[Original] Zhao Zengyan, Liu Liu: Chinese Modernization Possesses a Distinct and Profound Cultural Foundation of "Innovation"
There exists neither a singular, supreme model of modernization nor a universal standard for modernization that fits all cases. Chinese-path modernization is not a simple continuation of the "master copy" of China’s historical culture, nor is it a mechanical application of the "template" envisioned by classical Marxist writers. It is not a "reprint" of other countries' socialist practices, nor a "photocopy" of foreign modernization development. Rather, while it shares common characteristics with the modernization processes of all countries, it is an "innovative edition" pursued by a developing nation, characterized by Chinese and national features based on China's national conditions. In essence, Chinese-path modernization is a modernization led by the Communist Party of China (CPC), guided by Marxism, rooted in Chinese soil, possessed of deep foundations in Chinese culture, and enjoying the heartfelt support of the people. It is a modernization capable of continuously promoting the progress and development of a great power with over 1.4 billion people, ensuring that the Chinese nation—with its civilization of over 5,000 years—achieves the "Two Centenaries" [1] goal and subsequently the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It is a modernization with distinct Chinese characteristics, robust vitality, immense superiority, and a significant contribution to the globe. Chinese-path modernization possesses a distinct and profound cultural background of "innovation" belonging to the Chinese nation and Chinese Communists, manifested centrally in the following three aspects.
I. Chinese-path modernization is rooted in Chinese soil, with deep foundations in fine traditional Chinese culture
Reform and innovation are important driving forces for the development and progress of human society. The history of human social development proves that whoever rejects change and refuses innovation will fall behind the times and be eliminated by history.
The Chinese nation is an ancient and great nation in the world—an excellent nation of industry, courage, and vigor, possessing a great spirit of creation, struggle, unity, and dreams. It has created a splendid civilization spanning over 5,000 years, making indelible contributions to the progress of human civilization. Change and innovation are the deepest national endowments of the Chinese nation; the veneration of the spirit of reform and innovation is an important historical and cultural gene of the Chinese nation. The I Ching [2] states: "The superior man is active and vigilant all day long, advancing with the times." "When a situation is exhausted, it changes; having changed, it opens up; having opened up, it endures." "Change and adaptation are what tend toward the timing." The Great Learning [3] says: "If you can renovate yourself one day, do so from day to day. Yea, let there be daily renovation." The Classic of Poetry [4] also says: "Although Zhou was an old state, its mandate is for renewal." The Zhouyi cantong qi [5] (The Seal of the Unity of the Three), an early Daoist classic written by Wei Boyang of the Eastern Han Dynasty, explicitly proposed: "The primary task of governance is to weed out the old to let the new emerge." Tan Sitou [6], a key representative of the Reform Movement of the late Qing Dynasty, also emphasized in his Letter to Bei Yuanzheng: "The heavens operate through the new; humans live through the new." In our history, there emerged a large number of famous reformers who shine in the annals of history, such as the famous statesman and Legalist Li Kui of the State of Wei during the early Warring States period; the statesman, thinker, and military strategist Shang Yang of the Warring States period; the statesman, man of letters, and thinker Wang Anshi of the Northern Song Dynasty; and the statesman Zhang Juzheng during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty. Precisely because of this, among the approximately 300 major scientific and technological inventions that influenced human life before the 16th century, 175 were invented by Chinese people. China's farming, textile, metallurgy, and manual manufacturing technologies remained at the world's advanced level for a long time, and China's comprehensive national strength far exceeded that of other countries. Joseph Needham, the famous British historian of Chinese science and technology, foreign academician of the US National Academy of Sciences, and professor at Cambridge University, wrote in his Science and Civilisation in China: "Between the 3rd and 13th centuries, China maintained a level of scientific knowledge which left the West far behind."
Viewed from a macro-historical perspective of several millennia, reform and opening up have generally been the norm throughout the 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization. The reason the Chinese nation could make Chinese civilization the only splendid civilization in the history of humanity to continue for over 5,000 years without interruption—and why it could survive hardships and weather storms without failing—is inextricably linked to its veneration of the spirit of change and innovation. The fine traditional Chinese culture, rich in spirits of innovation and creation, accumulates the deepest spiritual pursuits of the Chinese nation and represents its unique spiritual identity. It provides rich spiritual and cultural nourishment for the Chinese nation to pass its torch from generation to generation, to grow and flourish, and provides rich spiritual and cultural nourishment for our Party to successfully promote and expand Chinese-path modernization.
II. Chinese-path modernization is guided by Marxism that advances with the times and is a modernization that has won the heartfelt support of the people
If a nation wishes to stand at the forefront of the times and scale the world's peaks, it cannot do so without the guidance of theoretical thinking and correct ideas. Historical experience fully demonstrates that which flag we raise, which path we take, which banner we use to lead social progress, and which guiding ideology we rely on to aggregate social consensus determines the success or failure of our cause and concerns the future and destiny of the Party and the country.
Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and country are founded and bolstered; it is the soul and banner of our Party. Sentiment for the people is the most distinctive character of Marxism; allowing the people to stand up and achieve liberation, and to live a happy and beautiful life, is the persistent and unremitting pursuit of Marxist political parties. Emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and advancing with the times are the living soul of Marxism. Marxism must be Sinicized to take root, localized to penetrate people’s hearts, and modernized to be full of vitality. In promoting the Sinicization, localization, and modernization of Marxism, the "ancestors" must never be abandoned, not even for a moment. This process involves two "ancestors": the "ancestor of Marxism-Leninism" and China’s own "ancestors"—fine traditional Chinese culture. Fine traditional Chinese culture is the root and soul of the Chinese nation, its spiritual lifeblood and a prominent advantage, and an important foundation for the Chinese nation to stand firm amidst the turbulence of world cultures. This root and soul complement and illuminate the basic principles of Marxism. The Marxism that guides the great social revolution led by our Party to brilliant achievements is Sinicized Marxism—the Marxism formed through the close integration of the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and fine traditional Chinese culture.
Practice tells us that the reason why the CPC is capable and why socialism with Chinese characteristics is good is, in the final analysis, because Marxism works, and specifically, because Marxism that has been Sinicized and modernized works. "The reason why Marxism works lies in our Party’s continuous promotion of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism and its use to guide practice." The reason the Party has been able to lead the people through repeated searches, setbacks, and pioneering efforts to complete arduous tasks that no other political force in China could achieve—leading to the great leap of the Chinese nation from standing up to becoming prosperous and then becoming strong—is fundamentally due to the Party's unwavering adherence to the guiding position of Marxism. The Party accurately grasps the general trend of the times, dares to stand at the forefront of human development, listens to the voices of the people, and responds to reality’s needs. It insists on using Marxism to observe, interpret, and lead the times. It insists on shooting the "arrow" (矢 shǐ) of Marxism at the "target" (的 dì) of China in the New Era [7]. It continuously promotes theoretical innovation, knowledge innovation, technological innovation, institutional innovation, cultural innovation, methodological innovation, and other innovations on the basis of practice. It provides timely answers to the questions of China, the world, the people, the times, and history, allowing Marxism to display more Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese demeanor. This provides scientific theoretical guidance for promoting historic achievements and historic changes in the cause of the Party and the country. It is precisely under the scientific guidance of the innovative fruits of Sinicized and modernized Marxism, based on long-term exploration and practice since the founding of New China and especially since reform and opening up, and through theoretical and practical breakthroughs since the 18th Party Congress, that we have successfully promoted and expanded Chinese-path modernization.
III. Chinese-path modernization is a modernization promoted and expanded by the CPC, which upholds the fundamentals and breaks new ground and is determined to reform
"Bitter sacrifice strengthens bold resolve / Which dares to make sun and moon shine in new skies." [8] In modern times, due to the invasion of Western powers and the corruption of feudal rule, China gradually became a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The country was humiliated, the people suffered, and civilization was covered in dust. The Chinese people endured unprecedented calamities, and the Chinese nation, which had created an ancient civilization, encountered a deep crisis of civilizational continuity. It presented a scene of decay and desolation to the world, insulted by Western powers as the "Sick Man of East Asia." To save the nation from peril, the Chinese people rose in resistance, and people of vision cried out and campaigned. Various plans to save the country were launched in succession, but all ended in failure. The birth of the CPC was an epoch-making event, and the face of the Chinese revolution has been completely renewed since then.
Since its birth, the Party has always taken seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation as its original aspiration and founding mission. It has united and led the people in bloody battles and unyielding struggle, creating the great achievements of the New Democratic Revolution; through self-reliance and hard work, it created the great achievements of socialist revolution and construction; through emancipating the mind and forging ahead, it created the great achievements of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization; through self-confidence, self-reliance, upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, it created the great achievements of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. The Party adheres to emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, advancing with the times, and upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground. It inherits and promotes the spiritual lineage of Chinese Communists with the Great Founding Spirit [9] as its source. With a "revolutionary-plus-daring" great revolutionary spirit, it has risen from setbacks and made breakthroughs through progress, hacking through thorns and moving forward with grit and perseverance. It has opened the correct path for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path socialist modernization led by the Party. It has painted a magnificent and majestic historical picture of revolution, construction, reform, and rejuvenation, and composed a moving and earth-shaking song of struggle for saving, reviving, enriching, and strengthening the country. In just a few decades, it completed the industrialization process that took developed countries several hundred years, creating the "two miracles" of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. It has profoundly changed the trends and landscape of world development, writing the most majestic epic in the thousands of years of Chinese history, as the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation enters an irreversible historical process.
The glorious history of the CPC—full of suffering and glory, twists and victories, sacrifices and rewards—is a history of unremitting struggle, a history of defying sacrifice, a history of theoretical exploration, a history of benefiting the people, and a history of self-construction. It is a history of being determined to reform, standing at the forefront of the times, and writing glorious chapters through pioneering and innovation. The full text of the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party’s Centennial Struggle contains over 36,200 words; the word "change" (变革 biàngé) appears 11 times, "innovation" (创新 chuàngxīn) appears 39 times, and "reform" (改革 gǎigé) appears 86 times. Among the "Ten Points of Persistence" [10] historical experience summarized in the Resolution, four points—persisting in theoretical innovation, persisting in the Chinese path, persisting in pioneering and innovation, and persisting in self-revolution—are all directly and closely related to "innovation." As General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out in his speech at the Mobilization Meeting for Party History Learning and Education on February 20, 2021: "The Party's experience did not fall from the sky, nor was it copied from books; it was accumulated by our Party through long-term exploration amidst hardships and storms." The glorious history of the Party over the past century fully proves that having the courage for change and innovation is a distinctive political character, powerful spiritual motivation, and precious fine tradition of the CPC. Facts prove that in the process of exploring, opening, and developing the new path of Chinese-path modernization, the CPC—with its superior organizational, mobilization, and leadership capacities—has always been the leader, architect, and constructor. It is precisely the CPC, rich in the spirit of upholding the fundamentals, breaking new ground, and forging ahead, that has led the people to "successfully walk the path of Chinese-path modernization, creating a new form of human civilization, expanding the channels for developing countries to achieve modernization, and providing a brand-new choice for those countries and nations in the world that wish to speed up their development while maintaining their independence."
The best commemoration of history is to strive to create new and glorious history. "In fierce international competition, only the innovators progress, only the innovators grow strong, and only the innovators win." Contemporary China is undergoing the most grand and unique practical innovation in human history. The weight of the tasks of reform, development, and stability; the number of contradictions, risks, and challenges; and the magnitude of the tests in governing the country are all unprecedented. The profound changes of the world's once-in-a-century great changes are unprecedented, posing a large number of theoretical and practical questions that urgently need to be answered. On the new journey, various hostile forces will never let us achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation smoothly. The risks and tests we face will only become increasingly complex, and we may even encounter unimaginable "stormy waves" (惊涛骇浪 jīngtāo hàilàng). The various struggles we face are not short-term but long-term, and will even accompany the entire process of achieving the Second Centenary Goal. We must deeply study and implement the spirit of the 20th Party Congress, recognize the situation, stay alert to danger in times of peace, engage in reform and innovation, and stride forward. We should always maintain the courage for bold innovation, the vigor to be pioneers, and a high-spirited morale. We must keep the "top priorities of the nation" [11] in mind, coordinate the "two overalls" [12], and manage the "two major events" [13] well. We must firmly grasp the resolution of unbalanced and inadequate development, persist in promoting and achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization, firmly place the development of the country and nation on the basis of our own strength, firmly grasp the destiny of China's development and progress in our own hands, strive to achieve all goals and tasks of the New Era and the new journey, and write new chapters of the "two miracles" with a bold hand!