ASIA
DISCOVER ASIA
NO CENTRAL ASIA WESTERN ASIA
EA
SOUTH AS
ORTHERN ASIA
AST ASIA
SIA SOUTH EAST ASIA
“There is a wide variety of languages spoken throughout Asia, comprising a number of families and some unrelated isolates. Asian languages usually have a long tradition of writing.�
Language
Language The major families in terms of numbers are Indo-European in South Asia and SinoTibetan in East Asia. Its position in the cultures of Greater India is akin to that of Latin and Ancient Greek in Europe and it has significantly influenced most modern languages of the Indian subcontinent, particularly in India, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Sri Lanka and Nepal. Hindi is a standardised and Sanskritised register of the Hindustani language. The Thai script uses a number of modifications to write Sanskrit and related languages. East Asian languages belong to several language families that are generally believed to be genetically unrelated, but share many features due to interaction. In the Mainland Southeast Asia linguistic
Language
area, Chinese varieties and languages of southeast Asia share many areal features, tending to be analytic languages with similar syllable and tone structure. In the first millennium AD, Chinese culture came to dominate east Asia. Literary Chinese was adopted by scholars in Vietnam, Korea and Japan, and there was a massive influx of Chinese vocabulary into these and other neighbouring languages. The Chinese script was also adapted to write Vietnamese, Korean and Japanese. Sino-Tibetan includes Chinese, Tibetan, Burmese, and numerous languages of the Tibetan Plateau, southern China, Burma, and North east India. The Indo-European family is represented by the Indic branch, which includes Hindi, Urdu, Punjabi and many other languages of India (Assamese, Bengali etc.), Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka and the Maldives; the Iranian branch, which includes Persian, Pashto, and other languages of
Language
Iran, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Central Asia; the Slavic branch, which includes Russian in Siberia; Greek around the Black Sea; and Armenian; as well as extinct languages such as Hittite of Anatolia and Tocharian of (Chinese) Turkestan. A number of smaller, but important language families spread across central and northern Asia have long been linked in an as-yet unproven Altaic family. These are the Turkic languages, Mongolic languages, Tungusic languages (including Manchu), Korean, and Japonic languages. The Austronesian languages include the languages of the Philippines and most of the languages of Indonesia (excluding inland New Guinea), such as Malay (Indonesian) and Tagalog (Filipino). The Dravidian languages of southern India and parts of Sri Lanka include Tamil, Kannada, Telugu, and Malayalam, while smaller languages such as Gondi and Brahui are spoken in central India and
Pakistan respectively. The Afroasiatic languages are represented by the Semitic group spoken in Southwest Asia. It includes Arabic, Hebrew, Aramaic, and extinct languages such as Babylonian. Besides the Altaic families already mentioned (of which Tungusic is today a minor family of Siberia), there are a number of small language families and isolates spoken across northern Asia. These include the Uralic languages of western Siberia (better known for Hungarian and Finnish in Europe), the Yeniseian languages (linked to the Athabaskan languages of North America), Yukaghir, Nivkh of Sakhalin, Ainu of northern Japan, Chukotko-Kamchatkan in easternmost Siberia, and—just barely—Eskimo–Aleut.
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Language
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“Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, with millions of different peoples following a wide variety of different religions.�
Religion
Religion Asia was the birthplace of most of the world's mainstream religions including Christianity, Islam, Judaism, Hinduism, Buddhism, Confucianism, Taoism, Jainism, Sikhism, Zoroastranism, as well as many other religions. Hinduism is the majority religion in India (80%), Nepal (81%), and the Indonesian island of Bali (83.5%), with strong minorities in the Asian nations of Bhutan, Fiji, Indonesia, Malaysia, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Singapore, and Sri Lanka. Before the arrival of Buddhism and Islam in Southwest Asia and Southeast Asia, Hinduism (and Shaivism in particular) was the most widely practiced religion in Southwest Asia and Southeast Asia. Hinduism as we know it can be subdivided
Christianity
Religion
Islam
into a number of major currents. The main divisions of Hinduism are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Smartism and Shaktism. The vast majority of present-day Hindus can be categorized under one of these four groups, although there are many other, partly overlapping, allegiances and denominations. Hinduism predates recorded history and is thought to have had a beginning during the Indus Valley Civilization itself. It has no single founder; rather, it is a diverse melange of traditions, practices, and lineages. Jainism, Buddhism and Sikhism emerged in ancient India from Hinduism. Jainism is an Indian religion. Jains are mostly found in India but are increasingly found throughout the world. Jains have significantly influenced and contributed to ethical, political and economic spheres in India. Jains have an ancient tradition of scholarship and have the highest degree of literacy for a religious community in India.
Religion
Jain libraries are the oldest in the country. It has traditionally been confined to the Indian Subcontinent and West Asia. It is based on the teachings of Vardhaman Mahavir and also on 23 other Tirthankaras. Buddhism is the fourth largest world religion and the 3rd largest in Asia, which is 12% of Asia’s population.It is dominant and the majority in Bhutan, Burma, Cambodia, Tibet, Laos, Mongolia, Sri Lanka and Thailand. Large Buddhist populations live in China (18.2%), Japan (36.2%),Taiwan (35%), Macau (17%), North Korea (13.8%), Nepal (10.7%), Vietnam (10%),Singapore (33%), Hong Kong (15%) and South Korea (22.9%). It also has strong minorities in India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Brunei, the Philippines and Russia. Buddhism was founded by Siddartha Gautama, also known as Buddha. Before the rise of Islam, Buddhism was one of the most widely practiced religions in Central Asia, ancient Persia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Indonesia.
Sikhism is the 3rd largest religion in India with 2% of the total population being Sikh. There is also a large concentration of Sikhs in Malaysia, Thailand, Burma, the Philippines, Pakistan, Afghanistan, Hongkong, Singapore, Indonesia, Kuwait and U.A.E. Confucianism was founded in China by the famous philosopher, Kung Fū Tzu. Confucianism is a complex system of moral, social, political, philosophical, and quasireligious thought that has had tremendous influence on the culture and history of East Asia. Some consider it to be the state religion of East Asian countries because of governmental promotion of Confucian values. Today the Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese diaspora has brought Confucianism to the world. Taoist propriety and ethics may vary depending on the particular school, but in general tends to emphasize wu-wei (action through non-action), “naturalness”,
Religion
simplicity, spontaneity, and the Three Treasures: compassion, moderation, and humility. Significant Taoist communities can be found in China, Korea, Japan and Vietnam along with the Chinese, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese diaspora. Chinese folk religion are a label used to describe the ethnic religious traditions which have been a main belief system in China and among the Han Chinese ethnic group for most of the civilization’s history until today. Shinto is the largest religion in Japan, practiced by nearly 80% of the population, yet only a small percentage of these identify themselves as “Shintoists� in surveys. According to surveys carried out in 2006 and 2008 show that 3% to 3.9% of the population of Japan are members of Shinto sects and derived religions. The biggest numbers of Zoroastrians in Asia can be found in India where lives 69,000 Zoroastrian, and in Iran (25,000),
Buddhism
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Hinduism
Afghanistan (10,000), Pakistan (5,000), Singapore (4,500), Persian Gulf Countries (2,200) and in Azerbaijan (2,000). Shamanism and Animism has historically been practised in Asia, and is still practiced in most of Asia. Outside of Israel there are small ancient communities of Jewish still live in Turkey (17,400), Azerbaijan (9,100), Iran (8,756), India (5,000) and Uzbekistan (4,000). Christianity which originated from the life and teachings of Jesus in 1st century Roman Palestine, is a widespread minority religion in Asia with more than 286 million adherents according to Pew Research Center in 2010, and nearly 364 million according to Britannica Book of the Year 2014 constituting around 12.6% of the total population of Asia. The Bahá’í Faith is an Abrahamic religion. It was so founded by Bahá’u’lláh in what was then Persia (Iran). Today the largest national population of Bahá’ís is
Religion
in India with between 1.7 million to 3.2 million, where there is also the Lotus Temple. Significant populations are found in many countries including Vietnam and Malaysia where “about 1%”, some 260,000, of the population are Bahá’ís. In other places, like Kazakhstan there are 25 Local Spiritual Assemblies. In modern-day Iran, the religion is severely persecuted (see Persecution of Bahá’ís). In neighboring Turkmenistan, Bahá’í Faith is effectively banned, and individuals have had their homes raided for Bahá’í literature. A number of adherents of Islam have lived in Asia & specially West Asia and South Asia since the beginning of Islamic history. Islam is the largest religion in Asia with approx. 1.1 billion adherents.
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Sikhism
“Asia, being the largest and most populous continent, is home to many cultures.�
Cuisine
Cuisine Asian cuisine refers to any of several major regional cuisines, including East Asian, Southeast Asian, South Asian, Central Asian, and Middle Eastern. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, usually associated with a specific culture. Asia, being the largest and most populous continent, is home to many cultures, many of which have their own characteristic cuisine. Ingredients common to many cultures in the East and Southeast regions of the continent include rice, ginger, garlic, sesame seeds, chilies, dried onions, soy, and tofu. Stir frying, steaming, and deep frying are common cooking methods. While rice is common to
Cuisine
most Asian cuisines, different varieties are popular in the various regions. Basmati rice is popular in the subcontinent, Jasmine rice is often found across the southeast, while longgrain rice is popular in China and short-grain in Japan and Korea. East Asian cuisine includes Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Mongolian, and Taiwanese food. Considering this is the most populated region of the world, it has a lot of regional cuisines (especially China). Examples of staple foods include rice, noodles, mung beans, soy beans, seafood (Japan has the highest per capita consumption of seafood), mutton (Mongolia), bok choy (Chinese cabbage), and tea. Southeast Asian cuisine includes a strong emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with a strong aromatic component that features such flavors as citrus and herbs such as mint, coriander/cilantro and basil. Ingredients in the region contrast with the
Cuisine
ones in the Eastern Asian cuisines, substituting fish sauces for soy sauce and the inclusion of ingredients such as galangal, tamarind and lemon grass. Cooking methods include a balance of stir-frying, boiling and steaming. South Asian cuisine are flavoured with various types of chili, black pepper, cloves, and other strong herbs and spices along with the flavoured butter ghee. Ginger is an ingredient that can be used in both savory and sweet recipes in South Asian cuisine. Chopped ginger is fried with meat and pickled ginger is often an accompaniment to boiled rice. Ginger juice and ginger boiled in syrup are used to make desserts. Turmeric and cumin are often used to make curries. Most Central Asian nations have similar cuisines to each other as well as their neighbors, taking many features of the neighboring cuisines of Western and Eastern Asia, particularly Mongolia. A dish known as “plov”, or “osh”, for example, is a widespread
Cuisine
variation of pilaf. However, many of the same countries use horse meat and mutton as the most common meats, similar to beef in the U.S.. This is owing to Mongolian cuisine. In Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, cuisine has evolved to meet the needs of a nomad lifestyle. Central Asia is also noted for being the birthplace of yogurt. Like kumis, it is widespread among Turkic peoples. Middle Eastern cuisine is the cuisine of the various countries and peoples of the Middle East. The cuisine of the region is diverse while having a degree of homogeneity. Some commonly used ingredients include olives and olive oil, pitas, honey, sesame seeds, dates, sumac, chickpeas, mint and parsley. Some popular
Cuisine
dishes include kibbeh and shawarma. North Asian cuisine is often synonymous with Russian cuisine, due to all of Northern Asia being a part of the Russian Federation. However, some cultures or areas of Siberia have in-depth cuisine, such as the Yakuts (or Sakha) and Yamal cuisine. Buryats also have their own cuisine, although it is very similar to that of the related Mongolians.
This is a list of Asian cuisines, by region. A cuisine is a characteristic style of cooking practices and traditions, usually associated with a specific culture or region. Asia, being the largest and most populous continent, has many great cuisines. Central Asian cuisine, the cuisine of “the six stans”, includes food from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, and Afghanistan. East Asian cuisine has evolved with a common usage of oils, fats and sauces in the preparation of dishes (with the notable exception of Japanese cuisine). Southeast Asian cuisine – includes a strong emphasis on lightly prepared dishes with a strong aromatic component that features such flavors as citrus and herbs such as mint, cilantro (coriander) and basil. Ingredients in the region contrast with the ones in the Eastern Asian cuisines, substituting fish sauces for soy sauce and the inclusion of ingredients such as galangal, tamarind and lemon grass. Cooking methods include a balance of stirfrying, boiling and steaming. South Asian cuisine includes the cuisines
Cuisine
from the Indian subcontinent and when included in the definition, also that of Afghanistan. It has roots in South Asia, including practices taken from the Hindu beliefs practiced by the large population found in the region, alongside in some regional cuisines, certain influences from neighboring regions and cultures, particularly from Muslim cultures of the Middle East and Central Asia. Dishes in this area of the world are known for their use of hot peppers, black pepper, cloves, and other strong spices along with the flavored butter ghee. Common meats include lamb, goat and chicken; beef is not as common as in western cuisines because the tenets of the Hindu faith prohibit its consumption. Other staples of many of the cuisines include rice, chapati made from wheat and barley, and beans. The cuisine of South Asia has mostly indigenous roots, as well as practices taken from the Hindu beliefs practiced by the large population found in the region. Naan, a type of flat bread from the former regions, is a common part of meals in many parts of South Asia.
Cuisine
References Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 2 Dec. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Religion_in_Asia>. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 2 Dec. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Asian_cuisine>. "___ Official and Spoken Languages of Countries in Asia and the Middle East." Asian Languages by Countries. Web. 2 Dec. 2015. <http://www.nationsonline.org/ oneworld/asian_languages.htm>. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 2 Dec. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Languages_of_Asia>. Wikipedia. Wikimedia Foundation. Web. 2 Dec. 2015. <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sanskrit>. "Food Map of Asia - Google Search." Food Map of Asia - Google Search. Web. 2 Dec. 2015.