The Call for Study.
Beautiful Letters| N° d'inventaire | 23510 |
| Format | 16 x 22 |
| Détails | 224 p., paperback. |
| Publication | Paris, 2018 |
| Etat | Nine |
| ISBN | 9782251447964 |
This is the most influential Japanese work of the Meiji era, the one that best explains the project of the builders of the new Japan: to make Japan a "civilized" country and not simply modern or especially "Western."
"Heaven," it is said, "creates no man superior to other men nor any man inferior to other men. This means that, being all engendered by Heaven, men are equal to one another and that there are no distinctions of rank or class at birth. [...] The differences that exist between men arise solely from the knowledge that some have acquired through study and that others do not have. [...] Freedom and independence, moreover, concern countries as much as individuals. [...] Let the country be humiliated, and all Japanese without exception will indeed have to give their lives to defend its honor and dignity. This is what the freedom and independence of a country consist of."
The Call to Study, published between 1872 and 1876, is the most important work of the Meiji era (1868-1912). Its author, Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901), undertakes a dual exercise: to consider how Japan can and should "achieve civilization" and to convince his compatriots to follow him on this path, the only one, according to him, capable of preventing his country from being colonized by foreign powers.
An absolute bestseller of the time, this book, which played a crucial role in the construction of contemporary Japan, offers many keys to understanding what the Meiji Restoration really meant for the Japanese.
We can only thank the publisher Les Belles Lettres for its remarkable initiative in making available to the French public the translation of the work which contributed to the transformation of minds in the archipelago and enabled Japan to take the path of modernization without which it would undoubtedly have experienced the same anguish as China.
The Call to Study is today considered the emblematic work of the Meiji era (4 million copies sold). However, it is only a drop in the ocean in the immense production of its author, writer, essayist, teacher and journalist.
This is the most influential Japanese work of the Meiji era, the one that best explains the project of the builders of the new Japan: to make Japan a "civilized" country and not simply modern or especially "Western."
"Heaven," it is said, "creates no man superior to other men nor any man inferior to other men. This means that, being all engendered by Heaven, men are equal to one another and that there are no distinctions of rank or class at birth. [...] The differences that exist between men arise solely from the knowledge that some have acquired through study and that others do not have. [...] Freedom and independence, moreover, concern countries as much as individuals. [...] Let the country be humiliated, and all Japanese without exception will indeed have to give their lives to defend its honor and dignity. This is what the freedom and independence of a country consist of."
The Call to Study, published between 1872 and 1876, is the most important work of the Meiji era (1868-1912). Its author, Fukuzawa Yukichi (1835-1901), undertakes a dual exercise: to consider how Japan can and should "achieve civilization" and to convince his compatriots to follow him on this path, the only one, according to him, capable of preventing his country from being colonized by foreign powers.
An absolute bestseller of the time, this book, which played a crucial role in the construction of contemporary Japan, offers many keys to understanding what the Meiji Restoration really meant for the Japanese.
We can only thank the publisher Les Belles Lettres for its remarkable initiative in making available to the French public the translation of the work which contributed to the transformation of minds in the archipelago and enabled Japan to take the path of modernization without which it would undoubtedly have experienced the same anguish as China.
The Call to Study is today considered the emblematic work of the Meiji era (4 million copies sold). However, it is only a drop in the ocean in the immense production of its author, writer, essayist, teacher and journalist.