IMPORTANT GEOGRAHICAL/CLIMATIC DIFFERENCES BETWEEN NORTHERN AND SOUTHERN EAST ASIA

· North: (largely) flat, dry, cool; a grain-producing region

· South: mountainous, wet, warm “land of rice and fish”

· Few river systems in the North (excl. Japan); many river systems in the South

· Monsoon seasons have little effect in the North; monsoons have strong effect on agricultural and mercantile activity in the South

EAST ASIA’S GEOGRAPHY AND ITS HISTORICAL SIGNIFICANCE

· High mountains and set off East Asia from surrounding regions.

· World centers of civilization: WEST (Mesopotamia, Greece, and Egypt), INDIAN SUBCONTINENT (Indus Valley of NW India), EAST (North China Plain)

· Vast expanses of water to east focused much inter-regional activity.  Large landmass of Central Asia determines climate for region.

· System of rivers carried trade and the exchange of ideas from China's Central Plains toward the east and south.

THE COMMON CULTURE OF EAST ASIA

· Ancestors and the Familial Cult

· Inner/Outer “Sphere of Influence” in Gender Relations

· Nomads, Farmers, the Great Wall, and the Silk Road