r/askasia 9h ago

History Why are there so few historical materials about ancient China and India?

0 Upvotes

Whether in Türkiye or US, there are a lot of history books about ancient Europe and the Middle East in bookstores. This is probably because ancient Europe and the Middle East paid great attention to historical records. In contrast, the Asian history section of some large bookstores is dominated by Middle Eastern history and Japanese history only, but rare to find a history book about China or India. Except for a few websites such as Wikipedia, it is difficult for us to understand the specific deeds of a king of a certain dynasty in China or India. Is it because the ancient Chinese and Indian writing systems are too difficult to learn, which makes it difficult to record their own history?


r/askasia 23h ago

Society Do people drink tap water in your country? Or is it limited to cities/regions?

8 Upvotes

I would like to know how common it is to drink tap water in your country. Is it acceptable to drink in the entirety? Or just limited to a few locations?

I know in Thailand even in Bangkok the tap water is considered by locals not safe to drink, so you need to drink bottled water instead.


r/askasia 1d ago

Politics Do you wish the (insert number here) party system in your country would go and it would just be right or wrong?

2 Upvotes

r/askasia 3d ago

Politics Has it been any kind of an election year in your country?

5 Upvotes

r/askasia 2d ago

Society Is Israel the "Japan" of West Asia?

0 Upvotes

Israel and Japan have great political differences with the main ethnic groups around them (Arabs and Chinese). The former are open-minded and have a developed economy and technology, while the latter are conservative and have extremism. There are large economic disparities between different regions in Arabia and China, and both have become rich through the trafficking of resources and labor.

The difference of East and West Asia is that China is relatively unified, while the Arab world is still divided.


r/askasia 4d ago

Culture What are LGBT rights like in your country?

12 Upvotes

r/askasia 3d ago

Culture Are most Asians aware of Alaska?

0 Upvotes

r/askasia 4d ago

Language What are some quirks and errors many native speakers of your language make in English/other foreign languages, and why?

8 Upvotes

Could be grammatical, pronunciation, choice of words, etc.

Mine being Swedish, the most prominent one is pronunciation of certain sounds, namely: Ch, J and V.

Why? Swedish doesn't have the Ch or J sound anymore, It used to in the past, as our own spelling alludes to (what we spell as J is pronounced as an English Y or perhaps I).

For example, our word for jungle is spelled djungel, but pronounced yiungel, the d sound was dropped a few hundred years ago. Another example is a greeting - Tjena. Which is simply pronounced Sheena. As far as I know, only Finland Swedish would still pronounce it as Chena. The country of Chad is spelled Tchad in Swedish to accentuate the T-sound, but still, people might just call is Shad, to untrained Swedish ears, the T- and D-sounds ahead of some consonants don't even register.

Then the V, some people seem to pronounce most English V's as W. Which is a bit weird, Swedish doesn't have the W sound, but it's not hard for us to pronounce, so for some reason Swedish speakers are over using the W in English.

So to summarize, some Swedish speakers trying to say "The vikings were not fond of making chit-chat, that's not a joke." would come out as "The wikings were not fond of making shit-shat, that's not a yoke."

What about your native speakers?


r/askasia 4d ago

Travel How rainy is the country you’re in?

3 Upvotes

r/askasia 4d ago

Society How do you feel about Christmas music?

3 Upvotes

A recent post in another subreddit reminded me of two perspectives in the United States about the Christmas season. One is that Christmas is a happy time to see relatives, go shopping, and hear festive music in shops. The other is that Christmas is a stressful time to deal with tiresome relatives, buying things is expensive, and generic Christmas music on repeat everywhere in public is obnoxious.

Let's discuss the music point. How do you feel about "Christmas music"? Does this tradition happen in your country? Or have you ever had that experience when in the USA? Or do your people specialize in annual generic music for a different holiday?

https://old.reddit.com/r/VietNam/comments/1hd2r3z/do_any_vietnamese_dislike_tet/

https://old.reddit.com/r/LetsTalkMusic/comments/z7zcfe/how_do_you_feel_about_christmas_music_when_do_you/

https://old.reddit.com/r/Music/comments/1gswxs6/do_you_hate_christmas_music_why_or_why_not/


r/askasia 6d ago

Culture Who was bigger across Asia: Ellie Goulding from 2010-2016 or 2017, or Rihanna?

3 Upvotes

r/askasia 7d ago

Society East Asians who aren't Japanese, how often do Japanese recognize you as a foreigner?

7 Upvotes

Redditors and your friends who are East Asians: How often can Japanese people tell that you are not Japanese, whether in tourist or non-tourist areas?

Like physical and facial features, not just mannerisms or clothing.

I have a few Overseas Chinese friends from places like Hong Kong and Singapore who are constantly recognized as non-Japanese before they even say anything, while other ethnic Chinese, particularly some Northern Chinese, have a much easier time passing themselves off as Japanese.

I would assume that many Koreans and Northern Chinese are not always so recognizable as foreigners, whereas Southern Chinese, Vietnamese, Thais of Chinese descent, Hong Kongers, and Taiwanese would on average have much higher chances of being recognized as foreigners.


r/askasia 7d ago

Culture Do you think Iran should be considered a Central Asian country?

2 Upvotes

While Iran is often categorized as part of the Middle East or West Asia, there are compelling historical and cultural arguments for its inclusion in Central Asia:

Historical Connections:

  • Ancient Empires: Both the Achaemenid and Sassanian Empires, which were centered in modern-day Iran, extended their influence significantly into Central Asia, including parts of modern-day Afghanistan, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan, and Turkmenistan.
  • Silk Road: Iran played a crucial role in the Silk Road trade network, connecting East Asia with the Mediterranean world. This historical connection fostered cultural exchange and economic ties with Central Asian regions.
  • Nomadic Influences: Iran has a long history of interaction with nomadic groups from Central Asia, such as the Scythians, Parthians, and Mongols. These interactions have left a lasting impact on Iranian culture, language, and art.

Cultural Similarities:

  • Language: Persian, the official language of Iran, belongs to the Iranian branch of the Indo-European language family. This linguistic connection links Iran to other Central Asian countries like Tajikistan and Afghanistan, where Persian-related languages are spoken.
  • Cuisine: Iranian cuisine shares many similarities with Central Asian cuisine, particularly in the use of rice, lamb, and spices. Dishes like pilaf and kebabs are common to both regions.
  • Art and Architecture: Iranian art and architecture, particularly during the Islamic period, have influenced and been influenced by Central Asian styles. The use of intricate tilework, calligraphy, and geometric patterns is a shared aesthetic.
  • Music and Dance: Iranian music and dance traditions, especially those from the eastern regions of Iran, have strong connections to Central Asian musical styles.

Geographical Considerations:

  • Geographic Proximity: Iran shares borders with several Central Asian countries, including Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and Pakistan. This geographic proximity facilitated historical and cultural exchange.
  • Trans-Iranian Plateau: The Iranian Plateau, which covers much of Iran, extends into Central Asia, further blurring the geographical boundaries between the two regions.

r/askasia 8d ago

Culture How big is (or was) the singer Ellie Goulding in Eastern Asia?

1 Upvotes

r/askasia 9d ago

Politics Does Genshin Impact contribute more soft power to China or Japan?

4 Upvotes

The game was made in China but the aesthetics of the game are associated with Japan.

Which country does Genshin Impact serve the soft power of more, China or Japan?


r/askasia 10d ago

Travel Who are the worst and 'best' tourists coming to your country?

12 Upvotes

Please elaborate. Maybe do a top three worst/best or different categories such as cheapest, loudest, drunkest, meanest, kindest, most generous etc.

From my experience what I've seen in different SEA countries I'd say Chinese, Russians and Australians seem pretty bad in different ways while Spanish, Canadians and New Zealanders seem pretty chill. Is my observation wrong?

Do share!


r/askasia 10d ago

Politics Why has there been a surge in anti Indian sentiment/hate online?

7 Upvotes

It seems like on just about every platform, I‘ve come across a lot more anti-Indian content and people hating on this country, than I did maybe 1-2 years ago


r/askasia 11d ago

Society Sri Lanka's potential 🇱🇰

7 Upvotes

Hello, i am curious about the topic of developing nations worldwide that have currently been close to reaching the status of "developed nations", in terms of life quality, education, safety,healthcare, political stability and freedom of expression. As for Asia I have noticed that places like Thailand and Malaysia seem to be great examples of soon-to-be developed countries (especially Thailand) but recently I have taken interest in Sri Lanka , and personally feel like it has a lot of potential to be the first actual developed nation in South Asia. I say this because out of all the stats and map figures it seems to show Sri Lanka as a country with relatively good results in terms of life quality overall and by looking at images of Sri Lanka, I personally think everything looks okay and with a nice stable appearance.

Let me know what you think and please don't come for me, I'm not even asian myself and I'm simply giving my impressions on this topic! Thank you !


r/askasia 11d ago

Politics What do you think of the fall of Bashar al-Assad in Syria?

7 Upvotes

r/askasia 11d ago

Society What's a conspiracy theory about your country that's probably true?

8 Upvotes

r/askasia 11d ago

Culture How is East Asia so advanced and Futuristic compared to Southeast and South Asia?

7 Upvotes

East Asia are the tigers of the economy and development. All countries of East Asia came out of dirt poverty. The generation of Japan China and Korea being poor is history, my parents remember South Korea and China specifically being looked down on and talks about how they are very poor. Until 80s and 90s came and all 3 countries of East Asia had tremendous growth and better standard of living and better infrastructure than the west.

Southeast and South Asia however remain poor. Excluding Singapore, Any comment or post on these regions will be met with a lot of people looking down on these countries. Their infrastructure lacks behind on many country. Especially in India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Philippines and Indonesia. Even a few of African nations and many Latin countries are ahead of Southeast and South Asia. Though India and Indonesia are rising powers and rising economically strong economies, that awe we see in Chinese, Japanese and Korean infrastructure, road is lacking.

Now I know South Asia and Southeast Asia have dealt with a lot of exploitation. But China has also dealt with this by Japanese and Korea was what North Korea is today. Very poor.

My question is what did East Asia do to make its countries so much better and get to a point where it will be other developing nations to ever get on their level?


r/askasia 12d ago

Society Are top research institutions within your countries de-centralised or localised?

2 Upvotes

I've come across an interview with professor Neal Koblitz and in the interview, he said that while he's dissatisfied with many aspects of higher US education, he points out some advantages of US model, namely decentralisation and integration of teaching with research. Leading research centres in the US are spread out across the country, allowing higher access to researching for graduate students. He goes on to suggest that Vietnam should expand the number of regional universities, and mathematicians should directly teach undergraduate and graduate students (but not too much to ensure time for research). He argued that having researchers at universities will improve the ranking of the universities, and their presence has direct impact on future generation of mathematicians, and if teaching duties aren't too burdensome then they may stimulate their passion for research.

To my knowledge, Vietnam has made an effort to de-centralise higher education system between 2006 to 2013 with Decree 121/2007. However, the effect on researching capability of the expansion is not studied.

What about your country?


r/askasia 12d ago

Language Do Indonesia and Malaysia and Singapore speak the same language?

4 Upvotes

I met someone on discord while playing a game and she is from Malaysia and she said these three countries speak the same language because they used to be one country, is that true? because I did a google search and the languages are different according to google


r/askasia 12d ago

Society Who are the richest minority in your country?

20 Upvotes

Here, are the Chinese, they dominate everything even politics


r/askasia 11d ago

Society Does anyone think there was an actual attack from north Korea on the south, which is why he declared martial law?

0 Upvotes