Research On The Ancient Military Patriotism Of China

Ancient military patriotism comes as an important form of ancient patriotism of China. As a special historical concept, it is defined as the military patriotic thought and conducts before the 1840 Opium War, the features of which are safeguarding territorial integrity and social order, exercising moral obligation and pursuing moral values with recourse to military forces. Such military patriotism epitomizes the unique ethics of servicemen in ancient China. As the essence of patriotic morals in military service, it still carries a historical glory and will serve as a source of inspiration in building the fine military ethics of contemporary Chinese servicemen as well as fostering modern military patriotism.Very few scholars have focused on this topic. Up till now, no monograph has been published in this field, except the five journal articles published by Mr. Xu Bingjie from Air Force No.1 Aviation College. His most typical articles are Study on the Ancient Military Ethics of Serving the Country with Selfless Loyalty and Tentative Study on the Formation and Growth of Chinese Ancient Military Patriotism, which are quite inspirational pioneering study in this field. It was the first time that ancient Chinese patriotism was put forward as a theme for study and the morals with military devotion as its essence was tentatively discussed. However, there are still flaws in this research: ambiguous definition, insufficient historical evidence-based reasoning, overlapping in its system and structure. As for the status quo of this research, there is no authoritative definition as to what ancient military patriotism is like, and there is not a clear summary and profound explanation of its basic ethics or a study about its values in modern times.With regard to the above-mentioned problems, this paper makes an analytical study on the military patriotism in ancient China with ethics as the starting point. This paper is divided into four parts:In the first part, some basic concepts on the ancient military patriotism of China are expounded from the perspective of psychological sentiments, ethics and military practice. Its evolution falls into three stages: firstly, the pre-Qin period when it took shape and developed slowly; secondly, the period from Qin -Han Dynasties to Sui-Tang-Five Dynasties when it matured and reached its heyday; thirdly, the period from Northern Song Dynasty to the modern times (before 1840) in which it grew from decline to rejuvenation and the national spirit awoke. It is characterized by the integration of patriotism and national awareness, moral orientation and interest orientation, professional responsibility and public cause. The Confucian culture with"benevolence"at the core is the ethical cornerstone of the ancient military patriotism of China.In the second part, the cardinal ethics of military patriotism of ancient China are analyzed. They are comprised of loyalty to the sovereign, devotion to the service for the country, great national unity and the thought that takes the people as the foundation of an army's victory. Patriotism and loyalty to the sovereign are both inter-connected and conflicting with each other. The essence of"loyalty to the sovereign and dedication to the service to the country"is to love the motherland."Great national unity", as the core concept of Chinese culture, has shaped the national mentality of maintaining territorial integrity and opposing separatism; meanwhile, we should be fully aware of the fact that military patriotism serves as the ethical basis to realize and maintain great national unity. In addition, we should understand that the military conquest is a historical trend while the conquered are loyal to their homeland. The thought that takes people as the foundation of army's victory has an in-depth ethical denotation and historical significance, which are protecting the people from invasion, sympathize with the people, maintain the strictest of the discipline, act in the interests of the people and in conformity with the aspiration and opinions of the people.In the third part, the military ethics highlighting the ancient military patriotism of China are expounded, which include four aspects: the sense of dedication, which means a sense of dedication to the motherland, a deep love for it and a sense of anxiety about its lagging behind; the martial spirit which means training to prepare for war, learning and improving martial arts and fulfilling duties; the valiant and dauntless spirit which means that a military victory depends on courage and wisdom, and the servicemen should preserve integrity and look upon death without flinching; the spirit of harmony and unity in the army, which means that unity in the army determines its victory and the soldiers need to have the sense of sharing weal and woe and treat one another honestly.In the fourth part, the application of the ancient military patriotism of China in this modern society is explained. As they are of a feudalistic nature, we should develop what is useful inside them and discard what is not. First,"the spirit of serving the country with selfless loyalty". We should pay service to the country and follow the Party's instruction; Second,"the thought which the people are the foundation of the army's victory". We should serve the people whole-heartedly; third,"the idea of training martial art to display power".We should pass on the tradition of our army to fight valiantly and skillfully. At present, the modern military patriotism of China is faced with grave challenges."The forces of ethnic separatism"are the most dangerous and serious factor threatening its military security; the territorial and sea right disputes as well as the complicated surrounding environment are the hidden perils; the activities of the terrorists and national separatists are the most direct and realistic threat; the diminishing of patriotism under the context of globalization is the psychological element affecting China's military security. To develop a modern military patriotism in China, the servicemen are expected to realize their life value in their love and sacrifice for our motherland and have a strong awareness of Great National Defense of"every Chinese love China". Furthermore, making our motherland prosperous and building a strong army is indispensable in pursuing military patriotism.The author has done his utmost to collect historical evidence and refer to the relevant academic articles. The research methods, such as documentation analysis, history-based analysis and comprehension deduction are adopted in this paper, together with necessary combining and supplementing. This paper is intended to make breakthroughs in three aspects: First, a summary of the basic concept of Chinese ancient patriotism, second, an interpretation of its basic ethics, third, a study of its value in modern times.