The Orient
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The Orient (orient literally means "sunrise east") is a term traditionally used to refer to Near, Middle and Far Eastern countries. "Oriental" is sometimes used by certain regions in the West as a term to describe people, cultures and goods from the Orient. For example, Mizrahi Jews (native to the Middle East) are often referred to as Oriental Jews and the University of London's School of Oriental and African Studies focuses on the Middle East, East Asia and Africa.
The term is derived from the Latin word oriens, referring to where the sun rises in the east. The opposite term "Occident" - derived from the Latin word occidens, referring to the west - was once used to describe the western world, but has fallen into disuse.
Traditionally, the Orient referred primarily to the cultures and countries of what are now considered Eastern Europe, Northern Africa, the Middle East, and Western Asia. This particularly included Persia, Mesopotamia, Asia Minor, and Egypt. As awareness of the countries of Eastern Asia grew in Western European and American consciousness in the late 19th century, the term came to refer primarily to China, Japan, and the surrounding nations. Remnants of the older conception of the Orient still exist in the English language in such collocations as "Oriental rug" and "Oriental harem".
In popular usage, the Orient is most often used in reference to the countries of East Asia, including China, Japan, Taiwan, Korea, Vietnam, and sometimes the rest of Southeast Asia. The term "Oriental" refers to people, goods and culture from those areas. Asian countries such as India, Afghanistan, and Sri Lanka are no longer generally considered to be part of the Orient.
Some people think the term "Oriental" is derogatory, largely because of its connection to imperial 19th century Europeans and Americans who are thought to have held a patronising attitude towards the region. Many of these people saw the East as backwards, while the West was seen as logical, rational and more modern. Furthermore, it is claimed that some courses in "Oriental studies" were riddled with inaccurate information that was used to justify colonization of these countries. Some Asian Americans see parallels between the word "oriental" and "nigger", though many see it as simply old-fashioned and functionless, as many African Americans see the word "Negro". The main criticism of the term is that it is overly vague, referring to a category of peoples with widely divergent cultural and ethnic backgrounds and no clear division between which groups belong to the term and which do not. Major objections to the use of Oriental are chiefly limited to North America. Its use is much less controversial in Europe and Hawaii (despite Hawaii's location, which is east of the Orient), as well as in Asia where, especially in south-east Asian countries, the word is in comparatively widespread usage. In Europe the term is mainly used in a positive manner to describe such things as the East's exotic oriental cuisine and goods, ancient culture and spiritual mysticism.
Some consider the term "oriental" to be an example of Eurocentrism, since they see it is as a term used to describe people and regions that are to the East only in relation to Europe. However, traditionally, Europe has considered itself to be the West (not the center), while the areas around Israel, Turkey, Greece and Egypt, have been considered to be near the center of the world. The terms "Middle Eastern" and "Westerner" follow the same pattern as "oriental", yet are subject to less controversy.
See also
External links
- The Oriental Instititute at University of Chicago
