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20th Century Review #4

20th Century Review #4

China 11/26

World’s largest countries (area)

1. Russia 6.6 Million Square Miles

2. Canada 3.85

3. China 3.69

4. US 3.53

5. Brazil 3.29

World’s Most Populous Countries

1. China 1.24 Billion

2. India 1

3. US 272.64 Million

4. Indonesia 216.11

5. Brazil 171.85

Size of Continents

1. Asia 17.1 Million Square Miles

2. Africa 11

3. North America 9.3

4. South America 6.8

5. Antarctica 5.1

6. Europe

7. Australia 2.97

- 20% world’s population lives in China

- Capital city- Beijing/Peking

- Largest city- Shanghai (8.3 Million- 8th largest in world)

- China borders more countries than any country in the world

- Most widely spoken language: Mandarin Chinese

- Second most widely spoken language: Hindi

- Middle Country- Zhongguo

- Name comes from Qin (Pronounced Chin), name of early dynasty

- World’s oldest living civilization

Mountain Chains

- Mount Everest in Tibet

- AKA “Goddess mother of the world”

- 29,028 ft (tallest mountain in the world)

- Named for Sir George Everest, a British cartographer who mapped out India for the British Empire

- Himalayan Mountains

- Known as “Roof top of the world”

- In Nepali language means “Home of the snows”

- World’s tallest mountain chain

- Other Mountains

- Kunlun, Altai, Greater Khingan Mts.

Rivers 12/1

- All flow from West to East

- Yangtze River- 3rd longest river in the world

- Yellow River- AKA “China’s Sorrow” (Bad floods)- 6th longest river in the world

- Mekong River- 10th longest river in the world

- Brahmputra River- SW China, second most important in India

- Ganges River- most important (spiritually significant)

Deserts

- Gobi Desert- 4th largest desert in the world and has lots of fossils

- Taklimakan Desert- 7th largest desert in world

China’s Engineering Marvels

- Great Wall of China- only manmade structure visible from space. 2 carriages wide at top and has dead workers buried in it

- Grand Canal- Connects Beijing to Shanghai and Nanking (connects North and South)

- Three Gorges Dam- Under construction- world’s largest dam. Cost between $25- 75 billion

- Terra Cotta Warriors

- Clay warriors made to protect first emperor in afterlife

- 1st excavated 1974

- 689 ft long, 97 ft wide

- Red or green uniform

- Hands and heads detachable

- Warrior’s height indicated importance

- Each warrior’s facial expression is different

- 4 pits discovered- 4th is empty

Chinese Inventions

- Silk- 2500 BC

- Calligraphy- basis for Asia languages

- Chopsticks

- Crossbow

- Magnetic compass

- Paper

- Tea

- Porcelain (china)

- Padded horse collar

- Gunpowder

- Paper money

China’s Military - World’s largest standing army (3 million)

- Four military branches

- Army

- Navy

- Air Force

- Strategic Military Forces (Marines)

- Military spending - $12.608 billion

5 Elements of Chinese Philosophy

- Metal- fixity and strength

- Water- sensitivity and persuasiveness

- Wood- creativity and imagination

- Fire- dynamism, energy and passion

- Earth- stability, industry and practicality

Yin- feminine, passive, negative. Symbolizes water, night and moon

Yang- masculine, active, positive. Symbolizes fire, day and sun

China’s One- Child Policy

- Began 1973, not officially written into Chinese law

- Official sanction for violation (punishment) is a fine, but often women are forced to have an abortion and/or sterilized

- Ethnic minorities are exempt

- If the first child is handicapped, a second child may be allowed

- An illegal second child is legally nonexistent, and is not allowed to attend school, marry or relocate

- The government pays for birth control and abortions

China’s Three Gorges Dam

- The dam is 600 ft high, will create a reservoir hundreds of feet deep and 400 miles long, and will enable freighters access to the interior for 6 months a year

- The dam will open China’s interior to trade and create a major business center at Chongqing

- The dam will create as much electricity as 18 nuclear power plants, providing up to 1/9 China’s energy

- It will also help control the Yantze (third longest river in the world), which floods have claimed many lives

- Sun Yat-sen is known as the father of modern China, and was the one who proposed the hydroelectric dam in 1919

- The reservoir will flood 100 towns, and pollutants in these areas and sewage run- off could cause a health hazard to everyone downstream

- Silt will accumulate in the Yangtze

- 1.2- 1.9 million people will be resettled. 300,000 of these are farmers who will receive new, less fertile land

- 1,300 important archaeological sites will be destroyed

- China burns 50 million tons of coal, and proponents argue that the dam will provide cleaner energy

- The Three Gorges building project employs 20,000 people

12/12/03

Japan- has the 2nd largest economy in the world and is known as the “Pacific Giant”

“Japan” in Japanese is Nihon or Nippon

- Capital- Tokyo

- Size- A little smaller than California

- Population- 126.9 million

- 4 Major Islands (top to bottom) Hokkaido, Honshu(largest and most populated), Shikoku, and Kyushu

- Archipelago of over 3,000 islands

- Over 80% of Japan is mountainous

- Japan is located in the Pacific Ring of Fire, called this because of frequent earthquakes and volcanic activity

Japan’s Geography

- Only 1/8 land is arable (can be used for farming)

- Forests cover 2/3 land

- 90% live on coastal plains

Japan’s Climate

- Similar to East Coast of US

- Water has moderating effect on climate (no extreme temperatures, hot or cold)

- Seasonal winds are Monsoons

Quick Facts

- Japanese is written right to left

- Mythical Japanese half- bird creature is the Tengu

- The population density of Japan is 1.33 people per acre (greater than America)

- Myth states that Japan was formed by drops of water from a spear

- Mt. Fuji is a famous mountain (not volcanic)

- Kanji are written characters

- Japanese speak differently based on age, gender and social position out of respect

- The land area of Japan is a little smaller than California

- In the legend of Yuki-onna, Yuki melts because her husband broke his promise

- Asia contains 3/5 world’s population

- China is the most populated country

- India is the world’s largest democracy

- Indonesia is the most populous Muslim nation in the world

- Japan has the second largest economy

- China, Laos, Vietnam and North Korea are the four communist nations of Asia

- North Korea was labeled “axis of evil” by Bush

- The US sent troops to the Philippines to fight terrorism

- India and Pakistan are two nuclear countries fighting over a region called Kashmir

- Japan was occupied for 6 years after WWII

- The Mutual Security Treaty stated that the US would defend Japan in case of attack

- The Japanese support after 9-11 was their first military action since WWII

- Japan’s 2001 US trade surplus was nearly $69 billion

- In the Chinese civil war, the victor was communist Mao Zedong and the defeated Nationalist leader was Chiang Kaishek

- The Nationalist fled to Taiwan after their defeat

- The only children of China are referred to as “Little Emperors”

- There are 100 million more males than females in China

- In 1979 Jimmy Carter established full diplomatic ties with China

- 800 pro-democracy demonstraters were killed in Tiananmen Square 1989

- Falun Gong was a spiritual movement suppressed by the Chinese government

- After WWII the Korean peninsula was divided. North Korea allied with the USSR, and South Korea with the US

- North Korea invaded South Korea in 1950 to unify Korea under Communist rule

- North and South Korea are technically still at war

- 3 million North Koreans have died of starvation since 1995

- North Korea has the 5th largest military in the world

- The “Sunshine” policy is based on the belief that diplomacy, aid and investment will ultimately bring North Korea’s communist system to an end

- 58,00 American and 3 million Vietnamese died in the Vietnam War

- The US opened full diplomatic ties with Vietnam in 1995

- President Bush sent 600 military advisors to the Philippines 2002 for training and to fight terrorism

People of Japan

Homogenous society with some minority groups

- Burakumin- butchers and leather tanners- considered lower class

- Koreans

- Okinawans

- Indigenous: Ainu

Sports

- Sumo wrestling most popular

- Baseball second most popular

- Soccer

Japanese Religions

- Shinto- “Way of the Gods”

- Worships Kami, or many gods found in nature

- Created in Japan; first Japanese religion

- No founder

- No sacred scripture

- Main deity is sun goddess

- Believe in Heaven and Hell

- Assumes human nature is good

- 3 essential elements of Shinto

- Purification

- Offering

- Prayer

- Torii- gateway to Shinto shrine

- Buddism- 3 sects

- Shingon- main one- believes enlightenment is the path to heaven

- True Pure Land Sect- believes faith is the path to heaven

- Nichiren- Revival sect

Japanese Literary System

- Kanji- comes from China

- Katakana- phonetic, used to name foreign things

- Hiragana- phonetic

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