For the purposes of this work, Asia may conveniently be divided into three great culture or civilization areas, which often transcend geographical, national, political, or linguistic boundaries, whether ancient or modern: (1) the Islamic World, (2) India, South and Southeast Asia, (3) the Far East. In each of these civilization groups, the basic moulding factor has been not economics, geography, language, or race, although each of these has played a part, but religion (defined more or less broadly). It has been religion which created in all three areas the fundamental cultural entity called a civilization, out of a heterogeneous collection...

Islam, the youngest of the three monotheistic religions, arose in the full light of history less than 14 centuries ago and quickly developed into a world faith; its adherents now number one-seventh of mankind and cover an immense geographical area. It was also the inspiration for a rich, complex, and multifaceted civilization. Islam’s historical relationship with Judaism and Christianity is still obvious in many respects. The Koran describes the Jews and Christians as “the People of the Book (i.e. the Scripture),” and the same term may be applied to Muslims, for it is their holy book, the Koran (Qur’an), which...

Indian civilization dominates South and Southeast Asia. Its heartland is the Indian subcontinent, which is comparable in size to Western Europe and equal to it in ethnic diversity but 25 per cent larger in population. Until a couple of centuries ago (when the British period began), there had been no tradition of political unity, yet for perhaps 3000 years the area has formed what is fundamentally a single cultural unit, one bound together by a religious civilization, by beliefs and practices which transcend the numerous differences of its peoples. Indian religion is not just a system of beliefs but a...

The Far East, in spite of its diverse elements, is generally regarded by the outside world as an entity. Yet China, Japan, and the peninsula of Korea which lies between them are very different from one another. All these countries have separate ancient languages, and their peoples and cultures are quite distinct. Nevertheless, the widespread impression that they have much in common does have a basis in cultural reality and is not based simply on certain physical features shared by these peoples: the indelible impress of Chinese civilization marks them all.

The Chinese are an immensely talented people, whose history...