Deng Chundong: Adhering to Important Centenary Experiences and Excelling in the "Second Integration"
Since the founding of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Party has been able to grow from small to large, overcome all hardships and dangers to become the most powerful Marxist governing party in the contemporary world, and secure great achievements in the Chinese revolution, construction, reform, and modernization while fending off all risks and challenges. The key lies in our possession of the guidance of scientific Marxist theory—specifically, that 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 frontiers in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism is a vital and long-term historical task for Chinese Communists. In the report delivered at the 20th CPC National Party 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 own country’s and nation’s history and culture can the tree of Marxist truth flourish." Throughout a century of great practice, Chinese Communists have formed original experiences in exploring and expanding the practice of the "Second Integration" [1]. On the journey of the New Era, to perform the "Second Integration" well, we must earnestly study, master, and apply these important experiences.
Understanding and Treating Traditional Chinese Culture from a Marxist Standpoint
Traditional Chinese culture is immensely rich in content. Over the course of the several-thousand-year evolution of Chinese civilization, successive generations of Chinese people have created, expanded, and enriched a vast corpus 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 patterns of the ancient Chinese people. They have maintained, sustained, and supported the operation and development of ancient Chinese society, ensuring the unceasing vitality and continuity of Chinese civilization.
In modern times, Western colonizers rampaged across many parts of the globe, and the gates of ancient China were forced open. Starting from the Opium War of 1840, relying on the advantage of "strong ships and sharp cannons" [2], Western colonial powers used predatory methods to open China's doors, disrupting the traditional self-operating model that Chinese civilization had followed since antiquity. The Chinese nation faced "great changes unseen in three thousand years" [3], and the continuity of development for Chinese civilization met its challenge. The traditional Chinese culture that had influenced, supported, and guaranteed the survival of Chinese civilization for millennia faced an unprecedented crisis. Consequently, from the mid-19th century onward, in response to such challenges and to answer the historical question of where the Chinese nation was headed, generations of Chinese people sought solutions and "prescriptions." In 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 toward liberation and rejuvenation, but also led Chinese Communists to form a correct attitude and policy toward traditional Chinese culture during their search for a way out for China. Comrade Mao Zedong believed that traditional Chinese culture must be analyzed under the guidance of Marxism. One must fully recognize that it contains many advanced and fine thoughts, concepts, spirit, and ethics, which are precious assets of the Chinese nation. At the same time, traditional culture also contains feudal elements—decadent content that served feudal rule and hindered Chinese social progress—which constitute "dross." In dealing with traditional Chinese culture, we must "absorb the essence and discard the dross." General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized the need to use Marxism as guidance to achieve the "creative transformation and innovative development" [4] 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 apply this experience of the CPC: maintaining a Marxist standpoint toward China's rich and broad traditional culture, adopting a Marxist attitude, and opposing simplistic or extremist positions.
Upholding the Unity of Upholding the Fundamentals and Breaking New Ground toward Fine Traditional Chinese Culture
Upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground (shǒuzhèng chuàngxīn) is a worldview and methodology that runs through Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. It is also the basic position and method of the CPC in dealing with fine traditional Chinese culture over the past century. It constitutes an important experience for 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 dealing with fine traditional Chinese culture, on the one hand, Chinese Communists have insisted on the correct "upholding of fundamentals," expressing full respect and affirmation for fine traditional Chinese culture and striving to pass it on and promote it. Looking at the century of CPC practice, upholding the fundamentals of fine traditional Chinese culture includes: identifying with, respecting, and promoting the concepts of the world (tiānxià), the universe, and values contained within it. Chinese Communists have shown great respect for the philosophies, correct modes of thinking, and proper methods of social governance and problem-solving inherent in fine traditional Chinese culture. They have drawn a wealth of wisdom and knowledge from it to solve practical problems. A vast array of the Chinese nation's fine ethics and spirit—such as China’s unique tradition of patriotism—has been inherited and carried forward by the CPC. Simultaneously, in leading the practice of revolution, construction, and reform, Chinese Communists have always identified with and held fast to the prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The many important elements of fine traditional Chinese culture together shape the prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization." Over the past century, the Chinese-path modernization led by the CPC and the modern Chinese civilization created as a new form of human civilization have perfectly inherited and developed these prominent characteristics. Without the "upholding of fundamentals" by Chinese Communists toward fine traditional Chinese culture, there could be no "re-emergence of glory" for Chinese civilization in the contemporary world.
On the other hand, in dealing with fine traditional Chinese culture, Chinese Communists have always integrated and unified "upholding the fundamentals" with "breaking new ground," innovating while upholding the core. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we should uphold the fundamentals but not be hidebound, and respect antiquity without attempting to restore the past, instead "focusing 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 traditional Chinese cultural content, transforming ancient Chinese civilization into a modern form that radiates great vitality in the contemporary world and possesses immense adaptability for solving current problems and driving history forward. For example, by integrating the views of the universe, the world (tiānxià), and society within 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 combining the spirit of patriotism in traditional culture with the Marxist views on the state and nationality, they formed the patriotism through which the CPC seeks rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. Without the creative transformation and innovative development carried out by Chinese Communists, there would be no brilliant presentation of these rich contents of Chinese civilization.
Mastering the Basic Tasks and Following the Basic Laws of "Integration" to Achieve Scientific "Integration"
We must strive to do the work of "integration" on the basis of comprehensively understanding and accurately grasping the rich content and the spiritual and material foundations of fine traditional Chinese culture.
To achieve a successful "integration" of Marxism and fine traditional Chinese culture, one must follow the laws of integration and handle it in a 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 during the long history of the emergence and development of Chinese civilization; it is the carrier of that civilization. To realize the integration of Marxism and fine traditional Chinese culture, one first needs a comprehensive understanding of the cultural products of this several-thousand-year civilization, understanding its content and the concepts and ideas it carries. It is impossible to achieve "integration" if one is unfamiliar with, does not understand, or only half-understands ancient culture. This requires emphasizing the study of traditional culture and thoroughly understanding the vast sea of ancient Chinese cultural products.
Second, in the "Second Integration," we must always adhere to Marxism as our guide. We must use the Marxist standpoint, viewpoint, and method to analyze and discern fine traditional Chinese culture, allowing its spiritual essence to fuse and connect with Marxism so they may mutually reinforce each other, thereby promoting the contemporary sublimation of fine traditional Chinese culture and the Sinicization of Marxism. The key here is that the bridge of the "Second Integration"—the theory of Sinicized Marxism—must both accurately continue and promote the spiritual essence of fine traditional Chinese culture and be permeated with the fruits of the Sinicization of Marxism. It must be both a direct continuation of, and essentially identical to, the advanced concepts and ideas in fine traditional Chinese culture, while also being a direct continuation of, and essentially compatible with, Marxism as the universal law of human social development.
Third, the "Second Integration" must be a qualitative integration—a fusion of spiritual qualities. This requires using the future destiny of the contemporary Chinese nation and Chinese society as the criterion. We must seek answers centered on responding to the "questions of the era, the people, and the world," and around the realization of the historical task of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In the process of "solving these problems," we should absorb all advanced and beneficial thoughts, concepts, philosophies, and spirits within fine traditional Chinese culture and integrate them with the theories, principles, concepts, and value orientations of Marxism that are compatible with them, creating new achievements in the Sinicization of Marxism. Such theoretical achievements are not a simple addition of two civilizations' fruits, but a mutual integration. They constitute a brand-new theory that shares "blood relations" with both fine traditional Chinese culture and scientific Marxist theory. It is both the modern sublimation of fine traditional Chinese culture and the Chinese transformation of scientific Marxist theory. This is the important experience gained by Chinese Communists in realizing "integration" over the past century and the important law followed when performing this "integration" well.