Why is there such a large difference in national character between China, Japan, and India? In fact, it is greatly related to their respective geographical factors.

First, let's talk about Japan, whose characteristics are most distinct. The features of ancient Japanese rural life are as follows:

1/ Mountainous terrain, with land spaced far apart, minimal cooperation and conflict of interest between villages, leading to self-sufficiency.

2/ Frequent natural disasters, requiring villagers to collaborate highly in disaster relief.

3/ Japan has a temperate climate with limited rainfall, relying mainly on irrigation and meticulous farming, which further demands cooperation among villages.

Thus, Japan's characteristic is: high cooperation.

In this context, the culture that developed is highly consistent, even leading to phenomena like 'sunbai fen' (寸八分), where societal outliers face social death and are excluded from the collective.

As a result, Japan thrives in the manufacturing sector due to its high level of cooperation, developing production models such as JIT (Just-In-Time).

Now, let's discuss the other extreme, India. The geographical and climatic characteristics of ancient India are as follows:

1/ Villages are naturally isolated from each other, similar to Japan.

2/ However, India has distinct rainy and dry seasons; rice relies on the rainy season, and during the dry season, it is often abandoned due to high evaporation rates, leading to minimal irrigation needs (cooperation), as each village manages its own.

In this highly decentralized/low cooperation model, land gradually concentrates, leading to the invention of the caste system to solidify social classes and reduce friction.

Thus, cooperation among Indians is quite poor.

In fact, you can observe this through the punctuality of trains.

Finally, let's talk about China, which is different. With vast plains and major rivers running through the country, one characteristic is high mobility—this leads to kinship becoming an important connective bond.

Within villages, a certain level of cooperation is needed, but the demands for inter-village irrigation cooperation are higher, thus requiring government intervention to build waterworks and mediate disputes (over water allocation).

This cooperation/mobility of small collectives has led to the development of a culture of 'face'. Face represents social status, but it is dynamic and fluid. You can have face today, but if you do something 'wrong' tomorrow, you may lose it.

Why do rural weddings and funerals require elaborate arrangements? This is all about face, and it reflects status.

In summary, the cooperation of Chinese people in small collectives falls between that of Japan and India, but they have greater advantages in large group cooperation.

By extension, this helps explain why Japanese home appliances remain highly valued, while Indian fighter jets boldly charge ahead as targets with their radar systems.