• Acta Via Serica
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• v.1 no.1
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• pp.119-135
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• 2016

The initial phase of the Mongol invasion resulted in the establishment of relative political stability in the vast expanses of Eurasia, which came under the control of a single political entity - the Mongol realm. This contributed to a fairly rapid restoration of the commercial links and trade routes between the East and the West. During this period, Chinese silk again became available in large quantities in the Western markets. At the same time, the beginning of silk production and manufacturing of silk fabrics in Italy and the fashion flash for these goods in Western countries affected trade between Europe and the Muslim world. The centers of silk production in the Ilkhanid Empire were some provinces of Azerbaijan and Persia, where from it was exported in large numbers along the trade routes of Anatolia and Syria to the Mediterranean ports and further to the west. There are numerous testimonies of European travelers, and Muslim authors related the international silk trade in 13th-15th centuries, ie in the era from the Mongol Ilkhanid Empire till the reign of the Turkman Aqqoyunlu dynasty. One of the most informative documentary sources on this issue are the legislative codes (kanuname) of sultan Uzun Hasan from the Aqqoyunlu dynasty regarding the eastern provinces of the Asia Minor. This article presents and analyzes the information from these documents concerning the whole range of goods related to silk and silk fabrics trade in the period under the consideration.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.6 no.2
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• pp.1-20
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• 2021

The Taq-i Bustan reliefs are representative works from the Sassanian dynasty of the 4th to 7th centuries. This study analyzes the costumes depicted in the Taq-i Bustan reliefs to gain understanding of the phenomena of cultural exchange between the East and West by observing the foreign cultural elements appearing in the Sassanian costumes of that time. Literature study and artifacts analysis were conducted in parallel. External elements appearing in Taq-i Bustan's costume were Greek-Roman and Central Asian. The tunics and trousers of the gods and the trousers of kings (Ardashir II, Shapur II and Shapur III) were made of thin fabric and showed many wrinkles, a characteristic of Greek and Roman clothing. On the spandrel above the arch of the great grotto of Khusrau II are depicted the goddesses of Victory, in a Greco-Bactrian style. Among the costume elements of Taq-i Bustan, there were also Central Asian elements observed. One Central Asian costume element was the round clasp ornament for tying the trousers. The side slits and hem of the tunic were presented in the style of the Sogd clothing of Central Asia in the 6th and 7th centuries, while the pearl rounded pattern was activated in Sogd, Kucha and Kizyl in the 7th and 8th centuries. These reliefs are considered important evidence of eastern influences in Sassanian culture.

• Acta Via Serica
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• v.8 no.1
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• pp.101-120
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• 2023

In March 1245, Pope Innocent IV authorized three missions to the Mongols, seeking information about this menace from the East and summoning Eastern Christian support against an anticipated Mongol onslaught. Only one of the missions, led by John of Plano Carpini, reached Mongolia-the first-known Western European party to reach East Asia by a land route. Traveling along the Silk Road's new "Grasslands Route," John and his companion Benedict reached the camp of Güyüg Khan, where they witnessed his installation as the Great Khan. Upon their return to the papal court in 1247, they delivered Güyüg's letter demanding the submission of the pope and all the West's princes. John also presented a detailed report on what he and Benedict had learned. A close reading of it reveals a master intelligence operative at work. In addition to presenting an overview of Mongol history and culture, Friar John's report provides detailed information on the Mongols' grand strategy, their military organization and armaments, and their battle tactics. Turning from intelligence gathering to military operations, he offered practical advice on how to meet and defeat the coming Mongol onslaught, an attack that, providentially for the West, never came. What did occur was a modest but significant migration of Western missionaries and merchants to East Asia in the century following this pioneering journey.

• Korean journal of communication and information
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• v.68
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• pp.130-165
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• 2014

By exploring the works of popular culture, our research aims to demonstrate that culture and politics revolve around each other. Culture and politics are not separate but are articulated into cultural politics; the process of articulation reveals various comparable areas, including contradictions and differences. Our research pays specific attention to Japanese modernity in the eight popular manga series by Naoki Urasawa. These works seemingly value peace and brotherhood, placing themselves in opposition to the logics of the conservative right wing. After engaging in a thorough reading and re-reading, however, we found three salient themes in the deep layers of the works: first, no-nationality a-nationality; second, the relationship between Japan and the West, and representation of Asia; and third, nostalgia for Japan of the past, and transnational desire. The manga series contain the ideas of leaving Asia and entering the West and overcoming modernity. Our research findings reveal that the works of popular culture, specifically those by Naoki Urasawa, subtly expose transnational desires of Japan in tandem with the tensions in international politics between Asia and Japan.

• Asian Pacific Journal of Cancer Prevention
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• v.15 no.21
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• pp.9271-9275
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• 2014

Background: Schistosomiasis is an infectious disease that affects more than 230 million people worldwide, according to conservative estimates. Some studies published from China and Japan reported that schistosomiasis is a risk factor for colorectal cancer in Asia where the infective species is S. japonicum. Hoqwever, there have been only few reports of prognosis of patients with schistosomal rectal cancer SRC. Objectives: This study aimed to analyze differences in prognosis between SRC and non-schistosomal rectal cancer(NSRC) with current treatments. Materials and Methods: A retrospective review of 30 patients with schistosomal rectal cancer who underwent laparoscopic total mesorectal excision operation (TME) was performed. For each patient with schistosomal rectal cancer, a control group who underwent laparoscopic TME with non-schistosomal rectal cancer was matched for age, gender and tumor stage, resulting in 60 cases and controls. Results: Univariate analysis showed pathologic N stage (P=0.006) and pathologic TNM stage (P=0.047) statistically significantly correlated with disease-free survival (DFS). Pathologic N stage (P=0.014), pathologic TNM stage (P=0.002), and with/without schistosomiasis (P=0.026) were statistically significantly correlated with overall survival (OS). Schistosomiasis was the only independent prognostic factor for DFS and OS in multivariate analysis. Conclusions: The prognosis of patients with schistosomal rectal cancer is poorer than with non-schistosomal rectal cancer.

• Journal of Daesoon Thought and the Religions of East Asia
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• v.2 no.1
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• pp.13-29
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• 2022

Daesoon philosophy has been described as a quintessential Korean philosophy. Given the great difference between traditional Western and East Asian ways of thinking, how can such a quintessential Korean philosophy be explained to people who have no background in traditional East Asian thought? After all, the Daeson Jinrihoe way of approaching such core problems as how to make this world a better place is not only very different from the way the West has traditionally approached such problems, Daesoon Jinrihoe uses terminology which most Westerners are not very familiar with. Translation into Western languages such as English helps, but a conceptual gap remains because of the differences in the way key Daesoon Jinrihoe terms are understood in the West. As a first step toward overcoming that gap, I discuss three key teachings of Daesoon philosophy and how their translations into English need to be amplified so that people in the West who are not well versed in East Asian philosophy can gain a more accurate understanding of what those terms and phrases mean in their original language. The three items discussed here are the tenet "virtuous concordance of yin and yang," the Essential Attitude of sincerity, and the precept "do not deceive yourself."

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.13 no.3
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• pp.97-117
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• 2004

The tradition of architecture in the East and the West are different in many ways. One of the basic cause of such difference, however, is the different ways of perception of space and time. This paper aims to identify the attitude of perception of space and time in the cultures of the East and the West, and its influence on architecture. Degrees of importance placed on either space or time, as well as the modes of perception of space and time are discussed in relation to architecture. Basically, the architecture of the West seems to be more spatially oriented than the East, and this have much to do with the fact that the tradition of Western architecture is visually oriented. On the other hand, East Asian architecture have been more conscious on bodily feeling and its movement in architecture. Spatial units of traditional Eastern architecture, are arranged in such a way in which man can experience the change of space that is supposed to be organized to form a sequential message. Thus, in the East, temporal dimension is more deliberately included in the course of architectural experience compared to the cases of the West. Although it is not easy to attempt any kind of value judgment on such aspects, it is necessary to understand how the different perception of space and time influenced architectural outcome, especially when one wants to understand the cultural cause that have made the architectures of the East and the West very different. Such understanding is particularly important in East Asia where their future of architecture depends much on how they harmonize the Eastern and Western background which are already built up as two cultural structure in their consciousness to be able to create more desirable architecture for themselves.

• Journal of architectural history
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• v.17 no.6
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• pp.45-65
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• 2008

Hoe-amsa temple was renewed by Zen priest Na-ong(1320-76) in the later Goryeo dynasty(918-1392), and he introduced the institution of Zen Buddhism temple of Yuan dynasty(1271-1368) in China. And in 13-14 century, many Zen Buddhism temple were built in east Asia, like China, Japan, Korea and so on. Hoe-amsa temple became to be ruined in the middle years of Joseon dynasty(1392-1910), and the ruin was excavated recently. The purpose of this study is to make a searching examination the history of Hoe-amsa temple by analyzing the historic records and excavation relics, and to clarify the function of Jeongcheong, east Bang-jang and west Bang-jang of Hoe-amsa temple, by comparative analysis with Bang-jang architecture of Zen Buddhism temple of Yuan dynasty. As the result of this study it can be said like follow. Hoe-amsa temple maintained the form made by priest Na-ong in spite of several times of repair in Joseon dynasty, and it was reflected in excavation relics of now. The Jeongcheon of Hoe-amsa temple was the space called Chimdang where the chief priest performed lectures and ceremony, the west Bang-jang was the living space of chief priest, and the east Bang-jang was lodging for honored guest. The architecture composed by Jeongcheong, east Bang-jang and west Bang-jang was the adaptation of institution of Bang-jang architecture of Zen Buddhism temple in Yuan dynasty, on the base of general architecture form of Goryeo dynasty.

• Nutrition Research and Practice
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• v.16 no.4
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• pp.489-504
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• 2022

BACKGROUND/OBJECTIVES: This study examined socio-economic differences in diverse food consumption among children 6-23 months of age in South Asia and Southeast Asian countries. SUBJECTS/METHODS: Data from Demographic and Health Surveys in four countries in South Asia (n = 15,749) and four countries in Southeast Asia (n = 10,789) were used. Survey-design adjusted proportions were estimated for the following 10 food items: grains, legumes, dark green leafy vegetables (DGLV), vitamin A-rich fruits, vitamin A-rich vegetables, other fruits and vegetables (OFV), fish, meat, dairy, and eggs. An equity gap was defined as an arithmetic difference in the proportion of each food item consumed in the past 24-hours between the wealthiest and lowest quintiles and between rural and urban areas, denoted by percentage points (pp). RESULTS: The consumption of most of the 10 food items was higher in the wealthiest quintiles and urban areas across eight countries. The size of equity gaps was greater in Southeast Asia than in South Asia, particularly for vitamin A-rich fruits (3.3-30.0 pp vs. 0.3-19.6 pp), vitamin A-rich vegetables (12.1-26.7 pp vs. 2.4-5.9 pp), meat (17.7-33.4 pp vs. 3.4-13.4 pp), and dairy (14.7-32.5 pp vs. 3.3-11.4 pp). However, the size of equity gap in egg consumption was greater in Southeast Asia than South Asia (11.2-19.8 pp vs. 11.0-26.7 pp). Relatively narrower gaps were seen in the consumption of grains (0.3-12.9 pp), DGLV (0.6-12.4 pp), and fish (0.1-16.8 pp) across all countries. CONCLUSIONS: Equity gaps in food consumption differed by socio-economic status and region. Reducing equity gaps in nutrient-rich foods and utilizing regionally available food resources may increase child dietary quality.

• The Korean Journal of Quaternary Research
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• v.17 no.2
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• pp.33-38
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• 2003

This study is conducted to examine the data of climate or environmental change in the northeastern Asia during the last glacial maximum. A remarkable feature of the 18,000 BP biome reconstructions for China is the mid-latitude extention of steppe and desert biomes to the modem eastern coast. Terrestrial deposits of glacial maximum age from the northern part of Yellow Sea suggest that this region of the continental shelf was occupied by desert and steppe vegetation. And the shift from temperate forest to steppe and desert implies conditions very much drier than present in eastern Asia. Dry conditions might be explained by a strong winter monsoon and/or a weak summer monsoon. A very strong depression of winter temperatures at LGM. has in the center of continent has influenced in northeast Asia similarly. The vegetation of Hokkaido at LGM was subarctic thin forest distributed on the northern area of middle Honshu and cool and temperate mixed forest at southern area of middle Honshu in Japan. The vegetation landscape of mountain- and East coast region of Korea was composed of herbaceous plants with sparse arctic or subarctic trees. The climate of yellow sea surface and west region of Korea was much drier and temperate steppe landscape was extended broadly. It is supposed that a temperate desert appeared on the west coast area of Pyeongan-Do and Cheolla-Do of Korea. The reconstruction of year-round conditions much colder than today right across China, Korea and Japan is consistent with biome reconstruction at the LGM.