$145, Guns, Germs, and War

After Minister Wu left, Bai Gui tidied up and walked to the lecture hall for class.

Although he is now considered successful and has a certain reputation, academic qualifications cannot be discarded. The difference between undergraduates and graduates is still quite big. Anyway, there is only more than a year left for preparatory courses.

There aren’t many liberal arts courses either.

According to the calculation method of Kunlun Mirror Daogong, academic qualifications can also obtain a certain amount of Daogong.

It can also be regarded as the way to study.

Today is Tuesday, Fire Sunday.

Class A.

The first high school is a Western-style school, and it is also a college preparatory school, so the lecture hall is also modeled after a Western-style university, with a stepped classroom.

This class is about Japanese history.

"In ancient times, men distributed their hair in two pieces, knotted it on the left and right sides, decorated it with pearls, and were named Meizhu Luo. "Shen Gong Ji": Later, the hair was divided into two pieces, and they were used as men's clothing. Today's cowpeas grown in farmers have thin and long skips, with two The branches hang down to the ground, which is also called Mei Luo Zhu, and the cover is also named after the top bun like a bun..."

""Notes on Dongying Chronicles": In ancient times, it was customary for young children to have their hair tied on their foreheads between fifteen and sixteen years old, and the hair between seventeen and eighteen years old should be divided into dimes. "Ancient Century" called it Huhua, and later generations called it Fuhua..."

"Men and women do not shave their fetal hair. When men reach their twenties, they will cut off their top hair, leaving only four hairs on their foreheads. They put a bun on their forehead and a small Ruyi hairpin on the right side. Ruyi is also divided into high and low grades. This is also like the front hair. It is shaved every month. There are a few inches of hair on the forehead, and the life sentence is: 'Moon Generation'..."

On the stage, a professor wearing gold-rimmed glasses held a whip and was teaching about the etiquette and customs of Japan, and the changes in hair accessories and clothing of Japanese people from ancient times to the present.

Bai Gui sat in the first row, in the middle.

This seat is also very particular.

Although Japan is Westernized, its hierarchical status is strict. The best seats in the first row must be reserved for ministers or those in senior positions. Ordinary people will be ostracized and cold-blooded if they sit arrogantly.

And he is the deputy minister, and he is also the second one, so he can enjoy the success.

"Fujiwara, tell me about the changes in beards before and after the Restoration!"

Professor Japanese History paused for a moment, and his eyes fell on Saburo Fujiwara in the center.

"Mr. Hui..."

Saburo Fujiwara stood up, thought for a while, and then answered fluently: "Tokugawa Ieyasu once said to Kato Kiyomasa: 'There are three abominations in public life, and one is a beautiful beard.' It can be seen that before the Restoration, all the public servants and ministers below had shaved their faces and did not grow beards. Monks and laymen..."

"In recent years, we have learned from Western customs, where beards are the most important thing, and when we are thirty or forty years old, our lips are as thin as a bamboo..."

He answered smoothly and every sentence was refined.

"good."

"Sit down."

The Professor of Japanese History nodded slightly, and then looked at Bai Gui on the side. One asked, and then the other two came, "Bai Jun, I just said that the Black Tooth Kingdom is recorded in the "Book of Han". This trend has been going on for a long time. ..., has Mr. Bai done any research on this?”

He knew that Bai Guizhi was responsible for the Spring and Autumn Period, and he specialized in studying history books, otherwise he would not have been able to write such a masterpiece as the Great Qin Empire.

Asking now is even more difficult than asking Saburo Fujiwara before.

The questions asked by Saburo Fujiwara were about things he had already said, but the questions asked about Shiro Gui were about things he had not said yet. In terms of titles, they are also more respectful.

"Mr. Shiraishi, I happened to have some research results recently."

Bai Gui nodded, put down the textbook, stood up and said: "The so-called Black Teeth Country is a custom. A woman's eyebrows shaved and her teeth black means that the woman is married..."

"It is recorded in "Yi Jue Liao Miscellaneous Notes" written by Zhu Yi of the Song Dynasty: 'Today's women shave off their eyebrows and paint with ink, which is based on the ancient method.' Liu Xi of the Eastern Han Dynasty wrote in "Shi Ming": "Dai, Dai Also. If the woman is married, her eyebrows will be removed and her teeth will be as black as lacquer."

What he means is that it is recorded in the literature that black teeth in the Black Teeth Kingdom are a custom, and nirvana teeth represent that the woman has been married. valley

During the Eastern Han Dynasty, there were already records of some small countries in Japan. This Black Tooth Country was on Honshu Island in Japan.

For example, "Book of the Later Han Dynasty" records: "From the Queen's Kingdom to the east... although they are all Japanese species, they are not of the Queen. From the Queen's Kingdom more than 4,000 miles south to the Pygmy Kingdom, people are three or four feet long. After one year's sailing southeast of the Pygmy, To the kingdom of nakedness and the kingdom of black teeth..."

It is worth mentioning that in Japanese, the pronunciation of Japan and Yamato is the same, but the Japanese also know that Japan is not very pleasant to hear, so when translating into Chinese, they translated themselves as Yamato.

"Bai Jun is knowledgeable and knowledgeable, which is admirable!"

The Professor of Japanese History pushed his eyes on the bridge of his nose and showed admiration, but after waiting for a while, he said again: "It's just... In the early years of the Meiji period, our country issued an order to abolish the black teeth and ordered reforms. Today, the teeth are like shells." , The eyebrows are as curved as moths!”

"I would like to be taught!"

Bai Gui frowned slightly and sat down.

When Japan tells its history, it does not hide anything. This is also because under the Meiji innovation, it has been leaning towards major changes.

In this way, it further proves the orthodoxy of the Restoration...

The worse the previous dynasty was, doesn’t it mean that the current dynasty is more supported by others and has obtained the destiny? !

However, this does not mean that the Japanese history professor deliberately targeted him.

Just tell it like it is.

However, combined with the environment at this time, it is inevitable that the Japanese people know more about self-innovation and self-improvement, while the Qing Dynasty, on the other hand, is stuck in its ways and gradually deteriorates...

The Japanese and Black Tooth Kingdoms recorded in the "Book of the Eastern Han Dynasty" are extremely derogatory remarks about Japan.

The Chinese civilization is like this. There are no good words to describe the surrounding barbarian lands. Only the Han are strong, what about the Huns, what about the Yelang Kingdom...

However, the Han Dynasty must have had his reasons for saying this. At that time, the Han Dynasty was the beacon of human civilization, while Japan was still a barbarian land. There was a big gap between them. To say that it was derogatory was just a true record.

Although the Qing Dynasty was backward at this moment, it was not so far behind Japan, and was almost the same.

No need to doubt yourself.

After class.

"Mr. Shiraishi, please stay..."

When Bai Gui saw the professor of Japanese history about to leave in the corridor, he chased him.

"Mr. Bai, what's the matter?"

Professor Shiraishi looked puzzled, but his attitude was very polite.

"It's like this. I listened to Mr. Shiraishi's lecture today and felt a lot. I have finished writing the first volume of the Great Qin Empire, and the second volume is almost ready. I plan to write something else, such as... customs of various countries, cultural research... comparison..."

Bai Gui said, choosing his words carefully.

Today, Professor Shiraishi asked him questions, which touched him a lot, and he also thought about what to write in the next book.

Originally, he was studying the history of Japan, intending to write a book called "Tokugawa Ieyasu" or "Toyotomi Hideyoshi", which would definitely make him rise from an ordinary writer to a famous writer.

But..., today he felt that he needed to write something else.

For example, "Guns, Germs, and Steel"!

This book is very famous in later generations, winning the 1998 Pulitzer Prize in the United States and the English Popular Science Book Award. It can be said that it is basically a must-read bestseller...

It is also the best response to some arrogant people!