China’s Strategic Culture of Peace A Reassessment of Cultural Realism

　　Abstract: Alastair Iain Johnston’s research on strategic culture offers much to reflect on and build from both conceptually and empirically. However，its definition of strategic culture and process of identifying a grand strategy take a very narrow view of strategy，resulting in limitations in Johnston’s analysis. At the same time，the case studies explored in Johnston’s work are also limited，leading him to ultimately arrive at the incomplete conclusion that the “Chinese strategic culture is one categorized by extreme realism”. By redefining the concept of grand strategy，and incorporating an analysis of data from eight imperial wars fought during both the Ming Dynasty and other periods of Chinese history，the author finds that the Chinese strategic culture is characterized by a highly evident pattern of low levels of violence.

　　Author: Zhu Zhongbo is a PhD Candidate of the School of International Relations at Peking University；

　　Zhou Yunheng is a PhD Candidate of the School of International Relations and Public Affairs at Fudan University