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_without_New_Guinea.svg) Asia (/ˈeɪʒə/ ⓘAY-zhə,UK also/ˈeɪʃə/AY-shə) is the largestcontinent in the world by both land area and population. It covers an area of more than 44 million square kilometres, about 30% of Earth's total land area and 8% of Earth's total surface area. The continent, which has long been home to the majority of thehuman population, was the site of many of thefirst civilisations. Its 4.7 billion people constitute roughly 60% of the world's population. Asia shares thelandmass ofEurasia withEurope, and ofAfro-Eurasia with both Europe andAfrica. In general terms, it is bounded on the east by thePacific Ocean, on the south by theIndian Ocean, and on the north by theArctic Ocean. The border of Asia with Europe is ahistorical and cultural construct, as there is no clear physical and geographical separation between them. A commonly accepted division places Asia to the east of theSuez Canal separating it from Africa; and to the east of theTurkish straits, theUral Mountains andUral River, and to the south of theCaucasus Mountains and theCaspian andBlack seas, separating it from Europe. Since the concept of Asia derives from the term for the eastern region from a European perspective, Asia is the remaining vast area of Eurasia minus Europe. Therefore, Asia is a region where various independent cultures coexist rather than sharing a single culture, and its boundary with Europe is somewhat arbitrary and has moved since its first conception inclassical antiquity. The division of Eurasia into two continents reflectsEast–West cultural differences, some of which vary on a spectrum. (Full article...) Featured articleAcannon (plural eithercannons orcannon) is a large-caliber gun classified as a type ofartillery, which usually launches aprojectile using explosive chemicalpropellant.Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention ofsmokeless powder during the late 19th century. Cannons vary ingauge,effective range,mobility,rate of fire,angle of fire andfirepower; different forms of cannon combine and balance these attributes in varying degrees, depending on their intended use on the battlefield. A cannon is a type of heavy artillery weapon. The wordcannon is derived from several languages, in which the original definition can usually be translated astube,cane, orreed. The earliest known depiction of cannons may have appeared inSong dynasty China as early as the 12th century; however, solid archaeological and documentary evidence of cannons do not appear until the 13th century. In 1288,Yuan dynasty troops are recorded to have usedhand cannons in combat, and the earliest extant cannon bearing a date of production comes from the same period. By the end of the 14th century, cannons were widespread throughoutEurasia. (Full article...) Selected Country ThePhilippines, officially theRepublic of the Philippines, is anarchipelagic country inSoutheast Asia. Located in the westernPacific Ocean, it consists of about7,641 islands, with a total area of about 300,000 square kilometers, which are broadly categorized inthree main geographical divisions from north to south:Luzon,Visayas, andMindanao. With a population of over 112 million, it is the world'sfourteenth-most-populous country. The Philippines is bounded by theSouth China Sea to the west, thePhilippine Sea to the east, and theCelebes Sea to the south. It sharesmaritime borders withTaiwan to the north,Japan to the northeast,Palau to the east and southeast,Indonesia to the south,Malaysia to the southwest,Vietnam to the west, andChina to the northwest. It hasdiverse ethnicities anda rich culture.Manila isthe country's capital, andits most populated city isQuezon City. Both are withinMetro Manila. (Full article...) Featured biography Zhou Tong stroking his beard Zhou Tong (Chinese:周同 and周侗;pinyin:Zhōu Tóng; died late 1121) was thearchery teacher and second military arts tutor of famousSong dynasty generalYue Fei. Originally a local hero fromHenan, he was hired to continue Yue Fei's military training in archery after the boy had rapidly mastered spearplay under his first teacher. In addition to the future general, Zhou accepted other children as archery pupils. During his tutelage, Zhou taught the children all of his skills and even rewarded Yue with his two favorite bows because he was his best pupil. After Zhou's death, Yue would regularly visit his tomb twice a month and perform unorthodox sacrifices that far surpassed that done for even beloved tutors. Yue later taught what he had learned from Zhou to his soldiers and they were successful in battle. With the publishing of Yue Fei's 17th folklore biography,The Story of Yue Fei (1684), a new, fictional Zhou Tong emerged, who differed greatly from his historical persona. Not only was he now fromShaanxi, but he was Yue's adopted father, a learned scholar with knowledge of theeighteen weapons of war, and hispersonal name was spelled with a different, yet related, Chinese character. The novel's author portrayed him as an elderly widower and military arts tutor who countedLin Chong andLu Junyi, two of the fictional108 outlaws on which theWater Margin is based, among his former pupils. A laterrepublican erafolktale by notedYangzhou storytellerWang Shaotang not only addsWu Song to this list, but represents Zhou as aknight-errant with supreme swordsmanship. The tale also gives him the nickname "Iron Arm", which he shares with theexecutioner-turned-outlawCai Fu, and makes the outlawLu Zhishen hissworn brother. Because of his association with the outlaws, he is often confused with the similarly named outlawZhou Tong. (Full article...) General imagesThe following are images from various Asia-related articles on Wikipedia.
Featured pictureUtamaro'sAse o fuku onna ("Woman wiping sweat"), an example ofbijinga (literally, "pictures of beautiful people"), a central theme of theukiyo-e genre ofJapanese art. Nearly allukiyo-e artists producedbijinga, but a few, including Utamaro,Suzuki Harunobu,Toyohara Chikanobu, andTorii Kiyonaga, are widely regarded as the greatest innovators and masters of the form. Did you know...
Updated: 1:05, 14 February 2026 In the news
Related portalsMajor Religions in Asia Middle East (West Asia) Central Asia and Caucasus Indian Subcontinent Southeast Asia East Asia Selected panorama
TheHajj is an annualIslamicpilgrimage toMecca,Saudi Arabia, theholiest city forMuslims, and amandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence. TopicsCategories Select [►] to view subcategories Associated WikimediaThe followingWikimedia Foundation sister projects provide more on this subject:
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