Daoism to Maoism and Everything in Between: Operational and Strategic Thinking in the People's Republic of China

Abstract

After two centuries of humiliation and loss, the People's Republic of China is now a major political and economic actor. Western observers expected China to liberalize with economic growth, and for China's rise to be peaceful. China's economy is now second only to the United States, but China is increasingly authoritarian. While China's rise was largely peaceful for decades, China is increasingly belligerent and aggressively seeks territorial expansion. While Chinese leaders have worked diligently to understand the West, Western leaders have done far less to understand China. Among the many ideologies, philosophies and ideas across China's long history, Daoism holds a unique and powerful influence even today. For Western students of China, Daoism is a good place to begin their study. This monograph seeks to determine the extent of Daoist influence on contemporary operational and strategic thinking in the People's Republic of China. This monograph will address the research question, "How has Daoism influenced Chinese strategy and operational art since 1949?" To answer this question, this monograph includes an overview of Daoism, influences on military thought in China until 1850, influences on military thought from 1850-1949, and contemporary influences. The central thesis is that Daoism substantially influenced contemporary Chinese operational and strategic thinking in three ways: through Daoist influence on Sun-Tzu and other ancient military thinkers, through Daoist influence on Mao Zedong's adaptation of Marxism into "Socialism with Chinese Characteristics," and through the current hybrid of ancient and modern approaches that dominates current national security thought in the People's Republic of China.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 23, 2019
Accession Number
AD1083559

Entities

People

  • Eric S. Mccall

Organizations

  • United States Army Command and General Staff College

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms
  • Human Systems
  • Weapons Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Civil War
  • Doctrine
  • Governments
  • Humanities
  • Law
  • Military Forces (Foreign)
  • Military History
  • Military Science
  • Military Strategy
  • Military Training
  • National Governments
  • National Security
  • Navies (Foreign)
  • Political Systems
  • Students
  • United States
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Asian Economic Studies
  • Military History of the United States in the 20th Century.