Cheng Enfu and Jia Long: The Historical Transformation and Contemporary Interpretation of People-Oriented Culture
The fine traditional Chinese culture possesses a profound tradition of minben [1] (people-as-the-basis) culture, which became a significant cultural sector particularly during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, a time when "a hundred schools of thought contended." Though minben culture underwent several historical transformations throughout the long course of history, its "original aspiration" of centering on the people remained unchanged. This excellent minben tradition has been deeply cultivated in the soil of China for over two thousand years, historically becoming a cultural gene of the Chinese nation and the fertile cultural ground that successfully received and integrated with Marxism. The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, by modeling the past to create the future, not only absorbed minben elements but also achieved a decisive breakthrough and sublimation of traditional minben culture. Studying the historical evolution and contemporary interpretation of minben culture—ensuring that this reformed culture becomes a vital component of advanced socialist culture to answer the questions of our times—is undoubtedly a subject that remains fresh through constant study.
I. Guan, Yan, Daoists, and Confucians: The Historical Evolution of Minben Culture
The Chinese tradition of minben culture originated from the I Ching (Book of Changes), the source of Chinese culture. Maxims such as "sharing the same concerns over good and ill fortune with the people" (Xici I), "the nobleman tolerates the people and nurtures the masses" (Shi), "the nobleman distinguishes between high and low to stabilize the will of the people" (Lv), "observing the people to establish education" (Guan), and "to diminish the upper to benefit the lower makes the people's joy boundless; when light descends from above, the Way shines brilliantly" (Yi) all radiate the brilliance of minben thought. The "Song of the Five Sons" in the Shangshu (Book of Documents), while lamenting the collapse of governance following the death of early emperors, warns the world: "Our great ancestor had an instruction: the people should be drawn near, not looked down upon. The people are the basis of the state; when the basis is firm, the state is at peace." By the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, through the efforts of the "Hundred Schools of Experts" represented by Guanzi [2], minben culture gradually reached maturity. Following the evolution of minben culture as its thread, this article provides a thematic summary of its historical transformations.
(1) Guanzi: First Proposing "Taking Man as the Basis" and "Taking the Common People as Heaven"
During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, Guanzi was the first to explicitly propose the proposition of "taking man as the basis," taking the lead in systematizing minben culture and applying it to the practice of state governance. He said: "The beginning of the Hegemon’s and King’s rule lies in taking man as the basis. When the basis is orderly, the state is firm; when the basis is in chaos, the state is in peril" (Guanzi, Bayan). Following the logic of "taking man as the basis," Guanzi further proposed the proposition of "taking the common people as Heaven." When answering Duke Huan of Qi’s question about "what a King should prize," Guanzi hit the mark: "Prize Heaven." When the Duke looked up at the sky, Guanzi explained "Heaven" thus: "What is called ‘Heaven’ is not the vast blue sky. He who rules men takes the common people as Heaven" (Liu Xiang, Shuoyuan).
To implement the minben ideas of "taking man as the basis," "taking the common people as Heaven," and "following the desires of the people," Guan Zhong, while serving as Chancellor of Qi, advocated the strategy that "the Way of governing a state must first enrich the people" (Zhiguo), making the enrichment of the people the primary task. Guanzi said: "Therefore, those who are good at governing a state must first enrich the people and then govern them" (Zhiguo). Gaining the hearts of the people is the key to achieving national prosperity and social stability; to gain their hearts, one must make their welfare the priority; and those who care for the people must first make them prosperous—this is the essence of Guanzi’s "King’s Way" political economy, defined as "using the wealth of the world to benefit the people of the world" (Bayan). Since the world is "not the world of one person" but the common world of the ten thousand people, those who share the world’s wealth with its people can win and stabilize the world, while those who monopolize wealth are destined to fail even if they initially succeed. Guanzi warned that a ruler who is rich while the people are poor faces the danger of national ruin. In answering Duke Huan’s question on how to manage finances, Guanzi explained the logic of "storing wealth among the people": "A true King stores wealth among the people; a Hegemon stores wealth among the high officials; a state-destroying official stores wealth in chests." When the Duke asked what "storing among the people" meant, Guanzi replied: "Please distribute the money from the Zhan Tower to the people of Chengyang, and the cloth from the Lu Tower to the people of Jiyin. Issue an order saying: 'If the people are rich, the ruler cannot be poor; if the people are poor, the ruler cannot be rich. Therefore, let the taxes not consist of coin or cloth, let the treasury hold no hoarded wealth; let the treasury be with the people'" (Shanzhishu). Starting from minben thought, Guanzi proposed the "Six Policies for Promoting Virtue" (Wufu), including "enhancing livelihoods," "distributing wealth," "bestowing benefits," "relaxing governance," "relieving emergencies," and "assisting the destitute." He also proposed the "Nine Teachings of Grace" (Ruguo), covering care for the elderly, the young, orphans, the sick, the lonely, and the impoverished. Guanzi frequently inspected the land to oversee the implementation of these policies.
"Whatever the people desire, Heaven must follow" (Shangshu, Taishi I). Based on minben thought, Guanzi put forward political propositions such as "following the people’s desires," "sharing the same likes as the common people," "conforming to the people and following their customs," "taking from the people with moderation," and "valuing the use of the people." For instance, Guanzi said: "If the people hate toil and hardship, I give them ease and joy; if the people hate poverty and low status, I give them wealth and honor; if the people hate danger and collapse, I give them survival and security; if the people hate extinction, I give them procreation" (Mumin). Regarding these "four following of desires" to comply with the people's hearts, Sima Qian gave a high evaluation: "What the customs desired, he gave them; what the customs rejected, he removed" (Records of the Grand Historian, Biographies of Guan and Yan).
As a synthesizer of minben culture, Guanzi also skillfully extended minben thought to the practice of "convening the lords nine times to bring order to the world." In 680 BCE, at the covenant of Juan, he prompted the feudal lords to reach a consensus and establish an agreement to "care for the orphaned and elderly, feed the chronically ill, and provide for widows and widowers" (Youguan). In 679 BCE, at the second Juan covenant, he again pushed for people-benefiting terms such as "land tax at 5 percent, market tax at 2 percent, and pass tax at 1 percent" (Youguan). On this basis, Guanzi advocated to the participating lords: "Establish what is beneficial to the people and eliminate what is harmful" (Youguan). These measures caused minben thought to spread rapidly across the states, exerting a profound influence.
Evidently, Guanzi was both the synthesizer and the practitioner of minben culture. Since Guanzi’s time, the river of minben culture has flowed with a surging force, nourishing the Chinese land for over two thousand years without ceasing.
(2) Yanzi: Strongly Advocating "Taking the People as the Basis" and "Putting the People First"
Yanzi [3] inherited and developed Guanzi’s minben thought, moving from Guanzi’s "taking man as the basis" to first proposing "taking the people as the basis" (yi min wei ben). The Yanzi Chunqiu (Annals of Master Yan) spares no ink in describing the protagonist’s minben culture—loving the people, prioritizing them, valuing them, assisting the distressed, and saving them from fire and water without self-glorification.
History records: "Shuxiang asked Yanzi: ‘The world is in chaos and does not follow the Way; the superiors are depraved and do not use righteousness. To act uprightly is to be abandoned by the people; to act crookedly is to abandon the Way. Should one act uprightly and be abandoned by the people? Or hold onto the people and abandon the Way?’ ...Yanzi replied: ‘I have heard that to be humble without losing dignity, and to be flexible without losing rectitude, is to take the people as the basis. If one holds onto the people, how could the Way be abandoned! If one abandons the people, how can there be upright action!’" (Yanzi Chunqiu, Wenxia). Accordingly, Yanzi regarded "taking the people as the basis" and "measuring righteousness by following the people" as the keys to successful governance: "Duke Jing asked Yanzi: ‘Is there a technique for plans to succeed and affairs to be completed?’ Yanzi replied: ‘There is.’ The Duke asked: ‘What is it?’ Yanzi said: ‘Plans measured by righteousness will succeed; affairs that follow the people will be completed.’ ...‘Plan with the superiors without violating Heaven; plan with the inferiors without violating the people. Plans made this way must succeed. ...To embark on affairs while despising the people, though successful, brings no glory. Therefore, I have heard: Righteousness is the law of planning; the people are the basis of affairs. I have never heard of survival for those who plan against righteousness and move against the people. In the rise of the Three Dynasties, plans were measured by righteousness and affairs followed the people. In their decline, plans were against righteousness and affairs harmed the people. Thus, measuring righteousness and following the people is the technique for planning affairs’" (Wenshang). Yanzi believed that only by "putting the people before oneself" could one long preserve the "way of majesty and strength" (Wenxia). Starting from minben thought, Yanzi opposed the tendency of elaborate rituals to harm the people, arguing that ritual is for governing the people, ritual is for the sake of the people, and the people are higher than ritual: "Ritual is what the former kings used to oversee the world; it was for the people, and that is why it is honored" (Waishang). To escape the trap of "adorning rituals to complicate affairs, excess music to debauch the people, and exalting the dead to harm the living," and with the goal of governing for the people, Yanzi proposed a reform of the ritual system to "make affairs convenient and benefit the people": "Establish rituals without exceeding what is convenient for affairs... establish music without exceeding what harmonizes the people" (Waixia). In governing, Yanzi always took the interests of the masses as the highest criterion for planning and action, for no thought is wiser than loving the people, and no action more generous than making the people happy—"No intent is higher than loving the people; no conduct is thicker than making the people joyful" (Wenxia).
Yanzi’s advocacy of "taking the people as the basis," "putting the people first," "measuring righteousness by following the people," and "sharing joy with the people" was grounded in enriching the people. Facing the social reality of a vast gap between rich and poor, Yanzi explicitly proposed the administrative program of "balancing what is possessed and what is lacked, and equalizing the rich and the poor." He advised Duke Jing: "Be frugal with yourself but generous to the people; be restrictive with yourself but broad toward the world. When in a superior position, it is enough to clarify governance and education without terrorizing the world; when taking wealth, balance what is possessed and what is lacked to equalize the rich and poor, not to nourish one's own desires" (Neipian, Wenshang). In Yanzi’s view, only by narrowing the wealth gap could it be achieved that "within the state, all the grain-eating people are of one mind and one desire" (Neipian, Wenshang).
Yanzi cared for the people and relieved the distressed; his minben thought ran through his practice of assisting the government for over half a century. While "the bones of the frozen dead lay on the road," Duke Jing witnessed this but did nothing. Yanzi exhorted: "Now you travel on cold roads, occupying the labor of forty li of people, exhausting wealth such that taxes are insufficient, and using up their strength such that they cannot complete their labor. The people are hungry and freezing, and the dead look upon one another. If you do not ask after them, you have lost the Way of the Ruler" (Neipian, Jianshang). Yanzi repeatedly advised the luxury-loving and wine-prone Duke Jing to "share joy with the people": "Joy is something shared by superiors and inferiors. Thus the Son of Heaven shares with the world, the lords share with those within their borders... there is no such thing as solitary joy. Now the superior enjoys his joy while the inferiors suffer for its cost; this is solitary joy, and it is unacceptable!" (Neipian, Zashang). To win the support of the people, one must take the joy of the people as one's own rather than seeking solitary pleasure. Sima Qian could not hide his admiration for Yanzi—who was loyal to the ruler and the people, reporting to the king and caring for the subjects—praising him: "If Yanzi were still alive, even if I had to be his carriage driver, I would do so with joy and admiration" (Records of the Grand Historian, Biographies of Guan and Yan).
(3) Laozi: Warning to Take the People’s Heart as One’s Own and the Masses as the Foundation
The Daoists, represented by Laozi, endowed minben culture with rich philosophical meaning.
Taking the lowly as the basis, taking the low as the foundation. Laozi said: "Therefore, the noble takes the lowly as its basis; the high takes the low as its foundation. This is why princes and kings call themselves ‘the lonely,’ ‘the humble,’ and ‘the unworthy.’ Is this not taking the lowly as the basis?" (Tao Te Ching, Ch. 39). When the basis is firm, the state prospers; when the people are at peace, the superiors are secure. If the masses are ignored, the high will have no people and the noble will have no position; there will be no support above and no help below. Rulers in high positions should maintain a heart of awe toward the people who serve as their foundation: "Do not restrict their living space; do not weary them of their livelihoods." Otherwise, "if the people do not fear your power, then a greater power will arrive" (Ch. 72).
Taking the people’s heart as one’s heart; taking the people’s benefit as one’s benefit. Laozi believed that rulers must strictly avoid excessive selfishness and must benefit what benefits the ten thousand people and think what they think. Laozi taught: "The Sage has no constant heart; he takes the hearts of the common people as his own heart" (Ch. 49). Excessive hoarding leads to heavy loss. Only when rulers "remove the extreme, the extravagant, and the excessive" (Ch. 29) and become one with the people of the world—"merging his heart with the world" (Ch. 49)—can there be a way to long-term peace and stability.
Diminishing the surplus to supplement the deficient. Laozi was well-versed in the Way of "Decrease" (Sun) and "Increase" (Yi) from the I Ching and used this way to interpret minben culture. Sun means loss or reduction; Yi means addition or abundance. The Sun hexagram in the I Ching represents the image of "diminishing the lower to benefit the upper"—using the thin to supplement the fat, benefiting the few; the result is inevitably a loss for both lower and upper, for harming the people ultimately brings no benefit to the ruler. The Commentary on the Images says: "Below the mountain there is a marsh: the image of Decrease" (I Ching, Sun). This refers to the base of the mountain being eroded by a great marsh—a metaphor for the shaking of the state’s foundation, signaling misfortune. The Yi hexagram (Wind and Thunder) has a profound meaning: wind and thunder interact, creating a win-win symbiosis. The Yi hexagram represents the image of "diminishing the upper to benefit the lower"—those in superior positions reduce their own interests to benefit the masses. By diminishing oneself to benefit the people, the result is that both superiors and inferiors benefit. Laozi’s philosophy of increase and decrease is full of dialectical thinking: "Sometimes one diminishes and yet gains; sometimes one increases and yet loses" (Ch. 42). Rulers should emulate the Way of Heaven: "Diminish the surplus and supplement the deficient... so that the surplus serves the world" (Ch. 77). Only those who diminish themselves to benefit the people and bestow heavy kindness upon the subjects can be called "those who possess the Way."
The more one does for others, the more one has; the more one gives to others, the more one gains. Addressing the reality where "favor and disgrace bring alarm, and great trouble is valued as highly as the self" (Ch. 13), in the final chapter of the Tao Te Ching, Laozi wrote an ageless maxim: "The Sage does not hoard. The more he does for others, the more he has; the more he gives to others, the more he gains. The Way of Heaven benefits and does not harm; the Way of the Sage acts and does not contend." He warned "princes and kings" not to compete with the people for profit, but rather to be "good at benefiting the ten thousand things without contending" (Ch. 8). A ruler who "loves the people and governs the state" must "give life without possessing, act without expecting, and accomplish without dwelling on success" (Ch. 2).
The one who places themselves last comes first; the one who treats their person as external finds their person preserved. Laozi used the enduring nature of Heaven and Earth as a metaphor to show that for those in superior positions, the essential point of being "first" and "preserved" is to "place oneself last" and "externalize one’s person." He said: "Heaven is eternal and Earth is everlasting. The reason Heaven and Earth can be eternal and everlasting is that they do not live for themselves; hence they can live long. Thus, the sage places himself last and yet is first; he treats his person as external and yet is preserved. Is it not because he is selfless that he is able to achieve his self-interest?" (Chapter 7). Prioritizing the people over one’s person, and valuing the people while deeming oneself light, is the key to an enduring foundation.
In the brief five-thousand-character Tao Te Ching, the terms "people" (民 [4]) and "the hundred surnames" (百姓 [5]) appear thirty-eight times. Laozi was indeed a master of worldly affairs and a pioneer of the philosophy of the people as the foundation (minben).
(4) Mencius: Advocating that the People are Noble and the Sovereign is Light
Within the vision of "the Kingly Way" (wangdao [6]) advocated by Mencius, only the implementation of benevolent governance based on the people as the foundation can achieve great order under Heaven.
The people are noble and the sovereign is light; governance stems from the people. Mencius advocated for placing the populace in a position of priority: the people first, the state second, and the sovereign last. He said: "The people are the most noble; the altars of grain and soil [the state] come next; the sovereign is the lightest" (Mencius, "Jin Xin II" [7]; hereafter cited by chapter only). Since "the people are noble" and governance stems from the people, then in the recommendation and employment of the virtuous, the adjudication of legal cases and punishments, and the making of policy decisions, one must respect the will of the people: "If all the people of the state say he is virtuous, then examine him; if he is found to be virtuous, then employ him... If all the people of the state say he is unfit, then examine him; if he is found to be unfit, then dismiss him... If all the people of the state say he should be executed, then examine him; if he is found to deserve execution, then execute him" ("Liang Hui Wang II"). In the view of Mencius, who advocated that "the people are noble and the sovereign is light," caring for the people—who occupy the first rank—is the most urgent task: "The affairs of the people cannot be delayed" ("Teng Wen Gong I").
The heart of the people is the heart of Heaven; winning the people lies in their hearts. Mencius attached great importance to the alignment of the people's hearts, specifically quoting the Book of Documents (Tai Shi): "Heaven sees as my people see; Heaven hears as my people hear" ("Wan Zhang I"). If the will of Heaven takes the will of the people as its standard and represents it, then the will of the people is the will of Heaven. On the surface, the king is constrained by Heaven; in reality, he is constrained by the will of the people. From this, Mencius concluded that the key to winning the world is to win the people, and the key to winning the people is to win their hearts: "The reason Jie and Zhou lost the world was that they lost their people; losing the people means losing their hearts. There is a way to win the world: win the people, and the world is won. There is a way to win the people: win their hearts, and the people are won. There is a way to win their hearts: gather for them what they desire, and do not impose on them what they hate—it is as simple as that. The people turning toward benevolence is like water flowing downward or beasts running to the wilderness" ("Li Lou I"). Since the will of the people is the manifestation of the will of Heaven in the human world, Mencius believed that if a sovereign is unprincipled and disregards the will of the people (which represents the will of Heaven), the populace has the right to overthrow such a benighted ruler.
Sharing sorrow and joy with the people. Mencius exhorted rulers to worry about the people's worries and rejoice in their joys, sharing both with them. Mencius said: "He who rejoices in the joy of his people, the people will also rejoice in his joy; he who worries about the worries of his people, the people will also worry about his worries. One who rejoices with the whole world and worries with the whole world, yet fails to become a true King—such a thing has never happened" ("Liang Hui Wang II"). History records that "the people of Qi attacked the state of Yan and conquered it." When answering King Xuan of Qi's question about whether to annex Yan, Mencius replied: "If taking it pleases the people of Yan, then take it... if taking it does not please the people of Yan, then do not take it" ("Liang Hui Wang II").
Securing and benefiting the people by regulating their livelihood. Mencius believed: "As for the way of the people, those who have constant property have constant hearts; those without constant property lack constant hearts" ("Teng Wen Gong I"). Only when the people have constant property and constant hearts can they live and work in peace. Regarding the inequality where "there is fat meat in the kitchens and fat horses in the stables, while the people have the look of hunger and there are corpses of the starved in the wilds," Mencius indignantly accused the high officials of being nothing more than beasts "leading beasts to devour men" ("Liang Hui Wang I"). To change this phenomenon, the plan Mencius provided to benefit the people included: "Fix the fields and boundaries, and lighten the taxes, and the people can be made wealthy" ("Jin Xin I").
The Chinese culture of the people as the foundation is broad and profound. The Mohists, who sought to "promote the benefit of the world and eliminate the harm of the world" (Mozi, "Universal Love II"); the military strategists, who proposed that "those whose superiors and inferiors have the same desires will be victorious" (Sun Tzu's Art of War, "Planning Attacks"); and others, all possessed rich minben thought based on the perspectives of their respective schools. These will not be detailed one by one; the four representative schools mentioned above serve as a thread to outline the historical evolution of minben culture.
II. The Minben Tradition: Fertile Soil for Receiving Marxism
The vast and profound cultural tradition of minben is an important component of fine traditional Chinese culture. Beginning with the I Ching (Zhou Yi) and reaching its synthesis in the works of Guanzi, the culture of minben underwent historical evolution to gradually become a mainstream of Chinese political culture. It has been deeply cultivated in the land of China for over two thousand years, historically becoming a specific gene of Chinese culture. As a form of cultural accumulation, minben thought has persisted through the turnover of dynasties, maintaining a consistent Great Way. The Chinese land, deeply tilled by the minben tradition, objectively became fertile soil for receiving Marxism. The teachings on valuing, prioritizing, and caring for the people also historically became the cultural origin of the "people-centered" [8] thought. Although there is a significant gap between minben culture and the democratic and populist views of history under the framework of historical materialism, in terms of general direction, there remains a certain degree of compatibility between minben culture and Marxism; the two can achieve a convergence based on the interests of the people.
(1) Minben Culture and the "Greatest Majority" in the Marxist Vision
As seen from the historical evolution of minben culture described above, the essential ideas—such as "the people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is solid, the state is at peace," "taking the people as the foundation," "regarding the people as Heaven," "prioritizing the people," "taking the people's heart as one's own heart," "the people are noble and the sovereign is light," and "sharing sorrows and joys with the people"—belong to the same lineage. In a sense, minben has historically become the spiritual code and cultural gene of Chinese civilization, profoundly influencing its trajectory. The ideas of prioritizing, valuing, and enriching the people in Chinese minben culture possess a natural compatibility with the Marxist tenet of "seeking interests for the greatest majority."
For the greatest majority. From the dimension of minben culture, "Heaven did not create the people for the sake of the King; rather, Heaven established the King for the sake of the people" (Dong Zhongshu, Luxuriant Dew of the Spring and Autumn Annals). A state is established because of the people, flourishes because of the people, and is abandoned because of its betrayal of the people. The alignment of the people's hearts determines the survival of the state and the legitimacy of the regime. Marx and Engels pointed out: "All previous movements were movements of minorities, or in the interest of minorities. The proletarian movement is the self-conscious, independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority." Although the various schools of thought advocated for minben so that the territory of the dynastic rulers would be secure, and their purpose was not for the sake of the people themselves—leaving it far from the standard of "seeking interests for the greatest majority"—nonetheless, minben as a means could still serve to restrain the words and deeds of rulers and objectively help improve the living conditions of the masses. Precisely because of this, the Chinese land, deeply tilled by minben culture, could logically receive Marxism, which truly "seeks interests for the greatest majority." Thus, when Marxism was introduced to China a century ago, the Chinese people, steeped in minben culture, did not find Marxism foreign; rather, they felt "like a familiar swallow returning" [9]. This contains the deep historical and cultural logic by which the "golden seed" of Marxism could quickly take root, sprout, and grow into a towering tree on Chinese soil.
Relying on the greatest majority. Minben culture holds that the order or chaos of the world lies in the sorrows and joys of the ten thousand people, not in the likes and dislikes of kings, dukes, generals, or ministers. Since the people are the foundation of the state, cultivating and strengthening that foundation requires relying on the strength of the people. Just as water can carry a boat but also overturn it, a great ship braving the winds and waves must rely on the buoyancy of the water. Marxism holds that the masses are the fundamental force driving historical progress and the subjects who create the material and spiritual wealth of society. The century-long history of the Communist Party of China (CPC) also eloquently proves that only by believing in the masses, mobilizing the masses, and relying on the masses—always maintaining a flesh-and-blood connection with them—can the victories of revolution, construction, and reform be achieved; otherwise, nothing can be accomplished. An important reason why Chinese Communists have been able to cut through thistles and thorns in arduous struggles, solve one problem after another, and achieve successive victories is their close reliance on the masses. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out in his Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan: "The present upsurge of the peasant movement is a colossal event. In a very short time, in China's central, southern and northern provinces, several hundred million peasants will rise like a mighty storm, like a hurricane, a force so swift and violent that no power, however great, will be able to hold it back. They will smash all the trammels that bind them and rush forward along the road to liberation. They will sweep all the imperialists, warlords, corrupt officials, local tyrants and evil gentry into their graves." These awakened "hundreds of millions of peasants" were precisely the force upon which the CPC relied to conduct the revolution. During the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression, Comrade Mao Zedong discovered the power of a new form of warfare—People's War—in On Protracted War, noting with confidence: "The richest source of power to wage war lies in the masses of the people. The main reason why Japan dares to bully us is the unorganized state of the Chinese masses. Once this defect is remedied, the Japanese aggressors will find themselves confronted by hundreds of millions of people standing upright, so that they will be like a wild bull crashing into a ring of flames which will surely burn it to death." Marshal Chen Yi once remarked with emotion: The victory of the Huai-Hai Campaign was pushed out by the people with their small wheelbarrows! Looking back at the past, Chinese Communists believed in and firmly relied on the masses to achieve the goals of the first centenary; looking forward to the future, as long as we believe in and rely on the masses as always, the Second Centenary Goal will surely be realized as scheduled. Integrating with the masses, relying on the masses, and following the mass line are undoubtedly requirements for the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, and are the result of tempering minben culture in the furnace of the times and practice under the guidance of Marxism.
(2) Benefiting and Enriching the People and the Marxist View of Common Prosperity
From Guanzi’s theories and practices of statecraft like "first wealth for the people" and "storing wealth among the people," and Yanzi’s "measuring righteousness by following the people," to Laozi's philosophical interpretation of "merging one's heart with the world," and on to Mencius’s advocacy of "regulating the livelihood of the people" and "making the people wealthy"—observing through history, it is not difficult to find that benefiting, enriching, favoring, and nourishing the people constitute the core content of minben culture. Although the result of rulers practicing the concept of "governance lies in nourishing the people" was merely a limited improvement in people’s livelihoods to consolidate the ruling order—which cannot be equated with today’s idea of common prosperity—the minben cultural elements contained therein have historically become the cultural origin for the CPC leading the people to achieve common prosperity. As an essential requirement of socialism, common prosperity possesses a profound foundation in Chinese minben culture. The thought of common prosperity with Chinese characteristics is both a result of the Sinicization of Marxism and a result of the modernization of minben culture infused with a Marxist soul; it is an inevitability of advancing with the times. In other words, the thought of common prosperity with Chinese characteristics both benefits from the guidance of Marxism and is nourished by the fertile soil of Chinese minben culture.
Ancient Chinese minben thinkers conducted untiring explorations of the beautiful dream of common prosperity. However, due to historical limitations, low levels of productive forces, institutional flaws, the shackles of the relations of production (especially ownership relations), and the antagonism of class relations, common prosperity always remained like a distant horizon, out of reach. The institutional designs for a future ideal society by classical Marxist authors provided common prosperity with the institutional basis and fundamental guidelines upon which it could be realized, thereby allowing the theory of common prosperity to achieve the leap from utopia to science. The two great discoveries—the materialist conception of history and the theory of surplus value—uncovered all the secrets of capitalist private-property exploitation and opened up the moral and legal foundations for common prosperity, making it a historic choice that accords with both the laws of Heaven and the needs of humanity. In the vision of a future "new social system" by Marx and Engels, "production will be calculated with the wealth of all as its aim," and "all will jointly enjoy the welfare created by everyone." The theoretical innovation and practical exploration of common prosperity by the CPC, while guided by the Marxist theory of common prosperity, have also drawn lessons from the ideas of benefiting and enriching the people in traditional Chinese minben culture, gradually transforming common prosperity from a vague yearning into an observable and tangible goal. Since socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, the millennial melody of minben culture has finally harmonized into the strongest note of the times for a happy livelihood for the people. The prosperity sought by the CPC is by no means the prosperity of a few, but common prosperity for all the Chinese people. Constantly meeting the people's growing needs for a better life, realizing common prosperity for all, and promoting the well-rounded and free development of individuals is the mission of the CPC and the logical conclusion of the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Comrade Xi Jinping solemnly declared in the report to the 20th CPC National Congress: "Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of common prosperity for all. Common prosperity is an essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics and a long-term historical process. We persist in taking the realization of the people’s aspirations for a better life as the starting point and goal of modernization, striving to maintain and promote social fairness and justice, focusing on promoting common prosperity for all, and resolutely preventing polarization."
(3) The Historical Law of Rise and Fall through Loving or Demeaning the People and the Marxist Mass View of History
The masses are like water: just as water can carry a boat, so too can it overturn and sink it; the favor or disfavor of the people’s hearts is entirely capable of altering the destiny of a dynasty. Ancient Chinese thinkers of the "people-as-root" school recognized that loving the people leads to prosperity, while oppressing them leads to ruin. In Shuoyuan (The Garden of Stories) compiled by Liu Xiang [10], Guanzi's answer to "What does a King value as Heaven?" includes the warning: "If the commoners support him, he is secure; if they assist him, he is strong; if they criticize him, he is in peril; if they turn their backs on him, he is destroyed... There has never been a case where the people harbored resentment against their superiors and the state did not eventually perish." Yanzi, who possessed deep insight into the path of rise and fall, observed the "ascendance of the Three Dynasties" [11] where "plans were measured by righteousness and affairs were grounded in the people," comparing this to the decline and collapse caused by "planning against righteousness and initiating projects that harm the people." He drew the historical conclusion: "I have never heard of one who survives by planning against righteousness and acting in opposition to the people." In The Faults of Qin, Jia Yi [12] answered the question of why "a single commoner could start a revolt and the seven ancestral temples were razed, the ruler died at the hands of others, and became the laughingstock of the world" with the conclusion: "Because benevolence and righteousness were not applied, and the conditions of offense and defense had shifted!" Coincidentally, at the end of The Epang Palace Rhapsody, Du Mu [13] summarized the lessons of the fall of the six states and the subsequent fall of the Qin Dynasty, which had unified all under heaven: "It was the six states themselves, not Qin, that destroyed the six states. It was Qin itself, not the world, that exterminated the Qin clan. Alas! Had the six states each loved their people, they would have been sufficient to resist Qin. Had the Qin, in turn, loved the people of the six states, then the succession could have passed from the third generation to the ten-thousandth generation as sovereigns; who then could have exterminated them? The Qin people had no time to lament themselves, and so posterity laments them; if posterity laments them but does not use them as a mirror, then they shall cause later generations to lament them in turn." These ancient sages already recognized that the infinite power hidden within the masses is the decisive force in the rise and fall of dynasties. Such a level of insight undoubtedly helped rulers adopt measures to improve people’s livelihoods.
Although ancient "people-as-root" thinkers and the ruling class valued the "water" (the masses) primarily to avoid the outcome of the boat being overturned and the regime perishing—and had not yet regarded the masses as the subjects of social development—they nonetheless laid the theoretical foundation and provided rich material for the historical materialist view that the masses of the people are the decisive force in social development. Although the historical logic of traditional "people-as-root" culture did not produce the conclusion that the masses create history, it contained the core elements of the people-centered view of history. In this sense, "people-as-root" culture prepared the fertile soil for the reception of the Marxist people-centered view of history and served as a necessary link to it. Marxist historical materialism holds that the masses of the people, as the creators of history, are both the subjects of cognitive activity and the value-subjects of society. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "The people, and the people alone, are the motive force in the making of world history." The mass line, regarded as the lifeblood of the Party, is precisely the crystallization of the "people-as-root" culture being absorbed during the Sinicization of the Marxist people-centered view of history. It is the product of the combination of the Marxist people-centered view of history and Chinese "people-as-root" culture within the practice of the Chinese revolution and construction. The scientific view of the masses—the mass line—formed by the Communist Party of China (CPC) through long-term revolutionary and construction practice, benefited from the guidance of Marxism and was nurtured in the soil of Chinese "people-as-root" culture. One of the keys to the CPC’s massive success is the active participation and full support of the creators of history—the masses. Today, in the process of advancing toward the Second Centenary Goal [14], "to build a modern socialist country in all respects, we must give full play to the great creative power of the hundreds of millions of people... we must firmly establish the mass viewpoint, implement the mass line, and respect the people's pioneering spirit."
III. Reshaping the Past to Open the Future: The Sublimation of "People-as-root" Culture in the Report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC
The long-standing Chinese "people-as-root" culture deeply influenced the direction of Chinese culture but never endogenously produced a true "people-as-root" system. Even the "benevolent government" (renzheng) that practiced these principles was, in a greater sense, a gift from an enlightened emperor rather than an institutional construction. "People-as-root" thinkers always used the "Will of Heaven" and moral preaching to exhort rulers to emulate benevolent monarchs; however, the Will of Heaven was remote and unreachable, and moral preaching was weak and ineffective. Thus, these "shouts across the void" often degenerated into "empty talk" (qingtan) [15]. As remarked of such systems, the hunger, disease, and death produced for the poor are a form of institutional "social murder" [16]. Therefore, a "people-as-root" culture without the guarantee of economic and political systems is ultimately a "culture" without foundations. Various advocacies regarding the people often alienated into hollow slogans where the "benefit of the mouth" did not reach reality. Only the Communists, who have "no interests separate from those of the proletariat as a whole" and seek "the interests of the vast majority," have broken through the old institutional barriers of "people-as-root" culture. They have fortified the socialist economic and political institutional foundations of this culture, thereby achieving a leap of decisive significance. The Report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC uses Marxism to reshape traditional "people-as-root" culture, forming a "New 'People-as-root' Culture"—a culture of Putting the People First—which is rooted in the era and practice, and has undergone a fundamental transformation and upgrade.
(1) The Manifestation of Purpose: Serving the People Wholeheartedly
Maintaining the autocratic ruling order of the emperor’s "Family Realm" (jia tianxia) was the supreme purpose of traditional "people-as-root" culture. Although the "people-as-root" theory slightly loosened the chains around the commoners’ necks or improved their living conditions to some extent—objectively benefiting them—the starting and ending points of this theory were never the interests of the masses, but rather the consolidation of the emperor’s eternal legacy. Therefore, in the final analysis, "people-as-root" culture was merely a tool for the monarch to govern the masses. Between the emperor’s "Family Realm" and the interests of the masses, the former was given unconditional priority. If the masses, driven by the hardships of life, took the path of resistance and challenged the dynastic rule served by these thinkers, the advocates of "people-as-root" culture would not hesitate to suppress the masses to maintain the existing order. What the "people-as-root" thinkers feared was the danger of the "overturning of the boat," not the quality of the "water" itself—namely, the people’s livelihood. It is evident that without solving the fundamental question of "for whom," traditional "people-as-root" culture inevitably collapses into nonsensical high-minded talk.
The question of "for whom" is the primary question any political party must answer. In 1942, in his Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art, Mao Zedong used the concept of "Serving the People" for the first time; in the political report to the 7th National Congress of the Party, he elevated "Serving the People Wholeheartedly" to the height of the Party's sole purpose. Marxism possesses a distinct focus on the people and its class nature. Guided by Marxism, the CPC is the vanguard of the working class and the entire Chinese nation. It comes from the people, relies on the people, and takes "Serving the People Wholeheartedly" as its fundamental purpose, turning those five heavy characters into a promise "as weighty as Mount Tai." By always putting the people’s interests first, it successfully solved the fundamental problem that plagued traditional "people-as-root" culture—the problem of "for whom." Beyond the interests of the people, the Party has no special interests of its own. As this author has previously written: "Adhering to the people-centered development philosophy is the fundamental standpoint of Marxist political economy." For over a century, the CPC has upheld the purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, always taking the pursuit of happiness for the Chinese people and the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as its original aspiration and founding mission. It has broken through the limitations of traditional "people-as-root" culture and opened up a new institutional landscape for common prosperity—based on the primacy of public ownership with various forms of ownership developing together, and the primacy of distribution according to work with multiple distribution modes coexisting. This has achieved a seasonal transformation and upgrade of the "people-as-root" culture, forming the latest theoretical achievement of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out: "Working for the people’s well-being is the essential requirement of the Party’s commitment to serving the public good and exercising power for the people. We must ensure and improve people’s well-being in the course of development, encourage common struggle to create a better life, and continually realize the people’s aspirations for a better life."
The purpose of "Serving the People Wholeheartedly" is not only a theoretical innovation and ideological construction of Chinese Communists but also a concrete program of action. To transform this purpose into an action paradigm, Chinese Communists have focused on perfecting various people-centered regulations. Since socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, to fully guarantee and enhance the sense of gain, participation, and achievement of all people—especially the working people—in the fields of economy, politics, culture, education, healthcare, and social services, the CPC has actively fulfilled its mission through institutional building, the perfection of the rule of law, and mechanism innovation. "Success does not have to be mine, but I must contribute to it," and "I will be selfless and live up to the people’s expectations"—these are both the self-portraits of the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their chief representative, and the action guides for continuing to practice the purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly. To fulfill the sacred mission of serving the people, generations of Communists, with a tenacity described as "leaving footprints in the snow and finger-marks in iron" [17], have worked successively from solving the problem of food and clothing and achieving comprehensive poverty alleviation to fully building a moderately prosperous society in all respects and moving toward common prosperity. They have delivered an outstanding report card worthy of the people and the era, fulfilling and continuing to fulfill the solemn promise of seeking happiness for the people.
In the spirit of the Report to the 20th National Congress of the Party, the people have become the objects of the Communists' wholehearted service, no longer the objects serving the ruling order as in "people-as-root" culture. "The principal contradiction in our society is the contradiction between the people's ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development, and we must advance all work around this principal contradiction, continuously enriching and developing a new form of human civilization." This is no longer the principal contradiction of the "people-as-root" cultural background—the contradiction between the landlord class and the peasant class—where "people-as-root" principles were advocated primarily to alleviate that very conflict.
(2) Role Transformation: Putting the People First
In essence, traditional "people-as-root" culture was a feudal culture subordinate to and serving absolutism. In the eyes of "people-as-root" thinkers, the masses were merely objects of benevolence and pity, a group to be "bought off" with benevolent government. Their inner world was contradictory: they despised the masses yet were forced to value them. For instance, Mencius, who spoke of "the people being more important than the sovereign," worshiped the hierarchy, dividing people into grades such as "those who work with their minds and those who work with their strength." He believed that "those who work with their minds rule others; those who work with their strength are ruled by others. Those who are ruled by others support them; those who rule others are supported by them" (Teng Wen Gong I), and he deified this rigid hierarchical order as the "universal principle of the world." His attitude toward the bottom masses versus the upper class was as distinct as the Jing and Wei rivers [18]. On one hand, he asserted that "the people are precious and the sovereign is light," but on the other, he accused the Mohist school, which advocated "universal love," of being "beasts" with "neither father nor sovereign." He even noted with irony: "Only the shi [19] are able to maintain a steadfast heart without a permanent livelihood. As for the people, if they have no permanent livelihood, they will not have steadfast hearts" (King Hui of Liang I). This suggests that only the intellectual elite with a sense of social responsibility can remain constant without material assets; the common masses only have a steadfast heart if they have property—without it, they will inevitably lack constancy and fail to keep to their stations. The purpose of bestowing small favors on the masses was to make them feel grateful and keep them in their place. In the dictionary of "people-as-root" thinkers, there are plenty of exhortations for lords, sage-kings, and "Masters of the World" to "decide for the people," but not a single word about the people "running their own affairs as masters of the country." The foundational premise of "people-as-root" culture was "sovereign-as-basis," while the masses could only occupy the status of "subject-children" (zimin) receiving the monarch's grace and comfort.
If the foundational premise of traditional people-as-the-root culture was the supremacy of dynastic rule and the "mental laborers" [20] who "govern others," and the foundational premise of capitalist culture is the supremacy of private profit and the "capitalists" who employ others, then the foundational premise of socialist culture must necessarily be the supremacy of the people. Adhering to the principle of "people-first," and respecting the principal status of the people, is the successful experience of the Communist Party of China's (CPC) century-long struggle, and the fundamental guide for advancing toward the Second Centenary Goal. For this reason, Comrade Xi Jinping required the whole Party to: "Maintain a firm people's interest standpoint, grasp the aspirations of the people, respect the creativity of the people, and pool the wisdom of the people." Within the horizon of Sinicized and modernized Marxism, the people occupy a supreme and principal position. Everything Chinese Communists do—such as achieving comprehensive poverty alleviation, committing to common prosperity for all, enhancing people's well-being, and promoting well-rounded human development—is an expression of this people-first perspective. The Party's mass line has fundamentally resolved a series of major questions that constrained traditional people-as-the-root culture, such as "who am I, for whom am I working, on whom do I rely, who is the public servant, and who is the master?" thereby achieving a breakthrough and transcendence of traditional culture. From being objects of governance to being the subjects of development, the role of the people has undergone a decisive transformation: people-first and people-foremost is the starting point and ultimate goal of all Party work, no longer "the name of the root but the reality of the branch" [21] as seen in traditional discourse. The people are masters of their own affairs; they are the masters of the socialist cause, no longer the "unthinking masses" [22] capable of overturning the boat of state. The people are the subjects who create history; "the creative practice of the people is the inexhaustible source of theoretical innovation," no longer passive recipients or "manual laborers" occupied in the position of being "governed by others." As masters, the people struggle for their own cause under the leadership of their vanguard—the CPC—no longer functioning as appendages of the feudal monarchs or other exploiting classes. It can be said that "people-first" is the contemporary form of traditional people-as-the-root culture after its "rebirth through fire," reaching a new realm of development based on the Aufheben [sublation] [23] of the tradition.
(3) Sublimation of Purpose: Taking the People as the Center
For traditional thinkers and rulers, the value of people-as-the-root culture lay in its instrumental role in maintaining dynastic rule, such as "shepherding the people," "controlling the people," and "governing the people." For instance, in the view of Laozi, the purpose of requiring kings to "excel at placing themselves below the people" was to "become the king of a hundred valleys"; the purpose of "speaking humbly" was "desiring to be above the people"; and the purpose of "putting oneself behind" was "desiring to be ahead of the people" [24]. From this, one can see how the philosophy of "giving and receiving" [25] became teleological, utilitarian, and vulgarized within the political and social spheres.
The theoretical edifice of socialism with Chinese characteristics is not a castle in the air; it must be built on a solid foundation of excellent traditional culture, including "people-as-the-root" culture. Lenin pointed out: "The ideology of the revolutionary proletariat, Marxism, has won its historic significance... because it... assimilated and refashioned everything of value in the more than two thousand years of the development of human thought and culture." If we draw on traditional culture without breaking through and transforming its narrow purpose of serving dynastic rule, we cannot adapt to the needs of the times. To this end, we must replace the "family-under-heaven" (or "capitalist-under-heaven" in capitalist societies) mindset of traditional culture with the Communist "public-under-heaven" [26] mindset. Upon taking office, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward a basic requirement for governance—"to be devoted to the public cause day and night." This demonstrates that the Chinese Communists' philosophy of "giving and receiving" uses their own "giving" [relinquishing] in exchange for the "gains" of the masses, sublimating the focus from consolidating dynastic rule to "taking the people as the center." The shift from "shepherding the people" [27] to "working for the people" represents a sublimation of purpose revealed in a single word. In the "shepherding" discourse of traditional culture, the purpose is to "view the masses as tools," whereas in the "working for the people" discourse of public servants, the purpose is to "take the people as the center." Comrade Xi Jinping pointed out: "The CPC has its roots in the people and its lifeblood in the people. Adhering to the people-centered development philosophy reflects the Party's ideals, convictions, nature, and purpose; it is also a profound summary of the Party's journey of struggle and practical experience... To adhere to the people-centered development philosophy, we must persist in the people-first principle... and implement it in all decision-making and practical work." Seen through the lens of historical materialism, under socialist conditions, the essence of all social life is the beautiful and happy life of the people. Therefore, developing for the people, relying on the people for development, and sharing the fruits of development among the people is the entire meaning of development; it is the theoretical basis and ultimate destination of the people-centered development philosophy.
(4) Reshaping the Standard: People's Satisfaction
If the main standard for testing the effectiveness of traditional culture was dynastic stability and "smooth governance and social harmony," then the standard for testing the implementation of "serving the people whole-heartedly," "people-first," and "people-centeredness" is people's satisfaction. The times provide the exam papers, we are the examinees, and the people are the examiners. The will of the people is the greatest politics; the will of the people is the highest standard. In the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, Comrade Xi Jinping emphasized: "The country is its people; the people are the country. As the Communist Party of China has led the people in fighting to establish and maintain control over the country, it has actually been fighting to develop and maintain the support of the people." Therefore, the establishment of the "people's satisfaction" standard is the CPC’s deep cognition of the laws of historical development and the laws of Communist Party governance, based on both historical and practical dimensions. To fulfill the lofty mission and solemn promise of serving the people, putting people first, and remaining people-centered, we must take the people's sense of fulfillment, happiness, and security as the most basic indicators for measuring success or failure, seeking tangible, perceptible, and quantifiable life-well-being and development interests for the people.
Long ago, Guanzi [28] summarized people-as-the-root culture in two words: "people's hearts" (minxin). "The flourishing of government lies in following the hearts of the people; the failure of government lies in opposing the hearts of the people." (Mu Min) Throughout the long river of history, though this culture has undergone many transitions, it has never deviated from its essence—the hearts of the people. Objectively speaking, although traditional culture had unavoidable limitations, the flaws do not obscure the virtues. Under the historical conditions of the time, a culture that focused on the hearts of the people was undoubtedly progressive and enlightened. It is precisely under the guidance of Marxism that the CPC absorbed the "rational kernel" of this culture to form the mass line, achieving a modern transformation of the tradition. The state system of the People's Republic of China is a socialist state under the people's democratic dictatorship, led by the working class and based on the alliance of workers and peasants. The people are the CPC’s greatest source of confidence in governing and rejuvenating the country, while the mass line, rooted in the tradition of "people-as-the-root," is the CPC’s "specialty" [29]. For this reason, when summarizing the essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization in the 20th National Congress report, Comrade Xi Jinping used three expressions containing the keyword "people," namely: "developing whole-process people's democracy, enriching the people's spiritual world, and achieving common prosperity for all the people." We have reason to believe that the CPC, upholding the principles of "people-first" and "serving the people whole-heartedly," having "created a century of greatness through great struggle, will surely create new greatness through new great struggle."
(About the authors: Cheng Enfu: Male, Researcher at the 21st Century Marxism Research Institute of Nankai University and the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Chief Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Member of the Academic Committee of CASS; Director of the Center for Economic and Social Development; Dean of the School of Hai-style Economics at Shanghai University of Finance and Economics; Member of the Education, Science, Culture and Public Health Committee of the 13th National People's Congress; President of the World Association for Political Economy. Jia Long: Professor at the School of Marxism, Qilu Normal University.)