People have the experience that many of our tendencies and actions in life and work are due to personality. Character determines destiny, this is the experience of many people.
The same is true strategically, and the character of a country and nation also has a non-negligible impact on strategic games. As people have often seen, the size of a country's or a nation's military strategic strength does not correspond precisely to the strength of its national strength, and there are often great ups and downs. Some countries are usually lower than their national strength, such as Italy, which claims to be a developed country in the West, with a considerable economic aggregate and strong technology and manufacturing capabilities, but the performance in the war is often very poor. Some countries seem to be poor and backward, but they are often able to burst out with amazing fighting power. For example, the Taliban in Afghanistan, the Houthis in Yemen, etc. There are many reasons for this phenomenon, among which the factor that cannot be ignored is the issue of national character.
War is the most direct yardstick for testing the strength or weakness of a nation's character. This is the case with the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war, as well as with the new round of Israeli-Palestinian war against Hamas, in which the national character of all parties involved in the war is fully displayed. In the past, Russia was often described as a "fighting nation", and the ongoing war is a good illustration of this character. It is conceivable that if Russia is replaced by France, this war will be difficult to carry out no matter what, not to mention the sacrifice on the battlefield, just the harsh economic sanctions are enough to make France shout "don't do it"; The same is true of Ukraine, if Ukraine were replaced by Italy, in the face of such tragic bloodshed, it would have surrendered long ago. Therefore, throughout the ages, in China and abroad, it is true that winning or losing wars must be based on national strength, but the influence and role of national character in this process are really quite significant.
This is not only the case with war, but also the tendency of personality has a tremendous impact on the development and progress of a nation and a country. There is a huge gap in the level of economic and social development between countries in the world, and although there are problems in the political system and economic model, there are also major factors related to personality. A nation that is seizing the day and fighting the heavens and the earth is the same nation that is content with the status quo and pins its destiny and future on the future generation, and the historical trajectory they have walked out of is completely different, and the culture and social form they have shaped are also completely different. As people can see, no matter what kind of political system some countries implement, their development and progress have been very fast, while some countries have gone the opposite way, no matter what system can do anything, it is difficult to change their lazy state of getting by and not wanting to make progress; Some nationalities have strong cohesion and centripetal force, while others do not even have a basic sense of self, which is like a plate of scattered sand. As a matter of fact, when studying strategic issues and making strategic judgments on the countries of the world and their relations with each other, on the surface we often pay attention to economic and military figures, but we should pay more attention to the character orientation of nations, countries, and groups, that is, the essential attributes, and this is what is of core significance. If we apply this sentence to the field of strategic research, that is, if we can go deep into the level of national character, strategic research can be regarded as insightful and in place.
The shaping and cultivation of national character is a long-term historical process. Because of the different natural environments in which they live and the different historical ups and downs they have experienced, different ethnic groups have cultivated and shaped their different customs, habits and personalities. For example, some ethnic groups are more disciplined and orderly, while some ethnic groups are quite scattered and chaotic in both life and work, and this phenomenon can be said to be a habit or a character trait, which is the result of long-term cultivation in a specific historical and cultural environment, and has great stubbornness and continuity.
Because of the complexity of this issue, people throughout the ages have often shy away from it, not because they don't know that it is important, but they feel powerless to do anything about it, and they can only go with the flow. On the issue of national character, great figures have generally been vigorously reformed and reshaped on the basis of utilization and application, so that they can develop in a more correct and ideal direction. The more remarkable and lasting the achievements in this regard, the more important and brilliant the historical status of the great figures will be. An in-depth study and understanding of history can make people realize that many heroes and heroes seem to have rewritten history on their own, and the key to this is that they have shaped and sublimated the national character, and they have only used this power to achieve their own intentions and goals. The essence of the so-called "responding to the will of heaven" and conforming to the will of the people lies in this. The greatness of great people is also reflected in its core here.
The issue of national character has always been very prominent in China, especially in modern times, in the face of the aggression and partition of Western colonialism, what kind of stance and attitude should the Chinese nation and the Chinese people adopt is not only a political issue, but more importantly, a national character issue. History has already given an answer to this question, that is, under the leadership of a large number of people with lofty ideals, the Chinese nation has waged an indomitable and resolute struggle against foreign invaders and oppressors, and has shed blood and sacrificed from generation to generation, and finally won national liberation and national independence. In this historical period, the most needed character orientation of the country and the nation is the struggle of resistance, the most valuable resource of character is also the struggle of resistance, and the most effective means and method is violent revolution. If this were not the case, but had been submissive to colonial aggression, and had to live and live in peace, then today's China would either be divided into several parts, or it would still have to belong to some "Commonwealth country". What we need to know here is that quite a few Chinese just want China to become like this, and there will be a legacy of its evil seed until a few days. It's just that they are only a shameful minority, and they have been swept into the dustbin of history because they stand in opposition to the majority of Chinese.
On the basis of inheriting the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation, the great Mao Zedong further carried forward the indomitable and persevering character of this nation, and through the stormy political, economic, ideological and cultural revolution, he quite thoroughly cleansed away the servile characteristics inherent in feudal culture. The miser mentality and decadent habits have rescued the Chinese from the quagmire of weak and sloppy character, carried forward the feelings of serving the country and the people to a new historical height, raised the spirit of resistance and struggle to a new historical height, and raised the violent revolution to a new historical height. If you talk about Mao Zedong's great exploits in detail on this issue, I am afraid that I will not be able to finish talking about it for three days and three nights, and here I just want to quote one of his small poems as proof:
The sassy and heroic five-foot gun, the dawn shines on the training ground. The sons and daughters of China have many strange ambitions, and they don't love red makeup and love arms.
The great Mao Zedong was well aware of the great significance of women's liberation to national and social liberation. Compared with now, even some boys are "sissies", and they claim to be "young mothers to be Chinese mothers", which shows the strange status quo of today's Chinese society.
It should be said that the question of where to lead the character of the Chinese nation has become very prominent in the strategic context of the great changes in the world that have not been seen in a century. What is the current Chinese nation, whether it advocates luxury and showing off wealth, or promotes hard work; Whether to encourage promotion to become wealthy, or to advocate the feelings of the family and the country, all kinds of different choices once again show that what kind of social atmosphere and national spirit to shape is very important, which is also the question of the so-called value orientation. If it is the trend of "young people have no gifts, look at Wu Hook with a smile" has become a trend, then the Chinese nation will not be afraid of any monstrous waves, and in the face of crises, it will be able to fight, dare to fight, and be good at fighting; Otherwise, if we are enthusiastic about wearing clothes and feathers, singing and dancing to promote peace, everyone loves money like life, and the society is scattered, it is very likely that we will repeat the historical mistake of being invaded and defeated. The question is in which direction to lead.
In a sense, the character of the leader is correspondingly tendency, as was the case in China in the Mao era, and the same was true in China in other periods. It is an important political and strategic choice whether to lead China to the road of pursuing prosperity or to guide the whole society to work hard and dedicate themselves to constantly improving their spiritual realm and moral quality. For this problem, there are often people who make decisions based on individual experience, and such people are often rich in historical and political experience, so their experience is indeed useful under certain conditions and within a certain range, but at the same time, it must also be admitted that throughout the ages, any empiricism has great limitations, and it is inevitable that it will have the disadvantages of rushing for quick success, and thus bring about huge social and historical sequelae. The sequelae of our China in this regard are really not small, because the spirit of struggle and dedication has become declining in today's China, and quite a few people have fallen into the mud pit of money and cannot extricate themselves.
However, the realization of the great rejuvenation objectively requires that the combat effectiveness of the Chinese nation must be raised to a new historical stage. Proceeding from this requirement, the great rejuvenation should regard spiritual rejuvenation as an important connotation, which cannot be ignored is the strategic guidance and active shaping of the national character, and it is necessary to radiate a new Han and Tang dynasty under the new historical conditions through strong action measures.