A History of East Asia From the Origins of Civilization to the Twenty-First Century

Far from being “the end of history,” the post-Cold War era has seen dramatic new developments in East Asia. China rose with astonishing speed to superpower status, and reasserted Communist Party control after a period when it seemed in danger of becoming irrelevant to China’s new consumer society. China is now openly challenging the United States and western Europe for global leadership. China has also, surprisingly, witnessed some revival of old traditions such as Confucianism. South Korea has captivated the world with its attractive modern pop culture, as well as with the products of its industry such as smartphones and automobiles. South Korea has also ended authoritarian rule and become a democracy (while North Korea, on the other hand, still seems to be mired in the Cold War). Japan has remained economically stagnant after the bursting of its stock market and real estate bubbles in 1990, but Japan has also made itself a globalizing center of exciting new pop culture. Vietnam, meanwhile, consolidated its socialist reunification, and implemented some of the same kinds of market-based economic reforms that had been pioneered in China.