Background Reading on Asia

Read all about Asia and the world, with background reading that will give you context on culture, history, religions and philosophies, education systems, and more!

selective focus gold buddha sitting statue on the wall, Fo Guang Shan Chu Un Temple, Cebu City, Philippines

Religion in the Philippines

The Philippines boasts to be the only Christian nation in Asia. Learn about its religious diversity and history.
A mural of Kim Il Sung in the foreground (Anne Hilton)

North Korea: Looking Beyond the Stereotypes

We've compiled resources to help you cut through the stereotypes surrounding North Korea and more deeply examine the country, its people, and the complexities of its politics and nuclear program.
Tsinghua University, East Gate

China's Education System: The Oldest in the World

It may sound incredible, but China’s formal education system—the oldest in the world—was established nearly two millennia ago.
October 9 is the only national holiday dedicated to a writing system.

The World's Most Incredible Alphabet

Hint: It was invented to fit a language that previously used a borrowed writing system.
Folio from a Ashtasahashirika Prajnaparamita Manuscript

Visualize the World

Museum resources and educational resources that help students develop visual literacy and a better understanding of the world.
Tang Dynasty copy of 新婦地黃湯帖 by Wang Xianzhi (Taito Ward Calligraphy Museum). Image is in the public domain.

Revelations from the Brush

A case for practicing calligraphy from one learner's perspective.
A painting that has traces of the three teachings (Metropolitan Museum of Art)

The Three Teachings

How Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism complement one another. Read on to learn about the "fourth teaching."
A Tibetan mantra inscribed in rocks at Zanskar, India. Photographer unknown.

Math, Science, and Technology in India

A tour de force essay written by Dr. Roddham Narasimha.
Ralph Waldo Emerson. (Etching by Sam W. Rowse, 1878)
article

Indian Influences on Western Literature

Includes case studies on Ralph Waldo Emerson, T.S. Eliot, Herman Hesse, and The Beatles. A must-read!
Sarkhej Roza (Tomb & Mosque Of Ahmad Khattu Ganj Bakhsh) in India.

Islamic Belief Made Visual

On Islam and the use of geometric patterns.
Korean 'comfort women,' who were often teenagers. (KeithPR/flickr)

Japan's Sins of Omission

International dispute over history textbooks in East Asia.
Microfinance programs offer financial services to help start small businesses.

Microfinance: Seeds of Change

Microfinance enables people to escape a cycle of poverty by giving them loans to start a trade or business and savings accounts to accrue interest.

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