Rambling about the past, present and future of physics

The author gives a historical perspective about the past developments of physics in order to understand its present status and furthermore to glimpse its future prospects. The authors hope that this view may be helpful for those who are engaged in teaching and research in physics. From the stratification of the physical world, it is shown that there is coupling as well as decoupling between different strata, so that complex systems composed of an enormous number of particles will show properties which can not be simply reduced to laws governing individual particles. From this viewpoint, the frontiers of research in physics are discussed in relation to its future prospects. A bright future is predicted for physics