What kind of landforms does Mongolia have?

Mostly upland plateaus with mountains and basins

What kind of landforms does China have?

Mountains and plateaus in the west, plains and hills in the east

What is the source of frequent dust storms in this area?

The Gobi Desert

What separates China from South Asia?

The Himalayas

What is the lowest point of China?

The Turpan Depression

What is the highest plateau in East Asia?

The Plateau of Tibet

What natural barriers have protected Chinas inhabitants from invasion but also isolated
it from peaceful foreigners?
Deserts and mountains

Where do Chinas major rivers originate from?

The Plateau of Tibet

What is the major river system in northern China?

The Huang He/Yellow River

What is loess?
Fine topsoil created by wind erosion

Which river waters over half of Chinas rice and other grains?
The Chang Jiang

What is the Three Gorges Dam doing?

Helps control flooding along the lower portions of the river and provides water for irrigation and
hydroelectric power

What is the worlds longest human-made waterway?

Chinas Grand Canal

Are Mongolias rivers easy to harness?

No

Describe lakes in Mongolia.

Often saltwater or temporary

What kind of areas do grass bamboo and deciduous trees grow in?
Humid subtropical climates

What is Hainan?
An island off Chinas southern coast

What kind of climate does Mongolia have?

Continental climate

Name some mineral and natural resources China has.

Iron ore, tungsten, gold, coal, natural gas

Who is the worlds leading producer of rice?

China

What are dynasties?

A ruling house or continuing family of rulers

Describe the mandate of heaven.

Approval of the gods and goddesses that dynasties were believed to rule under... when people
suffered, it was believed the dynasty lost their mandate

What were some developments under the Zhou dynasty?

Trade grew, iron tools, crossbows, irrigation

Who was Confucius?

Chinas most famous teacher and philosopher who founded a system of thought called
Confucianism... based on discipline and proper moral conduct

Who was Laozi and what was the philosophy he helped found?
Thinker... helped found Daoism, emphasizes harmony with nature and simple living

What were some developments under the Qin dynasty?

Was the first to unify China, established the Great Wall of China

Who led the revolution against Chinese dynasties?

Sun Yat-sen
Who formed the Nationalist government of the Republic of China?
Chiang Kai-shek

Who was Mao Zedong?

A communist who won the support of Chinas farmers, helped take power

Which part of China is the Peoples Republic of China?

The mainland

The Republic of China?

Taiwan

What was the Great Leap Forward?

Small-scale farms were replaced by large government farms, but the economy falter and new
farms failed to produce enough food, resulting in starvation

What was the Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution?

Urban and educated Chinese were sent to work on rural farms... goal was to rid Chinese society
of capitalist ideas

What are some issues stalling Taiwans reunion with China?

Differences in democracy and industry

What is the largest ethnic group in China?

The Han Chinese

What are aborigines?

Original inhabitants

What is the majority group of Mongolians in Mongolia?

Khalka Mongols

What is China doing to remedy labor shortages in farms?

Built dozens of new agricultural towns that provide more social services to attract rural people
with a higher quality of life

What is particularly unique about Chinas population numbers?

Policy of one child per married couple, to reduce population growth

Describe education in this area.

Trying to increase literacy among general population (previously wealthy people were only
allowed to learn)
What is the dominant spoken language in China?
Mandarin

What is particularly unique about written Chinese and what are advantages and
disadvantages?
Uses ideograms... symbolic picture that stand for ideas... advantage: people who do not speak
the same dialect can still communicate through writing, disadvantage: difficult to learn

Describe religion in this area.

The government exerts power over religious freedom. Government is keeping an eye on
Tibetan monasteries to see what is being taught there

What caused the death of many female infants in China?

Traditional preference for boys and the one-child policy through purposeful neglect

What industry does a majority of the population of China work in?

Agriculture

What are communes and what was their result?

Large farming communities... the government decided what and how much to grow, results
were disastrous

What is the merchant marine fleet?

A countrys fleet used for commercial transport

What are obstacles to US-China trade?

Undervalued Chinese currency has resulted in a flood of inexpensive Chinese goods

What are social issues in this region?

Dissidents are treated harshly, human rights issues are of concern

What have other countries done to encourage China to respect human rights?
They have imposed economic sanctions/trade restrictions

What is the SEZ?

Special Economic Zone, a relatively small district in China that is fully open to global commerce

Who is the number one consumer of electricity in the world?

China
What is Chinas main source of power?
Burning of fossil fuels

What are consequences of burning coal?

Acid rain, air pollution, climate change

Which industry is problematic to Mongolias environment?

Mining

Who has the largest army in the world?

China

What is a major problem caused by Chinas water systems?

Floods

Why is the Three Gorges Dam controversial?

Caused the displacement of a million people, villages and temples were submerged, natural
ecosystems have been damaged, species are endangered

What is the leading cause of death in China and what has led to it?
Cancer... pollution

Why have efforts to regulate polluters been slow?

Industries reluctance to support stricter laws, focus on economic growth

What are issues with Chinas reforestation process?

Replacement forests are much less diverse, reforestation has not kept up with demand for
timber

Describe Chinas poaching problems.

Many medicines are derived from rare or exotic animals.. as wealth grows, demand is
increased, and animal populations are becoming endangered

What are Japans four main islands?

Hokkaido, Honshu, Shikoku, and Kyushu

How were Japans islands created?

Volcanic activity from the Pacific Ring of Fire

What is Japans tallest peak?

Mount Fuji

What are the two major natural disasters that Japan faces?
Earthquakes and tsunamis

What makes it difficult to contain rapid runoff from rainfall?

Lack of natural or easily constructed reservoirs
What are Japans longest rivers?
The Shinano and the Tone

What is Japans largest lake and how was it created?

Lake Biwa... from a depression along a fault

What are the four predominant influences on Japans climate?

The latitude, proximity of the great Asian landmass to the West, the mountainous terrain, and
ocean currents

What does this combination of factors make Japan?

Monsoonal

What kind of climate does Northern Japan have? Southern?

Humid continental.... humid subtropical

What is the main crop of Japan?

Rice

In which industry in Japan a world leader?

Harvesting and importing fish

What has jeopardized the fisheries?

Ocean pollution and overfishing

Which two countries have had a significant impact on Japan and why?
Korea and Japan, proximity

Under which dynasty was Japan united?

Yamato

What is the shogunate?

A feudal society under the control of a shogun, or military ruler

Who negotiated opening Japanese ports to U.S. ships and what did this eventually
spark?
Matthew C. Perry... sparked a samurai rebellion that returned full authority to the emperor
What was the Meiji Restoration?
The return of authority to the emperor, involved the rapid modernization of Japanese society
(government, economy, military, education)... Japan experienced a cultural convergence
(mixing of cultures) as interaction with other countries increased)

Which side did Japan ally with during World War I?

The Allies

World War II?

The Axis

Why did the Japanese surrender to the US?

A-bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki

What kind of government does Japan have?

Constitutional monarchy

Where are most people concentrated?

In the lowlands along seacoasts or in valleys and plains

What is unique about Japans cities and how did this happen?
No slums, and environmentally friendly-- emphasis on convenient public transportation

What does Shinto emphasize?

Reverence for nature, is polytheistic

Describe education.
High regard for education, children must attend school until a certain age

Describe the population.

High standard of living leads to good health care-- life expectancy is high but low birthrate so
population is aging

What is acculturation?
Cultural modification of an individual/group by adapting to or borrowing traits from another
culture

What is Japans industrial economy based on and what does this mean?
Mixed market, emphasizes private ownership by means of production/distribution... government
coordinates with industry and regulates all sectors of the economy

Describe Japans economy.

Lacks natural resources so Japan has focused on trade to sustain industries... has highly skilled
and educated workers and newly advanced tech... leading producer of consumer goods (cars,
electronics)

Describe Japans economy in relation to the world.

Japanese government protects local industries from foreign competition, places taxes on
imports which restricts the sale of foreign goods in Japan, helping tip the balance of trade in
Japans favor... value of exports is greater than imports, making Japan very wealthy

What type of energy has Japan turned to in an effort to reduce dependence on fossil
fuels?
Nuclear energy

What has a series of nuclear accidents led Japan to do?

Attempt to reduce reliance on nuclear energy by investing in solar power, wind, etc

Summary of Lesson 3:
Japans rapid industrialization brought with it severe and widespread environmental problems.
Economic growth took priority over health and safety. The result was increasing air and water
pollution and declining populations of aquatic animals. Following WWII, major industries
expanded without regard to pollution. Power plants polluted the air, industry tained water
systems. Starting in the 70s and into today, Japan has adopted some of the strictest
environmental regulations in the world, yet pollution remains a serious problem-- particularly
emissions from diesel engines. Aquaculture has led to the decline of marine life. Many
countries, including Japan, rely on supertrawlers (catch huge numbers of fish and waste tons of
unwanted sealife). Countries are adopting policies banning supertrawlers. Japan is also the
largest consumer of whale meat, leading to overhunting of whale species. Japanese have taken
steps to reduce emissions of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs). The Kyoto Protocol is a treaty formed
from the UNFCC and defined ways to reduce the carbon emissions that contribute to global
warming, setting binding targets to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Despite this, emissions
actually increased since the ratification of this treaty.

What are the two sections of Korea?

Democratic Peoples Republic of Korea (North Korea) and Republic of Korea (South Korea)

What divides the two countries?

The Korean Demilitarized Zone (DMZ)

Describe the topography of this peninsula.

Mountainous

Where are most of this regions major rivers?

South Korea

What is North Koreas longest river and what border does it form?
Yalu... between North Korea and China

How have North Koreas farms been administered?

Cooperatives/communal farms... these have delivered produce to the government, which
distributes food through state-owned stores

What is the most important crop for both countries?

Rice

Which of the two countries are most of the mineral resources?

North Korea

Lesson 2 Summary (Read this, not the book):

Korean rulers initially promoted Buddhism as the religion for personal enlightenment, but later,
Buddhism would be suppressed, and Confucianism was adopted as the basis. The Silla
dynasty drove out the Chinese and united Korea. Korea later became knowns as the
Hermit Kingdom due to its isolation. This would not last, as Japanese warships arrived and
forced Korea to open ports for trade. After Japans defeat in WWII, the Korean peninsula was
jointly occupied by the Soviet Union and the US. The Communists set up the communist
DPRK, and the US establish the Republic of Korea. In 1950, North Korea invaded South
Korea, starting the Korean War. UN forces (mostly American) came to the aid of the
Republic of Korea while the Soviet Union and China supported the DPRK. Fighting
stopped with an armistice (cease-fire), and the DMZ was established. Today, North Korea
remains isolated from the Global community. The Korean Workers Party controls North
Koreas elections and provides lists of approved candidates. Since the 80s, South Korea has
had a structure like the US. Relations between North and South Korea have been strained,
especially when a North Korean submarine sank a South Korean warship, and conducted two
rocket-test fires in violation of international agreements. North Koreas population is smaller
than South Koreas due to food shortages, inadequate health services, and poor living
standards. Religious freedom is permitted in South Korea, but North Korea is atheist.
Government provided health care is available in North Korea but there are shortages of
physicians and equipment. Most people in South Korea have medical insurance. Both countries
value education. After WWII, occupying Soviets destroyed the lineage records of North
Koreans. Since awareness of ancestry is an important component of Confucian practice, that
part of Korean tradition.Women in South Korea have enjoyed more rights than those in North
Korea. North Korea has a command economy, and mostly produces metal products,
machinery, and military equipment. They have stressed self-reliance. South Korea has a
highly industrialized society.

Lesson 3 Summary (Read this, not the book):

Air pollution is a serious problem. Pollution from automobiles and industries as well as
dust and pollutants from China and Mongolia are contributing to poor air quality.
Sanitation is also a big issue, most waste is being dumped directly into the Pacific. This
has negatively affected fish populations. Deforestation has led to forests occupying
nearly two-thirds of the Peninsula to be nearly completely cut down. Deforestation has
also led to soil erosion and flooding. Both countries have adopted policies to restore
forests. The North Korean government has also encouraged the use of fertilizer to restore soil
nutrients, but there is evidence that rather than use the fertilizer, farmers are selling it.