DF-31A intercontinental ballistic missile ICBM at military parade of September 3, 2015
The “renegade province” of Taiwan figures perhaps most prominently, with China developing core military capabilities around an ability to attack the island. By December 2009, the PLA was fielding 1,050-1,150 DF- 15 and DF-11 short-range ballistic missiles (SRBM) opposite Taiwan, plus the much more potent DF-21C medium-range ballistic missile (MRBM). Fortunately, relations with Taiwan improved after the 2008 election of President Ma Yingjeou. China also realises the necessity of countering Taiwanese allies like the US, who would likely come to the island’s aid in the event of hostilities.
The Gongchen tank displayed at the Beijing Military Museum. The Gongchen is the Chinese designation of a Japanese-built Type 97 Chi-Ha tank used within the People’s Liberation Army with locally made modifications. It is the first tank ever used by the PLA, and saw service during the Chinese Civil War against the National Revolutionary Army.
During the Civil War the Nationalists were armed with a mixture of small arms with ex-Japanese, US-supplied and pre-1945 weapons used. Throughout the four years of the war they continued to use many of the rifles, sub-machine guns and machine guns left over from the 1937-45 period. As the war progressed they received more and more US weapons, such as the P-17 rifle, the M-2 carbine, the Johnson semi-automatic rifle and the M-3 `Grease Gun’ sub-machine gun. However, Mauser rifles in 7.92mm calibre – originally imported from every possible producing nation in the 1930s – were still the main rifle in Nationalist forces. Machine guns were a mixture of modern Bren and ZB-26 light machine guns and home-produced Type 24 copies of the old water-cooled machine gun. Artillery was made up of US-supplied 75mm, 105mm and 155mm field guns which were still in first-line service with the United States Army in 1945 and older ex-Japanese types. Japanese medium and heavy artillery pieces captured in 1945 were still in service along with a few pre-1945 guns from Germany and other European nations.
Koreans fighting with the People’s Liberation Army move down a mountain track during the winter of 1947. Thousands of Koreans fought for the Communists in China during the 1937-45 period and most remained to help their comrades defeat the Nationalists. Their homeland had been occupied by the Japanese since 1910 so they were happy to fight the Imperial Army alongside the Chinese. Most returned home in 1948 when the new People’s Republic of North Korea formed its own army.
Both the Nationalists and the Communists employed former Japanese soldiers in their armies during the Civil War. The Communists used former prisoners of war to operate their artillery and to crew captured tanks for them. They are also said to have used thousands of ex-Japanese soldiers to train new People’s Liberation Army recruits. Japanese civilians trapped in China at the end of the war in August 1945 were employed in Communist arms factories where they passed on their skills to Chinese workers.
People across the globe are followers of a particular religion or sect. These religions teach the basic principles of fear of God, respect for fellow human beings and a harmonious living. Confucianism is also one such religion, or rather a quasi religious system, which teaches moral values, filial piety and government loyalty to its followers. Confucianism is based on the teachings of Confucius, a Chinese erudite scholar. Confucius believed that man by nature is good. It is the circumstances that change his basic nature and make him act according to the situation. Through Confucianism beliefs, Confucius taught the society the code of …
Confucianism is an amalgamation of the thoughts and system of philosophy propounded by Confucius, the Chinese social philosopher and thinker. It is rife with governmental morality, ethics in social relationships, social justice and the value of sincerity in all human activities. This philosophy co-existed and shadowed doctrines such as Taoism and Legalism in ancient China, especially during the reign of the Han Dynasty between 206 BC and 220 AD. The ‘Analects of Confucius’ is an anthology of aphoristic fragments from the work of Confucius, compiled years after his death. Though there is no official record or direct documentation of this system of philosophy by the …
