Cao Yanhong: The "Second Integration" Expands the Mass Base and Cultural Foundations of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics
Entering the New Era, our Party’s understanding of the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics has ascended to a new realm. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on the "Two Combinations" [1] have further advanced the process of the Sinicization, modernization, and popularization of Marxism. The proposal of the "Second Combination" has elevated the Party’s historical and cultural confidence in upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics to a new height, as well as the Party’s cultural self-awareness in inheriting fine traditional Chinese culture. The "Second Combination" represents a major step forward in expanding the mass base and cultural foundations of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
The "Second Combination" possesses distinct characteristics of popularization
In terms of upholding and developing Marxism, the "Two Combinations" are important propositions closely linked to the Sinicization, modernization, and popularization of Marxism. Whether it is combination with China’s specific realities or with fine traditional Chinese culture, both fully reflect the requirements and connotations of the Sinicization of Marxism, yet they have different emphases from the perspective of the modernization and popularization of Marxism. The "First Combination" emphasizes the modernization of Marxism in contemporary China, stressing the need to seek truth from facts and to accurately answer the "questions of China, the world, the people, and the times" [2] based on current Chinese realities and the requirements of the era, thereby solving the problems posed by the times. The "Second Combination" focuses on the popularization of Marxism in contemporary China, emphasizing the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with the profound and long-standing fine traditional Chinese culture. It connects the ideological essence of Marxism with the common values formed by our people over thousands of years, allowing it to penetrate the work and lives of the broad masses, such that they "use it daily without realizing it" [3]. While the "First Combination" roots imported Marxism in the specific realities of the country and nation, the "Second Combination" further roots the Marxism already integrated with those realities into the fertile soil of the country's history and culture. This makes it more accessible to the masses and better able to penetrate their hearts.
The proposal of the "Second Combination" was not imagined out of thin air; it was inherent within the "First Combination" from its inception. In the process of combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities, Marxism inevitably encounters the original cultural and ethical values of the masses. Only when a positive "chemical reaction" occurs can an organic integration be achieved, effectively guiding Chinese practice and solving the problems faced by China’s economy and society. In October 1938, Comrade Mao Zedong emphasized at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth CCP Central Committee: "To make Marxism concrete in China, so that in all its manifestations it is imbued with Chinese characteristics, i.e., to apply it in light of China’s specific characteristics, has become a problem that it is urgent for the whole Party to understand and solve." These "Chinese characteristics" and "China’s specific characteristics" simultaneously include the specific realities of the Chinese revolution and Chinese history and culture. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached great importance to cultural development. During the 13th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on February 24, 2014, he proposed "strengthening confidence in our culture and values." He later emphasized multiple times that "cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and deeper confidence." In the report to the 20th National Congress, he further pointed out: "To uphold and develop Marxism, we must combine it with fine traditional Chinese culture. Only by taking root in the rich historical and cultural soil of the country and the nation can the tree of Marxist truth flourish." This series of important expositions by General Secretary Xi Jinping provides theoretical direction for further promoting the popularization of Marxism.
Through long-term historical practice, our Party has fully recognized that rooting itself in the country's specific practice and fine traditional Chinese culture is the source of dynamic energy for promoting theoretical innovation in socialism with Chinese characteristics. In advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics and achieving Chinese-path modernization from a new historical starting point, we must not overlook the important role and unique value of fine traditional Chinese culture. Regarding how to propagate and interpret Chinese characteristics, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that we must "clearly explain that because every country and nation has a different historical tradition, cultural accumulation, and basic national condition, its development path will inevitably have its own characteristics; clearly explain that Chinese culture accumulates the deepest spiritual pursuits of the Chinese nation and provides rich nourishment for its continuous reproduction, development, and growth; clearly explain that fine traditional Chinese culture is a prominent advantage of the Chinese nation and our deepest cultural soft power; and clearly explain that socialism with Chinese characteristics is rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese culture, reflects the will of the Chinese people, adapts to the requirements of the development and progress of China and the times, and possesses deep historical origins and a broad realistic foundation." By achieving these "Four Clear Explanations," it becomes easier for the broad masses of Party members and the public to deeply understand the connotation, value, and significance of the "Second Combination."
The "Second Combination" involves letting fine traditional Chinese culture be activated and transformed by Sinicized and modernized Marxism, imbuing it with new contemporary connotations and factors of modern civilization. It also allows Marxism, which originated in the West, to receive nourishment from the 5,000-year historical and cultural accumulation of Chinese civilization, thereby achieving organic integration, two-way interaction, and mutual achievement between the two. Under the guidance of the "Second Combination," the process of the Sinicization, modernization, and popularization of Marxism will undoubtedly accelerate, and the "Four Confidences" [4] in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics will possess deeper cultural, historical, and popular foundations.
The "Second Combination" possesses prominent significance for the emancipation of the mind
On the new journey in the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the "Second Combination," stating that "the 'Second Combination' is another emancipation of the mind [5], allowing us to fully utilize the precious resources of fine traditional Chinese culture within a broader cultural space to explore theoretical and institutional innovations oriented toward the future." The "Second Combination" makes Marxism Chinese and fine traditional Chinese culture modern, ensuring that the new culture formed through this "combination" becomes the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization. From an epistemological perspective and at the level of cultural development, this is an emancipation of the mind regarding how to better uphold and develop Marxism, providing a broader cultural space and a more extensive mass base for the prospects of the path, theory, and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Measuring a nation's "cultural subjectivity" is inseparable from the philosophical questions of "Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going?" Over the past two centuries, the subjectivity of Chinese culture has undergone a process of painful struggle—moving from being looked down upon by "the Other," to being negated by the self, and finally to the gradual recovery of self-identity. Our country was once passively rolled into the Western-led modernization system. Under the powerful impact of Western civilization, many Chinese people equated modernization with Westernization or Americanization, surrendering cultural subjectivity and cultural initiative to others. However, the realization of modernization is inseparable from the strong support of a country's and a nation's own historical and cultural traditions. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The fine traditional Chinese culture created and continued by the Chinese nation over thousands of years is the root and soul of the Chinese nation." Chinese-path modernization can neither dispense with the guidance of Marxism nor the nourishment of fine traditional Chinese culture. The proposal of the "Second Combination" is a critical historical node where Chinese cultural subjectivity is re-established and cultural initiative is regained and consolidated. It marks a new height in our Party's cultural confidence and cultural self-awareness.
The "Second Combination" is an effective scientific guide proposed as socialism with Chinese characteristics enters the New Era and faces new requirements and tasks. It is a realistic theory for correctly handling the needs of China’s current and future economic and social development. It demonstrates the high degree of clarity, consciousness, and determination of contemporary Chinese Communists in daring to explore the unknown, piercing through the mists of history, and advancing Chinese-path modernization. The "Changes Unseen in a Century" [6] present both challenges and opportunities. We can fully utilize the precious resources of fine traditional Chinese culture to further explore innovations in paths, theories, and systems that suit our national conditions and face the future, allowing the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization to make new contributions to the world.