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The term Eastern world refers very broadly to the various Culture s, Social Structures and Philosophical systems of "'''the East'''", namely Asia (including China , India , Japan , the Middle East , and surrounding regions). CONCEPT OF "THE EAST" .]] and the ", Southeast Asia , and South Asia .]] The division between "East" and " West " is a product of European cultural history, and of the distinction between European Christendom and the alien cultures beyond it to the East. Before the discovery of the Americas and the exploration of Sub-Saharan Africa by the Europeans, only North Africa and other Islamic countries to the East were known in detail, though India and China were vaguely known of. The Crusades established what became a border between "Eastern" and "Western" peoples. With the European colonization of the Americas the East/West distinction became global. The concept of an Eastern, "Indian" ( Indies ) or " Oriental " sphere was emphasized by ideas of racial as well as religious and cultural differences. Such distinctions were articulated by Westerners in the scholarly tradition known as Orientalism and Indology . People from the East are known by certain regions in The West as "Oriental". Before the arrival of Islam in India, people from the Indian subcontinent were generally known as Hindu s and the subcontinent was known as Hindustan or Bharat . During the Cold War , the term "Eastern world" was sometimes used as an extension of Eastern Bloc , connoting the Soviet Union , China and their Communist allies, while the term "Western world" often connoted the United States and its NATO allies such as the United Kingdom and France . |
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