Chinese traditions on military ethics

This chapter analyzes the major thinkers of five schools of thought on military ethics during the Period of Warring States in Chinese history (475-221 BCE) and their subsequent developments, and concludes that military ethics receives no attention by the Legalist School, some attention by the Daoist and Moist Schools, and ample attention by the Confucian and Military Strategy Schools. There are significant parallels between the military ethics of these last two ancient schools and the just war idea of early modern Europe regarding ad bellum, in bello, and post bellum norms. There are also two key differences. First, both the Confucian and the Military Strategy Schools have an idealistic tendency, advocating the higher goal of winning war extra-militarily. They deem military force inherently undesirable and so do not advocate its maximum use. Second, both schools place heavy emphasis on the critical role that various virtues and vices play and advocate the development of strong moral character in the military.