1 Introduction
1.1 Background of the research
The world is developing toward the trend of multi-polarization pattern and all kinds of power mutually restrain each other. The international situation is stable on the whole, but global challenges are on the increase and new security threats keep emerging. Although we are in the era of peace, large-scale military war seems to be far away from us, the armament competition between countries never cease. As china’s overall national strength and international influence have increased substantially, the country’s security situation have improved steadily. But China is still confronted with the instability in external security environment. Since 2012, we have faced with a series of severe and complicated tests of maintaining sovereignty and territorial integrity, such as Huangyan Island dispute, DiaoYu Island event and North Korea nuclear crisis. The increasingly severe dispute and crisis put great pressure on Chinese military to safeguard maritime rights and territorial integrity as well as bring new challenge to the construction of Chinese military. What’s more，human society has stepped into a new stage with the revolution of information since the late of 20th century. In the field of military，there is a great military technology revolution and development sweeping across the world. From 1970s, a great deal of high technologies as Microchip, gene engineering and laser were applied in military armament. Armies throughout the world are coping with a test of how to construct digitalized army and how to win the information-based war. It is a fact that winning the information-based war depends on an army’s comprehensive capability not only in the area of armament weapon but in the aspect of advanced military culture. War isn’t a counterwork only between weapons，but a competition between countries’ economy, politics, military and culture as well(Wang & Li, 2011).
1.2 Significance of the research
At present, with a new revolution in military affairs (RMA) sweeping across the world, countries are actively engaging in the development of military hard power. At the same time, there has been growing concern about the military culture, which is an important part of the construction of military soft power. As a result, studies on military culture have sprung up. Military culture construction is an important factor impacting on the forces of cohesion, combat and innovation. The comparative research on Chinese and American military culture is of great significance in the following three aspects: Firstly, studying the dissimilarities and similarities of the two countries’ military culture can make us more clearly aware of the significance of ancient Chinese civilization. China has prosperous spirit treasure of military culture. Chinese military strategy culture represented by Sun Tzu and traditional military thoughts pursuing peace make great contribution to the development of worldwide military civilization. In this sense, we should strengthen our national confidence in our military culture construction，inheriting and carrying forward our brilliant military tradition culture.
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2 Literature Review
2.1 The definition of military culture
The researches on military culture started in 1980s，which have developed rapidly in recent years. There still exists dispute on its definition. In domestic military culture research, Xu ChangAn of PLA Nanjing Institute of Politics defines military culture as military activities, the capability of the military innovation and military spirit results created in military practice (Xu, 2009). However, Tan Yiqing indicates in a book entitled Strategist MAO Zedong，military culture includes military theory，military art, military technology, military system, military education and all military equipment, national defense facilities containing cultural elements, as well as military special psychological emotion and moral(Tan, 2003). In fact, the main dispute of the two definitions is whether the defense facilities, military equipment, and other material culture can be brought into military culture. The Center For Strategic and International Studies（CSIS）made a report America military culture in the 21st century in 2000. The report points out，“the basic meaning of military culture refers to how the members in an organization operate，” the definition of military culture is, “military culture is a compound of value, custom, tradition and philosophy，which result in a common systemized ethic come into being.” The author thinks that, whether military culture refers to the ideology results in spirit, or the material products produced by military practice, it is inseparable from its producer, i.e. the army and war. So we should study the military culture from the respect of war and collect evidence in the process of military construction.
2.2 Studies on military culture at home
Studies on Chinese advanced military culture construction under the new military situation. Military Historical Research is the earliest journal studying on military culture. Since 1990s, many Chinese scholars attempt to study the military construction related to military culture. Many articles expound how to keep the nature of Chinese military (Qian, 2012) and enhance the PLA’S fighting capacity from the perspective of military culture (Fang, Cheng & Che , 2006). Comparative studies of Chinese military and American military on a microscopic level. Most researchers compare Chinese military with American military in military system, such as military ideological education（Zhang & Li, 2009）, Army Combat Regulations（Li & Sun, 2008），Military officer incumbency education(Han & Xiang, 2008). In their studies, they just center their discussion on the differences between Chinese military and American military in the application of a certain military system and suggest on what Chinese military can learn from American military. Some researchers analyze the differences in the terms of military thought of China and America. Tang Lingfei (2007) points out that Chinese military thought in pursuit of peace and in favor of defense is rooted in Chinese mainland agriculture civilization, whereas American military thought pursuing expansion and offensive attack derives from western maritime commercial civilization. In conclusion, the plentiful domestic researches on military culture provide a large amount of useful information for this thesis. However, only few researchers analyze the differences or similarities between Chinese military and American military in the aspect of culture. And nobody discusses cultural factors causing the differences between the two countries’ military. So this paper presents an initial attempt to redress this gap.
3 The Similarities between Chinese and American Military Culture.................... 7
3.1 Highlighting the spirit of patriotism......................... 7
3.2 Enforcing the strict discipline ..................... 9
3.3 Summary: .............................. 11
4 Dissimilar Characteristics between Chinese and American Military Culture ................ 12
4.1 Different attitudes toward wars .......................... 12
4.2 Different approaches to victory................. 15
4.3 Different views of military culture traditions..................... 18
4.4 Summary ............................ 19
5 Major Cultural Factors Causing Differences between Chinese and American Military Culture .........................21
5.1 Different geographical environment ....................... 21
5.2 Different philosophical and religious thoughts ................. 22
5 Major Cultural Factors Causing Differences between Chinese and American Military Culture
5.1 Different geographical environment
There are three types civilization existed in ancient times: agriculture, nomadic and commercial. Each civilization was categorized by its leading industries and different attitudes to war. To nomadic nations, war was like a hunt among people. Such nations often viewed war as a standard means to obtain resources. To maritime trading nations, war was a means to explore and maintain colonies, or to strive for trade hegemony. These two types of civilization had warlike and violent attitudes to conflict. However, agriculture civilization that cherished their land upheld peace and stability. As long as there was land to cultivate, people could make a peaceful life. Although China is a land-sea countries (according to geopolitics division), the Yellow River basin, which originated from Qinghai-Tibet plateau, is the cradle of Chinese civilization where covered by wide plain，undulating hills，mountainous region and its natural condition is very suitable for cropper production. In a sense, the development of Chinese civilization can be regarded as the development history of agriculture. In the ancient ages, to maintain the normal operation of agricultural production was the ultimate goal of all social activities including politics, economy, education, military and others. On the one hand, people had to live on the land and they did not wish to leave or destroy their homes. Due to the universal destruction of wars in the agricultural society, the concept of stability and peace are widespread in the people's hearts. The Chinese have learned to disdain war, which destroy homes and farms, and leads to death; On the other hand, China has vast territory, abundant resources and rich agriculture production. For there are enough living necessities, people were in lack of the desire of military expansion and aggression. In addition, the Chinese people lived in a rather security environment surrounded by high mountains, desert, polar and sea, which forming a natural defense barriers. From another point of view, such security environment hindered the contact with foreign countries to some extent, which made China realize her self-development and keep content with her mainland civilization and natural territory. Under the influence of the concept of seeking for stability, maintaining peaceful environment became a leading goal of Chinese military. Consequently, based on this social environment of mainland agriculture civilization, Chinese military culture was born with a sense of humanity and peace. Military expansion and hegemony were rejected in traditional Chinese military thoughts.
5.2 Different philosophical and religious thoughts
Military strategists in Chinese history thoroughly studied war, but only to try to avoid wars. Just as the pervious chapter talked about, living in this agriculture-based nation, they perfectly understood the disaster brought by war, to both one’s enemy and oneself. Wei liao zi, a military and political treatise written more than 2,300 years ago, regards military forces as inauspicious, conflicts as immoral and commanders as officials bringing death. San Lue（three strategies）, written about 2,000 years ago, also argues that military force is ominous, against natural law, and should always be eschewed if there is an alternative. Taibai Yinjing reads similarly and warns that war is dangerous. The Guan Tsu, around 2500 years ago, also summarized four negative effects of war: impoverishment of people; depletion of government coffers; anger to the country; the undermining of the security of the rulers. Their military theories were all based on the comprehensive understanding of the destructive effects of war. Military strategists in ancient China all conclude that a military campaign should aim to end wars and they believe war should lead to “humanity and benevolence”, just as a scalpel in inevitable surgery should remove “tumors”. It is the Chinese traditional ideological culture that leads to Chinese military culture focusing on strategy. Such as the concept of “wu wei”（let things take their own course）in the representative work Lao Tzu of the Taoist philosophy, "wu wei" does not mean doing nothing, but signify conforming to the objective situation and respecting the natural law. "Wu Wei" is the most ideal concept of Taoism, but also the theoretical root of thoughts of The Art of War. In the military field, Sun Tzu’s thought on military is propounded influenced by the Taoist theory system (Ni, 2001), such as the thought of "prudence in war" and "subduing the enemy without fighting", which requires commander in the ideological level to defeat the enemy by means of strategy. That also means，the victory should be achieved at the lowest possible cost, with the highest ideal being to conquer without actually engaging in bloodshed.
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6 Conclusion
From the analysis above, it can be summed up that self-sacrificing patriotism and high obedience consciousness are vital in both Chinese and American military culture similarly. Besides the similarities, military culture in China and America also presents several distinct characteristics. The author pays more attention to their dissimilarities in military cultures’ characteristics with many practical examples. The core words of Chinese military culture is “peace”, “strategy” and “heritage”, while American military culture shows the features of "hegemony", "means" and "innovation". Then the differences in geographical environment, philosophy and religion and different time-orientation are studied to illustrate the dissimilarities. The world is undergoing tremendous changes and adjustments. Peace and development are the principal themes of this age. However, the further development of economic globalization and the wide application of new and high technology weapons in the current world all have a huge impact on our traditional military culture. The comparative study of Chinese and American military culture will not only deepen our understanding of the essence of hegemony in the military activities of America but also make us more clearly aware of that in the new historical period. Chinese military culture construction must advance with the times by absorbing and learning reasonable parts from other military cultures so as to meet the needs of our country interests. There is no necessity for considering which military culture is intrinsically superior or inferior to the other. But there is stronger or weaker military culture according to its influence on military construction. Based on pragmatism, American army carries forward the spirit of innovation and worships it as the most imperative way to improve fighting capacity. It is undoubted that the institutional ability to innovate makes America army play a leading role in the world. Building Chinese military culture should adapt to our historical mission and continually improve the adaptability and innovative capability so that China's sovereignty and territorial integrity can be protected.
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