Far East

Far East Countries
Far east1.png
Location of the Far East
narrow definition, to the exclusion of South Asia and Western China
Chinese name
Traditional Chinese 遠東
Simplified Chinese 远东
Literal meaning Far East
Filipino name
Tagalog Silanganan (poetic)
Malayong Silangan (literal)
Indonesian name
Indonesian Timur Jauh
Japanese name
Kanji 極東
Korean name
Hangul 극동
Hanja 極東
Malay name
Malay Timur Jauh
Burmese name
Burmese အရှေ့ဖျား ဒေသ
IPA: [ʔəʃe̯bjá dèθa̯]
Portuguese name
Portuguese Extremo Oriente
Russian name
Russian Дальний Восток
Thai name
Thai ตะวันออกไกล
Tawan-oak klai
Vietnamese name
Quốc ngữ Viễn Đông
Chữ nôm 遠東 (Sino-Vietnamese vocabulary)
Hán tự 遠東

The Far East is a term used in English (with equivalents in various other languages of Europe and Asia, Chinese 遠東 yuǎn dōng literally translating to "far east") mostly equivalent to East Asia (including the Russian Far East) and Southeast Asia,[1] sometimes to the inclusion of South Asia for economic and cultural reasons.[2]

"Far East" came into use in European geopolitical discourse in the 19th century, denoting Eastern Asia as the "farthest" of the three "easts", beyond the Near East and the Middle East. For the same reason, ancient Chinese people called western countries "Tàixī (泰西)"—i.e. anything further west than India. The term is no longer commonly used, as it connotes the "orientalism" of the 19th century as described by Edward Said. Today terms like East Asia and the Orient are more common.[3]

Contents

Popularisation

The term Far East was popularized in the English language during the period of the British Empire as a blanket term for lands to the east of British India. Prior to World War I, the Near East referred to relatively nearby lands of the Ottoman Empire, Middle East to northwestern South Asia and Central Asia, and Far East for countries along the western Pacific Ocean and countries along the eastern Indian Ocean. Many European languages have analogous terms, such as the French Extrême-Orient, Spanish Extremo Oriente, Portuguese Extremo Oriente, German Ferner Osten, Italian Estremo Oriente, Polish Daleki Wschód, and Dutch Verre Oosten.

Cultural as well as geographic meaning

A common cultural feature of the Far East is the dominance of Dharmic religions such as Buddhism

Significantly, the term evokes cultural as well as geographic separation; the Far East is not just geographically distant, but also culturally exotic. It never refers, for instance, to the culturally Western nations of Australia and New Zealand, which lie even farther to the east of Europe than East Asia itself. This combination of cultural and geographic subjectivism was well illustrated in 1939 by the Prime Minister of Australia, R. G Menzies. Reflecting upon his country's geopolitical concerns with the onset of war, Menzies commented that:

"The problems of the Pacific are different. What Great Britain calls the Far East is to us the near north."[4]

Far East in its usual sense is comparable to terms such as the Orient, which means East; the Eastern world; or simply the East. South East Asia and the Russian Far East might now be included in the Far East to some extent due to recent Chinese migration to Russia, and the Korean diaspora in Russia.

Concerning the term, John K. Fairbank and Edwin O. Reischauer, professors of East Asian Studies at Harvard University, wrote (in East Asia: The Great Tradition): "When Europeans traveled far to the east to reach Cathay, Japan and the Indies, they naturally gave those distant regions the general name 'Far East.' Americans who reached China, Japan and Southeast Asia by sail and steam across the Pacific could, with equal logic, have called that area the 'Far West.' For the people who live in that part of the world, however, it is neither 'East' nor 'West' and certainly not 'Far.' A more generally acceptable term for the area is 'East Asia,' which is geographically more precise and does not imply the outdated notion that Europe is the center of the civilized world."[5]

The term remains in use, alongside more specific terms such as East Asia and Southeast Asia, or Pacific Rim, and it features in the names of many Asian-based commercial enterprises and institutions. Examples include: Far Eastern National University in Vladivostok, Far Eastern University in the City of Manila, South Korean's Far East University, and the Hong Kong-based Far Eastern Economic Review. Furthemore, the United Kingdom and United States of America have historically used Far East for several military units and commands in the region:

Territories and regions conventionally included under the term Far East

Name of region[6] and
territory, with flag		 Area
(km²)		 Population
(2008 est.)		 Population density
(per km²)		 Capital Government Currency Official languages Coat of Arms
East Asia
People's Republic of China People's Republic of China (PRC)[7]
(Tibet and Xinjiang are often excluded from Far East)		 6,752,420[8]
 1,299,381,888[9] 161.0 Beijing Single-party state,
Socialist republic		 Yuan (Renminbi) Mandarin
(see Languages of China)		 National Emblem of the People's Republic of China.svg
Hong Kong Hong Kong [10] 1,104 6,985,200 6,352.0 Victoria City One country, two systems Hong Kong dollar Cantonese,
English		 Hong Kong SAR Regional Emblem.svg
Japan Japan 377,873 127,433,494 337.0 Tokyo Parliamentary democracy,
Constitutional monarchy		 Yen None
Japanese as de facto		 Imperial Seal of Japan.svg
Macau Macau [11] 28.6 520,400 17,310.0 Macau One country, two systems Macanese pataca Cantonese,
Portuguese		 Coat of arms of Macao.svg
Mongolia Mongolia 1,564,116 2,951,786 1.7 Ulaanbaatar Parliamentary republic Tögrög Mongolian Coat of Arms of Mongolia.svg
North Korea North Korea 120,540 23,301,725 190.0 Pyongyang Juche,
Socialist Republic		 North Korean won Korean Coat of Arms of North Korea.svg
South Korea South Korea 100,032 49,044,790 493.0 Seoul Presidential republic Won Korean Coat of arms of South Korea.svg
Republic of China Republic of China (Taiwan)[12] 36,188 22,911,292 633.12 Taipei Semi-presidential system New Taiwan dollar Mandarin Republic of China National Emblem.svg
Southeast Asia
Brunei Brunei 5,765 381,371 66.0 Bandar Seri Begawan Absolute Islamic Sultanate Brunei dollar Malay, Bruneian Coat of arms of Brunei.svg
Cambodia Cambodia 181,035 14,241,640 78.0 Phnom Penh Constitutional monarchy Riel Khmer Royal Arms of Cambodia.svg
East Timor East Timor
(Timor-Leste)[13]		 15,410 1,115,000 64.0 Dili Parliamentary republic U.S. Dollar / Centavo coins Tetum and Portuguese Coat of arms of East Timor.svg
Indonesia Indonesia[14] 1,419,588 237,512,355 159.9 Jakarta Presidential republic Rupiah Indonesian Garuda Pancasila, Coat Arms of Indonesia.svg
Laos Laos 236,800 6,521,998 25.0 Vientiane Socialist Republic Kip Lao Coat of arms of Laos.svg
Malaysia Malaysia 329,847 27,730,000 83.0 Kuala Lumpur Federal constitutional monarchy,
Parliamentary democracy		 Ringgit Malay
Myanmar Myanmar (Burma) 676,578 55,390,000 75.0 Naypyidaw Military junta Kyat Burmese Coat of arms of Burma 2008.png
Papua New Guinea Papua New Guinea 462,840 6,732,000 14.5 Port Morseby Unitary parliamentary
constitutional monarchy		 Kina Hiri Motu, Tok Pisin, and English Coat of arms of Papua New Guinea.svg
Philippines Philippines 300,000 90,500,000 295.0 Manila Unitary presidential
constitutional republic		 Peso (Piso) Filipino and English Revised-Coat of Arms of the Philippines.png
Singapore Singapore 707.1 4,588,600 6,489.0 Singapore Parliamentary republic Singapore dollar Malay, English,
Mandarin, and Tamil		 Coat of arms of Singapore.jpg
Thailand Thailand 513,115 63,038,247 122.0 Bangkok Parliamentary democracy,
Constitutional monarchy		 Baht Thai Thai Garuda emblem.svg
Vietnam Vietnam 331,690 86,116,559 253.0 Hanoi Socialist Republic đồng Vietnamese Coat of arms of Vietnam.svg
North Asia
Russia Russian Far East (Russia)[15] 6,215,900[16] 6,692,865[16] 3.0 Moscow Federal semi-presidential republic Ruble Russian and
27 other co-official languages		 Coat of Arms of the Russian Federation.svg

Cities

See also

Notes

  1. ↑ AskOxford: Far East
  2. ↑ The 'Far Eastern Economic Review' for example covers news from India and Sri Lanka.
  3. ↑ Reischauer, Edwin and John K Fairbank, East Asia: The Great Tradition, 1960.
  4. ↑ Broadcast Speech by Mr R.G. Menzies, Prime Minister
  5. ↑ Reischauer, Edwin and John K Fairbank, East Asia: The Great Tradition, 1960.
  6. ↑   Continental regions as per UN categorisations (map), except 12. Depending on definitions, various territories cited below (notes 6, 11-13, 15, 17-19, 21-23) may be in one or both of Asia and Europe, Africa, or Oceania.
  7. ↑   The state is commonly known as simply "China", which is subsumed by the eponymous entity and civilisation (China). Figures given are for mainland China only, and do not include Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan.
  8. ↑ Includes PRC-administered area (Aksai Chin and Trans-Karakoram Tract, both territories claimed by India), Taiwan is not included Tibet and Xinjiang excluded).
  9. ↑ Information listed is for mainland China only. The Special Administrative Regions of the PRC: Hong Kong and Macau are excluded. In addition, the island territories under the control of the Republic of China, which includes the islands of Taiwan, Kinmen, and Matsu are also excluded (Tibet and Xinjiang excluded).
  10. ↑   Hong Kong is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the PRC.
  11. ↑   Macau is a Special Administrative Region (SAR) of the PRC.
  12. ↑   Figures are for the area under the de facto control of the Republic of China (ROC) government, commonly referred to as Taiwan. Claimed in whole by the PRC; see political status of Taiwan.
  13. ↑   East Timor is often considered a transcontinental country in Southeastern Asia and Oceania.
  14. ↑ Indonesia is often considered a transcontinental country in Southeastern Asia and Oceania; figures do not include Irian Jaya and Maluku Islands, frequently reckoned in Oceania (Melanesia/Australasia).
  15. ↑   Russia is generally considered a transcontinental country in Eastern Europe (UN region) and Northern Asia; population and area figures are for Asian portion only.
  16. ↑ 16.0 16.1 Only includes the area of Far Eastern Federal District.

References

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