HANDOUT 1

• Asia is the largest continent in the world, comprising one-fifth of the world's total land area and embracing an extreme of topographical features and variation in climate
• Asia has no racial, political, cultural, religious and historical unity
• The word Asia


  Derived from asu, an early Greek word for sunrise, although some scholars trace its roots to the second millennium B.C. Hitites, who applied the term to what is now Turkey, where they resided
• More than half of the world's population lives on the continent, with China being the world's most populous country and India following not far behind
• Regions of Asia


  • South Asia
  • East Asia
  • Southeast Asia
  • Central Asia
  • Western Asia
• Three-fourths of the continent's inhabitants live in rural areas, continuing to live in village communities and follow customary laws
• Civilization


  An advanced state of human society marked by relatively high level of cultural, technical, and political development
• Society


  An enduring and cooperating large-scale community of people having common traditions, institutions, and identity, whose members have developed collective interests and beliefs through interaction with one another
• Culture


  The integrated pattern of human knowledge, beliefs and behaviours built up by a group of human beings and transmitted from one generation to the next
• Style


  A particular or distinctive form of artistic expression characteristic of a person, people or period
• Expression


  The manner in which meaning, spirit, or character is symbolized or communicated in the execution of an artistic work
• Vernacular


  Indigenous; characteristic of a locality
• Ethnic


  Relating to a population subgroup (within a larger or dominant national or cultural group) with a common national or cultural tradition
• Vernacular design traditions


  • No formalized drawings
  • Size, layout and other variables are determined by the owner and builder/s
  • Collaborative building
  • Flexible and open for changes
  • Traditional knowledge is passed down from generation to generation
  • Building types are limited; variations are allowed within an accepted model
  • Conservation of natural resources lead to natural and contextual order
• Religious design traditions


  Traditions that illuminate religious aspirations and ethos of the people
• Hinduism


  • Originated from India; spread to Southeast Asia and other parts of the world
  • Considered one of the oldest religions in the world, can be traced to the 2nd millennium BC
  • Gave rise to famous political and religious centers at Angkor, Siem Reap, Cambodia, and at Borobodur, Java, Indonesia
  • Based on an elitist doctrine which promotes the caste system
• Buddhism


  • Early Buddhism was founded in Northeast India ca. 6th c. BC by Siddhartha Gautama
  • Main variants: Theravada and Mahayana Buddhism
  • Theravada Buddhism spread to mainland Southeast Asia via India and Sri Lanka
  • By 500 AD Theravada Buddhism is established in Burma, and is spreading east across mainland Southeast Asia to Thailand, Cambodia, and Laos

  
• Islam


  • Is the state religion in Malaysia and Brunei
  • Is the majority religion of Indonesia (90%)
  • Before the 20th c., Mindanao in the Southern Philippines was predominantly Muslim; it now has a large Christian population
  • Southern Thailand is largely Muslim, and Muslim minorities exist in most Southeast Asian countries
• Confucianism


  • A philosophy that dominated China until the early 20th century
  • There is no priesthood and no formal ritual
  • Confucian ideas still have a profound effect in Vietnam, Singapore, and among Chinese in cities throughout the region
• Taoism


  • Chinese philosophy and religion considered next to Confucianism in importance
  • Based on the teachings of the Chinese philosopher, Lao-tzu, c. 604-531 BC
  • As a religion, it dates from AD 143, becoming popular during the decline of the Han dynasty and the introduction of Buddhism
• Muslim minorities exist in most Southeast Asian countries
• Confucianism


  An ethical system based on the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Confucius, emphasizing love for humanity, harmony in thought and conduct, devotion to family and reverence for ancestors
• There is no priesthood and no formal ritual in Confucianism
• Confucian ideas still have a profound effect in Vietnam, Singapore, and among Chinese in cities throughout the region
• Taoism


  Chinese philosophy and religion considered next to Confucianism in importance, based on the teachings of the Chinese philosopher Lao-tzu, emphasizing a life of simplicity and non-interference with the course of natural events in order to attain a happy existence in harmony with the Tao
• Tao


  The creative principle that orders the universe
• Shinto


  The indigenous Japanese beliefs, meaning "the way of kami" (kami means "mystical," "superior," or "divine," generally sacred or divine power, specifically the various gods or deities), with no founder, no official sacred scriptures, and no fixed dogmas
• Animism


  A religious belief that everything on Earth is imbued with a powerful spirit, capable of helping or harming human needs, involved in the earliest forms of worship
• Spirits in animism


  • Ancestor spirits
  • Spirits of the environment (genie of the soil)
  • Spirits of natural phenomena
• There are only two predominantly Christian countries in Southeast Asia: the Philippines and East Timor
• About 85% of Filipinos and 90% of Timorese are Roman Catholic
• Catholicism came to the Philippines in the 16th century with the arrival of the Spaniards and to East Timor
• Historic design traditions are affected by the socio-cultural and political beliefs that shaped the built environments of a country
• Some groups in remote areas still preserve and protect their lifestyles, building their dwellings as their forefathers did, while other indigenous groups willingly accepted new forms, functions, means, and methods of design and construction
• Stupa


  A funerary mound of earth and rubble that evolved over time into a religious monument representing the Buddha

  
• Essential architectural elements of a stupa

  • Chhatra (umbrella, shelter or cover; also a Buddhist symbol representing the Bodhi tree under which Buddha achieved enlightenment)
  • Harmica (square railing marking connection with Buddha)
  • Torana (gateway)
  • Anda (egg-shaped dome)
  • Vedika (railing; a fence erected around the stupa that encloses the site. It became a sacred element as it formed the path of the circumambulation)
  • Thumba (column)
  • Chakra (wheel)

  
• Chaitya


  Hall or sanctuary in a Buddhist stupa
• Vihara


  Buddhist monastery
• Torana


  The entrance gate of the stupa or a temple, made of two stone-carved columns joined by three-tiered, slightly bent, carved stone arches, and marking the four cardinal points at the corner of the vedica

  
• Hemispheric form (of the stupa)


  Symbolized the circular nature of the universe and human existence