Main article: History of East Asia

China was the first region settled in East Asia and was undoubtedly the core of East Asian civilization from where other parts of
East Asia were formed.[22] The various other regions in East Asia were selective in the Chinese influences they adopted into their
local customs. Historian Ping-ti Ho famously labeled Chinese civilization as the "Cradle of Eastern Civilization", in parallel with
the "Cradle of Middle Eastern Civilization" along the Fertile Crescent encompassing Mesopotamia and Ancient Egypt[23] as well
as the Cradle of Western Civilization encompassing Ancient Greece[a] and Ancient Rome.[b]

Map showing the boundary of the 13th century Mongol

Empire compared to today's Mongols The Qing conquest of the

Ming and expansion of the empire Colonies and influence

zones in East Asia and Oceania, circa 1914
Chinese civilization existed for about 1,500 years before other East Asian civilizations emerged into history, Imperial China
would exert much of its cultural, economic, technological, and political muscle onto its neighbours.[39][40][41][42] Succeeding Chinese
dynasties exerted enormous influence across East Asia culturally, economically, politically and militarily for over two millennia.[42]
[43][44]
The Imperial Chinese tributary system shaped much of East Asia's history for over two millennia due to Imperial China's
economic and cultural influence over the region, and thus played a huge role in the history of East Asia in particular.[45][46][41] Impe-
rial China's cultural preeminence not only led the country to become East Asia's first literate nation in the entire region, it also
supplied Japan and Korea with Chinese loanwords and linguistic influences rooted in their writing systems.[47]
Under Emperor Wu of Han, the Han dynasty made China the regional power in East Asia, projecting much of its imperial power
on its neighbours.[42][48] Han China hosted the largest unified population in East Asia, the most literate and urbanised as well as
being the most economically developed, as well as the most technologically and culturally advanced civilization in the region at
the time.[49][50] Cultural and religious interaction between the Chinese and other regional East Asian dynasties and kingdoms oc-
curred. China's impact and influence on Korea began with the Han dynasty's northeastern expansion in 108 BC when the Han
Chinese conquered the northern part of the Korean peninsula and established a province called Lelang. Chinese influences
were transmitted and soon took root in Korea through the inclusion of the Chinese writing system, monetary system, rice culture,
philosophical schools of thought, and Confucian political institutions.[51] Jomon society in ancient Japan incorporated wet-rice cul-
tivation and metallurgy through its contact with Korea. Starting from the fourth century AD, Japan incorporated the Chinese writ-
ing system which evolved into Kanji by the fifth century AD and has become a significant part of the Japanese writing system.
[52]
Utilizing the Chinese writing system allowed the Japanese to conduct their daily activities, maintain historical records and give
form to various ideas, thoughts, and philosophies.[53] During the Tang dynasty, China exerted its greatest influence on East Asia
as various aspects of Chinese culture spread to Japan and Korea.[54][55] The establishment of the medieval Tang dynasty rekin-
dled the impetus of Chinese expansionism across the geopolitical confines of East Asia. Similar to its Han predecessor, Tang
China reasserted itself as the center of East Asian geopolitical influence during the early medieval period which spearheaded
and marked another golden age in Chinese history.[56] During the Tang dynasty, China exerted its greatest influence on East Asia
as various aspects of Chinese culture spread to Japan and Korea.[54][55] In addition, Tang China also managed to maintain control
over northern Vietnam and Korea.[57]
As full-fledged medieval East Asian states were established, Korea by the fourth century AD and Japan by the seventh century
AD, Japan and Korea actively began to incorporate Chinese influences such as Confucianism, the use of written Han charac-
ters, Chinese style architecture, state institutions, political philosophies, religion, urban planning, and various scientific and tech-
nological methods into their culture and society through direct contacts with Tang China and succeeding Chinese dynasties.[54][55]
[58]
Drawing inspiration from the Tang political system, Prince Naka no oe launched the Taika Reform in 645 AD where he radi-
cally transformed Japan's political bureaucracy into a more centralised bureaucratic empire.[59] The Japanese also adopted Ma-
hayana Buddhism, Chinese style architecture, and the imperial court's rituals and ceremonies, including the orchestral music
and state dances had Tang influences. Written Chinese gained prestige and aspects of Tang culture such as poetry, calligraphy,
and landscape painting became widespread.[59] During the Nara period, Japan began to aggressively import Chinese culture and
styles of government which included Confucian protocol that served as a foundation for Japanese culture as well as political and
social philosophy.[60][61] The Japanese also created laws adopted from the Chinese legal system that was used to govern in addi-
tion to the kimono, which was inspired from the Chinese robe (hanfu) during the eighth century AD.[62] For many centuries, most
notably from the 7th to the 14th centuries, China stood as East Asia's most advanced civilization and foremost military and eco-
nomic power, exerting its influence as the transmission of advanced Chinese cultural practices and ways of thinking greatly
shaped the region up until the nineteenth century.[63][64][65][66]
As East Asia's connections with Europe and the Western world strengthened during the late nineteenth century, China's power
began to decline.[39][67] By the mid-nineteenth century, the weakening Qing dynasty became fraught with political corruption, ob-
stacles and stagnation that was incapable of rejuvenating itself as a world power in contrast to the industrializing Imperial Euro-
pean colonial powers and a rapidly modernizing Japan.[68][69] The U.S. Commodore Matthew C. Perry would open Japan to West-
ern ways, and the country would expand in earnest after the 1860s.[70][71][72] Around the same time, Japan with its rush to moder-
nity transformed itself from an isolated feudal samurai state into East Asia's first industrialised nation in the modern era.[73][74]
[71]
The modern and militarily powerful Japan would galvanise its position in the Orient as East Asia's greatest power with a global
mission poised to advance to lead the entire world.[73][75] By the early 1900s, the Japanese empire succeeded in asserting itself as
East Asia's most dominant power.[75] With its newly found international status, Japan would begin to challenge the European
colonial powers and inextricably took on a more active geopolitical position in East Asia and world affairs at large.[76] Flexing its
nascent political and military might, Japan soundly defeated the stagnant Qing dynasty during the First Sino-Japanese War as
well as vanquishing imperial rival Russia in 1905; the first major military victory in the modern era of an East Asian power over a
European one.[77][78][79][80][70] Its hegemony was the heart of an empire that would include Taiwan and Korea.[73] During World War II,
Japanese expansionism with its imperialist aspirations through the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity Sphere would incorporate
Korea, Taiwan, much of eastern China and Manchuria, Hong Kong, and Southeast Asia under its control establishing itself as a
maritime colonial power in East Asia.[81] After a century of exploitation by the European and Japanese colonialists, post-