Asian Americans

Definition

Knowing who is an Asian American requires knowledge of a map of Asia and an appreciation of global geopolitics and economics, history, cultural anthropology, and the consequences of war. Asians, at one time, were known as Orientals and were described broadly as those whose origins could be traced to the largest continent on Earth. Asia stretches from the Mediterranean Sea in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east, from the Indian Ocean in the south to the Arctic Ocean in the north. Those who live within these boundaries have been, at times, nomadic and urbane, civil and barbaric; they have been tribal as well as isolationist and possess some of the oldest known civilizations and cultures ever uncovered. The ethnic groups that have immigrated to the United States are as broad and diverse as the land that spawned them. They have rarely shared the same language, although confusion arises because some share the same alphabet. They are unique, and while they share a number of similar characteristics, they cannot be considered the same. To identify any one member of any of these dissimilar groups by an [Page 34]ethnicity not his or her own can be and has been perceived as an insult and can lead and has led to physical conflict.

In general, Asian Americans who migrated to the United States come from Central, South, and East Asia. They can be identified by their specific Asian nationalities, ethnicities, and cultural heritages. In many cases the specific historical epoch in which they left their native lands and established residence as they evolved into Americans is also significant. Each of these groups has its own unique history, culture, and language. Some have had the experience of having a written alphabet created for them after they arrived in the United States, as their history and language did not include literature and was orally or visually based. Another historical curiosity is that West and North Asians are typically excluded from the Asian American designation. Those who have been included have ancestors who migrated from China, Japan, Korea, the Philippine Islands, India, Pakistan, Mongolia, Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh, Thailand, Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, and Burma/Myanmar. Ethnic groups such as the Hmongs, the Miens, the Kampucheans, and the Taiwanese are also included.

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