History of East Asia

This article is about the history of East Asia as a region. For the scholarly journal, see East Asian History (journal).
The Four Elegant Accomplishments (kin ki sho ga) by Japanese artist Utamaro depicts the classical Four arts of traditional East Asia. From left to right, the arts depicted include the game of Go, Painting, Calligraphy and the Guqin string instrument. Produced in 1788.
Contemporary political map of East Asia.

The history of East Asia generally encompasses the histories of China, Japan, Korea, Mongolia, and Taiwan from prehistoric times to the present.[1] Each of its countries has a different national history, but East Asian Studies scholars maintain that the region is also characterized by a distinct pattern of historical development.[2] This is evident in the relationships among traditional East Asian civilizations, which not only involve the sum total of historical patterns but also a specific set of patterns that has affected all or most of traditional East Asia in successive layers.

  1. ^ Holcombe, Charles (2017). A history of East Asia: from the origins of civilization to the twenty-first century (2nd ed.). Cambridge University Press. ISBN 978-1-107-11873-7.
  2. ^ Austin, Gareth (2017). Economic Development and Environmental History in the Anthropocene: Perspectives on Asia and Africa. London: Bloomsbury Publishing. p. 272. ISBN 978-1-4742-6749-6.