Social Environment

Chapter 2
All Races in Asia
 In Asia are found almost all races of man.
 The brown race is represented by the
Filipinos, Malaysians and Indonesians.
 The yellow race is found in China and
Japan.
All Races in Asia
 The Aryan or Indo-European branch of the
white race is represented by the Afghans,
Iranians, and Indians (Indian Peninsula).
 The Semitic branch of the white race is
represented by the Arabs, Jews, Iraqis
and Syrians.
All Races in Asia
 Because of Asian colonial history, mixed
marriages produced Eurasian (part
European, part Asian) people.
 In the Philippines, Eurasians are called
"meztizos." The Filipinos are unique in the
world because they have shared cultural
influences from four different cultures -
Asian, European, Latin (Mexico), and
American.
Population
 Asia is the most populated continent in the
world. More than half of mankind lives in
Asia.
 According to the latest demographic
statistics, out of the total world population
of 5.85 billion, 2.5 billion (60%) live in Asia.
 The other interesting fact is that one half of
the 3 billion Asians live only in two
countries: China and India.
Population
 There are serious problems of
overpopulation and poverty in Asia.
 The overcrowding has caused such
disasters as floods, droughts, famine and
disease.
 The outstanding problems are how to
increase food production and how to
reduce the birth rate.
Character Traits
 Most Asians are born and grow up with
and which differ significantly from the
western character.
 The characteristic traits are: (1) spirituality,
(2) fatalism, (3) stoicism, (4) hospitality.,
(5) extended family relationship, (6) a
sense of continuity, and (7) indirect
reasoning.
Literature and Languages
 Literature and languages in Asia spread
from each of the four great civilizations of
Mesopotamia, Persia, India, and China.
 Islam and Buddhism brought a degree of
unity to the otherwise dissimilar literatures
of the different countries.
Literature and Languages
 The Sumerians invented the cuneiform
writing. This alphabet was widely used all
over the Middle East in earliest times.
 The literature of Babylonia and Assyria
include elegies, hymns, songs in praise
king, and epic stories, or which the most
famous is the "Epic of Gilgamesh."
Literature and Languages
 Mesopotamian literature was merged with
Persian literature and Arab conquests
introduced Islamic culture.
 Very little Hebrew survived apart from the
Bible. However, the Bible is revered by
Christians as the greatest book ever written,
revealing God's plan pf salvation through
Jesus Christ.
Literature and Languages
 More than 40 different writers in 13
countries wrote the Bible under inspiration
over a period of 1,600 years.
 The Bible has its unifying theme: man's
complete inability to save himself and
God's perfect remedy in Christ.
Literature and Languages
 Arab literature includes a vast range of
works, written in different languages of the
nations swept by Islam.
 The Quran or Koran (7th century AD)
became the basis for codifying the Arab
language.
Literature and Languages
 Persian literature contains Zoroastrian
religious texts and heroic and epic
romances.
 The greatest Persian epic poet was
Firdusi. Two other were Omar Khayyan
and Hafiz.
Literature and Languages
 The main literary languages of ancient
times were Sanskrit, Pali and the
vernaculars.
 Sanskrit was used during the Vedic period
and the ancient Vedic epic period,
Mahabharata and Ramayana.
 After two epic periods, Indian literature
split into two streams, the Sanskrit and the
vernacular dialects.
Literature and Languages
 The greatest Sanskrit poet of the 5th
century was Kalidasa, the "Shakespeare
of India" whose greatest drama was
Sakuntala.
Literature and Languages
 In China, earliest records were inscriptions
dating to the 2nd century BC.
 Among the oldest works are the I Ching
(Book of Changes), the Shih Ching (Book
of Songs), the Tao Te Ching (The Way of
Virtues) by Lao Tzu and the Analects of
Confucius.
Literature and Languages
 The key to Japan's literature development
was the introduction of Chinese writing.
The coming of Buddhism and other
Chinese cultural influences revolutionized
Japanese culture.
 Two greatest chronicles were the Kojiki
and the Nihongi.
Literature and Languages
 Prose literature had a great revival and
Murasaki Shikibu wrote Genji Monagatari
(The Tales of Genji).
 Kabuki and Noh were the most popular
literatures suited for the increasing spread
of education in Japan.
Awards to Asians
 Nobel Prize in Literature
 1913 - Rabindranath Togore (India)
 1968 - Yasunari Kawabata (Japan)
 Nobel Prize in Medicine
 1987 - Dr. Sasaumu Tonegawa (Japan)
 Pulitzer Prize in Journalism
 1942 - Carlos P. Romulo (Philippines)
Art
 Asian art highly diverse and has generally
been influenced by geography, politics and
religion.
 The nations of the northern region led
nomadic and pastoral lives. Their art was
mainly decorative and functional for the
household.
Art
 The nations of southern Asia developed
stable civilizations. Hence their art was
more monumental and sophisticated.
 The mixed cultures in border areas and
along river valleys produced a variety of
art forms showing the impact of many
cultures and styles.
Art
 Art has also been influence by political
leaders.
 The great rulers of Asia have traditionally
commissioned artists to produce works that
would extol their reign.
 To satisfy their vanity, Asian kings and
emperors have built mausoleum, palaces,
monuments and statues in their honor. The
Taj Mahal of India is a good example of this.
Art
 It was only in the encounter with Western
colonialists during the 16th-17th centuries
that Asian art became more secular and
popular due to Western influence.
Religion
 Asia is the cradle of the world's great religions
- Christianity, Judaism, Islam, Buddhism,
Hinduism, Jainism, Confucianism, Taoism,
Shinto and Zoroastrianism.
 In addition to these major beliefs, numerous
cults and spiritual movements have led
Asians. This is so because Asians is deeply
spiritual by nature.
Outstanding Facts about Religion
 Asia is the cradle of the world's great
religion.
 Christianity and Judaism originated in
Palestine. Islam in Arabia, Hinduism and
Buddhism in India.
 Confucianism and Taoism were founded in
China.
 Shinto in Japan and Zoroastrianism in Iran.
Outstanding Facts about
Religion
 The relation between the divine and the
human in Asia is so intimate that there is
no dividing line between the sacred and
the secular.
 Asians are deeply bonded to idolatry and
the occult in their religious practices.
Outstanding Facts about
Religion
 Most Asians are unable or unwilling to
accept the invisible reality and unified
nature of God, they are often misled into
seeking spiritual satisfaction from many
gods, physical images and magic.
Outstanding Facts about
Religion
 Christianity, Islam and Buddhism
encourage new converts. The other
religions (Judaism, Hinduism,
Zoroastrianism and Jainism) regard new
converts with mistrust and discourage
them altogether.
Outstanding Facts about
Religion
 Christianity, Judaism and Islam are
exclusive to other religions; they do not
associate or admit the validity of other
beliefs.
 Buddhism, Hinduism and Confucianism
are inclusive and tolerate co-existence
with other beliefs.
Reasons why Christianity is a
Minority Religion in Asia
 Christianity, which Christ founded in Asia,
is unfortunately a minority religion in Asia.
 Only about 100 million Asians, or 3% of
the population in Asian countries are
Christian, most of them living in the
Philippines, Macao, and South Korea.
Reasons why Christianity is a
Minority Religion in Asia
 Christianity is regarded with suspicion by most
Asians who look on it as a colonial religion,
brought by untrustworthy Western imperialists.
 The misbehavior of the Christians themselves
presented new converts from accepting
Christianity. The intolerance and arrogance of
many foreign missionaries were repugnant to
the Asians.
Reasons why Christianity is a
Minority Religion in Asia
 Some Asians believe that their own religion
offers all that Christianity provides, by way of
miracles or ethics.
 Non-Christian Asians have grown accustomed
into believing that their own religious rites,
prayers and good works can earn them
salvation and therefore conclude that they do
not need the free redemption of Christ.
Asian Contributions to Mankind
 Asia is the birthplace of the human race.
According to the Bible, God created the
first man and the first woman to live in the
Garden of Eden which is believed to be
somewhere in the Tigris-Euphrates Valley.
Asian Contributions to Mankind
 Relics of prehistoric man have been
discovered by archeologists in Asia,
notably "Java Man" and "Peking Man",
both whom date as far back as 800,000
years ago.
Asian Contributions to Mankind
 Asia is the cradle of civilization. The
earliest civilization emerged in the Tigris-
Euphrates Valley of Mesopotamia, the
plateau of Iran, the Indus Valley of India
and the Huang Ho Valley of China. The
Chinese civilization, still existing, is the
oldest civilization of our own times.
Asian Contributions to Mankind
 Asia is the homeland of the world's great
religions.
 Asia produced the first inventions and
discoveries.
 The ancient Sumerians of Mesopotamia invented
the first plow and first wheel and they also invented
the first writing called cuneiform (from Latin
"cuneus" meaning invented and "forma" or form).
Asian Contributions to Mankind
 The Babylonians invented the sexagesimal
system in mathematics (calculations by
sixties) and devised the Twelve Signs of the
Zodiac.
 The Hittites were the first people in history to
mine iron and to manufacture iron tools and
weapons.
Asian Contributions to Mankind
 The Lydians were the first people to use gold
and silver coins. The Phoenicians invented the
alphabet and which the Greeks later improved.
 The Hindus of ancient India invented the zero
sign and the numerals in mathematics. These
Hindu numerals came to be known as the
"Arabic numerals" because the Arabs spread
them to Europe.
Asian Contributions to Mankind
 The Chinese invented the compass, gunpowder,
printing, and paper money. They also introduced
the used of silk, ceramics, tea and rockets in
warfare.
 Asia has spawned great personalities. Among
them were the founders of the world's great
religions - Buddha, Christ, and Muhammad.
 Philosophers like Confucius of China, Patanjali of
India and Avicenna of Iran.
Asian Contributions to Mankind
 Gifted men of letters such as Li Po and Tu Fu of
China, Kalidasa of India, Firdusi and Omar
Khayyam of Iran.
 Powerful monarchs such as Nebuchadnezzar of
Babylonia, Cyrus of the Great Persia, King Solomon
of Israel, Emperor Yung-Lo of China, Emperor
Asoka of India, Caliph Haroun al-Raschid of
Baghdad, Sultan Suleiman the Great of the
Ottoman Empire and Emperor Mutsushito of Japan.
Asian Contributions to Mankind
 Mightythunderbolts of war such as Attila the Hun,
known as the "Scourge of God", Genghis Khan of
Mongolia, Tameriane of Samarkand, Sultan
Muhammad II of the Ottoman Empire, the conqueror
of Constantinople, Hideyoshi of Japan and also
fabulous women - Empress Wu Ti, China's "Woman
Warrior", Tzu His, the famous Chinese Empress
Dowager, and the celebrated Trung sisters (Trung
Trac and Trung Nhi), the two "Joans of Arc" of
Veitnam.
Asian Contributions to Mankind
 Dr.Jose Rizal, the National Hero of the
Philippines, a genius and a political martyr, is
considered the "Greatest Man of the Malay
Race."