Take Japan as an example, write a paper about how to deal with the relationship between traditional culture and foreign culture in the process of modernization of a country.

About 150 years ago, Japan, an island country on the west coast of the Pacific Ocean, suffered a huge survival crisis under the coercion of western colonists. Surprisingly, it took this as its historical opportunity, abandoned the old and welcomed the new, and finally made itself the first country in the eastern world to get rid of the bullying of western powers and realize modernization smoothly, and it was also the only Asian country to squeeze into the ranks of imperialist powers through aggression and expansion and establish colonies outside its own territory.

Today, this island country with an area of only 370,000 square kilometers is still the second largest economic power in the world.

From the desire to dominate one's own destiny to the desire to be the protagonist of the world, what is leading the fate of this island country like a flood?

Great changes in history often leave indelible marks in some inconspicuous places.

Yokosuga, located at the entrance of Tokyo Bay, is the starting point of modern Japanese history.

In 2003, a grand commemorative event was held in this small town surrounded by mountains and rivers in memory of an American general named Perry. From these relaxed and friendly smiling faces, it is hard to imagine that 150 years ago, it was this general who forced Japan to open its own door by force, which made the island country embark on a history full of tragedies and miracles, mixed with submission and strength.

1On July 8, 853, the United States, which had just become a powerful country, sent Perry, commander of the East India Fleet, to lead four heavily armed black ships and broke into Yokosuka Port.

In order to open up the Pacific route and seize the eastern market, Perry put forward the request of opening ports and trading on behalf of the President of the United States. The general who won a great victory in the US-Mexico naval battle not long ago is very conceited. He said to the Japanese envoy who came to negotiate, you'd better not resist, because once the war starts, there is only one outcome, that is, the United States wins.

In the face of black smoke and steaming warships and domineering American generals, what choice will the Japanese make?

At this time, Japan was closed to the outside world for more than 200 years, but it was not ignorant of the outside world. In Nagasaki, the only window, China and the Netherlands, the two richest countries in the world at that time, were allowed to trade with each other. /kloc-Holland, the world hegemon in the 0/7th century, made this island country with China as its teacher rise as the "Lan Xue" for two thousand years. Japanese gentry discussed astronomy, geography, medicine and other new disciplines in modern Europe in Dutch to understand the development of the western world.

The experience that the neighboring Qing Empire was attacked by British warships in the Opium War 13 years ago gave the Japanese rulers a new signal from another angle.

Interview: Japanese civilization historian Kato on Monday

For thousands of years, almost all of Japan has been learning from China, and even China has lost to its rivals, so such rivals should be very powerful, and their appearance is also a shock to Japan.

Therefore, when the American black ship was besieged, although there was a debate in Japan about whether to build a country or go to war, in the end, practical considerations were made, and the Japanese accepted Perry's request with almost a welcome attitude.

General Paley showed the achievements of the industrial revolution to the Japanese with telegrams, clocks, telescopes, steam locomotives and cannons. When small steam locomotives started on specially built tracks, Japanese officials on the sidelines really felt the gap between themselves and the world on the other side of the ocean from the spinning wheels.

Interview: Yoshida Yoshida, Honorary Professor of Waseda University, Japan

At that time, the shogunate was quite active in founding the country. They believed that according to the world situation at that time, if Japan could not develop from a closed country, it must enter the international community and develop into a world power from it.

One night, two Japanese youths secretly climbed onto the American black ship and gesticulated with their hands to tell General Perry that they were going to America with the ship to see why America was so powerful. It was legal to behead in Japan at that time.

Perry was very surprised at their behavior. Perry wrote in his diary: "I was moved by the learning spirit of these two Japanese. If the Japanese are like them, Japan will become as powerful as the United States. "

Two young people eager to know the world were finally sent off the boat. But with the opening of the country, more and more Japanese people pay attention to the outside world. 14 years later, a young man named Shibusawa Eiichi got the chance to go to Europe.

1867, 27-year-old Shibusawa Eiichi went to France to attend the Paris World Expo as a member of the Japanese delegation.

Novel industrial products have replaced the machinery and equipment of manual workshops, and the degree of industrialization in the West has greatly shocked Shibusawa Eiichi. He decided to stay and carefully inspect the industrial development and economic systems of European countries.

Interview: Zhou Jian, a researcher at the Institute of World Economics and Politics, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

Shibusawa Eiichi arrived in France first, and then in Belgium. Belgian King Leopold II said when he met them that the prosperity of the country cannot be separated from industry, especially the use of steel. At that time, it was very important to welcome Japan to buy and use Belgian steel. Shibusawa Eiichi was impressed. He said that the king of a country never forgets to sell his products when meeting foreign guests, which shows how important industry and commerce are to western countries.

Shibusawa Eiichi, who has been familiar with the Four Books and Five Classics since childhood, thinks that businessmen are mercenary, just like all the traditional Japanese who were deeply influenced by Confucian culture at that time.

The Belgian king's words slowly began to change his inherent ideas.

1868 165438+ in October, Shibusawa Eiichi returned to Japan with brand-new ideas. Japan at this time is not the country he left. This country has just experienced a major historical turning point.

This year,124th Emperor Meiji in Japanese history returned to the center of state power.

Interview: Liu Xiaofeng, Associate Professor, Department of History, Tsinghua University, China.

In Japanese mythology, it is said that Zhao Tianshen created Japan, and the emperor claimed to be a direct descendant of Zhao Tianshen, so the emperor had a legal system to rule Japan. However, in actual history, since the12nd century, power has been marginalized by the shogunate who holds military power. This situation lasted for 600 years until 1868, that is, the black ship knocked on the door of Japan.

The arrogance and strength of the American black ship highlighted the weakness of the shogunate, and the pressure from the outside eventually evolved into the driving force for internal change. In the end, the samurai overthrew the shogunate in the name of retro, supported the newly ascended Meiji Emperor, and established a legitimate new government. 14 years old, Emperor Meiji became the supreme leader of Japan. The young emperor wants to lead a dangerous Japan with domestic troubles and foreign invasion.

After the American black ship knocked on Japan's door, it forced Japan to sign the first unequal treaty in history. Shortly thereafter, the Netherlands, Russia, Britain and France followed suit and began to compete for their respective interests on this island country.

Japan, like many Asian countries at that time, quickly became a dumping market for western goods and a supplier of cheap raw materials after the opening of Hong Kong. Only half a year after the port was opened, there was a daily gold outflow of 6.5438+0 million yuan, the domestic economy was depressed, and people complained everywhere.

How does the young new government lead Japan out of the predicament of national subjugation?

1On April 5, 868, Emperor Meiji promulgated five vows, which were the general program to promote national change and opened a powerful curtain for political reform. Since then, Japan has entered an era known as the Meiji Restoration.

Subtitle: Seeking knowledge in the world saves the emperor's inheritance.

Interview: Yoshida Yoshida, Honorary Professor of Waseda University, Japan

Meiji Restoration can be said to be a starting point for Japan to realize modernization.

Shibusawa Eiichi, who returned to China in June1868165438+10, caught a good opportunity. A year later, he entered the financial department of the Meiji government. The accumulated experience in traveling in Europe and natural financial management ability make Shibusawa Eiichi's career smooth. He directly participated in the formulation of almost all major policies of the new government, such as the reform of the monetary system, the abolition of vassal counties, and the issuance of public bonds.

Just as Shibusawa Eiichi was promoted one after another with remarkable achievements, an important measure of Meiji government changed the personal destiny of Japan and Shibusawa Eiichi.

187 1 year, a government delegation of nearly 100 people set off from Yokohama Port for Europe and America. The envoys included 49 senior Meiji officials, almost half of the total number of government officials at that time. In order to support this huge trip, the Meiji government, which has just been established for three years, took out 2% of the fiscal revenue of that year.

In a year and ten months, they traveled to 12 European and American countries. Wrote a hundred volumes of investigation records. The government has invested heavily, high officials are generous, and the visit time is long. Iwakura's mission can be called an unprecedented action in the history of Japan and even Asian countries' exchanges with the western world.

Interview: Tang Chongnan, President of China Japanese History Society.

Japan's top leadership, such a delegation headed by Iwakura, visited Europe and America, and finally summed it up in three words: first surprised, then drunk, and finally crazy, which I think is very accurate. The first surprise was their surprise when they arrived in Europe and America and saw the developed cultural relics system in the west. The second drunkenness is intoxicated with the advanced material civilization and spiritual civilization in the west; The ultimate madness is to make up my mind to study a series of cultural relics systems in the West like crazy, so that Japan can be like the West.

It is in Germany that Japanese diplomatic missions seem to have found their own development model. Bismarck, the iron-blooded prime minister who just finished national reunification, told them at the reception banquet: Although all countries in the world say that they should meet each other with courtesy, it is only superficial after all. In fact, it is bullying the small with the big and bullying the weak with the strong behind.

These words make the Japanese feel the same way. They not only agree with Bismarck's power politics theory, but also are fascinated by Germany's development model, that is, the state dominates industrial development.

Germany was the fastest growing country in Europe at that time. For thousands of years, the Japanese who have been learning from the strong have found themselves a new teacher.

After returning to China, the self-proclaimed "Oriental Bismarck" was Kubo Junichi, deputy head of Iwakura Diplomatic Mission.

Today, more than one hundred years later, the Okubo family still treasures the western-style red leather chair that Kubojun brought back from Paris when he visited Paris, as well as the inkstone he used and the precious purple sand teapot in China.

This small seal was once carried by Kubo Junyi, and it was used to issue many government decrees that affected Japanese history.

After returning to China, Kubo Junyi was promoted to the Senate and the Minister of the Interior. The iron-fisted man who mastered the actual power of the Meiji government led Japan to start an urgent modernization March.

Silk reeling factory is one of the earliest government-run factories in Japan. The government buys silk reeling equipment from France and spends a lot of money to hire French technicians. The factory is about to start, but no workers can be recruited. Because at that time, many Japanese believed that those roaring machines would suck the essence of people.

In order to dispel people's fears, the Meiji government thought of one way: First, persuade the daughter of a gentry official to work as a female worker in a factory. These skilled women workers were later sent to all parts of the country, and reeling became the first Japanese product to enter the international market.

Interview: Japanese civilization historian Kato on Monday

I think both Muslim countries and China have strong resistance to the introduction of foreign technology. During the Meiji Restoration, many disciplines and fields of Imperial Japanese National University were westernized in a short time. The positive side here is high efficiency. In order to reach the international advanced level as soon as possible, everything is completely westernized from scratch. In fact, it also proves that this is indeed very efficient.

According to Kubo Junyi's industrial production plan, the government directly brought French-style silk reeling factory, German-style mining smelter and British-style military factory from the west. In addition to buying machines, the government also employs a large number of foreign technicians. At that time, the monthly salary of a foreign expert was as high as 2,000 yen, more than three times that of a senior official of the Meiji government.

It is estimated that at that time, one-fifth of the fiscal expenditure of the Meiji government was invested in setting up enterprises.

While opening state-owned factories, Kubo Junyi also vigorously supports private enterprises.

Mitsubishi is one of the most famous trademarks in Japan. Today, there are more than 100 Mitsubishi enterprises in Japan and hundreds of Mitsubishi branches overseas.

1870, Mitsubishi was just an unknown small company with three ships. However, it quickly obtained the 13 ship and maritime military transportation business entrusted by the Meiji government. A year later, the government simply gave the 13 ship to Mitsubishi, and allocated the operating compensation every year; Since then, the government has purchased the 18 ship of Postal Shipping Company and handed it over to Mitsubishi Corporation for free operation.

Interview: Seiichi Narita, Executive Director of Mitsubishi Economic Research Institute, Japan

The Japanese government gave these undertakings to private enterprises to develop, that is to say, they were initially implemented by the government and then sold to private enterprises that gradually cultivated and matured to continue their development. Japan has always developed in this way. In this process, not only Mitsubishi, Mitsui, Sumitomo and other companies have also bought official enterprise from the government for development.

With the support of the government, Mitsubishi quickly developed and matured. 1875, Kubo Junyi asked Mitsubishi, which had just been established for five years, to open a route from Japan to Shanghai. As a result, in less than a year, the Pacific Postal Company, the British Peninsula and the Oriental Navigation Company were expelled from this route, and Mitsubishi monopolized the shipping business from Japan to Shanghai.

From 65438 to 0873, 33-year-old Shibusawa Eiichi has become a treasure in charge of the national budget, and his career is bright in everyone's eyes. However, Shibusawa Eiichi did something that seemed incredible at that time: he submitted his resignation and wanted to give up his official position and go into business.

Interview: Liu Xiaofeng, Associate Professor, Department of History, Tsinghua University, China.

In Japan before Meiji Restoration, the status of businessmen was not very high. Shibusawa Eiichi abandoned his official position and went into business, which means that he started a generation of ethos. He said that everyone suddenly realized that business is also very important, and only people with status can go into business.

The first thing Shibusawa Eiichi did after his resignation was to organize and establish the first Japanese joint-stock company bank, thus starting his legendary entrepreneurial career. His enterprise organization activities gradually expanded to shipping, shipbuilding, railway, textile, beer, fertilizer, mining and other industrial sectors. By the 1980s of 19, Shibusawa Eiichi had become the most noticeable figure in Japanese business circles.

Japan, which is rapidly moving towards industrialization, has begun to imitate the western way of life while learning advanced technology. The solar calendar replaced the lunar calendar, and New Year's Day replaced the Spring Festival. The emperor took the lead in eating beef, and the officials put on tuxedos; The business of the barber shop began to be lively, and the men cut the buns and cut them into short western-style hair. There is a jingle that says, "Knock on the fluffy crown with short hair and the voice of civilization will ring." .

Just as Nara was modeled after Chang 'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty in China more than a thousand years ago, today's Japanese have built a westernized street in Ginza, Tokyo. Here, modeled on the European and American markets, two-story foreign-style brick houses are built, trams shuttle through the streets and alleys, and gas lamps are lit when night falls.

Japan has taken on a new look, and the Meiji Restoration seems to be going very smoothly. At this time, an unexpected thing happened.

Kiyomizu Valley in Tokyo is a bit desolate in silence. 1878 May 14 At 8 o'clock in the morning, Kubao Junyi, who holds the actual power of the Meiji government, went out early as usual to prepare for a meeting in the palace.

A few minutes later, a message reached the palace: 49-year-old Kubo Junyi was assassinated in Qingshui Valley.

On the morning of the assassination, Kubo Junyi was still talking with a visiting local judge about his views on Japan's future reform.

So, what power ended Kubo Junyi's dominant position in this reform? Why did the Meiji Restoration suddenly throw this huge exclamation mark to the whole society when it was promoted to 1 1 year?

Interview: Junsuke, Honorary Professor of Tokyo Metropolitan University.

Kubo Junyi is a very determined person, always determined, and an uncompromising figure.

Interview: Tang Chongnan, President of China Japanese History Society.

The national opposition to Kubo Junichi was quite strong, especially after Okubo and the gentry finally assassinated him, and his regime was quickly overthrown.

In order to achieve the three reform goals of enriching Qiang Bing and developing civilization, the tough Kubo Junyi adopted a simple reform method, but the government lacked experience and was eager to succeed in industrial development, which led to unsustainable government finances. However, in the process of civilization, Japan's traditional culture is facing collapse, and some people even suggest that the Japanese speak English instead and marry westerners to improve the Japanese race. All this inevitably triggered a fierce conflict between modern civilization and local traditions.

At the same time, the unfairness brought by the reform has aggravated the existing social contradictions. 188 1 year, the government sold the official real estate in Hokkaido to individuals at a low price of less than one thirtieth of the investment. This incident made people extremely dissatisfied with the corrupt behavior of collusion between officials and businessmen, and almost caused riots. It was not until the emperor recalled a group of senior officials that the deterioration of the situation was stopped.

After Kubojun was assassinated, he left the difficult problem of reform to his successor Ito Bowen.

As Kubo Toshiichi's right-hand man, how will Ito Bowen face the immediate social contradictions? What way will he choose to continue the cause of Meiji Restoration?

Interview: Junsuke, Honorary Professor of Tokyo Metropolitan University.

Hirofumi Ito, probably among many (Japanese) leaders, can be said to be the most ambitious, with broad vision and open personality.

Soon after ITO hirobumi took office, he encountered a difficult thing. The Meiji government banned sumo, a traditional Japanese sport, on the grounds that almost naked sumo wrestlers was ugly and ignorant. However, a sumo master named Takasha began to challenge the government's ban on public sumo performances in Tokyo.

Those who support Gao Sha are at odds with the police who come to intervene. In order to avoid the escalation of confrontation, the emperor had to personally hold and attend a sumo performance to restore the sport.

The challenge of sumo wrestlers and public dissatisfaction forced Ito Bowen to think carefully about the country's development direction and reform methods. In Japan during the reign of Ito Bowen, the contradictions caused by the reform have suddenly appeared in the political life of society. The Japanese people who opened their eyes to see the world in the process of westward advancement began to demand their rights. A large-scale and lasting freedom and civil rights movement is being carried out at all levels of Japanese society.

Interview: Yoshida Yoshida, Honorary Professor of Waseda University, Japan

First of all, centering on the freedom and civil rights movement, it puts forward the requirements of the government to formulate a constitution. It is precisely because of the intensification of the freedom and civil rights movement that the Meiji government realized that it was necessary to formulate a constitution to set up a parliament, otherwise the government itself might be overthrown.

Ito Bowen, who is used to following the general trend, also realizes that Japanese constitutionalism is the general trend. He began to draft Japan's first constitution.

More than ten years of reform experience told him that pure takenism can no longer promote further changes in Japanese society.

At this time, Shibusawa Eiichi, Ito Bowen's good friend, has effectively practiced the integration of his tradition and modern civilization in his own business kingdom.

Shibusawa Eiichi founded more than 500 enterprises in his life, and is known as "the father of modern Japanese enterprises". From the day he entered the business, he took the Confucian classic The Analects as his guide to action. He gave speeches everywhere, calling on the Japanese to be entrepreneurs with the Analects of Confucius in one hand and an abacus in the other. Shibusawa Eiichi put forward the business philosophy of combining righteousness with profit; Hirofumi Ito incorporated his country's traditions into the Constitution.

As a result, a seemingly puzzling phenomenon appeared: in the constitution originally designed to protect civil rights, civil rights were actually written, but Ito Bowen added a clause establishing the absolute power of the emperor. Why is this?

Interview: Honorary Professor of Tokyo University, Japan.

For some reason, this emperor-centered concept has some religious overtones. Most Japanese believe that if this religion is gone, Japan will not be Japan, including those who promoted Japan's modernization process at that time. Ito Bowen will certainly take advantage of this trend of thought.

1February 889 1 1 day, heavy snow fell in Tokyo, and the Constitution of Great Japan drafted by Ito Bowen was promulgated and implemented. While consolidating the achievements of Meiji Restoration, the imperial constitution affirmed the sanctity of the emperor in the form of law with the help of Japanese tradition, and had all the power to command the army and declare war on foreign countries.

The imperial constitution made Japan implement a multi-party system on the surface, but it was actually an imperial system, which determined the militaristic tendency of Japan's external expansion and internal pressure in the early days of its rise. Some historians believe that during Ito Bowen's reign, while restoring sumo and other national traditions, the dross of Japanese traditional culture, especially militarism, was also recalled and strengthened.

But at that time, Ito Bowen took this opportunity to resolve the increasingly sharp social contradictions. After the promulgation of the constitution, Japan's economy developed rapidly, and the phenomenon of extreme westernization was slowly curbed. Therefore, there are some scenes in Japanese social life:

While suits are popular, kimonos are kept as the most gorgeous dresses; The number of bars has increased, and the tea room is still a place where people's spirits are pinned; Western opera began to sing, and neng opera and kabuki went to the extreme. When oil painting began to shine, Japanese ukiyo-e painting also became a major school of painting in the world.

Interview: Tang Chongnan, President of China Japanese History Society.

Japanese culture is like onion culture. This kind of image can let us see a situation of Japanese culture very clearly. Just like an onion, I peeled off one piece and another, and finally I wanted to find the core of Japanese culture. No, because every work contains the combination and fusion of foreign cultural influence and other very important components of Japanese culture.

At the same time, Japan, like Germany, has adopted a development model different from the liberal economy. Historians call it a "regulated economic model", that is, on the premise of retaining the basic nature of capitalism, changing the mode of economic operation, making the country a leading force and making industrialization take off at an extraordinary speed.

By 19 10, more than 95% of men and more than 90% of women in Japan have received education. The railway mileage gap between Japan and Britain has been reduced from 1000 times in the early Meiji Restoration to less than 4 times.

Japan seems to be an industrial country, but obviously there is a considerable gap compared with western industrial powers. How to achieve the goal of catching up and surpassing in the fastest way? Japan has been looking for such a shortcut.

As early as five years after the Meiji government was established, Japan used force to force neighboring North Korea to establish a country and profit from it, which was less than 20 years after the United States opened to the outside world.

Interview: Japanese civilization historian Kato on Monday

The slogan of Meiji is "Rich Qiang Bing". After the establishment of the Meiji government, the first thing to do was to build a modern army, which was the goal of the Meiji Restoration.

At the end of 19, Fukuzawa Yukichi, a famous Japanese thinker, pointedly pointed out such a convenient way for Japan. "China should not hesitate. Instead of waiting for the progress of neighboring countries and rejuvenating East Asia with them, it is better to get rid of their ranks and advance and retreat with western civilized countries. "

The so-called "civilized countries" in the west are vying for spheres of influence all over the world. Japan, which has always chosen to associate with the strong in history, chose to advance and retreat with the western powers and join the ranks of military plunder this time. While the Meiji Restoration brought about the growth of national strength, Japanese militarism accelerated the pace of external expansion.

Interview with Jiang, Director of Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

The Meiji Restoration should be said to have ended around 1889 and 1890. Later, its entire national strategy changed. How to change it? Originally, reform promoted development, but after 1890, it became war promoted development.

Subtitle: 1894 Sino-Japanese War.

1904 Russo-Japanese War

19 14 World War I

After years of foreign aggression, Japan invaded Korea and Taiwan Province Province of China, and a large amount of resources and reparations flowed into Japan. Only after the Sino-Japanese War of 1894-1895, the amount of reparations plundered by Japan from China was equivalent to more than four times the national fiscal revenue of that year, and more than half of it was used to expand the naval and army armaments.

After several successes, Japan's militaristic ambitions expanded even more, and finally developed to the point of establishing a "Greater East Asia Glory Circle" to dominate the Pacific Ocean and the Indian Ocean. For half a century, Japan's expansionist forces have fought one war after another.

Subtitle: Nine? 193 1 18th incident, the Japanese army occupied the northeast of China.

Seven? The seventh incident 1937, the Japanese army provoked the Lugouqiao Incident.

Attack on Pearl Harbor194165438+February 8, the Pacific War broke out.

1945 In August, the US military dropped atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

At the moment when the atomic bomb mushroom cloud lifted off, the dream of Japanese militarism trying to dominate the world by force was shattered. Like all countries that believed in military hegemony before and after, the war of aggression brought disasters to other countries, but also dealt a devastating blow to Japan. The material achievements accumulated in the 80 years since the Meiji Restoration were almost reduced to ashes in the war.

Subtitle: 1945 August 15 Emperor announces Japan's defeat to Japanese nationals (soundtrack).

1September 2, 945, Japan signed the surrender letter on the Missouri.

In the first few years after the war, the occupying power, the United States, provided Japan with 1 10,000 US dollars of aid every day, transporting 6,000 tons of rice every day, and ensuring that people would starve to death as little as possible.

However, no one would have thought that it only took Japan more than 20 years to achieve economic rise on such a seemingly barren ruin. From 1955 to 1964, the annual growth rate of Japan's gross national product remained above 9%. From 1965 to 1970, this growth rate exceeded 10%. People have given various explanations for this miraculous speed. No matter from which angle, people can't ignore the most fundamental reason.

Interview: Jin Xide, a researcher at the Institute of Japanese Studies, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences

After the defeat, (Japan) was bombed in ruins, but it still left the foundation for the development of the century since the Meiji Restoration, such as scientific and technological talents, and some things that learned from the West to engage in industrialization. Therefore, although it is like a building collapse in substance, it is still soft power in today's words, so it is a foundation for the rapid development of Japan's economy after the war.

At the same time, post-war Japan was escorted by a peaceful constitution. This new constitution, which came into effect in May 1947, stipulates that Japan's sovereignty belongs to the people, and the emperor only exists as a symbol of Japan; Japan permanently renounces the war initiated by national sovereignty, does not maintain war forces such as land, sea and air force, and does not recognize the right of the country to engage in war. Under the framework of the peaceful constitution, the foundation laid by the Meiji Restoration began to play a role.

This used to be the first railway station in Japan. 1872, the first railway in Japan was built by the British, and Emperor Meiji personally came to attend the opening ceremony. Seven years later, the Japanese began to design and build their own railways. 1964, the first high-speed railway in the world appeared between Tokyo and Osaka, Japan. Its running speed is three times that of ordinary railways, and the Japanese call it "Shinkansen". Along with the Shinkansen, there are a large number of multinational companies that grew up after the war. They learn from the European and American enterprise systems and extend their tentacles to the whole world. They put Japan on the track of rapid development.

1968, four years after the birth of the shinkansen, Japan's gross national product reached141900 million US dollars. This year, Japan became the third largest economic power in the world after the United States and the Soviet Union. This year marks the centenary of Meiji Restoration. No matter from which angle, confident Japanese have reason to believe that this is the most symbolic moment to announce Japan's re-rise.

Japan's 100-year road to great power really has too many things to sum up. But in any case, one thing is certain. In today's world, the only commendable significance of the rise of any country lies in: bringing happiness to its own people internally; Externally, it will bring peace and security to the world.

This is the whole content of Japan's century-old reform in the rise of great powers. You can change it again.