Deng Chundong: Uphold Important Historical Experience and Successfully Implement the "Second Integration"
Since the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Party’s ability to grow from small to large, to overcome all difficulties and obstacles, and to become the most powerful Marxist ruling party in the world today—attaining great achievements in Chinese revolution, construction, reform, and modernization while fending off all risks and challenges—lies in a key factor. We possess the guidance of the scientific theory of Marxism; in particular, Chinese Communists are adept at integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with fine traditional Chinese culture, thereby creating and forming a Marxism rooted in Chinese soil.
Integrating Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture and continuously opening new horizons for the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism is a highly important and long-term historical task for Chinese Communists. In the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly proposed: "To uphold and develop Marxism, we must integrate it with fine traditional Chinese culture. Only by taking root in the rich soil of our country’s and our nation’s history and culture can the tree of Marxist truth flourish and remain evergreen." Throughout a century of great practice, Chinese Communists have formed original experiences in exploring and expanding the practice of the "Second Integration" [1]. In the practice of the New Era and the new journey, to perform the "Second Integration" well, we need to earnestly study, master, and apply these important experiences.
Understanding and Treating Chinese Traditional Culture from a Marxist Standpoint
The content of Chinese traditional culture is immensely rich. Over the historical course of several millennia of the evolution of Chinese civilization, generations of Chinese people have created, expanded, and enriched a vast body of Chinese culture. These rich and profound cultural achievements, together with the material achievements created by the Chinese nation, have influenced the thoughts, ethics, values, and behavioral modes of ancient Chinese people; maintained, preserved, and supported the operation and development of ancient Chinese society; and sustained the continuous and unbroken vitality of Chinese civilization.
In modern times, Western colonizers rampaged across various parts of the globe, and the gates of ancient China were forced open. Beginning with the Opium War of 1840, Western colonial powers, relying on the advantages of "sturdy ships and powerful cannons" [2], forced open the gates of ancient China in a predatory manner, disrupting the traditional self-operating model through which Chinese civilization had functioned since antiquity. The Chinese nation encountered "great changes unseen in three thousand years" [3], and the development and continuity of Chinese civilization faced challenges; specifically, the traditional Chinese culture that had influenced, supported, and guaranteed that continuity for millennia encountered unprecedented challenges. Consequently, from the mid-19th century onward, in the face of such challenges and to answer the historical question of where the Chinese nation was headed, generations of Chinese people proposed various methods and "prescriptions." Among all these prescriptions for saving the world, there was inevitably the question of how to understand and treat traditional Chinese culture.
The birth of the CPC and the introduction of Marxism to China not only enabled the Chinese nation to find and embark upon the correct path of seeking liberation and rejuvenation, but also led Chinese Communists to form a correct attitude and policy toward traditional Chinese culture during their exploration of China’s way forward. Comrade Mao Zedong believed that traditional Chinese culture should be analyzed using Marxism as a guide. It was necessary to fully recognize that it contains many advanced and excellent thoughts, concepts, spirits, and ethics, which are precious assets of the Chinese nation. At the same time, traditional culture also contains certain feudal elements—decayed content that served feudal rule and hindered social progress—which constitute dross. In treating traditional Chinese culture, we must "absorb the essence and discard the dross" [4]. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized the need to use Marxism as a guide to carry out the "creative transformation and innovative development" [5] of traditional Chinese culture, noting that "our Party has always viewed the history of the Chinese nation from the standpoint, viewpoint, and method of historical materialism, inheriting and promoting fine traditional Chinese culture." In the practice of the New Era and the new journey, to succeed in the "integration" of Marxism and fine traditional Chinese culture, we must employ this experience of the CPC, adhere to a Marxist standpoint, and adopt a Marxist attitude toward China’s rich and expansive traditional culture, while opposing simplistic or extremist positions.
Upholding the Unity of Upholding the Fundamentals and Breaking New Ground in Treating Fine Traditional Chinese Culture
Upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground is a worldview and methodology permeating Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It is also the basic stance and method the CPC has used toward fine traditional Chinese culture over the past century. It represents an important experience of the CPC in integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture to advance the Sinicization of Marxism and the modernization of fine traditional Chinese culture.
In treating fine traditional Chinese culture, on one hand, Chinese Communists have adhered to a correct "upholding of fundamentals," showing full respect and affirmation for fine traditional Chinese culture and striving to pass it down and promote it. Looking at the century of CPC practice, upholding the fundamentals of fine traditional Chinese culture includes: the concepts of the world (tianxia), the universe, and values contained within fine traditional Chinese culture, which have always been identified with, respected, and promoted. Chinese Communists have shown great respect for the concepts, correct modes of thinking, and proper methods of social governance and problem-solving contained within fine traditional Chinese culture, drawing extensive wisdom and knowledge from them to solve practical problems. A vast array of the Chinese nation's fine ethics and spirit, such as China’s unique tradition of patriotism, have been inherited and carried forward by Chinese Communists. Simultaneously, in the practice of leading revolution, construction, and reform, Chinese Communists have always identified with and stood firm by the prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "Fine traditional Chinese culture has many important elements that together shape the prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization." The path of Chinese-path modernization opened by the CPC leading the Chinese people over the past century, and the modern civilization of the Chinese nation created as a new form of human civilization, have perfectly inherited and carry forward these prominent characteristics. Without the "upholding of fundamentals" regarding fine traditional Chinese culture by Chinese Communists, the "reappearance of glory" for Chinese civilization in the contemporary world would be impossible.
On the other hand, in treating fine traditional Chinese culture, Chinese Communists have always combined and unified upholding the fundamentals with breaking new ground, innovating while staying true to the fundamentals. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that upholding the fundamentals does not mean being hidebound, and respecting the past does not mean returning to the old ways; we must "focus on continuing the Chinese cultural lineage and promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture." In a century of practice, Chinese Communists have carried out effective innovation on a vast amount of content from fine traditional Chinese culture, transforming ancient Chinese civilization into a modern form, allowing it to radiate great vitality in the contemporary world and imbuing it with immense adaptability for solving current problems and driving history forward. For example, by integrating the views of the universe, the world (tianxia), and society contained in fine traditional Chinese culture with Marxist dialectical materialism and historical materialism, Chinese Communists have formed a series of scientific understandings of the world, society, and human history. By integrating the patriotic spirit of fine traditional Chinese culture with the Marxist views of the state and ethnicity, they formed the patriotism of the CPC in seeking rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. Without the creative transformation and innovative development carried out by Chinese Communists, there would be no brilliant presentation of this rich content of Chinese civilization.
Mastering the "Basic Homework" of Integration, Following the Basic Laws of Integration, and Striving for Scientific Integration
We must strive to do the work of "integration" on the basis of comprehensively understanding and accurately grasping the rich content and spiritual and material essence of fine traditional Chinese culture.
To achieve a successful "integration" of Marxism and fine traditional Chinese culture, we must follow the laws of integration and carry it out in the correct manner. Over a century of practice, the important experiences of Chinese Communists in this regard include:
First, a comprehensive understanding and mastery of the content of fine traditional Chinese culture. This is the basic prerequisite for achieving a correct "integration." Fine traditional Chinese culture was formed over the long history of the emergence and development of Chinese civilization; it is the carrier of Chinese civilization. To realize the integration of Marxism and fine traditional Chinese culture, one first needs a comprehensive understanding of the cultural products that have carried this civilization for millennia, grasping their content and the ideas and concepts they embody. Integration is impossible if one is unfamiliar with, does not understand, or has only a superficial understanding of ancient culture. This requires emphasizing the study of traditional culture and thoroughly mastering the vast sea of ancient Chinese cultural products.
Second, in the "Second Integration," we must always adhere to the guidance of Marxism and persist in using Marxist standpoints, viewpoints, and methods to analyze and discern fine traditional Chinese culture. This allows their spiritual essences to fuse and connect with one another, thereby enabling them to "achieve one another," promoting the contemporary sublimation of fine traditional Chinese culture and the Sinicization of Marxism. The key here is that the results of the "Second Integration"—namely, the theories of Sinicized Marxism—must accurately continue and promote the spiritual essence of fine traditional Chinese culture while being permeated by the fruits of Sinicized Marxism. They must be in the same lineage and essentially identical to the advanced concepts of fine traditional Chinese culture, while also being in the same lineage and essentially consistent with Marxism as the universal law of human social development.
Third, the "Second Integration" must be a qualitative integration and a fusion of spiritual qualities. This requires using the resolution of the future destiny of the contemporary Chinese nation and society as the criterion. It must center on answering the questions of the times, the questions of the people, and the questions of the world, and center on the fulfillment of the historical task of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation to find answers. In this process of "solving the problem," all advanced and beneficial thoughts, concepts, ideas, and spirits in fine traditional Chinese culture should be absorbed and integrated with the theories, principles, concepts, and value orientations of Marxism that are compatible with them, thereby creating new achievements in the Sinicization of Marxism. Such theoretical achievements are not the simple addition of two civilizations but a mutual fusion—a brand-new theory that shares a "blood relationship" with both fine traditional Chinese culture and the scientific theory of Marxism. It is both a modern sublimation of fine traditional Chinese culture and a Chinese transformation of scientific Marxist theory. This is the important experience of Chinese Communists in achieving "integration" over the past century and the important law to be followed when carrying out "integration."