Dang Likui: Examining the Historical Formation and Eternal Value of Revolutionary Culture Through the "Two Combinations"
Theoretical innovation is a precious quality of Marxism and a fine tradition of the Communist Party of China (CPC). The essence of our Party’s persistence in theoretical innovation lies in integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture, thereby forming Marxism that is Sinicized and adapted to the times. In his speech at the ceremony marking the centenary of the founding of the CPC, Xi Jinping put forward the major thesis of "insisting on the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture." With a high degree of historical consciousness and cultural confidence, these "Two Combinations" summarize the successful experience of the CPC’s century-long struggle, enrich the ideological connotations of Sinicizing and adapting Marxism to the times, and open up a new realm for contemporary Chinese Marxism.
Revolutionary culture is the sum total of the material, spiritual, and institutional culture created by our Party as it united and led the people in using Marxism to solve Chinese problems. For a long time, the academic community has conducted extensive research on the basic theory, developmental trajectory, and content forms of revolutionary culture, yielding rich results. Based on this foundation, we can further study the historical formation and contemporary value of revolutionary culture from the perspective of the "Two Combinations." Under the guidance of Marxism and inheriting China’s fine traditional culture, revolutionary culture was generated within the specific realities of the Chinese revolution; it is a cultural innovation resulting from the Sinicization and adaptation of Marxism to the times. Therefore, examining the historical generation of revolutionary culture and its historical contribution to the Sinicization of Marxism through the lens of the "Two Combinations" is of great significance for promoting the building of a culturally strong country.
I. The Generation of Revolutionary Culture in the Historical Process of the "Two Combinations"
After the Opium War, with the invasion of Western powers, old China gradually degenerated into a colonial and semi-colonial society, steadily losing its dignity and status as an independent cultural subject. Mao Zedong's lines—"Island barbarians occupy the Eastern Sea, while the Northern Mountains are filled with enmity" [1] and "Across the whole country, oppression is too extreme"—vividly portray the domestic and international situation faced by modern China. Fang Zhimin’s prose Lovely China and Jiang Guangci’s poem Mourning China used personal experience and emotional intensity to expose imperialist aggression and the corruption of the old social system. "Whither China?" became the central question of the era, and countless people with lofty ideals followed one another in exploration of reform propositions to save the country and the people. Various theories and trends such as reformism, liberalism, Social Darwinism, anarchism, and syndicalism were popular for a time, but none could address or solve China's practical problems. To change the impoverished and weak state of old China and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, it was necessary to establish an advanced leadership group, find a set of scientific theories, form new political and economic forces, and cultivate a brand-new cultural form to support national independence and rejuvenation. Mao Zedong pointed out: "Where do correct ideas come from? Do they drop from the skies? No. Are they innate in the mind? No. They come from social practice and from it alone; they come from three kinds of social practice: the struggle for production, the class struggle, and scientific experiment." Through repeated practice and examination of various thoughts and schools, Marxism gradually became the mainstream ideology and was widely accepted. Revolutionary culture is precisely the cultural form produced by applying the basic tenets of Marxism to China’s specific realities while fully absorbing China’s fine traditional culture.
(1) The Entry of Marxism-Leninism into China Sparked the Sprouting of Revolutionary Culture
The salvos of the October Revolution brought Marxism-Leninism to China. Progressive Chinese intellectuals successively realized that Marxism explained the fundamental reasons for China's decline into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, exposed the darkness of the Chinese masses suffering under the multiple oppressions of feudalism, bureaucrat-capitalism, and imperialism, and pointed the way toward liberation for the people. In his poem Arashiyama in the Rain, Zhou Enlai expressed the joy of finding the revolutionary truth of Marxism through the line: "A ray of sunlight pierces the clouds, appearing ever more beautiful." Zhang Wentian's Morning by the West Lake and Li Dazhao's The Victory of Bolshevism similarly revealed a welcome for Marxism and an anticipation for the founding of the CPC. Subsequently, periodicals propagating Marxism increased daily, greatly promoting the sprouting of revolutionary culture. A group of democratic revolutionaries and advanced intellectuals gradually grew into Marxists and actively devoted themselves to the creation of the CPC and the social revolution. Influenced and assisted by Soviet Russia, the CPC emerged as the times required. Taking Marxism-Leninism as its theoretical weapon, the CPC united and led the people in revolutionary activities. It possessed a worldview and methodology for struggling against all reactionary forces and took the realization of communism as its goal, painting an ideal vision for the Chinese people. This brought a fundamental change to the Chinese revolution—from its organizational strength to its theoretical guidance—and filled the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with hope.
From the very beginning of the CPC’s founding, Chinese Communists expressed the understanding that Marxism must be combined with China's specific realities. In August 1919, Li Dazhao emphasized: "A socialist, in order to make his ideology have some influence in the world, must study how his ideals can best be applied to the actual environment surrounding him." At the end of 1920, Yun Daiying wrote: "Our task is to seek a policy that suits the national conditions and aligns with communism." Under the guidance of this simple practical view, our Party achieved remarkable results in spreading Marxism, organizing urban labor movements, creating rural base areas, and strengthening the Party's own building. For instance, the clear slogans "Down with Imperialism" and "Down with the Feudal Warlords" reflected a thorough revolutionary character. Formulating a scientific Party program is an important element of the Marxist theory of the party. Based on their understanding of Marxism and China's national conditions, our Party proposed a relatively complete revolutionary program: "Eliminate internal strife, overthrow the warlords, and build domestic peace"; "Overthrow the oppression of international imperialism to achieve complete independence for the Chinese nation"; "Unify China proper into a true democratic republic"; and "Establish the politics of the dictatorship of workers and peasants, abolish the private property system, and gradually reach a communist society."
(2) Revolutionary Culture Developed Alongside the "Two Combinations"
For Marxism to play its great role in liberating humanity and transforming the world, it must be combined with the specific realities and the fine traditional cultures of various nations and countries. Mao Zedong clearly pointed out: "The great strength of Marxism-Leninism lies in its integration with the specific revolutionary practice of each country."
Historically, from the lessons learned from the failure of the "three armed uprisings" [2] under its leadership, the Chinese Communists deeply realized that they must combine the basic tenets of Marxism with the specific realities of the Chinese revolution, carve out a new path for the Chinese revolution, and advance the practice of Sinicizing Marxism. To put the Chinese revolution on the right track, Mao Zedong repeatedly studied classical texts, summarized the experience of the Russian Revolution, and conducted in-depth investigations into the peasant movement in Xiangxiang, Xiangtan, Hengshan, Liling, Changsha, and other places. He wrote the Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan, providing scientific grounds for the concepts of "encircling the cities from the countryside" and "launching the peasant movement." Mao gradually realized that the Chinese revolution must proceed from China's specific national conditions: "To talk about Marxism apart from Chinese characteristics is only abstract and empty Marxism." He particularly emphasized that Marxist theory must be combined with China's specific realities to conform to the essence and soul of Marxism. In works such as Why Is It That Red Political Power Can Exist in China? and The Struggle in the Chingkang Mountains, Mao answered fundamental questions about opening the path of rural revolutionary struggle. He used the Marxist principle of the "relationship between the universality and particularity of contradiction" to find the correct path for the Chinese revolution based on China's specific national conditions. Thereafter, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their chief representative, actively created rural revolutionary base areas and vigorously developed culture within them, opening a new chapter in the development of the CPC’s revolutionary culture. Works such as the lyrics to Xijiangyue: Jinggangshan, Qingping乐: The War Between Chiang and the Guangxi Clique, and Die Lian Hua: From Tingzhou to Changsha reflected the historical facts of the Red Army establishing revolutionary base areas under Mao’s leadership. In the Central Soviet Area, the Red Army issued the slogan "Down with the local tyrants, distribute the land," expressing the simplest aspirations of the masses and conveying the original purpose of the Red Army. The lyrics of the Song of the Workers' and Peasants' Insurrection stated: "Build the Soviet, the workers and peasants take power; implement the communist system, humanity celebrates the Great Unity [3]," reflecting the nature of the Soviet as a dictatorship of workers and peasants and public ownership of the means of production, which inspired people of all ethnic groups to rise up against the despotic rule of the Kuomintang. Other works, such as the plays The Old World and Class, the songs Be a Red Army Man if You Join the Army and Ten Send-offs to the Red Army, the cartoon The Branch Should Become the Locomotive of the Guerrilla Force, and the novel Bloody Luoxiao, reinforced the central theme that "the worker and peasant masses can only seek liberation by engaging in the revolutionary movement under the leadership of the CPC."
After the failure of the fifth counter-encirclement campaign, the Central Red Army was forced to begin the Long March. The Long March turned a new page in the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with the specific practice of the Chinese revolution. In particular, the Zunyi Conference held in January 1935 established the correct political, organizational, and military lines. Xiao Hua's The Long March Cantata and Huang Zhen's Long March Sketches, with exquisite musical language and profound ideological connotation, truly reflected the historical event of the Long March—a great strategic shift that turned the tide for the Chinese people. After arriving in northern Shaanxi, Mao Zedong wrote On Practice and On Contradiction. These works not only resolutely refuted dogmatism but also provided a deep-level summary and systematic refinement of the practical experience of the Chinese revolution from the perspective of Marxist philosophy. They are the ideological crystallization of the combination of the universal principles of Marxism with the specific practice of the Chinese revolution. In On Contradiction, Mao Zedong pointed out: "The reason our dogmatists and empiricists make mistakes is that their way of looking at things is subjective, one-sided, and superficial." The cause of these two types of "subjective habits" lay in the alienation of appearance from essence, the rupture between theory and reality, and the disconnection between cognition and practice. To avoid dogmatic errors, it was necessary to comprehensively "understand the interconnection of things," objectively "understand the internal laws of things," and thus "reflect these situations as they are"—that is, to combine the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific problems. Works such as On Practice and On Contradiction adhered to the Marxist standpoint, viewpoint, and method, created a new realm for the Sinicization of Marxist philosophy, clarified the specific contradictions and practical path of the Chinese revolution, and grasped the epochal characteristics, needs, and problems of the revolution. They unified the whole Party's thinking on the worldview of dialectical materialism, laying the ideological foundation for the victories of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation.
(3) Revolutionary Culture Continues to Develop as the "Two Combinations" Deepen
After the July 7th Incident, Japan launched a brutal invasion of China, attempting to destroy the country and block the cultural inheritance of the Chinese nation. Under this situation, cultural confrontation became indispensable. The development of revolutionary culture was not only related to whether the Chinese people could unite as one and persist in the war, but also to the rise or fall, honor or disgrace, of the Chinese nation. Works such as Zhu De’s Spring Feelings in the Taihang Mountains, Xian Xinghai’s Yellow River Cantata, Yang Jingyu’s Song of Victory in the Westward Expedition, and Liu Liu’s Heroes of the Raging Fire all embodied the national spirit of the sons and daughters of China uniting as one to face the national crisis together, greatly promoting the dissemination and acceptance of revolutionary culture among the masses. From 1938 to 1942, Mao Zedong wrote and published several important theoretical articles on the development of revolutionary culture. In October 1938, at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth CPC Central Committee, Mao Zedong first proposed the "concretization of Marxism." As the three important documents of the Yan'an Rectification Movement, Reform Our Study, Rectify the Party's Style of Work, and Oppose Stereotyped Party Writing specifically put forward the slogan "combine the universal truth of Marxism-Leninism with the specific practice of China." Works like the Introducing 'The Communist', The Chinese Revolution and the Chinese Communist Party, and On New Democracy discussed a series of major theoretical issues concerning the nature, role, and future of revolutionary culture, including the relationship between culture and politics/economy, and between literature/art and life/the masses. Mao Zedong Thought is an original theoretical generalization of the precious experience gained through arduous exploration and great sacrifice, highlighting the revolutionary conviction of the Chinese Communists represented by Comrade Mao Zedong. It is the core and concentrated expression of revolutionary culture, causing revolutionary culture to rise from various literary and artistic forms to a theoretical form and move toward maturity. As a theory and doctrine of Sinicized and modernized Marxism, Mao Zedong Thought revealed the basic laws and the correct path of the Chinese revolution, pointing the way and providing correct policies and strategies for its victory. Its living soul runs through all its components, becoming a powerful ideological weapon for the revolutionary practice of the CPC and the Chinese people.
The War of Liberation period was a critical juncture during which the Communist Party of China (CPC) won the support and backing of the broad masses of the people, seized national cultural leadership, and attained political legitimacy. It was also an important historical phase for the enrichment and development of revolutionary culture. In particular, it emphasized the subjective status and vital role of the people in the development of revolutionary culture, leading to its substantial enrichment. Mao Zedong’s poems such as Chongqing Negotiations and The People’s Liberation Army Captures Nanjing, Chen Yi’s Relinquishing the Huai River Area and Great Victory in Southern Shandong, the play Snow on Mount Lu written and performed by generals such as Luo Ronghuan and Nie Rongzhen, and other literary and artistic works emerging from the Liberated Areas all reflected the CPC’s sincere original aspiration to overthrow the corrupt regime and return power to the people. At the same time, this period gave birth to revolutionary spirits such as the Hongyan Spirit and the Xibaipo Spirit. Mao Zedong pointed out: "Since the Chinese people learned Marxism-Leninism, they have shifted from being passive to being active in their spiritual life... The great and victorious Chinese People’s War of Liberation and the great people’s revolution have revived and are reviving the great culture of the Chinese people." The great practice of the Sinicization of Marxism opened up the correct path for the Chinese revolution, formed advanced revolutionary theory, nurtured an excellent revolutionary spirit, and created an advanced revolutionary culture. A crucial reason why Marxism has been able to establish and rejuvenate the Party and the country is that the CPC developed the scientific truth, revolutionary nature, and people-centered character of Marxism. By integrating Marxism with the specific realities of the Chinese revolution and with fine traditional Chinese culture, and through continuous exploration and courageous innovation, the Party brought forth a revolutionary culture that stimulated the revolutionary passion and momentum of the broad masses. Marxism provided directional guidance for the development of Chinese culture, and revolutionary culture is the concrete manifestation of this progress.
II. Revolutionary Culture as Vivid Proof of the "Two Integrations"
Revolutionary culture unfolded in the process of the CPC undertaking its historical mission to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. It both inherited the fine cultural tradition of the Chinese nation’s anti-imperialist and anti-feudal struggles since the beginning of the modern era and carried forward the national spirit centered on patriotism. It is not only a cultural innovation under the guidance of Marxism but also draws rich nourishment from fine traditional Chinese culture. "After Marxism was introduced to China, the propositions of scientific socialism were warmly welcomed by the Chinese people and eventually took root, blossomed, and bore fruit on Chinese soil. This was by no means accidental, but rather because they are compatible and integrated with our country’s fine traditional history and culture spanning thousands of years, as well as with the values that the broad masses of the people practice daily without even realizing it." In the course of its historical formation, revolutionary culture fully demonstrates itself as a vivid illustration of the "Two Integrations."
(1) The "Two Integrations" constitute the foundation of revolutionary culture
Since the beginning of the modern era, the CPC has shouldered the heavy responsibility of national salvation while also undertaking the mission of cultural revival. "The so-called New Democratic culture is the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal culture of the masses of the people... This culture can only be led by the cultural and ideological system of the proletariat, that is, the ideology of communism." Fine traditional Chinese culture is a precious treasure and the spiritual lifeblood accumulated over five thousand years of civilization; it carries the unique intellectual wisdom, way of life, and behavioral habits of the Chinese nation, serving as its unique spiritual identity and prominent advantage. The CPC has always been a loyal inheritor and promoter of fine traditional Chinese culture. Regarding this, Mao Zedong pointed out: "We must study our historical legacy and use the Marxist method to give it a critical summary," and "We should not cut ourselves off from history. We must summarize and inherit this precious legacy from Confucius to Sun Yat-sen." Fine traditional Chinese culture not only provides a spiritual home and cultural nourishment for the survival and prosperity of the Chinese nation but also serves as an important cultural medium and value foundation for the CPC to uphold and develop Marxism. As an important ideological weapon of the Chinese revolution, Marxism greatly activated the deep-seated spiritual power of Chinese culture, endowing it with the possibility of civilizational renewal. Under the guidance of Marxism, the genes of fine traditional Chinese culture have permeated the spiritual lifeblood of Chinese Communists, forming a "revolutionary culture" with distinct periodic and national characteristics, such as the Red Boat Spirit, Jinggangshan Spirit, Soviet Area Spirit, Long March Spirit, and Yan’an Spirit. Revolutionary culture has thus become a vivid proof of Chinese Communists advancing the "Two Integrations" and uniting the Chinese people to carry out social revolution throughout the long river of history.
Fine traditional Chinese culture provides the Sinicization of Marxism with national foundations and cultural lineage, possessing a high degree of compatibility with the values and propositions of scientific socialism... they either correspond to or coincide with each other. As a cultural form generated through the practice of the Chinese revolution, revolutionary culture is the result of the deep integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture. The CPC has always adhered to Marxism as its guiding ideology while inheriting and developing fine traditional Chinese culture, gradually forming many excellent traditions such as seeking truth from facts, self-criticism, hard struggle, loyalty to the people, and pioneering innovation. Throughout the Party's century-long struggle, the basic tenets of Marxism have been integrated with China’s specific realities and fine traditional Chinese culture, birthing a revolutionary culture that embodies the Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and Chinese strength. This has further derived new cultural forms such as advanced socialist culture, providing essential spiritual support for advancing the great social revolution. Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must strengthen the excavation and interpretation of fine traditional Chinese culture, ensuring that the most basic cultural genes of the Chinese nation are adapted to contemporary Chinese culture and coordinated with modern society."
(2) Revolutionary culture advances the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism
Marx pointed out: "Theory is capable of gripping the masses as soon as it demonstrates ad hominem, and it demonstrates ad hominem as soon as it becomes radical [thorough]." Since the May Fourth Movement, neither the New Culture Movement nor the Left-Wing Culture Movement truly resolved the issue of the popularization of culture. Although the New Culture Movement proposed the slogan of "commoners’ literature," the "commoners" here mainly referred to the urban petty bourgeoisie and bourgeois intellectuals. The executive committee of the League of Left-Wing Writers [4] explicitly stipulated that the "popularization of literature" was the "first major issue" in building revolutionary literature and issued the slogan for "proletarian literature." However, limited by the worldviews and literary perspectives of writers at that time, Left-Wing literature had limitations in the depth and breadth of its reflection of worker-peasant life, its portrayal of worker-peasant figures, and its language and modes of expression. "Sovietized" and "Europeanized" characteristics in cultural forms persisted until the eve of the Yan’an Rectification Movement [5]. Mao Zedong well knew that the masses contained immense revolutionary power. For workers, peasants, and the petty bourgeoisie, Marxism was abstract; Western modes of discourse and bookish theoretical systems were obscure and difficult to understand. This necessitated "explaining many truths to the worker masses in popular language." Therefore, when constructing the expression of revolutionary theory, Mao Zedong actively absorbed the essence of fine traditional Chinese culture, injecting it with distinct national character. At the same time, he skillfully blended elements of folk culture widely loved by the people—such as fables, stories, idioms, colloquialisms, proverbs, and aphorisms—making theoretical expression more approachable and engaging. This method of integrating abstract theory with vivid everyday language effectively eliminated the discourse barrier between our Party and the masses, allowing revolutionary culture to penetrate people's hearts and become more easily accepted by the public.
In On New Democracy, when describing the "realm of freedom" discussed by Marx and Engels, Mao Zedong used terms from traditional Chinese culture such as "Peach Blossom Spring" [6] and "Great Unity" (Datong) [7], using the Chinese-style imagery of a "hidden paradise" as an analogy for the longing for an ideal society. By using a series of old sayings familiar to the common people, such as "if there are enemies, everyone fights them," "if there is work, everyone does it," and "if there is food, everyone eats it," he enabled the masses to understand the revolutionary discourse proposed by the CPC. These Sinicized modes of expression were highly innovative and constituted a Sinicized Marxist discourse. Furthermore, Mao brought this discourse style into his writings, incorporating various traditional cultural references from the Book of Han, Classic of Mountains and Seas, Zizhi Tongjian, Sun Tzu, Huainanzi, Journey to the West, Water Margin, and Romance of the Three Kingdoms into his thought, greatly advancing the process of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism.
The Talks at the Yan’an Forum on Literature and Art not only enriched and developed Marxist literary and artistic theory and creatively solved the problems of the path and laws of development for Chinese revolutionary culture, but also realized the Sinicization of Marxist literary and artistic theory. Inspired by the spirit of the Yan’an Talks, the questions of "for whom is literature and art" and "how to serve them" have since become deeply ingrained in people's minds. Revolutionary literary and artistic workers created a vast number of works that played a vital role in disseminating the Party’s revolutionary ideology and ideals, uniting and educating the people, and striking and eliminating the enemy. Mao Zedong pointed out: "Revolutionary culture is a powerful revolutionary weapon for the masses of the people. Before the revolution, it is ideological preparation; during the revolution, it is a necessary and important front within the general revolutionary front." Works such as the opera The White-Haired Girl, the play Brother and Sister Clearing Wasteland, novels like Xiao Erhei's Marriage, Changes in Li Village, and The Hurricane, poems like Wang Gui and Li Xiangxiang and Driving the Cart, folk art like Liu Qiao’s Reunion, the historical drama Forced to Mount Liang, the Qinqiang opera Blood and Tears Feud, and the song collection The East is Red widely absorbed popular characteristics, were deeply welcomed by the people, and became widely circulated, pointing the way for the people-centered creation of revolutionary culture. The White-Haired Girl, in particular, embedded revolutionary themes within an artistic form that combined Chinese and Western elements, vividly explaining the Chinese revolution and effectively stimulating the revolutionary passion of the masses. The Sun Shines over the Sanggan River used vivid and delicate strokes to concretely depict the spiritual outlook of various classes in the early stages of the Land Reform movement in the North China Liberated Areas in 1946, narrating the story of Chinese peasants embarking on a bright path under the leadership of the CPC. In addition, works like "Three Reds, One Creation, Green Mountains and Boundless Forests" [8] shaped and reinforced the masses' identification with the values of the CPC; Cockerel Crows at Midnight showed the superiority of socialism through sharp temporal contrasts; and novels like Great Changes in a Mountain Village and The Hurricane highlighted the sense of empowerment as masters of the country among the worker and peasant classes through their liberation. Through the transformation of discourse content, these rich creations of revolutionary culture turned abstract and theoretical revolutionary discourse into popular, easy-to-understand language that the people "love to see and hear," greatly promoting the widespread dissemination of Marxism and becoming values and discourse that the masses "practice daily without even realizing it."
(3) Revolutionary culture embodies the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture
In the "Second Integration" [9], to truly "make the past serve the present" and "weed through the old to bring forth the new," the key lies in thoroughly integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture, striving to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of the latter, and generating new theoretical results by fusing the ancient and the modern. Fine traditional Chinese culture not only provided nourishment for the development of revolutionary culture but also manifested an epochal value that advances with the times. For example, "seeking truth from facts" (shishi qiushi) was an ancient Chinese method of scholarship, originally meaning "to study ancient texts diligently and seek the truth from the facts." Mao Zedong organically combined dialectical materialism and historical materialism with the excellent traditions of "statecraft for practical use" and pragmatism found in fine traditional Chinese culture, summarizing them with the traditional Chinese phrase "seeking truth from facts," thereby sublimating and developing the Party's ideological line. Mao’s interpretation and application of "seeking truth from facts" is a vivid case of promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture based on a deep understanding of the history of Chinese civilization. Through Mao's interpretation, shishi qiushi was creatively transformed from an ancient Chinese idiom into the fundamental Marxist requirement of proceeding from reality in all things, and eventually innovatively developed into the basic ideological, working, and leadership method of the CPC. The "people-as-the-foundation" (minben) thought is also an important manifestation of fine traditional Chinese culture. By summarizing and inheriting minben thought, revolutionary culture transcended old concepts of the people’s value, clarifying the questions of "on whom does the revolution rely" and "for whom is the revolution fought." For instance, Mao Zedong wrote articles such as In Memory of Norman Bethune, Serve the People, and The Foolish Old Man Who Removed the Mountains, discussing the purpose and values of Chinese Communists and endowing the concept of "serving the people" within revolutionary culture with entirely new ideological connotations.
Revolutionary culture both stems directly from Marxism and actively draws resources from fine traditional Chinese culture. Revolutionary culture has inherited the core concepts of fine traditional Chinese culture, shaping its distinct cultural character and forms. This inheritance of the values and ideas of fine traditional Chinese culture by revolutionary culture is by no means a simple restoration of the past, nor is it a blind rejection of the foreign. Regarding this, Xi Jinping has pointed out: "With respect to history and culture, especially the values and ethical norms passed down by our ancestors, we must persist in making the past serve the present, weeding through the old to bring forth the new [10], treating them with discernment, and inheriting them by discarding the dross and selecting the essential [11], striving to cultivate and educate people with all the spiritual achievements created by the Chinese nation." Revolutionary culture deeply excavates the excellent "core" of traditional Chinese culture while breaking down and discarding feudal autocratic thought. The creative transformation and innovative development of traditional Chinese culture carried out by revolutionary culture benefited from Marxism and, through the basic paths of making it national, scientific, and popular, endowed it with modernized styles of expression.
In On the New Stage, Mao Zedong proposed that "there is no such thing as abstract Marxism, but only concrete Marxism," and "what we call concrete Marxism is Marxism that has taken on a national form." "National form" is the concrete manifestation of the integration of Marxism with traditional Chinese culture. First, revolutionary culture emphasizes the characteristically Chinese content of the Chinese revolution, adhering to the Marxist standpoint while remaining grounded in China's concrete realities and historical-cultural traditions. Second, to awaken the consciousness of the masses, revolutionary culture formed a "Sinicized" mode of expression within its discourse system, vividly explaining and disseminating Marxist theory through national language, national style, and national narrative, thereby playing an important role in the development of Marxist theory.
III. The Eternal Value of Revolutionary Culture in Advancing the Sinicization and Modernization of Marxism
Revolutionary culture has both birthed rich theoretical achievements and left behind precious experience in theoretical exploration and innovation. It provides valuable resources for opening up the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism in the New Era and possesses eternal value, primarily manifested in the following three aspects.
First, persisting in advancing the Party’s theoretical innovation by integrating it with reality, and always maintaining the correct direction for cultural development. Any theory is born of a specific era and constitutes a scientific response to the problems of that era. China's concrete reality is also the specific manifestation of these conditions under specific historical circumstances. The key to the integration of the basic principles of Marxism with China's concrete reality lies in the fact that Chinese Communists have always closely followed the pulse and evolution of the times. Based on the themes, trends, and tendencies of historical development, they established the themes and content of the Sinicization of Marxism, ensuring that Marxism embodies the characteristics of the era and reflects its demands, thus achieving the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism.
Revolutionary culture is the product of the CPC’s integration of the basic principles of Marxism with China’s concrete reality and fine traditional Chinese culture. The integration of Marxism, China’s concrete reality, and fine traditional Chinese culture is not a mechanical "splicing" or "combination," but a mutual integration and penetration that triggers a profound "chemical reaction." The century-long struggle of the CPC is also the process of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. The "First Integration" involves persisting in taking Marxism as the guide, proceeding from reality in all things, and seeking truth from facts to solve the concrete problems of our country's social revolution, construction, and reform. This theoretical character enabled the CPC to combine Marxism with the concrete realities of revolution, construction, and reform, gradually forming Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The proposal of the proposition "the Sinicization of Marxism" marked the transition of the Party from a state of spontaneity to self-consciousness in its approach to and application of Marxism to solve Chinese problems; it is the manifestation of the Party’s theoretical, cultural, historical, and practical consciousness.
Second, persisting in the creative transformation and innovative development of fine Chinese culture, and always maintaining the profound connotations of cultural development. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, Xi Jinping has profoundly put forward a series of important expositions such as "promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture." "Creative transformation and innovative development" is the theoretical expression of the transformation and development of fine traditional Chinese culture within the historical process of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism; it profoundly reveals the objective laws of cultural development and clearly demonstrates the significance of culture in social development. Xi Jinping pointed out: "Only by comprehensively and deeply understanding the history of Chinese civilization can we more effectively promote the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture, more powerfully advance the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, and build the modern civilization of the Chinese nation." As an ideological creation built upon economic activity, the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism can only stimulate the historical initiative of the masses and create a new form of civilization that leads the era and reflects the people's needs if it is grounded in material production activities and the social practical changes they encompass, while following materialist dialectics. Historically, the Chinese nation created a brilliant ancient civilization.
In the developmental process of Chinese civilization, the emergence and development of revolutionary culture occurred during the critical period of transition from ancient Chinese civilization to modern civilization, enduring the historical pangs brought about by the continuous impact of capitalist culture and the increasing decline of feudal culture. Taking the promotion of proletarian liberation as its mission, revolutionary culture became the indispensable, most advanced cultural form that best represented the interests of the people during the revolutionary period, holding great significance for driving Chinese civilization forward. As an important component of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, revolutionary culture is the cultural form created by the Chinese people in the process of pursuing national independence, liberation, and national prosperity. It not only embodies the excellent character of the Chinese nation—fearing no sacrifice, constant self-improvement, and tenacious struggle—but also highlights the value pursuits of selfless dedication and courageous advancement. Under new historical conditions, facing the questions of the times, the world, and China, advocating social and civic consciousness, adhering to the principles of dialogue, cooperation, and mutual benefit, eliminating cultural barriers through exchange, transcending cultural conflict through mutual learning, and transcending cultural superiority through coexistence to promote the construction of a modern civilization for the Chinese nation are also key essentials for achieving the common progress of human civilization. The proposal of the concept of a community with a shared future for humanity is of profound significance, representing a new cultural form for the New Era. This concept originates both from the civilizational heritage of "all under heaven as one family" [12] in traditional China, and from the theoretical vision of the "association of free individuals" in Marxism. With powerful cultural appeal and realistic influence, it conveys the peaceful concepts inherited through generations by the Chinese nation, reflects the universal concern of Marxism for the fate of humanity, and contains the ideological essence of both the basic principles of Marxism and fine traditional Chinese culture.
Third, persisting in and consolidating the Party’s cultural leadership, and promoting cultural confidence and the construction of a culturally powerful country. Revolutionary culture is rooted in revolutionary practice, contains rich "red genes," and integrates the resources of fine traditional Chinese culture, constituting a vivid practice and great paradigm of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. Revolutionary culture demonstrates the CPC’s responsibility for cultural construction and permeates the entire process of the CPC’s national and social governance. The "Two Integrations" reveal the mechanism by which Marxism transformed China and demonstrate the Dao (Way) [13] of how Marxism and China have not failed one another, providing the answer to why the CPC "can" and why Marxism "works." Only by practicing the "Two Integrations" can the CPC lead the people to continue writing new chapters of the great social revolution and ensure that contemporary Chinese Marxism shines brightly in the history of Marxist development.
Revolutionary culture is the artistic projection and cultural mirror of the Chinese people’s journey from national peril to the reconstruction of national confidence, and from being enslaved and oppressed to becoming masters of their own house; it has consolidated the CPC’s cultural leadership. Revolutionary culture was forged by the CPC in the practice of the arduous struggle through which it led the people. Its thorough revolutionary spirit, firm revolutionary standpoint, lofty revolutionary ideals, and scientific theoretical guidance broke through obstacles and provided the determination and momentum for the Chinese nation to rebuild its cultural confidence, thereby laying a solid cultural foundation for strengthening the "Four Confidences." Looking at its generative process and its internal form, revolutionary culture profoundly expresses the ultimate goal of realizing the highest ideal of communism, the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, the important principle of collectivism, and ideological and behavioral norms such as love for the motherland, honoring dedication, and arduous struggle. It vividly reflects the historical process of the CPC saving the people from "fire and water" [14], rescuing the nation from peril, and achieving national independence. It radiates the spiritual outlook and real life of a unique historical period. Revolutionary culture has not only enriched the connotations of Chinese culture but also provided spiritual support for comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Xi Jinping emphasized: "The strength of a country or a nation is always supported by cultural prosperity; the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation requires the development and prosperity of Chinese culture as a condition." Revolutionary culture, nurtured and developed in the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution, possesses distinct characteristics of inheritance and innovation. It is the condensed sublimation of the fine traditional culture of the Chinese nation and a vivid manifestation of the great creative spirit of the CPC and the Chinese people. On the new journey of the New Era, it will continue to promote the regeneration and reconstruction of Chinese culture.