Editor's Introduction

Edgar Snow reported recently that during his trip to China in 1970 Premier Chou En-lai patiently explained to him that it was misleading to classify individual cadres in the Party and the government administration as "military" or "nonmilitary." Chou stated emphatically that "we are all connected with the army, and the army connects all of us" (The New Republic, May 22, 1971, p. 9). This brief statement in fact pointed out one of the most unique and significant characteristics of the Chinese military and its broad nonmilitary role in Communist China's nation-building. In contrast with the Western model of military institutions, which stresses a high degree of professional specialization, organizational differentiation, and political neutrality, the Chinese military is marked by its multifunctionality, structural diffuseness, and strong politicization.