East Asia

East AsiaEast Asia

East Asia Overview

• Background Video• Culture and Religion

– Tradition– Face– 4 Religions

• Social Issues and Human Rights

East Asia Interim Summary




• Nationalism• Long history—Japan--China

• Regional Culture• New trend—regional pride

• East Asian Traditions• Avoid stereotyping — especially since many of

their beliefs are centuries old

East Asian Culture and Religion

• Long Standing Traditions/Customs

“We have produced great art and great philosophy. The Mandarin speech of China is more beautiful and descriptive than any other in the world. Our poets were singing when Britain was but a rocky outpost on the edge of the known world and America was inhabited solely by…aborigines. Yet you come to teach us a new faith? I find it very strange.”

“The Inn of the Sixth Happiness”


• Face

• The perception that others have of you is a distinct characteristic of many Asian societies

• Face connotes an avoidance of embarrassment, failure, defeat or contradiction


What is the meaning of face?

• American students tended to equate the concept of face with saving their own face

• Japanese students, on the other hand, understand the concept of face to be related to honor, claimed self image, and the family/organization


What is the meaning of face giving?

• American students could not offer a meaning

• To Asians, face giving means allowing room for the other person to recover his/her face--room to maneuver, to negotiate--so both can gain face in the end


What does it mean to lose face?

• For Americans, loss of face means personal failure, loss of self-esteem, or loss of self-pride on an individual attribution basis

• Whereas for Japanese and Korean subjects, loss of face means disrupting group harmony, bringing shame to their family, classmates, or company


How do we deal with losing face?

• For Americans, humor is a strategy used to recover from face loss; if that does not work in a serious situation, other strategies that may be used are defensive strategies and attack strategies--clear win-lose strategies

• Asian cultures, on the other hand, focus more on maintaining the image of a win-win process

What can you do to help others maintain face?


• Guidelines concerning face

• Be deferential to those above you in age or position

• Be considerate to those below you in age or position

• Do not expect Asians to act contrary to group norms

• Do not insist that your hosts respect your rights or opinions


• Guidelines concerning face

• Do not in any way defy your hosts’ accepted moral standards

• Do not show anger; avoid confrontations

• If you must say no, try to do so as tactfully as possible

• If you must criticize, do so in private and with expressions of positive regard

• As important as Face is – something else is more important…


• 4 Other Main Beliefs/Religions• All are ancient beliefs

• Buddhism • Confucianism • Daoism • Shintoism

Confucius

Buddha

DaoismShinto


• Buddhism--A religion based on the teachings of Siddartha Gautama, an Indian prince who lived in the sixth century BC

• Buddhism is the fourth largest religion in the world, being exceeded in numbers only by Christianity, Islam and Hinduism

• 364 million followers *

*All religious statistics derived from “Number of Adherents of World Religions” at http://www.religioustolerance.org/worldrel.htm


• The 4 Noble Truths of Buddhism explore human suffering:

1) Suffering exists: (Suffering is real & almost universal. Suffering has many causes: loss, sickness, pain, failure, the impermanence of pleasure.) 2) There is a cause for suffering. (It is the desire to have and control things. It can take many forms: craving of sensual pleasures; the desire for fame; the desire to avoid unpleasant sensations, like fear, anger or jealousy.)


• The 4 Noble Truths (continued)

3) There is an end to suffering. (Suffering ceases with the final liberation of Nirvana. The mind experiences complete freedom, liberation and non-attachment. It lets go of any desire or craving. 4) In order to end suffering, you must follow the Eightfold Path.


• The Buddha's Eightfold Path consists of:

1) Right Understanding of the Four Noble Truths

2) Right thinking; following the right path in life


• The Buddha's Eightfold Path continued:

3) Right speech: no lying, criticism, condemning, gossip, harsh language4) Right conduct by following the Five Precepts


• Five Precepts1. Abstain from harming living beings 2. Abstain from taking what is not given - stealing 3. Abstain from sexual misconduct 4. Abstain from false speech, including lying, tale-

bearing, and gossiping 5. Abstain from intoxicating drinks and drugs



5) Right livelihood; support yourself without harming others

6) Right Effort: promote good thoughts; conquer evil thoughts



7) Right Mindfulness: Become aware of your body, mind and feelings 8) Right Concentration: Meditate to achieve a higher state of consciousness

• Buddhism to Confucianism


• Confucianism--Began as a school of thought founded by Confucius, a Chinese thinker who lived between 551 and 479 BC

• This secular "religion" focuses on the conduct and practices of people in daily life - the creation of a society based on virtue

• The teachings of Confucius were never intended to be a religion. It has no revelatory sacred writings, no priesthood, no doctrine of an afterlife

• 6.3 million followers …to Daoism


• Daoism--Developed in the 6th century BC as a way of thinking about man's relationship to nature and the universe, the Dao means "path" or "way" to lead man to live a virtuous life in harmony with nature

• Daoism does not have a God in the way that the Abrahamic religions do. There is no omnipotent being beyond the cosmos, who created and controls the universe

• 2.7 million followers

…to Shinto


• Shinto ("Way of the Kami"): A belief system deeply rooted in Japanese culture that attempts to explain the relationship between human beings and nature

• Shinto has no founder, no major scriptures, no creed and no religious or ethical laws. It doesn't divide the universe into this world and a supernatural world, and it has no substantial concept of heaven or an afterlife

• 2.7 million followers


East Asia Interim Summary




• East Asia is confronted by a host of social and environmental dilemmas—we’ll look at six • Widespread poverty • Labor exploitation• Gender inequality• Crime/Corruption • East Asian Ethnic Conflicts

• The Legacy of Japanese Imperialism• Foreign Workers

• Human Rights Concerns

Social Issues and Human Rights

http://notorture.ahrchk.net/index.php

1. Poverty and Homelessness

• 20% of the population in Malaysia, the Philippines, and South Korea received less than 6% of the nation’s income

• Many major cities in East Asia have large slum areas, frequently with no water, sewage, or electrical services

• China’s floating population--200 million • Most East Asian countries do not have government-

sponsored welfare safety nets in place to help the poor


2. Labor Rights and Occupational Safety• Many East Asian workers toil long hours for little pay • Unions--Discouraged, regulated, or illegal in most

East Asian countries • Child labor is often preferred--fewer problems--more

compliant--receive even less pay than adults • Sometimes children work for as little as 50 cents a

day under deplorable conditions


3. Gender Issues

• “Old” cultural traditions vice "new" modern culture • Traditional role of women and new modern role

• China's export industry depends substantially on a female labor force

• Working women in China are often subjected to terrible working conditions, and sometimes even physical and sexual abuse


• Gender Issues (continued)

• “East Asian women who work outside the home are criticized for rejecting their traditional roles

• Fundamentalists condemn and sometimes physically attack Muslim women who have secularized their lives


• Gender Issues (continued)

• Even in modern secular, Singapore, the government's official position is that a woman cannot legally be the head of a household, even if she is the major income earner

• Women's movements and women's organizations are developing throughout the region as women demand equality in society and in the economy


4. Crime and Corruption

• Crime and corruption are also prominent East Asian social issues• Many of the newly rich are officials or relatives of

those with political power• Selling "protection" is a favorite way to get rich• Government backlash seen in many regions--

crackdowns could threaten democracy in the region


5. East Asian Ethnic Conflicts

• Centuries-old conflicts between countries or nationalities• Khmer people and the Vietnamese in Cambodia• People of Korean descent and the Japanese in Japan• Tibetans and the Chinese in Tibet

• Legacy of Japanese Imperialism • Foreign workers• Mistreated• Not recognized by government• No protective social programs


6. Human Rights Concerns

• Some argue that East Asian values legitimize limitations on individual rights in favor of group rights


East Asia Summary

• Background• Culture and Religion



East Asia

Questions

East Asia

• SCIS Videos and Student Presentations

East Asia

• SCIS Videos and Student Presentations

• Social Issues, Human Rights and the Environment– SCIS Video– Student Presentations

East Asia

East Asia

East Asia

• Social Issues, Human Rights and the Environment– SCIS Video– Student Presentations

East Asia

• The East Asian Economic Miracle – SCIS Video– Student Presentations

East Asia

East Asia

• The East Asian Economic Miracle – SCIS Video– Student Presentations

East Asia

• East Asian Politics – SCIS Video– Student Presentations

East Asia

East Asia

• East Asian Politics – SCIS Video– Student Presentations

East Asia

• U.S. Interests – SCIS Video– Student Presentations

East Asia

East Asia

• U.S. Interests – SCIS Video– Student Presentations

• Questions

East Asia

East Asia

Real Estate

east asian people

east asian views

happiness east asian

asian societies face

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concept of face

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