Why do Asian countries call the countries of the East

Any schoolboy knows that the Earth is round, and all sides of the world are only conditional. So why do Asian countries call the countries of the East so far? Well, in Europe, but they are exactly the same used to be called in the United States, and even in Australia! Although for them the region is located more in the west or in the north than in the east. In turn, why Australia for Europeans is not at all an eastern country, but neighboring Indonesia is already quite East?

The answer to all these questions, like many others, lies in the historical past of our world. Why? Asian countries have been called the countries of the East since the time when Europeans only got acquainted with the surrounding continents and made their epoch-making discoveries. After all, Europeans in modern times have not simply linked all six continents of the Earth into a single world , but they have imposed on everyone their vision of this world. It's no wonder that Europe, a militarily powerful Europe, has become a center, and all other civilizations are only peripherals. When we say this today, it simply says rooted in us eurocentrism. And rest in the Far East, by the way, still attracts Europeans with their ancient legends about the extraordinary exoticism of these countries. At the same time, states created by Europeans in the same region, like Australia, are not considered to be Eastern at all because of their European, but not Eastern culture. As you can see, geography is not always the case.

Asian-Pacific area

At the same time, it should be borne in mind that "the countries of the Asia-Pacific region" is a concept that covers a slightly different geographic region, moreover, it has a slightly different emotional coloring. The Asia-Pacific region includes the states of four continents (Asia, Australia, North and South America) with access to the Pacific Ocean. To it also belongs the countries of Oceania.

Of course, geopolitical interest in the Pacific is common to all these countries. This leads, on the one hand, to close political and economic cooperation, and on the other hand to periodic conflicts due to resources of the Pacific Ocean and influence in the region. As for the emotional color when mentioning these states, here we return to the question of why the Asian countries are called the countries of the East. After all, it is not accidental that in recent years many residents of Europe and the American continent have already doubted whether Japan or the eastern or western countries can be called. Or to which world should South Korea be attributed, for example. Here, too, the situation is not so much in geographical location, but rather in the cultural image that the country demonstrates to the world. Far Eastern countries in recent years have demonstrated so high economic, industrial and social growth, based on Western manufacturability, which is already difficult to unambiguously refer only to the eastern civilization. However, it should nevertheless be borne in mind that the countries of Asia are still pretty much devoted to their traditional values, having learned to combine them with Western technologies.

So, back in the late nineteenth century, during the reforms in their country, the Japanese proclaimed the doctrine "Kokutai", which can be translated as follows: "Western technology and the Japanese spirit." The full realization of this doctrine can perhaps be observed only in the second half of the twentieth century and in our days. They managed to create a viable synthesis of Western democracy and technology with clan fidelity, which became corporate, and samurai spirit. A number of other countries of southeast Asia have also gone through the same path . Actually, that's why the Asian countries are called the countries of the East.