East Asia
East Asia is a
subregion of
Asia that can be defined in either
geographical or cultural terms. Geographically, it covers about 6,640,000 km², or 15% of the Asian
continent.
Culturally, it embraces those societies that have long been part of the
Chinese cultural sphere:
*displaying heavy historical influence from the
Classical Chinese language (including the traditional
Chinese script),
*
Confucianism and
Neo-Confucianism*
Mahayana Buddhism,
*and
Daoism (Taoism).
This combination of
language,
political philosophy, and
religion overlaps with the geographical designation of East Asia with the exception of
Vietnam and the
overseas Chinese, including in Singapore, Malaysia, United States, etc. The influence is also displayed in the style of
architecture, traditional music and instruments, holidays, festivals, etc.
East Asia and
Eastern Asia (the latter being the preferred term used by the
United Nations) are both more modern terms for the traditional European name the
Far East, which describes the region's geographical position in relation to
Europe rather than its location within Asia.
|
Geographic East Asia shaded in dark green, cultural and other possible definitions shaded in light green |
The following countries are located in
geographic East Asia:
*
People's Republic of China (including
Hong Kong and
Macau)
*
Republic of China (
Taiwan)
*
North Korea*
South Korea*
Japan*
MongoliaThe following peoples or societies are encompassed by
cultural East Asia:
*
Chinese society (including the dispersed
Chinese-dominated regions of
Hong Kong,
Taiwan,
Macau, and
Singapore due to Singapore's large Chinese population)
*
Japanese society
*
Korean society
*
Mongolian society
*
Vietnamese society
The following
countries or regions are sometimes considered part of
East Asia. A major reason for disagreement on this question is the difference between the cultural and geographic definitions of "East Asia". Political perspective is also an important factor.
* The parts of
China that are not historically dominated by
Han Chinese:
Qinghai,
Tibet,
Xinjiang (either East Asia or
Central Asia)
*
Russian Far East (either East Asia or
North Asia)
*
Vietnam (either East Asia or
Southeast Asia)
More than 1.5
billion people, about 40% of the population of
Asia or a quarter of all the people in the world, live in geographic East Asia. The region is one of the world's most crowded places. The population density of East Asia, 230 per km², is over five times the world average.
*
Southeast Asia *
South Asia (
Indian Subcontinent)
*
Central Asia *
Southwest Asia or
West Asia (One definition of the
Middle East is synonymous with Southwest Asia)
*
North Asia (
Siberia)
*
Northern Eurasia (Extends into
Europe)
*
Central Eurasia (Extends into
Europe)
*
Asian Network of Major Cities 21*
East Asian languages*
East Asian Tigers, a label pertinent to the recent
economic history of the region.
*
East Asia Summit*
History of East Asia*
Sinosphere
