Mongolia, Korea, Japan and Taiwan form a ring around China, which through trade and conquest, occupation and exchange has left a distinct stamp on each nation's culture. China is the cultural heart of the Far East, and its influence upon the region's music is immediately evident. That roots of that influence, however, lie in the distant past, and many of the cultures which surround China have long developed their own unique traditions. (read more)

Mongolia, Korea, Japan and Taiwan form a ring around China, which through trade and conquest, occupation and exchange has left a distinct stamp on each nation's culture. China is the cultural heart of the Far East, and its influence upon the region's music is immediately evident. That roots of that influence, however, lie in the distant past, and many of the cultures which surround China have long developed their own unique traditions. It is also impossible to discount the degree to which outside influence has impacted East Asian culture, from the European traders and conquerors of the last 500 years to the indigenous peoples on the edges of the area. Japan has been especially deft at adapting the pieces of outsider cultures it values, but as a longtime center of civilization and trade, the whole Far East has amassed a culture that draws upon many sources. The music of the Far East today ranges from the classical forms that survive in China, Japan and Korea to the throat singing practiced by Mongolian herdsmen to the impossibly bright and shiny pop music of Japan. Traditional forms, like Chinese Opera, have outlasted the Chinese Empire, while the intersection of western influence has helped a great jazz tradition to flourish in Japan and produced performers throughout the region who have made a major impact on European classical music.(collapse)