Title Details

Barbara A. Weightman is Professor of Geography at CaliforniaStateUniversity, Fullerton.

Chapter 1. The Big Picture: Major Influences. Introduction. Dragons and Tigers. Defining the Region. “ASIA” AS A MYTH 3 CONCEPTUALIZING ASIA. Close Up: Reading Place Names. Religion and Belief Systems. HINDUISM. BUDDHISM. CHRISTIANITY. ISLAM. Close Up: Islamism. FAITH, EXPLORATION, AND TRADE. Europeans: Exploration, Commerce, and Conquest. Colonialism and Imperialism. Close Up: The ColonialCity. Imperialist Japan and the Rise of Nationalism. Independence and Nationalism. New Global Order. Americanization. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 2.   Environments and People. Major Topographical Features. Close Up: The Pacific Ring of Fire. NORTH OF THE HIMALAYAS. EAST AND SOUTHEAST OF THE TIEN SHAN. SOUTH AND SOUTHEAST OF THE HIMALAYAS. ISLAND REALMS. LIMESTONE AND CORAL ENVIRONMENTS. Close Up: Coral Reefs. Ocean Disputes and Conflicts. Monsoon Asia. REGIONAL CLIMATIC PATTERNS. CLIMATE AND PEOPLE. Natural Vegetation. TROPICAL RAIN FORESTS. TROPICAL MONSOON FORESTS. Close Up: Riches of the TropicalForest.Close Up: The World of Mangroves. TROPICAL SAVANNA. DESERT AND STEPPE ENVIRONMENTS. MID-LATITUDE FORESTS. MOUNTAIN VEGETATION. Wealth of Wildlife Lost. Close Up: Plants, Animals, and Medicine. Thinking About the Natural Environment. Close Up: Fate of the Tiger. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 3. Population, Agriculture, and Social Disparity. Population Growth and Dispersal. CORE AREAS OF GROWTH AND DIFFUSION. SIGNIFICANCE OF THE GROUP. Close Up: Thinking and Acting Collectively. Agricultural Foundations. SHIFTING CULTIVATION. RICE CULTIVATION. Close Up: Rice and Society. Population Increase and Expansion. SIGNIFICANCE OF CHILDREN. REGIONAL DYNAMICS. Growth and Change. Density and Distribution. Population Composition. POPULATION AND QUALITY OF LIFE. FAMILY PLANNING PROGRAMS. Myanmar. Vietnam. Malaysia. Bangladesh. Are There Too Many People on Earth? CLOSE UP: Consumption in Asia. Gender Inequality. Close Up: Women and Children Enslaved: Prostitution and AiDS. WOMEN’S AND MEN’S FARMING. THE FEMINIZATION OF POVERTY. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 4. Development, Urbanization, and Quality of Life. The Changing Meaning of Development. Cores and Peripheries. MULTINATIONAL INVESTMENT. Close Up: Smoking Asia. PRIVATE INVESTMENT. OVERSEAS CHINESE. FOREIGN AID. DUAL ECONOMIES. THE SHADOW ECONOMY. Close Up: Working Children. Urbanization. MEGA-URBAN LANDSCAPES. URBANIZATION AND EMPLOYMENT. Close Up: Tale of the Tiger Prawn. Postmodern Thinking. PRIVATIZATION. CHANGING STRUCTURES OF CHANGE. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 5. South Asia: Creating Dilemmas of Diversity. The Physical Setting. Close Up: Monsoon and Life Cycles. Archives of Time and Place. ANCIENT SOUTH ASIA. INVADERS FROM THE NORTHWEST. The Aryans. Seeds of Caste Division. BUDDHA AND MAHAVIRA. THE MAURYAN EMPIRE. THE GUPTAS AND INDIA’S GOLDEN AGE. India’s Middle Ages. Close Up: Women, Subjugation, and Sati. INVASIONS AND EMPIRES. Close Up: Elephants and Chess. THE DELHI SULTANATES. Close Up: Persianization.India’s Modern Era. THE MUGHAL EMPIRE. THE SIKHS. EUROPEAN SEA POWER. THE RAJ. Close Up: Hill Stations. THE ROAD TO INDEPENDENCE. Close Up: Gandhi: Great Soul. THE PARTITION OF INDIA. Nationalism and Regionalism. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 6. South Asia: Pakistan and the HimalayanStates. Nationalism and Regionalism: The Devolution of Pakistan. Close Up: Language and Nationalism.Pakistan: Land of the Pure. DIVERSE LANDSCAPES. NorthwestFrontierProvince (NWFP). Punjab. Sind. Baluchistan. ROLLER COASTER DEVELOPMENT. Close Up: The War On Terror.Close Up: Azad Kashmir/Jammu and Kashmir. PEOPLE WORKING THE LAND. Supplying Food and Water. Who Owns the Land? Industrialization and the Question of Energy. Close Up: Gulf Gateway. HYPERURBANIZATION. Himalayas: Abode of Ice and Snow. THE KINGDOM OF NEPALBHUTAN: LAND OF THE THUNDER DRAGON. MOUNTAIN DEVELOPMENT AND ECO-DESTRUCTION. Close Up: MountKailas. Roads and Dams. Logging. Tourism. Close Up: About Yaks. PEOPLE AND THE MOUNTAINS. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 7 South Asia: India, Giant of the Subcontinent. Demographic Challenges. Close Up: Kerala: A Woman’s State? Linguistic Conflicts. Caste Complexities. Close Up: Tribal Troubles.Close Up: Dowry Deaths. Religious Conflicts. Close Up: Hindutva. Agricultural Landscapes. Close Up: Why Waste Waste? DEMISE OF THE JAJMANI SYSTEM. WOMEN AND THE WHITE REVOLUTION. Urban Landscapes. Hunting the Economic Tiger. Close Up: Bollywood.Getting the Energy. THE PETROLEUM BACKBONE. DAMS AND THE DAMNED. Close Up: Ganga Ma Is Sick.Close Up: India’s Oustees. HAVING THE BOMB. Paradox: Reality Belies Developed Nation Image. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 8. South Asia: Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, and Islands of the Indian Ocean.Bangladesh: Nation on the Edge. BENGAL NATION. THE IMPACT OF FLOODS AND CYCLONES. WATER, LAND USE, AND SETTLEMENT. AGRICULTURAL RHYTHMS. POPULATION AND GENDER ISSUES. Close Up: Changes in Female Activity Space. DILEMMAS OF GROWTH AND DEVELOPMENT. Cities and Industries. Non-Government Organizations (NGOs). The Rise of Islamic Fundamentalism. Sri Lanka: Teardrop Weeping. THE PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE. THE INDIAN CONNECTION. EUROPEAN IMPACTS. Close Up: Tea: The Global Beverage. CAUSES OF DISSENSION. More Islands of the Indian Ocean. MALDIVES. ANDAMAN AND NICOBARUNIONTERRITORY. LAKSHADWEEPUNIONTERRITORY. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 9.   East Asia: Center of the World. Topography. CHINA FRONTIER. CHINA PROPER. Climatic Variation. Peoples of East Asia. China’s Worldview. Close Up: Oracle Bones.Close Up: The Ways of Writing Chinese.Close Up: The Terra-Cotta Army. CONFUCIUS. DAOISM (TAOISM). Close Up: Feng Shui: The Chinese Art of Placement. THE COMING OF BUDDHISM. Dynasties Rule the Middle Kingdom. THE HAN DYNASTY. THE TANG (T’ANG) DYNASTY (618–906). Close Up: Foot Binding—The Golden Lotus. THE YUAN DYNASTY (1279–1368). THE MING DYNASTY (1368–1644). THE QING (CH’ING) DYNASTY (1644–1912). A New Breed of Invaders. THE CHINA TRADE. Close Up: The Doctrine of Extraterritoriality. THE MISSIONARIES. Close Up: Heavenly Kingdom of the Great Peace. RESPONSE TO THE WEST. DOWNFALL OF THE MANCHU. Asia’s First Nationalist: Dr. Sun Yat-sen. The Road to Communism. Close Up: Guerrilla Behavior and Tactics. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 10. China: Great Dragon Rising. Agrarian and Industrial Revolution. THE GREAT LEAP FORWARD. THE SINO-SOVIET SPLIT. The Great Proletarian Cultural Revolution. Altered Spatial Patterns. Emerging Modern China. ADMINISTRATIVE FRAMEWORK. Close Up: Xinjiang: New Frontier. AGRICULTURAL CHINA. Close Up: Chinese Pigs. THE HUKOU SYSTEM. TOWNSHIP AND VILLAGE ENTERPRISES. Urban and Regional Development. SPECIAL ECONOMIC ZONES AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ZONES. FOREIGN INVESTMENT IN MODERN CHINA. INDUSTRIAL REFORM. Close Up: Shanghai: Head of the Dragon. Globalizing China. WORLD EVENTS. NEW CITIES AND RURAL URBANIZATION. NON-PERMANENT POPULATIONS. REGIONAL DISPARITIES. Close Up: China’s Rust Belt.GUANGDONG. HONG KONG (XIANGGANG). “OPEN UP THE WEST”. Population Issues. Close Up: Women’s Work. Environmental Dragons. Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS). Xizang/Tibet. Reform in the Twenty-First Century. China’s Conundrums and Contradictions. Mongolia: In Range of the Dragon’s Breath. THE PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE. HISTORICAL BACKGROUND. SOVIET IMPACTS. MODERN MONGOLIA. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 11. Japan: A Tiger Risen. Dynamic Archipelago. Historical Development. ORIGINS. Close Up: Japanese Writing. OPENING CLOSED DOORS. Close Up: Shintoism. EXPANSIONISM AND EMPIRE. PHOENIX FROM THE ASHES. Close Up: Keiretsu. A LEGACY OF TENSION. Population and Society. AGING SOCIETY. THE DARK SIDE. IMMIGRATION DEBATE. Tiger’s Transformation. AGRICULTURAL JAPAN. INDUSTRIAL JAPAN. AILING TIGER. Close Up: The Big Five. Urban Japan. CASTLE TOWNS. TOKYO RISING. RAPID URBANIZATION. THE CORE REGION. TECHNO-ARCHIPELAGO. Close Up: Tsukuba: ScienceCity . TOKYO: CROWDED BUT COMFORTABLE. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 12. Korea and Taiwan: Tigers Rising.Korea: Two Countries, One Nation. PHYSICAL SETTING. HISTORIC EVOLUTION. Close Up: Hangul. Tangling with a Japanese Tiger. North-South Division. North Korea: A Closed Society. SOCIETY AND ECONOMY. Close Up: Pyongyang. NUCLEAR CRISIS. South Korea: Korea, Inc. STATE CAPITALISM. Close Up: Chaebols 311 ECONOMIC CRISIS AND CHANGE. PLANSFORCHEJUISLAND. URBANIZATION. Close Up: Overseas Koreans. THE U.S. AND SOUTH KOREA. PROSPECTS FOR REUNIFICATION. Taiwan: Little Tiger and Big Dragon. THE PHYSICAL LANDSCAPE. FROM BAO DAO TO FORMOSA TO TAIWAN. JAPANESE RULE. THE “ONE CHINA” QUESTION. THE RISE OF THE TIGER. The China Connection. Southward Policy. THE DOWNSIDE OF DEVELOPMENT. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 13 Southeast Asia: Transition Among the Nagas. Physical Landscapes. Close Up: The Naga.Close Up: The Mekong. THE ROLE OF WATER 328 Close Up: Bali’s Subak Irrigation. UPLANDS AND LOWLANDS. The Impact of Indian Culture. The Chinese Influence. Close Up: Overseas Chinese in Southeast Asia. Linguistic Pluralism. Religious Pluralism. Close Up: Angkor Wat. THE COMING OF THE EUROPEANS. Close Up: The Spice Islands. EUROPEAN IMPRESS 335 Close Up: The Dutch Culture System. POLITICAL PATTERNS. Rising Nationalism and Independence. Close Up: A Bitter Battle: French Indochina. Changing Urban and Rural Worlds. METROPOLITAN EXPANSION. NEW RURAL WORLDS. Population Dynamics. Close Up: The Spread of Disease. Environmental Concerns. Conflicts at Sea. DISPUTED ISLANDS. PIRACY. Shapes of Countries. ASEAN. Economic Crisis of the 1990s. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 14. Mainland Southeast Asia: Turmoil and Peace. Burma/Myanmar: Paradise Lost. POLITICAL BACKGROUND. Close Up: The Demise of Teak.Close Up: Rules of SLORC/SPDC. SCRAPING THE RICE BOWL. Close Up: InleLake’sFloating Agriculture. AUTHORITARIAN DEVELOPMENT. THE CHINA CONNECTION. LANDSCAPE OF REPRESSION. Drugs and the Golden Triangle. Thailand: Tiger in the Metropolis. THE TAIS. Sukothai. Ayuthaya. The Rise of Bangkok. CHANGE, FAITH, AND ORDER. Close Up: What’s a Wat? THE ECONOMY. Agriculture. Close Up: New Theory Farming. Tourism. Industry. Close Up: Ya Baa. Future Plans. BANGKOK METROPOLITAN REGION. Close Up: Gridlock.Vietnam: Baby Tiger. ORIGINS AND CHINESE INFLUENCE. EXPANSION AND EUROPEAN INFLUENCE. FRANCE AND THE MISSIONCIVILISATRICE. THE ROAD TO COMMUNISM. Partition and War. Aftermath of War. DOI MOI. TODAY’S ECONOMY. Laos: Land of a Million Elephants. LAN XANG. FRENCH TAKEOVER. THE WAR YEARS. Close Up: The Plain of Jars. RURAL SOCIETY. Lowland Society. Midland Society. Upland Society. URBAN SOCIETY. NEW THINKING. Cambodia: Beyond the Killing Fields. THE EARLY PERIOD. COMING OF THE FRENCH. WORLD WAR II AND INDEPENDENCE. SIHANOUK, WAR, AND REVOLUTION. THE KILLING FIELDS. Close Up: Death Awaits.CAMBODIA TODAY. DANGEROUS LIAISONS. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Chapter 15. Insular Southeast Asia. Malaysia 2020. Close Up: Whence “Malay”? EARLY SETTLEMENT. Close Up: The Peranakan. MAKING MALAYSIA. TIN AND RUBBER. EAST MALAYSIA. ETHNICITY AND DEVELOPMENT. DEVELOPMENT SCHEMES. Close Up: Rural Poverty. A POPULATION ANOMALY. URBANIZATION. INDUSTRIALIZATION. Close Up: The Proton Saga. DEFORESTATION AND DEVASTATION. Close Up: Brunei: Micro-State.Singapore: The “Intelligent Island”. ORIGINS. PLANNING OFFENSIVES. CYBERCITY. CREATING A HINTERLAND. FINDING AN IDENTITY. Close Up: Singlish.Indonesia: Integration vs. Disintegration. THE EARLY YEARS. THE NETHERLANDSEAST INDIES. NATIONALISM AND SUKARNO. THE JAPANESE AND INDEPENDENCE. AFTER THE REVOLUTION. Close Up: Pancasila. POPULATION DYNAMICS. TRANSMIGRATION. URBANIZATION. Close Up: JABOTABEK. ECONOMIC TRANSFORMATION. Close Up: The Chainsaw Massacre. NATIONAL INTEGRATION. Aceh. West Papua. RADICAL ISLAM. PROGNOSIS. East Timor: New Nation. The Philippines: Pearl of the OrientSeas. THE SPANISH PHILIPPINES. THE AMERICAN PHILIPPINES. INDEPENDENT PHILIPPINES. ECONOMIC PROGRESS. Close Up: Subic Bay. OVERSEAS FILIPINOS. ONGOING PROBLEMS. Conclusion. Main Point Summary. Bibliography. Glossary. Index.