Li Jie: Mao Zedong's Important Contributions to the "Second Combination" Through Three Works

The Report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC summarized and proposed the "Two Combinations"—namely, combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture. This represents a profound synthesis of the laws governing the development of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, marking a new level in the Communist Party of China’s understanding of these laws. This raises a question that requires deep reflection and research: after Mao Zedong proposed the Sinicization of Marxism, did he consciously combine the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture? In fact, whether a law has been recognized and summarized is a process that can be appropriately distinguished from, yet is interconnected with, the process of that law actually playing a role. The ideal state is, of course, the unification of these two processes. However, since it is a law, it remains operative regardless of whether it has been recognized or scientifically summarized and generalized.

Below, I will use three of Mao Zedong’s works as examples to analyze his important contributions to the "Second Combination." These three articles are "On the New Stage" (October 1938), "On New Democracy" (January 1940), and "Talks with Music Workers" (August 1956).

I. "On the New Stage" and the "Second Combination"

In October 1938, in his political report "On the New Stage" delivered at the Enlarged Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Party, Mao Zedong proposed the thesis of the "Sinicization of Marxism" for the first time.

First, let us look at how Mao Zedong raised this issue. He pointed out: "The Sinicization of Marxism—making it carry Chinese characteristics in every manifestation, that is to say, applying it according to Chinese characteristics—has become a problem that the whole Party urgently needs to understand and solve. 'Foreign stereotypes' ^[1] must be abolished, empty and abstract refrains must be sung less, and dogmatism must be laid to rest; they must be replaced by a fresh and lively Chinese style and Chinese flavor that is loved by the common people of China. To separate internationalist content from national form is the practice of those who understand nothing of internationalism; we, on the other hand, must link the two closely together. Regarding this issue, there are some serious shortcomings in our ranks that should be earnestly removed."

Here, while proposing the thesis of the "Sinicization of Marxism," Mao Zedong emphasized several points. First, "making it carry Chinese characteristics in every manifestation," i.e., "applying it according to Chinese characteristics." Second, using a "fresh and lively Chinese style and Chinese flavor that is loved by the common people of China" to replace "foreign stereotypes" and dogmatism. Third, "closely linking" the "content of internationalism with national form."

At the same time, we also note that Mao Zedong provided a theoretical basis when proposing the Sinicization of Marxism. This was: "Communists are internationalist Marxists, but Marxism must be realized through national forms. There is no such thing as abstract Marxism, only concrete Marxism. So-called concrete Marxism is Marxism through national form; it is the application of Marxism to the concrete struggle within the concrete environment of China, rather than applying it abstractly. For a Communist who is part of the great Chinese nation and is linked to it by flesh and blood, to talk about Marxism in isolation from Chinese characteristics is merely abstract and empty Marxism."

From this exposition of the theoretical basis, it can clearly be seen that "there is no abstract Marxism, only concrete Marxism" is the major premise. What is "concrete Marxism"? It contains two aspects. One is application, i.e., "applying Marxism to the concrete struggle within the concrete environment of China, rather than applying it abstractly." The other is national form, i.e., "Marxism must be realized through national forms." The two converge into "Chinese characteristics"—that is, "to talk about Marxism in isolation from Chinese characteristics is merely abstract and empty Marxism."

If we look at these two discourses together, "making it carry Chinese characteristics in every manifestation" and "applying it according to Chinese characteristics" constitute what Mao Zedong called the Sinicization of Marxism. How is this goal to be achieved? One must not only focus on "applying Marxism to the concrete struggle within the concrete environment of China," but also do so "through national forms" to give it a "fresh and lively Chinese style and Chinese flavor that is loved by the common people of China." Obviously, the "national form" Mao Zedong spoke of cannot be realized without promoting China’s fine traditional culture.

We should also note that Mao Zedong proposed the thesis of the "Sinicization of Marxism" against the backdrop of specifically tasking the whole Party with "study." What was to be studied? Mao proposed three major study tasks: "Generally speaking, all Communist Party members with a fair capacity for research must study the theories of Marx, Engels, Lenin, and Stalin, must study our national history, and must study the current situation and trends of the movement." If the first task is seen as the subject, the latter two correspond to "national form" and "application."

Regarding how to embody national form and "study our national history," Mao Zedong pointed out: "Studying our historical legacy and using the Marxist method to give it a critical summary is another task of our study. The several-thousand-year history of our great nation has its own laws of development, its national characteristics, and its many precious qualities. Regarding this, we are still primary school students. Today's China is a development of the China of history; we are Marxist historicists, and we must not sever history. From Confucius to Sun Yat-sen, we should provide a summary and inherit this precious legacy. Inheriting the legacy turns into a method, which is of vital help in guiding the current great movement."

We need not provide excessive explanation for this classic discourse by Mao Zedong. It not only tells us how to inherit the fine cultural heritage of China but also tells us that this critical inheritance under the guidance of Marxism can be transformed into a method.

The above constitutes Mao Zedong’s initial contribution to the "Second Combination" when he proposed the thesis of the "Sinicization of Marxism."

II. "On New Democracy" and the "Second Combination"

Published in January 1940, Mao Zedong's "On New Democracy" is the representative work of the Theory of New Democracy. In this work, adhering to the spirit of the May Fourth New Culture Movement, Mao explored not only the issue of establishing a "new politics and new economy" but also the issue of "establishing a new culture for the Chinese nation." More creditably, he explored these two issues as two closely linked aspects of a complete problem—namely, "establishing a New China." This framework and method of analyzing problems are very close to what we call the "Two Combinations" today.

First, let us look at how Mao Zedong posed the problem. In the second section of this work, "We Want to Build a New China," he proposed: "For many years, we Communists have struggled not only for a political and economic revolution in China but also for a cultural revolution; the purpose of all these is to build a new society and a new state for the Chinese nation. In this new society and new state, there will be not only new politics and a new economy but also a new culture. That is to say, we want not only to change a China that is politically oppressed and economically exploited into a China that is politically free and economically prosperous but also to change a China that is ruled by the old culture and is therefore ignorant and backward into a China that is ruled by the new culture and is therefore civilized and advanced. In a word, we want to build a New China. Building the new culture of the Chinese nation is our goal in the cultural sphere."

Let us look further at how Mao Zedong solved this problem.

He first reaffirmed a basic tenet of historical materialism: "A given culture (as an ideological form) is the reflection of the politics and economy of a given society, and in turn exerts a great influence and effect upon the politics and economy of that society; while the economy is the base, politics is the concentrated expression of the economy."

On this basis, he clarified the starting point of the historical and theoretical logic for analyzing the problem: "The reactionary elements in the old culture of the Chinese nation that we want to eliminate cannot be separated from the old politics and old economy of the Chinese nation; and the new culture of the Chinese nation that we want to build cannot be separated from the new politics and new economy of the Chinese nation. The old politics and old economy of the Chinese nation are the basis of its old culture; while the new politics and new economy of the Chinese nation are the basis of its new culture."

This clarified that in China, the process from "old" to "new" could only be realized through revolution. The historical progression of the Chinese revolution must be carried out in two steps. At the same time, after the Russian October Revolution, the Chinese revolution had already become part of the world proletarian-socialist revolution. This determined that: "The first stage of this Chinese revolution (which is itself divided into many sub-stages) is, in its social character, a new-type bourgeois-democratic revolution and not yet a proletarian-socialist revolution, but it has long since become part of the proletarian-socialist world revolution and is now a great part of such a world revolution and a great ally of it. The first step or stage of this revolution is definitely not, and cannot be, the establishment of a capitalist society under the dictatorship of the Chinese bourgeoisie, but is the establishment of a New-Democratic society under the joint dictatorship of all the revolutionary classes of China headed by the Chinese proletariat, in order to complete the first stage. Then, it will be developed into the second stage to establish a Chinese socialist society."

Proceeding from this general prescription, Mao Zedong further elucidated the political, economic, and cultural programs of New Democracy.

Regarding the New-Democratic political program: "State system—the joint dictatorship of several revolutionary classes. System of government—democratic centralism. This is New-Democratic politics; this is the New-Democratic republic, the republic of the anti-Japanese united front, the republic of the New Three People’s Principles ^[2] with the Three Great Policies ^[3], and the Republic of China in reality as well as in name."

Regarding the New-Democratic economic program: "The state-owned economy in the New-Democratic republic under the leadership of the proletariat is socialist in character and is the leading force in the entire national economy, but the republic does not confiscate other capitalist private property and does not forbid the development of capitalist production that 'cannot dominate the livelihood of the people,' because China's economy is still very backward." In the countryside, it "confiscates the land of the landlords and distributes it among peasants who have no land or little land, realizing Dr. Sun Yat-sen's slogan of 'land to the tiller,' abolishing feudal relations in the rural areas, and turning the land into the private property of the peasants."

Regarding the New-Democratic cultural program: "A national, scientific, and mass culture—this is the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal culture of the masses of the people, the New-Democratic culture, the new culture of the Chinese nation."

Finally, returning to the question of what kind of state to build: "The combination of New-Democratic politics, New-Democratic economy, and New-Democratic culture is the New-Democratic republic, the Republic of China in reality as well as in name, and the New China we want to create."

From the above logical structure and analysis, one can see that Marxist political science, political economy, and cultural theory were each combined with China’s specific realities in their respective fields, creating the New-Democratic political program, economic program, cultural program, and their practice, which finally culminated in the New-Democratic strategy for state-building.

Particularly worthy of careful reading is the discussion in "On New Democracy" concerning the "brand-new cultural force" that emerged after the May Fourth Movement ^[4].

Mao Zedong pointed out: "Since the new political force of China—the Chinese proletariat and the Chinese Communist Party—stepped onto the Chinese political stage, this new cultural force, donning new attire and wielding new weapons, has united all possible allies and arrayed its forces to launch a heroic offensive against imperialist and feudal culture. In the fields of social sciences and literature and art—whether in philosophy, economics, politics, military science, history, literature, or art (including drama, cinema, music, sculpture, and painting)—this new force has achieved immense development. Over the past twenty years, wherever the edge of this new cultural army has been directed, a profound revolution has occurred in everything from ideology to form (including the written language). Its momentum is so vast and its power so fierce as to be virtually invincible. Its mobilization is more extensive than in any historical era of China. And Lu Xun ^[5] is the greatest and most heroic standard-bearer of this new cultural army. Lu Xun is the chief commander of China's cultural revolution; he is not only a great man of letters but also a great thinker and a great revolutionary. Lu Xun’s bones are the hardest; he was devoid of the slightest servility or obsequiousness—the most precious character trait for people in colonies and semi-colonies. Standing on the cultural front, Lu Xun was an unprecedented national hero, the most correct, courageous, resolute, faithful, and enthusiastic representative of the majority of the entire nation who charged into the enemy's positions. The direction Lu Xun took is the very direction for the new culture of the Chinese nation."

In this passage, Mao Zedong fully affirmed the pivotal role of this new cultural force, led by the CPC under the guidance of Marxism, in opposing imperialist and feudal culture. Mao Zedong also recognized the achievements and contributions of this new cultural force in philosophy, economics, politics, military science, history, and literature and art, and hailed Lu Xun as the chief commander of China’s cultural revolution and the standard-bearer of the new cultural army. This was, in effect, an acknowledgment of the achievements made by this cultural force, and Lu Xun in particular, in promoting the "second combination." An important idea runs through this: the "second combination" must drive Sinicized Marxism to take root within philosophy, economics, politics, military science, history, and literature and art.

These ideas are also reflected in Mao Zedong's affirmation of the achievements of the four periods of the cultural revolution since the May Fourth Movement ^[6], especially the first two periods. Discussing these four periods, Mao Zedong noted: "The cultural revolution ushered in by the May Fourth Movement was a movement that thoroughly opposed feudal culture; there has never been such a great and thorough cultural revolution in all of Chinese history. At that time, its two great banners—opposing the old morality to promote the new morality, and opposing the old literature to promote the new literature—rendered a great service. This cultural movement did not yet have the possibility of reaching the masses of workers and peasants. It raised the slogan of 'literature for the common people,' but the 'common people' of that time were actually limited to the urban petty bourgeoisie and bourgeois intellectuals—the so-called 'citizenry-class' intellectuals." By the period of the Great Revolution ^[7], "using the Communist Party's Guide Weekly (Xiangdao Zhoubao), the Kuomintang’s Shanghai Republic Daily (Minguo Ribao), and various local newspapers as strongholds, they jointly propagated anti-imperialist views, jointly opposed feudal education based on 'honoring Confucius and studying the classics' ^[8], and jointly opposed the old literature and classical Chinese in favor of new literature and the vernacular (baihua) ^[9] centered on anti-imperialism and anti-feudalism. During the Guangdong wars and the Northern Expedition, anti-imperialist and anti-feudal ideas were instilled into the Chinese army, transforming it. Among the millions of the peasant masses, slogans were raised to 'down with corrupt officials' and 'down with the local tyrants and evil gentry,' sparking a great revolutionary peasant struggle."

Some might argue that the points discussed above only concern how the new culture opposed imperialist and feudal culture, without directly mentioning how to treat fine traditional Chinese culture. In fact, in Mao Zedong's view, the construction of a new culture is predicated precisely on the correct treatment of fine traditional Chinese culture. When discussing the scientific nature of New Democratic culture, Mao Zedong emphasized: "China’s long period of feudal society created a brilliant ancient culture. To clear the path for developing a new national culture and enhancing national self-confidence, it is a necessary condition to sort out the developmental process of this ancient culture, to discard its feudal dross while absorbing its democratic essence; however, we must never swallow it all indiscriminately and without criticism. We must distinguish between all the decadent things of the ancient feudal ruling class and the fine ancient popular culture—that which is more or less democratic and revolutionary. Since China’s current new politics and new economy have evolved from the old politics and old economy of ancient times, and China’s current new culture has also evolved from the old culture of ancient times, we must respect our own history and never sever it. However, this respect means giving history a certain scientific status and respecting its dialectical-materialist development, rather than 'extolling the ancient to disparage the present' ^[10] or praising any feudal toxin."

This is an extremely profound exposition. It not only explains clearly what constitutes feudal dross versus the essence of traditional culture and how to properly sort through ancient culture, but also explicitly points out that China's new politics, new economy, and new culture evolved from ancient times, which is why we must respect our history. To develop a new national culture and enhance national self-confidence, one must discard the feudal dross of ancient culture and absorb its democratic essence. Of course, when Mao Zedong spoke these words, there was an unspoken major premise: the guidance of Marxism. Seen in this light, do these discussions in On New Democracy not coincide perfectly with what we call the "second combination" today?

In short, in this work, Mao Zedong applied Marxism to resolve the program for building China’s New Democracy—especially the cultural program—making an important contribution to the "second combination."

III. "Talk to Music Workers" and the "Second Combination"

If On New Democracy focused on clarifying how to create a New Democratic culture, then the speech "Talk to Music Workers" ^[11], delivered on August 24, 1956, primarily elucidated the issue of socialist cultural construction—specifically how to better promote Chinese classical arts under socialist conditions.

Like On the New Stage, "Talk to Music Workers" begins with the "first combination" but naturally moves into questions of national form and national style. Mao Zedong pointed out: "The basic principles for realizing the socialist revolution are the same for all countries. However, there are differences in the minor principles and the forms in which basic principles are manifested." "The basic principles of art are universal, but the forms of expression must be diversified; there must be national forms and national styles." He added, "This is a law of nature, and also a law of Marxism." In another instance, Mao noted: "The forms in which the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism are manifested in practice should vary by country. In China, the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism must be combined with the reality of the Chinese revolution. The October Revolution was the national form of the Russian revolution. Socialist content in national form—this is true in politics, and it is true in art. The general principles of Western music must be combined with Chinese reality so that rich forms of expression can be produced."

Why emphasize the question of national form? This issue was not elaborated upon in On the New Stage. In "Talk to Music Workers," Mao Zedong clarified this from an artistic perspective: "Art involves the question of form and the question of national form. Art cannot be separated from the habits, feelings, and even the language of the people; it cannot be separated from the historical development of the nation. The national conservatism of art is relatively strong; it can even persist for thousands of years. People still enjoy the art of ancient times." This applies not only to art but also to Marxism. If Marxism is to take root in China, it cannot be detached from China's national conditions, nor can it be detached from the habits, feelings, language, and historical development of the people. If the "national conservatism of art is relatively strong," the national conservatism regarding traditional culture and historical cultural genes is even stronger, potentially "persisting for thousands of years." This is a law.

At that time, there was a debate in which some argued that foreign things possessed theory (laws) while Chinese things did not. Mao Zedong disagreed. He believed: "To say that Chinese national things have no laws is a denial of what is Chinese, and it is wrong. China's language, music, and painting all have their own laws. Those in the past who said Chinese painting was no good simply had not studied their own things thoroughly and thought they had to use Western methods. Of course, one can learn foreign things first and then return to Chinese things, but Chinese things have their own laws. Music can adopt foreign rational principles and use foreign instruments, but it must always have national characteristics and its own special style—it must strike out on its own."

The "second combination" must properly resolve the question of standing on national ground; only then can one have roots in one’s own nation. Mao Zedong believed: "Chinese people must still take their own things as the foundation." "We should become increasingly Sinicized, not increasingly Westernized." "We should critically absorb useful elements from the West on our own Chinese foundation." "When absorbing foreign things, we must transform them—turn them into something Chinese."

The "second combination" must also handle the relationship between national culture and foreign culture correctly, so as to actively promote exchange and mutual learning between cultures and civilizations. Mao Zedong believed: "In modern culture, the West is more advanced than us; we must admit this. Is this the case for art? China has its unique strengths in some areas, while in others the West is more sophisticated." "We must learn the principles of science from abroad. Once learned, these principles should be used to study Chinese things. This is the same reason we want Western-style doctors to learn Traditional Chinese Medicine. The general principles of both natural and social sciences must be learned." "We should learn modern foreign things and then use that knowledge to study Chinese things. If one learns Western medicine first—learning anatomy, pharmacology, and so on—and then studies Traditional Chinese Medicine and Chinese pharmacology, one can improve Chinese things more quickly." "Accepting the strengths of foreign countries will lead to a leap in our own things. The Chinese and the foreign must be organically combined, not simply by transplanting foreign things. Learn the foreign method of knitting a hat, but knit a Chinese hat. All useful foreign things should be learned to improve and promote Chinese things, to create something uniquely Chinese and new. We should 'move' [import] some things over, but our own things must remain the core."

Ultimately, the "second combination" aims to push for the innovative development of Chinese culture rather than remaining stagnant; it also involves strengthening cultural confidence. Mao Zedong touched upon this in his talk, noting: "The face of China—whether in politics, economy, or culture—should not be old; it should change. However, Chinese characteristics must be preserved. We should absorb foreign things on a Chinese foundation." "We must persuade people to value national things and not undergo total Westernization. We should learn from the strengths of foreign countries to organize what is Chinese and create things with a unique national style. Only then will the reasoning be clear and national confidence remain intact."

In conclusion, "Talk to Music Workers," building on the previous two articles and based on the new practice of socialist construction, scientifically answered several relationships that socialist cultural construction must handle—particularly the relationship between fine traditional Chinese culture and foreign culture. Its elaborations share many points of convergence with what we call the "second combination" today. This convergence is by no means accidental; it is the result of the laws governing the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism.

From these three articles, we can see a progressive relationship: On the New Stage contributed to the "second combination" from the perspective of how to advance the Sinicization of Marxism; On New Democracy embodied it by establishing a New Democratic program for building the state; and "Talk to Music Workers" further embodied it from the perspective of socialist cultural construction.

Naturally, the process of recognizing, revealing, and applying laws is a gradual one. If the report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC advanced the exposition of the "two combinations" to a new stage, then Mao Zedong’s recognition and elaboration of the laws of the "second combination" was undoubtedly part of that developing process. Although Mao Zedong did not fully reveal this law, his recognition, revelation, and application of it made an extremely important contribution to our ability to reach our current level of understanding.