The First National Academic Annual Conference on the Discipline of Basic Principles of Marxism Held
The first National Annual Academic Conference on the Discipline of the Basic Tenets of Marxism, hosted by the Department of Marxist Principles of the Institute of Marxism Studies (Academy of Marxism), was held in Beijing on January 8, 2013. Experts and scholars including Cheng Enfu, Director of the Institute of Marxism Studies; Li Chongfu, Member of the CASS Academic Division [1]; Mei Rongzheng, Professor at Wuhan University; Zhang Leisheng, Party Committee Secretary of the School of Marxism at Renmin University of China; Hao Lixin, Dean of the School of Philosophy at Renmin University of China; and Sun Xiguo, Party Committee Secretary of the School of Marxism at Peking University, attended the conference and delivered speeches. Deng Chundong, Party Committee Secretary of the Institute of Marxism Studies, delivered the opening remarks, while Hu Leming, Director of the Department of Principles, and Yu Bin, Deputy Director, presided over the meeting. More than 80 experts and scholars from over 20 universities and scientific research institutions across the country, including the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences (CASS), Peking University, Renmin University of China, Zhejiang University, Wuhan University, Lanzhou University, and Liaoning University, participated in the conference. The meeting focused on themes such as "What are the basic tenets of Marxism" and "The issue of the integrity of Marxism" [2].
In his speech, Cheng Enfu pointed out that grasping the integrity of Marxism requires both a comprehensive and in-depth study of the issue of the integrity of Marxist theory itself, as well as an emphasis on analyzing the internal relations of Marxist theory. He argued that the study of Marxist integrity should be carried out from ten perspectives or aspects: namely, developmental research, classificatory research, unity research, hierarchical research, "breaking and establishing" [3] research, sub-disciplinary research, interactive research, country-specific research, definitional research, and "Three-ization" [4] research.
Li Chongfu proposed in his speech that the problem of the "totality" of Marxism should be understood and grasped from eight aspects in a multi-perspective, all-round, and three-dimensional manner. These include: ideological origins and historical status; objects of study and objective foundations; social subjects and class foundations; logical connections and theoretical structures; spiritual essence and theoretical marrow; epistemological significance and social functions; ultimate goals and value pursuits; and the historicity and multi-stage nature of theoretical development.