Skip to content

The Generalist Academy

Learn widely

  • About
  • Explore
  • Connect
  • Contact
HomePlacesEast Asia

Category: East Asia

By The Generalist Posted on May 19, 2021May 18, 2021

Kick volleyball

Sepak takraw resembles volleyball, except you can only use your feet, knees, and head. The kicks are amazing, but you should not let the sons of sultans and prime ministers play.

Categories: East Asia, Games & sport, Medieval history, Politics & law, Southeast Asia
By The Generalist Posted on May 4, 2021May 3, 2021

Death by immortality potion

Poisoned potions of immortality caused the death of up to seven Chinese emperors – the last less than three centuries ago.

Categories: Ancient history, Early modern history, East Asia, Health & medicine, Medieval history
By The Generalist Posted on April 22, 2021April 28, 2021

The doubters and the oracle bones

The Doubting Antiquity School were sceptics of ancient Chinese texts’ historical veracity… until the oracle bones were deciphered.

Categories: 20th century history, Ancient history, East Asia, Language, Literature, Religion & belief
By The Generalist Posted on April 9, 2021April 28, 2021

The curse of Colonel Sanders

The ghost of KFC’s Colonel Sanders has haunted a Japanese baseball team since 1985.

Categories: 20th century history, East Asia, Games & sport, History, Places
By The Generalist Posted on March 31, 2021April 28, 2021

Time zone tripoints

At several points around the world, three time zones meet.

Categories: East Asia, Europe, North & Central America, North & Central Asia, Oceania, Places, Sciences, Weights & measures
By The Generalist Posted on March 22, 2021April 28, 2021

Meaningful sounds (Part 2)

Why do monolingual Japanese speakers have difficulty distinguishing “l” and “r” sounds? And why do monolingual English speakers have difficulty distinguishing “t” and “th” sounds? [2 of 2]

Categories: East Asia, Language, Places, Southeast Asia
By The Generalist Posted on February 15, 2021April 28, 2021

Snowball fighting champions

In 1989 the residents of Sōbetsu, Japan, formalised rules for competitive snowball fighting. Thirty-one world championships have since been played in the town.

Categories: East Asia, Games & sport, Places
By The Generalist Posted on January 16, 2021April 28, 2021

Secret volcano

In 1943 a new volcano arose in Hokkaido. The Japanese government managed to keep it a secret for several years.

Categories: 20th century history, Earth science, East Asia, History, Places, Sciences
By The Generalist Posted on January 14, 2021April 28, 2021

Korean black ops

In 1968 a North Korean black ops assassination team got within 100 metres of the South Korean president’s house. South Korea formed a team of petty criminals and teenagers to return the favour, but after three years of training they mutinied.

Categories: 20th century history, East Asia, History, Military, Places, Politics & law
By The Generalist Posted on January 12, 2021April 28, 2021

The Library Cave

On June 25, 1900, tens of thousands of important historical manuscripts were found in a secret room within the Caves of the Thousand Buddhas in Dunhuang, China, where they had been hidden for nearly a millennium.

Categories: Ancient history, Art, Arts, East Asia, History, Literature, Medieval history, Places, Religion & belief
By The Generalist Posted on January 7, 2021April 28, 2021

Under Beijing

Underneath Beijing is a vast network of tunnels built during the Cold War to shelter three million people during a nuclear attack.

Categories: 20th century history, Architecture, East Asia, History, Military, Places
By The Generalist Posted on December 16, 2020April 28, 2021

Chinese rhyme

We know how Chinese was pronounced 1400 years ago thanks to the world’s oldest surviving rhyming dictionary.

Categories: Arts, East Asia, History, Language, Literature, Medieval history, Places
By The Generalist Posted on December 15, 2020April 28, 2021

The Kabuki pose

At the emotional climax of a Kabuki play, performers will strike a stylised pose to drive home the drama of the moment.

Categories: Arts, East Asia, Places, Theatre
By The Generalist Posted on December 10, 2020April 28, 2021

Buddhist martyr

Buddhism was made the state religion of Silla (a kingdom in early Korea) because a court official planned his own martyrdom.

Categories: East Asia, History, Medieval history, Places, Religion & belief
By The Generalist Posted on December 2, 2020April 28, 2021

Real estate frog

The Emei music frog of China advertises the size and suitability of their underground burrow through the acoustic properties of their croaks.

Categories: Animals, East Asia, Places, Sciences
By The Generalist Posted on November 21, 2020April 28, 2021

Sparrow smashing

In 1958 Mao Zedong declared war on sparrows. Although he won that battle, China lost the war.

Categories: 20th century history, Animals, East Asia, Food & agriculture, History, Places, Sciences

Posts navigation

Older posts
Newer posts

Newsletter

Subscribe to the newsletter and receive an email every day (or week) with a new interesting thing.

Join 599 other subscribers

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • RSS feed

Categories

  • Arts
    • Architecture
    • Art
    • Fashion & design
    • Film & television
    • Literature
    • Music
    • Theatre
  • History
    • 19th century history
    • 20th century history
    • 21st century history
    • Ancient history
    • Early modern history
    • Medieval history
    • Prehistory
  • Places
    • Africa
    • East Asia
    • Europe
    • Middle East
    • North & Central America
    • North & Central Asia
    • Oceania
    • South America
    • South Asia
    • Southeast Asia
    • The oceans
    • The poles
  • Sciences
    • Animals
    • Astronomy
    • Computer science
    • Earth science
    • Food & agriculture
    • Health & medicine
    • Mathematics & statistics
    • Physics & chemistry
    • Plants
    • Technology
    • Weights & measures
  • Society
    • Economics & business
    • Education & philosophy
    • Games & sport
    • Language
    • Military
    • Politics & law
    • Religion & belief
  • Website
    • Featured category
    • From the archives
    • Updates

Archives

  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
Scroll Up
 

Loading Comments...