China 's Military History and Culture
Introduction
The history of China was shaped by armed conflicts and wars. Especially, China’s military history can be dated back to 2200 BC and divided into the following periods that are before 1911, the period of the Republic of China and the People 's Liberation Army (PLA) (Graff & Higham, 2012). Noteworthy, most of the imperial dynasties in China were established from successful battles. However, the great peasant rebellion and the collapse of the central republic marked the periods of dynasty decline. A prominent place in Chinese political thought was always occupied with the questions of military institutions and strategy. In addition, repeated defeats at the hands of the Western powers made China add efforts on modernization in the 19th and 20th Centuries. (Graff & Higham, 2012) On the other hand, military thinking and strategies were affected by culture, and the Chinese military culture …show more content…
Moreover, it encompasses military strategies, tactics and fortifications. Basically, military culture includes four factors that are discipline, professional ethos, ceremony and etiquette, and cohesion and esprit de corps. Chinese military culture has greatly evolved with the dramatic transformation of their military history. One of the characteristics of the traditional Chinese Military culture is that of "non-war," meaning not waging war as a solution, and "Shenzhen" that means to be cautious of war. Noteworthy, the military culture involves the Chinese taking war as the last resort. During the early Warring States Period, Mo Tzu, a Chinese philosopher, argued that war was an extremely cruel activity, a view that was held by most Confucianists and Taoists. Particularly, Confucianism emphasizes righteousness, benevolence, good manners, wisdom (Di Cosmo, 2009). Moreover, Confucianism opposes war between countries and supports the prohibition of killing a human
Introduction
The history of China was shaped by armed conflicts and wars. Especially, China’s military history can be dated back to 2200 BC and divided into the following periods that are before 1911, the period of the Republic of China and the People 's Liberation Army (PLA) (Graff & Higham, 2012). Noteworthy, most of the imperial dynasties in China were established from successful battles. However, the great peasant rebellion and the collapse of the central republic marked the periods of dynasty decline. A prominent place in Chinese political thought was always occupied with the questions of military institutions and strategy. In addition, repeated defeats at the hands of the Western powers made China add efforts on modernization in the 19th and 20th Centuries. (Graff & Higham, 2012) On the other hand, military thinking and strategies were affected by culture, and the Chinese military culture …show more content…
Moreover, it encompasses military strategies, tactics and fortifications. Basically, military culture includes four factors that are discipline, professional ethos, ceremony and etiquette, and cohesion and esprit de corps. Chinese military culture has greatly evolved with the dramatic transformation of their military history. One of the characteristics of the traditional Chinese Military culture is that of "non-war," meaning not waging war as a solution, and "Shenzhen" that means to be cautious of war. Noteworthy, the military culture involves the Chinese taking war as the last resort. During the early Warring States Period, Mo Tzu, a Chinese philosopher, argued that war was an extremely cruel activity, a view that was held by most Confucianists and Taoists. Particularly, Confucianism emphasizes righteousness, benevolence, good manners, wisdom (Di Cosmo, 2009). Moreover, Confucianism opposes war between countries and supports the prohibition of killing a human