Far East

Popularization

Among Western Europeans, prior to the colonial era, Far East referred to anything further east than the Middle East. In the 16th century, King John III of Portugal called India a "rich and interesting country in the Far East ()." The term was popularized during the period of the British Empire as a blanket term for lands to the east of the British Indian Empire.

In pre-World War I European geopolitics, Near East referred to the relatively nearby lands of the Ottoman Empire, Middle East denoted north-western Southern Asian region and Central Asia, and the Far East meant countries along the western Pacific Ocean and eastern Indian Ocean. Many European languages have analogous terms, such as the French (Extrême-Orient), Spanish (Extremo Oriente), Portuguese (Extremo Oriente), Italian (Estremo Oriente), German (Ferner Osten), Polish (Daleki Wschód), Norwegian (Det fjerne Østen) and Dutch (Verre Oosten).

Cultural and geographic meaning

Significantly, the term evokes cultural as well as geographic separation; the Far East is not just geographically distant, but also culturally exotic. It never refers, for instance, to the culturally Western nations of Australia and New Zealand, which lie even farther to the east of Europe than East Asia itself. This combination of cultural and geographic subjectivity was well illustrated in 1939 by Robert Menzies, a Prime Minister of Australia. Reflecting on his country's geopolitical situation with the onset of war, Menzies commented that: "The problems of the Pacific are different. What Great Britain calls the Far East is to us the near north."

Far East, in its usual sense, is comparable to terms such as the Orient (Latin for "East"), Eastern world, or simply the East, all of which may refer, broadly, to East and South-East Asia in general. Occasionally, albeit more in the past, the Russian Far East and South Asia have been deemed to be part of the Far East.

Commenting on such terms, John K. Fairbank and Edwin O. Reischauer (both professors of East Asian Studies at Harvard University) wrote, in East Asia: The Great Tradition:

Today, the term remains in the names of some longstanding institutions, including the Far Eastern Federal University in Vladivostok, Far Eastern University in Manila, the Far East University in South Korea, and Far East, the periodical magazine of the Missionary Society of St. Columban. Furthermore, the United States and United Kingdom have historically incorporated Far East in the names of several military units and commands in the region, such as the British Royal Navy's Far East Fleet, for instance.

Territories and regions conventionally included in the Far East

Cities

References

References

1. "Oxford Dictionaries – Dictionary, Thesaurus, & Grammar". askoxford.com.
2. (1 August 2017). "What is the Far East?".
3. (13 July 2011). "Far East, Middle East, Near East".
4. "Far East Definition".
5. (2022-07-18). "From Far East to Asia Pacific: Great Powers and Grand Strategy 1900–1954". De Gruyter Oldenbourg.
6. (24 February 2012). "Where is the Middle East? The Near East? The Far East?".
7. "The Eurocentric Worldwiew: Misunderstanding East Asia".
8. (7 January 2010). "A menagerie of monikers". [[The Economist]].
9. Reischauer, Edwin and John K Fairbank, ''East Asia: The Great Tradition,'' 1960.
10. "East and Southeast Asia".
11. Robert Sewell. (1901). "A Forgotten Empire: Vijayanagar; A Contribution to the History of India". Asian Educational Services.
12. (26 April 1939). "73 Broadcast Speech".
13. Continental regions as per [[:File:United Nations geographical subregions en.svg. UN categorisations (map)]], except 12. Depending on definitions, various territories cited below (notes 6, 11–13, 15, 17–19, 21–23) may be in [[Transcontinental nation. one or both of]] Asia and Europe, Africa, or Oceania.
    
14. Russia is a [[List of transcontinental countries. transcontinental country]] located in Eastern Europe and North Asia, but is considered European historically, culturally, and ethnically, and the vast majority of its population (78%) lives within its [[European Russia. European part]].
15. Asian part only.
16. Moscow is located in Europe.
17. The state is commonly known as simply "China", which is subsumed by the [[China. eponymous entity and civilisation (China)]]. Figures given are for [[mainland China]] only, and do not include Hong Kong, Macau, and [[Taiwan]].
18. Includes PRC-administered area ([[Aksai Chin]] and [[Trans-Karakoram Tract]], both territories claimed by India).
19. Information listed is for [[mainland China]] only. The [[Special administrative regions of China. special administrative region]]s (i.e. Hong Kong and Macau) and the island territories under the control of the Republic of China (which includes the islands of [[Taiwan]], [[Quemoy]], and [[Matsu Islands. Matsu]]) are excluded.
20. (31 October 2000). "Law of the People's Republic of China on the Standard Spoken and Written Chinese Language (Order of the President No.37)". Chinese Government.
21. Hong Kong is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China
    
22. No specific variety of Chinese is official in the territory. Residents predominantly speak [[Cantonese]], the ''de facto'' regional standard.
23. Japan's [[National Diet]] have not officially enacted a law stating that the official language is Japanese.
24. [[Macau]] is a special administrative region of the People's Republic of China.
    
25. Figures are for [[Free area of the Republic of China. the area]] under the ''de facto'' control of the [[Taiwan. Republic of China]] (ROC) government, commonly referred to as [[Taiwan]]. Claimed in whole by the PRC; see [[political status of Taiwan]].
    
26. [[Christmas Island]] is an external territory of Australia.
    
27. English does not have [[de jure]] status in Christmas Island and in Australia, but it is the de facto language of communication in government.
28. The [[Cocos (Keeling) Islands]] are an external territory of Australia.
    
29. English does not have [[de jure]] status in the Cocos (Keeling) Islands and in Australia, but it is the de facto language of communication in government.