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Subtitle
CULTURE OF ASIA
CULTURE OF ASIA
• It encompasses the collective and diverse
customs and traditions of art,
architecture, music, literature, lifestyle,
philosophy, politics and religion that
have been practiced and maintained by
the numerous ethnic groups of the
continent of Asia since prehistory.
Asia
- is the largest, most populous continent
and rich in resources,
- is home to several of the world's oldest
civilizations, that produced the majority of
the great religious systems, the oldest
known recorded myths and codices on
ethics and morality
Regions of Asia
• Central Asia
• East Asia
• North Asia
• South Asia
• Southeast Asia
• West Asia
East Asia
• The term East Asia defines the geographical
region and/or the common cultural sphere of
China, Japan, North Korea, South Korea,
Taiwan and, variously Vietnam and Mongolia
. Ethnically and linguistically very closely
related, shared artistic traditions, written
language and moral values suggest that most
East Asian peoples are descendants of the
Yellow River civilization, that emerged in the
flood plains of northern China around 10.000
years
• East Asia is the eastern subregion
of Asia, which can be defined in either g
eographical or ethnocultural terms. Cultu
rally, China, Japan, Korea, and Vietnam ar
e commonly seen as being encompassed by
cultural East Asia
. Geographically and geopolitically, the r
egion constitutes China, Hong Kong, Macau,
Taiwan, Japan, Mongolia, North Korea, and
South Korea.
• China has occupied the prominent, central role in East Asia for
most of recorded history, as it "deeply influenced the culture of
the peripheral countries and also drew them into a
Chinacentered [...] international order", that virtually remained
in effect until the early 20th century. Highly ritualized, the
Imperial Chinese Tributary System, based on the religious and
philosophical idea of submission to celestial harmony was also
recognized by nations beyond, in Southeast Asia in particular.
Ceremonies were presided over by the Emperor of China as the
Son of Heaven and curator of the Mandate of Heaven. In
elaborate ceremonies both, the tributary state and the various
Chinese dynasties agreed to mutually favorable economic co
operation and beneficial security policies
• Defining East Asian cultural
characteristics are the Chinese language
influences and traditional writings
systems,as well as shared religious and
ethic ideas, that are represented by the
Threeteachings Buddhism,Taoism and
Confucianism
Buddhism
• Buddhism is the world's fourthlargest
religion with over 520 million followers, or over
7% of the global population, known
as Buddhists. Buddhism encompasses a variety
of traditions, beliefs and spiritual practices
largely based on original teachings attributed
to the Buddha and resulting
interpreted philosophies. Buddhism originated
in ancient India as a Sramana tradition
sometime between the 6th and 4th centuries
BCE, spreading through much of Asia.
Taoism
• Taoism or Daoism is a religious
or philosophical tradition of
Chinese origin which emphasizes
living in harmony with the Tao (
Chinese: 道; pinyin: Dào; literally:
"the Way", also romanized as Dao).
The Tao is a fundamental idea in
most Chinese philosophical schools.
Confucianism
• Confucianism, also known as Ruism, is
described as tradition, a philosophy, a
religion, a humanistic or rationalistic religion,
a way of governing, or simply a way of life.
Confucianism developed from what was later
called the Hundred Schools of Thought from
the teachings of the Chinese philosopher
Confucius (551–479 BCE), who considered
himself a recodifier and retransmitter of
the theology and values inherited from the
Shang (c. 1600–1046 BCE) and
Zhou dynasties
South Asia
• Evidence of Neolithic culture has been
found throughout the modern states
Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan,
Maldives, Nepal, India, Pakistan and Sri
Lanka that represent South Asia or
Southern Asia (also known as the
Indian subcontinent)
• Bronze Age cultural tradition emerged, that after
only a few centuries fully flourished in urban
centers. Due to the high quality of its arts, crafts,
metallurgy and buildings, the accomplishments in
urban planning, governance, trade and technology
etc. it has been classified as one of the principal
Cradles of civilization.
Major world religions that originate in
South Asia
• Hinduism
• Buddhism
• Jainism
• Sikhism
Hinduism
• is an Indian religion
and dharma, or way of
life,it has been called the
oldest religion in the
world
Jainism
• Jainism traditionally known
as Jain Dharma, is an ancient
Indian religion.[Followers of
Jainism are called "Jains", a word
derived from the Sanskrit word
jina (victor) and connoting the path
of victory in crossing over life's
stream of rebirths through an
ethical and spiritual life
Sikhism
• or Sikhi meaning disciple “, seeker or
learner, is a religion that originated in
the Punjab region in the northern part
of the Indian subcontinent around the
end of the 15th century
• It is one of the youngest of the major
world religions, and the
world's fifthlargest organized religion,
as well as being the world's ninth
largest overall religion
Islam is the predominant
religion in Afghanistan, the
Maldives (99%),
Pakistan (96%) and
Bangladesh (90%).
IndoAryan languages are spoken in Pakistan
Sinhalese of Sri Lanka and most of North, West and East
India and Nepal.
Dravidian languages are spoken in South India and in
Sri Lanka by the Tamil community.
TibetoBurman languages are spoken in the North and
North East India.
Iranic Languages are spoken in Baluchistan and
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in Pakistan.
The main languages of Afghanistan are Pashto and
Dari.
Southeast Asia
• Southeast Asia divides into Mainland Southeast Asia, that encompasses
Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia, Thailand, Myanmar and West Malaysia, and
Maritime Southeast Asia, that includes Indonesia, East Malaysia, Singapore,
the Philippines, East Timor, Brunei, Cocos (Keeling) Islands, and Christmas
Island. At the crossroads of the Indian and East Asian maritime trade routes
since around 500 B.C., the region has been greatly influenced by the culture
of India and China
• Hinduism and Buddhism were the dominant religions of Southeast Asia.
• Islam became dominant in Indonesia, Malaysia and Brunei. Southeast Asia
has also had a lot of Western influence due to the lasting legacy of
colonialism. One example is the Philippines which has been heavily
influenced by the United States and Spain, with Christianity (Catholicism)
as the dominant religion. East Timor also demonstrates Portuguese influence
through colonialism, as is also a predominantly Christian nation.
• A common feature found around the region are
stilt houses. These houses are elevated on stilts so that
water can easily pass below them in case of a flood.
Another shared feature is rice paddy agriculture, which
originated in Southeast Asia thousands of years ago.
Dance drama is also a very important feature of the
culture, utilizing movements of the hands and feet
perfected over thousands of years. Furthermore, the arts
and literature of Southeast Asia is very distinctive as
some have been influenced by Indian, Hindu, Chinese,
Buddhist, and Islamic literature
Western Asia
• Western Asia must be distinguished from the Middle East, a more
recent Eurocentric term, that also includes parts of Northern
Africa.West Asia consists of Turkey, Syria, Georgia, Armenia, Cyprus,
Azerbaijan, Iraq, Iran, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestinian territories,
Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Oman
and Yemen. The Israelite/Jewish civilization of the Fertile Crescent
would have a profound impact on the rest of Western Asia, giving birth
to the 3 Abrahamic faiths. In addition, the Jewish origins of
Christianity, along with the many cultural contributions from both
Jews and Arabs in Europe, meant that West Asian culture had left a
lasting impact on Western civilization as well. Other indigenous West
Asian religions include Zoroastrianism, Yazidism, Alevism, Druze and
the Bahá'í Faith.
• almost 93% of Western Asia's inhabitants are Muslims and is characterized
by political Islamic, with the exception of Israel,
• Lebanon shares a large Christian and a large Muslim community.
• Ethnically, the region is dominated by Arab, Persian, Kurdish, Azerbaijani,
and Turkish people’
• Among them smaller indigenous groups are the Jews, Assyrians, Druze,
Samaritans, Yazidis and Mandeans. Many Middle Eastern countries
encompass huge deserts where nomadic people live to this day. In great
contrast, modern cities like Abu Dhabi, Amman, Riyadh, Tel Aviv, Doha
and Muscat have developed on the coastal lands of the Mediterranean Sea,
the Persian Gulf and at the periphery of the Arabian Desert.
• West Asian cuisine is immensely rich and diverse
• The literature is also immensely rich with Arabic, Jewish, Persian, and
Turkish dominating.
Central Asia
• Central Asia, in between the Caspian Sea and China,
envelops five former Soviet Socialist Republics: Kazakhstan,
Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan.
However, Afghanistan is sometimes included. Its strategic
and historic position around the EastWest axis and the
major trading routes guaranteed a steady influx of ideas and
conflicting notions of tribalism and traditionalism. However,
the region was conquered and dominated by a variety of
cultures, such as the Mongols, Persians, Tatars, Russians,
Sarmatians. As some Central Asian areas have been
inhabited by nomadic people, numerous urban centers have
developed in a distinct local character
North Asia
• For the most part, North Asia (more widely
known as Siberia) is considered to be made up
of the Asian part of Russia solely. The
geographic region of Siberia was the historical
land of the Tatars in the Siberia Khanate.
However Russian expansion essentially
undermined this and thus today it is
under Russian rule. There are roughly 40
million people living in North Asia and the
majority consists now of Ethnic Russians.
Architecture of Asia
• Asia is home to countless grandiose and iconic historic
constructions, usually religious structures, castles and
fortifications or palaces. However, after several
millennia, many of the greatest buildings have been
destroyed or dismantled such as the Ziggurats of
Mesopotamia, most of the Great Wall of China, Greek
and Hellenistic temples or the royal cities of Persia.
Art
• Middle Eastern dance has various styles and has spread to the
West in the form known as bellydancing. In the Punjab region
of India and Pakistan, Bhangra (dance)bhangra dance is very
popular. The bhangra is a celebration of the harvest. The
people dance to the beat of a drum while singing and dancing.
• In Southeast Asia, dance is an integral part of the culture; the
styles of dance vary from region to region and island to island.
Traditional styles of dance have evolved in Thailand and
Burma. The Philippines have their own styles of dance such as
Cariñosa and Tinikling; during the Spanish occupation of the
Philippines, practitioners of Filipino martial arts hid fighting
movements into their dances to keep the art alive despite the
fact that it was banned by the occupiers.
Languages
• Asia is a continent with great linguistic diversity, and is home
to various language families and many language isolates. A
majority of Asian countries have more than one language that
is natively spoken. For instance, according to Ethnologue over
600 languages are spoken in Indonesia while over 100 are
spoken in the Philippines. The official figure of 'mother
tongues' spoken in India is 1683, of which an estimated 850 are
in daily use. Korea, on the other hand, is home to only one
language.
Literature
• Arabic literature is the writing, both
prose and poetry, produced by writers in
the Arabic language. One of the most
famous literary works of West Asia is
One Thousand and One Arabian Nights.
Chinese
• In Tang and Song dynasty China,
famous poets such as Li Bai
authored works of great
importance. They wrote shī (
Classical Chinese: 詩 ) poems, which
have lines with equal numbers of
characters, as well as cí ( 詞 ) poems
with mixed line varieties
Hebrew and Diaspora Jewish
• Jewish literature consists of ancient, medieval, and modern
writings by Jews, both in their original homeland and in the
diaspora. A sizable amount of it is written in the
Hebrew language, although there have been cases of literature
written in Hebrew by nonJews.[74] Without doubt, the most
important such work is the Hebrew Bible (Tanakh). Many other
ancient works of Hebrew literature survive, including religious
and philosophical works, historical records, and works of fiction.
Indian
• The famous poet and playwright Kālidāsa wrote two epics: Raghuvamsham
(Dynasty of Raghu) and Kumarasambhavam (Birth of Kumar Kartikeya);
they were written in Classical Sanskrit rather than Epic Sanskrit some other
examples of his plays are Abhigyanam Shakuntala . Other examples of works
written in Classical Sanskrit include the Pānini's Ashtadhyayi which
standardized the grammar and phonetics of Classical Sanskrit.
• The Laws of Manu is an important text in Hinduism.
• Kālidāsa is often considered to be the greatest playwright in Sanskrit
literature, and one of the greatest poets in Sanskrit literature, whose
Recognition of Shakuntala and Meghaduuta are the most famous Sanskrit
plays. He occupies the same position in Sanskrit literature that Shakespeare
occupies in English literature.
Japanese
• In the early eleventh century, court lady Murasaki Shikibu wrote
Tale of the Genji considered the masterpiece of Japanese literatures and
an early example of a work of fiction in the form of a novel.
• EarlyModern Japanese literature (17th–19th centuries) developed
comparable innovations such as haiku, a form of Japanese poetry that
evolved from the ancient hokku (Japanese language: 発句 ) mode.
• Haiku consists of three lines: the first and third lines each have
five morae (the rough phonological equivalent of syllables), while the
second has seven. Original haiku masters included such figures as
Edo period poet Matsuo Bashō ( 松尾芭蕉 ); others influenced by Bashō
include Kobayashi Issa and Masaoka Shiki
•BuddhismMahayana
Buddhism
520 million >400,000,000
•Theravada Buddhism
•Vajrayana Buddhism
•Christianity:Syriac
Christianity
•Eastern Orthodox
2.4 billion 286,100,000
•Oriental Orthodox
•Roman Catholic
•Protestantism
• In Indonesia, the Independence Day and the birthday of Pancasila are important. This
Muslim majority country also celebrates Islamic celebrations and festivals, such as Eid
ulFitr, Eid ulAdha, Mawlid, Islamic New Year, Ashura, Tabuik, and Tasyrik day.
• In India, Republic Day and Independence Day are important national festivals celebrated
by people irrespective of faith. Major Hindu festivals of India include Diwali, Dussehra or
Daserra, Holi, Makar Sankranti, Pongal, Mahashivratri, Ugadi, Navratri, Ramanavami,
Baisakhi, Onam, Rathayatra, Ganesh Chaturthi and Krishna Janmaashtami. Islamic
festivals such as Eid ulFitr and Eid ulAdha, Sikh festivals such as Vaisakhi, and
Christian festivals such as Christmas, are also celebrated in India.
Cuisine
• In many parts of Asia, rice is a staple food, and it is mostly served
steamed or as a porridge known as congee. China is the world largest
producer and consumer of rice. While grain flatbread were consumed in
the Middle East to the Indian subcontinent.
• With the advent of western cutlery, it may be viewed as rude in these
nations to eat using the bare hands in some public places. In Indonesia
and the Philippines
• While in China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, and Vietnam, people usually use
chopsticks to eat traditional food, but the shape of chopsticks are
different in these countries.
• In India, people often eat food with their hands, and many spices such as
cardamom, cumin, and fennel seeds are used in every dish. Most spices
originated within the Indian subcontinent. Durians are a common fruit in
Southeast Asia, which, Alfred Russel Wallace, attested to its delicious
flavor as worth the entire cost of his trip there.
• The cuisine of Indonesia possess rich and diverse collection of dishes and
recipes with regional cooking tradition flourished, such as Minang
Sundanese to Balinese. Most Indonesians consume steamed rice with
flavorful meat, fish, and vegetables in one serving such as in Nasi Padang
and nasi campur. Other notable example include rendang, satay, soto,
and nasi goreng.
• In Filipino banquet, many unique dishes have arisen because of the
country's long years of colonization and interactions with other
neighboring cultures and nations; it has inherited Latin, Malay, Chinese,
and American influences to its people's local blend.