In the Edo period, Japan had a population of 16-30 million, with a land area of 370,000 square kilometers, the Qing Dynasty area was 13.16 million square kilometers, and the area of Tsarist Russia was 14.1 million square kilometers.
They are all more than 30 times larger than Japan. Why many of us still call Japan "Little Japan" is directly related to their land area, per capita resources, and territorial environment.
It was such a small country with frequent natural disasters, scarce resources, and a large population density that almost annexed all of Asia and beat the Soviet Union and the United States, which considered itself a superpower, to the teeth.
Many people mistakenly believe that it is all due to Emperor Meiji, but this is not the case.
As early as the Edo period during the Ming Dynasty, it was the cornerstone of Japan's modernization.
· The cornerstone of a strong country
What is the first basic thing for a country to be strong? Some say it's technology. Looking back at the poor technology of the former Soviet Union? Obviously this answer is wrong.
Some people are economic, cultural and institutional, Song, Yuan, Ming, and Qing dynasties are all economic and cultural powers in the world, why did they all perish?
In the Ming Dynasty, almost half of the world's silver was earned by the Ming Dynasty, so why was it defeated by the Manchus, whose culture and system were even more backward? Obviously these are not the main problems.
Japan, Britain, Germany, these small countries that have risen from the land of bullets, all have a common feature, that is, investment in national education and the improvement of national quality.
But whether it was the dark Middle Ages in Europe, or France, Britain, and Japan, what conservatives feared most was not a peasant uprising, but a general improvement in the quality of the people after universal education.
Once the people have received enough education, they will have their own independent thinking, and with these people's wisdom, they will open up, and once the people's wisdom is opened, the feudal imperial system will inevitably perish.
Education was all about the Revolution in France, the subsequent reform of the political system in Britain, and the fall of Japan.
In the face of the throne and education, many empires chose the former. During the Ming Dynasty, when Zhu Yuanzhang vigorously advocated cheng Zhu Lixue, who saved heaven and destroyed people's desires, Japan opened semi-compulsory education.
This kind of education was spontaneously evolved by the people, specifically Japanese monks. At the end of the Ming Dynasty, there were about 30,000 Guandi temples in the country. And this number is exactly the number of "Terryokanya" in Japan.
What is a temple house? In order to allow the children of poor families to go to school, the idle monks used semi-compulsory education to provide educational institutions for the poor to read, write, and plan.
It was this kind of education that led to Japan's literacy rate of 40 percent, providing a large number of high-quality workers for factories after the Meiji Restoration.
After the Meiji Restoration, compulsory education was expanded on the basis of the temple hut and added free food and drink, and we were in the period of Empress Dowager Cixi.
The world is like this, and there is no harm without contrast.
It is not without reason that Japan has gone from a small country with a small territory, scarce resources, and always lagging behind and beaten in history to becoming the number one power in Asia.
In any case, we must first find the cause from ourselves, and cursing is a manifestation of stupidity and weakness.
Why is the quality of life in Japan in the Edo period higher than in Europe?
Japan is divided into modern and modern times, and the modern era is the source of the habits that laid the foundation for japanese people today. The period from 1603 to 1867 was the Edo period of Japan, under the rule of the Tokugawa shogunate.
1868-1945 This was the modern era of Japan, the era of Japanese arrogance after the rise of the Meiji Restoration.
The strength and decline of any country has a root cause, and this root is often its own problem.
Many people have the impression that the Edo period was a period of seclusion and a period that hindered Japan's modernization and development.
In fact, this statement is inaccurate. Only by comparing them can we find that Japan in the Edo period was not only no worse off than europe after it entered the Industrial Revolution, but even better than them.
Even today's Customs and Customs in Japan originated in the Edo period.
If the Meiji era is compared to the modern body of Japan, then the Edo period is the soul of modern Japan.
In such a small area, Japan has fed so many people, thanks first to the "minimalist luxury" and "resource efficient use" advocated by the Edo period.
Look at the Japanese flower path, and then look at the European flower path, the Japanese like to use two or three flowers to create a deep and idyllic mood.
European flower routes, on the other hand, use exaggerated matrices, and the flowers are sent in piles.
Looking at the emissions of European and American cars and the emissions and market share of Japanese cars, it is not difficult to find that Japan advocates energy conservation and environmental protection everywhere.
This habit of saving money to the bone was laid down during the Edo period, when japan exploded.
From just one hundred years, Japan has soared from 16 million to 30 million, followed by an astonishing population growth.
In order to control the rational arrangement of resources and population, the Edo period introduced a series of laws to control resources.
For example, in order to control forest resources, the mountains are distributed to the people and let them manage themselves. In order to control the population, they established a primogeniture system.
In order to save energy, they invented the hearth.
You can't get rich by saving, and creating wealth is the last word. In the Edo period, the Japanese lived a much richer life than in Europe.
In small Tokyo, there are more than 600 bathing centers in Japan, which can be said to be overcrowded.
At this time, the United Kingdom only provided 3 days a week with urban water, 7 hours at a time. At this time, Japan had a 24-hour water supply, and the water quality was better than that of the United Kingdom.
The famous Queen Victoria's husband died from a plague caused by unclean drinking water, which never happened in Japan's contemporaries.
In terms of housing, Japan changed the original wooden foundation to a wooden stone foundation unique after the Edo period, and the area was greatly expanded.
Although the wood base is very resistant to shocks, it is easily corroded. The house based on stone blocks and framed by wood is not only more earthquake resistant, but also has a longer lifespan.
But the use of stone as a foundation is obviously a manifestation of the accumulation of wealth to a certain extent.
Japanese kimonos, on the other hand, do not need to be tailored and can be reused repeatedly. Even if it is broken, it can be made into a variety of practical household products.
Compared to suits, kimonos are comfortable and save fabrics. Get a kimono, the family can wear it for three generations, and it can be used as a quilt at night.
When the Industrial Revolution came, many female workers in Europe were tired in factories, and no one knew whose children were "picked up" and conceived.
Except for festivals, they rarely eat meat. At this time in Japan, not only did every meal have soup, kimchi and rice, but many families could also eat fish.
According to the Edo Period japan, which the American historian Susan Hanley has researched for many years, the Edo period is the foundation for today's Japan, not the later Meiji Restoration era.
In short, the main reason why Japan can rise and live better than Europe is that they will control themselves, attach importance to education, and have long-term planning.
Do you hate or respect Japan's education, Japan's rise, Japan's foreign expansion, Japan's defeat, Japan's re-emergence and Japan's 20 years of passing, and the Edo period of Japan that we are talking about today?