China’s 2009 Military Recruitment Propaganda Posters

  • 89 comments

china-military-recruitment-poster-01

From Mop:

Extremely shocked! Didn’t think China’s military recruitment posters this year could be this fierce!

2009 military recruitment propaganda wallpaper – Second Artillery Force [above].

Intercontinental nuclear missiles is the most fundamental difference between nuclear countries and non-nuclear countries and nuclear threshold countries, is the ultimate embodiment of a country’s force/military strength, and also the most powerful symbol amongst military recruitment propaganda.

2009 military recruitment propaganda wallpaper – China Air Force [below].

china-military-recruitment-poster-02

2009 military recruitment propaganda wallpaper – China Navy.

china-military-recruitment-poster-03

2009 military recruitment propaganda wallpaper – female fighter pilots.

china-military-recruitment-poster-04

2009 military recruitment propaganda wallpaper – armed police.

china-military-recruitment-poster-05

2009 military recruitment propaganda wallpaper – Honor Guard of the three military forces.

china-military-recruitment-poster-06

2009 military recruitment propaganda wallpaper – military parade.

china-military-recruitment-poster-07

2009 military recruitment propaganda wallpaper – Navy students.

china-military-recruitment-poster-08

Comparisons with other countries:

India’s military recruitment advertisement.

india-military-recruitment-poster

Japan’s military recruitment advertisements are good at using images of beautiful women.

japan-military-recruitment-poster-01

japan-military-recruitment-poster-02

Singapore’s military recruitment advertisement uses the richly challenging military experience to attract people.

singapore-military-recruitment-poster

France’s Foreign Legion military recruitment uses French “hukou” to attract people.

france-military-recruitment-poster

The Netherlands’ military recruitment advertisements use the imposing Leopard 2 tanks to attract people.

netherlands-military-recruitment-poster-01

netherlands-military-recruitment-poster-02

Comments from Mop:

你妈比的起名这么难!:

oh my god, the Celestial Kingdom’s chengguan are even more niu than this, right?

古老城墙【浴火凤凰】:

In my entire county, only 3 people could join the military. Many people wanted to join! Want to help the country?! First give money! [This means they needed to use unofficial methods to be selected to join the military]

cheungxixi:

Doesn’t study well and out of control,

only this kind of person joins the military. At least that is the way it is here.

Being a soldier should not mean being the private armed forces of a certain organization.

先进工作者:

They only changed the backgrounds, no dramatic slogans??

腰杆上别把菜刀:

Japan’s enlistment advertisements are still more enticing.

YANBINDSC08:

I have been a solider for over 3 years, every day cleaning, pulling weeds, watering, tidying up my stuff, folding my blanket, making a huge contribution to the motherland’s national defense!

鸟毛说:

Joining the military also requires finding guanxi [connections] and taking back channels.

寻找非卖品:

Having seen this many propaganda/promotional posters, I want to say…I would still rather join the chengguan!

夹住别放:

Why do the three women on the Japanese one look so similar? Why don’t they change into AV clothing? [because it would attract more recruits]
On the Singapore one, when not in a jungle or midnight, and unless the commander has a problem, is painting your face black so the gangsters can’t find you?

老猫爱上鼠:

Those who join the military here are of two kinds:

One is the local hoodlums, the ones who cannot get into university and cannot be controlled at home, so the parents pay money to have the military deal with them.

Two are the children of government officials, spending big money to buy entrance into the officer schools.

In which group does everyone here belong to?

十二点整:

Joining the military is to accomplish something, to realize one’s self-value, to defend the country, to serve the motherland and the people. The posters emphasize the parade, so I have to ask, why do we join the military? To be paraded?

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89 Responses to “China’s 2009 Military Recruitment Propaganda Posters”

  1. Vote -1 Vote +1 +1
    Tortue
    says:

    Surprised that the current ROC’s (Taiwan) Army recruitment campaign is not mentioned, it’s quite interesting : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rF6uu7jjnok&feature=related

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 +10
      whichone
      says:

      *sigh* I’m probably gonna get flamed for saying this but this is such a retarded recruitment video. This ad announces to everyone, including potential recruits: “Our military is just like the Transformers – a make believe fantasy based on a line of plastic toys and its spin offs.”

      Not to be outdone, P.R.C. military poster from across the pond focuses on the national parade, message reads, “jump start your career in marching band substitutes.”

      Japanese sororities carry some fierce gear.

      • Vote -1 Vote +1
        Tortue
        says:

        Why flamed ? I guess you are right on the fact that’s it’s quite lame. I just said it’s interesting :)

      • Vote -1 Vote +1 +2
        Zorg
        says:

        You people are missing the target demographics here. This isn’t an ad saying “Hey, you, adult person! Join the army now!”. No, this is a public image campaign, it is geared towards young kids (about the age of the kid in the ad) and it is saying “Hey, kid! Grow up thinking that army is a cool place where you play with cool stuff!”.
        Having said that… Most eighteen years old boys (at least the type that joins the army) are still the same kids inside who find transformers very cool, although the might not admit it directly.

      • Vote -1 Vote +1
        FYIADragoon
        says:

        Its because they’re targeting children. No self-respecting adult would fall for this crap. I’d say its more scary in a sense, because of the fact that it goes for children, who would believe the ad.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1
      janz
      says:

      This ROC’s recruitment ad is so lame. There’s a fine line between showing off high tech and science fiction.
      Watch the US Airforce’s ad for comparison.
      http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fiB3vrhPDNs&feature=related

  2. Vote -1 Vote +1 +1
    Ponyo
    says:

    China is a huge country, so they must have a huge and powerful military right? how come they don’t send some troops to fight in other countries?

    they do not send aid….selfish.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 +6
      Tortue
      says:

      I guess they try to avoid the US’ fiasco in Irak

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 +1
      too yellow
      says:

      they do. In Haiti and various African countries, thou in repetitively tiny numbers. I think even a few got kill in Lebanon back in 2005, big news back then.

      • Vote -1 Vote +1
        Tom
        says:

        China does have troops overseas, but so far only MPs and engineers. No combat troops yet. Always with the backing of a UN resolution.

        Of the permanent members, China is now the largest contributor to UN peacekeeping operations. Which still makes it tenth overall.

        France has the second-highest commitment. Russia has some. The US and UK have a few officers and observers, and that’s it. They essentially decline to participate in UN peacekeeping, preferring to operate under the aegis of NATO instead.

  3. Vote -1 Vote +1
    Anon
    says:

    -.-

    “On the Singapore one, when not in a jungle or midnight, and unless the commander has a problem, is painting your face black so the gangsters can’t find you?”

    When your uniform and helemt is green does painting your face black helps alot to camo yourself?

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 +1
      gth793y
      says:

      You paint the striped darker and lighter color diagonally to break up the contour line on your face. This way its allot harder to be detected by human eye.

      Also, it looks like they are clearing a building, just because they are inside the building did not mean their training mission did not involve trespassing external terrain.

      Source: 1st Lt USAR

  4. Vote -1 Vote +1 -5
    PUSAN PLAYA
    says:

    I served did my mandatory military with KATUSA for two years, it was a great way to meet white women.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 +4
      lostinsz
      says:

      Don’t fib PP. We know you avoided the draft and crossed over the DMZ. Mummy was very upset with you and cut off your pocket money.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 -1
      Best Soldier
      says:

      No wonder you Koreans can’t finish a war. When you beat those poor North Koreans, come back and let us know will you?

      The KATUSA are trained bitches for the American military. Let’s face it, the Americans fuck your women and they also fuck your men.

  5. Vote -1 Vote +1
    SOFAMAN
    says:

    SOFA ………………….. prepare for flames

  6. Vote -1 Vote +1 +2
    by
    says:

    Franky, these “posters” look fake. Especially the little “outer glow” photoshop effect on the cheaply super-imposed text smacks of amateurism. What’s the first source of these?

  7. Vote -1 Vote +1 -13
    The Lizard King
    says:

    the turkish army could kick everyone’s ass on this list!

    china. check.
    india. check.
    singapore. check.
    japan. check.
    france. check.
    holland. check.

    thats the turkish army.
    and how much noise do they make about their power?
    none.
    thats how you know who’s got the power and balls.
    all this flashy show-off nonsense is just that. flashy, show-off, nonsense.
    just like the guy who talks about how big his dick is and how many bitches he’s fucked.
    yes, yes, we all believe you, stud.
    get yourself in a war and let the world see what you can really do.
    until then its just funny to think you got ANY power.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 +7
      Anon
      says:

      erm most of these posters recruitment from their owner population, they are not showing off to other nations.

      The only 1 that fits your all bark no bite descriptions is u yourself boasting about your turkish army.

      • Vote -1 Vote +1 -12
        The Lizard King
        says:

        no. as usual, you’re wrong.
        1st, i am not turkish, so its not my army.
        2nd, you dont have to be rubbing something in a FOREIGNERS face, to be showing off
        3rd, the countries listed here ARE trying to get recruits BY showing off
        how great and powerful and useful they are. which they aren’t.
        4th, ‘all bark and no bite’? wtf are you? a pink poodle with a stick up its ass or what?
        gimme a break.
        and btw, the turkish army WOULD be able to absolutely mess up any of those forces mentioned.
        and they do not advertise their military in such a way to recruit people in their country.
        and they do not flaunt their power.
        and they DO have a serious army not to be messed with.
        and what i meant was, showing off the great power of an army in a commercial is stupid,
        and just like most commercials, it is trying to sell something. which is BS.
        its the fucking internet, chill the fuck out.
        ‘all bark and no bite’?
        woof, woof muthafucka!

        • Vote -1 Vote +1 +2
          gth793y
          says:

          Sir,

          You are a fucking moron for making these hypothetical assertions. Your arguments are no better composed of that of a 2nd grader, I think the Disney channel’s forum would be privileged to have your participation on the topic “Who would win in a fight, a dinosaur or Captain Jack Sparrow.”

          Now, I am an fucking idiot for even entertaining your notion, but how is your little puny fez wearing army going to challenge the French Army,( or the Legionnaires alone) or the massive PLA, when all the Turkish Army is known for is losing both world wars and massacring minorities.

          • Vote -1 Vote +1 -5
            The Lizard King
            says:

            you have no idea what you’re talking about.
            1st the turks dont wear a fez since the beginning of the 20th century.
            2nd try to get into why they are the only muslim country who is not perceived as a world enemy.
            3rd you can maybe pay attention to the fact that to get even one single army base on their territory
            even the mighty USA had to catch the most wanted terrorist for the turks and hand him over.
            (thats like the US bringing in the dalai lama in china for good business!)
            and even then all they got was a base (it comes in handy for the middle east of course)
            but not control of gas pipes or oil which they were hoping for.
            4th try to say things that do not contradict themselves.
            if you think the turkish army has not won a war ever, what is the last war france won?
            and which war did the mass numbers of the PLA win?
            india? holland? singapore? japan? anything?
            the legionnaires do not fight a war. they participate. as an elite team.
            5th try to grasp why turkey is the only muslim country which has nuclear power and a massive army
            and is yet to be even called a bad name by any big nation.
            its power, thats why, and you are an idiot for knowing absolutely nothing about it.

            what china is to asia, turkey is for the middle east.

            and at end of it all,
            you can try and understand that i just USED the turkish army as an example.
            i am not a turk.
            i used it to say, the military propaganda, adds, marketing….whatever,
            is a bunch of BS and
            when you DO have something thats powerful and keeps the enemy at bay
            you dont make posters to recruit, you dont have military parades,
            you do not show-off nationally or internationally.

            of course maybe the disney forum people might actually understand what i wrote. after all, they prolly wouldnt let their nationalistic ego get hurt immediately
            when someone calls another army bigger and stronger then theirs.

            it was just an example of a strong army that doesnt go over the top with marketing,
            like most do.
            feel free to misunderstand me completely again though.
            its fun playing with morons like you.

      • Vote -1 Vote +1
        C.Bratton
        says:

        You wanna see Turkish military might? Go to youtube and type “Turkish Rambo”…..哈哈。

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 +2
      lostinsz
      says:

      You really are a turkey, pal. Take care that you do not come to the attention of the Justice Commando for the Armenian Genocide. Now they do have a record. 55 missions and 55 Turkish diplomats in heaven fooling around with virgins. Losses = zero.

      Keep up this bragging and they will drop you down a deep well with your favourite sheep.

  8. Vote -1 Vote +1 +7
    GuoBao
    says:

    No matter which country these adds all look the same to me in the basics. “Come join us and we will treat you like shait for x number of years, pay you almost nothing but on the flip side you’ll get the chance to die”. At least these posters are more tolerable than that god awfull musicvideo running in all the busses here with soldiers doing all sorts of stuff in a glorious setting to some lame ass guy in an officers’ uniform terrible singing. If most Chinese people hadn’t grown so numb to lousy propaganda they could have a full time pukescooper in every bus.

  9. Vote -1 Vote +1 +4
    IG
    says:

    Why would they need recruitment posters? China is one of the few countries in the world where there are more people are trying to get into the military than there are spots. There is always a huge surplus of manpower. People even need to pay/bribe someone to get into the military sometimes.

    Also, I like that Indian recruitment poster, lol. “Be a winner for life”

  10. Vote -1 Vote +1 +5
    superoo... sup?
    says:

    If you wanna be a sweet marcher and be able to cut in line at the train station without challenge… this is the job for you!!! (Is what they should be saying on these posters).

    Not trying to take anything away… But really these posters are of nothing that special, compared to the weapons of other countries the ones on these posters are average at best. And also every country has this kind of “propaganda” to strengthen their military might. Not really sure what all the hype is about.

    But if any of these are gonna work on me, it’s the Japanese one. Only in Japan will they use sex to sell even military recruitment. Instead of getting “1000 virgins” you get “1000 hot Jap AV babes”. Sold!

  11. Vote -1 Vote +1 -1
    lostinsz
    says:

    Top post and a good reason why some moderators on this site are more equal than others.
    The Review
    PRC. Real cog in the machine stuff. Want to lose your identity, this is the service for you. Goose stepping and three meals of rice, pork and veg. Airforce ad is a bit ditzy. For the real poop on China’s airforce, link below miidle of page.

    http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5hN5FQA2NW_zx0-07qQstceLsp9HwD9BPGJ800

    It doesn’t inspire confidence, but if ya need a job….

    India. Real old school stuff, and after negotiating the touts, life consists of running up and down sand hills while screaming at the top of your lungs. Forget it.

    Japan. Who would not want to sign up after checking out these babes. Hot and better than any 10 underwear ads. I give their agency A+

    Singapore. Designed to appeal to the alpha male with some IQ points. Mate these guys with the Japanese babes, and we really have a super military race.

    French Foreign Legion. Well, they have the history and the romance and are pretty good in the field also. If I was Alain Delon and my film career was going south, I would give them serious consideration.

    Netherlands. Forget the Leopard tank. Like the Germans (nowdays), Belgiums, Italians and Spanish, they are are a bunch of wusses…keep office hours and couldn’t deal with an ingrown toenail.

  12. Vote -1 Vote +1 +2
    baby
    says:

    well for the france poster its not really that. This is for “legionnaires”. I don’t really know what it is but it’s like a secret branch of the army which accept ppl from all over the world. You have to give up your life to get in and the test may be the hardest physic test u will see in france. check on youtube/dailymotion for more info

    for real french army propaganda check those :

    http://www.dailymotion.com/video/x41ge8_recrutement-armee-de-terre-pub_ads

    and the final words : “what are you doing the next 3 years of your life”

    • Vote -1 Vote +1
      Tortue
      says:

      Indeed the french poster is not for regular french army but for the foreign legion. The foreign legion is not a “secret branch”, it’s a an elite part of the french defense that is indeed composed mainly by foreigners (chinese included) and it’s supposed to be extremely physical.

      At the end you have a nice Salary and french citizenship for you and familly if you wish it.

      • Vote -1 Vote +1 -1
        Best Soldier
        says:

        Elite? What happen to them in the war with Vietnam? And what happen to them with the war against the Japanese in Indochina? That’s what I thought. Elite your ass.

  13. Vote -1 Vote +1 +2
    FOARP
    says:

    Best recruitment video ever by far was the RAF’s “Their Country Needs You” campaign, and it’s a pity that I can only find this low res and poor quality copy of it on line:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KqDwM023CR4

    Pity this has now come to mean “Their country needs you to bomb the shit out of it and occupy it indefinitely”, but then the idea of a humanitarian invasion was always somewhat dodgy.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 +1
      whichone
      says:

      This is a a really interesting video. I don’t think I have seen a recruitment video where the focus isn’t on the home country. Evidently Britain is so safe, the primary mission of its military is foreign humanitarian aid.

  14. Vote -1 Vote +1 +1
    FOARP
    says:

    . . . . and I have to say that I’m a little bit confused as to what kind of person exactly the Japanese MSDF is trying to recruit with this kind of video:

    http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j_TV4qJiOlg

  15. Vote -1 Vote +1
    Duchemin
    says:

    Nice posters, but what is life like in the Ckinese military, especially during the first months of basic training? Drill instructors certainly know how to make the new recruits’ lives miserable, but are the new boys also hazed by the older soldiers?
    - I was a conscript for 18 months in the French military. Hardly the most pleasant period in my life, but Paradise if compared with the Foreign Legion, a living hell, although apparently have improved a lot. Still very physical, I am told.

  16. Vote -1 Vote +1 +1
    zammo hung
    says:

    Some bad photoshop disasters in there.

    The submarine one in particular…

  17. Vote -1 Vote +1 +1
    lostinsz
    says:

    And what would I do with my cross-cultural super miltary race noted above. Line then up against the iron rose comfort corp (yeah, the ones in white go go boots) in a WWF steel cage death match on CCTV. The winners would then be sent to Somalia…since all Beijing has done so far is hold an Anti- Piracy meeting.

  18. Vote -1 Vote +1 -1
    Best Soldier
    says:

    I am confused as to what the arguments are. Are we talking how strong a military is based on recruiting posters/ads? Or are we talking real military strengths based on real life wars?

    If you are talking about the real stuff, it’s got to be the Vietnamese and the Israelis.

    The Vietnamese has demonstrated their genius strategies and strength in wars against the French, Chinese, Cambodia, and the Americans. Sure, the Vietnamese lost a lot of civilians and soldiers in these wars, but it goes to demonstrate that all the high tech military war machines can’t guarantee you victories. Ask the Americans. These machines only kill innocent and unarmed civilians.

    The Israelis has demonstrated their superiority strength and again, genius strategies, by fighting and defeating more than one country simultaneously. It’s relatively a small country, but it’s military might equals to all the countries in the Middle East add together.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1
      lostanon
      says:

      Hassan Nasrallah would like a word with you.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 +1
      akbar lo
      says:

      oh oh a contrarian.

      the viets? lol, the only reason why they “won” is because the us tried to make a money pit out of nam instead of a wasteland.

      and by “win” if you think getting agent oranged and making retarded babies is a win.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 -1
      Nukes?
      says:

      The US could have easily won in Vietnam by nuking the whole country. Their firepower was definitely superior, but they chose to leave rather than decimate an entire population. Vietnam didn’t win. If they had been facing a country less inclined to respect human life, there wouldn’t be a Vietnam now.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 -1
      FYIADragoon
      says:

      Most countries in the world would have significant military strength like Israel, if the US gave them 70% of the entire allotted American Foreign Military budget (lol why give money to our actual allies like Japan?). They don’t have shit on the US military.

  19. Vote -1 Vote +1
    LongTian
    says:

    Ads don’t attract recruits, movies do. Anyone remember how many signed up for the Navy, Air Force, and Marines after watching Top Gun? I did.

    I feel the need, the need, for speed.

  20. Vote -1 Vote +1
    Somethin Somethin
    says:

    When you start a war and then try to win it you have already lost. That was the problem in Vietnam pure and simple. Everything boiled down to the simple point that the VC could do things we couldn’t because they had the will of the people.

    Recruiting posters? Lies? The only a time a recruiter wasn’t lying to me is when he said if you sign this piece of paper you get the free t-shirt and coffee mug. Actually still waiting for that coffee mug.

  21. Vote -1 Vote +1
    Icedew
    says:

    Will they hire laowais?

    • Vote -1 Vote +1
      Zhang Fei
      says:

      Will they hire laowais?

      Chinese armies have historically hired a lot of foreign talent. But that was when China had a lot of civilizational confidence and was the richest (per capita) kingdom around. My impression is that the current China isn’t quite in that zone, as yet. Maybe if it once again regains its position as the region’s richest (per capita) country. Possibly not in our lifetimes.

      Besides, why would a laowai want to join the PLA? The pay sucks, and the food is horrible. There is only one military organization in the world that accepts all comers – the French Foreign Legion. I think the pay and the food are likely to a significant upgrade on what you’d get from the PLA.

      • Vote -1 Vote +1
        Alikese
        says:

        The U.S. army allows anyone with permanent residence (green card) to serve in the Army, and there are a lot that do. Now, with recruitment lagging, they are talking about allowing people with special skills and non-immigrant visas being able to join.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1
      Wang Er
      says:

      The People’s Liberation Army did recruit foreigners in 40s and 50s when talents with specialties in surgery operations and weaponry were in bad need. Some were treated like national heroes.

      However today’s situation is different. There are more Chinese nationals who want to join the army than number of positions provided since the payment is good, some are provided subsidies for college education and most veterans get better jobs after they quit from the army. A fierce competition is inevitable. Surely most young people in cities wouldn’t join PLA but the base number is there. 1% of 1.3 billion is 13 million.

      You must have Chinese citizenship to join the PLA though the citizenship is very hard to get. Other than that I don’t think there’s any restriction.

      • Vote -1 Vote +1
        Jewjitsu
        says:

        A Laowai can get Taiwanese citizenship and join the R.O.C. Army. And the pay is pretty good, too.

        • Vote -1 Vote +1
          FOARP
          says:

          No, because it takes 20 years for you to get ROC citizenship as an adult, by which time you’ll be too old. The only way I know of is to be adopted by an ROC citizen whilst still under ~18 (an American kid did this a while back, wrote a book about it). I don’t know if it’s possible to shorten the citizenship process through marriage, but I doubt that it would help much.

          Oh, and the pay’s shit. I guess there probably are ex-military US contractors doing work in Taiwan who may be making fat salaries, but the wages even for officers are not high.

          • Vote -1 Vote +1
            Tortue
            says:

            To gain the ROC Citizenship when you are foreigner it doesn’t take 20 years but 18 months (during which you don’t have any citizenship anymore as you must stop your current to apply for the ROC’s one, so you are stuck on the island) and it’s quite easy, I know a lot of people over here that already got theirs.

            To be able to ask for it you must proof that you have lived on the island between 5 and 7 years in row with a minimum of 183 days per years, you don’t need to be married but it indeed help. If you are less than 36 years old you must go to the army for a year or more.

          • Vote -1 Vote +1
            FOARP
            says:

            @Tortue – Thanks, guess my info must be old/just plain wrong. Big mouth strikes again.

      • Vote -1 Vote +1
        Tony
        says:

        Many surrendered Japanese troops (Imperial Japanese Army) stayed behind after 1945 and were recruit into either the Nationalist or PLA service, many were tank driver and gunners.

  22. Vote -1 Vote +1
    Zhang Fei
    says:

    Weird that the PLA posters show soldiers on parade. Very blah. You’d think they’d show people on maneuvers, operating shiny new equipment. The PLAAF and PLAN posters are right to emphasize hardware.

  23. Vote -1 Vote +1 -1
    Viet Cong
    says:

    Singapore is trying to recruit smart soldiers? I hope not because if they are too smart, they will realize that it will be hopeless for them.

  24. Vote -1 Vote +1
    Yin
    says:

    Chinese military power has been subpar ever since the collapse of the Han Dynasty. It’s like the Nordic countries, who were thoroughly violent during the Viking age but are now pacifistic socialist countries. The reason for this is simple: demise of the military aristocracy and the martial spirit of the people.

    Ancient China, from around 700 BC to 400 AD, was a society dominated by warriors. You don’t see guys like Zhang Fei and Guan Yu running around anymore, or emperors like Han Wu Di, who subjugated the Tarim Basin, Korea, and the Xiongnu in 100 BC. Someone mentioned in another thread that even during the Tang China had trouble maintaining a presence in Korea. Sure, but that’s because the Tang was the wrong period to look – that was already after China’s military peak. The Lelang Commandery of the Western Han Dynasty ruled a region spanning from northern Korea to southern Manchuria for nearly four hundred years. China even had walls in Mongolia around this time.

    But, it’s been downhill ever since. The Tang Dynasty depended on Turkic cavalry for many of its military needs; not only that, but a significant portion of its military aristocracy was composed of foreign talent, to the extent that even the royal family was of at least partial nomadic ancestry. The Song was a total failure and just kept losing territory. The Yuan was Mongolian. The Ming did okay in the beginning but, again, depended on Mongolian cavalry. The Qing was Manchu. Hell, military wise I wouldn’t be surprised if the PRC was the best that China had to offer in the last thousand and five hundred years or so.

    • Vote -1 Vote +1
      Tom
      says:

      The view of the Chinese as a soft, non-martial people was quite popular among British sinologists in the 19th century. It was especially popular to write histories of the Warring States period, and then contrast the “Men were men” era to the pathetic mess that China had become by the 19th century.

      The PRC certainly took out the KMT armies pretty easily during 1945-1949. Granted, it was a total replay of the Manchu invasion of China back in the 17th century — the southerly direction of advance, the defections and surrenders, the holdouts retreating to Taiwan. It was like a play, with every actor knowing his assigned role.

      At the same time, even the Roman Republic, at its height, made use of foreign auxiliaries (especially horsemen and archers). The British Army of the 18th century was largely composed of Irishmen (with a few rented Hessian regiments sprinkled in). The British Indian Army had white officers, but the soldiers were drawn from the native “martial races”: Sikhs, Gurkhas, etc. Basically, you use your allies if you have them — otherwise, what are they good for?

      The view of military power as a necessarily-national force is very recent. Mercenaries weren’t outlawed until the Geneva Convention.

  25. Vote -1 Vote +1
    Josiah
    says:

    So the chinese ones say “We march in orderly lines”, “we drive trucks in orderly lines”, “we fly planes in orderly lines” and occasionally play basketball too!

    Oh forgot, they also pilot submarines in lines too.

    I guess they’re worried about scaring other nations if they show awesome photoshopped battles of PLA troops storming the border or something. Relax, the armed forces are just for show!

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 +2
      FOARP
      says:

      ““We march in orderly lines”, “we drive trucks in orderly lines”, “we fly planes in orderly lines””

      Great, I wish they’d teach the rest of the Chinese population to do this!

  26. Vote -1 Vote +1
    Mercator
    says:

    I’ve noticed something weird about the PLAAF female pilots ad:
    Although the girls are all in full flight gear, they are holding model airplanes. Why?

    • Vote -1 Vote +1 +1
      Markus
      says:

      they already had the lessons “How to take on my flight gear?”, now they just started the lessons “How does a plane look like?”

      That is step-by-step education

  27. Vote -1 Vote +1 -1
    Master C
    says:

    It’s not the nuclear missiles or conventional warfare that we have to worry about, but DNA based Bio-Terrorism from GM crops, man made AIDs type viruses, and Irradiation from Deuterized pharmaceuticals. Beware those ‘Heavy Ice Cubes’ at clubs or any thing with Deuterium in it.

    http://www.google.com.my/url?sa=t&source=web&ct=res&cd=1&ved=0CAcQFjAA&url=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.rense.com%2Fgeneral76%2Fhiro.htm&ei=Nm78SoyZMM3ykAWr0vCYBQ&usg=AFQjCNHHrcsJ6J02X7n3PMi39pQGibGo8Q

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