East Asian cultural sphere facts for kids
The East Asian cultural sphere is a special part of Asia. It includes countries that have been greatly influenced by Chinese culture. You can also call it the Sinosphere. Think of it like a big family of cultures!
These influences include things like how people write, their art, food, and even how their governments are set up. The main countries in this area are Mainland China, Hong Kong, Macau, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, and Singapore. Sometimes, Mongolia and Vietnam are also included. China had a huge trade network. This helped its ideas and goods spread easily to its neighbors in East Asia.
Contents
Long ago, all these countries used only Chinese characters for writing. Today, only Chinese and Japanese speakers use Chinese characters every day.
Other countries created their own writing systems. For example, Korea developed Hangul. Vietnam started using the Latin alphabet. Even so, the languages in these countries still have many words that came from Chinese. These are called Chinese loanwords.
Important Cultural Ideas
Many important ideas and traditions spread from China throughout East Asia.
Confucianism
Confucianism is a system of beliefs and ideas from ancient China. It was started by a wise teacher named Confucius. Confucianism teaches about good behavior, respect for elders, and how to have a stable society. These ideas became very important in China, Korea, Japan, and Vietnam. They influenced how people lived and how governments were run.
Buddhism
Mahayana Buddhism is another major influence. This religion came from India but spread widely in East Asia. It teaches about finding peace and understanding life. You can see its influence in the many temples and statues across the region.
Architecture and Art
Chinese architecture has had a big impact on buildings in Vietnam, Korea, and Japan. You can see similar styles in temples, palaces, and traditional homes. Art forms, like painting and ceramics, also share common themes and techniques. Even legendary creatures, like the East Asian Dragons, are important in the stories and art of these cultures.
Images for kids
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East Asian Dragons are legendary creatures in East-Asian mythology and culture.
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Imperial City, Hue, Vietnam. Chinese architecture has had a major influence on the East Asian architectural styles of Vietnam, Korea, and Japan.
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Mahayana Buddhism, particular to East Asian religion.
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Confucianism plays a crucial part in East Asian culture.
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Temple of Literature, Hanoi. Confucian education and imperial examinations played a huge role in creating scholars and mandarins (bureaucrats) for East-Asian dynasties.
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Numbers in Chinese and Sinoxenic languages.
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The Universal Declaration of Human Rights in CJKV languages. Shared vocabulary are coloured. From left to right, Vietnamese (Tiếng Việt), Japanese (Nihongo; にほんご), Korean (Han'gugeo; 한국어), and Chinese (Zhōngwén; ㄓㄨㄥ ㄨㄣˊ).
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See also
In Spanish: Sinoesfera para niños
