On The Just War Of Confucian Thought

The theory of Just War has a long time history in the western history ofintellectual circle,bringing a sounding effect on the morality and norms of the wartoday.During the era of pre-Qin in China(771B.C.—221B.C.),the intellecutuals fromConfucian school also studied the war and raised a lot of viewpoints which put aeverlasting influnece on of Chinese traditional concepts of the war as well as itsimplementation in reality. This paper focus on outlining the principles and features ofjust war thinkings from Confucians in pre-Qin era on the bases of analysing theConfucian classics and reviewing the the western just war thinkings.Comparsionsbetween the just war viewpoints of Chinese Confucians and Western intellectuals arefollowed, as well as the analysis of the strengths and shortcomings in both the fieldsof Confucians’academic logics in just war and its implementation in reality. Thispaper argues that to some degree Confucians’considerations on War is beyond thevision of western intellectuals.However,as Qin dynasty united the Chinese continentin221BC, the feudalism system was officially abolished which in fact was the mostideal background for Confucians’just war.In the following2000years, the just warthinkings was disjointed with the reality,and lacked of necessary progress andrevisments by the Confucians in after-Qin era,all of which brought a failure ofConfucian just war thinking in reality,and sometimes it even provided excuses forunjust wars.As to the academic logics,there are also shortcomings in Confucian justwar thinking’s theoretic foundations. Finally, this paper points out that despite thedefects, Pre-Qin Confucians’just war thinking still have its values today,forexample,providing some new thinking angles and responding approaches for thehumanitarian war, and for the innovation of Chinese diplomacy.