中日歷史的映照：一國崛起，一國沉淪，究竟差在哪？

中日歷史的映照：一國崛起，一國沉淪，究竟差在哪？

Why did China and Japan, separated by a sea, have completely different endings in the face of Western impact ? During the Meiji Restoration, Japan first sent the Iwakura Mission across the Pacific Ocean to investigate Britain, France, Germany, and the United States. They saw the efficiency of steam engines and heard the roar of modern factories. They returned to Japan with the conclusion of enriching the country, strengthening the military, and enlightening the people. They studied advanced civilization down to earth . The Qing Dynasty at that time also experienced the Westernization Movement and had made various attempts and efforts , but was repeatedly trapped by internal and external troubles . Did people at that time also wonder why the good policy of “Chinese learning for substance and Western learning for practical use” did not achieve the “total Westernization” storm? Faced with the oppression of Western powers, China and Japan opened their doors to the world at the same time , but took completely different paths of modernization . Japan learned from Europe and the United States to lay railways, rebuild fleets, and reshape social classes . China suffered from institutional rigidity and financial collapse in the process of seeking wealth and strength, and eventually fell into a deeper vortex. They all looked up to the dazzling lighthouse on the other side of the ocean , but were bound by their own historical destiny. How did Japan leap from “backwardness” to become an Asian model? What key turning points did China miss? In today’s issue, we will focus on this topic. In 716 AD, a 19-year-old young man came to China from Japan. It is said that he was smart and studious since childhood, and he was talented . The most important thing was that he was selected as an envoy to the Tang Dynasty because of his good Chinese literacy. He went all the way from Nanwa, Japan, which is today’s Osaka, and went through hardships to cross the East China Sea to the Tang capital Chang’an , which is today’s Xi’an, Shaanxi . This young man was named Abe no Nakamaro. This is a wrong record. It should have been called Abe no Nakamaro or Abe no Nakamaro , but later it became commonplace and Abe no Nakamaro became the official name. It is said that after Abe no Nakamaro came to the Central Plains Tang Dynasty, he studied hard for several years and took the Tang Dynasty imperial examination and passed the examination with excellent results . Because of his both moral integrity and talent, and his excellent poetry and prose, Abe no Nakamaro was appreciated by Emperor Xuanzong of Tang and was appointed as the Secretary General and Wei Weiqing. He often served Emperor Xuanzong. After a long time, Abe no Nakamaro simply gave himself a Chinese name , Chao Heng. He lived in China for more than 50 years. Because he missed his homeland, in 753, Chao Heng and others led four sailing ships They set sail from Suzhou to Japan with a famous monk, Jianzhen, who was already over 60 years old. The four sailboats were originally going to sail together, but they encountered a storm on the sea and the fleet was separated . Jianzhen and the other two ships finally reached Japan, but Chao Heng’s ship was missing. He had several poet friends in China, including Li Bai and Wang Wei. Because there was no news from him, Li Bai thought he had died and wrote a famous poem called “Mourning Chao Heng” in grief. The expedition sails around Penghu, the bright moon never returns, the blue sea sinks, the white clouds are filled with sorrow. Everyone thought he was dead, but in fact he drifted to Annan , which is today’s Vietnam . After going through many hardships from Annan to Chang’an , he happened to catch up with the outbreak of the Anshi Rebellion . The road between China and Japan had become very dangerous, so Chao Heng gave up the idea of returning to China. Later, he gained the trust of Tang Suzong and Tang Daizong respectively, and was promoted to the second-rank governor of Luzhou , Guanglu Dafu and Yushi Zhongcheng , the founding duke of Beihai County, with a fief of 3,000 households. Chao Heng, Abe no Nakamaro He eventually died in Chang’an and was buried in the Tang Dynasty at the age of seventy-two. From then on, this piece of history has been cited as a beautiful story. The exchanges between China and Japan have a long history. The origin of the Japanese nation has been particularly widespread and long-standing in China. A legend that is almost known to every household is that Xu Fu said that after Qin Shihuang unified the six kingdoms, he sent the alchemist Xu Fu to lead five hundred boys and five hundred girls to sail east to the sea to find three sacred mountains on the sacred mountains where there was an elixir of immortality. The elixir was not found, but Xu Fu later went to Japan and became the ancestor of the Japanese. Xu Fu did exist in history. Both “Records of the Grand Historian” and “Records of the Three Kingdoms” mentioned him , but at least before the Five Dynasties , it was not clearly stated where he ended up . In the Later Zhou Dynasty of the Five Dynasties, there was a monk named Yichu in Kaiyuan Temple in Jeju. Yichu wrote a work called “Yichu Liutie”, in which he clearly mentioned that Xu Fu finally arrived in Japan, and the Japanese Qin family was his descendant. This is the earliest known Chinese document There are records that clearly point out that Xu Fu sailed to Japan. Ouyang Xiu of the Song Dynasty wrote a poem “Japanese Sword Song” which also pointed out that the place where Xu Fu stayed was Japan. However, like “Yi Chu Liu Tie”, its authenticity is difficult to verify . Legends about Xu Fu are also circulated in Japan. Let’s see this is a painting about Xu Fu’s sailing to Japan during the Edo period. The Japanese believed that Xu Fu landed in Shingu City, Wakayama Prefecture. There are still Xu Fu’s tomb and Xu Fu Shrine in the area. There is a tradition of worshiping Xu Fu on November 28th every year, but the authenticity cannot be confirmed. This is a story with mythological colors . Myths are myths, just treat them as fun . Don’t treat myths as historical facts , otherwise it may become a joke. Where did the Japanese come from ? According to modern genetic research, the Japanese are not a “single ethnic group” but the result of multiple migrations, developments, evolutions and integrations. There are two main sources, one is the Jomon people and the other is the Misaki people. According to analysis, the Jomon people began to migrate south from Northeast Asia and the coast of today’s Russian Far East 17,000 years ago, and finally formed the Jomon cultural circle based on hunting and gathering. About 10%-20% of the genome of modern Japanese can be traced back to this group of ancient people, among which the Ainu people in Hokkaido and the Ryukyu people in Okinawa are the most prominent . The Yayoi people, from the 4th to 5th century BC, a large number of farming peoples from the Yangtze River Basin and the Korean Peninsula came to Japan through various channels to reproduce. The Yayoi and Jomon people intermarried extensively and became the main genetic source of most Japanese today, accounting for about 80%-90%. We can look at this picture. The Jomon people are on the left and the Yayoi people are on the right. There is a big difference in their facial features. The Jomon people’s beards, hair, and eyebrows are thicker, the nose is higher, and the lips are thicker. This is a more scientific way to infer the origin of the Japanese. Japan first had the Jomon period, and then the Yayoi period. The arrival of the Yayoi people squeezed the living space of the Jomon people and gradually became the mainstream of the Japanese archipelago. Originally, it was the territory of several clans. At the end of the 5th century, a family located on the east coast of the inland sea became powerful. This family was called the Yamato family. They regarded Amaterasu as their ancestor god, so they were also called the Amaterasu family. At this time, it was still a clan alliance. In the 7th century AD , the Yamato leader set up a banquet to entertain several major opponents and took advantage of the drunkenness to kill them. According to the records of traditional historical books, a few months later, the Yamato leader announced that he would begin to learn the governance methods of the Tang Dynasty in China. This event was of epoch-making significance to Japan. What was it called in history? It was collectively referred to as the “Taika Reform”. The earliest exchanges between China and Japan occurred in the Eastern Han Dynasty. According to the records in the “Book of the Later Han Dynasty·Biographies of the Eastern Barbarians”, “In the second year of Jianwu Zhongyuan, the Wa country paid tribute to the court.” “It sent people to call themselves doctors, and it was the southernmost border of the Wa country.” “Guangwu bestowed seals and ribbons.” “In the first year of Yongchu of Emperor An ” “The king of Wa offered 160 people as tribute .” This record mentions that Emperor Guangwu of the Han Dynasty granted the seal of Wa in Japan in the second year of the Zhongyuan Period of Jianwu. At that time, there were more than 100 small countries in Japan that had diplomatic exchanges with the Han Dynasty, and more than 30 of them were kings, and passed down from generation to generation. As for the exact location of Wa, it is not very clear, but it is very likely located in the Kyushu region. Why do you say that? The Book of the Later Han Dynasty says that Emperor Guangwu granted the seal. This seal was later found in Japan. In the Edo period, a farmer dug up a gold seal while repairing a paddy field. After research , it was confirmed that this was the gold seal bestowed by Emperor Guangwu Liu Xiu as written in the Book of the Later Han Dynasty. We can take a general look at this with the help of pictures . It is a snake-shaped gold seal with a weight of about 108 grams. The seal surface is 2.3 cm square . It is engraved with “King of Wei Nu in Han Dynasty” in seal script. ” Weinu” is usually regarded as a simplified writing of “Wa Nu”. So why is it a snake-shaped seal? According to the etiquette of the Han Dynasty, the gold seals granted to the crown prince and princes usually have tortoise-shaped seals, and those granted to the kings of vassal states usually have snake-shaped seals or goat, camel, etc. This gold seal was later presented to the then lord of Fukuoka Domain, the Kuroda family . After World War II , it was designated as a first-class national treasure by the Japanese authorities. The Kuroda family donated the gold seal to Fukuoka City and it is now in the Fukuoka City Museum. It should be said that such a thing has a very low presence in Chinese history. It is worth noting that during the Eastern Han Dynasty, the Japanese The island is relatively low in terms of civilization and productivity. All men have tattoos on their faces , and the content of the tattoos distinguishes the size of the people. They eat with their hands, and the tableware is made of bamboo or wood. Most of the people are barefoot and squatting is a sign of respect. People in this place are very long-lived. There are many centenarians. There are more women than men in the country . An ordinary man has two or three wives at home . A man with a certain status can marry four or five. Usually, when there are major or minor events, they often use the method of burning bones to predict. If they are about to go on a long journey at sea , they will specifically order a person not to take a bath, eat meat, or get close to women. If everything goes well at sea, they will reward this person with some property. If there is any disease or disaster, they will rise up and kill them. This is a relatively backward place . The situation did not improve until the 7th century. In the 7th century, an emperor named Emperor Kotoku appeared in Japan. After Emperor Kotoku ascended the throne, he established the Taika era and began to carry out reforms step by step , imitating the Tang system. This is the Taika Reform. To be more specific, the equal-field system of the Sui and Tang dynasties was followed, and the land and land allocation system was implemented. The private ownership of the land and tribes by the powerful families was abolished and the land was nationalized . The government allocated land according to the number of people. All citizens over the age of six were given land in proportion. The farmers who received the land regularly handed over grain to the state and had to pay tribute to local products . The Shinto official, the Daijokan, and the eight ministries and one station were set up in the central government, and the state , county , and village were set up in the local area . The capital was protected by the Five Guard Offices , and military corps were set up in the local area. Citizens were required to perform military service according to requirements . From administration to military system, from central government to local government, they basically copied a series of governance methods of the Sui and Tang dynasties. This Taika Reform or Taika Innovation was not accomplished overnight. After the edict was issued, it was not immediately implemented until Japan was defeated in the Battle of Baekgang. The country was directly threatened by the Tang Dynasty , which accelerated the pace of reform. So what was the Battle of Baekgang? This matter is related to the Korean Peninsula. Before 660 AD, there were three countries on the Korean Peninsula: Goguryeo, Baekje, and Silla. You can see the details on this map. This is the Three Kingdoms of Korea after 576. The relationship between the three kingdoms was sometimes good and sometimes bad. Later , Silla began to join forces with the Tang Dynasty to deal with Baekje and Goguryeo . In the 19th year of Zhenguan (645), Emperor Taizong of Tang, Li Shimin, personally led an army of 100,000 to attack Goguryeo and broke through the defense line. However , he encountered stubborn resistance from Goguryeo near Anshan, Liaoning today. Due to bad weather and the invasion of Xueyantuo, he was forced to withdraw his troops. In the following years, he limited his attacks on Goguryeo to small-scale raids . Emperor Taizong of Tang was always managing the navy and wanted to launch a large-scale attack on Goguryeo until the 22nd year of Zhenguan (649). After his death, Emperor Gaozong of Tang, Li Zhi, came to power . The strategy of the DPRK on the Korean Peninsula began to adjust to unite with Silla and first attack the weaker Baekje. In the fifth year of Xianqing, in 660 AD, Emperor Gaozong of Tang sent General Su Dingfang to lead a total of 13,000 naval and land forces to attack Baekje to rescue Silla. Su Dingfang set out from Rongcheng, Shandong today by sea. The ship sailed thousands of miles and went east along the river. In July of that year, the Tang-Silla coalition forces conquered Baekje. Su Dingfang left Liu Renyuan to guard the Baekje Royal City and then escorted the captives back to his country. The big brother behind Baekje was Japan. People went to Japan to get reinforcements. After Japan sent a large army to support Baekje, the entire Korean Peninsula gradually took shape. There were two battlefields in the north and the south. In the north, Goguryeo and the Tang army were in a standoff. In the south, due to the intervention of the Japanese army, the Tang Dynasty and Silla gradually turned to the defensive. At this time , an unexpected event reversed the situation again . Baekje had a main general named Guishi Bok-sin. Guishi Bok-sin had a conflict with the new king because of his great achievements. In the end, Guishi Bok-sin was eliminated by the king for treason. The people of Baekje changed their minds, and their combat effectiveness was greatly affected. Soon, the Tang army divided into two routes to attack Baekje’s last stronghold Zhouliu City. On the sea, this route met the Japanese navy that arrived earlier at Baekgangkou . Where is Baekgangkou? Today, North Jeolla Province and South Chungcheong Province in South Korea are separated by the Geum River. The Baekgang River estuary is the mouth of the Geum River. This battle lasted for two days . On the first day, 170 warships of the Tang army were arranged in battle formation under the command of General Liu Rengui. The Japanese army had thousands of warships on the water and Baekje elite cavalry on the shore to escort them. When the two armies met, the Japanese army took the lead in charging , but because the ships were too small, they collapsed as soon as they touched the Tang army fleet. On the second day, the Japanese army still took the offensive and swarmed to the Tang Dynasty . Liu Rengui commanded all the warships to be divided into two teams on the left and right to surround the Japanese army . In an instant, the Japanese army suffered a tragic defeat and countless people fell into the water and died. According to the records of the “Old Book of Tang”: Liu Rengui “encountered Japanese soldiers at the mouth of the Baekgang River”, “four victories, burned 400 ships”, “smoke rose to the sky, the sea water was all red, and the bandits were greatly defeated.” The “Nihonshoki” written by a Japanese prince named Saori said: “The Japanese generals and the Baekje king did not observe the weather.” “They said to each other: if we rush to the front, they should retreat on their own.” They naively thought that as long as they fought hard, the Tang army would retreat on their own. So they “led the soldiers of the Japanese chaotic army” and “attacked the Tang army’s strong formation .” “The Tang army surrounded them from both sides and fought.” “In a short while, the government army was defeated.” “Many people drowned in the water, and the ships could not turn around.” After the Battle of Baekgang, Japan’s influence on the Korean Peninsula was eliminated and the Baekje Kingdom was completely destroyed. Japan realized the power of the Tang Dynasty in the war and sent envoys to China to learn various advanced cultures. Five years later, the Tang army conquered Goguryeo, the Tang Dynasty and Silla with the Taedong River as the boundary. The situation of the Korean Peninsula and even the entire East Asia was rewritten because of the war. There were five major wars between China and Japan in history. The first war: the Battle of Baekgang, which was briefly mentioned above. The second war: the Yuan-Japan War . Kublai Khan sent troops to invade Japan twice, but was defeated because of a typhoon. The third war: the Wanli Korean War Toyotomi Hideyoshi invaded Korea. The Ming army entered Korea at the request of Korea and eventually ended with peace talks between the two sides. The fourth war: the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895 was also a war for the right to speak on the Korean Peninsula . The two sides fought each other and ended with China’s disastrous defeat . The fifth war: the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression. This is the most recent one to us. From being backward and being beaten to learning the Tang Dynasty culture in its original flavor and then showing fangs and wanting to invade China, if you look at it this way, the approximate time span is about 1,000 years. It is necessary to roughly sort out the shogunate period of Japan. There were three shogunates in Japan , namely Kamakura, Ashikaga, and Edo. As mentioned earlier, the Taika Reform faction wanted to emulate the Tang Dynasty and establish a permanent army through conscription. As a result, this plan was stillborn before it was implemented. The government said that soldiers should be conscripted to serve in various places. The emperor could conscript them to Kyoto and other countries . As citizens, they have the responsibility and obligation to obey the call. This matter encountered great resistance at the implementation level. Many people would rather choose to flee than to serve in the army. They wanted to conscript soldiers, but they could not . They could not form a reliable army like the Tang Dynasty. In this case, the court had to find another way to recruit local warriors and train them into armed groups to specialize in maintenance Local law and order These people are called “samurai” or “samurai”. At first, they did not leave their families and would only take up swords and fight when needed. After hundreds of years of development, this group of people is no longer temporary workers , but has evolved into a large-scale, long-term armed organization . They have formed alliances under the wings of the two major families, the Minamoto clan and the Taira clan, and are becoming increasingly powerful. After a series of bloody wars, the two families finally won and eliminated the Taira clan . The court needed reliable military support , so in 1192, Minamoto no Yoritomo was appointed as the Shogun. The Shogun is an ancient position. It can be traced back to the 8th century. There was a group of aborigines in the north who were always unruly. The imperial court gave these people a discriminatory name and called them “Ezo”. They also appointed some nobles as shoguns to recruit troops and conquer these border residents . After the Minamoto-Pei War, Minamoto no Yoritomo’s shogunate was no longer to conquer Ezo . Instead, he gave the shogun and his descendants a “bakuei government” to lead the shogun and his descendants to fight this war. The shogunate was a powerful institution that firmly controlled military and police power. The Minamoto clan used to be active in Kamakura in eastern Japan, so it was named “Kamakura Shogunate”. In 1274 and 1281, Kublai Khan invaded Japan twice. The second time, he sent an army of 140,000 and more than 4,000 warships. He was determined to turn Japan into an overseas province, but he didn’t expect a typhoon to destroy everything. The samurai stationed on the coast of Kyushu blocked the attack, but the shogunate gave very little reward, which made the samurai group, who had long been dissatisfied , feel further lost and unfair. The Mongols were defeated because of the “divine wind”, but they were not sure whether they would come again . The construction of fortifications and the 20-year vigilance consumed huge manpower, material and financial resources. The economic pressure made the samurai resentful. Soon, a distant relative of the Minamoto clan raised the banner of rebellion. Ashikaga Takauji eliminated the Kamakura shogunate and the Muromachi shogunate was established. The Muromachi shogunate, also known as the Ashikaga shogunate , was the second shogunate regime that lasted for more than 200 years , but half of the time was in war. Factional struggles broke out over the issue of the shogun’s successor, and finally The Onin War caused the growing power of local guardians. The power of the shogunate gradually shrank. Kyoto was burned to ashes due to the civil war. The daimyo of various places began to secede. Japan fell into a nationwide chaos that lasted for more than a hundred years. This was the Warring States Period of Japan . In the late Muromachi shogunate, two famous figures appeared, Oda Nobunaga and Toyotomi Hideyoshi . The period of their rule was also called the Oda-Toyotomi regime. In 1582, Oda Nobunaga encountered a rebellion by his subordinates at Honnoji Temple. He was unable to summon the guards in a hurry because there was no hope of breaking out. In the end, he could only return to his room and set it on fire. Oda Nobunaga committed suicide by seppuku at the age of 48. After Oda Nobunaga’s death, Toyotomi Hideyoshi came to power. Toyotomi Hideyoshi was originally a pariah . Later, he became the regent and the prime minister. He regarded himself as the Taikaku and became the actual ruler of Japan . During his reign, Toyotomi Hideyoshi developed Japan’s military power to a certain level and began to clearly invade China. In a letter to the King of Korea in 1591, he wrote: “Toyotomi Hideyoshi of Japan respectfully replies to the King of Korea.” “The various regions of our country have long been separated.” “The chaos was abolished and the emperor’s orders were obstructed.” “Hideyoshi was furious, and he armed himself and conquered the west and the east. ” “Within a few years, he conquered more than 60 countries.” The previous part mainly said that Japan had been in chaos in recent years, but because of my appearance, the world became peaceful. “Hideyoshi is a humble man, but when she was in the womb.” “Hideyoshi’s mother dreamed of the sun entering her womb, and the fortune teller said: ” Wherever the sunlight shines, everything is clear. ” “In her prime, she will show off her military power in all directions.” “Therefore, she will win every battle and capture every city.” “Now the country is well governed, and the people are rich and wealthy.” “The prosperity of the imperial capital is unparalleled in ancient times.” It said that when my mother was pregnant with me, she dreamed of the sun jumping into her arms. So what? I came to the world with a mission, so I was invincible. “Since ancient times, people have not lived to be more than a hundred years old.” “How can you stay here for a long time? ” Isn’t it true that people should be proactive in their lives ? The following sentence is the key point: ” I wish to borrow a passage from Korea , cross the mountains and seas and enter the Ming Dynasty directly” , “make their 400 states become my customs” , “to implement the royal government for hundreds of millions of years is Hideyoshi’s long-cherished wish”. I want to borrow a passage from Korea, and then attack the Ming Dynasty , make the 400 states of China change to Japanese customs, and implement the Japanese-style royal government on China for thousands of years . This has always been my ambition. Finally, he also said that he hoped Korea would be his forerunner on the day of attacking the Ming Dynasty . So did Toyotomi Hideyoshi only notify Korea? No, he was very ambitious . He notified almost all the regimes around the Ming Dynasty, big and small, such as Ryukyu, Luzon, Taiwan’s Takasago , Siam, Laos, Dai Viet, Guangnan, Champa, Macau, and even India. He sent people to send letters asking them to surrender and help Japan go to war with the Ming Dynasty. Except for Korea, which was scared to death, the rest did not take it seriously without exception. Ryukyu directly refused and reported the news to the Ming Dynasty. The Ming Dynasty discussed it at that time, but most of them did not take it seriously. So there was the Wanli Korean War. Korea called it the Imjin Japanese Rebellion and the Dingyou Rebellion. Japan called it the Bunroku and Keicho Wars. The detailed process has been mentioned before, so I will not repeat it here. China during the period of resisting Japanese invasion and aiding Korea was at the starting point of a downward slope for the next 300 years. Judging from the performance in the war alone, the Ming Dynasty had the strongest combat power , but it was far from being strong enough to crush Japan. However, there were still some remarkable aspects, especially the performance of building mountain city strongholds for defense, which became a key to the final peace talks between the two sides. Korea’s overall combat power was the weakest and it was also the most affected after the war. All industries were depressed and the economy collapsed. It has not recovered after many years. At present, there is a saying that Toyotomi Hideyoshi sent troops to Korea to vent the dissatisfaction of the civil faction and ease the struggle with the military faction. However, after Toyotomi Hideyoshi’s death , this contradiction was not properly resolved. What happened in Japan? It fell into war among various feudal states again until Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated his opponent in the Battle of Sekigahara and seized the supreme power to replace Toyotomi. This created the third shogunate of Japan. The Edo shogunate, which was inherited by the Tokugawa family, officially came onto the historical stage. In the previous program, we mentioned that Japan was closed to the outside world. What is different from China is that Japan learned European scientific and technological knowledge from a Western country under the closed-door policy . The source of information for Japan was the Netherlands. During the Edo shogunate period, after the issuance of the isolation order, only the Dutch and Chinese were allowed to do business in Japan , and the trading location was limited to Dejima in Nagasaki. This is the “Schematic Diagram of Nagasaki Dejima” drawn by a Japanese female painter Katsushika Oei (doubtful) . The fan-shaped area in the middle with the Dutch flag is the artificial Dejima . In the Edo period, the academic, cultural, and technological knowledge introduced to Japan through the Netherlands were unified It is called Dutch learning. Let’s take a look at this, which is another painting created by a Japanese painter at that time. It is called “Three Sages of Japanese, Chinese and Western Studies”. The painter’s name is Sima Jianghan, whose real name is Ando Kichijiro . The painting was created in the 18th century . The three figures in the painting represent three cultures or ideologies: Sinology, Japanese national studies and Western science. This is Japan’s first Western medicine monograph, which is called “Kaitai Shinsho” and was published in 1774. This is a microscope recorded in a book called “Red Hair’s Miscellaneous Stories” and was published in 1787. This is Japan’s first electrostatic generator, which was developed in 1776. This is the perpetual clock made in Japan in 1851. This is the first steam engine made in 1853. In short, Dutch learning is the scientific foundation for Japan’s rapid rise in the future. It was through Dutch learning that Japan learned the achievements of the scientific revolution in Europe at that time, and then quickly and successfully implemented the Meiji Restoration after the founding of the country in 1854. In 1788, a set of books called “Ladder of Dutch Learning” was published in Japan. This is an introductory book on Dutch learning, with a total of two volumes . The book reads in the preface at the beginning: “Among the talents of heaven and earth, who can exhaust them to the fullest and who can perfect them? ” Throughout the ages, among the talents of heaven and earth , who can become the highest example and who can reach perfection? “China is secluded in a corner, and only China is proud of itself. ” The word “China ” was introduced to Japan from India through Buddhism. In the late Edo period, “China” became a name for China by the Japanese. Please note that when “The Ladder of Dutch Studies” appeared, “China” did not yet have a discriminatory meaning , but from this preface, we can feel that the Japanese student had doubts and even despised the Chinese teacher at that time. This teacher was too self-righteous. Will their way of thinking still work? In 1788, when “The Ladder of Dutch Studies” appeared, the US Constitution was taking effect. British navigators landed in Australia with exiled criminals. The Japanese began to reflect on whether their teachers were qualified. That year was the 53rd year of Emperor Qianlong’s reign in the Qing Dynasty in China, which was the peak period of ignorance and blind arrogance. Let’s talk about Dutch studies itself. In the mid-19th century , around the time of the arrival of the black ships, the thoughts aroused by the advocates of Dutch studies and Japanese national studies inspired a new generation of Japanese. People began to discuss the effectiveness of Confucianism on society, and examined the pros and cons of foreign cultures with a critical eye. They even questioned the role of the shogunate in the country. A series of turmoil did not subside until the opening of the Meiji Restoration. On March 14, 1868, the Meiji Emperor of Japan summoned nearly 500 officials to Kyoto to read out the basic national policy known as the “Five-Article Oath”. The first article of the “Five-Article Oath” is called “Extensive meetings, all matters are decided by public opinion”. The literal meaning is easy to understand , and the problems reflected behind it are thought-provoking. This is the main idea of modernization and modernization based on democracy learned from the West . How did Japan rise and surpass China? From this “all matters are decided by public opinion”, we can feel something of the oath proposed by the Japanese to all citizens in 1868. When it comes to us , no matter whether it is the Qing Dynasty or the Republic of China , this “all matters are decided by public opinion” has always been a difficult problem. “Five-Article Oath” The publication of the Constitution is usually regarded as the beginning of Japan’s comprehensive westernization. The Meiji Restoration officially debuted. A group of passionate young people overthrew the Tokugawa shogunate . After taking office, the first priority of this group of people was to revise the overall situation. More than 200 daimyo were scattered and it was useless to rely on scattered soldiers and guerrillas. Therefore, as soon as the “Five-Article Oath” was released , they immediately launched the “Political Book” , also known as the “1868 Constitution”, which concentrated all power in the Daijokan. The Daijokan is not a new thing. It used to be the primary decision-making and administrative agency in early Japan , and then gradually withdrew. This time, the power belonged to the Daijokan. The Daijokan, the Daijokan minister, the left and right ministers, and several councilors in charge of different departments immediately took office. The anti-shogunate factions in Satsuma and Choshu joined forces with the radicals in the court to almost monopolize all important positions. In the next ten years or so, Iwakura Tomomi, Ōkubo Toshimichi, and Kido Takayoshi Fuji Hirobumi , Yamagata Aritomo and others have almost always been the center of action. Arrangements have been made at the central level. There are still nearly two hundred independent daimyo in the local areas. If the control of each territory cannot be controlled, problems will arise sooner or later. Ito Hirobumi and Kido Takayoshi were the first to propose “abolishing the feudal domains and establishing prefectures” and let the Daijokan directly manage them. At the beginning of the second year, the four most powerful feudal domains that overthrew the shogunate: Satsuma, Choshu, Tosa, and Hizen each submitted documents granting territories, and many other feudal lords began to follow suit . In this way , more than a year passed. The court had already gone to Edo and changed its name to Tokyo. One day in June of summer, the court announced that it would accept the return of land and household registration from each feudal domain. After a while , it officially announced the abolition of feudal domains and the establishment of prefectures , and set up 3 prefectures and 302 counties, which were later reduced to 48 counties. Each prefecture and county was under the jurisdiction of the new governor or county magistrate appointed by the Daijokan. The entire The process was gradual but not dragging at all . The ruling power of the central government increased dramatically. The Five-Article Oath of Emperor Meiji said that everyone should be able to “achieve their own ambitions” and “develop great economics. ” The new government in Tokyo abolished the old social order of “samurai, farmers, merchants and artisans” while abolishing the feudal domains and establishing prefectures. At the same time, all Japanese were thrown back into three big baskets. The first was the nobility, including 427 former feudal lords and royal nobles. The second was the samurai. The original high-ranking samurai were renamed samurai, and the more ordinary samurai were renamed soldiers. The samurai group accounted for about 6% of the more than 30 million people in Japan at that time. The third was the civilians . Farmers, merchants, and craftsmen were collectively called civilians , accounting for about 90% of the national population. People from all walks of life were allowed to intermarry and adopt each other’s children. The new identity policy made some people happy and some people sad. Ordinary people applauded and felt that they had more dignity in this way. Samurai generally They were not happy. The privileges of carrying swords and using surnames were taken away one by one. Finally, even the hereditary salaries were cut. There was no other way. The feudal domain was abolished and the prefecture was changed , which included the responsibility of paying the samurai. It would be fine if they didn’t pay, but they were shocked when they did. The samurai’s salaries directly accounted for one-third of the total expenditure of the central government. For financial considerations , people led by Okubo Toshimichi urgently demanded the abolition of the salaries. However, Kido Takayoshi and Iwakura Tomomi thought that doing so was somewhat immoral. After all, these people had been working hard for the country for generations. If they really abolished it directly, they were afraid that they would cause trouble. After much discussion, people came up with a bad idea . The government was not not paying salaries , but it was indeed in difficulty now . As for the salaries, the form had to be slightly changed and changed into regular and interest-bearing government bonds that could be exchanged after three years . The Meiji government played a trick on the samurai . The samurai had What kind of response? I’ll talk about this later. Another extraordinary new policy of the Meiji Restoration was to establish a new army through conscription. Regarding military construction , Yamagata Aritomo proposed a set of ideas for comprehensive conscription. Simply put, in the past, the army relied on samurai, but now it should be open to all citizens. His judgment was partly based on his personal experience. At the beginning of the anti-shogunate movement, Yamagata Aritomo helped organize the “Cavalry Team” in Choshu Domain. This was a militia of about 400 people from all walks of life. From the bombardment of Choshu by Britain, France, the United States and Russia to the Boshin War between the British and French and the shogunate, this team can be said to have fought bloody battles and made great achievements. Later, during Yamagata Aritomo’s visit to Europe, he witnessed the military strength of Russia and France, which further strengthened his determination to establish a similar modern army . So, on January 10, 1873, the Ministry of War The “Conscription Order” drafted by the assistant minister Yamagata Aritomo was officially promulgated . The new law clearly stipulates that all men over the age of 20 must serve in the military for three years and in the reserve for four years. Household heads, farmers, and heirs to family businesses can be exempted from military service according to law. They can also be exempted from military service by paying a substitute fee. This is a milestone measure. In addition to the military service system , the Meiji government also implemented land rent reform, emphasizing “impartial taxation and equal tax burden among the people.” The government distributed land deeds and stipulated the land price, and then fixed the tax rate at 3% of the land price. The legal land owners paid the new land rent in cash every year. The new land rent system was simple, clear and transparent . The taxation was stable, and the government finally did not have to worry about raising military expenses and paying wages every year . But problems followed . The unified tax rate made some people happy and relaxed because less land meant less tax. At the same time, it also increased another part. The burden was shared by all. People in some places gradually began to gather and cause trouble and violent actions . The struggle triggered by land rent intensified in the mid-1870s and became a direct challenge to the new government. The Meiji government at that time was eager to take control of the country’s administrative, legislative, taxation, and military powers. However, the voices of public resistance also rose . To put it bluntly, this reform was like a double-edged sword. It gave the government finances a shot in the arm while also lighting a fire for the people. The Meiji government wanted to promote “modernization” but accidentally set off a storm in the countryside. In the early 1870s, Japan was at a crossroads in history. On one side was the old order, and on the other was the new government. Compared with the wave of peasant resistance mentioned above , the more difficult thing was the large-scale riots of the samurai. The reasons for the samurai riots were both far-reaching and near. On the one hand, the privileges in the traditional sense were deprived, and on the other hand, the Taijokan rejected a proposal to “conquer Korea”. After the Meiji Restoration, Japan took advantage of the establishment of the new government to propose to Korea to establish diplomatic relations. At that time, Korea was also in a closed-door policy and only recognized the Qing Dynasty as the emperor. The Japanese letter contained the words “Emperor of Japan”, so Korea refused to accept it. At this time, a person stood up. He was Saigo Takamori from Satsuma, who was hailed as the first of the “Three Heroes of the Meiji Restoration”. In response to diplomatic disputes, Saigo Takamori proposed “conquering Korea” to resolve international disputes by invading Korea. At the same time, it would allow lower-level samurai to obtain new privileges and resources in the new territory. However, several other politicians believed that Japan was still very weak. The weak should give priority to internal affairs. The Meiji Emperor also expressed his agreement with the peace-loving faction’s views at this time. The Korean affairs caused a rift in the alliance of the Japanese ruling class. The “Korean Expedition” failed . Saigo Takamori resigned from his government post in anger and left Tokyo. He returned to his hometown and lived a retired life in Kagoshima, walking and hunting, and not caring about worldly affairs. Inspired by Saigo Takamori’s personality, a large number of his old subordinates followed him back to Kagoshima. Saigo Takamori funded the establishment of a “private school” system similar to a military academy . Pay attention, this is a painting of “Discussion on the Expedition to Korea” drawn in the Meiji period. The man in the military uniform in the middle is Saigo Takamori. The man on the left in red court dress is Iwakura Tomomi. The man on the right of Saigo Takamori took off his hat and shouted was called Eto Shinpei . It was also this man who first provoked the war. After Eto Shinpei’s “Korean Expedition” was rejected, he returned to his hometown of Hizen, Saga Prefecture. Because he was dissatisfied with the various policies of the Daijokan, he summoned about 3,000 samurai to attack banks and government offices . The government army soon came out The soldiers fought back and quickly put down the rebellion. Eto Shinpei himself was beheaded and displayed to the public . About three years later, the largest civil war during the Meiji Restoration broke out. The leader was none other than Saigo Takamori, the former hero who overthrew the shogunate. In addition to the Satsuma army, the rebels also included samurai from all over the country who were dissatisfied with the government. There were more than 30,000 people in total. Saigo Takamori led a large army to sweep north under the banner of “questioning the government”. For a while , he collided with the officials and soldiers of the court on the road, and sparks flew. There is an American movie called “The Last Samurai” which was shot with this period of history as the background. This movie eulogizes the beauty of the Japanese samurai tradition, but it is rather one-sided and does not reflect the other side of this declining group. This is a group of typical rentiers. Why do I say that? They do not produce but enjoy privileges. Take the powerful feudal domain of Satsuma as an example. One-quarter of the population are samurai. The burden to be borne by the industrial, commercial and agricultural classes is extremely heavy. The so-called honor is based on strict hierarchy. Institutionally, businessmen and farmers had no dignity or personality in front of them , and they could even be killed at will without bearing legal responsibility. The samurai swords on the samurai were bloodthirsty, and a new sword had to be tested by killing untouchables. Saigo Takamori dragged the country into a war, but fortunately, the war came to an end soon . The government army defeated the Satsuma army, and Saigo Takamori retreated to Kagoshima and committed suicide on the battlefield , ending his painful struggle between history and morality and the last civil war in Japan . The samurai class, because they bore the burden of modernization , became the first force to resist modernization, and were eventually eliminated in the resistance . This eliminated obstacles and accelerated the process of modernization. In less than 30 years, they became the most powerful country in Asia. In September 1905, the Qing government sent five senior officials on a French ship from Shanghai to embark on an overseas inspection that lasted more than half a year. The imperial edict clearly stated that they were required to “go to various countries in the East and West” during this trip. “Study all political affairs in order to choose the best and follow them.” For the Qing Dynasty, a huge empire that always claimed to be the “Heavenly Kingdom”, this was an unprecedented “Five Ministers Going Abroad” , so domestic and foreign public opinion highly praised it. In fact, this move of the Qing Dynasty was not the first of its kind, but an imitation of Japan 34 years ago . What is more lamentable is that Japan obviously went more thoroughly and bravely, which eventually gave birth to the success of the Meiji Restoration. From the very beginning of the Meiji Restoration , the “Five-Article Oath” proposed to “break the old bad habits” and “seek knowledge from the world.” Therefore, when the domestic situation was not yet stable and various problems to be solved were piling up, the reform government formed a large diplomatic mission to go overseas for investigation . This is the famous “Iwakura Mission” in Japanese history. The mission was headed by the Right Minister Iwakura Tomomi as the Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary, and the deputy envoys were the core figures of the Meiji government , Kido Takayoshi, Okubo Toshimichi, Ito Hirobumi, and Yamaguchi Naoyoshi. Two of the famous “Three Heroes of the Meiji Restoration” participated in the mission, which shows the urgency of the Japanese reformists to learn from abroad. As Ito Hirobumi said: “We need to make our empire one of the advanced nations” ” We need to seek advice from others on domestic affairs, laws, diplomacy, and even etiquette” On December 23, 1871, the Iwakura Mission set sail from Yokohama. They first crossed the Pacific Ocean and arrived in the United States. They were warmly welcomed at their first stop, San Francisco , but they were frustrated when they arrived in Washington. The Edo Shogunate had signed the Japan-US Treaty of Amity and Commerce with the United States, the first treaty that recognized free trade and the opening of a nation. The validity period was 14 years, and now the validity period was about to expire . The Iwakura Mission hoped to sign a new contract with the United States, but when it came to the negotiation stage, the United States asked to see the letter of trust, and the situation became awkward. The Iwakura Mission did not bring the letter of trust at all, and none of them knew that according to international practice, diplomatic negotiations must have a letter of trust . As a last resort, they had to send someone back to the country to get the letter. It took a long time , but the letter was brought back, but the Americans did not agree to change the treaty. In the end, the two sides agreed to continue the negotiations in Tokyo. This treaty was not abolished until 28 years later . The failure of the negotiations did not dampen the enthusiasm of this group of people, but made them look at the United States with new eyes. At that time, the American Civil War had ended, and there were electric lights, trains, and textile factories everywhere. The city was bustling . Kido Takayoshi reported to the country, saying, “Although I have heard about the appearance of the streets a long time ago…” “But after a visit, I was still amazed.” “As for those schools and factories, they are even harder to describe.” As the ambassador extraordinarily and plenipotentiary, Iwakura Tomomi had always been trusted by the Meiji Emperor. This time in the United States, he opened his eyes. It was in the United States that this important official of the Meiji government cut off his long hair, took off the traditional Japanese aristocratic clothes and put on a decent suit. After six months of investigation in the United States, the group crossed the Atlantic and came to Europe to investigate 11 countries in a row. They had extensive contact with heads of state, government officials and people from all walks of life. In fact, the investigation had at least three tasks. The first goal was a friendly visit and to test foreign governments to see if they could modify unequal treaties. The most important thing was to directly understand the West and find their secret of success. The delegation was divided into several groups. They were responsible for different tasks. Some studied Western constitutions and political systems , some collected information related to trade, industry, and finance, and some investigated the education system and subject situations. Whether in Europe or the United States, the Iwakura Mission’s schedule was fully arranged. From government agencies, parliaments, courts to factories, schools, prisons, police stations, exchanges, chambers of commerce, and military camps, the itinerary was intensive. They had a comprehensive understanding of Western civilization . The original plan was 7 months , but it was extended for another year. It was not until the controversy over the Korean issue attracted their attention that they returned to China. Along the way, the Iwakura Mission had a strong sense of problem awareness. They always compared Japan with the West to find out the reasons why Western countries were rich and strong , as well as effective methods that could be used in Japan. For example, why was Japan backward? During their investigation, they realized that the deep-seated reason for Japan’s backwardness was its backward education. Western education focused on practicality , and the people were exposed to science from an early age. They learned and mastered useful knowledge and skills as much as possible , while the Japanese learned some illusory things. Westerners strived for tangible rational learning , while Japanese pursued intangible rational learning. If they wanted to enrich the country and strengthen the military , they had to cultivate a large number of practical talents and make fundamental reforms to the existing education system. After returning to Japan, the Iwakura Mission worked hard to promote education and popularize primary education among the entire population. Before the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, there were nearly 30,000 primary, secondary and high schools in Japan , so much so that Chinese intellectuals at the time sighed that the density of schools in Japan was higher than that of opium dens in China. The Iwakura Mission generally believed that if Japan wanted to follow the world trend, it had to establish a new political system. However, some European and American countries had republics and some had constitutional monarchies. They were in a dilemma as to which one to learn from. One day, the group came to Germany and visited the Krupp factory and the Siemens motor factory . Germany had recently gone from division to rapid development and from backwardness to becoming a great power. The German experience made them feel familiar . After repeated comparisons, the Iwakura Mission came to a conclusion that neither the American republican politics nor the British constitutional monarchy was suitable for Japan’s national conditions. Instead, Germany, which was nominally a constitutional monarchy but actually autocratic and centralized, was more suitable for Japan. Japan should improve in politics and military. Taking Prussia as an example , it is entirely possible for Japan to rise in the East like Prussia. Many years later, Germany’s role model really made Japan a new military power. However, success and failure are both due to the same person. Imitating Germany, to a certain extent, influenced Japan to embark on the path of militarism of military expansion and armed aggression. At the same time, it also caused great disasters to its Asian neighbors and eventually to Japan itself . In contrast to the Iwakura Mission, the Qing Dynasty also sent people to Europe and the United States, but the Qing government was always hesitant and almost never sincerely learned from advanced Western countries. Liang Qichao said this when comparing China and Japan: When the Japanese arrived in Europe , they discussed education and studied political systems and official systems. After returning to their country, they began to effectively imitate the Iwakura Mission. When the Chinese arrived in Europe, they would ask which factory had the strongest ships and the most powerful guns, and which factory sold the products cheaper and more cost-effectively. Then they would pay to buy them, ship them back to China, and use them directly. China and Japan are two countries that value learning and goods. Is this the fundamental reason for the final strength and weakness of the two countries? At this point in the story, the question of how Japan rose has already had a general outline. We can understand the content of the Meiji Restoration reforms in detail from several aspects. In terms of the judiciary, Japan brought together the strengths of various schools, learned criminal law from France, learned commercial law from the United States, and civil law was a mixture of France and Germany . In terms of the economy, land was allowed to be used for sale and guarantee, government-run industries were implemented, factories were built, and roads were repaired. The Japanese yen was used as the basic currency , and a central bank was established . A series of capitalist banking systems were established . In addition to the conscription system mentioned above , the Navy Ministry and the Army Ministry were established to form a modern new navy and army . German and British instructors were hired to train and instill the spirit of Bushido and the idea of the supremacy of the emperor. These were the beginning of Japan’s rise and the starting point for Japan to bring severe disasters to countless people. After the establishment of the Meiji government, it signed the “Sino-Japanese Treaty of Amity” with the Qing Dynasty. Within two years, it sent troops to Taiwan because of Ryukyu. This is a historical event that does not attract much attention , but it can give us a glimpse of Japan’s cunning . Ryukyu is an island country that we have mentioned before, located between Taiwan and Japan. It has paid tribute to China since the Ming Dynasty and became a vassal state. Japan later used force to demand it. This formed the so-called Sino-Japanese dual-subordinate situation. China has always only valued appearance over substance when dealing with vassal states . As long as they paid tribute and pledged loyalty , China would generally not interfere in the internal affairs and foreign affairs of vassal states. Japan was different. After Emperor Meiji took power, the tone of the shogunate era that regarded Ryukyu as a foreign country was changed. It was repositioned as an inseparable part of Japan and the Ryukyu Domain was formally established. The biggest difficulty in Japan’s annexation of Ryukyu was to obtain China’s recognition . At this juncture, an accidental incident occurred. Ryukyu fishermen were blown to Taiwan by a hurricane at sea and clashed with local Taiwanese aborigines. More than 50 Ryukyu fishermen were mistakenly killed. This was known as the “Ryukyu Drifting People Incident”. When the Japanese government learned about this incident, it was like finding a treasure and decided to kill them with one arrow. A brilliant plan to kill two birds with one stone . They sent more than 600 people to visit China to negotiate on the Ryukyu drifters incident. If China agreed to punish the Taiwanese perpetrators , it would be equivalent to indirectly recognizing that Ryukyu belonged to Japan. If you do not punish them, it would be equivalent to denying that Taiwan was a territory of the Qing Dynasty, which would be equivalent to automatically giving up Taiwan’s sovereignty . Japan could benefit greatly regardless of the situation . The Prime Minister’s Office of the Qing Dynasty quickly fell into the trap and made a low-level mistake in the negotiations. It actually shirked responsibility by saying that the perpetrators were foreigners. The Qing Dynasty could not bear legal responsibility for killing foreigners . When this was said , the Japanese secretly applauded. They thought that this at least proved that the Qing Dynasty recognized that part of Taiwan’s land was unowned. They immediately adjusted their plan and sent troops to attack Taiwan. Putting Ryukyu in second place, the progress was not smooth after the troops landed in Taiwan. They encountered stubborn resistance from the local aborigines. Finally, under the ceasefire of Western powers, China and Japan signed the “Beijing Treaty”, stipulating that Japan would withdraw its troops from Taiwan and China would pay 100,000 silver taels for the victims and refugees. Japan built roads, barracks and the like in Taiwan at a discount of 400,000 taels, which China paid for and continued to use . So far, Japan has made significant progress on the Ryukyu issue. As China’s attention was diverted to Xinjiang, Japan accelerated its efforts to annex Ryukyu. Compared with what happened later, these can only be regarded as the tip of the iceberg in the process of Sino-Japanese deterioration . Well, read history to know good and evil. This is the beacon fire shining in the southeast. Thank you for watching and listening. If you like my show Welcome to subscribe to my channel and turn on the bell again. This episode ends here. See you next time.

為什麼一海之隔的中日兩國，面對西方衝擊，竟然演繹出截然不同的結局？
明治維新的日本，率先派遣岩倉使團橫跨太平洋，飄洋過海考察英法德美，他們親眼見到了蒸汽機的高效，也聽到了現代工廠的轟鳴，帶著富國強軍、文明開化的結論返回日本，腳踏實地認真學習先進文明。
而彼時的清廷同樣經歷洋務移動，也曾有過種種嘗試和努力，卻又屢遭內憂外患所困。
當時的人們是不是也會困擾，為什麼「中體西用」的良策，終究沒幹過「全盤西化」的狂飆？
面對西方列強的壓迫，中日不約而同地打開國門，卻走上了截然不同的現代化道路，日本借鑑歐美，鋪設鐵路、改建艦隊、重塑社會階級；中國則在求富求強的過程中，苦於體制僵化、財政崩潰，最終捲入更深的漩渦。
他們都曾仰望大洋彼岸的耀眼燈塔，卻又被自身的歷史宿命牽絆，日本如何從「落後」一躍成為亞洲強國？中國又錯過了哪些關鍵轉折呢？

#日本歷史 #日本史 #晚清

00:00 日本崛起的歷史黑幕
01:19 日本的源流
07:30 白江口之戰
14:59 織豐政權
22:53 蘭學與思潮
26:08 五條御誓文
32:46 最後的武士
36:29 岩倉使節團
43:23 琉球漂民事件