Fear of American attack was never discounted, even though the US lacked the capability to invade and hold China. Perhaps the tightest chapter looked at the role the Chinese People's Liberation Army played during the Cultural Revolution, when it basically expanded and took over all civil government. Displaced bureaucrats then became the targets for young "Red Guards", Mao's useful puppets that rooted out all enemies, real or imaginary well, mostly imaginary. But that move politically strengthened the Army, empowering Defense Minister and designated successor Lin Biao, who suffered death in a suspicious airplane crash while trying to flee the country.
Unsuccessfully trying to seize power can do that to you.
Still, the tidbits and details provided by Li don't add up to much of a book. It has a useful place on my shelf--for now.
Li's little book will no doubt be supplanted by further scholarship in the future. Let's hope it's not outdone by a thicker, duller book full of "commie speak. Abhi rated it it was amazing Dec 28, Steven rated it really liked it Sep 15, Liam rated it it was ok Feb 21, Mauricio Santoro rated it liked it Feb 20, Sam rated it liked it Mar 16, Denis rated it it was amazing Jul 25, Shon rated it really liked it Jul 20, Sergio Sanchez rated it it was amazing Dec 04, Nicholas rated it really liked it Feb 27, Esequiel Diaz rated it liked it Apr 08, Jonathan Chen rated it liked it Jul 09, Praj rated it liked it Apr 24, Christopher added it Jan 14, Gary Moore is currently reading it Jul 28, Patrick marked it as to-read Mar 19, Jeremy marked it as to-read Sep 01, Joseph marked it as to-read Oct 20, Jon added it Nov 11, Gayan added it Nov 24, John Wimmer added it Apr 25, Travis marked it as to-read Sep 30, Tri added it Oct 11, John Varner marked it as to-read May 08, Anoop Kutty marked it as to-read Aug 16, Xis added it Sep 21, Throughout the centuries, two tendencies have influenced the role of the military in national life, one in peacetime and the other in times of upheaval.
Account Options
In times of peace and stability, military forces were firmly subordinated to civilian control. The military was strong enough to overcome domestic rebellions and foreign invasion, yet it did not threaten civilian control of the political system. In times of disorder, however, new military leaders and organizations arose to challenge the old system, resulting in the militarization of political life. When one of these leaders became strong enough, he established a new political order ruling all China. After consolidating power, the new ruler or his successors subordinated the military to civilian control once again.
Since the s, China had considered the Soviet Union the principal threat to its security; lesser threats were posed by long standing border disputes with Vietnam and India. China's territorial claims and economic interests made the South China Sea an area of strategic importance to China.
A History of the Modern Chinese Army
Although China sought peaceful reunification of Taiwan with the mainland China , it did not rule out the use of force against the island if serious internal disturbances, a declaration of independence, or a threatening alliance occurred. Early Communist units often formed by defection from existing Kuomintang forces, keeping their original designations. Moreover, during the Chinese Civil War , central control of separate Communist-controlled enclaves within China was limited, adding to the confusion of nomenclature of Communist forces. Mao's military thought grew out of the Red Army's experiences in the late s and early s and formed the basis for the " people's war " concept, which became the doctrine of the Red Army and the PLA.
In developing his thought, Mao drew on the works of the Chinese military strategist Sun Zi 4th century BC and Soviet and other theorists, as well as on the lore of peasant uprisings, such as the stories found in the classical novel Shuihu Zhuan Water Margin and the stories of the Taiping Rebellion.
Synthesizing these influences with lessons learned from the Red Army's successes and failures, Mao created a comprehensive politico-military doctrine for waging revolutionary warfare. People's war incorporated political, economic, and psychological measures with protracted military struggle against a superior foe.
As a military doctrine, people's war emphasized the mobilization of the populace to support regular and guerrilla forces; the primacy of men over weapons, with superior motivation compensating for inferior technology ; and the three progressive phases of protracted warfare—strategic defensive , strategic stalemate , and strategic offensive see Mobile Warfare. During the first stage, enemy forces were "lured in deep" into one's own territory to overextend, disperse, and isolate them.
The Red Army established base areas from which to harass the enemy, but these bases and other territory could be abandoned to preserve Red Army forces. In addition, policies ordered by Mao for all soldiers to follow, the Eight Points of Attention , instructed the army to avoid harm to or disrespect for the peasants, regardless of the need for food and supplies. This policy won support for the Communists among the rural peasants. The PLA successfully seized control of three disputed islands in a naval battle and a subsequent amphibious assault.
A Sino-Vietnamese War revealed specific shortcomings in military capabilities and thus provided an additional impetus to the military modernization effort. The border war, the PLA's largest military operation since the Korean War, was essentially a limited, offensive, ground-force campaign. The war had mixed results militarily and politically. Although the numerically superior Chinese forces penetrated about fifty kilometers into Vietnam, the PLA was not on good terms with its supply lines and was unable to achieve a decisive victory in the war.
- Modern Bamboo Structures: Proceedings of the First International Conference?
- Wind Over Troubled Waters.
- Seismic Shift: From God to Goodness.
- A History of the Modern Chinese Army - Xiaobing Li - Google Книги.
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia. For other uses, see Military history of China. This article has multiple issues.
Accessibility links
Please help improve it or discuss these issues on the talk page. Learn how and when to remove these template messages. This article's lead section does not adequately summarize key points of its contents. Please consider expanding the lead to provide an accessible overview of all important aspects of the article. Please discuss this issue on the article's talk page. This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed.
July Learn how and when to remove this template message.
A History of the Modern Chinese Army by Xiaobing Li
This article may require cleanup to meet Wikipedia's quality standards. The specific problem is: See also need system classification Please help improve this article if you can. February Learn how and when to remove this template message. Xi Jinping Communist Party leader: Xi Jinping Head of state: Xi Jinping Head of government: Li Keqiang Congress Chairman:
