Eastern world

The Eastern world, also known as the East or historically the Orient, is a umbrella term for many different cultures or social structures, nations and philosophical systems. It most often includes Asia, the Mediterranean region and the Arab world.

The Eastern world is often seen as a counterpart to the Western world. The regions included in this term are varied and hard to generalize. They share some common threads, like being in the "Global South", but they have never defined themselves as one group.

The term originally meant the eastern part of the Old World. Over time, the boundary between east and west became more about culture and history than geography. For example, Australia and New Zealand are grouped with the Western world even though they are closer to the East geographically.

Countries such as the Philippines may seem Western in some ways because of influences from the United States and Western Europe.

Overview

The Eastern world is a term for many different countries, cultures, and people. It mostly means parts of Asia and sometimes areas near the Mediterranean and Arab regions. The idea of an "East" and a "West" started from European history and how they saw themselves compared to cultures far away.

In the past, Europeans used words like "Orient" for the East and "Occident" for the West. As Europe explored new lands, these ideas spread around the world. Some Europeans thought of Asia as one area with its own special ways, which they called the "Oriental" world. This idea was shaped by their own views on race, religion, and culture.

Culture

Eastern culture, also called Eastern civilization or Asian civilization, is about the many different ways people in the Eastern world live and think. This includes ideas about right and wrong, old traditions, what people believe, how governments work, and the things people make and use. These ideas come mainly from the history of Asia.

There are different groups within Eastern culture, like the countries in East Asia, Southeast Asia, and South Asia. These groups often mix their traditions. This mixing includes the spread of Eastern religions such as Buddhism and Hinduism, the use of Chinese characters or Brahmic scripts, different languages, and the blending of foods and customs.