Question

Which areas are generally included in the oriental world?

Answer 1

Hint: The term ‘orient’ was given by European scholars. It is actually the opposite of the term used for the Western world, ‘Occident’. It was coined from a Eurocentric perspective and is therefore considered offensive which is not used widely in modern historical writings.

Complete answer:
- The Oriental world refers to the East from Europe’s perspective. Anything or culture belonging to the East was called ‘oriental’ by the Europeans.
- It refers basically to the continent of Asia, however, it’s important to remember that the European scholars who coined this term never gave a proper definition to it.
- The countries which are mostly considered part of the Oriental world are China, Japan, Indonesia, Thailand, Vietnam and other East Asian nations.
- The oriental countries are majorly tropical. The Asian continent is the largest and the youngest continent in the world and as a result, has very complex geography.

 Note: In present-day Europe, especially Britain, the term Oriental is still used sometimes to refer to people from Southeast Asia. Whereas the term ‘Asian’ is used for people of South Asia, from countries like Pakistan, India, Bangladesh etc.