It is indeed a miracle that Japan quickly entered the ranks of modern powers from a feudal empire. Feudalism comes first here. Many people say that we are not feudal emperors in Tang, Song, Yuan, Ming and Qing Dynasties. Strictly speaking, no. After Qin Shihuang unified the six countries, feudal seals almost disappeared. The so-called seal is the appearance of the Zhou Dynasty. The princes are loyal to the royal family, but they have their own armed and independent management methods. The empire of the county system is at most a dynasty era. What is the difference? The difference lies in the decentralization of power. Japan is a country with unique characteristics in Asia. Its culture originated from the Han and Tang Dynasties, but it formed its own characteristics. The royal family is eternal, but has no real power. Although the shogunate or later cabinet has real power, it must rely on the vassal king below and the spiritual leader emperor above. This formed a unique mechanism in ancient Japan, that is, the triangular balance between the main forces such as the emperor, the vassal king and the general, which laid a good foundation for the political reform during the Meiji Restoration. China's ancient dynasties, like the most representative Tai Chi map in our culture, were black with white and white with black, emerging one after another.
After the end of the movement, the Japanese royal family seems to have mastered the real power, but the following two princes and other small princes also retained some strength. At this time, the Japanese royal family finally reached a compromise with the major families through a series of interest games, and successfully formed a cabinet without war and bloodshed. Internally, land policy reform has stabilized fiscal revenue. Externally, it learned from the West in an all-round way, purchased the world's advanced technology and machinery, and successfully privatized it, forming a highly developed commercial competitiveness, which once enhanced Japan's comprehensive national strength. Let Japan jump from a small country that was bullied before World War II to a big country. However, if Japan wants to achieve this achievement, it must have a prerequisite, and that is education. How is education in Japan?
In the paste era before Meiji Restoration, the literacy rate in Japan had reached 40%, but in the late Republic of China, even though 90% of the people in China were illiterate, how did they do it? We all know that samurai can not only chop people, but also read and write. They are well-educated and can serve the captaincy. And children from poor families can also receive universal education. This is the Japanese temple. Japanese temples not only have their own land and wealth, but even once surpassed the power of the vassal king and became the largest political group in Japan. Although the influence of Buddhism declined later, there are still many shrines in Japan, large and small. These temples also run private schools, which are famous temples. Because these monasteries are not short of money, education for children from poor families is almost free, which has improved the literacy rate of the bottom in Japan. But compared with the samurai family, the education in the temple is very simple, just three things: reading, literacy and abacus. After the Meiji Restoration, more than 10,000 monasteries suddenly became state-owned primary schools in Japan, and it was really compulsory education, which raised the literacy rate in Japan to 90%. This provided a large number of high-quality workers for Japan's industrial age, which is the foundation of industrial development.
In fact, it is no accident that Yuedaozi, a troubled country, can rise rapidly. If the Ming Dynasty can inherit the great maritime undertaking of the Song Dynasty, continue to vigorously develop maritime trade, and encourage the spirit of industry and commerce and artisans, perhaps there will be no Qing Dynasty and Britain, which is known as not falling into the empire. But is there a if in history? After reading this passage and recalling the modern history of our country, I think many readers are uncomfortable. Who is to blame? Blame Zhu Yuanzhang? Strange Manchu? It's still strange ... in fact, no matter how many excuses we give ourselves, we can't change the fact. History will never be a thing of the past, and it will continue to affect future generations. How to treat the Japanese rise and the humiliating history of modern China?