East and West are unstable geographic labels relative to the observer

Evidence

The use of “East” and “West” to identify geographical areas is confusing and ethnocentric. “North” and “south” have universally accepted fixed reference points in the poles. “East” and “west” have no such reference points. The question is: east and west of what? It all depends on where you stand. “West” and “East” presumably originally referred to the western and eastern parts of Eurasia. From an American viewpoint, however, the Far East is actually the Far West. For most of Chinese history the West meant India, whereas “In Japan ‘the West’ usually meant China.” — Samuel P. Huntington, The Clash of Civilizations and the…, 1351

Categorization

• XREF: Connects to Said’s Orientalism and the critique of ethnocentric geographic categories in postcolonial geography.
• CANDY: From an American viewpoint, the Far East is actually the Far West’ is a neat line for any conversation about perspective and naming.
• QUESTION: Worth chasing: how did ‘Far East’ become standardized in English despite its obvious relativity? A short etymological history of cartographic naming.