Strategy and National Psychology in China

Abstract

Perhaps the most pivotal factor in the psycholo gy of modern China has been the conflict subsystem of Chi nese behavior. As a framework for studying this system, the extensive data on some six hundred prominent individuals of the 1900-1950 period contained in the Biographical Diction ary o f Republican China furnish a logical data base and point of departure. Turning first to the conceptual foundations, we identify "face" as a guiding tenet, characterized by interper sonal definition and conventionalistic structure, but also stress the high flexibility of Chinese decision-makers under conditions where such concepts as honor, ethics, and morality often ob scure the objective self-interest of the Western strategist. From these axiomatic bases, the Chinese view of strategy in the co-ordinate system of space-time is analyzed. Finally, the general Chinese system of operational strategy is identified as a manipulative mechanism. Chinese emphasis on influencing the opponent's view of reality, his utility orderings, and turn ing these to one's own advantage is set against Western empha sis on the physical aspects of the objective situation. In this connection, strategy and its mechanisms are related to prob lems in communication and signaling, and avenues for future research are suggested.