv- sultanate became a protectorate under
Ab
ing. The sultan personally supports his peo- British control. By 1906, a British official
ple with a generous social welfare system called a resident handled all administrative
that includes free health care, education, matters.
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and public entertainment. Following Japanese invasion and occu-

A.
Closely allied with the Majapahit king- pation during World War II, Brunei reverted
dom in Java from the thirteenth century, to its status as a British protectorate. Legis-
Brunei emerged as an independent sulta- lative elections took place for the first time
nate in the fifteenth century and controlled in 1962, but the sultan, backed by the mili-
most of Borneo and parts of the Philippines. tary, refused the new leadership’s calls to

CAMBODIA | 21
end the sultanate and join the newly formed by fashions from the West, however, Brunei
Federation of Malaysia. Brunei became inde- may encounter many changes in the
pendent in 1984, but remained a member of twenty-first century.
the British Commonwealth, an association of
states retaining their former ties to Britain. See also: Indonesia; Philippines; World
2
Although a parliament was established in War II.
76
2004 and political parties have been allowed
to form, rule in Brunei remains autocratic, FURTHER READING
83
with the government administered by Major, John S. The Land and People of Malaysia and Bru-
members of the royal family and the heredi-
3
nei. New York: HarperCollins, 1991.
-2
tary elite. With the emergence of a wealthy, Saunders, Graham. A History of Brunei. New York: Rout-
educated commercial and professional ledge Curzon, 2002.
01
middle class and a youth culture influenced Wright, David K. Brunei. Chicago: Children’s Press, 1991.
03
Burma
#
See Myanmar.
us
Cambodia in
jo
A Southeast Asian nation bordering Vietnam, Laos, and Thailand, home to the ancient
up
Khmer Empire as well as the twentieth-century reign of terror under the Khmer Rouge.
ro
Since much of Cambodia’s roughly 70,000 square miles (180,000 sq km) is covered by
jungle, most of the population of 10 million lives around the Tonle Sap (“Great Lake”) and
G
along the Mekong River. Those belonging to the Mon-Khmer ethnic group, by far the
p
majority, speak the Khmer national language and practice Buddhism.

p
sa
From the ninth to the fifteenth century, nese peninsula, and in 1863, King Norodom
the Khmer Empire ruled most of the South- (r. 1860–1904) signed a treaty placing Cam-
t
ha
east Asian mainland between Vietnam and bodia under the protection of France.
Myanmar from its capital at Angkor. Two of Under French rule, Cambodia developed
iW
its greatest twelfth-century rulers, Suryavar- an export economy that included rice, rub-
man II (d. ca. 1150) and Jayavarman VII (r. ber, corn, and pepper. The capital, Phnom
s
1181–ca. 1215), built the extensive Buddhist Penh, grew into a city of roughly 300,000
ba
temples of Angkor Wat and Angkor Thom. people that boasted a modern infrastructure
Ab
Beginning in the thirteenth century, the em- including roads, schools, and other urban
pire suffered invasions from Siam (now improvements. Following the overthrow of
Thailand) and Champa, a historic kingdom Japanese occupation, which lasted from
Q
in Vietnam. Chan I (r. 1516–1566) briefly re- 1941 to 1945, King Norodom Sihanouk de-
A.
stored Angkor’s glory, but beginning in the clared Cambodia’s independence, which
seventeenth century, Cambodia’s kings al- became official after the French withdrawal
ternately fell under Thai and Vietnamese in- from Indochina in 1954.
fluence. In the nineteenth century, French Sihanouk, who abdicated in 1955 but con-
colonial power increased on the Indochi- tinued to serve as head of state, attempted

22 | CAMBODIA
to keep Cambodia neutral during the Viet- mained influential in the person of Hun Sen,
nam War (1954–1975), a conflict fought by who had served as premier since 1985 and
the United States and South Vietnam to was elected again in 2003. In 2004, Siha-
limit North Vietnam’s Communist leader- nouk abdicated in favor of his son, Noro-
ship. The United States supported General dom Sihamoni, who became the Cambo-
2
Lon Nol in a coup that sent Sihanouk into dian chief of state.
76
exile in 1970, and in the civil war that fol- In the twenty-first century, Cambodia
lowed, Pol Pot seized control of the Cambo- must rebuild its economic infrastructure and
83
dian government and instituted a Commu- social system among a population brutal-
nist regime called the Khmer Rouge. ized by decades of civil war and its after-
3
-2
Between 1975 and 1979, Pol Pot enforced math. Many areas of Cambodia are still un-
radical social and agricultural reforms that safe to travel freely for fear of stepping on
01
caused the deaths of 1 million to 2 million land mines. Other problems are the poverty
03
Cambodians through starvation, disease, of rural agricultural laborers, a growing
forced labor, torture, and execution. AIDS epidemic, illegal human trafficking,
In 1979, Vietnamese troops invaded and, in 2005, an outbreak of avian flu,
#
Cambodia and forced the Khmer Rouge threatening economic control by absentee
us
into retreat to Cambodia’s northwest fron- Thai and Chinese businessmen.
tier. Civil war resumed under the series of
Vietnamese-sponsored governments that in
See also: Agriculture; Communism;
jo
followed, and factional fighting continued Slavery, Slave Trade, and Piracy; Thailand;
until the United Nations orchestrated a Vietnam; World War II.
up
peace agreement in 1991 and sponsored

ro
general elections in 1993. The people voted FURTHER READING

to establish a constitutional monarchy, with Chandler, David. A History of Cambodia. 3rd ed. Boulder,
G
a premier and a legislative body, and Siha- CO: Westview, 2000.

p
nouk once again took the throne. The Com- Tully, John. A Short History of Cambodia: From Empire
p
munist People’s Party of Cambodia re- to Survival. Boston: Allen and Unwin, 2006.
t sa
ha
Ceylon See Sri Lanka.

iW
China
s
ba
Ab
Large country in East Asia whose civilization has had a strong cultural and political
influence on its neighbors and the broader world. About nine-tenths of China’s
population (more than 1.3 billion in 2006) are Han or ethnic Chinese, occupying a
Q
diverse territory that ranges from the Plateau of Tibet and the Himalayas in the
A.
west to the Gobi Desert and Manchurian Plain in the north and the China Sea in
the east.
Civil unrest and foreign occupation trou- rule came to an end in the early twentieth
bled China as its millennia-long dynastic century, and Communist leadership later in

CHINA | 23
IMPORTANT EVENTS IN MODERN CHINA
1368 Beginning of Ming dynasty 1934–1935 Long March, in which Mao Zedong
leads Communist exiles into hiding in
1421 Chinese capital established by Ming
2
northwestern China
emperors at Peking (now Beijing)
76
1937 Invasion of China by Japan, dislocating
1557 Macau, the first European colony in China,
83
Chiang’s government
established by the Portuguese
1945 Japan’s defeat in World War II, followed
3
1644 Qing dynasty begun when Qing (Manchu)
-2
by civil war in China
rulers of Manchuria take control of China
01
1949 Declaration by Communist leader Mao
1839–1842 First Opium War, an unsuccessful
Zedong of the People’s Republic of China
03
attempt by China to restrict British trade
1958 Great Leap Forward, Mao’s attempt to make
1850–1864 China ravaged by Taiping Rebellion,
#
China’s economy competitive with the West,
which claims over 20 million lives and
resulting in the Three Bitter Years of famine
us
severely weakens imperial authority
1966 Cultural Revolution organized to restore a
1856–1860 Second Opium War, in which Britain
wins further trade concessions from China in
spirit of revolutionary communism in China
jo
1972 Nixon visit renews China’s international
1895 China cedes possessions of Korea and
up
diplomatic ties
Taiwan to Japan after Sino-Japanese War
1976 Deaths of Mao Zedong and Zhou Enlai,
ro
1899–1901 Boxer Rebellion, which fails to drive

leaders of the People’s Republic of China
foreigners out of China
G
since 1949
1905 China’s loss of Manchuria to Japan as
p
1989 Student protests in Beijing’s Tiananmen

p
consequence of Russo-Japanese War

Square put down by military assault,
sa
1911 Republican revolution led by Sun Yat-sen, followed by suppression of democratic

t
ending the Qing dynasty supporters throughout the country

ha
1912 Formal abdication of the last Qing 1997 Death of Deng Xiaoping, paramount
iW
emperor; declaration of a republic with political authority in China since 1978

Yuan Shikai as president
2005 Chinese economy declared the second
s
1928 Unification of China by Nationalist leader

ba
largest in the world, after the U.S. economy

Chiang Kai-shek, who persecutes
Ab
Communist Party supporters

Q
A.
the century advocated stability at the cost DYNASTIC RULE TO 1911

of millions of disrupted lives. At the turn of The Ming dynasty that ruled from 1368 to
the twenty-first century, widespread eco- 1644 expanded China’s borders and influ-
nomic development returned China to a ence throughout Asia, governing a period
place of global prominence. of economic prosperity and furthering

24 | CHINA
in 1421. Suspicious of foreign influence, they

restricted Chinese overseas travel and lim-
ited foreign visitors (including merchants,
missionaries, and adventurers), confining
foreign traders to Canton (Guangzhou) on
2
the southern coast. Among Europeans, only
76
the Portuguese were allowed to establish a
permanent settlement, at Macau in 1557,
83
which Portugal administered until 1999.
In 1644, the Qing or Manchu dynasty of
3
-2
Manchuria overthrew the Ming rulers. Under
Qing leaders, China’s territory and popula-
01
tion expanded dramatically, but met with
03
growing pressure from England and other
Western powers wanting access to Asian
markets. In the late eighteenth century,
#
lacking other desirable trade products to
us
offset their negative trade balance, British
merchants were especially keen to market
in
Indian opium in Canton, a proposal that the
jo
Chinese opposed in two Opium Wars
(1839–1842 and 1856–1860). The destruc-
up
tion of the emperor’s summer palace in

ro
Beijing, burned by British and French

Seen here is the statue of Mao Zedong (1893-1976), troops in 1860, proved that China’s military
G
leader of the People’s Republic of China from its was not strong enough to withstand West-
founding in 1949 until his death in 1976. After
p
ern demands for unrestricted trade.

p
leading an armed resistance to the Japanese Two other bloody struggles, the Taiping
sa
occupation of China during World War II, Mao Rebellion (1850–1864) and the Nian Rebel-
defeated his political rival Chiang Kai-shek and took lion (ca. 1852–1868), fought mainly by
t
ha
control over the country. He established a single- peasants and dissenters, led to over 20
party Communist government that continues to rule million Chinese deaths and fractured the
iW
the nation to this day. (Gordon Wiltsie/National authority of the Qing rulers. China lost
Geographic/Getty Images)
Korea and Taiwan to Japan in the Sino-
s
Japanese War (1894–1895) and control of

ba
Chinese advancements in the arts, technol- Manchuria as a consequence of Japan’s

Ab
ogy, and exploration. Ming emperors sup- victory in the Russo-Japanese War (1904–
ported the overseas expeditions of the eu- 1905). Economic impoverishment and re-
nuch admiral Zheng He throughout the sentment of foreign influence spurred the
Q
Indian Ocean between 1405 and 1433 to Boxer Rebellion of 1899–1901, and Qing ef-
A.
promote regional stability and to solicit forts to revitalize China through reforms
international trade, but by the 1430s, Ming like the Self-Strengthening Movement and
rulers became defensive. To better defend the Hundred-Day Reform also failed. In 1911,
their northern border from seminomadic a rebellion by factions of the Chinese mili-
warriors they moved their capital to Beijing tary allied with Sun Yat-sen, leader of the

CHINA | 25
GREAT LIVES
Mao Zedong (1893–1976)
2
Mao is the central figure in modern Chinese During the civil war that tore China after
76
history, serving as head of the Communist 1945, Mao led the Communist Party to vic-
Party and leader of the People’s Republic of tory over the Kuomintang, and, in proclaim-
83
China from 1949 until his death in 1976. Most ing the People’s Republic of China in 1949,
of the major changes introduced into China established his position as head of the Com-
3
-2
during this period were engineered by Mao. munist Party. Mao enjoyed almost legendary
His poems and writings, the most popular of status until the failure of his Great Leap For-
01
which were collected in a small handbook ti- ward, an economic restructuring movement,
03
tled Quotations from Chairman Mao Zedong, in 1958. He reasserted his authority by mobi-
often called the Little Red Book, are still lizing Chinese youth against reactionary ele-
mandatory reading in China and the point of ments of the Chinese government in the Cul-
#
reference for all members of the Chinese tural Revolution, a period of chaos and
us
Communist Party. violence that ensued between 1966 and 1976.
Mao began building his legacy following The personality cult of Mao survived his
the split between the Kuomintang and the in
death in 1976, when his embalmed body was
jo
Chinese Communist Party in 1927. In 1934, he placed in a mausoleum in Beijing’s Tianan-
was one of the leaders of the Communist men Square. His portrait hangs on the Impe-
up
Long March to the hills of northeast China to rial Forbidden City’s main gate and his face
ro
elude capture by Kuomintang forces. Under appears on every Chinese banknote. While
Mao’s leadership, the Communist or Red Mao is honored for his part in creating the
G
Army later fought a successful resistance People’s Republic of China, he is also held
p
movement against Japanese invasions of accountable for the deaths of millions of

p
China between 1937 and 1945. Chinese during his years as head of state.
t sa
ha
Chinese Nationalist Party, brought an end dong province of China to Japan. Kuomin-
to imperial rule and in 1912 the first republic tang forces led by Chiang Kai-shek man-
iW
of China was established, with former gen- aged to unify China in 1928, at the cost of
eral Yuan Shikai serving as president. severe suppression of the Communists, his
s
military allies from 1927. The Communist

ba
NATIONALIST CHINA TO 1949 flight from their base in southern China to

Ab
A stable central authority failed to take hold the northwest mountains in 1934–1935 is
in China in the years following the rebellion, called the Long March.
as regional warlords vied for control with In 1937, Japan invaded northern China,
Q
the Nationalist or Kuomintang Party and its seizing Nanking and forcing Chiang’s
A.
rival, the Chinese Communist Party, which government to retreat deep into China’s
formed in the 1920s. Hostilities between interior. Meanwhile, the Communist Party
China and Japan escalated after the victori- had regrouped and waged a successful
ous Allied powers of World War I assigned guerrilla campaign against Japanese forces
Germany’s sphere of influence in the Shan- in the north. Following Japan’s defeat in

26 | CHINA
World War II in 1945, a fierce civil war began ety, but the Cultural Revolution continued
between Communist and Nationalist troops. until Mao’s death in 1976. From 1966 to 1976,
The Communists, under the leadership of millions of Chinese were persecuted and up
Mao Zedong, forced Chiang Kai-shek’s Na- to half a million lost their lives. In 1971–1972,
tionalist forces to retreat to Taiwan, where Zhou Enlai successfully asserted China’s role
2
the Republic of China continued to lay claim as an international power by renewing diplo-
76
to the Chinese mainland. The mainland, how- matic relations with the United States.
ever, became the Communist-led People’s In 1976, following a failed coup by the pro-
83
Republic of China on October 1, 1949. Maoist Gang of Four, Deng Xiaoping emerged
as China’s new leader. He attempted to re-
3
-2
PEOPLE’S REPUBLIC OF CHINA establish diplomatic ties with the West and
The Communist leadership’s extensive re- implemented economic reforms, allowing
01
forms, intended to strengthen China elements of free enterprise within a com-
03
through agricultural reorganization and the munist system of central planning. Deng’s
nationalization of commerce and industry, policies helped China rapidly return to its
were initially successful but resulted in se- former place of power on the world stage.
#
vere upheavals. In 1958, Mao implemented However, the Communist leadership kept a
us
the Great Leap Forward, a massive public tight political hold, as demonstrated by the
effort designed to rapidly bring China to military response to student protests in
Western levels of production, which rein
Beijing’s Tiananmen Square in 1989.
jo
sulted in great suffering. The state ordered After the fall of the Soviet Union in 1991,
the collectivization of all land and organized China became the world’s largest Commu-
up
the population into production brigades, nist state. It regained control over Hong
ro
work teams of agricultural and industrial la- Kong from Britain in 1997 and Macau from
borers. Widespread mismanagement and Portugal in 1999, though tensions contin-
G
lack of technical expertise resulted in failed ued over the status of Taiwan. By 2005,
p
harvests and economic dislocation, leading China’s economic restructuring had made it
p
to millions of deaths in the Three Bitter the second most powerful world economy,
sa
Years of consequent famine (1959–1962). rivaled only by the United States.

Liu Shaoqi assumed control of the state in
t
ha
1960 and restored China’s productivity by See also: Colonization; Communism; Great
1964. Two years later, Mao reasserted his Leap Forward; Imperialism; Japan; Korea;
iW
leadership by organizing the Cultural Revo- Manchuria; Nationalism; Russo-Japanese

lution to stamp out a return to traditional, War; Spheres of Influence; Taiwan;
s
bureaucratic elitism and middle-class bour- Technology and Inventions; World War II.
ba
geois and instill a truly communist society.

Ab
Beginning in 1966, at Mao’s encouragement, FURTHER READING

China’s teenagers and young adults organ- Bo, Zhiyue. The History of Modern China. Philadelphia:
ized into a militia called the Red Guards and
Q
Mason Crest, 2006.

went into the Chinese countryside to expose Chen, Da. China’s Son: Growing Up in the Cultural Revo-
A.
enemies of the Communist Party and en- lution. New York: Delacorte, 2003.
force Maoist ideology. Zhou Enlai, who took Haugen, David M., ed. China: Opposing Viewpoints. San
control of the Communist leadership in 1969, Diego: Greenhaven, 2006.
moderated the Cultural Revolution’s policies, Luh, Shu Shin. The People of China. Philadelphia: Mason
trying to restore normalcy to Chinese soci- Crest, 2006.

C O L O N I Z AT I O N | 27
Cold War See Afghanistan; Imperialism; Korea.
2
Colonization
76
83
The settlement of a nonnative people in a foreign territory, often accomplished through
the expansion of a state by conquest. Although Asian powers such as China and Japan
3
have at times exerted a colonizing influence in parts of Asia, colonization usually refers to
-2
occupation by Western powers, which began with the establishment of Portuguese and
01
Spanish trading bases in India, Sri Lanka, Southeast Asia, China, and Japan in the
sixteenth century. Large-scale colonization ended in Asia after the conclusion of World
03
War II in 1945, but some early colonies, such as Hong Kong and Macau, were not returned
to Asian control until the end of the twentieth century.
#
us
EUROPEAN EXPANSION TO 1757 were in high demand in European market-
The Portuguese initiated the era of Western places, regularly returning more than 500
colonization in Asia from the early 1500s, in
percent profit. Only the Spanish in the Phi-
jo
establishing settlements in Goa, India by lippines attempted to penetrate farther
the end of the century; Melaka, in Malaysia; into the interior.
up
the Maluku Islands, in Indonesia; Macau, In addition to their trading enterprises,

ro
China; and Nagasaki, Japan. The Portu- European powers established an early po-
guese relied on “gunpowder colonialism,” litical presence in Asia. Spain created a co-
G
initially making use of their superior weap- lonial government in the Philippines by
p
onry and ships. However, they were unable 1600, and the Dutch East India Company
p
to monopolize Asia’s trade, especially the began to have an impact on domestic life in
sa
profitable spice trade. the Indonesian archipelago in the 1600s.

After 1602, by controlling the sources of
t
ha
supply the Dutch East India Company 1757– 1999

began to establish a greater degree of con- The nature of colonialism changed in the
iW
trol over the Indonesian spice trade. The 1750s, as Europeans began to aggressively
Dutch vessels were superior in size and assert control over Asia’s interior. This new
s
weaponry to all other ships at that time. The approach was an outgrowth of economic,
ba
British and Danish also entered the Asian political, and social changes in the West.
Ab
marketplace in the late sixteenth century, Economically, after 1750 Europe entered
but were relegated to a rather minor role in an industrial revolution that, by the mid-
comparison to the Dutch. nineteenth century, would need Asia’s raw
Q
In this era of early contact, Europeans materials (e.g., cotton, tin, and rubber) to sus-
A.
were content to remain on the periphery tain its production. In addition, Western pow-
of established societies, whether in their ers began to aggressively compete with one
own ports or established Asian ports. another for control of Asian resources and
From there they faced minimal expense in markets. In the 1757 Battle of Plassey, north of
gathering exotic Asian products, which Calcutta, British troops and their native allies

28 | C O L O N I Z AT I O N
COLONIAL EMPIRES IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC BASIN, CA. 1900
For nearly 250 years, the eastern colonial activity in the region dates located almost exclusively on the
coast of Asia and the Pacific Basin to the 1750s, when the British coasts, near major deposits of raw
were subject to imperialist rule began to consolidate their colonial materials. From the 1850s, colonial
under the British, French, Dutch, authority over India. It ended when railroads allowed Westerners to
2
Portuguese, Spanish, American, Macau reverted to Chinese rule in exploit agricultural and mineral
76
German, and Japanese. Western 1999. At first, colonial cities were resources farther inland.
3 83
-2
01
03
#
us
Pataliputra
Nalanda in
jo
up
ro
G
p p
tsa
ha
s iW
ba
Ab
Q
fought the combined armies of Indian rulers to inhabit the coasts of Asian countries and
A.
and the French to establish supremacy over profit from an export trade of exotic prod-
the profitable northeast Indian marketplace. ucts. They now wanted to control the inter-
The ensuing British victory marked the open- ior in order to manage production and ex-
ing of this new era of imperialism. port of cash crops such as sugar, tea,
Western powers were no longer content coffee, and rice, which were in high demand

C O L O N I Z AT I O N | 29
in increasingly urban Western societies. Asia The United States, which embarked on
was also seen as an unlimited potential mar- Asian colonialism when it acquired the Philip-
ketplace for the sale of Western industrial pines from Spain in 1898, saw itself as the “re-
products and a profitable place of invest- luctant colonialist.” U.S. colonizers thought of
ment for surplus Western wealth. Europeans themselves as entering true partnerships with
2
characterized their actions as taking up “the Philippine society to promote democracy,
76
White Man’s Burden” to “civilize” the “sav- with the promise of independence when cer-
age” peoples of Asia. This explanation not tain standards of achievement were met.
83
only justified their exploitation of the inhab- However, American economic interests in-
itants, but also reinforced Westerners’ com- evitably sided with powerful Westernized
3
-2
mon belief in their own racial superiority. Philippine landowners over the poor Fili-
The colonists sought to strike a balance pino laborers, negating the ability of the
01
between their economic and political needs United States to achieve its lofty ambitions.
03
and the necessity of making their colonial ex- World War II (1939–1945) dealt a mortal
ploitations seem humane. In the case of the blow to colonialism in Asia. Japanese con-
British, this translated into what they termed quest of Western colonies such as French
#
“trusteeship.” This notion characterized the Indochina (including modern-day Cambo-
us
colonial populations as children who needed dia, Laos, and Vietnam) toppled colonial
to be nurtured by their British parent until governments and undermined Western
such time as they might achieve the capacity in
power. Japan’s subsequent defeat left a
jo
for independence. The French adopted a power vacuum in many former colonies that
policy of assimilation, in which they sup- was filled by local resistance leaders such as
up
planted traditional indigenous culture with Indonesia’s Sukarno and Vietnam’s Ho Chi
ro
French culture. The goal was to transform Minh. In the decades immediately following
the locals into Frenchmen and eventually the war, a host of newly independent states
G
bring them to full membership in the French arose from former colonies in India, Paki-
p
nation-state. The Dutch promoted colonial stan, Korea, Taiwan, Southeast Asia, Indo-
p
“dualism,” allowing local populations to nesia, and the Philippines. The era of West-
sa
maintain their traditional way of life under ern colonialism in Asia officially ended in
the watchful protection and management of 1999, when the Portuguese returned Macau
t
ha
the Dutch “parent” and a few Westernized to the People’s Republic of China.
native partners. Native farmers were required
iW
to produce cash crops for export as a form of See also: Imperialism; Nationalism and
tax to pay for Dutch management expenses. Nationalist Movements; Philippines;
s
Japan joined the list of Asian colonial Society; Taiwan; Vietnam.

ba
powers following its victory in the Sino-

Ab
Japanese War (1894–1895), which resulted FURTHER READING

in Japan’s colonial control over Korea and Gullick, J.M. Adventures and Encounters: Europeans in
Taiwan. Japan saw its colonies as important
Q
South-East Asia. New York: Oxford University Press,

continuing sources of rice and raw materi- 2005.
A.
als that could sustain Japanese industrial Suarez, Thomas. Early Mapping of Southeast Asia. Sin-
society. Additionally, the Japanese financed gapore: Periplus, 1999.
public education systems in both colonies, Time-Life Books. What Life Was Like in the Jewel of the
with the intention of remaking the local in- Crown: British India AD 1600–1905. Alexandria, VA:
habitants into loyal Japanese subjects. Time-Life, 1999.

30 | COMMUNISM
Communism
Political theory, based on the communal ownership of property and sharing of profits.
2
Communism has appealed to certain Asian populations as a means of achieving
76
equitable distribution of resources and a classless society.
83
The practice of communism in Asia has managed by the Communist Party. After
often been accompanied by violence. In Lenin died in 1924, his successor, Joseph
3
-2
China and Cambodia, attempts by Commu- Stalin, used even more forceful means to
nist leadership to redistribute wealth and achieve collectivization of agriculture, in-
01
centralize economic planning caused na- dustrialization, and repression of dissent.
03
tional disasters, and Western countries Under Lenin and Stalin, communism as
sought to check the spread of communism viewed in the West became synonymous
by fighting wars in Korea and Vietnam. Al- with a brutal, autocratic state wherein the
#
though Communist influence in Central Asia central Communist Party dictated every as-
us
dramatically decreased after the dissolution pect of social, political, and cultural life.
of the Soviet Union in 1991, millions of Asians
in China, Laos, North Korea, and Vietnam live in
MAOISM
jo
in Communist states, characterized by one- The Communist Party of China (CPC) was
party rule and an adherence to Marxist ideals. founded in 1921 in Shanghai and, after 1927,
up
became a rival of the Nationalist or Kuomin-

ro
SOVIET COMMUNISM tang party. Persecution by the Kuomintang

The nineteenth-century German political government sent CPC members into exile,
G
philosopher Karl Marx viewed communism culminating in the 1934–1935 Long March
p
as the final stage of a social process in from southern into northern China.
p
which a revolution led by the workers or Peasant-born Mao Zedong assumed a

sa
proletariat would seize control of all means prominent role in the CPC thanks in large
of production, redistribute resources equally, measure to his leadership during the March.
t
ha
and share profits according to need. In For Mao, the proletariat of China was the
Marxist ideology, a communist society rural peasantry, not urban workers as in
iW
would exist without class divisions, without Russia. His interpretations of Marxism-
the need for a central government, indeed Leninism, called Mao Zedong Thought or
s
without the need for a police force, as all cit- Maoism, ruled government in China from
ba
izens would join in making decisions. the declaration of the Communist-led

Ab
Russian revolutionary Vladimir Lenin, People’s Republic of China in 1949 until

whose modification of Marxist principles Mao’s death in 1976. Mao believed that to
became known as Leninism, believed that effect a communist revolution, the peasants
Q
the proletariat required a strong central dic- must be organized into collective units at
A.
tatorship to guide the transition from revo- the village level. These collectives would
lution to communist society. Thus, after govern local decisions, cultivate village-
leading the 1917 Bolshevik Revolution that level industries, and wage guerrilla warfare
toppled the Russian monarchy, Lenin insti- where necessary to combat the class-based
tuted a totalitarian state, the Soviet Union, thinking of the aristocracy and bourgeois.

COMMUNISM | 31
THE SPREAD OF COMMUNISM
1917 Bolshevik (Communist Party) Revolution in 1966 Beginning of Cultural Revolution in China,
Russia, which encourages development of organized by Mao Zedong to purge non-
2
Communist parties in Asia Communist culture
76
1921 Communist Party of China (CPC) 1973 United States military withdrawal from Vietnam
83
founded in Shanghai
1975 Beginning of Communist Khmer Rouge
1922 Formation of USSR, or Soviet Union, which
3
regime in Cambodia under Pol Pot
-2
then brings several Central Asian states
1975 Beginning of Communist Pathet Lao
under Communist control
01
regime in Laos
1927 Split between Communist Party and
03
1976 Death of Mao Zedong, ending Cultural
Nationalist or Kuomintang Party in
Revolution in China
China, leading to protracted struggle
#
1978 Introduction by Deng Xiaoping, Communist
1934–1935 Emergence of Mao Zedong as China’s
us
leader in China, of Four Modernizations to
Communist Party leader during the Long
reform Chinese economy
March, the flight of Communist members
from persecution in
1979 Invasion of Afghanistan by Soviet troops
jo
to support Communist government
1945 Korea divided into Soviet-occupied North
up
Korea and Western-occupied South Korea 1979 Occupation of Cambodia by Vietnamese

troops, who depose Pol Pot and spark
ro
1945 Establishment of a Vietnamese republic by

civil war
Ho Chi Minh, prompting invasion by its
G
former colonial governor, France 1989 Withdrawal of Soviet troops from

p
Afghanistan
1949 People’s Republic of China founded on
p
sa
Communist ideals, with Mao Zedong as 1989 Student protests in favor of democratic
party chairman reform suppressed in Tiananmen Square
t
ha
in Beijing, China
1950 Invasion of South Korea by Soviet-
supported North Korea sparks Korean War 1991 Dissolution of Soviet Union, leaving
iW
Communists in Central Asia in the minority

1954 Vietnamese defeat of French at Dien Bien
s
Phu; Vietnam divided, with North Vietnam 1993 Democratic elections in Cambodia,
ba
under Communist rule of Ho Chi Minh supervised by the United Nations, leading
to restoration of constitutional monarchy
Ab
1956 Beginning of U.S. involvement in Vietnam

with U.S. military personnel training South 1996 People’s War begun by Communist
Q
Vietnamese resistance troops to fight groups in Nepal and spread throughout

Vietcong Communist insurgents countryside
A.
1958 Great Leap Forward, Mao Zedong’s effort 2006 Peace agreement reached in Nepal
to reshape China’s economic production, allowing Communist Party a voice in
leading to widespread famine democratic government

32 | COMMUNISM
Mao’s death ended the Cultural Revolu-

tion, and Communist leaders in China sub-
sequently moderated Maoist philosophy.
Deng Xiaoping’s Four Modernizations pro-
gram, introduced in 1978, allowed free-
2
market elements into the government’s
76
centralized economic planning, which
helped the Chinese economy recover and
83
flourish. Still, the Communist Party in China
kept a firm hold on political power, as dem-
3
-2
onstrated by the military’s response to pro-
democracy student protests in Beijing’s
01
Tiananmen Square in June 1989. While
03
Maoist thought relaxed somewhat in China
at the end of the twentieth century,
Maoism, especially its military element,
#
continued to be practiced by Communist
us
parties in Bangladesh, India, the Philip-
pines, and Nepal.
in
jo
COMMUNIST CONFLICTS
Power struggles between Communist and
up
non-Communist political factions produced

ro
several wars in the mid- to late twentieth

century. After the end of World War II in
G
1945, Korea was divided at the thirty-eighth

p
parallel into U.S.-occupied South Korea and

p
This pro-democracy demonstration was held by Soviet-occupied North Korea. In 1950, North
sa
Chinese students in Beijing’s Tiananmen Square on Korea invaded the south, prompting the
May 14, 1989. The Communist Chinese government United States and United Nations to defend
t
ha
used military force to break up the demonstration South Korea. The resulting Korean War
on June 4, killing or injuring hundreds of students. lasted until 1953, when an armistice ended
iW
(Catherine Henriette/AFP/Getty Images) fighting while maintaining a strict division

between North and South Korea. North
s
Mao at first partnered with leaders of the Korea remained Communist, following a Sta-
ba
Soviet Union to set up a centralized Com- linist model, with hereditary control over
Ab
munist government in China. However, after party rule. Kim Il-sung wielded supreme au-
the failure of the Great Leap Forward, an at- thority over North Korea from 1950 until his
tempt launched in 1958 to reorganize Chi- death in 1997. His son, Kim Jong-il, suc-
Q
nese economic production, Soviet and ceeded him and continued his strict policies,
A.
Maoist communism began to diverge. Mao suppressing economic growth and obstruct-
put a distinctive ideological slant on coming the reunification of family members who
munism during the Cultural Revolution, a lived on opposite sides of the divide.
ten-year effort to purge non-Communist The Vietnamese declaration of indepen-
elements from Chinese society. dence following World War II sparked the

COMMUNISM | 33
INTO THE 21 ST CENTURY
Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–1976)
2
The initial phase of the Cultural Revolution in couraged the formation of revolutionary bri-
76
China took place between 1966 and 1969, al- gades called the Red Guards, calling upon
though its policies continued until the death them to purge China of non-Communist cul-
83
of the movement’s organizer, Communist ture and remove all dissenters who endan-
3
leader Mao Zedong, in 1976. The stated goals gered the Communist spirit. Millions of
-2
of the movement were to spread Communist young people responded to the call, verbally
Party ideals and eliminate class inequalities. and physically attacking schoolteachers, in-
01
However, the Cultural Revolution brought tellectuals, and local party leaders and gain-
03
about a period of economic disruption, po- ing the support of urban workers. Competing
litical instability, and social chaos in which splinter groups represented varying interpre-
#
millions of Chinese, especially intellectuals tations of Maoist thought, and the persecu-
and those adhering to traditional Chinese tions, involving millions of deaths, injuries,
us
beliefs such as Confucianism, were perse- and wrongful imprisonments, caused wide-
cuted or killed. spread economic and social disruption.
Mao launched the Cultural Revolution to in
To avoid civil war, Mao disbanded the Red
jo
counter the influence of the bourgeois, who Guards in 1969, and then sent them and
up
accepted class inequalities and privileged other urban youth to the countryside, osten-
groups within the Communist Party. He es- sibly so they might learn from the Chinese
ro
pecially criticized party leaders Liu Shaoqi peasants. After the Ninth Party Congress
and Deng Xiaoping, accusing them of intro-
G
convened in 1969, Communist leadership

ducing capitalism through their economic moderated the military aspect of the Cul-
p
reforms. Mao was principally supported by tural Revolution, but the Gang of Four con-
p
Lin Biao, leader of the Chinese military, and a tinued to support Maoist ideology, including
sa
group of Shanghai revolutionaries led by the restrictions on the arts. Following Mao’s
t
so-called Gang of Four, which included his death in 1976, the Gang of Four attempted a
ha
wife, Jiang Qing. coup but was defeated, and the Cultural
iW
To carry out his revolution, Mao initially Revolution came to a close, under the lead-
turned to college and high school students ership of Deng Xiaoping, who refocused
for support. He closed their schools and en- China’s energies on modernization.
s
ba
Ab
First Indochina War (1945–1954), with An international conference in Geneva in

France fighting to regain control of its for- 1954 called for national elections to be held
mer colony. The French withdrew follow- in 1956 to unify the country, but U.S. and
Q
ing their defeat at Dien Bien Phu in 1954, South Vietnamese leaders rejected the pro-
A.
but Vietnam soon split along ideological posal. As tensions between North and
lines. North Vietnam was under the Com- South Vietnam intensified, the United States
munist leadership of Ho Chi Minh, while a began to provide training for South Vietna-
pro-Western government emerged in the mese soldiers in 1956 and later sent military
south. hardware, air support, and ground troops,

34 | COMMUNISM
up to 500,000 at the height of the war. The largely independent until 1979, when So-
lack of visible success in the war led the viet troops invaded to support the revolu-
United States to withdraw troops in 1973 tion of the Marxist party there.
and end economic support in 1975. In 1976, Communist-style reforms were not wel-
Vietnam unified as a socialist republic led comed by the predominantly Islamic pop-
2
by the Communist Party. ulation, and Soviet troops were forced to
76
The year 1975 also witnessed Communist withdraw by 1989. In Nepal, a ten-year
triumphs in other Southeast Asian coun- struggle began in 1996 when the Maoist
83
tries. The kingdom of Laos, which had been Communist Party launched a People’s War
a battlefield during the Vietnam War, fell to to take control of the countryside. The
3
-2
the Communist group Pathet Lao, which peace agreement achieved in 2006 gave
had Soviet backing. In Cambodia, rule by the Communist Party a voice in govern-
01
Communist forces called the Khmer Rouge ment, an example of how communist ideals
03
also began in 1975 when Pol Pot came into remain active in Asia outside of the one-
power. Pol Pot’s radical reforms, inspired by party states.
Maoism, caused large-scale starvation and
#
hardship for the Cambodian people, while See also: Cambodia; China; Great Leap
us
his brutal purges brought the death toll of Forward; Korea; Laos; Vietnam.
his reign to nearly 2 million before the in-
vading Vietnamese ousted him in 1979. Civil in
FURTHER READING
jo
unrest continued in Cambodia until the Busky, Donald F. Communism in History and Theory:
United Nations stepped in to administer Asia, Africa, and the Americas. Westport, CT:
up
free elections in 1993, when a constitutional Praeger, 2002.

ro
monarchy was restored. Khalid, Adeeb. Islam After Communism: Religion and
On the other side of the continent, the Politics in Central Asia. Berkeley: University of Cali-
G
Soviet Union, formed in 1922, managed to fornia Press, 2007.

p
annex most of Central Asia, with Mongolia Mackerras, Colin, and Nick Knight, eds. Communism in
p
as a satellite state. Afghanistan remained Asia. New York: St. Martin’s, 1985.
sa
t
ha
Confucianism See Religion; Society.

s iW
Cultural Revolution
ba
See Communism.
Ab
Culture and Traditions

Q
A.
Prior to 1500, rulers and their courts set the cultural standards of Asian societies. Court-
affiliated religious sects, court-connected scholar-gentry, and warriors and merchants
who had status at court strongly influenced social mores and practices. Modern Asian
culture has evolved from this old order, and while contemporary Asian society is more
urban, commercial, and globally linked, it also retains traditional elements of its past.

C U LT U R E A N D T R A D I T I O N S | 35
CENTRAL ASIA items were won through raids or warfare.

Central Asia offers an apt example of the Many nomadic tribes maintained their tradi-
complexity and diversity that form the cul- tions well into the second half of the nine-
tural backdrop of many Asian regions. By teenth century, when the area was heavily
1500, Central Asia, once the territory of colonized by Russians.
2
the great thirteenth-century Mongol em- The influence of Communism during the
76
peror Genghis Khan (d. 1227), was in the Soviet period (1922–1991) had an adverse
hands of Uzbek rulers who established impact on traditional ways of life among
83
their capital at Bukhara (in modern-day the Central Asian tribes. As happened in
Uzbekistan). The Uzbek developed from China, Communist rule and religion were
3
-2
mingled Mongol nomadic tribes and gen- not compatible. Collectivization of agricul-
erally adopted Sunni Islam, which distin- ture destroyed the pastoral nomadism that
01
guished them from their Shiite neighbors, the tribes had practiced for centuries. So-
03
the Ottoman Turks, the Safavid dynasty in viet authorities moved thousands of Rus-
Iran (1502–1736), and the Mughal rulers of sian, Polish, and Jewish leaders and intel-
India (1526–1739), as well as from the Mon- lectuals into Central Asian cities, hoping to
#
gol tribes to the east, which had adopted suppress local cultures and produce an
us
Tibetan Buddhism. ideal Soviet state.
Over time, the Uzbek kingdoms or kha- In reality, ethnic tensions throughout the
nates became centers of culture and civil- in
period led to frequent uprisings, and Cen-
jo
ization, organized around the rule of a khan tral Asian peoples clung to their ancient tra-
or emir. Formerly nomadic tribes, such as ditions. In Kazakhstan, for example, demon-
up
the Tajik, became sedentary, settling in strators organizing in the city of Almaty in
ro
communities where they developed agri- 1992 pitched the traditional Kazak dwelling,
culture and crafts. For these people, Islamic the yurt—a tent made with willow frames
G
ritual dictated birth, marriage, holidays, and and covered with felt—in front of govern-
p
funeral ceremonies, and Islamic law gov- ment buildings. After Soviet rule collapsed
p
erned all aspects of life. in 1991, leading to the formation of indepen-

sa
Other tribes, such as the Turkmen and dent republics, many Central Asians were
Kyrgyz, pursued a type of pastoral nomad- able to blend their Muslim beliefs with tradi-
t
ha
ism that combined livestock herding and tional cultural practices. In Mongolia, no-
agriculture. They organized into a tribal so- madic peoples like the western Kazakhs
iW
cial structure in which a chief led a group of managed to preserve their ancient ways of
related families or clans who traveled and life almost intact. These developments re-
s
lived together, pitching tents for homes, un- flected the strength of cultural traditions in
ba
less a food scarcity caused the clan to dis- the region and highlighted the patterns of
Ab
band temporarily. Older sons were given a continuity and change that have long char-
share of the family’s wealth and then gener- acterized Central Asia.
ally moved away to found their own house- In Afghanistan, which fell less directly
Q
holds; the youngest son inherited the under Soviet influence, communities are
A.
father’s home. The tribes were always pre- still organized by tribes. Tribal loyalty, fidel-
pared for war, which the warriors fought on ity to Islamic law, and a traditional willing-
horseback using bows. Families generally ness to bear arms in service to ruler and
produced little more than they needed to tribe contribute to the frequent warfare
survive, and other commodities or luxury that plagues the country today.

36 | C U LT U R E A N D T R A D I T I O N S
SOUTH ASIA on her forehead to indicate her marital

While religion has historically determined status. In modern South Asia, however, both
cultural practices for most of South Asia, unmarried and non-Hindu women wear it as
some traditions are shared across the re- a fashion statement or a good luck charm.
gion. Similar items of dress, for example, are In Indian communities, the traditional
2
worn by people throughout Pakistan, India, Hindu concept of caste, also adopted by
76
and Bangladesh. Salwar kameez, traditional many Muslim Indians, determines social
in India and the national dress of Pakistan, status. Outside the family, caste frequently
83
consists of loose trousers called salwar and dictates whom people associate with. Stu-
a long tunic or shirt called kameez. Women dents at educational institutions often natu-
3
-2
might also wear a long shawl or scarf called rally group themselves according to caste.
a dupatta as an accessory or when eti- Marriages with those outside of one’s caste
01
quette calls for a head covering, as in a tem- are highly discouraged, and taboos about
03
ple or in the presence of elders. Other tradi- eating with people beneath one’s caste
tional attire in India includes, for men, the used to prevail since the lower castes were
dhoti, a long cloth wrapped around the hips associated with impurity.
#
and legs to form a sort of trousers, and, for
us
women, the sari, a long, unsewn piece of Food, Festivals, and Other Customs
cloth wrapped around the entire body. The staples of the Indian diet are either rice
in
or a type of bread that varies by region. For
jo
Family and Class poor families, a few vegetables, a legume
The Indian household typically houses the called dal, and yogurt round out a dinner,
up
extended family under one roof. The eldest with spices to add flavor. Fish, fruit, and
ro
male acts as the head of the household, and fresh milk are consumed where available,
his wife oversees the tasks assigned to and meat marks a special occasion, such as
G
other family members. The hierarchy of the a festival. Tea and coffee are India’s most
p
family is determined by age and gender, popular beverages.

p
with senior members given more authority Four major festivals mark the Hindu cal-
sa
and males accorded a higher status than fe- endar, occurring mainly in February and
males. Among married women, status is de- March and from September to November.
t
ha
termined by the family rank of the husband Holi, a spring festival, is a time of frolic,
and birth of male offspring. Young men when customary status restrictions are dis-
iW
were traditionally privileged with better ac- regarded. Diwali, which usually falls in late
cess to education and occupations than October or November, marks the New Year
s
young women, but this custom is rapidly and is a time for cleaning, renewing, and ex-
ba
changing in the urban areas of India and changing gifts. The lighting of lamps for
Ab
South Asia. Hindus invites the blessings of Lakshmi,

In many families, marriages are arranged goddess of wealth, while for Jainists and
by family elders. The bride’s family provides Sikhs, Diwali marks important events in the
Q
a dowry consisting of property, goods, or lives of the main figures of these faiths. Re-
A.
money, and she leaves her native village to gional fairs or festivals tied to specific vil-
live with her husband’s family. Wives are ex- lages, temples, cults, or shrines also give
pected to obey their husbands and defer to cause for celebration, and almost every
elders of the household. Traditionally, a town has its own folk hero or patron saint.
married Hindu woman wore a dot, or bindi, Secular holidays also have their place; for

C U LT U R E A N D T R A D I T I O N S | 37
Bengalis, Independence Day, marking the Asians is much like life in other developed
first of the year, is celebrated even by those parts of the world, with access to technol-
living outside Bangladesh. ogy, transportation, fire and police services,
In Nepal, the New Year falls in April. Nep- and medical care, and diverse avenues for
alese festivals are often celebrated by rais- shopping, dining, and other entertainments.
2
ing a ceremonial pole or pulling an image of The other three-quarters of the population
76
the related deity in a chariot. Kumar Sasthi, live in rural areas, with livelihoods centered
which falls in May at the beginning of the on agriculture.
83
rice-planting season, is customarily cele- Southeast Asia is very ethnically diverse,
brated by stone-throwing fights between and cultures based on ethnicity predomi-
3
-2
groups of boys. Bada Dashain, Nepal’s larg- nate in many areas, often crossing national
est holiday, occupies two full weeks in Oc- borders in the case of large ethnic groups
01
tober. At its height, celebrants visit elders such as the Khmer, Mon, Tai, Lao, Shan, and
03
for tika (blessings), and many line up out- Malay. In addition to indigenous tribal cul-
side the monarch’s palace to receive bless- tures, successive influences from Chinese,
ings from their Majesties. Indian, and Arabic visitors and settlers have
#
In Bhutan, as in Tibet, Buddhism prevails. left their mark.
us
Houses display prayer flags to indicate that For those cultures centered on agricul-
the proper offerings have been made to the ture, which in Southeast Asia consists prin-
resident gods. Bhutan’s highly traditional in
cipally of rice farming, many ancient cus-
jo
culture, protected for centuries from out- toms and practices are aimed at ensuring a
side influence, includes a national dress good harvest. The Karen of Myanmar per-
up
code. The traditional dress for men is a form a ritual that involves reading chicken
ro
knee-length robe tied at the waist by a bones to ensure that new land is suitable
cloth belt; women wear ankle-length for cultivation. Once farming begins, further
G
dresses clipped at one shoulder and tied at rituals, often including animal sacrifice, are
p
the waist. The wearer’s social class is re- held to appease local gods of the hills and
p
flected in the color, type of material, and weather.

sa
decorations on his or her garments. Women Other ethnic rituals or customs are prac-
have traditionally owned and inherited land, ticed to preserve a group identity. The Mon,
t
ha
and the eldest female of the household a group living mainly in Myanmar and Thai-
serves as an “anchor mother,” overseeing land who have no state of their own,
iW
the others. Bhutanese couples are married created Mon National Day in 1949 to unify
in a ceremony that includes an exchange of Mons living in different areas. For the Thai,
s
white scarves, and the groom often moves monarch and religion are the two institu-
ba
in with his bride’s family. tions that draw everyone together and thus
Ab
are accorded the highest respect.

SOUTHEAST ASIA Rural Thai, like many other Southeast
Daily life in Southeast Asia, as elsewhere, Asians, preserve the harmony of the family
Q
depends on income level and settlement. above all. Extended families live in houses
A.
Only a quarter of the population live in raised on stilts, with the animals kept
urban areas such as Singapore, which is al- underneath, and the close quarters require
most completely developed, and large met- that children are early taught their respon-
ropolitan cities such as Bangkok, Hanoi, Ja- sibilities to the rest of the family. Elders are
karta, and Manila. Life for urban Southeast honored, and children look to them for

38 | C U LT U R E A N D T R A D I T I O N S
Asian Martial Arts
2
The term martial art refers to any tradition of (1111–255 B.C.E) and t’ai chi, developed in China
76
combat and self-defense that is practiced as in the third century C.E., both use a system of
a sport or a means of physical and mental exercise to cultivate a spiritual state.
83
discipline. Martial arts in Asia have a long Some martial arts, particularly those
history of development, with many forms of using weapons, developed combat strate-
3
-2
both armed and unarmed combat evolving gies involving both defense and attack.
independently in India, China, Korea, Japan, Kendo, a Japanese form of fencing using
01
and Indonesia as well as in Cambodia, Thai- bamboo swords, developed in the eigh-
03
land, Vietnam, the Philippines, and Myanmar. teenth century from principles followed by
In the late twentieth century, the study of the ancient Japanese warriors called samu-
martial arts became very popular in the rai. Other martial arts evolved purely as a
#
West, and a variety of schools and teachers form of self-defense, among them akido,
us
have been established around the world. which originated in Japan in the fourteenth
The study of martial arts historically took century, and karate, practiced in Okinawa
the form of an apprenticeship, where a stu- in
from the seventeenth century.
jo
dent worked with a master or teacher. Mod- In the modern world, martial arts are
ern students attend martial arts schools, ad- practiced both as a form of combat and as
up
vancing through formal levels of training an athletic exercise or competitive event.

ro
from novice (usually marked by a white belt) The United States and China train warriors in
to master (often denoted by a black belt). hand-to-hand combat using martial arts
G
A great number of martial arts required strategies, while judo, which developed in
p
mental discipline and religious reflection along Japan in the late nineteenth century, and tae
p
with physical training. Kung fu, a Chinese mar- kwon do, a form of Korean karate, are events
sa
tial art practiced since the Zhou dynasty in the Summer Olympic Games.
t
ha
advice and guidance; adult children expect In Japan, for example, early and frequent
iW
to provide care for aging parents. This high contact with China introduced Buddhist,
value placed on the family and on social Confucian, and Taoist precepts into native
s
harmony is characteristic of many Asian Japanese Shinto beliefs. Japan’s self-

ba
cultures. imposed isolation from the rest of the world

Ab
until the mid-nineteenth century, however,

EAST ASIA allowed distinct cultural elements to de-
The cultural traditions of east Asia rest most velop. A strong sense of national pride and
Q
importantly on ancient philosophical and reli- loyalty preserved many elements of Japa-
A.
gious frameworks that have developed over nese culture, including traditional dress like
thousands of years. A historical understanding the kimono, a robe worn by both men and
of the predominant forms of religious and so- women, and rituals such as the tea cere-
cial ideology in ancient east Asia is key to ex- mony, in which every step must be formal
amining the cultural history of the region. and exact. Traditional Shinto weddings and

D E M O C R A C Y A N D D E M O C R AT I C M O V E M E N T S | 39
playing the koto, a traditional stringed in- tation of modern Western elements, in
strument, are still widely popular in Japan, which traditional beliefs are sometimes lost.
signaling an ongoing respect for the an- In the face of this influence, some commu-
cient traditions. nities try to preserve traditional elements,
In China as well, the value of tradition and including food, dress, marriage customs,
2
ritual preserved many aspects of culture, music, and holidays, that keep people in-
76
from food preparation to dress. Literature, formed about their native culture. Just as
art, philosophy, and historical writing in Asia has absorbed Western elements, how-
83
China have a tradition of development un- ever, Westerners have for centuries investi-
paralleled by any other culture in the world. gated and embraced Asian culture. This on-
3
-2
This respect for longevity can be seen in the going exchange, increasingly pronounced
Chinese practice of ancestor worship, in a world of global communication, helps
01
wherein deceased family members were encourage the preservation of the distinct
03
honored with shrines and regular visits to cultures of Asia and the Pacific.
their graves. Modern Chinese still honor
their dead by ritually burning paper objects See also: Agriculture; Art and
#
representing items the deceased can use in Architecture; China; Communism;
us
the next life—slippers, toothbrushes, cars— Language; Literature and Writing;
as well as spirit money to aid the loved one’s Polynesia; Religion; Society; Technology
passage through the underworld. in
and Inventions.
jo
The diversity of Chinese culture suffered
greatly during the first decades of Commu- FURTHER READING
up
nist rule, beginning in 1949. The years of the Abazov, Rafis. Culture and Customs of the Central Asia
ro
Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) witnessed Republics. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2006.

the large-scale repression of traditional be- Chopra, P.N., and Prabha Chopra. Encyclopedia of Asian
G
liefs, which the Communist Party viewed as Culture. Columbia, MO: South Asia Books, 1999.
p
conflicting with its goal of a unified, class- Liao, Yan. Food and Festivals of China. Philadelphia:
p
less state. Traditional culture revived in the Mason Crest, 2006.

sa
1980s and 1990s, though contemporary Maidment, Richard, and Colin Mackerras, eds. Culture
China has experienced an influx of Western
t
and Society in the Asia-Pacific. New York: Routledge,

ha
influences. Chinese youth have particularly 1998.

embraced computer games and cell phone Mines, Diane P., and Sarah Lamb. Everyday Life in South
iW
technology. Asia. Bloomington: Indiana University Press, 2002.

In Korea, as in the Pacific region, contem- Phillips, Douglas A. East Asia. New York: Chelsea House,
s
porary culture is most marked by its adap- 2005.

ba
Ab
Democracy and Democratic

Q
Movements
A.
Democracy is a form of government in which the people make laws, either directly or
through elected representatives. The practice of democracy came relatively late to most
Asian states.

40 | D E M O C R A C Y A N D D E M O C R AT I C M O V E M E N T S
DEMOCRATIC PROGRESS & SETBACKS IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
1946 Republic of Philippines established 1972 Martial law declared in the Philippines by
following end of Japanese occupation in Ferdinand Marcos
2
World War II
1975–1977 State of national emergency declared
76
1947 Elections in newly independent India won by Indira Gandhi in India, who sets up a
83
by Congress Party; establishment of temporary police state
Pakistan as a separate state
1984 Gandhi, also of the Congress Party,
3
-2
1948 Union of Burma (now Myanmar) elected prime minister, returning stability
established with president and prime to India
01
minister at its head
1986 “People Power” Revolution in the
03
1949 Kuomintang government ousted and Philippines, ousting Ferdinand Marcos
moved to Taiwan upon formation of the from office and installing Corazon Aquino
#
People’s Republic of China as president
us
1949 Indonesia declared independent of Dutch 1987 End of martial law in Taiwan, allowing
rule gradual democratization
in
jo
1951 Cabinet system of government 1990 Parliamentary democracy installed in
established by king of Nepal Nepal under leadership of monarch (later
up
suspended during civil war)

1953 National Assembly established by king of
ro
Bhutan 1990 Elections in Myanmar (Burma) won by

Democratic Party headed by Aung San
G
1955 Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) voted

Suu Kyi, who is placed under house arrest
into power in Japan, setting example for
p
by military
p
democratic one-party rule

sa
1993 United Nations–sponsored elections in

1959 Self-government established for Singapore,
Cambodia, resulting in restoration of
t
ending its status as British colony

ha
constitutional monarchy
1965 Military takeover by general-turned-
1999 General Pervez Musharraf installed as
iW
president Suharto after attempted

president of Pakistan after military coup
Communist coup in Indonesia; election of
s
Ferdinand Marcos as president of the 2004 First direct presidential elections held in
ba
Philippines Indonesia; Musharraf reelected president

in Pakistan elections
Ab
1966 Election of Indira Gandhi as India’s first

female prime minister 2005 New constitution established in Bhutan
Q
1971 Parliamentary democracy established in 2006 Elected parliamentary government

Bangladesh, newly independent of reinstituted by king of Nepal
A.
Pakistan

D E M O C R A C Y A N D D E M O C R AT I C M O V E M E N T S | 41
Although the recent political history of the minority Muslim community. These ten-
most Asian nations has featured the over- sions led Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to
throw of Western colonial domination, declare a state of emergency and suspend
many Asians still do not enjoy the right of civil liberties from 1975 to 1977. Continuing
self-government. Some states that claim instability eventually led to Gandhi’s assas-
2
adherence to democracy do not actually sination in 1984, as well as her son, and suc-
76
practice it. North Korea, for instance, offi- cessor, in 1991. Since the 1990s, the Con-
cially designated the Democratic People’s gress Party has held power in a political
83
Republic of Korea, has experienced a highly coalition, and despite continuing clashes
repressive regime since the end of World between ethnic and religious factions, has
3
-2
War II. In other countries, such as Pakistan successfully shifted party policies to make
and Myanmar, democratic rule has been India economically self-sufficient and an
01
checked or opposed by the military. In the international center of high-tech industry.
03
second half of the twentieth century, demo- Japan’s Liberal Democratic Party (LDP)
cratic governments prevailed in Sri Lanka, was first voted into power in 1955 and has
India, Indonesia, Nepal, and Bangladesh, al- retained an unchallenged hold over the
#
though not without facing many challenges. Japanese government save for a period of
us
disfavor between 1993 and 1996. The LDP’s
STABLE ONE-PARTY DEMOCRACIES support of business, agriculture, and other
Asia’s democracies are unique to their own in
interest groups fostered a stable, growing
jo
circumstances and often defy Western no- economy in Japan, although officials in the
tions of democracy. For example, some of party have frequently been accused of cor-
up
the oldest and most successful democra- ruption. Japan’s embrace of the single-
ro
cies on the continent feature a single domi- party rule of the LDP reflects the high value
nant party, unlike the two-party system of Japanese society has traditionally placed
G
the United States or Europe’s multiparty on social order and stability.

p
parliamentary democracies. India and Taiwan presents an interesting contrast

p
Japan, which have had the longest record to Indian and Japanese democracy. From
sa
of democratic rule in Asia, are both parlia- 1949, Taiwan had been dominated by the
mentary democracies in which the national remnants of the Kuomintang or Nationalist
t
ha
government has been substantially domi- leadership that fled to the island following
nated by a single political party. A historical the establishment of the Communist-led
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analysis of the politics of these countries People’s Republic of China. The lifting of
shows that social and cultural circum- martial law in 1987 allowed Taiwan to
s
stances specific to each promoted the emer- evolve into a competitive democracy dur-
ba
gence of single-party democratic states. ing the 1990s.

Ab
India’s Congress Party won a majority in In Singapore, the People’s Action Party
the first elections held upon India’s achiev- (PAP) has enjoyed a majority of seats in the
ing independence from Britain in 1947 and government since the nation became self-
Q
since then has dominated Indian govern- governing in 1959. Prime Minister Lee Yuan
A.
ment. From the beginning, the Congress Kew, who served until 1990, was credited
Party faced the challenge of ruling a society with making the nation both industrial and
consisting of hundreds of different ethnic prosperous, but was often accused of being
minorities and marked by deep religious di- autocratic. The PAP rejects both Western-
visions between Hindu fundamentalists and style liberal democracy and Communist

42 | D E M O C R A C Y A N D D E M O C R AT I C M O V E M E N T S
ideology and instead embraces traditional Joseph Estrada (impeached in 2001) and
Asian values, characterizing the govern- Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, reelected in
ment as a family in which the father consid- 2004, have been similarly fractious, caught
ers all opinions and then makes the correct in the political struggles between the old
decision. Singapore’s citizens have thus far landed wealthy and those who wish for so-
2
been willing to trade the rights of free ex- cietal reform.
76
pression and certain personal liberties for Nepal and Bhutan, in contrast, represent
the economic security of a generous wel- a progression from monarchies to parlia-
83
fare state. mentary systems. The Nepalese king first
established a cabinet system in 1951, and
3
-2
CONTENTIOUS DEMOCRACIES further reforms created a constitutional
Indonesia provides an example of the diffi- monarchy in 1990. A Communist uprising
01
cult but gradual process toward democracy beginning in 1996 caused a period of great
03
followed by many Asian countries. In Indo- upheaval in Nepal. Following a state of
nesia, the election of President Sukarno fol- emergency declared by King Gyanendra in
lowing independence in 1949 resulted in a 2005, peace talks in 2006 ended the insur-
#
more authoritarian than democratic govern- gency and reinstated the parliament.
us
ment, as Sukarno took personal command As in Nepal, the king of Bhutan estab-
in response to the ongoing failure of a frag- lished a national legislature in 1953, and
mented multiparty democracy. His succes- in
later reforms culminated in a new constitu-
jo
sor, Suharto, likewise operated as an au- tion, put to a vote in 2005. A constitutional
thoritarian president, deploying military monarchy also prevails in Cambodia, where
up
force in 1965 to crush an attempted Com- the United Nations supervised democratic
ro
munist coup. A largely nonviolent revolu- elections in 1993, after years of civil war and
tion forced Suharto to step down in 1998. the bloody Communist regime called the
G
The first elected president, Islamic cleric Khmer Rouge (1975–1979). Cambodian citi-
p
Abdurrahaman Wahid, was forced out of zens voted to restore the monarchy, with
p
office by impeachment in 2001. In 2004, In- co-premiers heading the government.

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donesia held its first direct presidential Elsewhere in Asia, efforts at democrat-
election. In previous elections, voters had ization have been repeatedly blocked by
t
ha
chosen representatives to an assembly who the military. Democratic rule in Burma, first
then elected the president. established in 1948, gave way in 1962 to the
iW
The Philippines have also witnessed a military rule of General Ne Win, who insti-
troubled progress toward democracy, be- tuted socialist policies. Win’s reign ended in
s
ginning with the republic established in response to protests in 1988, and elections
ba
1946. Ferdinand Marcos, elected president in 1990 gave the popular vote to the Demo-
Ab
in 1965, imposed martial law on the Philip- cratic Party led by peace activist Aung San
pines in 1972 to fight massive government Suu Kyi. However, the State Law and Order
corruption. His tenure was marred by his Restoration Council governing Burma re-
Q
own corruption, nepotism (favoritism to- fused to hand over the reins of government.
A.
ward family), and the use of the military to As of 2006, Suu Kyi remained under house
settle political disputes. In 1986, the popu- arrest by the military junta that continued
lar “People Power” Revolution forced Mar- to rule Burma, renamed Myanmar in 1989.
cos into exile and installed Corazon Aquino Similarly, Pakistan’s democratic evolution
as president. The terms of later presidents since its independence in 1947 has been

E CO N O M I C D E V E LO P M E N T A N D T R A D E | 43
punctuated by military-backed changes of spread international support and may con-

regime. The rule of General Muhammad Zia- tinue to develop during the twenty-first
ul-Haq, who imposed martial law between century.
1977 and 1988, also introduced Islamic law
into Pakistan’s government. In 1999, an- See also: Cambodia; China; Colonization;
2
other military coup installed General Pervez Communism; Economic Development and
76
Musharraf as president and temporarily sus- Trade; India; Indonesia; Japan; Korea;
pended the constitution, although subse- Myanmar (Burma); Taiwan.
83
quent elections in 2002 and 2004 validated
Musharraf’s presidency. FURTHER READING
3
-2
In Bangladesh, which declared indepen- Chada, Maya. Building Democracy in South Asia: India,
dence from Pakistan in 1971, democratic in- Nepal, Pakistan. Boulder, CO: Lynne Rienner, 2000.
01
stitutions have survived similar perils. Al- Hagerty, Devin T., ed. South Asia in World Politics. New
03
though Communist states such as China York: Rowman and Littlefield, 2005.
have proved reluctant to introduce demo- Neher, Clark D., and Ross Marlay. Democracy and Devel-
cratic elements into their political practice,
#
opment in Southeast Asia: The Winds of Change.
democratic governments in Asia have wide- Boulder, CO: Westview, 1996.
us
in
Economic Development and Trade
jo
up
In the modern era, Asian commerce grew from a largely local and regional exchange to
ro
one reaching international and global markets. While several parts of rural modern Asia
still depend heavily on farming as the chief economic activity, certain Asian urban
G
centers such as Singapore, Hong Kong, Bangkok, and Mumbai (Bombay) provide bustling
p
harbors for international traffic and trade. The impressive modern skylines that dominate
p
Asia’s major cities—including the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and
sa
the Taipei Tower in Taiwan, in 2007 the world’s tallest buildings—offer physical evidence
of the thriving financial and business centers to which these cities are home.
t
ha
Colonial governments dictated economic Many Asian governments in the late

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development and trade for many parts of twentieth century achieved a blend of eco-
South and Southeast Asia during the eigh- nomic models best adapated to their
s
teenth and nineteenth centuries. However, country’s unique physical and cultural re-
ba
the economic history of Asia in the twenti- sources. India, guarding a hard-won inde-
Ab
eth century was marked by increasingly in- pendence, implemented a combination of

dependent nations adopting economic government-owned industry and private
models they felt would best serve their enterprise protected by high tariffs or taxes.
Q
needs. China, Vietnam, and North Korea im- In Japan, close collaboration developed
A.
plemented communist economies, based on among suppliers, manufacturers, and distrib-

nationalization (state ownership of resources utors, reflecting the cultural value of group
and industry), while other nations such as organization and cooperation. In Singapore,
Australia followed the Western model of the government reacted to pervasive unem-
free enterprise known as capitalism. ployment and slums with state-sponsored

44 | E CO N O M I C D E V E LO P M E N T A N D T R A D E
MARITIME AND OVERLAND PASSAGES BETWEEN ASIA AND THE WEST, CA. 1430–1700
Western entry into Asia in about In the early fifteenth century, early sixteenth century, the
1500 was preceded by centuries of Chinese fleets commanded by Portuguese and the Spanish had
contact over the Indian Ocean’s General Zheng sailed to Africa and established sea routes to Asia by
maritime passage and central Asia’s Arabia, but Chinese merchants sailing around the southern tip of
2
Silk Road, a series of highways that focused their activities on the sea Africa and through the Indian
76
connected China to Asia Minor routes connecting China to Ocean.
83
(present-day Turkey) and Europe. Southeast Asia and India. By the
3
-2
01
03
#
us
in
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up
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BIA
G
p p
n
t sa
ha
s iW
ba
Ab
Q
A.
building projects that provided citizens cies in the 1960s that resulted in dramatic
with homes and occupations. economic growth. These nations were char-
Hong Kong, Singapore, Taiwan, and acterized by export-driven development,
South Korea implemented economic poli- selling goods to highly industrialized nations

In the 1980s and 1990s,

several Asian states
experienced dramatic
increases in industrial
output and efficiency,
2
changes that allowed
76
them to make great
economic progress
83
during this time. These
3
nations, known as the
-2
“Asian Tigers,” included
South Korea, Singapore,
01
Taiwan, and Hong Kong
03
(shown here). (Amanda
Hall/Robert Harding World
#
Imagery/Getty Images)
us
while discouraging domestic consumption channel agricultural workers into manufac-
through policies such as high tariffs. By the in
turing and service sectors. In 2006, many
jo
early 1990s, these countries were interna- economists predicted that India stood
tionally described as the East Asian Tigers poised to become the world’s third largest
up
or Four Little Dragons. Other Asian nations, economy, replacing Japan in the rankings
ro
perceiving a direct cause-and-effect rela- behind the United States and China.
tionship between these government poli-
G
cies and the nations’ economic success, THE ROOTS OF MODERNIZATION

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adopted the same formula. However, in From ancient times, Asia enjoyed both
p
1997, a financial crisis hit several east Asian technological and economic superiority
sa
states, causing a plunge in currency values over the rest of the world. The Silk Road
and stock prices and resulting in a wave of and Indian Ocean channeled Chinese
t
ha
political and social unrest. To stabilize these porcelain and silk, Indian cotton and pep-
economies, the International Monetary per, and Southeast Asian spices, and inven-
iW
Fund, a global lending organization, moved tions such as papermaking and gunpowder
in with aid. These investments paired with to the West in return for African iron, ivory,
s
local economic reforms to allow Asia’s re- and gold and Middle Eastern trade.
ba
covery from its “economic flu.” In the early sixteenth century, these pros-
Ab
In the early twenty-first century, the re- perous avenues attracted the attention of
bounding economies of Indonesia, Malaysia, European merchants, particularly the Portu-
Thailand, and the Philippines were referred guese, whose navigational skills brought
Q
to as Asian Tigers as well. Asian countries them to the forefront of European explora-
A.
not already developed were gaining rapidly. tion and colonization. Portuguese merchants
While agriculture continued to provide oc- regulated trade between Asia and Europe
cupations for the majority of workers in through trading ports from Goa, India, to the
Cambodia, Laos, and Bangladesh, other Maluku Islands of Indonesia and Macau,
countries, like India, were beginning to China. The Portuguese also participated in

regional trade between India, China, Japan, subsequent 1840s and 1850s Opium Wars
and Indonesia, taking up residence in the key in China.
port of Malacca (in present-day Malaysia) In the post-1800, colonial era, Asian
that lay at the strategic intersection of the economies became export driven, produc-
east–west maritime routes. ing cash crops and maximizing profits by
2
Arguably, the wealthy empires of medi- exploiting local populations for labor and
76
eval China and India had no need to mecha- goods. The Dutch led the way, converting
nize and were served quite well by tradi- Java’s ricelands into sugar plantations after
83
tional arrangements of land ownership and 1820. Other Europeans followed in their im-
trade. However, as Dutch, British, and perialistic ambitions. Viewing their Asian
3
-2
French trading companies followed the colonies as resources and marketplaces,
Portuguese into Asia, multi-ethnic commer- European governments in Britain and
01
cial specialists from the Indian Ocean re- France, and later Germany, Russia, and the
03
gion (diasporas) began to prosper in Asian United States, moved to establish direct
ports and market cities. Not content to control over the productive regions of Asia
compete for markets, European traders and the Pacific. India became a British
#
during the seventeenth and eighteenth cen- crown colony in 1858 and the British consol-
us
turies attempted to corner the most desired idated their hold over upper and lower
commodities by force. They either subdued Burma in 1886; the French completed their
regional rulers, as the Dutch did in Indone- in
conquest of Indochina in 1887; the British
jo
sia in the early 1600s, or supported rulers countered by forming the Federation of
more congenial to European interest as the Malaysia in 1895; and the United States took
up
French did in Siam (Thailand) and Vietnam the Philippines from Spain in 1898. France,
ro
in the mid-1700s, and as the British Stam- Germany, and Russia all established spheres
ford Raffles and his successors did in of influence in China and employed military
G
founding Singapore and the subsequent power to gain and keep those markets. A
p
Straits Settlement in 1819. notable example was the united military

p
The Western trading companies, such as intervention of 20,000 Western troops in

sa
the Dutch East India Company and the Brit- 1900, when China’s Boxer rebels threatened
ish East India Company, lay the foundations Western settlements. Thereafter, Western
t
ha
for later colonialism, as they became re- residential and commercial enclaves in
gional powers backed by their military China included heavily armed garrisons and
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strength. These companies operated solely naval compounds.

to gain commercial profit from such desired To encourage commerce and increase
s
luxury commodities as cotton and silk cloth, profits, Western colonial governments in
ba
tea, coffee, and spices, which brought huge Asia modernized their colonies, building
Ab
profits in European markets and fueled the infrastructure such as roads, railways, ca-
Industrial Revolution taking place back nals, and harbors, as the British did in India.
home, which began to produce less expen- Many, like the French government in Indo-
Q
sive manufactured cloth substitutes. By the china, also established centralized govern-
A.
nineteenth century, Western governments ments with universal legal codes and judici-
were willing to directly intervene where ary systems, Western-style bureaucracies,
Asian governments refused to do business, and improved communications between
as in the British seizure of lower Burma administrative centers and peripheral of-
(modern Myanmar) in the 1830s and in their fices. However, such improvements typi-

cally served the interests of colonial inves- Leap Forward (1958–1962), for example,
tors rather than the local inhabitants. caused famine throughout China and Tibet
In general, though, a Western-educated when administrative officials exported lo-
professional and intellectual elite developed cally needed food supplies in order to meet
within the colonies, along with a growing government quotas. Struggles in Vietnam
2
merchant community. The colonizers were (1954–1975) and Afghanistan (1979–1989)
76
largely uninterested in improving standards to promote or repel Communist interven-
of living for their colonial populations. For tion respectively ruined the economies of
83
example, most native populations took up these countries. Economists largely blame
the issue of education themselves. By the the socialist policies pursued in Burma,
3
-2
turn of the twentieth century, Japan had es- India, and Indonesia for the decades-long
tablished a system of compulsory educa- stifling of these economies.
01
tion, and early nationalist movements in On the other hand, Asian economies that
03
India, Burma, Indonesia, China, and Vietnam benefited from U.S. aid—paired with the im-
had links to educational centers. Native intel- plementation of free enterprise tactics,
lectuals often became the leaders of popular such as Japan, Thailand, and the East Asian
#
political and economic reform movements Tigers—prospered. Following their lead,
us
by the 1920s, which were foundational to in- many Asian nations, including China and
dependence following World War II. India, began in the late twentieth century to
in
liberalize their economic policies in hopes
jo
ASIAN ECONOMIES AFTER 1945 of encouraging open marketplace ex-
In the aftermath of World War II, many Cen- changes, attracting foreign investment, fos-
up
tral Asian states found communism forced tering domestic industry, and making a
ro
upon them as they were absorbed into the home for global businesses.
expanding Soviet Union. A number of
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newly-formed Asian governments adopted Export-Driven Economics:

p
communism as a radical departure from The Japanese Model

p
colonial-era capitalism, including the Following World War II, Japan focused on
sa
People’s Republic of China (1949), North producing goods for export to the affluent
Korea (1948), and Vietnam (1954). They West rather than for local consumption. The
t
ha
were attracted by Communism’s promise of Japanese built their supply of capital or in-
equitable redistribution of economic re- vestment wealth by producing inexpensive
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sources, notably land reform to eliminate handicrafts and putting the early profits
traditional landholding aristocracies, and to into industrial expansion. Japan’s successes
s
nationalize foreign-owned industries. Lead- drew in Western capital, and the country
ba
ership in India, Sri Lanka, Indonesia, and benefited particularly from expenditures
Ab
Burma (Myanmar) adopted socialist poli- the United States made in Japan during the
cies and reforms, which involved state own- Korean War (1950–1953).
ership to a somewhat lesser extent than The Japanese model involved direct
Q
Communist Party models. government involvement in the economy,

A.
In general, the costs of the early Com- not as an owner or manager, but in support
munist policies far outweighed the bene- of private enterprise. Over time, a few gov-
fits for Asian economies. Initiatives for the ernment-allowed mega-corporations such
collectivization of agriculture often spawned as Mitsubishi and Sony, which were sup-
wholesale famine and starvation. The Great ported by a network of smaller suppliers,

refocused their efforts on the production of intensive manufactures into heavy industry
higher-priced and technologically sophisti- and advanced electronics.
cated export products, such as automobiles Each Tiger also benefited from its strong
and consumer electronics. Eventually, Cold War ties to the United States govern-
Japan dominated the sale of these items in ment and U.S. corporations. The United
2
the global marketplace. States provided foreign aid through the
76
In addition to encouraging a strong ex- 1960s to all but British Hong Kong, along
port market, the Japanese government with private investment capital, partner-
83
initially discouraged domestic consump- ships with U.S. multinational corporations,
tion through high tariffs on imports paired and a friendly marketplace for the Tigers’
3
-2
with severe restrictions on labor union ac- products.
tivities, low wages, and artificially high All the Tigers had industrial systems
01
prices on consumer goods. Japan’s low based in corporate alliances rather than in
03
wages allowed its corporations to under- open competition, such as the chaebol or
price their foreign competition, and corporate conglomerates in South Korea.
Japan’s corporate commitment to quality Only Hong Kong was unique in that it had
#
production gave it an additional market no marketplace restrictions. Overall, the
us
advantage. Japan also invested industrial mutually beneficial relationship of govern-
profits in national educational and health ment and industry, drawn on the Japanese
systems, to develop an educated, healthy, in
example, came to be viewed as a uniquely
jo
quality workforce. By the 1980s, Japan’s Asian model of a political economy and
workforce began to enjoy the rewards of largely the reason for the Tigers’ success.
up
their earlier sacrifices, as wage increases,

ro
fewer market restrictions, and new high- 1997 Financial Crisis and Aftermath
tech employment opportunities allowed The rapid growth among the Tigers, as
G
Japanese to achieve one of the world’s events proved, was not sustainable. By the
p
highest standards of living. By the turn of mid-1990s, overvalued stock and property
p
the twenty-first century, Japan’s techno- prices had made foreign investors nervous.
sa
logically sophisticated marketplace, in- A concerted withdrawal of capital invest-

cluding a highly subsidized agricultural ment had an immediate effect seen first in
t
ha
sector, was the third-largest economy in Thailand: in early July 1997, the Thai baht
the world. halved in value almost overnight, and stock
iW
market values dropped by 75 percent. The

The Asian Tigers currency crisis spread to the Tigers as well
s
South Korea, Taiwan, Singapore, Hong as Indonesia, Malaysia, and the Philippines
ba
Kong, and Malaysia all initially benefited and was felt as far away as Russia and Bra-
Ab
from their strong central governments and zil. Attendant social unrest due to the fall-
weak democratic traditions. Their political ing currencies and the ripple effect on the
systems restricted civil liberties and limited global economy caused the World Bank
Q
short-term personal gain in favor of sus- and the International Monetary Fund to
A.
tained economic growth. Tiger nations im- offer aid.

plemented aggressive land redistributions; Thanks to foreign assistance and inter-
supported free public education, health nal restructuring, by 2000 most of the
care, public housing, and transportation affected economies had recovered. One
projects; and moved from cheap, labor- consequence of the crisis was increasing

E N V I R O N M E N TA L I S S U E S | 49
government support for small and medium- Movements; Singapore; Taiwan;

sized firms, including making loans avail- Technology and Inventions.
able to local entrepreneurs as well as to
larger, well-connected corporations. An- FURTHER READING
other consequence was increasing interest Ahmed, Sadiq. Explaining South Asia’s Development
2
in and support for regional organizations Success: The Role of Good Policies. Washington, DC:
76
such as Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation World Bank, 2006.
(APEC), designed to oversee matters of re- Kubota, Hiroji. Out of the East: Transition and Tradition in
83
gional trade, investment, and cooperation. Asia. New York: Norton, 1998.
Groups like APEC reinforce Asian networks
3
Munakata, Naoko. Transforming East Asia: The Evolution
-2
and increase connections to, while at the of Regional Economic Integration. Washington, DC:
same time decreasing financial reliance on, Brookings Institution Press, 2006.
01
the rest of the world. Reid, Struan. The Silk and Spice Routes: Cultures and
03
Civilizations. New York: UNESCO, 1994.
See also: China; Colonization; Democracy Rosen, George. Economic Development in Asia. Brook-
and Democratic Movements; Imperialism;
#
field, VT: Avebury, 1996.
Korea; Nationalism and Nationalist
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in
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up
The rapid modernization, industrialization, and population growth in Asia during the
ro
twentieth century have raised worldwide concerns about environmental damage on the
continent. Unregulated economic development and large populations have polluted air
G
and water, endangered many animal and plant species due to loss of habitat, and
p
diminished natural resources.

p
sa
In response to the pressures of growing results from many activities, including log-
population density, many Asian govern- ging for timber needed to construct new
t
ha
ments, making economic growth their first urban housing, which is stripping the for-
priority, have regarded environmental con- ests of Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia, and
iW
trols as a luxury to develop only after the their neighbors. In places like Nepal, wood
basic needs of their societies are met. is a major source of fuel. In the Philippines
s
Whereas some Asian nations, such as and other areas where limited arable land is
ba
Japan, have become party to several inter- available, forests are sacrificed to agricultu-
Ab
national agreements regarding environ- ral expansion, necessary to feed already

mental regulation and preservation, others, substantial and increasing populations.
such as Myanmar (Burma), pursue a devel- China, for example, has only one-half the
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opment plan that disregards harmful envi- arable land and pasture space of the United
A.
ronmental impact. States, yet must feed more than four times
as many people. In both China and India,
RURAL THREATS and increasingly elsewhere, agricultural
Deforestation is an environmental issue plains have no wood remaining for fuel.
affecting most of Asia. The loss of forests China uses its plentiful coal supplies instead.

50 | E N V I R O N M E N TA L I S S U E S
Seen here from a U.S.

Navy helicopter is just
some of the devastation
caused by the December
26, 2004, tsunami that
2
struck Indonesia.
76
Indonesia occupies a
region prone to
83
earthquakes and volcanic
3
activity, which can trigger
-2
the deadly tsunamis.
(Jordon R. Beesley/U.S. Navy
01
via Getty Images)
03
#
us
In rural India, the fuel shortage has been rein
The building of the Three Gorges Dam over
jo
solved by the use of animal dung, which is the Chang River in China, completed in
collected, dried in the sun, and burned to 2006 and expected to be fully operational
up
provide a slow, even heat. But using manure by 2009, aims to control flooding and also
ro
for fuel means that it does not go into the supply valuable hydroelectric power for
fields as fertilizer. China’s cities. Detractors, however, point
G
Cutting timber in the Himalaya moun- out that the dam reservoir will create detri-
p
tains and the jungles of Southeast Asia has mental effects such as silting, the emission
p
led to extensive soil erosion that increases of greenhouse gases, and the destruction
sa
the likelihood of downstream flooding. Cen- of habitats for the already endangered Chi-
tral China had destructive floods in 1991 and nese paddlefish and Siberian crane. The
t
ha
1994 that were directly caused by deforest- Chang River dolphin, declared extinct in
ation. In Bangladesh and coastal Indonesia, 2006, disappeared largely because of the
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which are already subject to heavy seasonal Three Gorges Dam. Similarly, drawing on
monsoon flooding, upstream deforestation the Amu Darya, a river in Turkmenistan, to
s
increases the violence of floods and conse- supply water for irrigation has decreased
ba
quent property damage and loss of life. At- the river’s ability to replenish the Aral Sea, a
Ab
tempts to restrict cutting and to replant for- consequence with a long-range impact on
ests have so far been inadequate to replace the ecosystem of this area.
the lost areas. Deforestation also leads to Agricultural activities have also had a
Q
desertification, or the turning of once- harmful impact on Asia’s rural landscapes.

A.
fertile land into desert, as seen particularly Overgrazing in places like Australia leads to
in India, China, and Mongolia. the degradation of productive land. In many
Building projects that substantially parts of Central Asia, such as Tajikistan, in-
change environmental features such as creasing salinity resulting from pesticide
seas and rivers have consequences as well. use makes less land available for farming. In

E N V I R O N M E N TA L I S S U E S | 51
TURNING POINT
Tsunami of December 2004
2
On December 26, 2004, an undersea earth- viously arable, productive soil. The tsunami
76
quake in the Indian Ocean triggered a series destroyed buildings and infrastructure and
of lethal tsunamis, huge ocean waves, as long left over a million people homeless. Survivors
83
as 60 miles (100 km) and more than 100 feet must deal with the psychological damage of
3
(30 m) high. The Indian Ocean tsunami was having lost home and family as they face the
-2
one of the worst disasters in modern history. task of rebuilding local communities.
Over 220,000 people were declared dead or Almost all the coastal populations hit by
01
missing, and coastal communities in Indone- the tsunami were taken by surprise. Since
03
sia, Sri Lanka, Thailand, and as far away as the the Indian Ocean rarely has tsunami, there
east African coast (which the waves hit seven was no warning system to detect the waves
#
hours after the earthquake) were destroyed. or to warn local populations of their ap-
The earthquake, which originated in the proach. International aid contributed the
us
Indian Ocean just off the western coast of equivalent of 7 billion U.S. dollars to provide
Sumatra, Indonesia, ranked between 9.1 and sanitary temporary living quarters, prevent
9.3 on the 10-point Richter scale used to in
famine, and repair local economies. Ecolo-
jo
measure earthquake intensity. In the open gists have argued that the heavy devasta-
up
ocean the tsunami waves were relatively tion of the tsunami was in part due to human
small, but as they entered shallow water abuse of the natural ecosystems of the re-
ro
near coastlines they slowed down and be- gion, specifically the destruction of coral
came highly destructive. The tsunami de- reefs, mangrove forests, and sand dunes
G
stroyed fragile coastlines, poisoned fresh that once lined the coasts and acted as a line
p
water supplies, and left salt deposits in pre- of defense against ocean storms.
p
sa
many parts of South and East Asia, the severe danger to Asia’s biodiversity. Nu-
t
ha
Green Revolution, which increased agricul- merous species depend on Asia’s unique
tural productivity beginning in the 1960s, topography for their habitat. The clouded
iW
introduced pesticides and chemical fertiliz- leopard, tapir, tiger, Asian elephant, Asian
ers that are damaging to humans, animals, rhinoceros, and giant panda all stand in
s
and the natural environment. danger of extinction from loss of habitat

ba
Other industries have also harmed Asian and illegal hunting.

Ab
environments. Overfishing in places like

Myanmar (Burma) and Cambodia has re- URBAN THREATS
sulted in diminishing food supplies and Air and water pollution and water scarcity
Q
more endangered species. Mining in Cam- present the greatest threats to Asia’s urban
A.
bodia and Mongolia, and projects such as societies. Water pollution from sewage and
the construction of an oil pipeline through industrial wastes affects countries from India
Myanmar, also contribute to ongoing de- to Indonesia, and a shortage of freshwater
forestation. Aside from the impact on resources affects populations from Afghani-
human populations, these activities pose a stan to Australia. Potable (drinkable) water

52 | E N V I R O N M E N TA L I S S U E S
has become scarce in parts of India, Laos, protocol due to careful management and
Cambodia, and northern China. Industrial mass transportation options.
plants and individuals together contribute to Overpopulation is Asia’s chief environ-
air pollution, most significantly through the mental problem. Singapore, the Maldives,
burning of fossil fuels such as petroleum, and Bangladesh are among the most
2
which emits greenhouse gases into the air densely populated countries in the world,
76
that combine to cause global warming. while urban areas such as Manila, Mumbai
China has one of the world’s worst envi- (Bombay), Kulkata (Calcutta), Seoul, and
83
ronmental records. China’s dependence on Tokyo fit tens of thousands of people into
coal, a much dirtier-burning fuel than petro- every square mile. Both China and India have
3
-2
leum, has severely polluted urban air. populations exceeding one billion. Increas-
China’s cities are known for their “yellow ing demand strains natural resources, while
01
dragon,” sulfur smoke and haze produced human activities create pollution and other-
03
by burning coal. Urban Chinese, like their wise contribute to environmental deteriora-
counterparts in South Korea, Taiwan, Indo- tion. Asian governments in the twenty-first
nesia, Thailand, and India, are subjected to century face the unenviable challenge of try-
#
choking clouds of industrial pollution, as ing to support expanding societies while
us
well as exhaust from the scooters, cars, facing pressure from global environmental
buses, and trucks that clog the streets. groups and other nations to impose ade-
Most countries in Asia have been slow to in
quate controls and support economic prac-
jo
build mass transportation systems such as tices that minimize ecological damage.
commuter trains and subways, mainly due
up
to the cost of construction. See also: Agriculture; China; Japan;

ro
So far, Japan and Singapore are the only Society.

Asian states to effectively confront their
G
pollution problem. Japan’s policy makers FURTHER READING

p
have imposed restrictions on industrial Boomgaard, Peter. Southeast Asia: An Environmental

p
waste, limited the number of automobiles History. Washington, DC: ABC-CLIO, 2006.
sa
permitted in densely populated urban areas, Fien, John, David Yencken, and Helen Sykes, eds. Young
and restricted urbanism and industrialism to
t
People and the Environment: An Asia-Pacific Per-

ha
specific zones, not allowing them to spread spective. Boston: Kluwer, 2002.
into Japan’s remaining natural habitat. Japan Environmental Council. The State of the Environ-
iW
Singapore’s air emissions remain well below ment in Asia: 2005/2006. Trans. Rik Davis. Tokyo:
levels allowed by the international Kyoto Springer, 2005.
s
ba
Ab
Q
A.

G–O
Great Leap Forward
Ill-fated attempt by Chinese leader Mao Zedong to jump-start his nation’s industrial
production during the late 1950s and early 1960s. The poorly conceived and hastily
2
executed program proved an economic and social disaster, leaving in its wake economic
76
depression and famine that claimed the lives of millions of Chinese.
83
With the formation of the People’s Repub- duction. People were required to turn in and
lic of China in 1949, Mao and the Communist melt down all “scrap” metal—including use-
3
-2
Party instituted a policy of collectivization, ful tools and cooking utensils—to achieve
which took land from the wealthy and redis- steel production goals. However, the poor-
01
tributed it among the poor peasants. As a quality steel from the backyard furnaces
broke under stress, and the destruction of
03
preparation for industrialization, in the
years leading up to 1958, China’s govern- tools and farm implements contributed to
ment leaders pressured Chinese peasants the subsequent famine. Other projects fared
#
to form agricultural collectives that inno better. The new roads washed out in the
us
cluded up to 300 households and shared next monsoon season, and local factory
lands, tools, and equipment. Mao then un- production was minimal because the work-
veiled his Great Leap Forward, designed to in
ers devoted themselves to public projects
jo
last from 1958 to 1963 and promote the rather than industrial production.
rapid and parallel development of China’s The worst mismanagement, however, oc-
up
agricultural and industrial sectors. curred in the agricultural sector. When local
ro
Rather than focus on large factories, as officials failed to meet the inflated produc-
was the model in England and the Soviet tion goals set by the party, they handed
G
Union, Mao intended the Great Leap pro- over food needed to support local popula-
p
gram to support small to medium-sized tions and, in some cases, valuable seed
p
local industries and agricultural coopera- crops as well. The consequent food short-
sa
tives. To this end, the party forced another ages, accompanied by widespread flooding
wave of collectivization, consolidating land, in 1959, led to famine that lasted from the
t
ha
capital, and human resources into orga- winter of 1959 to 1962. During this period,
nized communes that were managed by known to Chinese as the Three Bitter Years,
iW
local residents. Replacing the traditional up to 20 million people perished. In the face
Chinese value of loyalty to the family, com- of the disaster, Mao temporarily stepped
s
mune members ate in public mess halls, down from power, and China began to im-
ba
lived in public dormitories, and worked port grain to feed its starving populace and
Ab
round-the-clock on public works projects improve public welfare.

designed to benefit the whole community.
Although enthusiastic, the Chinese pea- See also: China; Communism.
Q
santry lacked the necessary technology and

A.
training to make the Great Leap succeed. FURTHER READING

One example of the problems the system Dhawan, Neerja. Great Leap Forward: An Appraisal. New
encountered was the government’s encour- Delhi: R.K. Gupta, 1990.
aging individuals to build “backyard steel MacFarquhar, Roderick. The Great Leap Forward, 1958–
furnaces” to double the country’s steel pro- 1960. New York: Columbia University Press, 1983.
53

54 | IMPERIALISM
Hong Kong See China; Economic Development and Trade;

Spheres of Influence.
2
76
Imperialism
83
The extension of one nation’s power over foreign lands, a process that led to an extended
3
period of European political and economic domination over Asia. Although independent
-2
nations emerged from the Asian colonies created during the period of Western rule, this
01
did not mark the end of imperialism in the region, which continues in a variety of ways.
03
NINETEENTH-CENTURY century, an increased demand for raw mate-
IMPERIALISM rials, marketplaces, and investment oppor-
#
Before 1500, Europe traded with Asia via a tunities changed the nature of the West’s re-
us
series of overland and sea routes stretching lationship with Asia. The 1870s ushered in a
from Venice, Italy, and Constantinople (now period of marked colonial expansion, some-
Istanbul, Turkey) to the China Sea. In the in
times called the New Imperialism, that
jo
sixteenth century, Portuguese vessels lasted until the beginning of World War I in
gained a monopoly over Asian trade by 1914. European nations were no longer con-
up
controlling water routes between Europe tent to trade with and exert an indirect rule
ro
and the Indian Ocean and establishing Por- over native populations, as the British had
tuguese settlements at Goa, Melaka (mod- done in India since 1757. Instead, they de-
G
ern Malysia), India, and Macau, China. Mov- sired to penetrate Asia’s interior and create
p
ing to compete with the Portuguese for the empires that functioned as an extension of
p
valuable Asian markets, most especially the the mother country. New industrial technol-
sa
spice trade, the Dutch East India Company ogy such as the steamship and the machine
began in the early 1600s to build a network gun gave Europeans the advantage in sub-
t
ha
of trading posts on the southwest Indian jecting the lesser-armed empires of Asia, as
coast, Ceylon (now Sri Lanka), the Indone- the Chinese found when British and French
iW
sian archipelago, and Japan. England and troops burned down the emperor’s summer
France quickly joined the competition for In- palace in Beijing in 1860. The European
s
dian Ocean trade by the late 1600s. The Brit- powers justified their dominion with claims
ba
ish East India Company, formed in 1599, of racial superiority and the inability of the
Ab
gained a foothold in India and Southeast native population to govern itself.

Asia, and in 1711 was allowed to trade at Can- The building of European empires in Asia
ton (Guangzhou), China. Until the nineteenth was motivated by political and military as
Q
century, the goal of these Western mer- well as economic considerations. In South-
A.
chants was to satisfy demand in the Euro- east Asia, the British annexed Burma (now
pean markets for goods high-priced luxury Myanmar) and Malaysia and used Thailand
goods such as cotton, silk, indigo, and tea. as a neutral barrier to check French expan-
When the Industrial Revolution began to sion in Indochina. British rule of India,
transform Europe in the mid-nineteenth known as the Raj, transferred from the East

IMPERIALISM | 55
BRITISH AND FRENCH EMPIRES IN INDIA, SRI LANKA, AND SOUTHEAST ASIA, CA. 1890
The French annexation of Princely States, indigenous rulers directly. French rule in Indochina
Indochina in the 1880s led the exercised local control but were was also a mix of direct and
British to consolidate their hold ultimately subordinate to British indirect rule over three Vietnam
over Burma and Malaya. In India colonial authorities. In other administrative regions—Cochin
2
and Malaysia, the British Raj was a regions, such as the Malaya China, Annam, and Tonkin.
76
mixture of direct and indirect rule. Federated and Straits Settlement
83
In some regions, such as the Indian regions, British officials ruled
3
-2
Nara
01
03
Pataliputra
#
Nalanda
us
in
jo
up
ro
G
p p
t sa
ha
s iW
ba
Ab
India Company to the British crown in 1858, rights to establish mines, build railroads,
proved a prosperous addition to the British and establish local settlements or foreign
Empire. The French were determined to concessions. By the turn of the twentieth
Q
build a similar empire on the Indochinese century, Japan and the United States had
A.
peninsula, encompassing what are now also emerged as imperialist powers in East
Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam. Germany, Asia and the Pacific.
Russia, Britain, and France all competed Western imperialism had devastating ef-
with one another to claim spheres of influ- fects on local Asian societies. With the ex-
ence in China, in which they had exclusive ceptions of Thailand and Japan, Western

56 | IMPERIALISM
nations deposed every existing political the 1950s and 1960s, Asia became the
system and traditional elite in Asia. China, scene for new imperialist struggles that
although not directly colonized, was sub- grew out of World War II. During this time,
ject to indirect Western economic and po- the United States and Soviet Union fought
litical controls that had similar results. proxy wars in Korea and Vietnam and
2
backed rival political factions in many other
76
TWENTIETH-CENTURY nations in an attempt to exert influence
TRANSITIONS over Asia.
83
Although World War I (1914–1918) ended Even at the turn of the twenty-first cen-
German colonialism in Asia, most of Asia tury, many Asian economies still depended
3
-2
and the Pacific remained under Western on the Western marketplace to purchase
control. In addition, Japan began to pursue their local agricultural products, raw materi-
01
her own policy of imperialism, expanding als, and handicrafts. The World Bank and
03
into Okinawa, Korea, and parts of China in the International Monetary Fund, which
fighting the Sino-Japanese (1894–1895) and offer financial assistance to developing na-
Russo-Japanese (1904–1905) Wars. The tions, demand compliance with the eco-
#
rapid industrialization experienced in Japan nomic policies of Western-style capitalism
us
from the 1870s created a great demand for as a condition of providing aid. However,
raw materials, while an equally rapid militar- modern imperialism is no longer exclusive
ization made it possible for the country to in
to the West. With the rise of Japan, Taiwan,
jo
claim rights by force. Agreements with the China, and other emerging Asian “eco-
Allied victors of World War I left Japan with nomic tigers,” old Western dependencies
up
control over Manchuria, Inner Mongolia and have been replaced by Asian economies
ro
Germany’s territorial command of several competing to dominate trade with and in-
Pacific island regions and its sphere of influ- crease exports to each other as well as the
G
ence in China. rest of the world.

p
World War II (1937–1945) heralded the

p
end of Western colonial domination over See also: China; Colonization; Democracy
sa
Asia. During the war, Japan seized most of and Democratic Movements; Economic
the former European colonies in Asia and Development and Trade; Nationalism and
t
ha
the Pacific save for India. After the war, local Nationalist Movements; Russo-Japanese
populations agitated for, and achieved, in- War; Spheres of Influence; World War I;
iW
dependence in many of these countries. World War II.

India and Pakistan won freedom from Brit-
s
ish rule in 1947; Burma, the Philippines, and FURTHER READING

ba
other nations followed suit in the ensuing Beasley, W.G. Japanese Imperialism, 1894–1945. New
Ab
two decades. Some European powers, such York: Oxford University Press, 1991.
as the Dutch in Indonesia, the French in Tarling, Nicholas. Imperialism in Southeast Asia. New
Vietnam, and the British in Malaysia, initially,
Q
York: Routledge, 2001.

resisted colonial movements toward self- Wainwright, A. Martin. Inheritance of Empire: Britain,
A.
rule. In the Cold War struggle between the India, and the Balance of Power in Asia, 1938–1955.
West and the Soviet Union, which peaked in Westport, CT: Praeger, 1994.

INDIA | 57
India
Populous South Asian nation composed of a wide variety of ethnic, linguistic, and
2
religious groups, whose differences and rivalries have produced deep rifts in Indian
76
society. Although India remains a functional democracy after more than sixty years of
independence, its fundamental division between Hindus and Muslims remains the most
83
highly charged issue in the country’s contemporary politics. In addition to the Hindu-
Muslim split, modern India’s unity is fractured by the existence of fifty or more regional
3
-2
languages and traditional castes that dictate occupational opportunities and social
relationships.
01
03
MUGHAL INDIA rangzeb (r. 1658–1707). Aurangzeb broad-
India in 1500 was divided into several king- ened the empire to its furthest extent, an-
doms, with a collection of competing sulta- nexing the last of the Deccan sultanates,
#
nates ruling the north and central regions but he also increased intolerance toward
us
and the Hindu Vijayanagara Empire ruling Hindus and faced rebellions from many
the south. In 1526, Muslim armies led by the groups. After Aurangzeb’s death in 1707,
Mongol prince Babur captured the Delhi in
the Mughal realm fragmented into separate
jo
Sultanate in northern India and combined it domains ruled by regional officials who
with his territories based around Kabul, Af- were now independent of the court.
up
ghanistan, to begin the Mughal (Persian for

ro
“Mongol”) Empire. Babur’s son Humayan, BRITISH INDIA

forced into exile in Persia, reclaimed his The British East India Company arrived in
G
father’s kingdom in 1555, and Humayan’s India in 1601 and established footholds
p
son Akbar the Great (r. 1566–1605) ex- there during the reign of Jahangir, receiving
p
tended the empire by conquering Bengal permission to build trading centers at ports
sa
and Kashmir and venturing into the Deccan like Surat in return for supplying the em-
sultanates in south-central India.
t
peror with European goods. In 1639, the

ha
A Muslim ruling over mostly Hindu sub- East India Company established an impor-
jects, Akbar greatly strengthened the Mu- tant trade base at Madras (Chennai) in
iW
ghal Empire by improving administration, southeast India’s cotton region. It later es-
encouraging culture and literature, promot- tablished bases at Bombay (Mumbai), adja-
s
ing religious tolerance, and increasing free- cent to the Gujarat and Maharastra cotton
ba
doms for women. He fostered trade with regions, and at Calcutta (Kolkata) in the
Ab
British merchants combing India’s coasts strategic Bengal Ganges River delta.
and welcomed Jesuit (Catholic) missionar- In the mid-eighteenth century, Britain and
ies from the Portuguese colony of Goa to France fought a series of battles for control
Q
his court. Political stability and artistic en- over India that ended in outright British rule
A.
deavors increased under the reigns of Ja- over the subcontinent. Robert Clive, a Brit-
hangir (r. 1605–1627) and Shah Jahan (r. ish major-general, led his troops to victory
1628–1658), but corruption and monumen- against the French and their native allies in
tal building projects such as the Taj Mahal the Madras region in 1750, and seven years
bankrupted the empire inherited by Au- later he repeated his triumph at the Battle

58 | INDIA
of Plassey in Bengal. The victory at Plassey

secured British dominance over India.
For the next century, the British East
India Company ruled most of the Indian
subcontinent, including present-day Paki-
2
stan and Bangladesh. After the Sepoy Re-
76
bellion in 1857, a series of armed uprisings
protesting British occupation, the British
83
government made India a British crown col-
ony. The British Raj, as it was called, was ad-
3
-2
ministered by the British Colonial Office
and the Indian Civil Service, an organization
01
staffed by Britons and their Westernized In-
03
dian subordinates.
In 1885, the Indian National Congress was
established with the goal of giving Indians a
#
greater say in the way they were governed.
us
The British resisted, and an independence
movement gained momentum. In 1916, in
the midst of World War I, National Congress in
jo
leaders began to advocate for Home Rule,
calling for India to become a self-governing
up
dominion of the British Empire, rather than

Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) organized the
ro
a dependent. Although the Home Rule

nonviolent resistance to British rule of India that
Movement initially drew university students
G
eventually led to the country’s independence in

and educated Indians, Mohandas Gandhi,
1947. Called the Mahatma, or “great soul,” by his
p
the leader of the National Congress, power-

p
followers, Ghandi is considered by Indians as the

fully energized the independence move-
sa
father of their nation. Gandhi was assassinated by a

ment in the post-war era by uniting India’s
Hindu extremist who opposed the creation of the
masses of peasantry to the cause. Working
t
ha
state of Pakistan from territory that was once part

to end poverty and caste discrimination
of British India. (Wallace Kirkland/Time Life Pictures/
through his commitment to Hindu philoso-
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Getty Images)
phy and nonviolent means, Gandhi inspired
widespread civil disobedience that finally
s
won India’s independence in 1947. sulted in the deaths of about 200,000 peo-
ba
ple. The partition, intended to ease the divi-

Ab
INDEPENDENT INDIA sions between Hindu and Muslim, ended up

Independence did not come without a price. exacerbating the problem. At least 10 mil-
The former British Raj split into the separate lion Sikhs, Muslims, and Hindus migrated
Q
states of India and Pakistan, with the state between the two newly formed nations,
A.
of Punjab in the northwest divided between hoping to find a home for their religion.
both countries. This division set fire to reli- Jawaharlal Nehru, the first prime minister
gious tensions that had been long in the of the new republic of India, took up the
making; riots involving Sikhs, Muslims, and task of making the country economically
Hindus in the Punjab, Bengal, and Delhi re- self-sufficient. He did this primarily through

INDIA | 59
GREAT LIVES
Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869–1948)
2
The political and spiritual leader of India’s in- Salt March from Ahmedabad to Dandi, in Gu-
76
dependence movement, Gandhi earned the jarat, declaring that he would make salt from
title Mahatma (in Sanskrit, “great soul”) for the sea. British officials imprisoned 60,000
83
his adherence to principles of nonviolence of those who joined him, but the 248-mile
and his devotion to truth. He won a reputa- (400-km) trek had proved the power of pas-
3
-2
tion worldwide for his tireless support of hu- sive resistance.
manitarian ideals, his practice of a simple, In 1942, Gandhi began his Quit India
01
devoutly Hindu lifestyle, and his philosophy movement, insisting that India would not
03
called satyagraha, a form of civil disobedi- support Britain in World War II unless
ence enacted through peaceful resistance. granted independence. British officials re-
After training as a lawyer in London, En- sponded to the demonstrations with vio-
#
gland, Gandhi accepted a job in South Africa, lence and mass arrests. During his two-year
us
where, in 1907, he led his first civil disobedi- imprisonment, from 1942 to 1944, Gandhi
ence movement to protest discrimination lost his health and his wife, who died in
against Indians. Returning to British- in
prison. After his release, the British agreed
jo
controlled India with his family in 1915, Gan- to enter negotiations.
dhi became involved with the Indian National Gandhi advised the National Congress to
up
Congress and its movement for home rule prevent the suggested partitioning of India
ro
(self-government). While educated Indians and Muslim Pakistan, and in the violence
already supported the movement, Gandhi that followed the partition, he worked
G
found ways to mobilize the poor and illiterate ceaselessly to combat Hindu and Muslim
p
to join the cause. One of his suggestions was acts of communal violence. Gandhi was as-
p
encouraging Indians to make their own sassinated by a Hindu radical in New Delhi in
sa
goods and clothing and boycott British- 1948; all of India mourned the loss of the
t
supplied goods. Father of the Nation, affectionately called

ha
Despite threats to his life and periodic ar- Bapu (“father”). Gandhi’s example of non-
rests and imprisonment, Gandhi never aban- violent resistance inspired later civil rights
iW
doned his stance of peaceful noncoopera- activists worldwide, including America’s

tion as an answer to British oppression. In Martin Luther King Jr., South Africa’s Nelson
s
1930, to protest a crushing tax on the neces- Mandela, and the Burmese winner of the
ba
sary commodity of salt, Gandhi led a massive Nobel Peace Prize, Aung San Suu Kyi.
Ab
a Gandhi-inspired socialist welfare agenda Bengal’s decision to split from Pakistan and
Q
that advocated on behalf of India’s poor, es- form an independent Bangladesh, sparking
A.
pecially members of the lowest social caste. the third Indo-Pakistani war.
Wars with Pakistan in 1947 and 1965, fought Increasing political unrest, fueled by
for possession of Kashmir, punctuated the government corruption and social instabil-
ongoing hostility on the India-Pakistan bor- ity, led Prime Minister Indira Gandhi to de-
der. In 1971, Indian troops supported East clare a state of emergency from 1975 to

60 | INDIA
1977. Continuing social turmoil led to her as- See also: Bangladesh; Indian Nationalism;
sassination in 1984: her son Rajiv, her Pakistan.
elected successor, was assassinated in 1991.
Reforms enacted following Rajiv Gandhi’s FURTHER READING
assassination opened the door to an eco- Goodwin, William. India. San Diego: Lucent, 2000.
2
nomic boom that quelled a great deal of the Hay, Jeff. The Partition of British India. New York: Chel-
76
tension between the Indian people and the sea House, 2006.
government. At the turn of the twenty-first Henderson, Carol E. Culture and Customs of India. West-
83
century, India stood poised to become a port, CT: Greenwood, 2002.
world power, with a thriving economy, a
3
Kishore, Prem, and Anuradha Kishore Ganpati. India: An
-2
knowledge base of educated and technically Illustrated History. New York: Hippocrene, 2003.
skilled citizens, and a wide array of human
01
and natural resources at its command.
03
Indian Nationalism
#
us
Political movement to create a self-governing Indian nation-state, resulting in the
in
independence of India and Pakistan from British rule in 1947. Subject to British colonial
jo
influence from the beginning of the eighteenth century, India had been ruled as a crown
colony of the British Empire since 1858. The Indian National Congress, created in 1885 to
up
advocate for greater Indian participation in government, became the leader of India’s
ro
independence movement and, after the formation of the Indian republic, reorganized as
India’s dominant political party.
G
p
Revolt against British colonial rule found cide of widows, a custom called sati. By the
p
its first large-scale expression in the Indian end of the century, numbers of Muslim na-
sa
or Sepoy Rebellion of 1857, which prompted tionalists broke from the National Congress
the British government to take control of to form the Muslim League to advocate
t
ha
what had been the property of the British against the Hindu majority. Though they
East India Company. British rule over India, disagreed on the extent to which Indians
iW
called the Raj, depended on a network of should adopt Western ways, many follow-
British governors and educated, Western- ers of these reforms movements grew to
s
ized Indians to administer the territory. In support the idea of an independent India.
ba
the second half of the nineteenth century, Between 1916 and 1918, Indian activists,
Ab
reform movements like the Arya Samaj, including Mohammad Ali Jinnah, Bal Gan-
aimed at reforming Hindu society, gained gadhar Tilak, and Annie Besant, organized
the commitment of many Indian intellectu- the Home Rule Movement, an alliance of
Q
als. The Brahmo Samaj, another reforming local leagues dedicated to the cause of self-
A.
religious movement, supported reforms rule. India’s nationalism movement gained

such as abolishing the system of castes, broader support in outraged response to
providing more rights for women, improv- the Rowlatt Act of 1919, which gave British
ing education, and preventing practices officials the power to censor the press and
such as child marriage and the forced sui- arrest and imprison suspected traitors

INDONESIA | 61
without a warrant or trial. The Jallianwala the British Raj to Indian hands.
Bagh Massacre in April of that year, in which The cabinet’s proposal included the par-
unknown hundreds of people were killed titioning of the Raj into Hindu India and
when British soldiers fired into a crowd cel- Muslim Pakistan in order to prevent a reli-
ebrating a religious festival, was only one gious civil war. Although Gandhi steadfastly
2
chilling example of the tense relations opposed such a partition, it was supported
76
between the Raj and its subjects. by other Indian leaders, including Jinnah,
In 1921, the Home Rule Movement who was then head of the Muslim League,
83
merged with the National Congress under and National Congress leader Sardar Patel.
the leadership of Mohandas Gandhi, whose Gandhi’s misgivings proved well-founded,
3
-2
principles of nonviolent resistance had al- as tensions between India and Pakistan
ready inspired independence-minded In- erupted repeatedly into warfare during the
01
dians of all social classes. Combining his second half of the twentieth century. How-
03
work in poverty elimination and social re- ever, wide popular support of the National
form with his goal of swaraj, self-rule for Congress eventually led to an independent
India, Gandhi mobilized the masses in pro- India, which has become an economically
#
tests, marches, and peaceful demonstra- and politically powerful global player at the
us
tions of noncompliance with British rule. He turn of the twenty-first century.
gave Indians of all social classes a way to
contribute to the independence movement, in
See also: Colonization; Imperialism; India;
jo
including actions as simple as spinning their Pakistan.
own cloth so as not to depend on British
up
goods, and he became widely revered for FURTHER READING

ro
his insistence on peace and truth. Despite Malaspina, Ann. Mahatma Gandhi and India’s Indepen-
imprisonment and opposition, Gandhi dence in World History. Berkeley Heights, NJ: Enslow,
G
clung to his Quit India campaign, and the 2000.

p
British Cabinet Mission came to India in Read, Anthony, and David Fisher. The Proudest Day: India’s
p
1946 to discuss the transfer of power from Long Road to Independence. New York: Norton, 1999.
t sa
ha
Indonesia
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Archipelago consisting of more than 17,000 islands and featuring hundreds of local
s
language and cultural groups. Indonesian islands or island groups are found in Southeast
ba
Asia, the Philippines, New Guinea, and Australia. Despite their ethnic and linguistic
Ab
diversity, Indonesians are linked by a common Malay heritage; the shared legacy of Dutch
and Japanese colonial rule; near-total acceptance of Islam; unity as an independent
nation since December 27, 1949; and use of the official Indonesian language in politics,
Q
business, and public education.

A.
COLONIAL INDONESIA and Bali, had lost much of its influence to

By 1500, the Majapahit Empire, a Hindu growing Islamic kingdoms such as the Sul-
kingdom based in eastern Java that also tanate of Demak. The sixteenth century
controlled the islands of Borneo, Sumatra, marked the entrance of the Portuguese into

62 | INDONESIA
the Indonesian archipelago. Portugal es- Javanese court of Yogyakarta, led the Java-
tablished a permanent base in the Maluku nese elite in a protest against Dutch rule that
islands, trading in spices such as pepper, grew into the Java War (1825–1830). Once
cinnamon, and cloves, which were in high mobilized, the Dutch colonial army captured
demand in the European marketplace. Diponegoro and exiled him to the island of
2
Beginning in 1602, the Dutch East India Sulawesi. Although defeated, Diponegoro
76
Company began to exert influence in the re- became an Indonesian national hero.
gion, assuming control over the fractured Following the Java War, the Dutch intro-
83
former kingdoms of the Majapahit Empire duced a cultivation system designed to in-
and warring against the sultans of Mataram crease exports through greater agricultural
3
-2
and Banten. Using force to prevent the In- and village production. While the system
donesians from trading with anyone but brought enormous wealth to the Dutch
01
Dutch merchants, the company ruled a government and its local Indonesian admin-
03
prosperous colony until 1799. With head- istrators, the policy impoverished and
quarters at Batavia (now Jakarta, Indone- starved the Javanese peasantry. The system
sia’s capital), the Dutch traded rice for was finally abolished around 1870 under
#
spices and cultivated coffee plantations in pressure from the British and French. In
us
west Java. The Portuguese remained only in 1901, the Dutch introduced the Ethical Pol-
the eastern part of Timor. icy, designed to reinvest some of the colo-
By the turn of the eighteenth century, the in
nial wealth into the indigenous population
jo
Dutch East India Company was bankrupt. through subsidizing native industries and
The British, who had long been competing improving education.
up
against the Dutch for control over sea trade

ro
routes, gained control of Java as a result of INDONESIAN NATIONALISM AND

the Anglo-Dutch Java War against Napole- THE REPUBLIC
G
onic French interests in 1810–1811. British of- The Dutch Ethical Policy inspired the
p
ficer Thomas Stamford Raffles served as growth of national consciousness, led by

p
lieutenant-governor of the colony from 1811 the young and newly educated Indonesian
sa
to 1816, reforming the Dutch administration, elite. In 1908, Javanese students formed the
changing the system of land management, Budi Utomo, a political society to improve
t
ha
and amending trade policies to stop the native education and welfare. By the Sec-
slave trade in Indonesia, limit the import of ond Youth Congress of 1928, the Budi
iW
opium, and promote the conversion of Utomo adopted the goal of forming an In-
Java’s rich farmland to exploitable cash donesian nation, with one united Indone-
s
crops. After Britain gave the East Indies to sian people speaking one Indonesian lan-
ba
the Dutch government following the end of guage. The first political parties began to
Ab
the Napoleonic Wars in Europe (1799–1815), form in this period, including the founding
Raffles founded a trading post on the in 1914 of what would become the Commu-
southern tip of the Malay Peninsula that nist Party. An independence movement for-
Q
was later named Singapore. mally began with the creation of the Indo-
A.
Changing colonial administration policies nesian National Party in 1927 under the
again, the Dutch government prevented Jav- leadership of Sukarno, who was imprisoned
anese aristocrats from collecting the high several times during the 1930s for his revo-
rents they had enjoyed under the Dutch East lutionary activities and his opposition of
India company. Diponegoro, prince of the both imperialism and capitalism.

INDONESIA | 63
In 1942, at the height of World War II, country, expanding the economy with
Japan invaded Indonesia to gain access to foreign investment and filling a parliament
fuel supplies for Japan’s aviation fleet. Su- with his own supporters. He annexed West
karno rallied the Indonesian people in sup- Irian (later called Papua, located in New
port of Japan’s war effort in return for Guinea) in 1969 and East Timor in 1975, set-
2
Japanese support of the independence ting the stage for ongoing violence.
76
movement. However, many Indonesians Suharto’s Indonesia was a dictatorial police
were subject to terrible war crimes during state that suppressed free expression and
83
the Japanese occupation, including arrest, tortured, jailed, or exiled its opponents but
torture, execution, and slavery. was economically prosperous as he pro-
3
-2
After the Japanese surrendered in Au- moted foreign investments in the Indone-
gust 1945, Sukarno declared the indepen- sian economy in partnership with his family
01
dence of Indonesia. The new government members and military elite. Widespread
03
proved short-lived, however, as the Dutch popular protests in 1998 led to Suharto’s
tried to reclaim their former colony. The en- resignation.
suing Indonesian War for Independence Although impeachment for corruption
#
lasted until 1949, when the Dutch, under forced the resignation of Suharto’s elected
us
pressure from Britain and the United States, successor, President Abdurrahman Wahid,
recognized the sovereignty of the Indone- in 2001, the 2004 election of the former
sian government. in
general Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono as
jo
The Republic of Indonesia began to president seemed to promise a stable de-
draft a new constitution, but agreement mocracy. At the turn of the twenty-first
up
between the many political parties proved century, however, Indonesia still faces the
ro
difficult to achieve, particularly concerning challenges of widespread poverty, conflicts

the role of Islam in the law. Increasing un- with separatists and Islamic terrorists, and
G
rest provoked Sukarno, in 1959, to institute natural disasters caused by continual vol-
p
what he called Guided Democracy, in prac- canic and earthquake activity, which re-
p
tice an autocratic regime with ties to the sulted most devastatingly in the Indian
sa
Communist Party and the Indonesian mili- Ocean tsunami of 2004.

tary. Protesting the creation of Malaysia
t
ha
from former British territories, Sukarno See also: Colonization; Democracy and
withdrew Indonesia from the United Na- Democratic Movements; Imperialism;
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tions and might have launched a full-scale Philippines; Singapore; Slavery.

war had not his attempted assassination in
s
1965 resulted in civil war. Blaming the Com- FURTHER READING

ba
munist Party for the attempted 1965 coup, Drakeley, Steven. The History of Indonesia. Westport, CT:
Ab
the new military government launched re- Greenwood, 2005.

prisals that ended in half a million deaths, Forshee, Jill. Culture and Customs of Indonesia. West-
largely in Java and Bali.
Q
port, CT: Greenwood, 2006.

Army general Suharto took the presi- Miller, Debra A. Indonesia. San Diego: Lucent, 2005.
A.
dency in 1967 and attempted to rebuild the

64 | J A PA N
Japan
Island nation off the coast of East Asia, which made the transition from an isolated,
2
traditional, warrior-dominated society to a modern global power. The four main islands of
76
Japan historically have been home to an empire that grew aggressively during the late
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, until defeat in World War II changed imperial
83
policies. At the turn of the twenty-first century, Japan’s quarter of a billion citizens
enjoyed economic prosperity and retained their rich cultural heritage, including
3
-2
distinctive art forms and martial arts traditions admired and imitated the world over.
01
THE SHOGUNATES nomic divisions: samurai, farmers, artisans,
03
From 1185, Japan’s government had its and traders. Increasingly suspicious of
nominal seat at the Imperial Court in foreign influences, especially Catholic mis-
Kyoto. However, from 1192 to 1867, the sionaries sponsored by the Portuguese and
#
country was actually ruled by a series of Spanish monarchies, the shogun introduced
us
war-dominated regimes (bakufu) headed a policy of Japanese seclusion called sakoku
by shoguns, or generals, and supported by beginning in 1633 and fully implemented in
a class of warrior elite called samurai. in
1639. No Japanese were permitted to leave
jo
Under the Ashikaga shogunate founded in the islands, and no non-Japanese could
1338, Japan experienced the spread of Zen enter the country. Only foreign contact with
up
Buddhism and the growth of art forms Chinese, Dutch, and Korean traders through
ro
such as Noh classical drama, Chinese-style the port of Nagasaki, on Japan’s isolated
painting, and woodblock printing. The southwest coastline was allowed. Requests
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Warring States period (1482–1558) was by British, Russian, and American ships to
p
marked by civil warfare between rival establish trade relations were repeatedly
p
daimyo, powerful samurai lords who acted denied; the shogun instead fostered urban
sa
as regional military governors for the sho- culture and the development of an urban-
gun. In the late sixteenth century, the centered commercial economy. By 1800,
t
ha
Three Unifiers of Japan—the allied daimyo Japan had at least ten cities with popula-
lords Oda Nobunaga, Toyotomi Hideyoshi, tions of more than 100,000, and Edo had
iW
and Tokugawa Ieyasu—began to consoli- more than 1 million residents.

date political power and deposed the last While initially benefiting from the new
s
Ashikaga shogun in 1573. Awarded the title market demands for their crops and hand-
ba
of shogun in 1603, following his military icrafts (including woven silk), conditions
Ab
victories against his remaining rivals after for Japanese farmers worsened because
the deaths of Nobunaga and Hideyoshi, of taxation and repeated famine, and a se-
Ieyasu established the Tokugawa shogu- ries of rural uprisings called ikki disrupted
Q
nate that would govern Japan for the next the later years of the Tokugawa shogu-
A.
250 years. nate. Japanese seclusion came to an end

Under the Tokugawa shogunate, also in 1854 when the shogun negotiated a
called the Edo period after its capital of trade treaty with Commodore Matthew
Edo (now Tokyo), Japanese society was Perry of the U.S. Navy. The Tokugawa
strictly divided into four social and eco- shogunate was overthrown in 1867 by a

J A PA N | 65
KEY DATES IN JAPAN’S MODERN HISTORY
1338 Ashikaga shogunate founded by Ashikaga 1905 Victory in Russo-Japanese War, leading to
Takauji, ushering in a period of great Japanese gains in Manchuria
2
cultural development
1910 Japan’s formal annexation and occupation
76
1482 Beginning of the Warring States period, of Korea
83
marked by civil war between rival
1923 140,000 Japanese in Tokyo and surrounding
landowners
areas killed by Great Earthquake of Kanto
3
-2
1573 Last Ashikaga shogun deposed by the
1931 Japanese occupation of Manchuria,
Three Unifiers of Japan
01
beginning aggressive imperial expansion
1603 Tokugawa shogunate, also called the Edo
03
1937 Japanese occupation of western China,
period, established by Tokugawa Ieyasu
beginning second Sino-Japanese War
1636 Beginning of sakoku or “closed country”
#
1940 Japanese invasion of French Indochina
policy: no non-Japanese are allowed into
us
(Vietnam) to block Allied war effort
the islands, and no Japanese are allowed
to leave 1941 Japanese air strikes against targets in
1854 Opening of Japanese ports to American

in
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii; Japanese troops
jo
move against the Philippines, Singapore,
trade by Commodore Matthew Perry,
and other regimes of Southeast Asia and
up
forcibly ending Japan’s seclusion

the Pacific
ro
1867 Last Tokugawa shogun overthrown by

1942 Japan defeated in naval battle of Midway;
supporters of Emperor Meiji
G
beginning of loss of possessions in the

1868 Beginning of modern era in Japan with Pacific
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direct imperial rule under the Meiji

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1945 Intense Allied bombing of Japan, including

sa
Restoration
atomic bombs released over Hiroshima and
1871 Iwakuru Mission of Japanese diplomats Nagasaki, leading to Japan’s unconditional
t
ha
traveling the world to improve Japan’s surrender, ending World War II

foreign relations
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1945–1952 American occupation of Japan;

1877 Satsuma Rebellion led by samurai supervise writs of and implementation of a
s
dissatisfied with Meiji modernization new constitutional democracy

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and reforms
1955 Japan’s economic recovery undertaken by
Ab
1889 New Japanese constitution drafted by Ito Liberal Democratic Party

Hirobumi, modeled after several European
2004 Chuetsu earthquake, which injures
governments
Q
hundreds and damages thousands of

1895 Japanese victory in war with China, gaining homes on Honshu island
A.
Taiwan, the first of Japan’s imperial

acquisitions and control over Korea

66 | J A PA N
2
76
383
-2
01
03
#
us
Japan was closed to Western influence until U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry sailed a naval fleet into the
harbor of Nagasaki in 1853 and forced the country to open its ports to U.S. trade. The “opening” of Japan
in
spurred rapid industrialization in the country, helping it grow into an international economic and political
jo
power. This Japanese print depicts Perry’s gift of a railway to the Japanese in 1853. (Ando or Utagawa
Hiroshige/The Bridgman Art Library/Getty Images)
up
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faction of samurai lords who wanted to military, established compulsory educa-

modernize Japan and wanted to return tion, and built infrastructure such as har-
G
Japan to direct imperial rule. The Meiji bor facilities, railroads, and telegraph net-
p
Restoration of 1868 ended the samurai era works. They abolished the old social
p
in Japan and introduced a period of rapid classes and improved Japanese foreign re-
sa
modernization and Westernization. lations through diplomatic envoys such as

the worldwide Iwakuru Mission, dispatched
t
ha
MEIJI JAPAN in 1871.

Upon his coronation, Emperor Meiji (r. After the Satsuma Rebellion in 1877, pro-
iW
1868–1912) outlined the Charter Oath, the voked by the samurai’s protests over their
first constitution of Japan. The Charter loss of privileges, Japan began to develop a
s
Oath called for open assemblies, the par- parliamentary government. Ito Hirobumi
ba
ticipation of all social groups in govern- completed a new constitution in 1889, in-
Ab
ment, the removal of previous personal spired by his study of various European
and career restrictions, and the acquisition systems. Winning Taiwan from China in the
of knowledge to support Japan’s develop- First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895) and
Q
ment. Japan during the Meiji period was defeating Russia in the Russo-Japanese
A.
effectively governed by an oligarchy of War (1904–1905) equally demonstrated

councilors and statesmen, who turned to Japan’s military might. By the time Korea
the West for technological assistance. Fol- was formally annexed in 1910, Japan had es-
lowing British, German, and American tablished itself as an imperialist power, with
models, the Meiji oligarchs modernized the its own sphere of influence.

J A PA N | 67
TURNING POINT
Opening of Japan by Commodore Perry
2
Since 1636, the Tokugawa shoguns who ef- The following year, Perry returned with a
76
fectively ruled Japan had enforced a strict squadron of seven ships to negotiate an
policy of seclusion called sakoku, literally agreement of trade. The Treaty of Kana-
83
translated as “country in chains.” Not only gawa, concluded on March 31, 1854, gave the
3
were Japanese ports closed to all but a few United States the right to establish a consul
-2
Dutch, Chinese, and Korean traders, but at Shimoda, allowed U.S. vessels access to
Japanese citizens were also prohibited the ports of Shimoda and Hakodate, and
01
from leaving the country. In the 1850s, the promised Japanese protection for ship-
03
U.S. government hoped to establish access wrecked U.S. sailors. The treaty inaugurated
to the Japanese marketplace and gain per- a brisk commercial trade between Japan
#
mission for American ships to use Japanese and the United States, and the eventual
ports as coal refueling stations. U.S. naval opening of Japan to other Western nations
us
commodore Matthew Perry secured an in- led to a rapid modernization of the country.
itial audience with representatives of the After the Treaty of Kanagawa, Great Britain,
Japanese emperor in 1853 by sailing into in
Russia, France, and the Netherlands quickly
jo
the harbor of Edo (modern-day Tokyo) and created their own treaties with Japan. This
up
flaunting his ships’ guns. He promised to re- opening of Japan to Western influence proved
turn in a year to begin negotiations. Despite disruptive to the Japanese economy and to
ro
their resentment of this “gunboat diplo- its political rulers. Rival warlords overthrew
macy,” the Japanese, who referred to his the Tokugawa shogun in 1867, and the restora-
G
fleet as the “black ships,” had no wish to tion of Emperor Meiji signaled Japan’s move-
p
see its firepower deployed. ment from its medieval into the modern era.
p
sa
THE TWENTIETH CENTURY The increasingly fascist Japanese govern-

t
ha
During the rule of Emperor Taisho (r. 1912– ment then invaded French Indochina (now
1926), Japan’s parliament gained greater ad- Vietnam) in 1940, joining World War II on the
iW
ministrative power, and Japan supported the side of the Axis powers of Germany and Italy.
Allied Powers, including the United States Dramatic early successes in which the
s
and Britain, during World War I. However, the Japanese military swept through the Pa-
ba
economy suffered disastrously from the cific, occupying Singapore, the Philippines,
Ab
Kanto earthquake of 1923, which destroyed and the Dutch East Indies (Indonesia),
Tokyo and its surroundings, and from the proved short-lived. Six months after being
worldwide Great Depression beginning in crippled by Japan’s surprise attack on Pearl
Q
1929. In response, the Japanese military took Harbor, Hawaii, the United States Pacific
A.
increasing control of the government and ex- Fleet defeated a Japanese armada at the
tended the boundaries of the Empire, first Battle of Midway in June 1942, checking
occupying Manchuria in 1931. In 1937, Japa- Japanese expansion. The tide of war turned
nese troops invaded the west coast of China, steadily against the Japanese from this
beginning the Second Sino-Japanese War. point. Despite battlefield losses and U.S.

68 | J A PA N
bombing raids that destroyed several major tition from South Korea, China, and Taiwan.
Japanese cities, Japan’s military leaders re- Geological disturbances have plagued the
sisted surrender. Only after the United islands, most notably the Chuetsu earth-
States dropped atomic bombs on the cities quake in 2004, but Japan’s prosperity has
of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in August 1945 continued. By the early twenty-first cen-
2
did the Japanese emperor accept uncondi- tury, Japan led the world in the fields of sci-
76
tional surrender. ence, technology, and medical research,
The war led to the breakup of the Japa- and Japan’s vital popular culture, including
83
nese Empire and the devastation of Japan’s art, film, and literature, had a fan base
home islands. The victorious Allied powers, worldwide.
3
-2
led by the United States, occupied Japan
from 1945 to 1952, overseeing the demilitar- See also: China; Economics; Imperialism;
01
ization of the country and establishing the Korea; Language and Literature;
03
structures needed to rebuild a peaceful, Manchuria; Russo-Japanese War; Spheres
democratic Japan. A new constitution went of Influence; Taiwan; World War II.
into effect in 1947, effectively creating a
#
constitutional monarchy; with American sup- FURTHER READING
us
port, the Liberal Democratic Party emerged Kamachi, Noriko. Culture and Customs of Japan. West-
to win control of the Japanese government port, CT: Greenwood, 1999.
in 1955 reestablished diplomatic relations in
Morton, W. Scott, and J. Kenneth Olenik. Japan: Its His-
jo
with the United States and oversaw Japan’s tory and Culture. 4th ed. New York: McGraw-Hill,
economic recovery. 2005.
up
By the late 1970s, Japan’s new technolo- Naff, Clay Farris, ed. Japan. San Diego: Greenhaven,
ro
gies and efficient production system had 2004.

created an economic “miracle,” checked Schomp, Virginia. Japan in the Days of the Samurai. New
G
only in the later 1990s by emerging compe- York: Benchmark, 2002.

p p
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Korea
t
ha
Former kingdom in East Asia, much contested in the twentieth century and finally split
iW
into the two states of North and South Korea. Ruled by the Yi dynasty until 1910, Korea
was occupied by Japan from 1910 to 1945 and after World War II was partitioned
s
between the Soviet Union and the United States.

ba
Ab
North Korea, with China’s support, re- enjoyed a thriving economy, a technologi-
mains under the control of a Communist cally sophisticated society, and recognition
dictatorship with its capital at Pyongyang, within the global community.
Q
while South Korea has evolved into a stable

A.
democratic republic governed from Seoul. KOREA UNDER THE YI

While North Korea’s government faced The dynasty founded by Yi Song-gye ruled
continuing economic difficulties and isola- the Kingdom of Choson or Korea from 1392
tion from the global community at the turn until 1910. Yi and his successors cultivated
of the twenty-first century, South Koreans an agrarian economy, controlled by landed

KO R E A | 69
aristocrats who adopted Confucian ethics Korea was temporarily blocked by the Rus-
and lifestyles. Close relations with the Chi- sians, leading to the Russo-Japanese War
nese Ming dynasty (1368–1644) introduced of 1904–1905. Japanese victory in the war
many aspects of Chinese art and philoso- eliminated Russian competition and, in 1910,
phy into Korean society. Japan formally annexed Korea.
2
Between 1592 and 1598, the Yi, with help
76
from Chinese troops, defeated invasion at- JAPANESE INFLUENCE 1910– 1945
tempts by the Japanese warlord Toyotomi The Japanese were determined to compel
83
Hideyoshi. The Manchu, who had estab- Korean assimilation into Japanese culture.
lished a dynasty in neighboring Manchuria, Under Japanese rule, Korea developed a
3
-2
invaded Korea in 1627 and 1636 before modern economic infrastructure built on
going on to establish themselves as the new transportation and communication net-
01
Qing dynasty in China in 1644. Korea be- works. Japan also implemented compulsory
03
came a vassal state under the military pro- education, although conducted in the Japa-
tection of the Qing, although the Yi family nese language and with the specific intent
continued to rule. In the next two centuries, of replacing traditional Korean culture with
#
the Korean court sent traders and diplo- that of Japan. Korean farmers saw their rice
us
matic missions to Japan, but refused to shipped to Japan as a form of tax, Korean
conduct business with Europeans and other laborers were forced to work in mines and
foreigners, earning a reputation as the “Her- in
factories, and Korean men were con-
jo
mit Kingdom.” Korea prospered under Qing scripted into the Japanese military. Japa-
influence, and its increasingly influential nese troops brutally responded to the na-
up
merchants and artisans would eventually tionwide call for Korean independence, the
ro
come into conflict with the traditional Con- March First or Samil Movement of 1919.
fucian bureaucracy and the landed elite. Over 2 million Koreans joined the protest;
G
Japan’s new Meiji government persuaded Japanese police and soldiers killed an esti-
p
China to open Korea to trade in 1876, and mated 7,000 people during the year. The
p
after 1882 China approved the signing of Japanese occupation in Korea ended with
sa
several treaties between Korea and the Japan’s defeat in World War II in 1945.
major Western powers. These treaties led to
t
ha
an influx of foreign ideas and technology POSTWAR KOREA

that spurred modernization but also made Following the war, the United Nations ar-
iW
many Koreans long for independence. ranged for the Soviet Union and the United
Japan, then a growing empire hoping to States to administer Korea as trustees. The
s
further its access to Korea’s resources, sup- northern, Soviet-administered half was di-
ba
ported Korean rebellions such as the Kapsin vided from the southern, U.S.-administered
Ab
Coup in 1884, staged by members of the half at the thirty-eighth parallel (line of lati-
Korean military. In 1894, Korean farmers tude). Negotiations for reunification broke
angry over high taxes on rice took up arms down in the following years, however, as
Q
in the Donghak (or Tonghak) Rebellion, Cold War tensions escalated due to the
A.
which spread quickly from southwest to mutual hostility the United States and So-
central Korea. China and Japan both sent viet Union harbored toward the other’s op-
troops to end the rebellion, which resulted posing political ideology. The separate re-
in the First Sino-Japanese War (1894–1895). publics of North and South Korea were
Japan’s attempt to establish control in created in 1948.

70 | KO R E A
South Korea set up a Western-style de- repressive government while overseeing

mocracy under the presidency of Syngman rapid economic growth. His assassination in
Rhee, while North Korea was led by the 1979 was followed by successive military-
Communist premier Kim Il-sung. Intending backed governments until 1988, when South
to reunify the peninsula by force, Kim sent Korea adopted a new constitution that led
2
North Korean troops into South Korea in to open elections in 1992 and restored a
76
June 1950. United Nations forces, led by democratic, civilian government.
American commanders, intervened to sup- Despite suffering from an Asia-wide eco-
83
port South Korea, while China and the Soviet nomic slump in the late 1990s, South Korea
Union backed the North. The Korean War at the turn of the twenty-first century could
3
-2
ended in a stalemate in 1953. Both republics boast of a stable economy that provided a
retreated behind the thirty-eighth parallel, high standard of living for all its citizens.
01
never reaching a formal peace agreement. Since 2000, South Korean presidents have
03
The two Koreas developed along mark- met with Kim Jong-Il to discuss the pos-
edly different paths after the Korean War. sibility of reunification, in an attempt to find
Kim Il-sung instituted a socialist republic a peaceful way to bring Korea’s separated
#
in North Korea under the philosophy of families and provinces back together. Fi-
us
Juche, or “self-reliance,” implementing a nally, in 2007, Korean families were allowed
state-owned economy that consistently to visit relatives on either side of the border
failed to produce enough food to support in
separating the two Koreas. North Korea’s
jo
its citizens. The food shortages continued global relations remain tense as a result of
under the rule of Kim Jong-Il, who suc- its continuing development of its nuclear
up
ceeded his father in 1994, and an esti- program.

ro
mated 1 million North Koreans died of fa-

mine. Although North Korea is still See also: Art and Architecture; China;
G
supported by Communist leaders in China, Communism; Democracy and Democratic

p
its diplomatic relations with the global Movements; Japan; Russo-Japanese War;
p
community deteriorated as the North Ko- World War II.

sa
rean government pursued the develop-

ment of nuclear arms. FURTHER READING
t
ha
Responding to the increasingly autocratic Kim, Djun Kil. History of Korea. Westport, CT: Green-
government of Syngman Rhee in South wood, 2005.
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Korea, General Park Chung-Hee staged a Peterson, Mark. A Brief History of Korea. New York:
military coup in 1961. Although he styled Facts On File, 2007.
s
himself president, Park became virtual dic- Pratt, Keith. Everlasting Flower: A History of Korea. Lon-
ba
tator of South Korea, controlling a politically don: Reaktion Books, 2006.

Ab
Q
A.

L A N G UAG E | 71
Korean War See Communism; Korea.
Language
2
76
In contemporary Asia and the Pacific, language plays a critical role in definitions of local
83
identity. Historically, government power in Asia has been expressed by control over
3
which forms of language and writing are accepted for official use. Every nation has at
-2
least one national language that is formally endorsed and known to other nations as the
official language of that country.
01
03
Usually, the national language is also the courts, parliament, and administration, and
standard language, the formal written ver- English remains in common use in mass
#
sion of the language that is distinct from di- media and international dialogue. This
us
alects or other versions of the language strategy was intended to prevent any one
that are spoken or written in different re- ethnic group or group of language speakers
gions of the country. Many indigenous or in
from seeming favored by the government.
jo
migrant ethnic groups residing within Asian In the Philippines, English and Filipino
countries speak an entirely different lan- are the constitutional national languages,
up
guage than the national or standard one. although Spanish and Arabic are also offi-
ro
Indonesia’s many islands, for example, are cially recognized because of their impor-
home to more than 300 language groups. tance to the local practice of Christianity
G
and Islam. English is the preferred language

p
NATIONAL AND STANDARD of business transactions among the edu-

p
LANGUAGES cated urban public. Official Filipino is pre-

sa
Some nations, such as India, have more than dominantly Tagalog, a language spoken in
one national language. As of 2006, India the Manila region that is one of twelve
t
ha
recognized twenty-two national languages, major Malayo-Polynesian local languages.

although Hindi is considered the official lan- The 1987 constitution urges adoption of a
iW
guage. In modern India, where more than Filipino language standard, but, as in India,
800 languages are spoken, selecting a few selecting one language over another has
s
to dominate national discourse has been a proven highly controversial.

ba
highly sensitive issue. Hindi, though spoken Several other Asian states also use En-
Ab
and understood in urban centers through- glish as a primary tongue. The Malaysian
out the country, evolved mainly in northern government favors the Malay language but
India. It descends directly from Sanskrit and still uses English in many transactions. Sin-
Q
historically is tied to the Hindu religion. gapore is officially multilingual, accepting

A.
Groups living in southern India, where the English, Mandarin, Malay, and Tamil, al-
Hindi language is not commonly spoken, felt though its government transactions take
excluded by the decision to make Hindi the place in English. In Taiwan, Mandarin Chi-
national language. In response, the govern- nese was the sole national language until
ment adopted English for use in India’s 1990. Because of the increased political role

72 | L A N G UAG E
LANGUAGE REGIONS OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
There are eight major language derived. In addition, there are former colonial possessions,
families in Asia and the Pacific— hundreds of regional and local Western languages frequently
Indo-European, Ural-Altaic, Indo- dialects that are products of major displaced the use of local
Aryan, Sino-Tibetan, Dravidian, language mixtures. Languages languages among elite populations
2
76
Kadai, Austro-Asiatic, and have been important sources of and provided a common medium
Austronesian—from which most of cultural and political linkage—as of communication among different
83
the major local languages are well as conflict—in modern Asia. In language groups.
3
-2
01
03
#
us
in
jo
up
ro
G
p p
t sa
ha
s iW
ba
Ab
Q
A.

L A N G UAG E | 73
assumed by native Taiwanese since that government’s first steps was to mandate
time, the Taiwanese language is now offi- the Burmese language as the national lan-
cially recognized and taught in the public guage and eliminate official recognition of
schools in addition to Mandarin. English as well as the languages spoken by
the country’s minority populations. When
2
Language and Literacy Myanmar reopened in 1976, it had to ad-
76
Employing a common educational lan- dress the realities of the modern world,
guage to instruct students is critical in sup- which did not communicate in Burmese. Ul-
83
port of a national standard language. In timately Myanmar renewed its Western
places where ethnic and social diversity contacts and reestablished the use of En-
3
-2
makes establishing a common national lan- glish. Today, while Burmese remains the na-
guage a highly divisive issue, an educational language, English is the most widely
01
tional language can provide a bond spoken secondary language.
03
between citizens who may have little else in
common. For example, upon declaring in- LANGUAGE DEVELOPMENT IN
dependence, Indonesia chose Bahasa Indo- EAST ASIA
#
nesian, a language historically used by trad- East Asia at the turn of the twenty-first cen-
us
ers in the Indonesian archipelago, as the tury stood poised to play a major role in fu-
national language. The government pur- ture global developments, with its 1.5 billion
posely bypassed the Javanese language of in
people representing about 40 percent of
jo
its most populated and prominent island in Asia’s total population and a quarter of the
favor of a language without such strong re- world’s. The trend toward standardization
up
gional ties. of language to support domestic modern-

ro
ization and international communication

Language and Power has helped bring East Asian nations into
G
The move to establish national standard successful dialogue with each other and
p
languages in Asia is the result of regional with the larger world.

p
linguistic evolutions and integrations that

sa
took place prior to 1500. By the time of first Japanese Language

European contact in the sixteenth century, Japan’s rapid transition into a modern
t
ha
Asia’s language traditions were highly so- nation-state was in part built on its consoli-
phisticated. Asian nationalist movements dation of the Japanese language during the
iW
that developed under Western colonialism Meiji era (1868–1912). The Meiji government
included efforts to renew and enrich reestablished the Tokyo dialect as preferred
s
gional linguistic and literary traditions as over other regional dialects. To increase
ba
foundations for the anticolonialist agenda. popular written communication, the Meiji
Ab
This trend continued in some Asian government included only about 1,200 of
countries even after the end of colonialism. the 50,000 pictographs, or kanji, then in
Myanmar (formerly Burma) purposefully use in written Japanese. This innovation
Q
withdrew from the international community fostered widespread literacy among Japa-
A.
in 1965, after almost ten years of indepen- nese. As a result, the number of kanji ap-
dence, in an attempt to eliminate the “cul- proved for use in school textbooks rose to
tural pollution” and internal divisions that 1,850 by 1946 and to 1,945 in 1981. The Meiji
remained as the legacy of more than a cen- government standardized the two basic
tury of British colonialism. One of the types of Japanese script to reflect common

74 | L A N G UAG E
TURNING POINT
Language of Respect
2
To participate in society, people must know honorific form can function either to exalt
76
the rules of communication. Throughout the listener or humble the speaker, which-
Asia, the standards for the language of re- ever is deemed more appropriate.
83
spect go beyond both the Western use of ti- Pronouns are critical to communicating
tles such as Dr., Mrs., and Mr. and the differ-
3
respect. In most of the Asian languages,
-2
ent ways Westerners speak to peers as there are several choices for “you,” “he,”
opposed to strangers or members of other “she,” “they,” and “I” that establish the level
01
age groups. Asian standards are more ex- of familiarity between speaker and listen-
03
plicit, especially in the appropriate choice of ers. Verb inflections can also denote the
words. Failure to use the right words is not level of address being used. For example, in
#
merely rude; it ends the conversation. Korean, the verb “go” is kara when speaking
Asian language codes begin in the house- to an inferior or a child, kage when speaking
us
hold and become more complex when enter- to an adult equal, kaseyo when speaking to a
ing the various levels of the public sector. For superior, and kasipsio when speaking to a per-
instance, Japanese children in the home in
son of still higher rank.
jo
learn a casual or “children’s” speech that In several Asian languages, the form of
they continue to use within the family and language used can reflect the speaker’s so-
up
among close friends even as adults. When cial status. In the Thai language, “street” Thai
ro
they enter school, however, Japanese youth is an informal form most frequently used
learn the polite language that is most com- among families and close friends, while “ele-
G
monly used in business and other public gant” Thai is the language of newspapers
p
communication. In addition, an honorific and official communication, and an elevated

p
form of Japanese called keigo is used to “rhetorical” Thai is used in public speaking.
sa
mark the listener’s elevation above the Less educated Thais tend to know and use
t
speaker in terms of social status or influence. only the “street” form, while only a handful
ha
A deeply respectful form of address, keigo is of scholars learn or use “royal” and “sacred”
used by adults to address royalty, corporate Thai, once exclusively used by Thai royalty.
iW
officials, elders, and sometimes clients. The

s
ba
pronunciation at that time, and foreign attempted to consolidate a national written

Ab
words and Arabic numbers were also ro- language and standardize pronunciation
manized during the Meiji era. and vocabulary for all levels of society. As
demonstrated in neighboring Japan, agree-
Q
China ing upon a national language was necessary

A.
The Chinese language provides an example for implementing a universal educational

of the complexity of Asian language evolu- system, modernizing the nation, and mak-
tion, particularly the divergence between ing government services accessible to all.
written and spoken languages. It was not Before the twentieth century, Chinese was
until the twentieth century that the Chinese written in wenyan, the classical or literary

L A N G UAG E | 75
Chinese. Due to China’s influence on its criticized by linguistic nationalists and de-
neighbors, wenyan was heavily used in fended by cultural conservatives, who fear
Japan, Korea, and Vietnam. Over the centu- that the loss of character literacy could cut
ries, while classical written Chinese changed younger generations off from a major part
little, spoken Chinese developed into an al- of their cultural heritage. Generally, how-
2
most completely distinct language. ever, since the 1970s there has been a trend
76
In the early twentieth century, Chinese toward writing in han’gul alone.
scholars and linguists began a movement to These language developments within
83
update the written language to reflect the Asia are especially important in today’s
spoken or vernacular language, thus making world. Mandarin, spoken by more than 1 bil-
3
-2
the written version accessible to the com- lion people, has the most native speakers of
mon people, who were largely uneducated in any language in the world. Although En-
01
classical Chinese. This standard, later re- glish remains the language of choice in the
03
named baihua (literally, “plain language”), international arena due to the legacy of
has remained in use for popular writing Western colonialism and the prominence of
throughout China since the 1920s. Baihua the United States as a global power, its
#
continued to use the traditional kaishu status could reasonably change in the fu-
us
(“standard script”), a set of calligraphic char- ture as the use of Chinese for commercial
acters that had been in use since the third purposes increases.
century. In the 1950s, hoping to increase liter- in
jo
acy, the government of the People’s Republic See also: China; Culture and Traditions;
introduced a simplified Chinese script. In the India; Japan; Korea; Literature and Writing;
up
late twentieth century, simplified Chinese Religion; Society; Taiwan.

ro
came into more frequent use in mainland

China, while traditional Chinese continued in FURTHER READING
G
use in Taiwan, Hong Kong, and Macau. Adelaar, Alexander, and Nikolaus P. Himmelmann, eds.
p
The Austronesian Languages of Asia and Madagas-

p
Korea car. New York: Routledge, 2005.

sa
Chinese language usage is also an issue in Hamblin, Charles. Languages of Asia and the Pacific.
Korea, where Korean language is written
t
London: Angus and Robertson, 1988.

ha
using a mixture of Chinese ideograms and a Kachru, Braj B., Yamnua Kachru, and S.N. Sridhar, eds.
native Korean alphabet known as han’gul. Language in South Asia. New York: Cambridge Uni-
iW
The han’gul script, which in its modern form versity Press, 2007.
contains forty symbols, is very consistent Krupa, Viktor. The Polynesian Languages: A Guide. Bos-
s
with the phonetics of the spoken Korean ton: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1982.
ba
language. Since 1948 the continued use of Zograph, G.A. Languages of South Asia: A Guide. Trans. G.
Ab
Chinese characters in South Korea has been L. Campbell. Boston: Routledge and Kegan Paul, 1982.
Laos
Q
A.
A landlocked, mountainous country in Southeast Asia that became an arena for

Communist conflict in the twentieth century. With a mainly Buddhist population
composed of various ethnic groups, including indigenous highland and lowland tribes,
Laos maintains one of the few Communist governments left in the world.

76 | L A N G UAG E
Between 1353 and 1371, the warrior Fa The French defeat at the decisive Battle of
Ngum founded Lan Xang (“The Kingdom of Dien Bien Phu in 1954 led to independence
a Million Elephants”) in present-day Laos for both Vietnam and Laos. However, a se-
and parts of Thailand. Struggles against ries of governments after the war failed to
Burma (Myanmar) and the Thai kingdom of reconcile royalist supporters with the Com-
2
Ayutthya disrupted the realm during the munist Pathet Lao. During the following
76
sixteenth century, and after the death of two decades, Laos became a stage for
Setthathirath I (r. 1538–1571), the Burmese fighting between the Soviet-backed Pathet
83
seized the capital of Viet Chan (now Vien- Lao and royalist forces supported by United
tiane). Souligna Vongsa (r. 1637–1694) intro- States troops and equipment stationed in
3
-2
duced a golden age in which Buddhism and South Vietnam.
the arts flourished, but by 1713, Lan Xang With the withdrawal of U.S. troops from
01
had broken into three different kingdoms. neighboring Vietnam in 1975, the Pathet Lao
03
During the eighteenth and nineteenth cen- defeated its royalist foes and established the
turies, all three realms came under increas- Lao People’s Democratic Republic (LPDR).
ing control from Siam (now Thailand) and The LPDR began its program of socialist
#
then France, which was building a colonial transformation and industrial nationalization,
us
empire in Indochina. By 1907, France had establishing agricultural collectives and de-
acquired the former kingdoms and retaining royalist supporters in “reeducation”
named the territory Laos. in
camps. In the disruption, an estimated tenth
jo
France’s interest in its protectorate cen- of the Laotian population sought refuge in
tered on the export of opium, since the neighboring Thailand.
up
mountainous region did not lend itself to Following the collapse of communism in
ro
the customary colonial activities of mining the Soviet Union in 1991, the Laotian govern-
or cultivating on large-scale plantations. ment introduced rapid economic reforms
G
Laotian farmers frequently protested high and increased political freedoms. Having
p
taxes on their crops, mainly rice. When improved its international trade and diplo-
p
Japan seized Indochina from the French matic relations, Laos was admitted into the
sa
during World War II (1939–1945), Laos cooperative Association of Southeast Asian

moved to claim independence. French offi- Nations (ASEAN) in 1997.
t
ha
cials returned after the war, squelching the

Lao Issara (“Free Laos”) movement with a See also: Colonization; Communism;
iW
constitutional monarchy. Nevertheless, the Vietnam.

resistance movement persisted, calling it-
s
self the Pathet Lao. FURTHER READING

ba
The Pathet Lao joined forces with the Evans, Grant. A Short History of Laos: The Land In
Ab
Viet Minh, a Vietnamese Communist group Between. Australia: Allen and Unwin, 2002.
led by Ho Chi Minh that was fighting for Kremmer, Christopher. Bamboo Palace: Discovering the
Vietnamese independence from France.
Q
Lost Dynasty of Laos. New York: HarperCollins, 2005.

A.

L I T E R AT U R E A N D W R I T I N G | 77
Literature and Writing

Creative forms of written expression historically have been employed as channels
through which Asians debated important political, cultural, and religious issues. For many
2
76
Asian societies, political stability allowed the growth of a literate culture in which novels,
poetry, and short stories were intended both to entertain and to offer social and political
83
commentary. Some of these written works recorded earlier oral traditions, but most new
literature demonstrated the widespread creativity of Asian authors writing in the variety
3
of regional languages.
-2
01
EAST ASIA Golden Lotus (ca. 1610), attributed to Lanling
03
The Chinese have enjoyed one of the richest Xiaoxiao Sheng. It addresses corrupt urban
and longest literary histories, greatly sup- life in the twelfth century as an allegorical
ported by their early invention of print. The first critique of Lanling’s own era. Instead of fo-
#
printed works, dating to the late eighth cen- cusing on the heroic adventures of its leading
us
tury, were made by inking cut blocks of wood characters, as in the other major Chinese nov-
and pressing them onto paper. Chinese inven- els, The Golden Lotus describes the deceitful
tors experimented with movable type begin- in
domestic networking of a rich, idle merchant.
jo
ning in the eleventh century, an innovation The graphic sex scenes led officials to ban the
not discovered in Europe until the early fif- book, but it was widely read and is consid-
up
teenth century. Using paper made from wood ered by some to be the fifth great Chinese
ro
(Europeans were still writing on parchment classic for its treatment of sociological is-
made from animal skins at this time), Chi- sues, including the role of women, human
G
nese, Japanese, and Korean authors created corruption, and traditional values.
p
works of great variety and significance. The latest of the Four Great Classical
p
Novels, Dream of the Red Chamber (1791)

sa
Chinese Literature by Cao Zhan examines the fortunes of a

After 1500, China’s earlier episodic short family of aristocrats, the Jia family, living in
t
ha
story tradition was the foundation for the the imperial capital, Beijing. A romantic
first published and widely circulated Asian story detailing the ill-fated love affair of
iW
novels. The major novels of the sixteenth- young Baoyu, the book was also highly re-
century Ming era include Journey to the garded as an accurate, perhaps semiauto-
s
West, a fictional account of the legendary graphical depiction of upper-class life and a
ba
journey to India undertaken by the seventh- novel of great psychological depth.

Ab
century Buddhist pilgrim Xuanzang and his Chinese literature in the early twentieth
disciples. The novel is a humorous allegory century also tended to critique its authors’
full of Chinese folklore, mythology, and in- times. One important figure was a cofounder
Q
flections from Taoist and Buddhist religions. of the Chinese Communist Party, Chen
A.
Many have read it as a critique of Chinese Duxiu. In 1915 Chen launched New Youth,
society at the time. Journey to the West is which became a highly influential literary
counted as one of the Four Great Classical magazine and part of the New Culture and
Novels of Chinese literature. May Fourth Movement, nationalist move-
Another important Chinese novel is The ments after 1919. Contributors and editors

78 | L I T E R AT U R E A N D W R I T I N G
used New Youth as a forum to discuss strat- turned to “invisible writing,” which trans-
egies for blocking Western imperialism and ferred creative writing from the public space
fostering Chinese nationalism. of published magazines and books to the
In 1917, New Youth published an essay margins: private “folk” compositions, per-
called “A Tentative Proposal for Literary Re- sonal letters, reading notes, and underground
2
form,” written by philosopher and staunch writing. After 1976, many of these works were
76
liberal Hu Shih. Hu’s essay marked the be- smuggled to and published in Hong Kong.
ginning of a widespread reform of Chinese In the years after the Cultural Revolu-
83
literature by suggesting that the use of a tion, the Communist Party began to allow
written language closer to vernacular or publication of creative writing critical of
3
-2
spoken Chinese should replace the more the Maoist era. Dissident authors like the
difficult classical Chinese. Use of this new poet Pei Tao were able to publish works
01
written form, called baihua, made literature outside the country and even to leave China
03
more widely available among the Chinese to become residents of other countries.
populace, and its use in newspapers and Since the late 1990s, although more Chi-
other publications made more citizens able nese authors have been permitted to be
#
to join national dialogues. published in China, the government re-
us
The most influential figure in twentieth- mains sensitive to what it allows to circu-
century Chinese literature was Lu Xun, late. In 2000, Chinese-born novelist Gao
whose short stories “Diary of a Madman” in
Xingjian won the Nobel Prize for Literature,
jo
(1918) and “The True Story of Ah Q” (1921) partially because of his contributions to
attacked conservative, aristocratic tradi- Chinese literature. However, Gao had left
up
tions. “True Story,” regarded as an interna- China after the Communist Party hostilely
ro
tional classic, encapsulated the cultural and repressed the 1989 pro-democracy demon-
political changes of the May Fourth Move- strations in Tiananmen Square, and Chinese
G
ment. Another major twentieth-century fig- forums have routinely criticized his works.
p
ure was Ting Ling, a staunch Marxist, who

p
often wrote about young, unconventional Japanese Literature

sa
Chinese women. Her works, such as Flood Although frequently influenced by Chinese
(1931), represented the kind of socialist real- works, Japanese writers developed many
t
ha
ism of which the Communist Party ap- engaging styles of their own. During the
proved. However, Ting Ling’s open criticism Tokugawa period (1603–1867), composing
iW
of the party, especially in regard to women’s poetry was a popular social pastime. Long
rights, also earned her censorship, imprison- poems called renga were jointly composed
s
ment, and other political difficulties. by party guests who contributed succes-
ba
From the 1950s, literature in the Commu- sive linked verses; haikai (“playful” renga)
Ab
nist People’s Republic of China was used pri- were a late sixteenth-century variation. In
marily as a political tool. The policy of social- 1679, Matsuo Basho introduced a new, con-
ist realism required authors to portray society densed poetic form that came to be called
Q
as it ideally could be, not as it actually was. haiku. Upholding the Zen Buddhist ideal of
A.
During the Cultural Revolution, from 1966 to simplicity, the compressed meaning of the
1976, leaders like Mao Zedong carefully lim- haiku—expressed in three brief lines—was
ited the kinds of literature available in China. part of its beauty. Basho also traveled fre-
Censorship relaxed somewhat after Mao’s quently, and his travelogue The Narrow
death in 1976, but many Chinese writers still Road to the Deep North (1694) is one of the

LITERATURE OF ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
1547 Presumed death of Indian princess Mira Bai, 1913 Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to
known for her devotional poems in the Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore after an
2
Hindu bhakti (“devotional”) literary tradition English translation of his poems, Gitanjali,
76
gains wide popularity in the West
1590S Publication of Chinese classic Journey to
83
the West, a mythological novel recounting 1915 New Youth magazine founded by Chen
the adventures of the Buddhist priest Duxiu in China, providing an outlet for
3
Xuanzang leaders of the New Culture or May Fourth
-2
Movement
CA. 1610 First block-printed version of the Golden
01
Lotus published in China 1917 Publication of article by Chinese scholar
03
Hu Shih launching movement to replace
1623 Death of Tulsidas, considered the greatest
classical Chinese with a written vernacular
of Hindi poets for his Sacred Lake of the
language called baihua
#
Acts of Rama
us
1931 Flood by Chinese Marxist Ting Ling
1679 Invention of poetic form called haiku by
applauded for its portrayal of the working
Japanese poet Matsuo Basho
1762 Death of Shah Walli Allah, considered the

in
populations in China
jo
1968 Nobel Prize for Literature first awarded to
greatest Muslim theologian writing in India
a Japanese author, Kawabata Yasunari
up
1776 Publication of Japanese Tales of Moonlight

1970 Twilight in Jakarta published by Mochtar
ro
and Rain, the best of a popular genre of

Lubis, the first Indonesian novel
supernatural stories
G
translated into English

1791 First print edition of the Chinese classic
p
1988 Publication of The Satanic Verses by

Dream of the Red Chamber
p
Indian-born Salman Rushdie, resulting in

sa
1842 Satomi and the Eight Dogs, a classic of threats on his life when the novel is
Japanese literature, published by Japanese perceived as blasphemous to Islam
t
ha
historical novelist Takizawa Bakin

1994 Nobel Prize awarded to Japanese author
iW
1887 Drifting Clouds, Japan’s first modern Oe Kenzaburo for his contributions to
novel, published by Futabatei Shimei world literature
s
1906 Botchan, a popular satire about a modern 2000 Nobel Prize in Literature awarded to
ba
Japanese intellectual, published by Chinese-born novelist Gao Xingjian, partly

Ab
Natsume Soseki for his contributions to Chinese literature

Q
most admired works of Japanese literature. lines that accompanied puppet dramas.
A.
In the Genroku period between 1688 and Japan’s urban dwellers imported printed
1704, urban culture in Japan greatly ex- books from China, including novels, short
panded. Wealthy artisans and merchants stories, and Buddhist tales. These in turn in-
patronized performances of kabuki dramas fluenced the local development of yomihon,
and joruri, storytelling involving chanted moralistic romances based on legendary

the ambiguous descriptions favored in clas-

sical poetry. Hagiwara Sakutaro’s collection
Barking at the Moon (1917) participated in
this revolutionary trend.
From the early twentieth century, most
2
Japanese literature followed the trend of
76
naturalism, depicting human personality as
a product of one’s environment. A popular
83
exception was Natsume Soseki, who wrote
Botchan (1906) and Kokoro (1914), both of
3
-2
which deal with the suffering of the Japa-
nese intellectual in the modern era.
01
After Soseki, the modern realistic novel
03
in Japan tended to focus on inner con-
sciousness and emotional issues, examining
the conflict between Japanese traditional
#
culture and modernism in times of rapid
us
change. Perhaps the most prominent Japa-
nese fiction writer before World War II was
in
Shiga Naoya. A Dark Night’s Passing, writ-
jo
ten between 1921 and 1937, explores difficult
family relationships and personal conflict
up
with depth and delicacy.

ro
A Hong Kong resident reads a manga comic on his Literature proliferated in a restored post-
daily subway commute. Manga presents dramatic war Japan starting in the 1950s, and Japa-
G
and often dark themes in a traditional comic book nese authors became known abroad. Several
p
form to produce a unique genre of literature that Japanese authors have won international lit-
p
appeals to adults as well as younger readers. (Justin erary acclaim for their efforts, including
sa
Guariglia/National Geographic/Getty Images) Kawabata Yasunari, who in 1968 became the

first Japanese author to win the Nobel Prize
t
ha
events in Chinese and Japanese history. for Literature, and Oe Kenzaburo, awarded
Two of the most admired examples of yomi- the Nobel Prize in 1994. Todo Shizuko won
iW
hon are the supernatural collection Tales of the 1988 Naoki Prize, a national prize
Moonlight and Rain (1776) by Ueda Akinari awarded to the best young authors, for her
s
and the lengthy Satomi and the Eight Dogs novel Ripening Summer, which addresses
ba
(1814–1842) by Takizawa Bakin, considered the complex issues of modern womanhood.

Ab
a classic of Japanese literature.

Following the opening of Japan to West- SOUTH ASIA AND ELSEWHERE
ern influence in 1854, Japanese authors Historical research traces the literary tradi-
Q
drew inspiration from European works. In tions of South Asia to around 1400 B.C.E.,
A.
1887, Futabatei Shimei published Japan’s when the sacred Sanskrit verses called
first modern novel, Ukigumo (Drifting Vedas were composed. Hindu literature in
Clouds), which explores the life of a Toku- the centuries to follow was largely devo-
gawa samurai warrior. Japanese poets tional in character, and classic Sanskrit
turned to concrete imagery, departing from tales such as the Mahabharata, a tale of a

Manga
2
Manga are Japanese comic books that ac- and their mouths, eyebrows, and noses are
76
count for roughly 30 percent of Japanese drawn in an exaggerated manner and with
book sales. Far more than children’s books, fewer lines. The result is like ukiyo-e, in which
83
they deal with a wide range of topics such as the picture represents an idea rather than a
Japanese history and economics, wrapped physical reality. In addition, the fewer and
3
-2
into stories that commonly feature graphic simpler lines make manga fast to draw, ena-
sexuality and violence. This unusual blend of bling a greater volume of production.
01
elements leads to debate about their role Manga stories are mainly action adven-
03
and impact on Japanese society. tures, science fiction, and serious dramas.
Manga developed in the post–World War II Many of the stories have mature, dark under-
era as a mixture of Japanese ukiyo-e (wood- tones; lead characters usually have tragic
#
block prints) and contemporary Western art. backgrounds. Manga magazines usually con-
us
The originator of contemporary manga was tain several running series that range from
Dr. Osamu Tezuka, who abandoned his medi- 200 to 850 pages in length. A curious variety
cal profession to become a cartoon artist in in
of the genre is the dojinshi, or “bonus” publi-
jo
the 1940s. Drawing his inspiration from Walt cations—collections of manga artists’ unfin-
Disney’s movie Fantasia, he developed car- ished drawings or sketches. Some dojinshi
up
toon storytelling in comic format, depending have become fan-driven publications, in

ro
on dialogue rather than elaborate character which fans determine the story lines using
movements and backgrounds. His characters, the characters of a regular manga series or
G
like Disney’s, have especially large round eyes, continue a completed series.
p p
sa
historical war, involved both gods and peo- Rama, written by Tulsidas (d. 1623). From
ple in the action. The Sanksrit epic Ramay- the thirteenth through seventeenth centu-
t
ha
ana, describing the adventures of King ries, lyric poems in the tradition of bhakti
Rama, spread through Southeast Asia and (“devotionalism”) were a popular literary
iW
developed local variations in what are now form, often composed in regional lan-
Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Malaysia, and In- guages rather than classical Sanskrit. Some
s
donesia. In places under Buddhist influ- of the most admired were penned by a prin-
ba
ence, Jataka, tales of the Buddha’s previ- cess of Jodhpur, Mira Bai (d. ca. 1547).
Ab
ous incarnations, became a popular From the thirteenth century, a tradition

literature. In Sri Lanka, a long-standing tra- of Islamic culture developed in India, and
dition of historical chronicles influenced new languages such as Persian, Turkish, and
Q
the literature developing after 1500. Arabic contributed a growing body of liter-
A.
ature. The Muslim Mughal dynasty that

Indian Literature ruled India between 1526 and 1739 patron-
The Sanskrit legacy continued to infuse In- ized Persian authors who, with the Indian
dian literature after 1500, as seen in the scribes they trained, composed India’s in-
much celebrated Sacred Lake of the Acts of itial dynastic chronicles as well as Urdu

poetry. One of the greatest Persian poets of The Vendor of Sweets, The Bachelor of Arts,
the seventeenth century, Abdul Qadir Bedil, The Guide), which addressed the encounters
was greatly influenced by the Islamic Sufi of colonial and postcolonial, traditional and
tradition, and his works in turn influenced modern societies. Following this tradition,
literary traditions in what are now Tajikistan, politics continued to inform modern Indian
2
Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. Arabic was literature. Award-winning Indian author Sal-
76
the favored language for scientific works, man Rushdie gained international recogni-
many historical writings, and religious trea- tion when his novel The Satanic Verses
83
tises such as those composed by Muslim (1988) caused great controversy in the Mus-
theologian Shah Walli Allah (d. 1762). lim community. Rushdie’s earlier novel,
3
-2
An increase in local literacy under British Midnight’s Children (1981), had frankly cri-
colonial rule in the early nineteenth century, tiqued the political strategies of prime minis-
01
paired with the importation of printing ters Nehru and Indira Gandhi.
03
presses, encouraged the growth of popular
prose in regional languages. Notable Muslim See also: Art and Architecture; Culture
poets wrote in Urdu and Persian, and other and Traditions; Language; Religion; Society.
#
regional authors wrote in Hindi, Punjabi,
us
Malayalam, Tamil, Marathi, and Gujarati. FURTHER READING
Bengali literature enjoyed a renaissance be- Bennett, Bruce, and Dennis Haskell, eds. Myths, Heroes,
ginning in the late nineteenth century, and in
and Anti-Heroes: The Literature of the Asia-Pacific Re-
jo
Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore won the gion. Australia: University of Western Australia, 1992.
1913 Nobel Prize in Literature. Gitanjali, a col- Biddle, Arthur W., Gloria Bien, and Vinay Dharwadker.
up
lection of English translations of Tagore’s Contemporary Literature of Asia. Upper Saddle River,
ro
poems, were circulated to wide acclaim in the NJ: Prentice Hall, 1996.
West, beginning a tradition of international Dooling, Amy D., ed. Writing Women in Modern China:
G
appreciation for native Asian literatures. The Revolutionary Years, 1936–1976. New York: Co-
p
Many prominent twentieth-century Indian lumbia University Press, 2005.

p
authors, including Mohandas Gandhi, Jawa- Haskell, Dennis, and Ron Shapiro, eds. Interactions: Essays
sa
harlal Nehru, and Jaya Prakash Narayan, ex- on the Literature and Culture of the Asia-Pacific Re-
plored nationalist politics. During the transi-
t
gion. Australia: University of Western Australia, 2006.

ha
tion to independence, R.K. Narayan wrote a Herbert, Patricia, and Anthony Milner. South East Asia:
number of English novels set in South India Languages and Literatures: A Select Guide. Honolulu:
iW
from the 1930s (e.g., The English Teacher, University of Hawaii Press, 1989.
s
ba
Malaysia
Ab
See Indonesia; Singapore.

Q
Manchuria
A.
Region of northeast China, originally inhabited by semi-nomadic tribal peoples, in which

natural resources have been the focus of frequent warfare during the twentieth century.
Today, Manchuria is China’s most important industrial region.

M AO R I | 83
The boundary between Chinese Manchu- As World War II came to an end in 1945,
ria and Russian Siberia was fixed by the Russian troops seized Manchuria, looking
Treaty of Nerchinsk in 1689. However, as to annex it to the Soviet Union or to put in
Russian industry and colonization expanded power a favorable government. Rather
into the Pacific in the late nineteenth cen- than fight Chinese Communist forces that
2
tury, neighboring Manchuria became an at- had infiltrated the region during the war,
76
tractive asset. Russia’s defeat in the Sino- the Russians withdrew to northern Man-
Japanese War (1894–1895) left Manchuria in churia. The failure of Nationalist Chinese
83
Japanese hands, but Japan was soon forced forces to secure Manchuria was a signifi-
to leave as a result of Russian-organized cant factor in their loss to the Chinese
3
-2
Western diplomatic pressure. Communists during the ensuing Chinese
To help block Japanese expansion, China civil war (1945–1949).
01
agreed to have Russia construct a railroad The Communist Chinese government al-
03
across Manchuria to facilitate the move- lowed Russian troops to stay in northern
ment of Chinese troops to the region. Dur- Manchuria, in part to support the Korean
ing China’s Boxer Rebellion (1899–1901), the Communist Party during the Korean War
#
Russians used the new rail connection to (1950–1953). At the end of the Korean War,
us
move their own soldiers into Manchuria. and with the death of Soviet leader Joseph
Japan reacted by declaring war against Stalin in 1954, Russian troops finally with-
Russia, in what became the Russo- in
drew under Chinese pressure. In the mean-
jo
Japanese War (1904–1905), a conflict that time, the Chinese Communist government
Japan easily won. The Western powers, used Manchuria’s natural resources, and
up
however, were unwilling to allow Japan to the remaining mining and factory com-
ro
annex Manchuria. Instead, the resulting plexes built by the Japanese, to rapidly de-
peace treaty allowed Japan to act as the velop major heavy industries. Today Man-
G
protector of a now semi-independent Man- churia remains China’s most vital source of
p
churian state. coal, oil, and steel.

p
By the 1920s, Japan began to look upon

sa
Manchuria as a long-term solution to its See also: China; Communism; Japan;

need for natural resources and markets for Russo-Japanese War; World War II.
t
ha
Japanese industrial production. The Japa-

nese army occupied Manchuria in 1931, es- FURTHER READING
iW
tablishing a client state named Manchukuo. Janhunen, Juha. Manchuria: An Ethnic History. Helsinki,
Manchuria served as a major Japanese in- Finland: Finno-Ugrian Society, 1996.
s
dustrial center until the end of World War II, Tamanoi, Mariko Asano, ed. Crossed Histories: Manchu-
ba
sustained by vast natural resources of coal, ria in the Age of Empire. Ann Arbor, MI: Association
Ab
iron, and timber and staffed by imprisoned for Asian Studies, 2005.
Chinese labor.
Q
A.
Maori
Polynesian inhabitants of New Zealand, who fought a series of nineteenth-century battles
to hold their land against European settlers and who remain a strong cultural influence in

84 | M AO R I
the islands. The Maori constituted about 8 percent of New Zealand’s population as of
2000, and Maori was recognized as an official language along with English, reflecting the
government’s efforts to support the culture of this indigenous people.
Traditional Maori society was organized ancestral lands. The movement took its
2
around tribes called iwi, which shared a name from its goal to select a symbolic
76
common ancestry and gave allegiance to Maori king.
chiefs called ariki. Dutch explorer Abel Tas- During the 1850s, Europeans increased
83
man, the first European to reach New Zea- pressure on the Maori to sell their land, and
land, was repulsed by Maori living on South the years 1860 to 1872 were marked by
3
-2
Island in 1642. British captain James Cook, fierce fighting between British militia and
sailing around the main islands between Maori tribes. By 1872, large tracts of Maori
01
1769 and 1770, remarked on the intelligence land had been confiscated, and the last
03
of the Maori. Initial European contacts in holdouts of the King Movement withdrew
the form of whalers and seal-hunters posed to a western part of North Island, which re-
little threat, but in the 1830s, when Euro- mained closed to European influence until
#
pean colonization of the islands began in 1881. Traditional Maori society had almost
us
force, Maori culture and society suffered a completely disappeared, and many ex-
severe impact from the weapons, disease, perts predicted that the Maori themselves
agricultural methods, and missionary ef- in
would disappear due to intermarriage and
jo
forts of the new settlers. assimilation into European culture.
In 1840, the British government managed However, the Maori retained a place in
up
to formally annex New Zealand by persuad- New Zealand’s government by taking part
ro
ing about 500 Maori chieftains to sign the in the legislature, where seats had been re-
Treaty of Waitangi. This agreement recog- served for Maori representatives since 1867.
G
nized the sovereignty of the British queen In 1975, the New Zealand government estab-
p
over New Zealand, made the Maori British lished the Waitangi Tribunal to resolve unjust
p
subjects, and guaranteed the Maori posses- property seizures and other property rights
sa
sion of their lands. However, many British violations against the Maori. The govern-
colonizers paid little heed to Maori claims ment also began to support a renewal of
t
ha
to land, setting up farms and settlements of Maori culture by financing school instruction
their own. Alarmed by the growing Euro- and mass media in the Maori language.
iW
pean threat, a number of Maori chieftains

led attacks on parts of the North Island. See also: Aboriginal Peoples; Colonization;
s
These attacks, sometimes called the First New Zealand.

ba
Maori War, were put down by British officer

Ab
George Grey in 1847. Thereafter, several FURTHER READING

Maori tribes living on the North Island orga- McDonald, Robert. Maori. New York: Thomson Learning,
nized the King Movement beginning in 1857,
Q
1994.
an effort to consolidate Maori resistance Starzecka, D.C., ed. Maori Art and Culture. 2nd ed. Lon-
A.
and protect communal ownership of their don: British Museum Press, 1998.

MICRONESIA | 85
Micronesia
Group of more than 2,000 tropical islands whose inhabitants suffered exploitation by
2
European imperial powers in the nineteenth century and who have since emerged into
76
seven largely independent territories. Today, inhabitants of these territories—the Marshall
Islands, the Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Nauru, Kiribati, Guam, and the Federated
83
States of Micronesia—are substantially English-speaking and use U.S. currency, due to the
legacy of U.S. governing influence.
3
-2
The islands were first settled by peoples lands became a stage for fighting between
01
who migrated from Polynesia and East Asia the United States and Japan during World
03
and set up extensive trading networks. War II (1939–1945), with great loss of life for
Spanish explorer Ferdinand Magellan sailed the native islanders.
past the islands on his voyage around the In 1947, the United Nations established a
#
world in 1521, but for the next few centuries Trust Territory of the Pacific Islands, giving
us
the islands interested Europeans as little the United States administrative control
more than a stopover for ships seeking the over the Caroline, Marshall, and Northern
spices of Indonesia. The Spanish estab- in
Mariana Islands, including Guam, Saipan,
jo
lished a colonial base on Yap to acquire and Tinian. The United States saw the is-
local products and provision their ships, lands as a place to test atomic and hydro-
up
and in the mid-nineteenth century, Pohnpei gen bombs until 1958.

ro
and Kosrae were major ports of call and In the 1970s, the islands of Micronesia
stopovers for Western whalers working gradually emerged from U.S. trusteeship and
G
Micronesian waters. British and American became self-governing. In 1975, the Northern
p
whalers, bringing disease and violence to Mariana Islands established a common-

p
the islands, had a detrimental effect on the wealth with political ties to the United States.
sa
indigenous peoples, and European Protes- The islands of Chuuk, Yap, Pohnpei, and Kos-
tant missionaries did their best to persuade rae united as the independent Federated
t
ha
the islanders to conform to Western cus- States of Micronesia on May 10, 1979. The
toms and styles of dress. Marshall Islands, Palau, Nauru, and Kiribati
iW
In 1899, the Spanish sold their island have all emerged as independent republics;
interests to Germany, while Guam became a only Guam remains a non-self-governing ter-
s
United States military base. The Germans ritory administered by the United States.
ba
set up a colonial government to oversee co-

Ab
conut plantations where the Micronesians See also: Colonization; Indonesia; Japan;
were employed as forced labor. In 1914, the Polynesia; World War II.
Japanese navy took possession of the Mar-
Q
shall, Caroline, and Northern Mariana Is- FURTHER READING

A.
lands. More than 100,000 Japanese mi- Dunford, Betty, and Reilly Ridgell. Pacific Neighbors: The
grated to the islands, introducing Japanese Islands of Micronesia, Melanesia, and Polynesia. 2nd
architecture, social practices, and Buddhist ed. Honolulu: Bess Press, 2006.
and Shinto beliefs. Agriculture flourished Karolle, Bruce G. Atlas of Micronesia. 2nd ed. Honolulu:
under Japanese colonial rule, but the is- Bess Press, 1993.

86 | M YA N M A R ( B U R M A )
Mongolia See Agriculture; Art and Architecture; Culture and

Traditions; Environmental Issues; Religion.
2
Myanmar (Burma)
76
83
Largely Buddhist nation in Southeast Asia, ruled since the late twentieth century by a
3
military regime accused of several human rights violations. Previously known as Burma,
-2
the former British colony moved toward establishing a democratic government after
01
gaining independence in 1948. Since 1962, socialist policies and a military junta have
introduced many changes, including renaming the country Myanmar.
03
The Toungoo dynasty that ruled Burma stable, and in 1962, General Ne Win took the
#
from 1486 to 1752 ambitiously expanded presidency in a military coup.
us
the kingdom, and the Konbaung dynasty Ne Win’s Burmese Way to Socialism in-
that followed made advances into neigh- stalled a repressive regime that stifled the
boring Siam (now Thailand). British imperi- in
economy, isolated the country from foreign
jo
alist expansion brought renewed warfare to relations, and consisted essentially of a po-
Burma after 1824, and in 1886, the British lice state. In 1988, a wave of antigovern-
up
managed to annex Burma to their Indian ment protests swept the country, to which
ro
empire. British rule, which lasted until 1948, Aung San’s daughter, Suu Kyi, lent an in-
focused on large-scale agriculture, and the fluential voice. In response, General Saw
G
colony became one of the world’s top sup- Maung established the State Law and
p
pliers of rice. Order Restoration Council (SLORC) and

p
Burma became a self-governing colony imposed martial law to stabilize the coun-
sa
in 1937, but the Burma Independence Army, try, an effort that led to an estimated 3,000
led by General Aung San, aimed for total in-
t
civilian deaths.
ha
dependence. Burmese soldiers fought with In the general elections held in 1990,
the Japanese to drive the British out of their Aung San Suu Kyi’s National League for
iW
country, then supported the Allies in de- Democracy party won an overwhelming
feating Japan in World War II. Aung San majority. However, SLORC refused to allow
s
headed a transitional government after the the new leaders to take office and placed
ba
war, but upon his assassination in 1947, the Aung San Suu Kyi under house arrest.
Ab
new Union of Burma was established with a SLORC, renamed the State Peace and De-
president, prime minister, and bicameral velopment Council in 1997, continued to
government. In 1958, Prime Minister U Nu govern, with military officers serving in
Q
asked for military aid in quelling distur- most ministry and cabinet positions. The
A.
bances around the country caused by Com- council routinely harassed political dissent-
munists; ethnic Shan, Karen, and Mon ers and closely censored all domestic
tribespeople; Muslims, and other groups media, and cultivation and sale of opium
hoping to secure a voice in the government. accounted for most of the economic activ-
The constitutional government was rarely ity throughout the country. Aung San Suu

N AT I O N A L I S M A N D N AT I O N A L I S T M O V E M E N T S | 87
Pro-democracy leader Aung San Suu Kyi is seen

here addressing a press conference under a flag of
her party, the National League for Democracy
(NLD), in 1996. Although she won Myanmar’s 1990
presidential election, the nation’s military refused to
2
surrender its hold on power and has held Aung San
76
Suu Kyi under house arrest almost continuously
since the mid-1990s. (Emmanuel Dunand/AFP/Getty
83
Images)
3
-2
Peace Prize in 1991. In 2005, Myanmar’s mil-
01
itary regime moved their capital from Yan-
03
gon (Rangoon) on the coast to the newly
constructed Naypyidaw (“city of kings”)
deep in the Myanmar heartland.
#
us
See also: Agriculture; Colonization;
Democracy and Democratic Movements;
in
Imperialism; Nationalism; Thailand.
jo
FURTHER READING
up
Fink, Christina. Living Silence: Burma under Military Rule.

ro
New York: Zed, 2001.

Stewart, Whitney. Aung San Suu Kyi: Fearless Voice of
G
Kyi’s continued nonviolent protests against Burma. Minneapolis: Lerner, 1997.

p
the council earned her international recog- Thant Myint-U. The River of Lost Footsteps: Histories of
p
nition and support, including the Nobel Burma. New York: Farrar, Straus and Giroux, 2006.
t sa
ha
Nationalism and Nationalist

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Movements
s
ba
Ab
A phenomenon experienced throughout Asia during the twentieth century, characterized

by a shared sense of belonging to or being members of a nation and accompanied by
actions taken to set up a self-governing state. Nationalist movements shaped most of the
Q
modern states of Asia and the Pacific out of previous colonial empires, and nationalism
A.
helps define and unite members of these nations today.
ROOTS OF NATIONALISM century, preceded by cultural nationalism,

As in Europe, state nationalism was, for in which groups united around shared eth-
many parts of Asia in the late nineteenth nicity, religion, or other beliefs. In Bengal,

88 | N AT I O N A L I S M A N D N AT I O N A L I S T M O V E M E N T S
TURNING POINT
Meiji Restoration
2
The Meiji Restoration refers specifically to ilies or military leaders, as had been the rule in
76
the installment of Emperor Meiji as the rul- the past. Furthermore, changes to standard-
ing power in Japanese government in 1868 ized education and a state-sponsored revival
83
and more generally to the subsequent pe- of the Shinto religion fostered a shared cul-
3
riod of reform that lasted until 1912. The po- ture to which all Japanese could subscribe.
-2
litical, economic, social, and military changes The new Meiji government also replaced
during the Restoration stemmed from a ris- the old samurai armies with conscripted
01
ing sense of nationalism, aiming to enrich (drafted and recruited) troops composed of
03
and strengthen Japan’s unique character, commoners rather than members of a he-
in contrast to the many outside Western in- reditary military elite. Many of these com-
#
fluences that the Japanese had begun to moners, from poor rural families, were so
absorb. thankful for the new opportunity and the
us
In 1867, an alliance of samurai warriors mobility allowed them by military service
moved to restore the absolute power of the that their loyalty to the Meiji state was un-
emperor, rather than continue military rule in
questionable.
jo
by a general or shogun, which had been the By the beginning of the twentieth cen-
up
tradition since the late twelfth century. The tury, Meiji-era reforms had made Japan a
capital of the new government moved from world-class power, but adherence to impe-
ro
Kyoto to Tokyo (then called Edo), where rial tradition, a family-centered society, and
ministers ran a centralized administration the country’s historic culture and religion
G
under the ultimate authority of the emperor. had preserved a unique Japanese society.
p
The long-standing feudal structures of Japan thus demonstrated to other Asian

p
land ownership and social distinction were colonies and neighboring China the ability
sa
abolished; Japanese citizens began to see of a non-Western country to modernize

t
themselves as subjects of a single leader without sacrificing its local values and dis-
ha
rather than loyal to various aristocratic fam- tinctive Asian features.

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which was part of the British Empire in the Arya Samaj begun by Swami Daya-
s
India at the time, an intellectual renais- nanda in 1875, also were not strictly nation-
ba
sance beginning in the early nineteenth alist movements. Nevertheless, they had
Ab
century spawned a new awareness and ap- the effect of clarifying and supporting a
preciation for a uniquely Bengali culture, unique, Indian-based culture that would, in
which in turn sparked movements for social time, become a rallying point for Indian na-
Q
reform. The Brahmo Samaj, a religious re- tionalism. The Indian National Congress,
A.
form movement founded by Ram Mohun the political party formed in 1885, began
Roy in 1828, at first sought ways to align with the stated goal of involving more edu-
traditional Hindu values with the Western cated Indians in the rule of the British Raj.
policies imposed by the foreign govern- The party eventually emerged as India’s
ment. Later reform movements in India, like leader in securing independence from

N AT I O N A L I S M A N D N AT I O N A L I S T M O V E M E N T S | 89
NATIONALIST MOVEMENTS IN ASIA
1828 Religious reform movement called the 1920 Goal of self-government adopted by
Brahmo Samaj founded by Ram Mohun Roy Indonesian Communist Party
2
as part of the Bengal renaissance in India
1927 Vietnamese Nationalist Party established
76
CA. 1864–1890 Efforts of Chinese Self-
1947 India granted independence from Britain
83
Strengthening Movement to shore up
and partitioned into India and Pakistan
Qing dynasty and help China resist
3
domination by Western powers 1948 Republics of Burma, North Korea, and
-2
South Korea established
1885 Indian National Congress established with
01
goal of involving more educated Indian 1949 Indonesia granted complete
03
citizens in the British-controlled independence from Dutch rule
government
1954 Independence of Vietnam, Cambodia, and
#
1894 Revive China Society founded by Dr. Sun Laos confirmed by withdrawal of French
us
Yat-sen, a Chinese revolutionary troops from Indochina
1908 Budi Utomo, Indonesia’s first nationalist 1971 East Pakistan (East Bengal) separated
organization, founded to preserve Javanese in
from West Pakistan, becoming
jo
culture and improve educational Bangladesh
up
opportunities
2002 East Timor becomes the independent
1912 Chinese Nationalist Party or Kuomintang nation of Timor-Leste
ro
(KMT) founded under the leadership of

2005 Peace treaty negotiated between
G
Sun Yat-Sen
separatist parties in Aceh and Indonesian
p
1912 Sarekat Islam or Islamic Association government

p
founded in Indonesia
t sa
ha
Great Britian and evolved into its chief gov- In China, as in India, reform movements in
iW
erning party thereafter. the late nineteenth century spurred growing

A growing nationalist movement in the nationalist sentiment. Under the official rule
s
Dutch colony of Indonesia also looked to a of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911), China in the
ba
rich native cultural heritage—the Javanese nineteenth century had been forced to con-
Ab
Majapahit empire of the fourteenth and fif- cede to unequal trade treaties favoring the
teenth century—as a motivation for self- Western powers of Great Britain, France,
rule. Indonesia’s first nationalist group, the and Russia. The Self-Strengthening Move-
Q
Budi Utomo, was founded on May 20, 1908, ment, launched in the 1860s and lasting for
A.
a day now celebrated as the “National the next three decades, aimed at revitaliz-
Awakening.” The Budi Utomo’s mission was ing China through modernizations in the
to preserve and support Javanese culture as military, education, and trade. The move-
well as achieve economic and educational ment failed in its aims to preserve the dy-
improvements. nasty, which fell in 1911, but the goal of

90 | N AT I O N A L I S M A N D N AT I O N A L I S T M O V E M E N T S
strengthening China survived as Sun Yat- China, Korea, and Manchuria, nationalist
sen founded the Chinese Nationalist Party, ideology acquired an increasingly auto-
or Kuomintang (KMT), in 1912. Sun would cratic character, with radical nationalism
later be recognized as “the father of modern at its core.
China,” and his political ideology, expressed The end of World War II in 1945 heralded
2
in the Three Principles of nationalism, de- the final demise of the Western empires in
76
mocracy, and public welfare, underlay the Asia. The Japanese supported the indepen-
KMT’s efforts to set up democratic govern- dence of some of their invaded territories,
83
ment in China in the following decades. including Laos and Vietnam, but the United
In British-ruled Burma (Myanmar), reli- Nations intervened to redraw the map of
3
-2
gion provided the focal point for organized Asia in the postwar years. In 1946, the Philip-
nationalism. The Young Men’s Buddhist As- pines gained independence; in 1947, the Brit-
01
sociation (YMBA), formed in 1906, orga- ish partitioned the former Raj into India and
03
nized and supported schools to increase Pakistan. Burma achieved independence in
the educational level of native Burmese. 1948, the same year North and South Korea
Following on the heels of a Burmese peas- proclaimed themselves republics. The Indo-
#
ant rebellion in the 1930s, a student protest nesians finally convinced the Dutch to re-
us
group called the Thakins won loyalty as linquish control in 1949. After losing the
leaders in the nationalist movement. The First Indochina War in 1954, France with-
British government introduced a new con- in
drew from Southeast Asia, recognizing
jo
stitution in Burma in 1937, paving the way the independence of Vietnam, Cambodia,
for complete independence in the chaos and Laos.
up
following World War II. However, the formation of the new na-
ro
tions did not ensure peace for Asia in the

BIRTH OF THE ASIAN NATIONS decades to come. Nationalist sentiment
G
Nationalist movements in Asia gained mo- spurs the ongoing efforts of separatists,
p
mentum in the early twentieth century, often accompanied by armed violence. Na-
p
when European engagements in World tionalism grounded the efforts of East Ben-
sa
War I (1914–1918) drew attention away gal to separate from Pakistan in 1971, form-
from colonial rule. The decades between ing the People’s Republic of Bangladesh.
t
ha
the two world wars also witnessed the Separatists’ movements continued to trou-
introduction of Communist ideals, which ble Indonesia, especially in the regions of
iW
in many cases became bound up in nation- Papau New Guinea and Aceh, where peace
alist projects. Indonesia’s Communist negotiations were finally achieved in 2005
s
Party formed in 1920, and the Chinese only after the Indian Ocean tsunami of
ba
Communist Party emerged in 1921. In that 2004 devastated the region. In 2002,
Ab
same year, social activist Mohandas Gan- under a United Nations-sponsored agree-
dhi became head of the Indian National ment, East Timor, annexed by Indonesia in
Congress and began to lead India’s move- 1975, became the independent nation of
Q
ment toward independence. Nationalist Timor-Leste.

A.
sentiment in Asia increased while Western

powers tried to secure their hold on their See also: Colonization; Communism;
Asian empires. In Japan, which was build- Democracy and Democratic Movements;
ing its own empire by excursions into Imperialism; Indian Nationalism.

NEW ZEALAND | 91
FURTHER READING colonization, Nationalism and Separation. New York:

Birch, David, Tony Schirato, and Sanjay Srivastava. Asia: St. Martin’s, 1998.
Cultural Politics in the Global Age. New York: Pal- Tarling, Nicholas. Nationalism in Southeast Asia: “If the Peo-
grave, 2001. ple Are With Us.” New York: RoutledgeCurzon, 2004.
Christie, Clive J. Modern History of Southeast Asia: De-
2
76
83
Nepal See Democracy and Democratic Movements.
3
-2
New Zealand
01
03
Island nation in the South Pacific, a former British colony that remains a British dominion,
where the predominantly European population has attempted to repair relations with its
#
aboriginal people, the Maori. The New Zealanders populating the North, South, and lesser
us
islands are predominantly Christian and of European descent, although about 10 percent
of the 2005 population of some 4 million were Asian or Pacific Islander and about 8
percent identified as Maori. in
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BRITISH NEW ZEALAND French, and American whaling ships and
up
The Maori, a Polynesian people, first occu- seal hunters worked the waters surrounding
ro
pied the islands between 800 and 1000. In New Zealand. British traders and missionar-
1642, Dutch navigator Abel Tasman explored ies arrived after 1800.
G
New Zealand’s two main islands and named Responding to the threat that France
p
the land Nieuw Zeeland. British captain aimed to annex the islands, as well as mis-
p
James Cook made three voyages there be- sionary appeals to resolve escalating con-
sa
ginning in 1769, and from the 1790s, British, flict with local Maori, Britain appointed
t
ha
Maori tribesmen of New Zealand perform

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a traditional haka dance during festivities

marking Waitangi Day, February 6. The
s
holiday celebrates the signing in 1840 of

ba
the Treaty of Waitangi between British

Ab
settlers and indigenous Maoris, which

established New Zealand as part of the
British Empire. Although the treaty
Q
guaranteed the Maoris ownership and

A.
control over their own land, the British

ignored many of its provisions and
eventually transformed New Zealand into
a colony. (Ross Land/Getty Images)

92 | NEW ZEALAND
TURNING POINT
Treaty of Waitangi
2
Although the Treaty of Waitangi is cele- culture, land is communally held by a tribe,
76
brated as the founding document of New not the possession of individuals, and politi-
Zealand nationhood, Maori and those of cal guardianship is temporary, never abso-
83
British heritage debate the legitimacy of the lute. Thus, the Maori understood the treaty
treaty and disagree about exactly what the as a temporary grant of land use rights
3
-2
Maori chiefs legally transferred to the Brit- rather than a declaration of ownership.
ish. In the English language version of the In the 1960s and 1970s, Maori nationalists
01
treaty, the Maori chiefs granted England refocused attention on the initial moral in-
03
sovereignty in return for British guarantees tent of the treaty—to protect native land-
that the chiefs would retain local authority holders from illicit property seizures by Eu-
and ownership over Maori lands and treas- ropeans. The Maori pressured the New
#
ures. The treaty guaranteed the Maori legal Zealand government to honor the terms of
us
rights as British subjects, but gave the Brit- the treaty and to return land that had been
ish crown first right to buy if the Maori illegally seized. In 1975, the New Zealand
wished to sell their land. in
government established the Waitangi Tribu-
jo
The Maori language version of the treaty, nal to hear claims relative to treaty viola-
however, does not represent these terms in tions. As of early 2006, twenty settlements
up
the same sense, primarily because Western had been made by the tribunal, totaling
ro
ideas of sovereignty were foreign to Maori roughly $700 million. These were accompa-
culture. The Maori argue that the traditional nied by formal government apologies for
G
Maori word for the kind of authority they past breaches of the treaty, other financial
p
granted the British does not encompass ab- restitutions, and recognition of Maori cul-
p
solute rights or political authority. In Maori tural rights to various sites.

t sa
ha
James Busby as official resident to adminis- House of Representatives, which in 1867

ter New Zealand in 1832. Busby encouraged granted the Maori a number of reserved
iW
the Maori chiefs to declare their sove- parliamentary seats. Larger and faster
reignty in a declaration of independence, ships, and the opening of the Suez Canal in
s
signed in 1835. In 1840 this declaration gave 1869, allowed the islands to develop their
ba
way to the Treaty of Waitangi, in which sev- livestock industry and export wool, meat,
Ab
eral hundred Maori chiefs of North Island and dairy products to Western markets. An
agreed to become British subjects and influx of settlers from England, Scotland,
defer authority to the British monarch in re- and Ireland soon became New Zealand’s
Q
turn for guaranteed ownership of their majority population. The South Island pros-
A.
communal lands. pered after the discovery of gold in 1861,

New Zealand operated largely as a self- while the North Island remained torn by dis-
governing colony during the nineteenth putes with the Maori, sometimes called the
century. By 1852, New Zealand had an ap- Maori wars or the New Zealand land wars,
pointed Legislative Council and an elected which continued until 1872.

NEW ZEALAND | 93
INDEPENDENT NEW ZEALAND immigrants also provided valuable business

New Zealanders chose not to unite with connections to the rapidly expanding East
Australia during the formation of the Com- Asian marketplace.
monwealth of Australia in 1901. Instead, the New Zealand has frequently been in the
former colony elected to remain a domin- forefront of social welfare legislation. In
2
ion of the British crown, self-governing in 1893, New Zealand became the first democ-
76
domestic affairs but still deferring matters racy to grant women voting rights in na-
of international relations, trade, and de- tional elections. The government imple-
83
fense to the British government and still mented old-age pensions in 1898; national
symbolically headed by the British mon- child welfare programs in 1907; social se-
3
-2
arch. As a dominion, New Zealand sent curity for the elderly, widows, and orphans;
troops to fight as British allies in the Boer family benefit payments; minimum wages; a
01
War (1899–1902) in South Africa, in World forty-hour workweek; unemployment and
03
War I (1914–1918) and World War II (1939– health insurance (all in 1938); and socialized
1945), and in the Korean War (1950–1953). medicine (1941). More recently, New Zea-
By act of parliament in 1947, New Zealand land legalized prostitution (2003), recog-
#
created a constitutional monarchy, headed nized same-sex marriages, and granted
us
by a prime minister and governed by a one- same-sex couples equal rights with married
house legislature, with the British monarch couples (2004).
serving as the chief of state. in
jo
Following independence, New Zealand See also: Aboriginal Peoples; Australia;
retained close economic ties with England, Maori.
up
to which it exported most of its lamb and

ro
dairy products. After 1973, New Zealand FURTHER READING

launched efforts to diversify its economy, Elder, Alexander. Straying from the Flock: Travels in New
G
attract new business partners, and establish Zealand. Hoboken, NJ: Wiley, 2005.
p
closer economic and political links with its Jacobs, Warren, and Jill Worrall. Portrait of New Zea-
p
Pacific Basin island neighbors and Australia. land. 2nd rev. ed. London: New Holland, 2006.
sa
In these efforts, the island’s Polynesian heri- King, Michael. A Penguin History of New Zealand. New
tage proved beneficial in finding local island
t
York: Penguin, 2003.

ha
markets. New Zealand’s numerous Chinese

iW
Opium Wars
s
See China; Spheres of Influence.

ba
Ab
Q
A.

P–T
Pakistan
Nation that occupies a critical zone between South Asia, the Middle East, and Central
2
Asia and is home to the world’s second-largest Muslim population. Pakistan’s modern
76
history has been influenced greatly by political and religious conflicts with India
stemming from Pakistan’s separation from the independent Indian state in 1947.
83
Before the British granted India its inde- (1977–1988) subsequently moved Pakistan
3
pendence in 1947, present-day Pakistan was away from its previous embrace of Western
-2
part of British India. However, its predomi- secular ideals to a state system based in the
01
nantly Muslim population did not wish to be sharia Islamic legal code. Nevertheless, his
part of a Hindu-dominated Indian state. In opposition to the Soviet Union’s 1979 inva-
03
part as a reward for Muslim loyalty to the sion of Afghanistan transformed Pakistan
British during World War II, Pakistan received into a close strategic partner of the United
#
its independence. Initially, it was a geograph- States in the region. Following Zia’s death
us
ically divided country composed of eastern in 1988, Benazir Bhutto (r. 1988–1990, 1994–
and western territories inhabited by substan- 1999), daughter of Zulfikar Ali Bhutto, be-
tially different ethnic groups, separated by in
came the Muslim world’s first elected
jo
more than 1,000 miles (1,600 km) of inter- woman prime minister. However, a 1999 mil-
vening Indian territory. This uncomfortable itary coup removed Bhutto from office and
up
unity ended in 1971, when East Pakistan replaced General Pervez Musharraf in power.
ro
belled and, with Indian assistance, became Pakistan today has deep and often bit-
the independent nation of Bangladesh. ter disagreements with India about several
G
Although organized as an independent issues. One of the most dangerous and

p
parliamentary republic, Pakistan remained long-standing is the conflict over the bor-
p
a dominion in the British Commonwealth of der region of Kashmir. Both nations claim
sa
Nations until 1958. The country experienced the area, which is currently part of India.
repeated stretches of martial law, beginning Attempts by Pakistan to claim the region,
t
ha
in 1954, when Pakistan consolidated its var- or to support the efforts of local Kashmir
ious provinces and princely states. In 1958, separatists, have resulted in wars with India
iW
General Ayubh Khan (r. 1958–1969) took in 1947, 1965, and 1999.
power in a military coup, appointing himself Pakistan’s other major trouble spot is
s
president and imposing land reform and in- its western tribal frontier adjacent to Af-
ba
dustrial development policies. The aggres- ghanistan, where local populations continue
Ab
sive military regime of Yahya Khan took to support the warlords—Muslim Taliban
power in 1969, but fell as a result of the suc- fundamentalists. Despite its political
cessful Bangladeshi independence move- problems, since the 1990s Pakistan’s econ-
Q
ment in 1971. omy has become one of the fastest growing

A.
Pakistan briefly returned to civilian rule in Asia, especially in manufacturing and fi-
under Zulfikar Ali Bhutto (1972–1977), but nancial services. The government hopes
he was deposed by a military coup follow- that economic growth will bring a measure
ing charges of election fraud in his 1977 of stability to a nation that has experienced
presidential victory. General Zia-ul-Haq continuous turmoil since its founding.
94

PHILIPPINES | 95
See also: Afghanistan; India; Indian Wagner, Heather Lehr. India and Pakistan. Philadelphia:
Nationalism; Nationalism and Nationalist Chelsea House, 2002.
Movements; Religion; Taliban. Weston, Mark. The Land and People of Pakistan. New
York: HarperCollins, 1992.
FURTHER READING
2
Einfeld, Jann, ed. Pakistan. San Diego: Greenhaven,
76
2004.
83
Philippines
3
-2
01
Southeast Asian island nation strongly influenced by its extended colonial experience
under Spanish and U.S. rule. One of the earliest European colonies in Asia, the Philippines
03
were ruled by Spain from 1565 to 1898. As a result of the Spanish-American War, the
United States annexed the Philippines, beginning the era of U.S. colonialism. Both
#
Western colonial powers transformed Filipino society in significant ways and laid the
us
foundations of modern Filipino political culture.
SPANISH RULE in
authorities and the local populations, whom
jo
Spanish rule was initially based in the port the Church viewed as children needing pa-
of Manila, which became Spain’s window of rental guidance.
up
access to the Chinese marketplace. Spanish In time, the local chiefs were incorpo-
ro
traders partnered with Manila’s resident rated into the Spanish administration as re-
Chinese merchant community in the profit- gional heads and tax collectors. By the
G
able Manila galleon trade between Mexico seventeenth century, most of the chiefs had
p
and Manila with Chinese merchant connec- amassed land holdings and were granted
p
tions to China’s seaports, which were un- property ownership rights, making them
sa
available to Spanish traders. Over time the Philippine aristocrats. By the mid-
Spanish in Manila and the local merchant nineteenth century this landowning elite in-
t
ha
community expanded their interests to the spired by the example of Latin American
countryside to export cash crops such as nations, pushed for their own autonomy
iW
tobacco, indigo, sugar, hemp, and coffee. from Spanish rule. In 1896, the populist Phi-
Spanish administration depended heav- lippine Revolution began, under Emilio
s
ily on Spanish Roman Catholic clergy and Aguinaldo and his Katipunan, a secret revo-
ba
local chiefs who commanded traditional re- lutionary society.

Ab
gional village networks. The Catholic Church For a time it appeared as if outside
initially entered the countryside in Luzon events would further Aguinaldo’s plans.
and other northern islands to convert the When the Spanish-American War started in
Q
local animistic populations to Catholicism. Cuba in May 1898, U.S. commodore George
A.
The Church discouraged the development Dewey sailed to the Pacific to “liberate” the
of a native Filipino clergy and taught locals Philippines. Dewey recruited Aguinaldo and
in the Spanish language. These moves rein- his forces to assist in the American take-
forced the Church’s power to act as the over. Aguinaldo and his Filipino troops, sup-
legal intermediary between the colonial ported by Dewey, easily seized Manila on

96 | PHILIPPINES
June 12, 1898, and declared the first Philip- written the following year, and indepen-
pine Republic. However, the United States dence was scheduled for 1945. These plans
had no intention of granting the islands were put on hold by the Japanese occupa-
their independence. In 1898 the United tion of the Philippines during World War II.
States paid Spain $20 million for the Philip- In 1946, one year after the Japanese surren-
2
pines, but Aguinaldo refused to acknowl- der, Manuel Roxas became the Philippines’
76
edge American claims of sovereignty. first president.
83
UNITED STATES RULE INDEPENDENCE
From 1898 to 1901, American troops fought Following independence, the Philippines
3
-2
a bloody war to subdue Aguinaldo’s forces. faced the legacy of elite control of the po-
The United States then instituted a so-called litical and economic system. In the 1950s,
01
“compadre colonialism” in cooperation with local resistance to the government was led
03
the local merchant and landowning elite by the Huks Marxist coalition, a remnant of
and other wealthy, Western-educated ele- the wartime, mountain-based, anti-Japanese
ments of Filipino society. An elected assem- guerrilla movement. It was joined by the
#
bly took office in 1907, the first in Southeast Mindanao National Liberation Front, a group
us
Asia, but was subject to an American super- of separatists in Mindanao, which had a ma-
visory commission. The Jones Act of 1916 jority Muslim population. The Huks dis-
abolished the commission and replaced it in
banded during the presidency of Ramon
jo
with an elected senate, with the promise of Magsaysay (r. 1953–1957), who began to im-
independence as soon as a stable govern- plement land reform. Following Magsaysay’s
up
ment could be established. death in a plane crash, the elite oligarchy re-
ro
American rule included providing educa- stored its leadership.

tion and public health care, but had little The most influential figure in post-
G
impact on social reform. The Payne-Aldrich independence Filipino politics was Ferdi-
p
Tariff Act of 1909 allowed free trade nand Marcos, who was first elected presi-
p
between the Philippines and the United dent in 1965. Marcos, who was notorious for
sa
States, severely retarding Philippine indus- the corruption and cronyism of his regime,
try because local producers could not com- declared martial law in 1972. As a staunch
t
ha
pete with U.S. companies. However, the pol- anti-Communist, Marcos received U.S. sup-
icy greatly benefited the local sugar port, reinforcing his credentials by labeling
iW
plantation and mill owners, as well as others rural resistance from the New People’s
who held private property that produced Army as “communist.” Marcos held power
s
cash crops, by allowing them to sell their until 1986, when a popular front known as
ba
agricultural products in the United States “People Power” deposed him, protesting
Ab
without paying import taxes. Small farmers, his harsh policies and accusing him of wide-
unable to compete, increasingly sold their spread fraud in his declaration of his 1986
land and become tenant farmers. reelection victory.
Q
These harsh conditions resulted in a se- Corazon Aquino (1986–1992), the wife of
A.
ries of peasant rebellions that demanded a assassinated Marcos opponent Benigno

government response. In 1934, the United Aquino (d. 1983), was declared the rightful
States declared that Filipino independence winner of the 1986 election and became the
would follow the formation of a common- new head of state. Aquino survived six army
wealth government. A new constitution was rebellions during her term of office, but was

P O LY N E S I A | 97
unable to push the kinds of basic economic FURTHER READING

and political change the Philippines needed Rodell, Paul A. Culture and Customs of the Philippines.
to escape mass poverty and a political Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2002.
system known for corruption and ineffi- Roth, Marissa, and Jessica Hagedorn. Burning Heart: A
ciency. These problems persisted during Portrait of the Philippines. New York: Rizzoli, 1999.
2
the presidencies of Aquino’s successors. Sexton, Colleen. Philippines in Pictures. Minneapolis:
76
Twenty-First Century Books, 2006.
See also: Colonization; Communism; Steinberg, David Joel. The Philippines: A Singular and
83
Democracy and Democratic Movements; Plural Place. 4th ed. Boulder, CO: Westview, 2000.
World War II.
3
-2
01
Polynesia
03
A group of more than 1,000 islands in the central and southern Pacific Ocean, including
#
Hawaii, French Polynesia, the Cook and Line Islands, Samoa, Tuvalu, Tonga, and Easter
us
Island. Fiji, which has a large Polynesian population, is sometimes included in Polynesia,
and the Maori of New Zealand are of Polynesian descent. Despite being scattered over a
in
vast expanse of ocean, the people of the islands share a common ethnic heritage, speak
jo
related languages, and practice a distinct traditional culture. Politically, Polynesia is
composed of several entities, including independent nations and territories held in trust
up
by other countries.
ro
The first Polynesians, migrating to the is- James Cook stopped at Tahiti in 1769 on the
G
lands in successive waves beginning as first of three visits. He named Tahiti and the
p
early as 2000 B.C.E, settled in small villages adjacent islands the Georgian Islands; the
p
populated by groups of extended families. others he christened the Society Islands in

sa
Fishing and the cultivation of village gar- honor of the Royal Society, a scientific asso-
dens and fruit trees provided food, and ciation named in honor of England’s King
t
ha
Polynesian artisans made crafts out of the Charles II (r. 1660–1685) that had sponsored
materials available: leaves and plant fibers his voyage.
iW
for mats, baskets, and sails; feathers for Travelers’ reports of the seeming para-
elaborate cloaks; stone for the elaborate dise of the islands captured the European
s
sculptures found on the Marquesas, the So- imagination and also inspired missionary
ba
ciety Islands, and Easter Island. Social divi- zeal. Backed by military support, Christian
Ab
sions were distinct, warfare was frequent, missionaries came to convert local chiefs,
and the prevailing animistic beliefs taught tear down Polynesian temples, and eradi-
that all things, animate and inanimate, held cate local customs and beliefs. Native resis-
Q
spirit or mana. tance proved unequal to the superior fire-

A.
Spanish explorers made the first Euro- power of the Europeans, as seen in the
pean landings in Polynesia around the turn example of the French. After the Tahitians
of the seventeenth century, and British and drove French Catholic missionaries from
French ships made contact beginning in the their island in 1836, the French military set
mid-eighteenth century. English naturalist up a naval base on the island in 1842 and

98 | P O LY N E S I A
established protectorates over the Marque- adopted Western ways, though islanders on
sas, the Society Islands, and Tahiti. By the Samoa and Tonga retain aspects of their
turn of the twentieth century, all of Polyne- traditional culture.
sia had come under the control of European
powers or the United States, much to the See also: Colonization; Culture and
2
detriment of the indigenous culture, which Traditions; Maori; Micronesia; New Zealand;
76
was almost entirely transformed. Religion; Society.
During the twentieth century, while some
83
of the islands, including Western Samoa FURTHER READING
and New Zealand, claimed their indepen-
3
Finney, Ben. Voyage of Rediscovery: A Cultural Odyssey
-2
dence, others made various alliances. Ha- through Polynesia. Berkeley: University of California
waii joined the United States, the Cook Is- Press, 1994.
01
lands became part of New Zealand, and the Fischer, Steven Roger. A History of the Pacific Islands.
03
French organized some 120 islands into New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2002.
French Polynesia. In the present day, tour- Oliver, Douglas. Polynesia in Early Historic Times. Hon-
ism contributes a great deal to Polynesian
#
olulu: Bess Press, 2002.
economies, and most Polynesians have
us
in
Refugees
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up
Persons forced to leave their homes due to war, natural disaster, persecution on ethnic,
ro
political, or religious grounds, or other reasons. Asian refugees who have been displaced
within their home countries or who have crossed international borders to seek asylum
G
often experience hardship in their new locations and put an economic strain on their hosts.
p
At the turn of the twenty-first century, the largest refugee situations in Asia were the result
p
of political turmoil in Myanmar (Burma), Laos, and Afghanistan. Afghan refugees,

sa
numbering about 3.5 million, constituted the largest single refugee group in the world.
t
ha
Struggles fought by groups of separatists city of Andijan in May 2005, though many
seeking to withdraw from a larger political refugees found an unwelcome reception in
iW
entity have historically been a major cause neighboring Kyrgyzstan.

of displacement in Asia. Since the Indone- Religious, political, and ethnic persecu-
s
sian government acquired West Papau in tion often cause major displacements of
ba
1963, thousands of people opposed to In- Asian peoples. Tens of thousands of people
Ab
donesian occupation have crossed the bor- fled Communist-controlled areas in Viet-
der into Papua New Guinea, with the largest nam, Cambodia, and Laos in the 1970s and
migration of 13,000 taking place in 1984. 1980s. The thousands of “boat people” es-
Q
About a quarter of a million people fled caping to Thailand, Hong Kong, Malaysia,
A.
East Timor to West Timor in 1999 when vio- Indonesia, and the Philippines resulted in an
lence erupted over the question of voting international humanitarian crisis as refu-
for East Timor’s independence. Violence gees were preyed upon, maltreated, and
over the political situation also caused deprived of money and supplies sent by aid
more than 2,000 Uzbek citizens to flee the organizations.

RELIGION | 99
In the early 1990s, the Nepali-speaking born and raised in ongoing refugee
Lhotshampa of southern Bhutan were camps. Residents often face pressure from
forced to evacuate to Nepal to escape local governments overburdened by the
Bhutanese persuectuion. Some groups of strain of supporting the temporary popu-
Chakma refugees fleeing turmoil in Ban- lations and sometimes face the threat of
2
gladesh lived in northern India for so many repatriation, or being forced to return to
76
decades that they earned the right to vote. the country or area they fled. Local
The Karen, facing harassment from the governments do not always provide legal
83
Burmese government, and the Hmong, fac- citizenship to refugees, thus diminishing
ing similar problems in Laos, constitute job opportunities.
3
-2
two of the largest refugee groups in South- In other cases, refugees may reject the
east Asia. host government’s offer to relocate them.
01
All too often, natural disasters in Asian Nearly 15,000 of the East Timor refugees
03
territories create refugee situations. Hurri- living in West Timor have refused perma-
canes, earthquakes, and devastating events nent resettlement. They prefer to remain in
like the Indian Ocean tsunami in 2004 dis- the barracks in hopes of finding local jobs
#
place thousands if not millions of people at or, in time, returning to their home country
us
a time, creating a need for temporary shel- when conditions stabilize.
ter, food and water supplies, and medical
attention. in
See also: Bangladesh; India; Indonesia;
jo
Conditions in refugee camps are rarely Laos; Myanmar (Burma); Vietnam.
comfortable. Inhabitants live in barracks,
up
tents, or other temporary structures. Med- FURTHER READING

ro
ical and other assistance from the interna- Ghosh, Partha S. Migrants and Refugees in South Asia:
tional community is rarely adequate to Political and Security Dimensions. Shillong, India:
G
clothe and shelter everybody and tend to North-Eastern Hill University, 2001.
p
the ill. Education for children is usually Muntarbhorn, Vitit. The Status of Refugees in Asia. New
p
scarce, causing low literacy among those York: Oxford University Press, 2003.
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Religion
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Systems of belief that attempt to explain the meaning of existence and provide moral
s
guidance for their adherents proved the catalyst for extensive social change in post-1500
ba
Asia. Major religions such as Buddhism, Islam, and Hinduism have millions of followers
Ab
throughout Asia, while systems of belief such as Confucianism, Shinto, and native
animistic religions influence everyday life and culture for many more. Religion played a
major role in the policies adopted by rulers in India, Southeast Asia, China, Japan, and
Q
Korea from the beginning of the modern age, and to this day, religious differences have
A.
accounted for many conflicts and uneasy relations among Asian populations.
In addition to the persistence of native ity through European contacts. Western

religions that originated in Asia, the modern cultural values as communicated through
era witnessed the introduction of Christian- the Christian Protestant tradition differed

100 | RELIGION
RELIGION IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC
1518 Death of Indian mystic Kabir, whose 1828 Founding of Brahmo Samaj, movement
devotional verse containing elements of promoting a universal religion combining
2
Hindu and Muslim thought paved the way Hindu, Islamic, and Christian ideals
76
for Sikhism
1851 Heavenly Kingdom of Great Peace
83
1529 Death of Wang Yangming, Chinese proclaimed by Chinese Christian Hong
philosopher who contributed to the Neo- Xiuquan, sparking the Taiping Rebellion
3
-2
Confucian movement
1875 Arya Samaj movement founded in India to
01
1539 Death of Guru Nanak, founder of Sikhism, in reform traditional Hindu practices
the Punjab region of India
03
1947 Partition of Muslim Pakistan from the
1582 A new Divine Faith, combining elements of predominantly Hindu Indian state
Hinduism, Islam, Christianity, and Jainism,
#
1976 End of Cultural Revolution in China, with the
proposed by the Indian emperor Akbar
us
adoption of a more tolerant attitude toward
1601 Jesuit missionary Matteo Ricci becomes religion by the Communist government
first European to enter Chinese emperor’s
in
1984 Indian prime minister Indira Gandhi
jo
Forbidden City in Beijing
assassinated by her Sikh bodyguard for
1615 Buddhist reforms in Ming-era China led by not supporting movements to declare an
up
Zhuhong autonomous Sikh state in the Punjab

ro
G
p
markedly from Asian traditions that em- polytheistic system of religious practices
p
phasized the primacy of the group over the and beliefs. The Muslim belief in one su-
sa
individual and the importance of commu- preme God (Allah in Arabic), whose teach-
nal worship and religious practice. Many ings were contained in the Koran as re-
t
ha
Asians considered Western secular ideals, corded by the Prophet Muhammad, differed
such as the emphasis on individual achieve- sharply from Hindu beliefs, which had taken
iW
ment, as threats to local cultures that val- various shapes during a millennia-long evo-
ued social accountability above personal lution. Hindus shared a belief in the spiritual
s
achievement. truth of the Vedas, a collection of Sanskrit

ba
verse dating to about 1400 B.C.E., and a

Ab
SOUTH ASIA strict social hierarchy or castes.

India experienced great religious diversity Other religions practiced in India during
during the age of the Mughal emperors the early modern period included Jainism,
Q
(1526–1739), but it also encountered ten- Buddhism, and Sikhism. Jainism, which
A.
sions between the various religious groups. began to evolve in the seventh century B.C.E,
The Mughal rulers practiced Islam, a prescribed a disciplined way of life founded
monotheistic religion founded on the Ara- on the concept of ahimsa or nonviolence.
bian peninsula in the seventh century, while Like Hinduism, Jainist belief deeply informed
most of their subjects followed Hinduism, a Indian philosophy, science, art, and litera-

RELIGION | 101
RELIGIONS IN CONTEMPORARY ASIA
Regions in which there is no clear II. These conflicts are a lingering factor in many national political
religious majority, or in which there legacy of the forced inclusion of debates as contemporary Asians
are substantial religious minorities, diverse populations during the seek to redefine themselves.
have been especially troublesome imperialist era. Religious
2
in Asia since the end of World War fundamentalism remains a critical
76
83
EUROPE
3
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01
03
#
us
in
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up
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G
p p
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ha
s iW
ture. Buddhism arose in northeastern India became an important element of Indian art,
ba
during the sixth century B.C.E. and from culture, and philosophy.
Ab
there spread to central, east, and Southeast Religious devotion formed an important
Asia, including China, Korea, and Japan. literary tradition in India, and mysticism
Based on the teachings of the Buddha or flowered in verse associated with Hindu
Q
Enlightened One, Buddhism offered a path bhakti devotionalism. The Indian mystic
A.
to nirvana, or enlightened consciousness, Kabir (d. 1518) combined Hindu and Muslim
for people of all cultures and social classes. thought in his poetry, which expressed the
Like Hinduism, Buddhism entailed a ritual of beauty of spiritual harmony with God.
meditative practice in service of enlighten- Kabir’s belief that all religions were essen-
ment, and religious mysticism consequently tially one inspired new cults based on his

102 | RELIGION
teachings and also inspired Guru Nanak (d. northern India, the Sikh Punjab, or Muslim
1539), a teacher whose philosophy became Pakistan. Tensions between these groups
the foundation of Sikhism. Sikhism, also a periodically erupted in wars in the late
monotheistic religion that combines tenets twentieth century, both civil wars between
of Hindusim with a mystical Islamic tradition India and Pakistan and movements of sep-
2
called Sufism, continues to predominate in aratists among the Sikh. Indian prime minis-
76
the Punjab region of India to this day. ter Indira Gandhi was assassinated in 1984
The reign of Mughal emperor Akbar because she refused to condone a separate
83
(1556–1605) introduced a period of reli- Sikh state in the Punjab, and violence in the
gious tolerance into India. Akbar not only Punjab region continued into the 1990s.
3
-2
hosted friendly debates between theolo-
gians and philosophers, but he also pro- CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ASIA
01
posed his own form of religion, Din-i Ilahi or While Buddhism gradually declined in India
03
Divine Faith, which he hoped would recon- and Central Asia during the modern period,
cile the varied religious beliefs of his sub- it persisted elsewhere in three major forms.
jects. The Din-i Ilahi, described in an edict of Theravada Buddhism, sometimes called Pali
#
1582, borrowed elements from Hinduism, Buddhism, is largely practiced in Sri Lanka,
us
Islam, Christianity, Jainism, and Zoroas- Myanmar (Burma), Laos, Thailand, and
trianism, an ancient belief of northern Iran. Cambodia, as well as in parts of Indonesia,
While Akbar’s successors tended to in
Malaysia, and Bangladesh. Theravada Bud-
jo
bring all their subjects under Muslim law, dhism is distinguished by its strict adher-
called sharia, India has generally remained ence to the teachings of the Buddha. In
up
more tolerant of varying religions than contrast, Mayahana Buddhism, which devel-
ro
other regions of Asia. India has been one of oped in the first century C.E., had the most
the few places in the world where Jews, ad- followers in China, Korea, Japan, Vietnam,
G
herents of Judaism, were allowed to own and Singapore. Vajrayana Buddhism, which
p
land and live in peace. During British colo- in turn developed as a more mystical and
p
nial rule, Indian philosophers and scholars magical tradition, is mostly practiced in
sa
advocated reforming traditional Hindu cus- Bhutan, Mongolia, Tibet, and parts of Nepal.
toms they viewed as repressive, and they Hinduism retained some influence in In-
t
ha
suggested abolishing the caste system. The donesia, but most Indonesians became
Brahmo Samaj, founded in Calcutta by Rom Muslim. Islam predominates in Afghanistan,
iW
Mohun Roy in 1828, formulated a new reli- Pakistan, and the Central Asian nations of
gion with both Islam and Christian ele- Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkme-
s
ments, and the Arya Samaj, founded by nistan, and Uzbekistan. Most Central Asian
ba
Dayananda Saraswati in Bombay in 1875, Muslims belong to the Sunni denomination,

Ab
advanced reforms for traditional Hinduism though Shia or Shiite Muslims are the ma-
that included more rights for women. jority in Azerbaijan, and there are signifi-
Religion became a highly contentious as- cant Shiite minority populations in Afghani-
Q
pect of the Indian independence movement stan and Pakistan.

A.
in the twentieth century. Movement leaders

disagreed on whether to partition the for- TRADITIONS OF CHINA
mer British Raj into India and Pakistan. In contrast to religions that insist on exclu-
When the partition went into effect in 1947, sivity among their members, religious belief
at least 10 million Indians resettled in Hindu in China has historically involved several

RELIGION | 103
GREAT LIVES
The Buddha
2
The modern practice of Buddhism dates leges traditionally granted to aristocrats.
76
back to the sixth century B.C.E. and the spiri- Over time, while Buddhism evolved into
tual awakening of an Indian prince named three main traditions that are practiced in
83
Gautama Siddhartha. After renouncing his Asia today, Buddha’s teachings remained a
secular life, Siddhartha achieved enlighten- foundation of the belief.
3
-2
ment and was thereafter called the Buddha, In Asia today, the Theravada tradition of
the Enlightened One. The Buddha’s Middle Buddhism prevails in Cambodia, Thailand,
01
Way, which preached the moral reform of Laos, Myanmar (Burma), and Sri Lanka. The
03
existing religious practices in India and else- Mayahana tradition, which has a slightly dif-
where, spread throughout Asia and reached ferent emphasis, is practiced largely in
its popular height in the fourteenth century China, Korea, Singapore, Japan, and most of
#
C.E. The Buddha’s teachings, which were de- Vietnam. Tibetan Buddhism, also called Vaj-
us
veloped into a religious practice through the rayana, is the form most practiced in Bhutan,
devotion of Buddhist monks and nuns, also Nepal, Tibet, Mongolia, and parts of India.
offered philosophical insights that inspired in
Altogether, Buddhism is considered the
jo
Asian artists and scholars throughout the fifth-largest religion in the world. All its
centuries. modern adherents share a commitment to
up
One of Buddhism’s chief appeals was the Middle Way, a belief in the doctrine of
ro
its concept that enlightenment could be the Four Noble Truths, and a goal of cessa-
achieved by following a moderate way of life tion of suffering and enlightenment for all.
G
rather than by a wholesale renunciation of Buddhist belief, which in the twentieth cen-
p
earthly comforts. Another concept, radical tury gained increasing exposure and popu-
p
for the time, was the Buddhist rejection of so- larity in the West, remains a strong tradition
sa
cial hierarchy, or caste, and the special privi- in modern Asia.

t
ha
elements that combine or complement each provided not just a philosophy or an orga-
iW
other without conflict. China’s most ancient nized religion but a complete way of life
form of religious practice, generally referred grounded in social, political, religious, and
s
to as Chinese folk religion, includes worship moral values. These values, which empha-
ba
of several immortal or supernatural beings sized family devotion, loyalty, proper con-
Ab
as well as veneration of ancestors, who, it is duct, and humane treatment of others, pro-
believed, continue to take part in and influ- vided a foundation for Chinese culture for
ence the world after death. Chinese folk reli- thousands of years. Wang Yangming (d.
Q
gion persists today among those who also 1529) contributed to Neo-Confucianism, an
A.
subscribe to Buddhist beliefs or practices important return to and development of

outlined by the ancient Chinese schools of Confucian philosophy that took place under
Taoism and Confucianism. the Ming dynasty that ruled China from
The Chinese philosopher Confucius (551– 1368 to 1644. Neo-Confucianism commonly
459 B.C.E.) created a body of teachings that combined elements of Buddhist and Taoist

104 | RELIGION
thought in its teachings about the nature of

the world and the way to heaven (the Tao).
Taoism, a separate religious and philo-
sophical tradition formulated in the second
century C.E., was also concerned with right
2
conduct and the relationship of all matter.
76
Taoism developed a set of rituals, presided
over by priests, which the Ming emperors
83
supported throughout their reign. Bud-
dhism also flowered in China during the
3
-2
Ming era, supported by scholars such as the
Buddhist monk Zhuhong (d. 1615), who led
01
reforms of the monastic orders. A practice
03
that fused Taoist practice with Buddhist be-
lief, called Zen Buddhism, arose in China
and eventually had great influence in Japan
#
as well.
us
Christian missionaries gained a foothold
in China when the Jesuit (Roman Catholic)
missionary Matteo Ricci became, in 1601, in
jo
the first European to enter the emperor’s
Forbidden City in Beijing. Despite periodic
up
This statue of the Buddha, or “Enlightened One,”

Imperial repressions of missionary activity, Siddhartha Gautama (ca. 563-483 B.C.E.), is found at
ro
Christianity gained converts by the thou- Hong Kong’s Po Lin Monastery. Buddhism, the belief
sands as missionaries were able to recon-
G
system Gautama originated, spread from its

cile their teachings with traditional Confu- birthplace in India to China, Southeast Asia,
p
cian values, especially by offering the Indonesia, and Japan. By the twenty-first century,
p
Christian God as an alternative and more Buddhists made up only about 1 percent of India’s
sa
powerful supreme deity to the Buddha. In population but represented majorities in Cambodia,
1807, Robert Morrison became the first
t
China, Hong Kong, Japan, Laos, Taiwan, Thailand,

ha
Protestant missionary to visit China, and and Vietnam. (Adina Tovy/Robert Harding World Imagry/
missionary activity gradually increased along
iW
Getty Images)
China’s coasts.
Christian convert Hong Xiuquan, in-
s
spired by the belief that he was a second Chinese imperial tradition, the emperor had
ba
Christ, played a key role in disrupting the always been viewed as a Son of Heaven, a
Ab
power of the Qing dynasty (1644–1911). His special mediator between the human world
declaration in 1851 of a new Heavenly King- and the divine. The ancient Chinese politi-
dom of Great Peace, with himself as Hea- cal doctrine called the Mandate of Heaven
Q
venly King, helped organize disaffected required that an unjust ruler could be over-
A.
peasants into a fighting army. In the Taiping thrown, as happened to the Qing dynasty
Rebellion that followed (1851–1864), more in 1911.
than 20 million Chinese were killed and the In the turmoil that followed, beliefs that
authority of the Qing emperor was radi- attempted to syncretize or combine ele-
cally reduced. Throughout the millennia of ments of Christianity, Islam, Confucianism,

RELIGION | 105
Buddhism, and Taoism gained popular Many nomadic groups living in Manchuria
support. The Way of Former Heaven, a col- and parts of Mongolia practiced shamanism
lection of five such groups, had an esti- throughout the twentieth century. Shaman-
mated 5 million Chinese adherents by 1947. istic traditions persist in Tibet; Korea;
However, the Communist government of the among ethnic groups living in Nepal and
2
People’s Republic of China, formed in 1949, northern India; on the Ryukyu Islands of
76
did its best to purge or discourage the prac- Okinawa, Japan; and among the hill tribes
tice of religion. After the end of the repres- of Southeast Asia.
83
sive Cultural Revolution in 1976, the govern- In Korea, shamanism was historically
ment began to permit religious practice that practiced by female shamans called mu-
3
-2
did not conflict with state activities. dang. Communicating with the many spir-
its, deities, and ghosts that inhabit the
01
INDIGENOUS TRADITIONS world, shamans held services to cure illness
03
Aside from the major religions or philo- or win a certain spirit’s favor. As in China,
sophical schools that prevail, many Asians these beliefs still exist, for the large part
draw their ethical framework, social codes, harmoniously, alongside the organized reli-
#
and spiritual practice from systems of na- gions of Christianity and Buddhism.
us
tive belief or practice. Many native tradi- The indigenous beliefs of Japan, called
tions are animistic in that they ascribe a Shinto, have likewise persisted over several
spirit or a supernatural power to animals, in
centuries, influenced by Chinese traditions
jo
plants, and objects. For instance, Polyne- and Buddhism. During the Tokugawa shogu-
sian cultures traditionally held that each nate (1603–1867), scholars and philosophers
up
thing, animate or inanimate, was possessed like Motoori Norinaga (d. 1801) fostered a
ro
of a spirit, or mana. Mana could be ex- Shinto revival as part of a larger movement
changed, enlarged, or diminished by certain called Kokogaku (“National Learning”),
G
human actions. which emphasized the study of Japanese

p
The religions of many aboriginal peoples classical literature. A variety of religious

p
are animistic in nature, including that of the movements emerged during the Meiji Resto-
sa
first settlers of Australia. Their religious be- ration (1868–1912), and Shinto beliefs formed
lief rested on the Dreaming, a concept of part of a unique culture and history recog-
t
ha
time and nature that encompassed past, nized and preserved by the Japanese
present, and future. Powerful beings of the throughout the twentieth century. Shinto,
iW
Dreaming controlled all aspects of human which entails spirit veneration at shrines and
life, and a complex set of rituals including observance of festivals and other rituals, co-
s
dances, myths, and sacred objects could exists peacefully with Buddhism, and the
ba
help knowledge or information pass majority of Japanese follow both.

Ab
between the human and Dreamtime realms. Different religious groups do not always
Shamanism was and remains a vital reli- coexist harmoniously inside of Asia’s bor-
gious belief for some populations of Asia. ders, however. The spiritual leader of Tibe-
Q
Like animism, shamanistic belief holds that tan Buddhism, the Dalai Lama, went into
A.
the world is inhabited by spirits that ac- exile in 1959 when Communist Chinese
tively influence it, for good or ill. Those with forces occupied Tibet. Examples of hostility
a special knowledge, called shamans, are with a combined basis in political power and
able to interact with these spirits to gain in- religion can be seen in the terrorism of radi-
formation, ask for help, or request healing. cal Islamic fundamentalists, many of them

106 | RELIGION
based, in the early twenty-first century, in Hawkins, Bradley K. Asian Religions: An Illustrated Intro-
Afghanistan, Pakistan, the Philippines, and duction. New York: Longman, 2003.
Indonesia. Patel, Mohammad. Muslims in India. Philadelphia: Mason
Crest, 2007.
See also: Afghanistan; Art and Robinson, James B. Hinduism. Philadelphia: Chelsea
2
Architecture; China; Culture and Traditions; House, 2004.
76
India; Japan; Society; Tibet. Ruggiero, Adriane, ed. Confucianism. San Diego: Green-
haven, 2005.
83
FURTHER READING Williams, George. Shinto. Philadelphia: Chelsea House,
2005.
3
Alldritt, Leslie D. Buddhism. Philadelphia: Chelsea
-2
House, 2004.
01
03
Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905)
#
Conflict resulting from the rival imperialist ambitions of Russia and Japan in Manchuria
us
and Korea, often considered the beginning of a period of aggressive Japanese expansion
that culminated in World War II. The Russo-Japanese War arose over Russia’s desire to
in
control northeast Asia and secure a port to serve as a Pacific Ocean naval base. The
jo
Japanese military saw this desire as a threat to its plans to annex Korea and mine
Manchuria’s raw materials.
up
ro
The conflicts between Russia and Japan of Tsushima decided the war, as the Japa-
began after the Sino-Japanese War (1894– nese navy completely destroyed Russia’s
G
1895), when Russia gained permission from Baltic fleet. The Russian government, faced
p
China to establish a base at the town of Port with a revolution at home, agreed to peace
p
Arthur on the Liaotung Peninsula and to ex- negotiations, which were led by U.S. Presi-
sa
tend the Trans-Siberian Railroad across dent Theodore Roosevelt. The Treaty of
Manchuria, both Chinese territories. After Portsmouth (New Hampshire) granted Japan
t
ha
Russia refused to withdraw troops from the Liaotung Peninsula and part of the island
Manchuria in 1903, the Japanese launched a of Sakhalin, also home to a key port. The
iW
surprise attack on Port Arthur in February treaty recognized Japanese control of Korea
1904. The Japanese military, which had won and compelled both parties to evacuate
s
the Sino-Japanese war, had steadily in- Manchuria, which was returned to China.
ba
creased its numbers, its weaponry, and its The Russo-Japanese War marked the as-
Ab
efficiency. Japanese troops swarmed into cendancy of Japan’s military and political
Korea in the next month, and in May another strength. Japan was the first Asian nation to
wave of troops entered the Liaotung Penin- defeat a modern Western power. The Rus-
Q
sula, preparing to besiege Port Arthur. sian retreat enabled Japan to annex Korea
A.
The Russian commander at Port Arthur in 1910 and significantly increased Japanese
surrendered in January 1905, and in the next influence over Manchuria. The war also sig-
two months the outnumbered Japanese de- naled to Western nations that Japan would
feated the Russians at the Battle of Mukden, have to be included in future diplomatic
with heavy losses on both sides. The Battle considerations.

SINGAPORE | 107
MODERN WEAPONS
Land Mines and Trench Warfare
2
The Russo-Japanese War was the first “mod- charged with electricity), minefields, and the
76
ern” war in its use of new land weaponry and newest firearms, including machine guns. The
battle tactics. The warring militaries of Russia new tactics caused a huge loss of life. The Jap-
83
and Japan introduced trench warfare, barbed anese lost 50,000 to 60,000 soldiers in taking
3
wire, and land mines as defensive barriers Port Arthur and another 50,000 to 70,000 at
-2
that deterred cavalry charges and massed in- Mukden. By contrast, the Japanese lost only 18
fantry advances. These weapons would be men when they captured Port Arthur from the
01
heavily used during World War I (1914–1918). Chinese in the Sino-Japanese War (1894).
03
Mining and setting charges under an The Russo-Japanese War demonstrated
opponent’s position had been a common that it was almost impossible for a well-
#
Western and Chinese battle strategy since defended position, surrounded by trenches,
the sixteenth century. However, the Russo- barbed wire, and minefields, to be taken by a
us
Japanese War was the first war in which direct assault, even when the opponents had
land mines were relevant as a defensive superior numbers. World War I generals in-
technology on the battlefield. The Russian in
itially ignored these lessons and suffered
jo
army defended its positions at Port Arthur massive casualties as a result, until both sides
up
and Mukden with trenches up to 10 miles (16 eventually dug in and established a trenched
km) long, protected by barbed wire (often battlefront that extended hundred of miles.
ro
G
However, many Japanese citizens thought See also: China; Imperialism; Japan;
p
that the Treaty of Portsmouth was unfair in Manchuria; Spheres of Influence; World
p
denying Japan Manchuria and all of Sakhalin War II.

sa
Island. The resulting Japanese resentment

against the U.S. government became the FURTHER READING
t
ha
first of a series of political disagreements Ivanov, Alexei, and Andrei Karachtchouk. The Russo-
between the two nations during the early Japanese War 1904–1905. Oxford, UK: Osprey, 2004.
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twentieth century, eventually leading to the Jukes, Geoffrey. The Russo-Japanese War 1904–1905.
Japanese bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 Oxford, UK: Osprey, 2002.
s
and the United States’ entry into World War II.

ba
Ab
Siam See Thailand.

Q
A.
Singapore
City-state located on the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, consisting of Singapore
Island and several smaller islands, that has historically served as a key port of

108 | SINGAPORE
international trade. Modern Singapore is known for its booming economy, cleanliness,
and lack of violent crime. However, its government has been criticized for maintaining
order by imposing severe restrictions on freedom of speech and showing lack of respect
for citizens’ privacy.
2
Early Singapore was home to fishermen
76
and pirates and served as an outpost for
various Indonesian empires, including the
83
Majapahit Empire based on Java (1293–c.
1500). One of the Majapahit emperors
3
-2
called the area Singapura (“Lion City”). It
remained a port of call for travelers and
01
merchants from the East and West until
03
British colonial official Thomas Stamford
Raffles landed there in 1819. Raffles recog-
nized the importance of Singapore’s access
#
to the Straits of Melaka, which connected
us
British India to the Chinese marketplace. He
engineered a treaty with the local sultan
that allowed the British East India Company in
jo
to buy local land. A treaty with the Dutch in
1824 confirmed Singapore within the British
up
sphere of influence.
ro
BRITISH SINGAPORE
G
Initially, the Straits Settlement, which in-

p
cluded Singapore, Penang Island, and Me-

p
laka (the region’s dominant port since the

sa
1400s), was administered as part of British

control in India. In 1867, the growing city
t
ha
was made a crown colony, under the con-

Although Singapore is one of the most densely-
trol of the British monarch. At first, the city
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populated cities in Asia, it is also one of the

lost trade to rival Hong Kong, but the open-
continent’s most livable urban areas. Singaporean
ing of the Suez Canal in Egypt in 1869 al-
s
officials estimate, however, that the city’s 2006

lowed a greater volume of trade into Singa-
ba
population of 4.5 million will increase by nearly 50

pore. The city became an important center
percent in the next 10 years. This presents
Ab
for rubber export and ship repair and a

challenges such as constructing sufficient housing,
market for local handicrafts.
like these high-rise apartment buildings, for
Under British rule, Singapore’s colonial
Q
Singapore’s expanding population. (Roslan Rahman/

economy was controlled by local Chinese
AFP/Getty Images)
A.
merchants who dominated Singapore’s

marketplace, the ship repair industry, and
the banking system. As a result, the local channeling wealth back to the British
community retained the profits from crown. This arrangement provided Singa-
Singapore’s economic activities, rather than pore with the investment capital needed to

SINGAPORE | 109
TURNING POINT
Singapore’s Public Housing
2
Singapore’s public housing system, launched and dilapidated kampungs—the island’s origi-
76
in the 1930s, is frequently held up as a model nal villages—on the outskirts of the central
for the rest of the world. At the turn of the business district gave way to new townships of
83
twenty-first century, around 86 percent of self-contained flats with electricity, piped
Singapore’s population lived in housing built water and sewage, and modern housing es-
3
-2
and run by the government. Singapore’s insu- tates with their own shopping centers, schools,
lar geography has required innovative meth- markets, clinics, and recreational facilities. By
01
ods for both land use and pollution control. 1975, 42 percent of Singapore’s population
03
The government began its modern public lived in government-financed housing.
housing initiatives in the 1960s, when unem- In the 1980s, new public housing projects
ployment levels and severe housing short- were designed to house smaller commu-
#
ages created overcrowded slums and squat- nities of 600 to 1,000 families around a cen-
us
ter communities. The first projects were tral recreational area. Government subsidies
simple buildings of one- to three-room flats kept the buildings in good repair and al-
meant to house low-income families. In the in
lowed families to purchase housing at rea-
jo
1970s the government created new satellite sonable rates. Concerned about racial segre-
towns connected to the city center by gation within the new communities, the
up
government-built roads and bus systems. government passed a law in 1989 that im-
ro
Massive urban renewal projects, large-scale posed ethnic quotas on the various neigh-
drainage schemes to alleviate flooding, and borhoods, in hopes of achieving an ethnic
G
efforts to reclaim the coastline added 10 mix reflecting Singapore’s overall popula-
p
percent to the space available for building tion. Although the projects were designed
p
and occupation. to be community neighborhoods, the effi-

sa
The ethnically mixed Chinese, Malay, and cient transportation meant that many resi-
Indian populations of the island interior dents traveled to the city center for shop-
t
ha
were reassigned to these new towns, where ping or entertainment, leaving the satellite
a new neighborhood might house 1,000 to communities little more than suburbs or
iW
5,000 families. Slums, squatter shanties, bedroom communities.

s
ba
fund a successful commercial expansion but increasingly gained self-governing

Ab
upon achieving independence. power. Although an elected assembly and

Japan occupied Singapore during World cabinet of ministers took office in 1955, the
War II, but the city returned to British con- British remained in Singapore, ostensibly to
Q
trol after the Japanese defeat in 1945. Brit- keep order in the face of repeated Commu-
A.
ish organizers left Singapore out of the nist activity. The Malayan Communist Party
new Federation of Malay because Singa- had been leading an insurrection in nearby
pore’s population was largely Chinese, un- Malaya that lasted from 1948 to 1960, and
like the other Malay populations in the the British government worried that Com-
area. Singapore remained a crown colony munist efforts to organize labor strikes and

110 | SINGAPORE
uprisings among the Chinese laborers and government turned its attention to fueling
students in Singapore would disrupt the economic development and creating a
economy. common national identity among Singapo-
In 1959, however, a new round of elections reans. Economic reforms led to an increase
took place, and this time the Singapore Leg- in manufacturing and export, while increas-
2
islative Assembly gained full self-governing ing commercial trade spurred comparable
76
power. The leftist-leaning People’s Action growth in the service industries. A growing
Party won the majority of the seats in the military saw to domestic peace, while inter-
83
assembly, and Lee Kuan Yew became national relations improved as Singapore
Singapore’s first prime minister. He would took a leadership role in the Association of
3
-2
hold this post until 1990. Southeast Asian Nations, formed in 1967. By
The government at once turned to a pro- the 1990s, Singapore had become a suc-
01
gram of economic and social reform, en- cessful manufacturing center of electronics
03
couraging foreign investment, implement- and other high-tech products, as well as the
ing school instruction in English rather than major regional banking hub.
Chinese, consolidating the labor unions into Beginning in 1981, parties other than the
#
a national congress, and launching a large- People’s Action Party began to gain seats in
us
scale construction project to build public the assembly. The party’s goals of order
housing. The government also responded and prosperity were well achieved in Singa-
to ongoing Communist activity and the in
pore, although government censorship and
jo
threat of war with Indonesia by implement- harsh criminal punishments earned disap-
ing repressive policies that jailed socialist proval from outside critics. Lee Kuan Yew
up
and other dissenters without trials and cen- stepped down as prime minister in 1991, and
ro
sored the Singapore press. although he remained an important adviser

In 1963, the leaders of Singapore agreed to later presidents and ministers, his suc-
G
to join Malaya, Sabah, and Sarawak in the cessors began to liberalize the govern-
p
newly formed Federation of Malaysia. It ment. Singaporeans at the turn of the

p
was thought the move would increase eco- twenty-first century enjoyed one of the
sa
nomic stability and provide communal de- highest standards of living in the world, as-
fense. The formation of Malaysia met with sured of economic security, government
t
ha
hostility from the Indonesian government, transportation, government housing, and

however, and economic problems in- compulsory savings accounts. Tourists are
iW
creased as trade restrictions and tariffs also drawn to Singapore by its reputation
continued. Ethnic tensions between the for cleanliness, efficiency, and remarkably
s
Malay and Chinese in Singapore escalated, low crime rates.

ba
culminating in race riots in 1964, and Malay-

Ab
sia voted Singapore out of the federation in See also: Colonization; Indonesia; Spheres
1965. Singapore became an independent of Influence.
republic with Yusof bin Ishak as its first
Q
president and Lee Kuan Yew continuing as FURTHER READING

A.
prime minister. Barber, Nicola. Singapore. Milwaukee: World Almanac

Library, 2005.
INDEPENDENT SINGAPORE Layton, Lesley, and Pang Guek Cheng. Singapore. New
The British military withdrew from Singa- York: Benchmark, 2001.
pore in 1971, and the fully autonomous Meyer, Andrea P. Singapore. San Diego: Lucent, 2006.

S L AV E R Y, S L AV E T R A D E , A N D P I R A C Y | 111
Sino-Japanese War See Colonization; Japan; World War II.
2
Slavery, Slave Trade, and Piracy
76
83
Slavery, the practice of owning persons as property, was widespread and legal in Asia
until the nineteenth century. Many of those enslaved were victims of pirates, who often
3
-2
sold captives who refused to join their crews. Other enslavement was voluntary: persons
too poor to support themselves would accept bondage to wealthier patrons to ensure a
01
livelihood or to pay off a debt. Piracy flourished in Asia well into the twentieth century,
03
and in the early twenty-first century, human trafficking—smuggling people to serve as
slaves—remained a serious problem in several Asian countries, where the most frequent
victims were women and children.
#
us
Mainland states in the China Sea region, Although perhaps less blatant than in
which includes modern-day Vietnam, China, previous centuries, piracy today remains a
Korea, and Japan, often employed piracy as in
threat to maritime trade in Asia. A total of
jo
a political strategy to discourage rivals. 285 cases of piracy were reported in 1999,
State-supported piracy, known as privateer- some attacks at sea but most of them at-
up
ing, raised revenue and kept foreign traders tempts on the cargo of a ship anchored in
ro
from calling at native ports. port. In an incident in Thailand in 1999,

Piracy was also an option for the socially twenty masked pirates armed with auto-
G
displaced, politically ostracized, or unem- matic weapons stormed a cargo ship, put
p
ployed. The South China Sea was known for the crew adrift in inflatable rafts, and sailed
p
its wokou pirates, a multiethnic mix of Chi- the ship to China. Piracy remains most ac-
sa
nese, Japanese, Korean, and Indonesian tive, and costly, in Indonesia, Thailand, Ma-
seamen. From the numerous islands that lay laysia, Myanmar, and the Philippines.
t
ha
off the coast and near the region’s river More costly in terms of human life is ille-
mouths, pirates could control the sea-lanes gal human trafficking in parts of Asia where
iW
and charge trading ships fees for safe pas- extreme poverty and government corrup-
sage to port. Pirate chiefs were also inter- tion create a modern-day trade that en-
s
ested in taking prisoners, who might be of- slaves hundreds of thousands of Asians a
ba
fered a choice between joining the pirate year. Subjects are either solicited by agents
Ab
crews or being sold in regional market- or kidnapped for forced labor or, as has
places along the coast. been reported in Myanmar (Burma), forced
English, Dutch, and French colonial offi- military service. By far the greatest num-
Q
cials saw this regional piracy and human traf- bers of victims are young women who end
A.
ficking as a threat to free trade as well as Eu- up working in sweatshops or as prostitutes.

ropean imperial ambitions. In 1837, the British Some women are lured by the promise of
aggressively began naval attacks against pi- making money; in other cases, parents
rate bases along the Melaka Straits, the lower wishing to escape desperate poverty sell
Vietnam coast, and the Borneo coastline. their children to organized crime syndicates

112 | S L AV E R Y, S L AV E T R A D E , A N D P I R A C Y
or independent agents. In the early twenty- FURTHER READING

first century, the most serious human traf- Chatterjee, Indrani, and Richard M. Eaton. Slavery and
ficking took place in and around Indonesia, South Asian History. Bloomington: Indiana University
Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Taiwan, Vietnam, Press, 2006.
and China. Lim, Janet. Sold for Silver: An Autobiography. New York:
2
Oxford University Press, 1985.
76
See also: Refugees.
83
Society
3
-2
01
Shared culture and institutions that provided a community and a common identity were
historically founded on ethnicity for the early Asian and Pacific peoples but, during the
03
modern era, came to encompass the political entity of the state. Particularly during the
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, rule by Western colonial regimes had a profound
#
impact on the course of Asian social history. The colonizers imposed an alternative social
us
order based on the concept of individualism rather than the collectivism valued in
traditional Asian societies. Contemporary Asian society still struggles to strike a balance
in
between the modern idea of social equality and the traditional emphasis on maintaining
jo
social distance in order to preserve group harmony.
up
CHINA, JAPAN, AND success and continuation; an individual’s

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SOUTHEAST ASIA goal was to harmonize with the social order

The worldview that prevails in East Asia is through a proper sense of duty to family,
G
based on the fundamental concept of li, elders, leaders, and emperor. This network
p
“propriety,” or proper conduct. Li governs of relationship could become quite intricate

p
all human actions with the world; every- as traditional Chinese homes often housed
sa
thing from morality to daily etiquette is a an extended family, and living members had
part of it. The concept of li was first clearly obligations to dead ancestors as well. How-
t
ha
formulated by the Chinese philosopher ever, the Confucian “golden rule”—do not to
Confucius in fifth century B.C.E and from others what you would not have them do to
iW
China came to influence thinkers in Japan, you—was the primary motivation for all
Korea, and Vietnam. conduct, making consideration of others a
s
moral imperative, part of possessing jen.

ba
Confucian Ideals Li, or right conduct, not only dictated the

Ab
For Confucius, the foundation of an orderly behavior of the individual toward superiors
society was the educated individual, who but also governed the behavior of those in
was committed to continual learning as a authority. In traditional Chinese society, eld-
Q
process of cultivating the virtue of jen, or ers deserved respect because of their great
A.
humanity. Jen expressed itself in rituals of life experience; elders also had a duty to
proper conduct and relationship with oth- guide and educate the young in proper be-
ers. Thus, the individual’s relationship to the havior. Leaders, who generally earned their
social group was of great importance in position due to age and rank, had a duty to
Confucian thought. Social order ensured implement decisions that would most benefit

SOCIETY | 113
EAST ASIA, CA. 1600–1800
The seventeenth and eighteenth to new global commercial governments were well established
centuries were an era of stability opportunities, although both by this time, Japan’s traditional
and urban development in East governments restricted Western provinces consolidated under the
Asia. China’s Qing dynasty commercial activities to the foreign rule of regional daimyo lords who
2
(1644–1912) and Japan’s Tokugawa ports of Guangzhou and Nagasaki. were subordinate to the shogun.
76
shogunate (1600–1868) were open Although China’s provincial
3 83
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Dunhuang
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Changan
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Q
A.

114 | SOCIETY
the group. Successful leaders, in this thinking, societies in its emphasis on education as
would guide group discussion to a consensus the criterion for the social elite. Japanese
or, where a consensus could not be reached, students study intensely to be admitted to
would make a decision for the greater good. the best schools and thus become eligible
The Chinese applied this social logic to for the most lucrative and rewarding jobs.
2
define the traditional hierarchy of society, in Those admitted into lesser universities tend
76
which scholars, public officials, and land- to have fewer job opportunities and, as a re-
owning nobles formed the highest rank. The sult, less social prestige. More and more,
83
next highest ranks were landed peasants, young Japanese women are gaining the
then artisans, and finally merchants, whose same employment and educational oppor-
3
-2
interests were focused on personal profit tunities offered young men, departing from
rather than community service. Social mo- a historical tradition in Asian societies of fe-
01
bility might be achieved by marriage to a male deference to the male.
03
family with a higher social status or by gain-
ing public office or recognition. Social Transformation in Southeast Asia
In contemporary Asia, the traditional Chi- While Japan and China escaped direct co-
#
nese social hierarchy has been revised, in lonial control by Western powers, many
us
most cases because of the increased promi- areas of Southeast Asia bore the imprint of
nence of merchants and artisans as leaders European governments and ideals that
of the urban marketplace and the decreased in
formed a background to social transforma-
jo
significance of landed elite through land tion during the twentieth century. Between
redistribution. Nevertheless, while modern the fifteenth and eighteenth centuries,
up
Chinese society has a sophisticated urban much of mainland Southeast Asia belonged
ro
culture, the concept of li still stands behind to the empires of the Toungoo dynasty in
the social order. modern-day Myanmar (1486–1762), the
G
Later Le dynasty in Vietnam (1428–1788),

p
Japanese Interpretations and Siam or the kingdom of Ayutthya in

p
Rulers of Japan’s Tokugawa shogunate (1603– modern-day Thailand. Societies centered on

sa
1867) adapted Chinese Confucian ideals to the courts of these powerful empires grad-
their own social system. The Japanese go ually absorbed outside influences through
t
ha
beyond the Chinese sense of li in their focus trade contacts, and the progressive growth
on the sanctity of individual and group obli- of a merchant class as well as increasing ur-
iW
gation (on). In on logic, individuals have per- banization led to tensions among the tradi-
petual obligations to their family (especially tional court elite.
s
their parents), their lord (military officer, After 1509, an increasing Western pres-
ba
landlord, employer, or teacher), and, above ence preyed on these tensions as European
Ab
all, their government. On mandates absolute companies used local rulers in their at-
patriotic loyalty to the Japanese race. Sui- tempts to build trade monopolies. Rulers
cide has been a traditional means of taking such as Bodawpaya in Myanmar (r. 1782–
Q
responsibility for personal guilt rather than 1819), Rama I in Siam (r. 1782–1809), and Gia
A.
imposing disrespect upon one’s family, lord, Long in Vietnam (1802–1820) responded by
or Japanese society. forming increasingly centralized govern-
Contemporary Japanese society, while it ments and exerting a tighter control over
values loyalty to family and respect for au- their subjects in remote villages. However,
thority, resembles other advanced Asian even the dedicated militaries of these

SOCIETY | 115
Chinese Secret Societies
2
Secret societies with antidynastic goals members’ children. The society took a close
76
were a feature of Chinese society for almost interest in the personal lives of its members
all of China’s history. Around 200 C.E., a se- and often managed such welfare matters as
83
cret society called the Yellow Turbans led a funeral arrangements, which were important
rebellion that eventually toppled the Han rituals due to the widespread practice of an-
3
-2
dynasty (206 B.C.E.–220 C.E.). When Manchu cestor worship.
leaders vanquished the native Ming dynasty Chinese emigrants to Malaya and Singa-
01
in 1644 and set up the Qing dynasty in its pore during the 1800s set up secret soci-
03
place, secret societies such as the White eties there, often gaining support from
Lotus Society and the Heaven and Earth So- peasants and others whose interests were
ciety attracted many followers to the cause not best represented by the ruling govern-
#
of overthrowing the Qing rulers. During the ment. Chinese secret societies were thought
us
nineteenth and twentieth centuries, many to be involved in large-scale revolts such as
Chinese societies became large, powerful the Taiping Rebellion (1851–1864) and Boxer
organizations with great economic and mili- in
Rebellion (1899–1901), while the Hai San se-
jo
tary resources. While modern secret soci- cret society in Malaya became involved in
eties rarely harbor the overt goal of toppling ongoing disputes over tin mining that were
up
the established government, they still pro- settled by an agreement called the Chinese
ro
vide an important, interconnected commu- Engagement (1874).

nity for their members. In modern Asia, secret societies are most
G
Chinese secret societies were based on associated with criminal activity. The Triads,
p
vows of fraternity or brotherhood, but their so named because of a triangular identifying

p
operation demonstrated levels of organiza- symbol, were suppressed by the Communist

sa
tion and hierarchy reflective of the larger government of the People’s Republic of
t
Chinese society. The structure of the Heaven China and subsequently moved to Hong
ha
and Earth or Hung Society offered a model Kong, where they gained a reputation for or-
for many other such societies. Each head- ganized crime. The groups still exhibit the
iW
quarters or master lodge had a leader, hierarchical organization and commitment

likely to be one of the most senior of the to brotherhood incorporated by their found-
s
group, and a cabinet of eight officials, the ers. Of the estimated fifty secret societies
ba
number eight being significant in Chinese operating in Hong Kong in the early twenty-
Ab
numerology. These officials oversaw society first century, a third were recognized as
activities such as enforcing rules, communi- criminally active, and some had a powerful
cating with other branches, and educating influence over the local government.
Q
A.
governments could not withstand the in- nineteenth and early twentieth centuries
creasing technology of the West. Overt co- changed the economic landscape of South-
lonial control by Britain, France, the Nether- east Asia, introduced new administrative
lands, Spain, and the United States in the systems, and led to the development of an

116 | SOCIETY
intellectual class of natives who had access ethnic diversity contribute to the complex-
to Western education. In the later nine- ity of social life in Southeast Asia, fueling
teenth and early twentieth centuries, these continuing conflicts between various eth-
intellectual groups promoted nationalism nicities and religious groups.
and independence movements throughout
2
Southeast Asia. INDIA
76
Aside from the colonial stamp, South- In traditional Indian culture, social interac-
east Asian societies also shared the burden tions were governed by clear divisions in
83
of Japanese occupation during World War the hierarchical structure of castes, in which
II (1939–1945). Unlike colonial govern- a person’s rank in the community was de-
3
-2
ments, the Japanese showed the ability to termined by birth and occupational oppor-
mobilize the rural population in mass coop- tunities were determined by rank. Caste is
01
eration. Western-educated activists such based on concepts of moral and ritual pur-
03
as Sukarno in Indonesia, U Nu in Burma ity derived from a family’s patrilineal
(later Myanmar), and Ho Chi Minh in Viet- bloodline and historically based on the an-
nam later used the same techniques to gain cient Hindu varna system. Varnas (“classes”)
#
widespread support for their independence were organized by social function: priests
us
movements. and teachers formed the highest rank of so-
The newly independent nations of South- ciety, warriors and rulers were followed by
east Asia, in the second half of the twenti- in
merchants and professionals, and laborers
jo
eth century, faced the challenge of building or peasants composed the lowest rank.
a national military, an educational system, “Untouchables” were excluded from the
up
and locally owned and managed com- varna system because their occupations (e.
ro
merce, as well as developing a government g., collecting garbage, sweeping street, and
that suited their needs and, at the same dealing with dead bodies) were considered
G
time, cultivating a national character. The polluting.

p
civil warfare and Communist insurrections While the tradition of caste is illegal in
p
in Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Malaysia, and modern India, it still thrives in practice.
sa
Indonesia from the 1950s to 1970s only Ideally, Indians seek to marry someone of
proved the initial deficiencies of both their own caste or from a family nearby in
t
ha
Western-style democracies and Soviet- the social hierarchy. One may achieve a
patterned communism for governing the higher status by marrying into a higher
iW
Southeast Asian people. In the later caste and accepting the behavior standards
decades of the twentieth century, these so- appropriate to that caste. Indian politicians
s
cieties experienced a multitude of eco- acknowledge the reality of caste in appeals

ba
nomic and technological changes that have to voters, and Indian newspapers are filled
Ab
provided opportunities for social mobility with ads requesting marital partners from
but have also led to a broadening gap specific castes. Those formerly called un-
between city and village. Modern youth in touchables, now called the Scheduled
Q
urban areas such as Bangkok, Jakarta, Ma- Castes, constitute about one-sixth of India’s
A.
nila, and Nanoi have access to worldwide total population. They tend to be among
media and all the conveniences of modern the poorest segments of Indian society,
life, while the rural and indigenous popula- though the government attempts to rectify
tions may live at a subsistence level at best. this gap by reserving seats in the legislature
In addition, renewed interest in regional and and guaranteeing a certain number of uni-

SOCIETY | 117
2
76
3 83
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01
03
#
us
Indian women stage a sit-down protest against the alleged desecration of a statue of early twentieth-
in
century political leader Bhimrao Ramji Ambedkar, known for opposing the Hindu social system known as
jo
caste. The caste system ranks all members of society according to their occupations and excludes one
group, called dalit, or “untouchables,” from society almost completely. Even though discrimination by
up
caste is illegal in India, the practice is still widespread in some areas. (Sebastian D’Souza/Stringer/Getty Images)
ro
versity admissions for members of the edge are considered key values, and con-
G
Scheduled Castes. nection to the community is of paramount

p
importance, as it demonstrates devotion to

p
ISLAMIC SOCIETY the faith.

sa
The prevalence of the Islamic faith in Indo- The primary unit of the Muslim commu-
nesia and in the nations of Central Asia, in- nity is the family, wherein the closest rela-
t
ha
cluding Afghanistan and Pakistan, shapes tionships are between a married couple,
the society of these areas. Islamic society is their parents, and their children. Islamic law
iW
based on Muslim law or sharia, which is allows polygyny (marriage to multiple con-
outlined in the sacred scripture found in current wives) and also grants divorce in
s
the Koran. The Koran provides all the prin- cases where marital harmony is impossible.
ba
ciples that govern Muslim community: ac- Islamic law recognizes the duty of parents
Ab
countability for one’s actions, responsibility to nurture and educate children and also
to others, integrity or adherence to funda- recognizes the duty of children to support
mental values, and preservation of human and care for parents, especially in their old
Q
dignity. As in Confucianism, an ideal Muslim age. Respect shown to elders is a funda-

A.
community is built on a just balance where mental value in the Islamic community.
all elements are in harmony and decisions Islamic law also decrees the spiritual
are made based on shura, or consultation of equality of men and women, though histor-
all involved members. At the individual ically Islamic leaders have interpreted the
level, truthfulness and the pursuit of knowl- law differently. Muslim communities in India

118 | SOCIETY
traditionally practiced purdah, the strict se- very few Western powers have had female
clusion of women and hiding their face heads of state, Asian societies might, in
from public view. Soon after Pakistan’s in- this area as in others, provide a model for
dependence in 1947, Muslim women began the global community.
advocating for greater rights, such as the
2
ability to own property and pursue profes- See also: Art and Architecture;
76
sions. The rights of women in Afghanistan Colonization; Culture and Traditions;
during the regime of Taliban fundamental- Religion; Taliban.
83
ists caused a wave of international concern
when it became known that women were FURTHER READING
3
-2
denied education and employment outside Borthwick, Mark. Pacific Century: The Emergence of Mod-
the home and were forbidden to appear in ern Pacific Asia. 2nd ed. Boulder, CO: Westview, 1998.
01
public without the body covering known Bose, Sugata. Modern South Asia. New York: Routledge,
03
as a burka. However, in other Muslim- 1998.
majority countries, women are allowed a Koller, John M. Asian Philosophies. 5th ed. New York:
public role. Indonesia, which has the larg-
#
Prentice Hall, 2006.
est Muslim population in the world, elected Kort, Michael G. Handbook of East Asia. Brookfield, CT:
us
a female president, Megawati Sukarnopu- Twenty-First Century Books, 2006.
tri, in 2001, and both Pakistan and Bangla- Schirokauer, Conrad, and Donald Clark. Modern East Asia:
desh have had female prime ministers. As in
A Brief History. 2nd ed. Belmont, CA: Thomson, 2007.
jo
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Spheres of Influence
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G
The spheres of influence were six areas established in China by foreign powers between
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the 1840s and 1910 and considered the exclusive trading regions of these nations. In
p
contrast, foreign concessions were areas within Chinese cities that contained residential
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compounds reserved for and administered by one or another power.

t
ha
Five of the six major spheres of influence Philippines in 1898. The following year, U.S.
in China were held exclusively by single secretary of state John Hay tried to block
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powers. Russia claimed the area north of further division of China and obtain free ac-
the Great Wall; Germany, the Shandong Pe- cess to the country by brokering an “Open
s
ninsula province; Japan, the Fujian coastal Door” agreement among the original Euro-
ba
province; Britain, the Chang River basin; pean powers. This policy would insure equal
Ab
and France, southwest China provinces trading rights for all and prevent any one
bordering French Indochina. Britain and nation from excluding others from its
France jointly held rights to the Guangdong sphere. While the European powers agreed
Q
coastal province. This arrangement ex- in principle with Hay’s plan, Japan did not.
A.
cluded later imperialist powers such as The designated European spheres of in-
Austria-Hungary, Italy, and the United fluence in China disappeared as such after
States from gaining a foothold in China. World War I, but in the following decades,
The United States consequently estab- the Japanese empire expanded its sphere
lished its Asian sphere of influence in the of influence to include Vietnam, Korea,

SPHERES OF INFLUENCE | 119
CHINA, JAPAN, AND KOREA, 1840–1937
The Opium Wars of the 1840s and within China, areas reserved for Taiwan, and Manchuria. In fact, the
1850s and the Boxer Rebellion of each imperial power. By the early Japanese invasion of China in 1937
1899–1901 changed the shape of twentieth century, Japan had taken is widely considered the start of
imperialism in Asia. These conflicts advantage of China’s declining World War II.
2
led to the establishment of special fortunes to gain control over the
76
territorial enclaves and treaty ports Chinese territories of Korea,
3 83
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120 | SPHERES OF INFLUENCE
Manchuria, parts of China, and Taiwan. Fol- of Hankou and Guangzhou (then Canton)
lowing Japan’s defeat in World War II and the British gained Hong Kong, includ-
(1939–1945), the Communist governments ing the Kowloon Peninsula and the New
of China, North Korea, and Vietnam were Territories.
referred to as being within the Soviet Initially, the concessions were for the ex-
2
Union’s sphere of influence, while Japan clusive residence of Westerners. Over time,
76
and South Korea were more largely influ- Chinese merchants established businesses
enced by the United States. The term re- and residences there. The concessions had
83
mains in general use in international politics their own governments as well as separate
to describe one state’s influence or control water systems, electricity supplies, drain-
3
-2
over a foreign territory. age, and sewage. After the Boxer Rebellion
A foreign concession, in contrast, is terri- (1899–1901), the foreign concessions for-
01
tory inside a state administered by an out- tified and maintained their own military
03
side government. Following the Opium garrisons. During the twentieth century, the
Wars of the 1840s and 1850s, Britain and concessions gradually reverted to Chinese
France secured concessions within the port rule. Britain returned Hong Kong to China in
#
of Tianjin (then Tientsin). After 1895, several 1997.
us
other Western powers, as well as Japan,
procured exclusive administrative rights to See also: China; Imperialism; Japan.
concessions of their own under a series of in
jo
“Unequal Treaties” with China, which typi- FURTHER READING
cally granted ninety-nine-year leases. The Vittachi, Nury. Hong Kong: City of Dreams. London: Peri-
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French also gained concessions in the cities plus, 2006.

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Sri Lanka (Ceylon)

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Island nation lying off the southern tip of India that has been marked by more than 50
years of violent ethnic conflict between the dominant Sinhalese Buddhists and the
t
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minority Hindu Tamils.

iW
The ethnic diversity of Sri Lanka’s popula- by the Portuguese (ca. 1505–1658) and
tion of 20 million, which includes Malays Dutch (1639–1796). The island became the
s
and the indigenous Veddah tribesmen, British colony of Ceylon in 1802, unifying
ba
along with religious diversity—Islam and the Jaffna Tamil kingdom of the north and
Ab
Christianity have adherents as well—has the Kandy Sinhalese kingdom based in the
been overshadowed by the violence of the central highlands under the British crown.
Tamil separatists, who sparked civil war The British colonizers established tea, cof-
Q
between 1983 and 2002, and periodic out- fee, cinnamon, and coconut plantations and
A.
breaks of violence thereafter. brought indentured Tamil laborers from

Host to both Eastern and Western trad- southern India to work them, laying the
ers since Roman times, from the sixteenth foundations for later ethnic strife with the
century, Sri Lanka’s coastlines and portions Buddhist Sinhalese.
of the interior were successively controlled Ceylon’s independence in 1948 was more

S R I L A N K A (C E Y LO N ) | 121
TURNING POINT
Tamil Nationalism
2
The presence of the Tamil ethnic group on Sri Lanka in 1972. Government politics dur-
76
the island of Sri Lanka dates back possibly ing the 1950s and 1960s that heavily favored
thousands of years, and Tamil communities the Sinhalese spurred increasing unrest
83
became well established in the north and within the Tamil populations, and in 1972, the
3
east of the island under the Jaffna King- Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE, or
-2
dom, which survived from the eleventh cen- Tamil Tigers) organized.
tury until Portuguese conquest in 1621. The Tigers, composed largely of disen-
01
After the British established a crown colony chanted youth, took a militant stance, sup-
03
on Sri Lanka in 1802, they brought Tamil la- porting their call for a separate state of
borers from South India to work on the cof- Eelam with acts of terrorism and sabotage.
#
fee, tea, and coconut plantations. These The violence escalated into civil war
“hill country” Tamil, who were mostly between 1983 and 2002, and reports of
us
Hindu, were regarded as aliens by the ma- state-sponsored terrorism and human rights
jority Sinhalese, an ethnic group who were abuses on both sides drew condemnation
mostly Buddhists. in
from the international community. The Ti-
jo
In the later nineteenth century, a Tamil re- gers especially were accused of kidnapping
naissance, begun by British scholarly atten- young men to serve as soldiers. A ceasefire
up
tion to ancient Tamil texts, inspired a grow- brokered by the Danish government in 2002
ro
ing cultural identity among the Sri Lankan reduced but did not eliminate violence from
Tamil. In the early twentieth century, this Tamil nationalists. After the Indian Ocean
G
manifested as a national consciousness, and tsunami of 2004 devastated Tamil and Sin-
p
self-government for Tamils was suggested halese regions alike, each group accused the
p
at various times during the formation of other of inequities in the access to and dis-
sa
Ceylon in 1948 and its transformation into tribution of relief.

t
ha
a consequence of neighboring India’s inde- Sri Lanka, and under the new government,
iW
pendence than a result of internal initia- Tamil rights were drastically reduced. A
tives. Its initial ruling elite was highly West- separatist group called the Tamil Tigers or-
s
ernized and used English as its official ganized in response, demanding a separate
ba
language. After the 1956 election of W.R.D. state of Eelam in northern Sri Lanka. Junius
Ab
Bandaranaike as prime minister, Sinhalese Jayewardene, elected prime minister in 1977,

was named the sole language of govern- attempted to repair the division by making
ment and education, and Sinhalese citizens Tamil an official language along with Sinha-
Q
received preferential access to public wel- lese. Civil war erupted in 1983 when the
A.
fare. Bandaranaike was assassinated in Tamil Tigers attacked an army patrol and
1959, but his widow, Sirimavo, continued the Sinhalese responded with anti-Tamil riots.
implementing the socialist economic poli- Within two years, there were 50,000 refu-
cies that Bandaranaike had designed. gees dislocated by the escalating violence,
In 1972, Ceylon became the republic of and twice that many Tamils fled to India.

122 | S R I L A N K A (C E Y LO N )
Indian peacekeepers were installed in the Indian Ocean tsunami in late 2004,
1987 but withdrew after three years, having which caused over 35,000 deaths on the is-
failed to stem Tamil attacks on those who land, and violence between the largely Sin-
opposed a separate Tamil state. During the halese government and the Tamil Tigers
1990s, the Tamil Tigers wrought havoc on had escalated again by 2006.
2
the island, attacking political and cultural
76
centers, assaulting the Colombo interna- See also: India; Nationalism and
tional airport and destroying several air- Nationalist Movements.
83
craft, assassinating one of Sri Lanka’s presi-
dents, and wounding another. The ruling FURTHER READING
3
-2
United National Party negotiated an uneasy Miller, Debra A. Sri Lanka. San Diego: Lucent, 2005.
ceasefire with the Tamil nationalists in Wanasundera, Nanda Pethiyagoda. Sri Lanka. 2nd ed.
01
2002. Sri Lanka was further devastated by New York: Benchmark, 2002.
03
Taiping Rebellion
#
See China; Religion.
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Taiwan in
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Island off the coast of China that is home to the Republic of China. The Nationalist
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government was forced to leave mainland China when the People’s Republic was
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declared in 1949. The two governments continue to disagree about which is the rightful
government of mainland China.
G
p
Passing Portuguese sailors named the is- and migrating Chinese came to outnumber
p
land Ilha Formosa (“Beautiful Island”) in the native Formosans.

sa
1544, but colonization did not begin until When the Japanese won Taiwan from
the Dutch East India Company, with permis- China at the end of the Sino-Japanese War
t
ha
sion from China’s Ming emperor, estab- in 1895, they tried to eliminate local culture
lished a settlement on Taiwan in 1624. The by enforcing compulsory Japanese lan-
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Dutch pushed out Spanish occupants on guage education, the use of Japanese
the island and used military force to quiet names, and the practice of Japanese cul-
s
revolts among the indigenous peoples. Eth- ture. The Japanese improved agricultural
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nic Chinese settlers from the mainland in- methods and introduced industry into the
Ab
creased in number during the early seven- island, also using it as a base for military in-
teenth century, and the Dutch were ousted vasions of China and the Philippines during
in 1662 by a Ming loyalist fleeing the Man- World War II. In 1945, Taiwan was returned
Q
chu overthrow of the Ming dynasty. The is- to the Nationalist or Kuomintang govern-
A.
land came under the control of the Manchu ment of China, led by Chiang Kai-shek. In
or Qing rulers in 1683, and until 1895 it re- 1949, when the Chinese Communist Party
mained a province of imperial China. The gained control of the mainland, Chiang Kai-
export of tea, rice, and sugar to the main- shek relocated the Kuomintang government
land supported the growing population, and about 2 million nationalists to Taiwan.

TA L I B A N | 123
While the Kuomintang imposed martial tion exchanges between China and Taiwan
law to secure cooperation from Taiwan’s residents have been allowed. Many Taiwa-
residents, the U.S. government helped pro- nese no longer support any official attempt
tect Taiwan from Communist reprisals. Dur- to reclaim mainland China, although the
ing the 1960s and 1970s, Taiwan became People’s Republic maintains that it would
2
one of the East Asian Tigers, Asian econo- respond with military action to any move
76
mies experiencing explosive growth. Politi- toward Taiwanese independence. Taiwan’s
cal and social reform, including the creation efforts to liberalize its policies have also
83
of an ethnically Taiwanese Democratic Pro- fostered a cultural renaissance among its
gressive Party opposition, began in 1975 aboriginal peoples.
3
-2
under Chiang Ching-kuo.
Martial law ended in 1987, and President See also: Aboriginal Peoples; China;
01
Lee Teng-hui, taking his post in 1988, fos- Communism; Japan; World War II.
03
tered the transition to a legislative democ-
racy and included more native Taiwanese in FURTHER READING
the government. In 2000, the Taiwanese
#
Manthorpe, Jonathan. Forbidden Nation: The History of
Democratic Progressive Party won the Taiwan. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005.
us
popular vote, bringing an end to Kuomin- Salter, Christopher L. Taiwan. Philadelphia: Chelsea
tang party rule. Since the late 1980s, visita- House, 2004.
in
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Taliban
up
ro
Militant Islamic faction that emerged in Afghanistan during the period of Soviet
occupation (1979–1989) and has exerted considerable influence in Afghan politics since
G
that time. The Taliban was one of several Muslim groups, known as mujahideen (“holy
p
fighters”), that organized armed resistance to the Soviet Union’s 1979 invasion of
p
Afghanistan. After Soviet withdrawal in 1989 and an extended period of civil war, the
sa
Taliban assumed power in Afghanistan in 1996. It was later deposed by the United States
after the terrorist attacks on New York and Washington on September 11, 2001.
t
ha
Although the Taliban had roots in re- Political instability, caused by competi-
iW
gional opposition to Soviet occupation, its tion between rival mujahideen groups after
core leadership and support emerged from the Soviet withdrawal, led to civil war in Af-
s
refugee camps in neighboring Pakistan. ghanistan in 1992. After four years of fight-
ba
The camps were run by semiliterate mul- ing, the Taliban captured the capital, Kabul,
Ab
lahs (Islamic scholars) who followed a con- in 1996. Most Afghans welcomed the Tali-
servative tradition of extreme Islamic acti- ban as a hopeful alternative to the violence,
vism. The Taliban organized Islamic schools corruption, and brutality of the mujahideen
Q
for young male refugees, emphasizing in- warlords.

A.
struction in ultraconservative Islamic The Taliban had initial success restoring

doctrine. The Taliban also provided mili- order by instituting a strict version of Is-
tary training, subsidized by the Pakistani lamic law, or sharia. Afghan citizens were
government and indirectly funded by the forced to abandon “frivolous” activities and
United States. “non-Islamic” influences such as Western

124 | TA L I B A N
television, music, and the Internet. Men However, it was support for the militant
were required to wear beards. Women were Islamic group al Qaeda that ultimately
not allowed to attend public schools, work brought down the Taliban. Since the mid-
outside the home, or appear in public with- 1990s, Afghanistan served as a base for the
out a male relative as an escort. Outside the group, led by Osama bin Laden, the son of a
2
household, they were required to wear long wealthy Saudi family. Following the Sep-
76
dresses and cover their heads and faces. tember 11 attacks, the United States de-
Public floggings and executions, adminis- manded that the Taliban surrender bin
83
tered by youthful Taliban devotees, rein- Laden and cease its support of Islamic ter-
forced Taliban policies. rorism. When the Taliban refused, the U.S.
3
-2
The Taliban financed its activities by military attacked Afghanistan and toppled
smuggling electronics into Central Asia and the government. Although purged from the
01
encouraging the cultivation of opium for government by the U.S. invasion, within a
03
export. Under international pressure, the few years the Taliban began to reassert its
Taliban cut production of opium by two- authority in the Afghan countryside, which
thirds in 2000, depriving many Afghans of still remains largely outside the control of
#
their main source of income. With no secure the current Afghan government.
us
source of revenue and facing ongoing mili-
tary resistance by a coalition of warlords See also: Afghanistan; Communism.
called the Northern Alliance, Taliban rule in
jo
degenerated into chaos. Cities destroyed FURTHER READING
during the Soviet occupation and the civil Barth, Kelly. The Rise and Fall of the Taliban. Westport,
up
war remained in ruins, and failed policies CT: Greenhaven, 2004.

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combined with bad weather to produce Stewart, Gail. Life Under the Taliban. San Diego: Lucent,
widespread famine. 2004.
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Technology and Inventions

sa
t
ha
The important technical innovations and scientific discoveries of the ancient world
originated in the Middle East, India, and China, but during the modern era Western
iW
nations surpassed Asia in this area of development. After a prolonged period of

technological stagnation under colonial rule, modern Asia in the late twentieth century
s
began to assume a leading role in the development of new technology.

ba
Ab
INDIA steel that was 99 percent pure and did not

By 1500, Indians excelled in many areas of rust, and thus was excellent for use in con-
technological endeavor. India’s best-known struction and weapons. European visitors
Q
contribution to global knowledge was to the South India production centers of

A.
mathematical calculation using Hindu- Mysore, Malabar, and Golconda observed

Arabic numerals, which came into use in ingots of high-quality steel being made for
southwest Asia and then Europe. By the six- traders in Persia and Damascus, who
teenth century, Indian metalworkers had would use the steel in the famously sharp
discovered how to make a highly prized Damascus swords. Over centuries Indian

T E C H N O LO GY A N D I N V E N T I O N S | 125
TECHNOLOGICAL ADVANCES IN MODERN ASIA
1600S Wootz steel from India transported in bulk 1949 Creation of People’s Republic of China,
to Persia and Damascus for use in the with goal of increasing industrialization
2
fabled Damascus blade and modernizing to be competitive with
76
Western technology
1700S India’s textiles prized for their mechanized
83
weave and color-fast dyes 1958 Nuclear reactor developed by Chinese
physicists
1854 Opening of Japan by U.S. commodore
3
-2
Matthew Perry, allowing new Western 1964 Atomic bomb developed by Chinese
technologies into Japan scientists
01
1859 Publication of The Origin of Species by 1970 China’s first satellite put into orbit
03
British naturalist Charles Darwin, who
1970S Japan’s worldwide leadership established
incorporates Chinese scientific theories
in consumer electronics and automobile
#
on genetics into his work
industries
us
1868 Restoration of Meiji emperor in Japan,
1991 China’s first nuclear reactor built for
introducing era of rapid modernization
1905 Japanese victory in Russo-Japanese

in
commercial energy manufacture
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2005 Manned spacecraft launched by China,
War proves superiority of Japanese
only the third nation to have done so
up
technology
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G
metallurgists had also perfected the pro- ated weaving machines were the models for
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duction of a zinc alloy, which was used in late eighteenth-century British industries.
p
making swords as well as elegant, highly Despite these early advantages, India
sa
prized household vessels and decorative failed to carry through a full mechanization
items called bidri ware. or modernization of industry. Historical
t
ha
India was especially known for its textiles. inquiry into the reason for this failure has
Decorative cottons in brilliant colorfast led to several competing theories. Some
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dyes from Gujarat and the Coromandel scholars blame the failure on India’s abun-
coast were in high demand in the global dance of cheap skilled labor that made the
s
marketplace, while Kanchipuram became expense of mechanization seem unneces-

ba
especially famed for its production of ex- sary. Others make the case that India’s crea-
Ab
quisite handwoven silks. India’s natural and tivity was ultimately stifled by British colonial
artificial dyes, paints, and lacquers, which intervention, which temporarily restricted
did not fade during the heavy monsoon the further development of local industry as
Q
seasons, were the envy of global artists. In- a potential competitor for British products.
A.
dian artisans used these dyes to decorate Under British rule, few Indians had the
cotton fabric for household goods, using opportunity to obtain training in Western
block printing, tie-dyeing, and other varie- science and technology. Some Indians did
ties of innovative textile-dyeing technology. receive management and engineering train-
India’s textile processes and manually oper- ing that allowed them to assume support

126 | T E C H N O LO GY A N D I N V E N T I O N S
roles in British public works projects or de- comparative physiology, which they com-
velop small companies that provided cheap bined with their ideas on genetics to de-
raw materials and handicrafts to the British velop their own sense of evolution. Charles
and Indian marketplaces. These outlets fo- Darwin considered these Chinese ideas
cused Indian industrial efforts on export when writing his Origin of Species (1859).
2
markets rather than the development of in- In the medical sciences, the Chinese de-
76
novative production technology and sci- veloped techniques of dissection, effec-
ence that would improve the quality of life tively treated infectious diseases, practiced
83
in India. preventive medicine, and made the first
smallpox inoculations. Chinese acupunc-
3
-2
CHINA ture and moxibustion (the stimulation of
Much of the early history of science and specific organs using applied plants and
01
technology in Asia centers on the inven- heat), herbal medicine, and cupping were
03
tiveness of the Chinese. The ancient Chi- effective treatments. The Chinese studied
nese were renowned for their many techni- human nutrition, discovered deficiency dis-
cal innovations such as printing, paper, eases, and developed techniques to pre-
#
gunpowder, the compass, the wheelbarrow, serve and prepare foods to combat such
us
horse collars and harnesses, arch bridges, diseases. Medical practice in China was reg-
and sternpost rudder ships. The ancient ulated, and practitioners had to pass a state
Chinese also excelled in iron casting, porce- in
medical licensing examination.
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lain production, and brass manufacture. In Scholars debate the source of China’s
1271, when the Italian traveler Marco Polo nineteenth-century loss of its technological
up
reported reaching China, he encountered a advantage over the West. Historians point
ro
Chinese tradition of road, bridge, and build- out that China’s scientific accomplishments
ing technology far superior to those in the were the consequence of practical discov-
G
West. eries or the by-product of other interests,

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Starting in the sixteenth century, Chinese rather than the result of systematic or sus-
p
inventors developed the first iron-chain tained scientific inquiry. This was in part a
sa
suspension bridge, canal locks, mechanical result of the traditional Confucian focus on
threshers and clocks, water-powered mills, direct observation rather than abstract re-
t
ha
looms, crankshafts, connecting rods, and flection and speculation. Observations had
piston rods for converting rotary to longitu- to fit with prior knowledge. The ultimate
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dinal motion. The Chinese were also accom- “truth” was recorded in the early Confucian
plished mathematicians who adopted In- classics and other records of the past,
s
dian systems of notation, such as the which were absolute and untestable guides
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decimal system. Thanks to religious con- to the present and future.

Ab
cerns with the heavens and earth, Chinese China, like India, also had a social division
scholars made advances in astronomy, between scholarly gentlemen and those
meteorology, geography, geology, mineral- who worked with their hands. Skilled Chi-
Q
ogy, and seismology. nese artisans were below the peasant in the
A.
The Chinese were accomplished botanists; Chinese social order, and their contribu-
they developed plant classification systems, tions were often undervalued. At the same
knew about plant physiology, and used horti- time, experimental work by members of the
cultural techniques such as grafting. The Chi- social elite was considered inappropriate.
nese also classified animals and understood In the Marxist perspective, China did not

T E C H N O LO GY A N D I N V E N T I O N S | 127
China’s Four Modernizations (1978–1987)
2
Facing economic stagnation as a result of then work in other sectors. The government
76
the political turmoil of the Cultural Revolu- offered incentives for innovation and indus-
tion (1966–1976), China’s Communist leader- trial development and encouraged the edu-
83
ship introduced the Four Modernizations cation of skilled technicians and managers
3
program to develop China’s economy on for the new economic projects.
-2
four fronts: agriculture, industry, the military, Finding the capital to finance these proj-
and science and technology. The need for ects presented a problem in the early years.
01
such a program had long been voiced by Deng Xiaoping’s government encouraged
03
Deng Xiaoping, who became a main force the growth of tourism and, at the same time,
behind the implementation. opened Chinese enterprise to foreign invest-
#
The plan’s design included projects ment and renewed cultural and commercial
aimed at overhauling Chinese industry, es- contacts with the West. As time went on, the
us
pecially iron and steel production, coal min- planners revised their original goals to
ing, oil and gas collection, electricity pro- somewhat smaller production levels than
duction, and the building of railroads and in
previously estimated. However, Deng Xiao-
jo
water systems. The Four Modernizations ping’s careful blend of free-market enterprise
up
also reorganized Chinese agriculture once with Communist Party management made
again, dismantling the collectives instituted the Four Modernizations an overall success.
ro
during the Great Leap Forward (1958–1962) By the 1990s, China’s economy had been re-
and returning to family-based farming. The vitalized and showed continuous growth,
G
government financed projects to mechanize accompanied by a return to domestic stabil-

p
agriculture and improve irrigation systems, ity, expanded personal freedoms for Chinese
p
thus increasing crop yields and reducing the citizens, and an increased role for China in
sa
necessary number of laborers, who could the international community.

t
ha
develop modern scientific methodology ons technology in pace with the West, Chi-
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because its merchant and professional nese physicists developed a nuclear reactor
classes were too weak to challenge the en- in 1958, developed an atomic bomb in 1964,
s
trenched social order. Marxist scholars and put China’s first satellite into orbit in
ba
point out that China had advanced scien- 1970. China’s first commercial nuclear reac-
Ab
tific knowledge, but the country’s tradi- tor went into use in 1991, and in 2005, China
tional elite failed to bring together the es- became the third nation to put a manned
tablished disciplines of mathematics and spacecraft into orbit (a feat previously
Q
natural science. achieved only by Russia and the United

A.
During the Cold War decades following States).

the Communist takeover of China in 1949,
Chinese science and technology received JA PAN
renewed support from the government. In contrast to India and China, nineteenth-
Spurred in part by the need to keep weap- century Japan did not have an entrenched

128 | T E C H N O LO GY A N D I N V E N T I O N S
Asian nations are rushing to

catch up with their Western
counterparts in the design
and production of new
technology. Japan, which
2
dominated the consumer
76
electronics industry in the
1970s and 1980s, lagged
83
behind in development of
3
the computer technology
-2
that emerged during the
1990s and 2000s. In recent
01
years, however, Japan has
03
refocused its efforts on
becoming a global
#
technology leader. (Alan
Levonson/Stone/Getty Images)
us
landed aristocracy or colonial masters. in
1970s, Japan’s cars, cameras, sound repro-
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After Western powers forced the Japanese duction equipment, optics, electronics, steel,
government to open the islands to trade in and shipbuilding were the best in the world.
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1854, the new Meiji government (1868–1912) As happened elsewhere in Asia, Japan’s
ro
quickly recognized the value of incorporat- economy went flat during the 1990s be-
ing Western technology into its moderniza- cause of its failure to anticipate new tech-
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tion plans. The government encouraged the nology. Critics of Japan’s corporate system
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development of communications, railways, point out that Japanese industries’ commit-

p
and shipbuilding, financing the introduction ment to lifetime employment, group over
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of Western machinery into the new indus- individual rewards, expectations of loyalty
tries. Western systems also provided a of junior to senior personnel, and recogni-
t
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model for military expansion and training tion of senior personnel for the initiatives of
and for implementation of a new public their subordinates does not provide ade-
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school system. By the turn of the twentieth quate incentive for employee innovations.
century, Japan’s military rivaled that of the Japan’s political economy favored old cor-
s
Western powers, as proved by the Japa- porations to the disadvantage of indepen-

ba
nese defeat of Russia in the Russo- dent technology start-ups. Also, Japan’s
Ab
Japanese War (1904–1905). university system failed to partner with its

In contrast to Japan’s World War II goals corporations in developing new technology.
of territorial conquest, postwar Japan was Since the 1990s, Japan’s banks have be-
Q
committed to winning in the marketplace come less tied to individual corporations

A.
with innovative technology. Japan’s new and instead are creating venture capital
productivity depended on channeling tradi- funds to finance promising high-tech initia-
tional Japanese loyalty to order, self- tives. The Japanese government converted
discipline, and group effort into corporate all universities into public corporations, en-
production and management teams. By the couraging them to link their laboratories

THAILAND | 129
and biotech and other research specialists building basic infrastructure such as roads
to corporate-academic groups. These and water and sewage facilities. Access to
changes underlay a push to pursue innova- medical technology continues to be a prob-
tive technology in several areas and get lem for poor Asians. Perhaps most impor-
new products into the marketplace as tantly, the entire continent shares an in-
2
quickly as possible. For example, Japanese creasing need for the proper technology to
76
corporations have taken control of global address environmental problems such as
solar cell production, which Western firms pollution, resource management, and the
83
have thus far seen as lacking adequate extremely high population density of many
profitability. The Japanese, however, are Asian cities.
3
-2
driving down the sales price by further de-
veloping the technology, making smaller See also: Agriculture; Colonization;
01
components, reducing defective product Environmental Issues; Weapons.
03
rates, and making the solar cells more effi-
cient and less costly to produce and main- FURTHER READING
tain. The production of ever more efficient
#
Babu, Suresh Chandra, and Ashok Gulati, eds. Economic
solar cells may provide an important alter- Reforms and Food Security: The Impact of Trade and
us
native source of energy for industrialized Technology in South Asia. New York: Food Products
countries that rely on machinery and tech- Press, 2005.
nology to support their habitual way of life. in
Howe, Christopher. The Origins of Japanese Trade Su-
jo
Elsewhere in Asia, access to the latest in- premacy: Development and Technology in Asia from
formation and industrial technology is help- 1540 to the Pacific War. Chicago: University of Chi-
up
ing economies recover, developing national cago Press, 1999.

ro
networks, and improving standards of living Huff, Toby E. The Rise of Early Modern Science: Islam,
for even the most remote rural citizens. In China and the West. 2nd ed. New York: Cambridge
G
some cases, agricultural technology has University Press, 2003.

p
priority, as in initiatives in the Philippines to Kawakami, Kenji. Bumper Book of Unuseless Japanese
p
encourage farmers to adopt new methods Inventions. Trans. Dan Papia. New York: Harper-
sa
that will help make Filipino rice prices com- Collins, 2004.
petitive with those of neighboring Vietnam.
t
Keller, William W., and Richard J. Samuels, eds. Crisis

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In war-torn areas, such as Afghanistan and and Innovation in Asian Technology. New York: Cam-
Laos, the technological priority is on re- bridge University Press, 2006.
s iW
Thailand
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Ab
Southeast Asian nation, formerly known as Siam, that was the only country in the region
to avoid direct colonization or control by the West. Thailand’s independence rested upon
Q
the solid cultural and political base laid by its Ayutthyan kings from the fourteenth to the
A.
eighteenth century and the capable leadership of the Chakri dynasty thereafter.
Chakri monarchs have ruled a unified Communist rebellions after World War II
Thailand since 1782. Unlike several other and, by the end of the twentieth century,
Southeast Asian states, Thailand avoided enjoyed a diverse and prosperous economy.

130 | THAILAND
AYUTTHYAN PERIOD CHAKRI MONARCHS, 1851– 1973

From the mid-fourteenth century, a series King Mongkut (r. 1851–1868) and his son
of Thai kings had established a kingdom Chulalongkorn (r. 1868–1910), popularized
known as Ayutthya, or Siam, centered on in the West in the musical The King and I,
the town of Ayutthya on the lower Chao- Westernized the traditional Thai govern-
2
praya River. Captives from the nearby ment and economy. One key to this success
76
Khmer empire (present-day Cambodia) was Thai assimilation of the Chinese minor-
introduced elements of Hindu political and ity, which gained the Thai access to the
83
philosophical thought into a society business skills and international connec-
largely devoted to Theravada Buddhism. tions of Chinese immigrants and avoided
3
-2
The Ayutthya king was considered holy the ethnic unrest common to their neigh-
and addressed in a special language re- bors. Chulalongkorn’s reforms, including an
01
served only for royalty. The king also held a efficient administration system, the estab-
03
centralized political authority; he person- lishment of law courts and public schools,
ally appointed the ministers of his govern- the building of railways and telegraph
ment and held the power of life and death systems, and the abolition of slavery, all
#
over the ruling nobility. The majority of the greatly strengthened the Thai kingdom.
us
Thai people were peasant farmers, either In 1932, a coup led by radical students
free or slaves. with military support forced the monarch to
After the Portuguese reached Siam in in
accede to a constitution. Growing military
jo
1511, Ayutthya for a time became a very cos- power brought Phibun Songkhram to power
mopolitan city. Indian, Persian, European, in late 1938, and he changed the country’s
up
and Chinese traders settled in the cities, name to Thailand soon after. Phibun ordered
ro
while Japanese warriors served in the mili- the Thai military to side with Japan during
tary and Western missionaries preached World War II, but a resistance movement
G
Christianity. The Siamese court sent embas- called Free Thai forced his resignation in
p
sies to China and France and traded on a 1944. Again seizing power amid the postwar
p
large scale with India, China, and neighbors chaos of 1948, Phibun initiated a military-led
sa
in Southeast Asia. In 1688, due to conflicts government. Phibun’s successor built and
with zealous French missionaries, the Ayut- modernized the Thai army. To strengthen
t
ha
thyan king ejected the French from his the kingdom against the potential rise of
country and avoided Western influence Communism, the U.S. government provided
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from then on. extensive foreign aid from the 1950s

Ayutthya fell in 1767 to armies from through the 1980s, blocking the spread of
s
Burma (present-day Myanmar) and the the Vietnam War into Thailand and laying
ba
royal family was deported. A military com- the foundations for its present-day success.
Ab
mander called Taskin stepped into the gap,

moving the capital of Siam to Thonburi and THE NEW ORDER, 1973 TO THE
gradually pressing back the Burmese invad- PRESENT
Q
ers. He invited Chinese merchants and arti- The foreign aid helped rebuild the country
A.
sans to settle his new capital, but lost but was also a cause of government cor-
power to Yodfa Chulalok, who as Rama I (r. ruption. At the same time, Bangkok be-
1782–1809) established the Chakri dynasty came the destination of numerous rural
that rules Thailand to this day. poor seeking the benefits of the new urban

TIBET | 131
society. Protests and demonstrations against In the early twenty-first century, Bangkok
the government’s failure to meet the needs continued to grow into a major, modern
of the rural and urban poor mounted, espe- Asian commercial hub, boasting a superior
cially among Bangkok college students. In education system and a modern transpor-
1973, the Thai king Phumiphon intervened tation network that allows speedy transit
2
to implement a new constitution and a par- between Bangkok and each of the Thai re-
76
liamentary democracy. The new order gions. In the face of this prosperity, how-
lasted only a short time, and in the next two ever, Thaksin’s tenure was troubled by ac-
83
decades, the Thai government went through cusations of corruption and suppression of
rapid changes of regime, alternating the media, violent consequences of his pro-
3
-2
between military and elected leaders, with posed war on drugs, and terrorism on the
King Phumiphon called on to intervene sev- part of Islamic fundamentalists living in
01
eral times. Finally, a new civilian constitu- southern Thailand and is still trying to stabi-
03
tional government took over in 1992. lize its democracy.
The Thai economy boomed until 1998,
when the Asia-wide financial crisis hit Thailand See also: Cambodia; Communism; Laos;
#
especially hard. With international aid, the Religion.
us
economy began to rebound in 2001. Prime
Minister Thaksin Chinnawat’s policy of pro- FURTHER READING
moting the spread of business and commer- in
Kislenko, Arne. Culture and Customs of Thailand. West-
jo
cial development into remote agricultural re- port, CT: Greenwood, 2004.
gions allowed him to balance the interests of Phillips, Douglas A. Thailand. New York: Chelsea House,
up
Thailand’s rural and urban political factions. 2007.

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However, accused of corruption, he was Warren, William, and Luca Invernizzi Tettoni. Thailand:
ousted from power by a military coup in 2006. The Golden Kingdom. Hong Kong: Periplus, 2004.
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Tibet
t sa
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Central Asian nation, bordering India and the People’s Republic of China, which was
usurped by Communist Chinese armies in the twentieth century. The Chinese military
iW
invaded the three provinces of Tibet in 1949, occupying two, and in the third creating the
Tibet Autonomous Region in 1965.
s
ba
In 1959, an uprising led to the exile of the 2000, the Chinese population had grown to
Ab
Dalai Lama, the political and spiritual leader outnumber the native Tibetans.
of Tibet, and the resulting occupation im- The role of the Dalai Lama as both politi-
posed many hardships on the Tibetan peo- cal and spiritual leader of the country dates
Q
ple. The Communist leadership worked to to 1642, when the fifth Dalai Lama was en-
A.
suppress Buddhist Tibetan culture largely throned at Lhasa with the help of the Mon-
through the imprisonment, torture, and ex- gol ruler Guushi Khan. The move unified
ecution of Buddhist monks and nuns and Tibet, established the supremacy of the
the destruction of religious monuments.By Gelugpa or Yellow Hat school of Tibetan

132 | TIBET
GREAT LIVES
Dalai Lama
2
The Dalai Lama is the title assigned to the Lama, Tenzin Gyatso, was born in 1935, en-
76
spiritual leader of Tibetan Buddhism, who throned as the spiritual leader of his order in
was also, until 1959, the political leader of 1940, and in 1950 became the head of the
83
Tibet. Roughly translated as “Ocean of Wis- Tibetan government, in agreement with the
3
dom,” the title Dalai Lama was bestowed occupying armies of the People’s Republic
-2
upon Sonam Gyatso in 1578. Sonam was of China. Uprisings in Lhasa in 1959 caused
considered the third reincarnation of the by Tibetan discontent over Communist
01
Buddhist deity Avalokitesvara, the faithful government caused the Dalai Lama and his
03
servant of the Buddha and the bodhisattva followers to remove to India. From there, the
of compassion. In Buddhist thought, a bo- fourteenth Dalai Lama worked tirelessly to
#
dhisattva is one who agrees to be reincar- free Tibet through nonviolent, diplomatic
nated in order to aid the enlightenment of all means, activities for which he was awarded
us
beings. Thus, the subsequent Dalai Lama not the Nobel Peace Prize in 1989. A figure of
only inherits the title but also in essence is great international renown and respect, the
his predecessor, reborn. in
fourteenth Dalai Lama has raised awareness
jo
Since 1391, there have been fourteen Dalai about the tenets of Tibetan Buddhism and
up
Lamas. When one spiritual teacher dies, works to promote religious harmony around
members of his Buddhist order search for the the world.
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young reincarnation. The fourteenth Dalai

G
p
Buddhism over the other schools (called into Lhasa and occupied the city in 1903,
p
the Red Hats), and reaffirmed the support prompting the Manchu to reassert their
sa
of the Mongol rulers, who had adopted military control over Tibet with an invasion
Tibetan Buddhism in the thirteenth century. in 1910. When a revolution in China
t
ha
In the early eighteenth century, however, brought down the Qing dynasty in 1911,
Mongol incursions into Tibet and disputes Tibetans took the opportunity to declare
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over the Dalai Lama’s succession led to their independence.

intervention from China’s Qing dynasty While civil and international war dis-
s
(1644–1911), founded by the Manchu clan. tracted the Chinese in the early twentieth
ba
The Manchu offered protection to the prov- century, Tibet governed itself as an inde-
Ab
ince, which included repelling an invasion of pendent republic. Upon the establishment
the Gurkhas from Nepal in the late eigh- of the People’s Republic of China in 1949,
teenth century. however, the Chinese government decided
Q
During the nineteenth century, as Man- to renew its claim on Tibet. With their small
A.
chu power declined in China, the Chinese army no match for the Chinese forces, the
government granted the British access to Tibetans signed the Seventeen Point
Tibet, but the Tibetans continued to re- Agreement in 1951, which guaranteed Tibe-
buff foreign contact. The British marched tan autonomy and religious freedom under

TIBET | 133
creasing displeasure among the Tibetan

populace and an uprising in Lhasa in 1959.
The fourteenth Dalai Lama and most of his
ministers took refuge in India, hoping to
find international support for a peaceful
2
withdrawal of Chinese forces from Tibet.
76
Chinese officials and the exiled Tibetan
government, which continued to operate
83
from India, disagreed over the conse-
quences of Chinese rule in Tibet. The exiled
3
-2
government reported that more than a mil-
lion Tibetans died as a result of forced agri-
01
cultural reforms such as the Great Leap For-
03
ward, military aggression against Tibetan
Buddhist monks and nuns, and other Chi-
nese offenses. More than 6,000 Buddhist
#
temples were destroyed and 100,000 Tibe-
us
tans were forced into labor camps. The Chi-
nese Communist government insisted that
in
it freed Tibet from an ancient feudal order,
jo
eliminated slavery, and fostered economic
development.
up
Although no international body recog-

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nized his exiled government, the fourteenth

Dalai Lama’s increasing visibility as a public
G
figure brought worldwide attention to

p
The Tibetan spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama, is seen Tibet. By the early twenty-first century, lim-
p
praying on a visit to Brussels, Belgium, in 2006. The ited religious freedoms had been restored
sa
People’s Republic of China has controlled Tibet to Tibetans, though the Chinese govern-
since invading the tiny nation in 1950. Most ment is intolerant of any criticism in respect
t
ha
Tibetans, however, consider the Dalai Lama to be to Tibet.

their legitimate ruler and the leading spokesperson
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for Tibetan independence. (Mark Renders/Stringer/ See also: China; Communism; Religion.
Getty Images)
s
FURTHER READING
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the civil and military supervision of a Chi- French, Patrick. Tibet, Tibet. New York: HarperPerennial,
Ab
nese garrison. Subsequent Communist- 2004.

style land reforms and the lack of reverence Stewart, Whitney. The Fourteenth Dalai Lama. Minneap-
shown to Tibet’s monastic orders led to in-
Q
olis: Lerner, 2000.

A.

V-W
Vietnam
Southeast Asian nation that became the focus of struggles between Communist and
2
anti-Communist forces in Asia during the twentieth century. Formerly the core region in
76
the colonial territory of French Indochina, Vietnam fought a war for independence
beginning in 1945 that developed into the Vietnam War, an international struggle
83
involving the United States. The war ended only with the collapse of South Vietnamese
resistance and unification under the Communist government of North Vietnam in 1975.
3
-2
LATE IMPERIAL AND tions with the crown. Gia Long’s successor,
01
COLONIAL VIETNAM Minh Mang (r. 1820–1841), rejected French
03
With a rebellion beginning in 1418, the Viet- influence and executed several missionar-
namese managed to regain their indepen- ies. Believing that tens of thousands of mis-
dence from the Ming Chinese, and Le Thai sionaries and Vietnamese Christians were
#
To became the first ruler of the Later Le dy- being persecuted and killed, the French re-
us
nasty. Le rulers conquered and absorbed sponded with military action. By 1859 the
the territory of Champa, a Central and South French ruled from the southern city of Sai-
Vietnam based state with both Indian and in
gon, and in 1885 expanded their control
jo
Islamic influences, and the kingdom of Viet- over all of Vietnam. French Indochina,
nam began to assume its present-day bor- created in 1887, included all of Vietnam,
up
ders. The kingdom effectively split around Cambodia, and Laos.

ro
1620 when the rival Nguyen family, ruling the The French aimed for rapid exploitation of
provinces to the south, rejected the growing Vietnam’s resources, building infrastructure
G
control of the Trinh family, the aristocrats of such as canals and highways to enable move-
p
the north. Failure to reunite the country in ment of goods, including rice, rubber, and
p
1673 led to a century-long truce, during which coal, in exchange for Western imports. The
sa
Vietnam remained under the symbolic lead- success of wealthy Vietnamese landlords de-
ership of the Le ruler but had two separate pended on the exploitation of masses of
t
ha
governments. landless peasants, who suffered from high

By 1777, a revolution led by the Tay Son rents, high taxes, and little profit from their
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rebels toppled the Le dynasty and set up a work on private estates and plantations.
new regime in its place, repelling Chinese These conditions spawned rising nation-
s
invaders to do so. With the help of the alist movements at the turn of the twentieth
ba
French forces beginning to infiltrate Indo- century, marked by increasing resistance to

Ab
china, Nguyen Anh, heir to the southern re- colonial rule, and the Nationalist Party was
gions, gained control of all Vietnam territo- organized in 1927. Another resistance
ries. Proclaiming himself Emperor Gia Long group, the Vietnamese Communist Party,
Q
(r. 1802–1820), he ruled a unified realm from was established in 1930 under the leader-
A.
his capital in the Central Vietnam city of Nue. ship of Ho Chi Minh, who had witnessed
Both Portuguese and French traders had firsthand the Communist movements in
long desired to gain influence in the coun- Russia, China, and the West. French re-
try, and Jesuit (Catholic) missionaries sponse to the peasant uprising in 1930 was
hoped to take advantage of French rela- rapid and brutal, while reforms came slowly,
134

VIETNAM | 135
if at all. The Communist Party went into hid- namese. Fearing that the Communist Party
ing during World War II (1939–1945), when would gain support, Diem refused to partic-
the Nazi-controlled Vichy government in ipate in the 1956 elections. A Communist
France allowed Japanese troops to occupy group inside South Vietnam, which came to
Vietnam. Japan used French-built harbors be called the National Liberation Front (or
2
and airports to facilitate its military opera- Vietcong by their opponents), organized an
76
tions throughout Southeast Asia. insurgency effort to topple Diem’s govern-
In 1941, a nationalist alliance called the ment. The regime set up after Diem’s assas-
83
Viet Minh, organized by Ho Chi Minh, began sination in 1963 became increasingly re-
working to free Vietnam from occupation. pressive, and the Vietcong grew in force.
3
-2
When the Japanese surrendered in 1945, Ho Since 1961, the United States had been
Chi Minh declared Vietnamese indepen- supplying helicopter support for South
01
dence. The last king, Bao Dai, abdicated in Vietnamese troops, which included spray-
03
favor of the new republic. The French, de- ing a defoliating herbicide, Agent Orange,
termined to subdue their former colony, over large stretches of territory. In 1964, the
sought British help in reclaiming the south- United States sent troops to interrupt assis-
#
ern provinces of Vietnam, while Ho’s Com- tance reaching the Vietcong from the north
us
munist forces held the north. through what was called the Ho Chi Minh
trail. U.S. involvement deepened as South
WAR AND REUNIFICATION in
Vietnamese forces continued to fight the
jo
The First Indochina War (1946–1954) soon Vietcong. Peace talks in Paris reached no
gained new players: after 1949, the newly conclusion, and the war became increas-
up
formed People’s Republic of China lent ingly unpopular with the U.S. public.
ro
support to Ho’s Communist organization, In the Paris Agreement signed in 1973, U.

and the United States supported the S. president Richard Nixon agreed to with-
G
French against the Viet Minh’s guerrilla draw U.S. troops, but the fighting in Viet-
p
warfare. A devastating loss at Dien Bien nam continued. In 1975, armed Communist
p
Phu in 1954 convinced the French to with- forces captured the southern capital of Sai-
sa
draw. A peace treaty signed in Geneva tem- gon, and Vietnam was again united. The so-
porarily divided Vietnam into a Communist- cialist republic of Vietnam took shape in
t
ha
controlled north and a nominally democratic 1976, with its capital at Hanoi. It faced the
republic in the south. Elections scheduled task of rebuilding a country economically
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for 1956 were supposed to decide the issue and physically devastated by war, where at
of reunification. least 4 million had been killed and millions
s
However, the elections never took place. more were homeless.

ba
The northern government in Hanoi under The North Vietnamese leadership in-
Ab
Ho Chi Minh undertook ambitious Commu- itially pursued strict Marxist economic poli-
nist reforms, including collectivization of cies, but these failed to spur economic
agriculture, with support from both the So- growth or efficiency. In 1986, the govern-
Q
viet Union and China. In the south, Presi- ment abandoned central economic plan-
A.
dent Ngo Dinh Diem began building an ning and introduced free market reforms
army, with U.S. financial backing. Diem’s such as private ownership of businesses.
autocratic, elitist government and his favor- From 1990 to 1997, Vietnam became the
ing of Roman Catholics over the majority world’s second-fastest-growing economy.
Buddhist population alienated many Viet- In the early twenty-first century, inflation

136 | VIETNAM
MODERN WEAPONS
Agent Orange
2
The forests of Vietnam are thick and dense, South Vietnam forests between 1962 and
76
offering excellent cover for wildlife as well as 1971. Besides its ability to kill foliage, Agent
soldiers waiting to ambush an enemy. Defol- Orange was found to release dioxins, a
83
iating or stripping the trees and bushes of cancer-causing chemical that is toxic to hu-
3
leaves served not only to eliminate enemy mans even in small amounts.
-2
hiding places, but also to destroy crops that Since the 1970s, Agent Orange has been
opponents might use to feed their forces. As directly linked to an increase in miscarriages,
01
part of American support for South Vietna- difficult pregnancies, and congenital or birth
03
mese fighters in their struggle against Com- defects among the Vietnamese population.
munist troops from North Vietnam and the As of 2006, an estimated 1 million Vietna-
#
insurgent group called the Vietcong, U.S. mese were disabled due to such defects. A
chemical manufacturers developed a num- high incidence of cancer has also been dis-
us
ber of blended herbicides that could be covered in soldiers exposed to Agent
used as defoliating agents in Vietnam. One Orange, including U.S., Australian, and South
of these, Agent Orange, provided to be par- in
Korean allies. After a lawsuit was brought
jo
ticularly destructive in its long-term effects. against the U.S. manufacturers of these
Agent Orange, so called because of the deadly compounds, trusts were established
up
orange stripe on its container, was only one to aid disabled U.S. veterans and affected
ro
of several herbicide mixtures named after Vietnamese. As of 2006, the Vietnamese

colors, including Agent White, Agent Green, Victims of Agent Orange Trust had estab-
G
and so on. Of these, Agent Orange was the lished eleven “Peace Villages” in Vietnam,
p
most commonly used: an estimated 13 mil- each hosting between fifty and a hundred
p
lion gallons (about 50 million liters) of Agent people, to provide afflicted citizens with
sa
Orange were sprayed by U.S. aircraft onto medical and psychological help.
t
ha
and unemployment remained ongoing con- FURTHER READING

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cerns, although household savings and Caputo, Philip. 10,000 Days of Thunder: A History of the
spending power had increased significantly. Vietnam War. New York: Atheneum, 2005.
s
ba
McLeod, Mark. W., and Nguyen Thi Dieu. Culture and

See also: Cambodia; China; Communism; Customs of Vietnam. Westport, CT: Greenwood, 2001.
Ab
Laos; Nationalism and National Phillips, Douglas A. Vietnam. Philadelphia: Chelsea

Movements; World War II. House, 2006.
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A.
Vietnam War See Communism; Vietnam.

WEAPONS | 137
Weapons
Implements of war that, in post-1500 Asia, included guns, cannons, and warships based
2
on Western models. These new weapons quickly proved their superiority over traditional
76
infantry, cavalry, and archers wielding swords, lances, and bows. Western technology was
largely responsible for the successful European colonization of Asia from the seventeenth
83
to the nineteenth century. In the twentieth century, however, Asian powers would turn the
same weapons against Western opponents with devastating effectiveness.
3
-2
EARLY WEAPONRY among the first to enthusiastically adopt
01
In 1500, Japanese samurai warriors armed the use of firearms in combat.
03
with steel swords and archery equipment
constituted Asia’s most effective fighting FIREARMS
force. They were supported by ashigaru Military tactics changed in the late six-
#
(“light feet”), peasants who carried spears teenth century with the introduction of the
us
10 to 20 feet (3 to 7 m) in length and were matchlock arquebus, an early form of mus-
trained to fight in close formation. The army ket. In Japan, peasants bearing firearms
with the largest numbers usually prevailed. in
began to replace the samurai’s bow and
jo
Alhough the Chinese had possessed the sword on the battlefield. Japan’s warlords
secret of making gunpowder since the also employed early cannons to besiege or
up
eighth century, firearms did not assume a defend castles, but these guns had re-
ro
significant place in Chinese military doctrine stricted mobility and were thus of limited
for more than a millennium afterward. Chi- use on the battlefield.
G
nese warfare during the seventeenth through Firearms were considered contrary to
p
nineteenth centuries instead focused on the bushido, the Japanese warrior code of eth-
p
development of martial arts. In the Qing era ics, since fighting at a distance was seen as
sa
(1644–1911), the dao, or curved saber, re- less honorable than hand-to-hand combat
placed the straight sword as the favorite with swords or knives. During the Tokugawa
t
ha
weapon for slashing and chopping. The dao shogunate (1603–1867), production and
was one of four weapons of the Qing sol- ownership of firearms in Japan was severely
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dier, accompanying the spear, staff, and restricted, and samurai returned to tradi-
straight sword. A soldier also often carried tional weaponry. This policy worked while
s
a knife (duan dao). Japan remained closed to outside nations.

ba
Fighters under the Mughal dynasty in However, when the U.S. Navy arrived in
Ab
India (1526–1739) used weaponry similar to Japan in 1853, its modern firearms technol-
that of Qing China and Tokugawa Japan. ogy compelled the Japanese to accept a
Mughal swords, daggers, armor, spears, and trade agreement with the United States.
Q
javelins showed a mix of Indian and Middle The Mughals, by contrast, excelled in the
A.
Eastern metalworking technology, with use of firearms. The Mughal emperor Babur
considerable variation among regions, conquered India in 1525 and 1526 using mo-
which evolved their own characteristic bile cannons drawn by bullocks, horses, and
styles. However, the Mughals were also camels. Under his successors, Mughal

138 | WEAPONS
MODERN WEAPONS
Hiroshima and Nagasaki
2
On August 6, 1945, the United States dropped Hiroshima and Nagasaki were among the
76
the world’s first atomic bomb on the Japa- few major Japanese cities that had not al-
nese city of Hiroshima. Three days later, a ready suffered significant bomb damage and
83
second bomb was dropped on Nagasaki. would thus clearly demonstrate the weapon’s
3
The bombs destroyed both cities, killing power. A B-29 bomber, the Enola Gay, carried
-2
tens of thousands instantly; hundreds of the first bomb, nicknamed “Little Boy,” which
01
thousands later died from radiation poi- was powered by a radioactive isotope of ura-
soning. The atomic bombings in Japan re- nium. The bomb produced a mushroom-
03
main the only instance in the twentieth shaped cloud of purple-gray smoke that rose
century in which nuclear weapons were 40,000 feet (more than 12 km), vaporizing
#
used in warfare. everything at the center of the blast. More
us
The U.S. decision to use the bomb than 60,000 buildings were destroyed, and
stemmed from Japan’s unwillingness to ac- the only remaining evidence of many people
cept unconditional surrender to end World and objects was shadowed outlines etched
War II. Advisers to President Harry Truman
in
into walls by the heat of the blast.
jo
forecast that an invasion of the Japanese Japan refused to surrender immediately,
up
mainland would result in a loss of more than but the August 9 bombing of Nagasaki with
500,000 American soldiers. Truman was the plutonium-based “Fat Man” bomb con-
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also concerned that a prolonged war would vinced the Japanese leadership to capitu-
G
allow the Soviet Union time to annex sub- late. On September 2, the Japanese govern-
stantial territory in Asia. ment surrendered unconditionally.
p p
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troops used a wide variety of firearms and the moisture, caused them to fall back be-
sidearms initially acquired from Portuguese fore the British attack. As a result, British
t
ha
and Turkish traders at India’s west coast commander Robert Clive’s estimated 3,000
ports and later duplicated and modified lo- European and European-trained Indians,
iW
cally. Maritime trade with the West gave In- supported by ten cannons, defeated
dian rulers access to European weapons between 50,000 and 70,000 troops under
s
and artillery throughout the eighteenth the Indian governor, or nawab. With the aid
ba
century, and Indian armies were often of an Indian commander who switched
Ab
equipped with advanced firearms. sides at the last moment, the British claimed
The Asian nations, including India, fell to the field within the day. British casualties
European colonizers due not so much to the numbered about 70, while the Indian casual-
Q
West’s superior firepower but to its superior ties were at least 500. This pattern of the tri-
A.
military training, organization, and effi- umph of European military over native resis-
ciency. For example, the Battle of Plassey in tance was repeated throughout Asia during
1757 was decided when the English troops the late eighteenth and nineteenth centu-
thought to cover their guns from the rain; ries. By the late 1800s, most of Asia had
their opponents’ artillery, made useless with been subdued militarily by Western powers.

WEAPONS | 139
2
76
383
-2
01
03
#
us
in
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up
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The United States dropped the world’s first atomic bomb on the Japanese city of Hiroshima on August 6,
p
1945. The surviving structure closest to the spot of the blast, the Hiroshima Prefectural Industry Promotion
p
Building, is now part of the Hiroshima Peace Memorial Park, dedicated to the victims of the attack. (AFP/
sa
Getty Images)
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JAPANESE WEAPONRY IN WORLD still prevailed, as did a nationalist enthu-

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WAR II siasm called yamato damashi, which re-

One of the few Asian nations that had es- quired that a soldier choose death before
s
caped Western colonization, Japan led the the dishonor of capture or surrender.
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twentieth-century resurgence of Asian mili- The extent of Japanese military domina-

Ab
tary might. Rapid modernization and devel- tion in Southeast Asia and the Pacific during
opment during the Meiji Restoration (1868– World War II depended on the dedication of
1912) soon built a Japanese military that ri- Japanese warriors as well as on Japanese
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valed that of the Western powers, as naval and air force weaponry. The Japanese
A.
proved by Japan’s defeat of Russia in the pioneered naval aviation, commissioning

Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905). Japa- the world’s first aircraft carriers in the 1920s,
nese forces expressed a strong sense of which they continued to perfect in the 1930s.
loyalty to the emperor, in whose personal The Japanese navy was ahead of the Allies
service they were. The concept of bushido in its development of a submarine fleet,

140 | WEAPONS
including submarines that could carry air- Neither India nor Pakistan, which began de-
craft. Starting with the Fubuki, built in 1930, veloping nuclear weapons in the 1970s, has
the Japanese also built destroyers that car- signed the international Nuclear Non-
ried torpedoes capable of a longer range Proliferation Treaty, which limits the devel-
than those of their opponents. Destroyer opment of nuclear weapons. North Korea
2
crews drilled especially for night combat, withdrew from the treaty in 2003 and, in
76
when the cover of darkness allowed the 2006, announced that it had successfully
ships to sneak up to close range. completed a nuclear test. The development
83
Japan’s early success in the Pacific arena of weapons of mass destruction, meaning
during World War II was due largely to a nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons,
3
-2
light aircraft called the Zero, which became contributes to ongoing international ten-
legendary for its maneuverability and range. sions among governments in Asia and the
01
Only when higher-powered models such as rest of the world.
03
the Hellcat and Corsair came on the scene
were the Allies able to gain an advantage See also: Colonization; India; Technology
over the Japanese, whose weapons technol- and Inventions.
#
ogy did not develop at the same pace.
us
FURTHER READING
CONTEMPORARY WEAPONS Gommans, Jos. Mughal Warfare: Indian Frontiers and
At the turn of the twenty-first century, nu- in
Highroads to Empire, 1500–1700. New York: Rout-
jo
clear weapons in Asia proliferated, causing ledge, 2002.
worldwide concern. China began develop- Tellis, Ashley J., and Michael Wills, eds. Strategic Asia
up
ing nuclear weapons in the late 1950s, aided 2005–2006: Military Modernization in an Era of Un-
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by the Soviet Union. India acquired nuclear certainty. Seattle: National Bureau of Asian Research,
technology from the United States in the 2005.
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1950s for civil use, such as providing power, Weir, William. 50 Weapons That Changed Warfare.
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but began developing weapons in the 1980s. Franklin Lakes, NJ: New Page Books, 2005.
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World War I
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ha
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Global conflict (1914–1918) that, although fought only minimally on Asian soil, had far-
reaching consequences for Asian and Pacific nations. Although many Asians benefited
s
from wartime sales to Western armies, Asian populations suffering economic setbacks in
ba
the war’s aftermath became increasingly convinced that European imperialism was at
Ab
odds with Asia’s future.
ASIAN INVOLVEMENT in which the European nations of France,

Q
World War I began as a clash between the Great Britain, and Russia (the Entente Pow-
A.
imperialist powers of Europe, which were in ers, or Allies) ranged themselves against
an uneasy balance at the turn of the twenti- the Central Powers of Germany and
eth century. The assassination of the heir to Austria-Hungary. Bulgaria and the Ottoman
the throne of Austria-Hungary on June 28, Empire in Turkey soon joined the Central
1914, triggered a series of war declarations Powers, while Italy (1915) and the United

W O R L D WA R I | 141
WORLD WAR I AND ASIA
JUNE 28, 1914 Assassination of Austria- APRIL 1917 Arrival of fleet of Japanese
Hungary’s heir, triggering declarations of destroyers at Malta, in Mediterranean
2
war among European powers Sea, to support British navy
76
AUGUST 23, 1914 Japan’s declaration of war OCTOBER 1917 Revolution in Russia, bringing
83
against Germany Communist Party to power and
withdrawing Russian support from the war
SEPTEMBER 1914 Entrance of Japanese into
3
and from imperial ambitions in Asia
-2
Shandong province of China and siege of
German settlement in Tsingtao SEPTEMBER 1918 Entrance of Australian Light
01
Horse regiment into Damascus, forcing
OCTOBER 1914 German-held colonies in
03
Ottoman surrender to Arab
Micronesia, including the Marshall Islands,
independence fighters
seized by Japanese military
#
JANUARY 1919 Peace talks at Versailles Palace
JANUARY 1915 List of Twenty-One Demands
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near Paris, France; Japan’s possessions in
presented by Japanese government to
Shandong province confirmed; Japan
China, increasing Chinese resentment
toward Japan in becomes founding member of League of
jo
Nations, confirming its status as
APRIL 1915–JANUARY 1916 Battle of Gallipoli, international power
up
in which British and French forces,

reinforced with troops from India,
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Australia, and New Zealand, attempt to

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capture the Ottoman capital of

Constantinople (now Istanbul)
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t sa
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States (1917) joined the Allied cause. Britain In November 1914, the German settle-
and France in particular drew on their Asian ment at Tsingtao, in Shandong, surrendered
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colonies for resources to aid the war effort. to combined Japanese and British forces.
Japan was the only independent Asian The Japanese government took the oppor-
s
nation to officially join World War I. After an tunity to further its colonial ambitions in
ba
exchange of ultimatums, the Japanese China. In January 1915, Japan presented the
Ab
government aligned itself with the Entente ruling Chinese government with Twenty-
Powers by declaring war on the German One Demands that included access to sea-
Empire on August 23, 1914. The Japanese ports, rail and mining rights in Shandong
Q
military moved quickly to divest Germany province, and concessions in Manchuria.

A.
of its colonial possessions in Asia, invading In turn, the British navy called upon the
the Shandong province of China in Septem- sophisticated Japanese imperial navy for
ber and seizing German-held possessions in support in European fighting. In April 1917, a
Micronesia, including the Mariana, Caroline, fleet of Japanese destroyers arrived in the
and Marshall Islands, in October. Mediterranean Sea to reinforce the British

142 | W O R L D WA R I
stationed at Malta by serving as troop wire in the trenches on the Western Front,
transports and escorts. The Japanese also and laborers were sent to East Africa and
actively supplied their European allies with the Middle East as well. An estimated
war materials, an effort that resulted in a 175,000 workers came from China alone.
huge economic boom in Japan between The exposure of Asian workers and soldiers
2
1913 and 1918. This aid resulted in European to these various parts of the world would
76
recognition of Japan’s colonial expansion have an impact on Asian politics in the years
during the peace negotiations, concluded to follow.
83
in 1919. Japan emerged from the Paris
peace talks as a recognized international CONSEQUENCES
3
-2
power and a founding member of the The war in Europe brought an end to four
League of Nations, the only Asian nation empires: the Ottoman Empire ruling Turkey,
01
with that distinction. the Hapsburg monarchy of Austria-
03
Throughout the war the European pow- Hungary, the German Empire, and the Rus-
ers recruited soldiers from their colonies sian monarchy, toppled by the Russian Rev-
and protectorates. An estimated 110,000 In- olution of 1917. The peace settlement
#
dians, for example, were killed or injured reorganized colonial possessions in Asia,
us
fighting alongside British forces. Australia granting the Shandong province to Japan
and New Zealand also sent troops to rein- rather than China, confirming Japanese
force the British effort, suffering particu- in
possession of former German concessions
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larly heavy losses during the Battle of Gal- inside China, and thus leading to Japanese
lipoli. After landing in April 1915 in an imperial expansion in the 1920s and 1930s.
up
attempt to capture the Ottoman capital of The nationalist movements that had
ro
Constantinople (now Istanbul), the British- given rise to several new European repub-
and French-commanded forces were lics had their counterpart among Asian col-
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forced to withdraw in January 1916. Over onies hoping for independence. Indian and
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35,000 Australians and New Zealanders Burmese nationalists, who had been prom-
p
(called ANZACs by the British) were killed ised increased self-government in return for
sa
or injured in the effort, and Indian casualties their wartime support, returned home to
numbered almost 5,000. find that wartime restrictions on their civil
t
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ANZAC troops likewise served in the liberties were still in effect. Asian national-
Sinai and Palestine campaign fought ists became convinced that Western coun-
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between January 1915 and October 1918 in tries would never voluntarily agree to grant
the Sinai Peninsula, Palestine, and Syria independence to their Asian subjects. Many
s
against German and Turkish soldiers. The prominent nationalist movements, such as
ba
celebrated Australian Light Horse brigade those led by Mohandas Gandhi in India and
Ab
took Damascus, in Palestine, in September Mao Zedong in China, gained increased mo-
1918, paving the way for Arab indepen- mentum after World War I.
dence leader T.E. Lawrence to receive the The 1917 Russian Revolution, which
Q
Ottoman surrender. brought the Communist Party to power in

A.
In addition to soldiers, Asian nations also Russia and laid the foundation for the So-
furnished laborers to aid the war effort. viet Union, offered an alternative Western
Workers from China, India, and French Indo- model for Asian nationalists who found so-
china (present-day Vietnam, Laos, and cialist and communist governments attrac-
Cambodia) dug trenches and strung barbed tive options to Western-style democracy. In

W O R L D WA R I I | 143
the years following World War I, Commu- New Zealand; Spheres of Influence; World
nist parties in China, Indonesia, and else- War II.
where looked to Soviet models for eco-
nomic and political reform. Most Asian FURTHER READING
colonies, however, had to wait for World Andrews, Eric Montgomery. The Anzac Illusion: Anglo-
2
War II, when Japanese expansion and sub- Australian Relations during World War I. New York:
76
sequent Western intervention created an Cambridge University Press, 1993.
opportunity for independence. Coetzee, Frans, and Marilyn Shevin-Coetzee. World War
83
I: A History in Documents. New York: Oxford Univer-
See also: Australia; Imperialism; Indian
3
sity Press, 2002.
-2
Nationalism; Japan; Manchuria; Micronesia; Gilbert, Martin. The Routledge Atlas of the First World
Nationalism and Nationalist Movements; War. 2nd ed. New York: Routledge, 2002.
01
03
World War II
#
us
Worldwide conflict (1939–1945) fought throughout Europe, North Africa, and large
portions of Asia and the Pacific, the outcome of which laid the foundations of the
in
modern political order. Japan’s seizing of several European-occupied Asian territories
jo
destroyed the existing Western colonial empires and resulted in independence for many
former colonies. While Asian losses in the war were heavy, the upheaval allowed Asia’s
up
modern nations to emerge.

ro
The war pitted the aggressively expand- (now Myanmar), and the Pacific Islands all
G
ing Axis powers of Germany, Italy, and reported civilian losses in the tens of thou-
p
Japan against the Allied powers of Great sands. Causing an estimated 60 million
p
Britain, France, the Soviet Union, the United deaths worldwide, World War II was the
sa
States, and later China. In the Pacific, fight- bloodiest war in history.
ing began with Japan’s 1937 invasion of
t
ha
China and ended with Japan’s defeat in JAPANESE AGGRESSION

1945, after the U.S. bombing of the cities of Since 1931, Japan had controlled the north-
iW
Hiroshima and Nagasaki. eastern Chinese province of Manchuria and

Military casualties among Asian popula- sought to bring all of China under Japanese
s
tions were staggering: China lost at least 3 rule. A further invasion in 1937 brought the
ba
million soldiers, Japan 2 million, and to- cities of Peking (now Beijing), Shanghai,
Ab
gether Australia, New Zealand, Thailand, and Nanking, then the capital, under Japa-
and the Philippines suffered another nese control. Both the Nationalist or Kuo-
110,000 casualties. Civilian deaths due to mintang government and the Chinese
Q
military action, famine, disease, and war Communist forces fought the Japanese oc-
A.
crimes cost far more lives: 7 million in China, cupation, and the struggle between 1937
4 million in Indonesia, 1.5 million in India, and 1941 is sometimes called the Second
and 1 million in French Indochina (modern- Sino-Japanese War.
day Vietnam, Cambodia, and Laos). Singa- War in Europe, triggered by the German
pore, the Philippines, Malaya, Korea, Burma invasion of Poland in September 1939, gave

144 | W O R L D WA R I I
WORLD WAR II AND ASIA
1931 Manchuria, a province in northeast China, AUGUST 1942 Gaudalcanal campaign, a

invaded by Japanese forces, who establish combined offensive against Japanese
2
a Japanese-controlled government military in the Solomon Islands, launched
76
by Allies
1937 China invaded by Japan, which takes the
83
major cities of Peking (Beijing), SEPTEMBER 1942 Battle of Milne Bay, New
Shanghai, and Nanking Guinea, marking first land defeat for
3
Japanese in Pacific War
-2
SEPTEMBER 1939 German invasion of Poland,
leading France and Great Britain to declare FEBRUARY 1943 Allied possession of
01
war on Germany Gaudalcanal, putting Japanese forces on
03
the defensive and marking the turning
SEPTEMBER 1940 Japanese invasion of Vietnam
point of the war
with the permission of the German-
#
controlled Vichy French government APRIL 1944 Operation Ichigo launched by
us
Japanese to invade inland China and
SEPTEMBER 27, 1940 Mutual support pledged by
secure supply railways
Japan, Germany, and Italy in the Tripartite
(Axis) Pact in
JULY 1944 Severe Japanese naval losses in the
jo
Battle of the Philippine Sea
DECEMBER 8, 1941 (DECEMBER 7 IN WESTERN
up
HEMISPHERE) Two-front Japanese attack OCTOBER 1944 Allied possession of the Pacific
targeting Hong Kong, Thailand, and the secured with the Battle of Leyte Gulf, four
ro
Philippines, and the U.S. naval base in naval engagements off the Philippines
G
Pearl Harbor, Hawaii

FEBRUARY–MARCH 1945 Allied victory in
p
DECEMBER 1941 Thailand and Hong Kong taken battle for the Japanese island of Iwo
p
by Japan Jima
sa
JANUARY 1942 Philippines, Burma (Myanmar), MARCH–JUNE 1945 Japanese retreat forced by
t
ha
Indonesia, and the Solomon Islands Allies in battle for island of Okinawa
swept by Japanese forces
AUGUST 6–9, 1945 Atomic bombs released by
iW
FEBRUARY 1942 Surrender of the Allied garrison U.S. aircraft over Japanese cities of
in Singapore to Japan Hiroshima and Nagasaki
s
ba
FEBRUARY–MARCH 1942 Allied forces defeated AUGUST 15, 1945 Victory in Japan (V-J) Day
by Japanese navy in Battle of the Java for the Allies: Japanese Empire offers
Ab
Sea, in Indonesia unconditional surrender

Q
MAY 1942 Japanese invasion of Port Moresby in SEPTEMBER 2, 1945 Terms of surrender signed
Papau New Guinea prevented by U.S. fleet between Allied commander Douglas
A.
in Battle of the Coral Sea MacArthur and Japanese foreign minister

Mamoru Shigemitsu
JUNE 1942 Japanese naval fleet destroyed near
Midway Island by U.S. warships in Battle SEPTEMBER 9, 1945 Surrender signed between
of Midway China and Japan

WORLD WAR II IN ASIA AND THE PACIFIC, 1937–1945
Like the Germans in Europe, the Midway the following summer material was committed to the
Japanese compiled an almost marked the beginning of Japan’s fight against Nazi Germany. The
unbroken record of military military decline. Over the next U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and
victories in the early years of World three years, Allied forces Nagasaki in August 1945 brought
2
War II, culminating in the attack on recaptured virtually all the territory the fighting to an end and secured
76
Pearl Harbor in 1941. However, a seized by Japan, even though the an unconditional peace.
83
disastrous defeat at the island of bulk of Allied military power and
3
-2
01
03
#
us
in
jo
up
ro
G
p p
t sa
ha
s iW
ba
Ab
Japan a chance to move in on French, Brit- In response, the United States, Great Brit-
ish, and Dutch colonial resources. With the ain (which controlled Malaya), and the Dutch
permission of the German-controlled Vichy government (which controlled Indonesia)
Q
government in France, Japanese troops in- put a strict oil embargo on Japan, which the
A.
vaded French Indochina (modern-day Viet- Japanese government viewed as an act of

nam) in September 1940. In the same aggression. The Japanese coordinated a
month, the Japanese foreign minister series of attacks set to launch on Decem-
signed the Tripartite or Axis Pact with Ger- ber 8, 1941 (December 7 in the Western
many and Italy, pledging mutual support. Hemisphere). One operation would invade

146 | W O R L D WA R I I
Hong Kong (a British holding), the Philip- ber 1942, Australian forces defending Milne
pines (a U.S. colony), and Thailand, with the Bay, in New Guinea, accomplished the first
eventual target of oil-rich Indonesia. A sec- land defeat of the Japanese since the be-
ond operation was designed to preempt an ginning of the war. The Allies at this time
Allied retaliation by striking at the nearest also launched their first offensive in the Pa-
2
concentration of Allied military: the U.S. Pa- cific War, a combined air, land, and sea as-
76
cific Fleet stationed at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. sault on the island of Guadalcanal. The cap-
The attack on Pearl Harbor brought the ture of Guadalcanal in February 1943 was a
83
United States instantly into World War II, but grim victory for the Allies; disease and star-
the Japanese military initially met little resis- vation had demoralized both sides. However,
3
-2
tance to its plans. Japanese aircraft sank two the campaign proved the value of an Allied
British warships off the coast of Malaya two naval strategy aimed at isolating and elimi-
01
days after the Pearl Harbor attack. Thailand nating key Japanese supply areas and using
03
and Hong Kong fell later that month, and in submarines to cut off oil supplies to Japan.
early January 1942 the Japanese captured By 1944 Allied bombers were striking
Manila, capital of the Philippines. Bali, Timor, targets in Japan, while Allied naval forces
#
and Singapore followed in February, and were inflicting devastating defeats on the
us
Japanese air raids struck Australia and Cey- Japanese navy. A disastrous loss for Japan
lon (now Sri Lanka). The Allies, who had at the Battle of the Philippines was followed
heretofore concentrated on stopping Nazi in
by an equally crippling defeat at the Battle
jo
Germany’s armies in Europe, began to orga- of Leyte Gulf, near the Philippines, in Octo-
nize a concerted defense in the Pacific arena. ber. Japanese aviators at this time began to
up
The Japanese, who now held a vast area employ kamikaze tactics—essentially sui-
ro
of the Pacific, decided to secure it with fur- cide bombing by air—in an attempt to max-
ther attacks in the south and central Pacific. imize Allied losses. The kamikaze pilots
G
However, U.S. intelligence broke the Japa- demonstrated the fearless Japanese com-
p
nese military codes, enabling the United mitment to battle, but by 1945, after gains
p
States to prevent a Japanese attack on Port in the Philippines and Burma, the Allies
sa
Moresby, in Papau New Guinea, in early May brought the war to Japanese soil.
and thus prevent an assault on Australia. The battle for the island of Iwo Jima (Feb-
t
ha
The following month, U.S. aircraft carriers ruary–March 1945) and Okinawa (March–
were waiting for the Japanese when they June) forced a Japanese retreat, but surren-
iW
reached Midway Island, near Hawaii. In the der was against the Japanese warrior code.
ensuing Battle of Midway, U.S. aircraft sank Rather than launch a land invasion of Japan,
s
four Japanese aircraft carriers and several the United States decided to test its latest
ba
surface ships. This decisive victory marked and most devastating weapon: the nuclear
Ab
a turning point in the Pacific War: the Allies bomb. The first atomic bomb flattened Hi-
were now in a position to take the offense. roshima on August 6, 1945; the second de-
stroyed Nagasaki three days later. On Au-
Q
ASIAN RESISTANCE gust 15, the Japanese imperial forces offered

A.
Burma became a major battlefield during unconditional surrender. A formal agreement

1942 when Japanese forces moved to block signed on September 2, between Allied
the Burma Road, the pipeline for Allied sup- commander Douglas MacArthur and Japa-
plies for the Chinese resistance. In Septem- nese foreign minister Mamoru Shigemitsu

TURNING POINT
Battle of Midway
2
The battle of Midway (June 4–7, 1942) was a plans by stationing three American aircraft
76
decisive conflict in the Pacific during World carriers off the Midway coast.
War II. The defeat of the Japanese navy by After reconnaissance aircraft discovered
83
U.S. ships stopped the Japanese advance in the position of the Japanese carriers, U.S. tor-
3
the Pacific, leading to further Allied victories pedoes and dive-bombers caught the Japa-
-2
and Japan’s gradual loss of the territory it nese completely by surprise. Several Japa-
had acquired. nese carriers were hit while planes were on
01
The Japanese attack on Midway had two deck rearming and refueling. After a series
03
objectives: to extend Japanese reach further of initial misses, American bombers sank
into the Pacific and to draw U.S. aircraft car- four of the Japanese carriers, while the Jap-
#
riers into a trap that would destroy Ameri- anese were able to destroy only one Ameri-
ca’s most potent weapon and perhaps force can ship. Japanese casualties, ten times
us
the United States to accept a peace treaty. those of the U.S. forces, included more than
To accomplish their objective, the Japanese 200 highly trained naval aviators. Midway
sent six heavy aircraft carriers to launch an in
effectively ended Japan’s capacity to mount
jo
air attack on the American defenses on Mid- further naval offensives in the Pacific. After-
up
way, an island in the central Pacific. How- ward, the United States seized the initiative
ever, the Japanese were unaware that the in the Pacific war and eventually secured
ro
United States had broken Japan’s naval Japan’s defeat in 1945.

codes and so anticipated the Japanese
G
p p
achieved Japanese peace with Europe and See also: China; India; Indonesia; Japan;
sa
the United States. A separate agreement Nationalism and Nationalist Movements;

signed on September 9 ended the Sino- Weapons; World War I.
t
ha
Japanese War.
An estimated 1 million Japanese had died FURTHER READING
iW
in Allied air raids, and most of Japan’s major Forty, George. Japanese Army Handbook: 1939–1945.
cities were devastated. Allied leaders de- Stroud, UK: Sutton, 1999.
s
signed a plan of occupation to disarm the Griess, Thomas E., ed. West Point Atlas for the Second
ba
Japanese military and stabilize the economy. World War: Asia and the Pacific. Garden City Park,
Ab
Across Asia, independent countries arose NY: Square One, 2002.

from the rubble. Some, like India, achieved Marston, Daniel, ed. The Pacific War Companion: From
autonomy outright; others, like Vietnam, Pearl Harbor to Hiroshima. Oxford: Osprey, 2005.
Q
faced a long struggle against their coloniz- Webster, Donovan. The Burma Road: The Epic Story of
A.
ers. Both the United States and the Soviet the China-Burma-India Theater in World War II. New
Union offered aid to the emerging nations, York: Perennial, 2004.
setting the stage for later Cold War tensions
over the spread of Communism in Asia.

Glossary
THE HISTORIAN’S TOOLS

These terms and concepts are commonly used or referred to by historians and other re-
searchers and writers to analyze the past.
2
76
cause-and-effect relationship A paradigm for history, cultural An analysis of history in terms
83
understanding historical events where one of a people’s culture, or way of life, including
result or condition is the direct consequence
3
investigating patterns of human work and
of a preceding event or condition
-2
thought
01
chronological thinking Developing a clear
sense of historical time—past, present, and history, economic An analysis of history in
03
future terms of the production, distribution, and
#
consumption of goods
cultural history See history, cultural
us
economic history See history, economic history, political An analysis of history in
in
terms of the methods used to govern a
jo
era A period of time usually marked by a group of people
characteristic circumstance or event
up
history, social An analysis of history in terms

ro
historical inquiry A methodical approach to

historical understanding that involves asking of the personal relationships between
G
a question, gathering information, exploring people and groups

p
hypotheses, and establishing conclusions

p
patterns of continuity and change A

sa
historical interpretation/analysis An approach

paradigm for understanding historical events
to studying history that involves applying a
t
ha
set of questions to a set of data in order to in terms of institutions, culture, or other

understand how things change over time social behavior that either remains consistent
iW
or shows marked differences over time

historical research An investigation into an
s
era or event using primary sources (records

ba
periodization Dividing history into distinct eras

made during the period in question) and
Ab
secondary sources (information gathered

after the period in question) political history See history, political
Q
historical understanding Knowledge of a radiocarbon dating A test for determining the

A.
moment, person, event, or pattern in history approximate age of an object or artifact by

that links that item to a larger context
measuring the number of carbon 14 atoms in
history of science and technology Study of that object

the evolution of scientific discoveries and
technological advances social history See history, social

G LO S SA RY | 149
KEY TERMS FOUND IN A TO Z ENTRIES

The following words and terms, including those in “The Historian’s Tools,” appear in con-
text in boldface type throughout this volume.
agrarian Relating to the land, especially capitalism An economic system based on
cultivation or agriculture private ownership, investment of profits, and
2
free or unregulated trade
76
allegory Story in which fictional characters or
situations are used to represent abstract caste A social class distinguished by rank,
83
ideas and moral principles birth, or occupation; particularly describes
the class strata of traditional Hindu society
3
-2
animistic Characterized by a belief that spirits in India
inhabit natural objects, including animal life
01
and land formations coalition An alliance of people, groups, or
03
nations, particularly for purposes of
annex To attach or incorporate a territory into leadership
#
another existing political entity
collectivization Organization of an economy,
us
arable Fit for cultivation industry, or business into collectives;
collectives characterized by joint or
archipelago A large group of islands in
government ownership are the basis of
jo
industry and agriculture in a society based
aristocrat Member of an upper or ruling on a communist economy
up
class—for example, a hereditary noble class

ro
commercialization The process of making

artisans Skilled workers who practice a trade commercial, or basing an economy on
G
or handicraft commerce, the buying and selling of goods

p p
assimilation Absorption of a minority group compulsory Obligatory or required

sa
into a dominant culture by adopting

coup (coup d’état) A takeover of military or
t
customs, attitudes, and beliefs

ha
leadership power; often describes a transfer

asylum Protection or sanctuary, particularly of political power using military force
iW
political immunity granted to a refugee

doctrine A body of beliefs or teachings
s
ba
autocratic Characterized by having unlimited

power domestic On a private level, relating to a
Ab
family or household; on a national level,

bicameral Composed of two branches or relating to affairs within the country rather
than outside exchanges
Q
chambers, as in a house of parliament

A.
bourgeois The middle class, especially a domesticate To adapt to a human

property-owning middle class environment or make useful to humans
bureaucracy Administration or management ecosystem A collection of living organisms in

of a government or business through a their physical environment, functioning as an
network of departments interdependent unit

150 | G LO S SA RY
elite A group or class of people enjoying liberalize To relax or make more democratic,
superior social or economic status allowing opposition or competition for
reform
fascist Relating to fascism, a system of
government involving a strict central monotheistic Characterized by belief in one
2
authority, typically intolerant of opposition, deity or god
76
using tactics of terror or censorship, and
often based on nationalism or racism nationalization Takeover by government, as in
83
the case of resources, industry, or other
federation A joining together of states into a assets
3
-2
larger league or political union
nomadic Characterized by travel and frequent
01
feudal Relating to feudalism, an economic changes of settlement; having no fixed home
03
system whereby lands are granted by a
patron to a client in return for a fee or nominal In name only
service
#
oligarchy Government by a few, especially a
us
fundamentalist A person upholding a few related persons or families
religious movement or point of view
characterized by strict adherence to certain in
patrilineal Tracing descent through the
jo
principles, often attended by intolerance of paternal or father’s line
other points of view
up
pictograph A picture that represents a word

ro
guerrilla Describing a type of irregular, or idea—for example, a hieroglyph

unofficially organized warfare, typically
G
involving surprise attacks polytheistic Characterized by belief in several

p
deities or gods
p
hierarchy A categorization or ranking of

sa
people based on ability or status proletariat The working class, usually a poor
working class
t
ha
ideology A set of beliefs or ideas that forms

the basis of a philosophy or a political, reactionary Characterized by resistance to
iW
economic, or religious system progress; clinging to conservative or

traditional ways
s
indigenous Originating within or native to an

ba
area referendum A public measure or action

Ab
offered for popular vote

infrastructure Basic facilities necessary to
connect or serve a community or society, republic A political order in which voting
Q
such as transportation, communication, and citizens elect their representatives and their
A.
supply systems head of state
junta A group of military officers ruling a secular Not related to a religious or spiritual
country matter; related to worldly concerns

G LO S SA RY | 151
separatists Those desiring secession or subordinate A person secondary to or subject

separation from an established entity or to the control of another person
nation, usually on grounds of ethnicity or
religion subsistence A level sufficient to merely
sustain life, without extra comfort or
2
shamanism An animistic religion in which commodities
76
special practitioners called shamans mediate
between the human and spiritual worlds tariff Tax on imported goods
83
socialist Relating to socialism, the stage textiles Woven fabrics or cloth
3
-2
between capitalism and communism,
characterized by control by a centralized topography The surface features of a region
01
government rather than ownership by a or environment
03
collective
totalitarian Having a form of government in
sociological Relating to the study of human which one central authority exercises total
#
behavior, particularly organizations and control over all aspects of citizens’ lives
us
institutions
vernacular Referring to an everyday, spoken
sovereignty Supreme authority or power to in
language as opposed to a language used for
jo
rule literature and writing
up
ro
G
p p
t sa
ha
s iW
ba
Ab
Q
A.

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2
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Index
Note: bold entries indicate glossary term; t indicates timeline; m indicates map; p indicates photo.
A Aurangzeb, 57 invasion of Tibet, 131–133

Australia, 7, 15–19, 43, 105, 142 Japanese invasion of, 23t, 25, 65t
Abdul Qadir Bedil, 82 Awami League, 19 language, 74–75, 78
Aboriginal peoples, 1–2 literature & writing, 77–79
Australia, 16–17
2
B nationalism, 89–91
Maori, 83–84, 91–92, 91p Bandaranaike, W.R.D., 121 religion, 102–105
76
Micronesia, 85 Bangladesh, 12, 19–20, 43, 50, 94, 99, secret societies, 115
Polynesia, 97–98 102 social hierarchy, 112–114
83
religion, 105–106 Basho, Matsuo, 79–80 spheres of influence, 46, 118, 119t, 120
Taiwan, 122 Battle of Dien Bien Phu, 33, 76, 135 technology & inventions, 77, 126–127
3
Afghanistan, 2–4 Battle of Gallipoli, 141t, 142 Tiananmen Square, 26, 32p
art & architecture, 9, 10t, 11
-2
Battle of Midway, 67, 147 trade, 24
civil war, 123 Battle of Plassey, 27, 57–58, 138 unification, 23t, 25
01
communism, 47 Bengal. See Bangladesh weapons, 137, 140
coups, 3 Bhakti, 101 Western relations, 26
Minaret of Jam, 15–16 Bhutan, 37, 42, 99, 102 World Wars I & II, 142–144
03
Northern Alliance, 124 Bhutto, Benazir, 94 See also Taiwan
opium, 124 Bhutto, Zulfikar Ali, 94 Chinese Communist Party, 25–26, 30
religion, 102 Bin Laden, Osama, 124 Chinese Nationalist Party (Kuomin-
#
Soviet invasion of, 31t, 34 Boat people, 98 tang), 25–26, 30, 90, 122–123
Taliban, 3–4, 123–124
us
Bourgeois, 30, 33 Choson dynasty (Korea), 13–14, 68
technology & inventions, 129 Boxer Rebellion, 24, 46, 83, 115 Christianity, 97, 99–100, 100t, 104
trade, 3 Brahmo Samaj, 88, 89t, 100t, 102 Clothing & dress, 36–38
tribal society, 35
U.S. invasion of, 124
Britain. See Great Britain
in
British East India Company, 46, 54,
Collectivization, 26, 30, 35, 47, 53
Colonization, 27–29, 28m, 55m
jo
women, 118 57–58, 60 aboriginal peoples, 1, 84, 85, 97–98
Agent Orange, 135, 136 British Raj, 58, 60 agriculture and, 7
up
Agrarian economy, 68 Brooke, James, 20 society and, 112

Agriculture, 4–9 Brunei (Brunei Darussalam), 20–21 trade and, 7, 27–29, 43, 45–47, 54
arable land, 49 Buddha, 103, 104p World War I and, 142
ro
cash crops, 7 Buddhism, 37, 101–104, 131–132 See also Imperialism; specific
collectivization of, 30, 35, 47, 53
G
Buddhist art & architecture, 11, 12, 14, country

colonial plantations, 7, 46 15 Comic books (magna), 80p, 81
economic development, 45 Buddhist literature, 81 Communism, 30–34, 31t
p
environmental issues, 8, 49–51 Budi Utomo, 62, 89, 89t economics and, 43, 47
p
Green Revolution, 8–9, 51 Burma. See Myanmar (Burma) effect on culture & tradition, 35
sa
rice cultivation, 5–6, 6p, 7–8 Busby, James, 92 nationalism and, 90

rituals & customs, 37 post World War II, 47
t
technology, 6, 8 C Communist Party of China (CPC),

ha
Aguinaldo, Emilio, 95–96 Cambodia, 15, 21–22, 42, 51, 102 25–26, 30
Akbar, 57, 102 Cao Zhan, 78 Concessions, 120
iW
Al Qaeda, 124 Caste, 36, 103, 116 Confucian ideals, 112–114

Allegory, 77, 149 Catholicism, 95 Confucius, 103, 112
Amu Darya, 50 Ceylon. See Sri Lanka Cook, James, 16, 97
s
Angkor (Cambodia), 15, 21 Chakma, 99 Coups

ba
Anglo-Afghan wars, 3 Chen Duxiu, 78 Afghanistan, 3

Animism, 1, 97, 105 Chiang Ching-kuo, 123 Cambodia, 22
Aquino, Corazon, 40t, 42, 96–97 Chiang Kai-shek, 23t, 25, 26, 122 China, 26, 33
Ab
Art & architecture, 9–16 China, 22–26 Indonesia, 40t, 42, 63

Arya Samaj, 88, 100t, 102 agriculture, 6–7, 49 Korea, 69
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation art & architecture, 10t, 12–13 Myanmar (Burma), 86
Q
(APEC), 49 Communist Party, 25–26, 30, 31t Pakistan, 43, 94

Asian Tigers, 45, 48, 123 coups, 26, 33 South Korea, 70
A.
Assimilation, 1, 29, 69, 84, 130 Cultural Revolution, 23t, 25, 26, 32, 33 Thailand, 130, 131
Association of Southeast Asian Na- culture & tradition, 39, 112 Cultural Revolution, 25, 26, 32, 33
tions (ASEAN), 77, 110 dynastic rule, 23–25 Culture & traditions, 34–39, 74
Asylum, 98 economic development, 24, 26, 32,
Atomic bomb. See Nuclear weapons 43, 45–47 D
Aung San, 86 environmental issues, 49, 50, 52 Dalai Lama, 105, 131, 132, 133, 133p
Aung San Suu Kyi, 42, 86–87, 87p famine, 26, 47, 53 Darwin, Charles, 125t, 126
156

INDEX | 157
Daud Khan, 3 Gandhi, Indira, 40t, 41, 59–60, 102 I

Dayananda Saraswati, 102 Gandhi, Mohandas, 58, 58p, 59, 61 Imperialism, 28, 46, 54–56
Death & ancestor worship, 39 Gandhi, Rajiv, 60 See also Colonization
Deforestation, 49–50 Gang of Four, 26, 33 Independence movements. See Na-
Democracy & democratic move- Gao Xingjian, 79, 79t tionalism
ments, 4, 18, 20, 39–43, 40t Garden of Pure Light (China), 10t, 13 India, 57–60
Deng Xioping, 26, 32, 33, 127 Germany, 119m, 141 agriculture, 7
2
Desertification, 50 Gia Long, 134 art & architecture, 10t, 12, 13p, 14
76
Dewey, George, 95 Government, 21, 30, 41, 63, 70 Battle of Plassey, 27, 57–58, 138
Diem, Ngo Dinh, 135 bicameral legislature, 3, 18, 86 castes, 36, 103, 116
Dien Bien Phu, 33, 76, 135 capitalism, 33, 43 colonization, 19, 27–28, 46, 57–58
83
Diponegoro, 62 democracy & democratic move- culture & tradition, 36–37, 116
Divine Faith, 100t, 102 ments, 4, 18, 20, 39–43 deforestation, 50
3
Domestic consumption, 45, 48 economic development and, 47–48, economic development, 43, 45, 47
-2
Donghak Rebellion, 69 128–129 government, 41
Dowries, 36 feudal structures, 88 language, 71
01
Dreaming, 105 oligarchy, 66, 96 leaders, 58–61, 102
Dutch East India Company, 16, 27, 46, parliamentary, 66 literature & writing, 81–82
62, 122 single-party democracies, 41 Mughal dynasty, 12, 14, 57, 81, 137–
03
Grand Palace (Thailand), 10t, 15 138
E Great Britain nationalism & independence, 58–
Earthquakes, 65t, 67, 68 Battle of Plassey, 27, 58, 138 59, 60–61, 88
#
East Timor, 63, 90, 98, 99 colonies, 27–29, 46 Pakistan & East Bengal secession,
us
Economic development, 43–49 Australia, 16–17, 18 19, 59, 94
agriculture and, 45 Bangladesh, 19 refugees in, 99, 121
capitalism, 33, 43 Ceylon, 120 religion, 100–102
colonization and, 27–29, 43, 45–
46
India, 57–58
Myanmar (Burma), 86
in society, 59, 116–117
spice trade, 27
jo
environmental issues and, 49 New Zealand, 91–92 Taj Mahal, 10t, 11p, 14
export-driven, 47–48 Singapore, 108–110 technology & inventions, 124–126
up
financial crisis, 45, 48–49, 131 imperialism, 54–55 weapons, 137–138, 140
government involvement in, 47–48, Indian nationalism & independence, women, 36, 117p
ro
128 58–59, 60–61 Indian National Congress, 58, 59, 60,

See also Trade; specific country Maori nationalism, 84 61, 88
G
Education, 47, 66, 73 occupation of Tibet, 132 Indigenous peoples. See Aboriginal
Endangered species. See Extinct & protectorates, 20 peoples
endangered species World War I, 140–142
p
Indochina War (First), 33, 135

English language, 71, 73, 84, 121 Great Leap Forward, 25, 26, 47, 53 Indonesia, 61–63
p
Enola Gay, 138 Green Revolution, 8–9, 51 agriculture, 6p, 7

sa
Environmental issues, 8, 49–52 Guided Democracy, 63 coups, 40t, 42, 63

See also Natural disasters Gunboat diplomacy, 67 environmental issues, 50
t
Extinct & endangered species, 50, 51 Guru Nanak, 100t, 102 language, 73
ha
leaders, 40t, 42, 62–63

F H nationalism & independence, 40t,
iW
Famine, 26, 47, 53, 70 Hagiwara Sakutaro, 80 62–63, 89

Feudal structures, 88 Hai San secret society, 115 refugees from, 98
Firearms, 137–138 Hasina, Sheikh, 20 religion, 102
s
Folk religion, 103 Hay, John, 118 separatists’ movements, 90

ba
Forbidden City (China), 10t, 13 Hideyoshi, Toyotomi, 64 tsunami, 50p, 51

Four Little Dragons, 45 Hindi language, 71 Indonesian National Party, 62
Four Modernizations, 31t, 32, 127 Hindu festivals, 36
Ab
International Monetary Fund, 45

Four Noble Truths, 103 Hindu literature, 80–81 Ishak, Yusof bin, 110
France Hinduism, 100, 102, 116 Islam, 19, 35, 100, 102
colonies, 28m, 29, 46 Hirobumi, Ito, 66 art & architecture, 11, 12, 14
Q
imperialism, 55, 134 Hiroshima, 68, 138, 139p, 146 fundamentalists, 105–106, 123–124
Indochina War, 33, 135 Hmong, 99 society & law, 117–118
A.
occupation of Polynesia, 97–98 Ho Chi Minh, 31t, 33, 134–135

protectorates, 20, 76 Home Rule Movement, 58, 60, 61 J
sphere of influence, 119m Hong Kong, 26, 44–45, 45p, 48, 115 Jainism, 100
Free Thai, 130 Hong Xiuquan, 104 Jallianwala Bagh Massacre, 61
Huks Marxist coalition, 96 Jansz, Willem, 16
G Human trafficking, 111–112 Japan, 64–68, 65t
Gallipoli, Battle of, 141t, 142 Hun Sen, 22 art & architecture, 14

158 | INDEX
Japan (continued) Korea, 68–70 Middle Way, 103

colonies, 28m, 29, 85 art & architecture, 10t, 13–14 Midway, Battle of, 67, 147
compulsory education, 47, 66, 69, colonization, 29 Minaret of Jam (Afghanistan), 10t,
114, 122 communist vs. non-communist, 32 15–16
culture & tradition, 38–39 culture & tradition, 39 Mindanao National Liberation Front,
earthquakes, 65t, 67, 68 division of, 31t, 32, 69 96
economic development, 43, 47–48, language, 75 Ming dynasty (China), 12–13, 23–24,
2
127–129 post World War II, 69–70 23t, 77
environmental issues, 52
76
religion, 105 Minh Mang, 134
government, 41, 66–68 See also North Korea; South Korea Mira Bai, 79t, 81
Hiroshima & Nagasaki, 68, 138, Korean War, 31t, 32, 70 Mon National Day, 37
83
139p, 146 Kuomintang. See Chinese Nationalist Monotheistic religions, 100, 102
imperialism, 56, 65t, 67 Party Montagnards, 2, 2p
3
language, 73–74 Kyongbok Palace (South Korea), 10t, Morrison, Robert, 104
-2
literature & writing, 79t, 80, 105 14 Mujahideen, 3, 123
Meiji Restoration, 65t, 66, 73, 88 Kyrgyzstan, 98 Mumtaz Mahal, 14
01
nationalism, 88, 139 Musharraf, Pervez, 40t, 43, 94
occupations & invasions, 65t L Muslim League, 60
China, 25 Land mines, 22, 107 Myanmar (Burma), 86–87
03
Indonesia, 63 Language, 71–75 agricultural customs, 37
Korea, 69, 106 Lanling Xiaoxia Sheng, 77–78 art & architecture, 10t, 15
Manchuria, 83, 106 Lao Issara (“Free Laos”) movement, colonization, 46, 86
#
Micronesia, 85 76 environmental issues, 51
us
Taiwan, 122 Lao People’s Democratic Republic, 76 government, 41, 42, 86
Vietnam, 135 Laos, 2, 34, 76, 102, 129 language, 73
Pearl Harbor, 65t, 67, 146 Lee Teng-hui, 123 nationalism, 90
religion, 38, 88, 105
Russo-Japanese War, 24, 69, 83,
Lenin, Vladimir, 30
Li, 112, 114
in refugees from, 98–99
religion, 102
jo
106–107 Liberal Democratic Party (Japan), World War II, 146
sakoku (closed country policy), 64, 40t, 41, 68
up
65t, 67 Lin Biao, 33 N

shogunates, 64–66 Literacy, 73 Nagasaki, 68, 138
ro
social system, 114 Literature & writing, 77–82, 79t Narayan, R.K., 82
sphere of influence, 118–120, 119m Liu Shaoqi, 26, 33 National League for Democracy, 86,
G
technology & inventions, 127–129 Lon Nol, 22 87p

trade, 67 Long March, 23t, 25 National Liberation Front, 135
Warring States period, 64, 65t Nationalism, 87–91
p
Lu Xun, 78
weapons, 137, 139–140 Bengal, 19, 87–88
p
World Wars I & II, 67–68, 139–147 M China, 25–26, 77–78, 89–90
sa
Java, 62 Macau, 26, 28m, 29 communism and, 90

Jayewardene, Junius, 121 Magna, 80p, 81 education and, 47
t
Jiang Qing, 33 Magsaysay, Ramon, 96 India, 58, 59, 60–61, 88

ha
Jones Act, 96 Malayan Communist Party, 109 Indonesia, 62–63, 89

Malaysia, 15, 46, 48, 71, 102 Japan, 88, 139
iW
K Manchuria, 24, 82–83, 106–107 Korea, 69

Kabir, 100t, 101–102 Mandalay Palace (Burma), 10t, 15 language and, 73
Kabuki theater (Japan), 14, 80 Mandarin language, 75 Laos, 76
s
Kanagawa, Treaty of, 67 Mandate of Heaven, 104 Maori, 84, 92

ba
Kanji, 73 Manga, 80p, 81 Myanmar (Burma), 90

Karen, 99 Mao Zedong, 24p, 25, 26, 30–32, 31t, 53 Philippines, 95–96
Kashmir, 94 Sri Lanka (Ceylon), 120–121
Ab
Maoism, 30–32
Kawabata Yasunari, 79t, 80 Maori, 83–84, 91–92, 91p Tamil, 121–122
Kazakhstan, 35 March First Movement (Korea), 69 Vietnam, 32–33, 76, 134, 135
Keigo, 74 Marcos, Ferdinand, 40t, 42, 96 Nationalization, 43, 76
Q
Kew, Lee Yuan, 41 Marriage, 35–39, 93, 116, 117 Natural disasters
Khan, Ayubh, 94 Martial arts, 38 earthquakes, 65t, 67, 68
A.
Khan, Yahya, 94 Marxism, 30 refugees and, 99

Khmer Rouge, 22, 31t, 34 Marxist coalition, Huks, 96 tsunamis, 50p, 51, 99, 122
Kim Hong-do, 10t, 14 May Fourth Movement, 78 Ne Win, 86
Kim II-sung, 32, 70 Megawati Sukarnoputri, 118 Nehru, Jawaharlal, 58
Kim Jong-il, 32, 70 Meiji Restoration, 65t, 66, 73, 88 Neo-Confucianism, 103
King Movement, 84 Metallurgy, 124–125 Nepal, 34, 37, 42, 99, 102
Koran, 117 Micronesia, 85 New Youth, 78, 79t

INDEX | 159
New Zealand, 91–93 agriculture, 7, 8, 129 Scheduled Castes, 116–117

annexation of, 84 art & architecture, 10t, 15 Secret societies, 115
colonial plantations, 7 colonization, 27, 29, 46, 95–96 Secular ideals, 100
language, 84 language, 71 Self-Strenthening Movement, 89,
Maori, 83–84, 91–92, 91p leaders, 42, 95–97 89t
Treaty of Waitangi, 84, 92 nationalism & independence, 95–96 Separatists, 90, 94, 96
World War I, 142 republic established, 40t, 42 Sepoy Rebellion, 58, 60
2
Nguyen Anh, 134 trade, 96 September 11 attacks, 124
76
Nian Rebellion, 24 World War II, 146 Seventeen Point Agreement, 132–133
Nobunaga, Oda, 64 Pictographs, 73 Shah Jahan, 12, 14
Nomadic tribes, 35 Piracy, 111–112 Shamanism, 105
83
North Korea, 32, 41 Plassey, Battle of, 27, 57–58, 138 Sharia, 117, 123
communism, 47, 68 Pol Pot, 22, 34 Shen Zhou, 10t, 13
3
creation of, 69 Polygyny, 117 Shiga Naoya, 80
-2
economic development, 43 Polynesia, 97–98, 105 Shinto, 38, 88, 105
government, 70 Polytheistic religions, 100 Shoguns, 64, 88
01
leaders, 32, 70 Port Arthur, 106, 107 Siddhartha Gautama, 103, 104p
nuclear arms, 70, 140 Portugal, 27, 45–46, 62, 120 Sihanouk, Norodom, 21–22
See also Korea; South Korea Potala Palace (Tibet), 11–12 Sikhism, 100, 102
03
Northern Alliance, 4, 124 Proletariat, 30 Silk Road, 44m, 45
Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, 140 Prostitution, 93 Singapore, 107–110, 108p
Nuclear weapons Proxy wars, 56 economic development, 43–45, 48,
#
atomic bomb, 68, 85, 138, 146 Public housing, 109 108–110
us
North Korea, 70, 140 Puppet theater (Japan), 14 environmental issues, 52
government, 41–42, 109–110
O Q language, 71
Oe Kenzaburo, 79t, 80
Oligarchy, 66, 96
Quit India movement, 59
in Sino-Japanese War, 29, 65t, 69
Slave trade, 111–112
jo
On, 114 R Social class
Opera House (Australia), 10t, 15 Raffles, Thomas Stamford, 62, 108 castes, 36, 103, 116
up
Opium, 124 Ram Mohun Roy, 88 dress and, 37

Opium Wars, 23t, 24 Red Guards, 26, 33 Social hierarchy, 112–114, 116
ro
Osamu Tezuka, 81 Refugees, 76, 98–99, 121 Social welfare, 93, 109–110
Overpopulation, 52 Religion, 99–106 Society, 112–118
G
art & architecture, 11–12, 14, 15 Soseki, Natsume, 80

P attempts to combine, 104–105 South Korea, 32
Pakistan, 94 Central and Southeast Asia, 102
p
coups, 70
art & architecture, 12 indigenous, 105–106 creation of, 69
p
civil war, 19 monotheistic, 100, 102 economic development, 44–45, 48

sa
conflict with India, 94 and nationalism, 90 government, 68, 70

coups, 43, 94 polytheistic, 100 language, 75
t
culture & tradition, 36 South Asia, 100–102 See also Korea; North Korea
ha
economic development, 94 See also specific country; specific Sovereignty, 84, 92, 96
formation of, 19, 40t, 58 religion Soviet Union
iW
government, 19, 41, 42–43, 94 Respect, 74 communism, 30, 34

religion, 102 Rhee, Syngman, 70 and postwar Korea, 69–70
weapons, 140 Ricci, Matteo, 100t, 104 proxy wars, 56
s
Papua, 63 Rice cultivation, 5–6, 6p relations with Afghanistan, 3, 31t,

ba
Papua New Guinea, 98 Rom Mohun Roy, 102 34, 124

Paris Agreement, 135 Roman Catholic Church of San Au- Spain, 27, 95–96
Park Chung-Hee, 70 gustin (Philippines), 10t, 15 Spheres of influence, 25, 46, 118–120
Ab
Pathet Lao, 31t, 34, 76 Rowlatt Act, 60 Sri Lanka (Ceylon), 7, 12, 81, 102, 120–
Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act, 96 Roxas, Manuel, 96 122
Pearl Harbor, 65t, 67, 146 Rushdie, Salman, 79t, 82 Stalin, Joseph, 30
Q
Pei Tao, 78 Russo-Japanese War, 24, 69, 83, 106– Straits Settlement, 108
“People Power” Revolution (Philip- 107 Subsistence level living, 1, 5
A.
pines), 40t, 42, 96 Sufism, 102

People’s Action Party (Singapore), 41 S Suharto, 40t, 42, 63
People’s War (Nepal), 31t, 34 Sakoku, 64, 65t, 67 Suicide, 114
Perry, Matthew, 64, 65t, 66p, 67 Salt March, 59 Sukarno, 42, 62–63
Petronas Towers (Malaysia), 15 Samil Movement (Korea), 69 Sultanates, 20–21, 57
Phibun Songkhram, 130 Sanskrit, 80–81 Sun Yat-sen, 24, 90
Philippines, 95–97 Saw Maung, 86 Swami Dayananda, 88

160 | INDEX
T spheres of influence, 118–120, 119m division of, 31t, 33, 135

Tagore, Rabindranath, 79t, 82 spice, 27 economy, 43, 47, 135–136
Taiping Rebellion, 23t, 24, 104, 115 See also Economic development; independence movements, 32–33,
Taisho, 67 specific country 76
Taiwan, 26, 122–123 Treaty of Kanagawa, 67 Indochina War, 33, 135
colonization, 29, 122 Treaty of Portsmouth, 106, 107 invasion of Cambodia, 22
economic development, 44–45, 48 Treaty of Waitangi, 84, 92 nationalism, 134, 135
2
government, 41, 123 Triads, 115 United States and, 31t, 33–34, 135
language, 71–73
76
Tribal societies, 35 Vietnamese Communist Party, 134
Taj Mahal, 10t, 11p, 14 Trusteeship, 29 Vietnamese Nationalist Party, 89t, 134
Takizawa Bakin, 80 Tsunamis, 50p, 51, 99, 122
83
Taliban, 3–4, 123–124 Tulsidas, 79t, 81 W
Tamil Tigers, 121–122 Twenty-One Demands, 141 Wahid, Abdurrahaman, 42, 63
3
Taoism, 104 Waitangi Treaty, 84, 92
-2
Taskin, 130 U Walli Allah, Shah, 79t, 82
Tasman, Abel, 16 U Nu, 86, 116 Wang Yangming, 100t, 103
01
Technology & inventions, 124–129, 125t Ueda Akinari, 80 Warring States period (Japan), 64,
Tenzin Gyatso, 132 United States 65t
Textiles, 125 and Asian Tigers, 48 Weapons, 137–140
03
Thailand, 129–131 bomb testing, 85 Wenyan, 74–75
aboriginal peoples, 1 Cambodia coup, 22 West Irian. See Papua
art & architecture, 15 and China, 26 West Timor, 98, 99
#
coups, 130, 131 colonies, 28m, 29, 46, 96 Win, Ne, 42
us
economic development, 47 and Micronesia, 85 Women
family life, 37–38 occupations & invasions Bhutanese, 37
financial crisis, 48, 131 Afghanistan, 124 human trafficking, 111
language, 74
Laotian refugees in, 76
in
Japan, 65t, 68, 138, 139p, 146–147
South Korea, 32
Indian, 36, 117p
Muslim, 118
jo
piracy, 111 Pearl Harbor, 65t, 67, 146 under Taliban, 124
religion, 102 and Philippines, 95–96 voting rights, 93
up
Thakins, 90 and postwar Korea, 69–70 World Heritage Sites, 15–16

Thaksin Chinnawat, 131 proxy wars, 56 World War I, 140–143, 141t
ro
Three Bitter Years, 26, 53 and South Vietnam, 31t, 33–34, 135 World War II, 143–147, 144t, 145m
Three Gorges Dam, 50 sphere of influence, 118 communism after, 47
G
Tiananmen Square (China), 23t, 26, and Taliban, 124 effect on colonialism, 29, 56
31t, 32p and Thailand, 130
Tibet, 11–12, 37, 102, 131–133 Y
p
trade with Japan, 67

Tigers. See Asian Tigers; Tamil Tigers weapons, 138 Yew, Lee Kuan, 110
p
Timor-Leste, 89t, 90 World War II, 145–146 Yi Song-gye, 68–69

sa
Todo Shizuko, 80 Untouchables, 116 Yodfa Chulalok, 130

Tokugawa Ieyasu, 64 Uzbek, 35, 98 Yomihon, 80
t
Tonghak Rebellion, 69 Yuan Shikai, 25

ha
Totalitarian states, 30 V Yudhoyono, Susilo Bambang, 63

Trade, 43–49 Varnas, 116
iW
colonization and, 7, 27–29, 43, 45– Vedas, 80, 100 Z

47, 54 Viet Minh, 76, 135 Zahir Sha, 3
gunboat diplomacy, 67 Vietnam, 134–136 Zhou, Shen. See Shen Zhou
s
piracy and, 111 aboriginal peoples, 2 Zhou Enlai, 23t, 26

ba
Silk Road & maritime routes, 44m, art & architecture, 15 Zhuhong, 104
45 colonization, 28m, 134–135 Zia-ul-Haq, Muhammed, 43, 94
slave, 111–112 communism, 47, 134–135 Zia ur-Rahman, 20
Ab
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(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Sarolta Takács, Ph.D.

(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data in

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Printed and bound in Malaysia

requirements of American National Standard for Information Sciences—Permanence of

following: Catherine Henriette/AFP; D.R. Austen/Taxi; David McLain/Aurora;

VEER Beth Dixson/Photonica; Amanda Hall/Robert Harding World Imagery

(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

List of Illustrations vii Indian Nationalism 60

GREAT LIVES: Mao Zedong (1893–1976) 25 New Zealand 91

Colonization 27 TURNING POINT: Treaty of Waitangi 92

INTO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY: Great Philippines 95

Proletarian Cultural Revolution (1966–1976) 33

Culture and Traditions 34

Asian Martial Arts 38

Movements 39 Russo-Japanese War (1904–1905) 106

MODERN WEAPONS: Land Mines and

Tsunami of December 2004

Great Leap Forward 53 Slavery, Slave Trade, and Piracy 111

Imperialism 54 Society 112

(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Sri Lanka (Ceylon) 120

Selected Bibliography 152

(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Time Lines China, Japan, and Korea, 1840–1937 119

Damage from 2004 tsunami in

Maps Mohandas Gandhi 58

Australia, New Zealand, and the

Pacific Basin, ca. 1788–1914 17 Japanese manga comic book 80

Maritime and Overland Passages Maori tribesmen perform a haka 91

Statue of the Buddha 104

Language Regions of Asia and the Computer factory in Japan 128

(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Civilizations and Peoples Periods and Events

Economic Development and Trade Japan

Environmental Issues Korea

Literature and Writing Manchuria

Nationalism and Nationalist Movements Micronesia

Spheres of Influence (and Myanmar

Foreign Concessions) New Zealand

Buddha (see Religion) Singapore

Mao Zedong (see China) Taiwan

Mohandas K. Gandhi (see India) Thailand

(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

Society, Religion, and Way of Life War and Military Affairs

(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

teenth centuries, European commercial pow- standing recent dramatic developments in

(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

democratic republics to Communist states pre-1500 C.E. civilizations, such as Angkor in

GEOGRAPHICAL DISTINCTIONS 1967 in the Association of Southeast Asian

AND COMMON GROUND Nations (ASEAN) to promote political, eco-

(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

buying power and production.

The Pacific region, sometimes referred to COLONIALISM, NATIONALISM, AND

as near and remote Oceania, includes Aus- INDEPENDENCE

of a former colonial power. hereditary monarchies and ruled by a land-

(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

pean diseases. ence were achieved through direct control,

values associated with the profit-centered nology, as in Japan and Thailand.

(c) 2011 M.E. Sharpe, Inc. All Rights Reserved.