Zeng Guofan's Military Ethics Study

Zeng Guofan, whose military theories played an important role in modern military history, was an outstanding militarist and military reformers in China's modern time. As an important part of Zeng's Military Theories, Zeng's Military Ethics were based on out-time military system, corrupt policies and the Taiping Rebellion.During the long-term war against Taiping Force and Nian Army, Zeng Guofan innovated, started a thorough reform, summarized and put the Confucian thinking into war, finally formed his own military ethics with a unique style. Being deeply rooted from feudal consciousness, and representing the position of the feudal ruling class in modern times, the military ethics was a bold reform in modern history, which enlightened researching and developing of the military ethics in modern times.In this article, three aspects of Zeng's Military Ethics are included. Part one discusses the background of Zeng's Military Ethics arising and developing by analyzing the military and political background. Part two presents the primary contents and fundamental features of Zeng's Military Ethics by analyzing series of reform measures launched by Zeng Guofan. Part three analyzes the influences and functions of Zeng's Military Ethics in modern military thought, and represents its history and realistic value.This paper comprehensively, historically, and modernly analyzes Zeng's Military Ethics by adopting methods of documents research, comparative research, and comprehensive research, and also by adopting the combining methods of general & abstract, theory & practice, and innovation & heritage. Especially, the inheriting and developing of modern military ethics is systematically analyzed and discussed so as to promote construction of military ethics and morality in the new period.Now, there are few documents about Zeng's Military Ethics although there are many documents about his military thoughts and military reforms.This article, with a new topic, a new view and a new thinking, is pioneering and forward-looking and has a theoretical and practical value.