Cultural Diffusion In Southeast Asia

1. Sinification is the Chinese influence in other regions. Chinese culture is adopted into another country and is spread widely. Sinification was common in Japan and Korea, but a little less common in Vietnam. 2.

Cortney McMath Many ideas and practices that are applied here in the United States are a result of cultural diffusion from Mexico. Cultural diffusion is defined as “the spread of cultural beliefs and social activities from one group to another.” In today’s times, people are more open and welcoming of other cultures, while they are still preserving their own in the process. Throughout, the cultural portfolio project, many connections and differences have been made between my lifestyle and values here in the United States with Mexico’s lifestyle.

When the Chinese and Europeans first came into contact with each other, there was a mutual fascination for the other's culture, or way of life. The Chinese began to look at the European culture. They became interested in Western thinking. They were also beginning to look at the religion that the European missionaries were preaching about, Christianity. On the other end, the Europeans who came in contact with the Chinese were fascinated by their culture and their philosophy, mainly the philosophy of Confucius. While the two cultures seemed to be a good match, each respecting and admiring the other, it came to an abrupt halt. The end result was China and Europe both rejecting the other culture.

Over the course of history, South Asians have been mistreated and undermined within American society. This is especially evident after the terror attacks of 9/11 in which Americans shunned its South Asian Population, and reduced them to devastating stereotypes. This has created tension and hostility within the South Asian community, thus pressuring them to being more Americanized, and further creating a fixation towards becoming more white. The obsession with American culture has caused many to conform, leaving behind cultural and religious parts of their identities. It is necessary to explore the history behind the mistreatment of South Asians to understand why the change in identity such as those portrayed with Changez in The Reluctant Fundamentalist and Amir in Disgraced have occurred. These main characters of South Asian descent make it is clear that the American dream for immigrants creates a constant struggle between national and transnational identities as racism and hostility are being thrust upon them by American society.

Once these societies were flowing with western influence and ideas in their societies, the people of China and Japan began to try and adopt to these ideas and become big industrial societies as well. In China, these ideas were supported by the people although their government tried to diminish these ideas, while in Japan, the government felt that they had no other choice but to reform, so they began to embrace western development. In

Hinduism is a very popular religion in India, being that it could possibly be the oldest religion of all time and originated in India, the Hindu population in India is 80%. With Hinduism being such a popular religion, it competes with Christianity and Islam at 900 million followers of Hinduism worldwide (Miksic, 10). As for the popularity of Buddhism, it is not nearly as prevalent as Hinduism is, even in India. A very important attribute to Hinduism is the caste system. The caste system is comprised of five levels that each Hindu is born into and cannot switch out of or marry into another. These levels include the Brahmans, who are the highest caste and include priests, scholars and other professionals, Kshatriyas, who are typically known

The way Hinduism and Buddhism entered Southeast Asia was not the same, as well as when it entered and its influence of Indian culture that emerged into the area. Civilizations in Southeast Asia focused on an appreciation to nature, which resulted in a harmonious and equal relationship between man and nature. Southeast Asia had been depicted and known as the “golden island.” These Southeast Asian civilizations were characteristically composed from Hindu and Buddhist ways of life that influenced its people greatly. As Buddhism processed its way into Southeast Asia, the religion became culturally grounded once the people practiced it. Hinduism and Buddhism in Southeast Asia were influenced by Indian culture, which was accepted by the rulers

He drew a conclusion from his fieldwork in the American Northwest, deciding that diffusion and modification, the act or process of changing parts of something, explained many cultural phenomena. An example includes how Native American culture and religion was affected and altered over time by their location to other cultures and customs. Scholars of cultural diffusion created many different theories around this topic, how it originated, how the idea spread, and more. Heliocentric diffusion suggests that all cultures emerged from a single civilization.

During the Tang and Song dynasties, Buddhism changed in a way for other beliefs and practices to be involved in. The importation of Buddhist ideas influenced Chinese culture by having schools of Buddhism, borrowing Chinese cultural traditions, and building temples. Monks and scholars coordinated several

In the article, “A Silk Road Legacy: The Spread of Buddhism and Islam” by Xinru Liu, the author discusses the dominance of Buddhism in Central Asia and how the religion made its way from Central Asia into China, India, and other parts of Asia. Xinru Liu also discusses how the regions in Central Asia were divided into many city-states that never unified. Because of this, no region in Central Asia ever had an official religion and there was a variety of religions practiced by the people, such as Zoroastrianism and Manichaeism. Xinru Liu also points out the Arab conquest to Central Asia and the important Silk Road trading stations that were located there that they wanted control of. Xinru Liu discusses the introduction of Islam to Central Asia during this conquest and how it was established there and then later spread to other parts of Asia, such as India. Finally, Xinru Liu discusses the influence on Central Asians from many different outsiders and what life was like for the people before, during, and after the rise of the Islamic Empire and how Central Asians have survived and thrived under the constant changing environment.

The spread of religion first began through contact with neighbouring countries which gradually expand throughout the years. Buddhism and Islam are one of the most widespread religions across Southeast Asian countries like Burma, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Thailand and Vietnam. Trade merchants and imperial support of the religion were major factors in the facilitation and localization of the spread of Buddhism and Islam within Southeast Asia. However, there were also limitations presented which hindered the development of each religion in within their countries as introduction of newer religions and changes to political and imperial power would have affected the progression to become fully localised pre-1800s.

important characteristic in the overall makeup of the culture. Status is a key element in the success of a person in the region.

In the 1800’s there came a rise in colonialism, which led to an increase in global mobility and the introduction of western dominance in all parts of the world. This issue as shown in Pramoedya Ananta Toer’s This Earth of Mankind eventually led to a social structure and class which claimed precedence over knowledge, talent, and experience. This novel depicts the Dutch and other colonists of European descent to be dominant in the culture, education, and power of South East Asia. Colonial control was felt throughout the world as Europeans owned colonies in Asia, Africa, America and Australia. During the time of colonialism, the inferior natives found it hard to break cultural barriers and look past the gender divides.

Ever since mankind came into existence, we have used certain specific habits that have continued to be passed down throughout our families/people.These habits contributed to survival, belief, and entertainment. Weather due to isolation or a language barrier, these habits became acts of conduct that carried were are carried out by a group of people that usually share the same language and/or location. As people began to interact with people of different cultures, cultural convergence begins. Cultural convergence includes cultures beginning to share characteristics, as they share technology, language, and/or habits that are specific to each of their cultures. Cultural convergence and cultural appropriation are completely different things. Although many people speculate about the “gray area” between the two, there are very distinct differences. Culture convergence (CC) usually happens unconsciously when two peoples share habits throughout their interaction. Culture Appropriation (CA), usually occurs consciously, when once people steal aspects of another 's culture without giving them the credit. CA can vary from hair styles, fashion, language music and can pertain to ANY race. In the simplest form, cultural appropriation is theft.Culture is used to help affirm identity. CA takes away the significance / meaning of aspects of a culture and makes it into a trend, thus making the people of this culture insignificant as well as the significance of sacred parts that build up their

Within the cultural diversity of the Republic of Indonesia there are numerous artistic art forms that have surfaced throughout this country. These genres give outsiders a glimpse into the cultural and social context in which this society functions. Internationally this country is most recognized for its traditional music ensemble known as gamelan. This art form serves as a significant part of the artistic culture. It is used to accompany dances, puppet performances, rituals, and various ceremonies. Furthermore, gamelan has always been an important part of the social construct within the different provinces of Indonesia as it holds great recognition within its community. The different forms of gamelan throughout the country in many ways have served as its own version of the Gesamtkunstwerk within the culture of Indonesia and through provinces such as Bali we see how one of their own genres of gamelan became the genesis for Balinese artistic culture.