Lin Cunguang: The "Two Integrations" Lead the Renaissance of Chinese Civilization
The Chinese civilization possesses a long and storied history, tracing back to a distant source, and its cultural life-form is both profound and vast. Over five thousand years, Chinese civilization has created and accumulated a rich and excellent traditional culture, which contains many traditions of political thought and wisdom regarding state governance that are deeply imbued with concern for the people’s well-being. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and employing Marxist theory and methods, we must fully excavate and expound upon China's traditions of political thought and wisdom in state governance to achieve their creative transformation and innovative development. This is undoubtedly an inherent requirement of the "Two Combinations" [1] and the only path through which Chinese civilization can realize its "reglorification."
The Three Major Characteristics of China's Political Thought Tradition
Looking back at the history of Chinese civilization, it is easy to discover that during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods [2]—China’s "Spiritual Axial Age" in which academic thought flourished—the "Hundred Schools of Thought" responded to the challenges of the times. With a sense of responsibility for the rise and fall of the world (tianxia) and a concern for the order or chaos of the state, they were eager to deeply reflect upon and systematically explore the ideal way of governance. In doing so, they laid the enduring intellectual foundations for China's political thought tradition and Chinese civilization. What, then, are the characteristics of this intellectual foundation? Mr. Liang Qichao [3] once remarked that since the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, our country's political thought has possessed three major characteristics: cosmopolitanism, populism or "people-as-the-center-ism" (minben), and socialism.
In the history of Chinese civilization, the political conviction and intellectual tradition of minben [4] can be described as tracing back to a distant source and remaining ever-new. It can be traced back to the intellectual traditions of "revering Heaven and prioritizing the people" or "respecting Heaven and protecting the people" in the three ancient dynasties [5]. The phrase "The people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is firm, the state is at peace" (The Songs of the Five Sons in the Book of Documents) can be called the classic expression of the minben political concept. Descending to the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Confucian, Mohist, and Daoist schools emerged; their political thoughts almost all possessed distinct and thick minben characteristics. They advocated for transformation through virtue and benevolent governance, providing the people with means of production, guaranteeing the people's livelihood, respecting public opinion, and winning the hearts of the people. Alternatively, they advocated for universal love and non-aggression, thrift for the benefit of the people, or following the people's sentiments and "taking the people’s heart as one’s own heart." Although their specific propositions may have differed in content, their core essence was nothing more than emphasizing a fundamental insight into state governance: the ruler is established for the sake of the people. Therefore, guaranteeing the survival and well-being of the people must be an important principle of the Way of state governance.
No thinker or politician endowed with moral conscience could remain indifferent to the suffering of people mired in "deep water and scorching fire" [6]. The various schools of thought all "thought to change the world through their Way" (The Essentials of Literature and History: Clarifying the Way), precisely to "unbind the people from being hung upside down" [7] and rescue them from water and fire. However, why were the people so deeply mired? It was primarily caused by social injustice—the inevitable result of class oppression and exploitation, as well as the strife and conflict between states. Precisely because of this, the political doctrines of the various schools all centered on resolving the problems of national economy and people’s livelihood. The greatest characteristic of their theories of livelihood was that "distribution was always placed in the primary position, while production was secondary," and distribution aimed for the ideal goals of achieving social justice and equality between the rich and the poor. Consequently, among "the followers of Confucius, Mozi, Mencius, Xunzi, Lord Shang, Han Fei, and even Xu Xing and Bai Gui, there was almost none whose discourse did not carry a socialist color."
At the same time, the political doctrines of the various schools all aimed for the pursuit of the peaceful unification of "all under Heaven" (tianxia). Their doctrine of "bringing peace to the world" (ping tianxia) was exactly a form of cosmopolitanism aimed at the common well-being of all humanity, forming a movement of the Zeitgeist at that time. As Mr. Qian Mu [8] said: Among the pre-Qin thinkers, there was truly not a single person who held a narrow nationalism. The general academic thought of the time all held a "view of the world." Therefore, it was said: when the self is cultivated, the family is regulated; when the family is regulated, the state is ordered; when the state is ordered, the world is at peace. As stated in the Great Learning, "self-cultivation, regulating the family, ordering the state, and bringing peace to the world" is a step-by-step progression and continuous expansion. This is an enduring human endeavor, and the ultimate goal of "governing and pacifying the world" is the realization of the ideal of a human community—where "the world is one family" and there is "Great Unity" (datong).
The Introduction of Marxism and the Rebirth of Ancient China
It goes without saying that the lofty and far-reaching political ideals contained in the aforementioned political thought traditions could not fully exert their influence and function due to various objective and subjective reasons and the limitations of historical conditions. Thus, they inevitably suffered from the malady of being "high-minded but not implemented." Historically speaking, the development of Chinese civilization has not been smooth sailing. Our country and nation often fell into the dynastic cycle of "order and chaos, prosperity and decline." Internal divisions and strife, and crises of foreign invasion and rule occurred repeatedly. In modern times, China even encountered and experienced the "darkest hour" of national humiliation and the threat of national extinction triggered by the powers' partition, encroachment, aggression, and bullying.
Stimulated by the "great changes unseen in three thousand years" [9] caused by the eastward expansion of Western power, for over a hundred years, the Chinese nation rose in resistance and rushed to catch up, even imitating the West alone to seek national wealth, power, and rejuvenation. However, after doing its best to absorb and learn the strengths of Western arts, systems, and learning and conducting various trials, the Chinese people ultimately accepted Marxism and chose the socialist path. It can be said that the introduction of Marxism, the New Democratic Revolution led by the Communist Party of China, and the founding of the People's Republic truly changed the fate of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, allowing them to finally emerge from the situation of national decline and peril that had persisted since the beginning of the modern era.
Why then did the Chinese people choose to accept Marxism and prove willing to take the socialist path? This is inseparably linked to the long and profound tradition of Chinese political thought and the national consciousness: the minben spirit that emphasizes the people as the foundation of the state; the socialist conviction that longs for social justice and equality between rich and poor; and the cosmopolitan thought of "bringing peace to the world" as the ultimate ideal. Because of this, advanced Chinese people not only pursued the ideal of a democratic republic but also found it easier to accept socialist thought. Marxism was introduced with the aim of liberating the suffering masses from oppression and exploitation and the goal of the communist ideal of liberating all humanity. It is most closely related to and consistent with the three major characteristics of Chinese political thought mentioned above, and it is most capable of producing resonance, as they share the lofty ideals and broad sentiments of concern for the welfare of the people’s livelihood, pursuit of social justice and equality, and a mind for the common people of the world.
Facts have proven that the Chinese Communists, having accepted Marxism, ultimately became the faithful inheritors and firm promoters of the excellent traditional Chinese culture precisely in the process of combining the basic tenets of Marxism with the concrete realities of the Chinese revolution. Taking Marxism as its theoretical weapon to guide the concrete practice of the Chinese revolution, the Communist Party fundamentally solved the people's actual subsistence needs. It led the Chinese people to victory in the New Democratic Revolution and established New China. This not only allowed ancient China to finally emerge from the predicament of national peril and gain a new life but also allowed Chinese culture to escape its crisis, bringing vitality to the rejuvenation of the great Chinese civilization.
"The Ancient State with a New Mission" and the Reglorification of Chinese Civilization
It is undeniable that since the dawn of the modern era, Chinese people have always faced the cultural problem of the debate between "Ancient and Modern, China and the West." This is something our country and nation must face and answer in the process of moving toward modernization. In the final analysis, this is the problem of "the ancient state with a new mission" (jiubang xinming [10]), as Mr. Feng Youlan put it. The so-called "ancient state" is the motherland, the Chinese nation; the "new mission" is modernization, the building of socialism.
However, the realization and completion of the historical mission or task of "the ancient state with a new mission" has not been smooth. In dealing with the tension between "Ancient and Modern, China and the West"—especially the relationship between tradition and modernity—if a balance is difficult to find, it is inevitable to fall into confusion and deviation, and even cause the cause of China’s modernization to suffer serious setbacks. In the process of building the cause of Chinese-path socialist modernization, we face the same problem. How can we better complete the historical task and grand goal of "the ancient state with a new mission," realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and build a strong, modern socialist country with Chinese characteristics? To this end, since the founding of New China, our Party has always adhered to a firm position of the people, the fundamental purpose of serving the people wholeheartedly, and has always represented the people, remained rooted in the people, relied on the people, and done everything for the people. It has always firmly followed the mass line, "from the masses, to the masses," and has always led the Chinese people along the road of Chinese-path socialism toward common prosperity.
In the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping, with great foresight, has taken the people's yearning for a better life as the goal of our struggle, clearly proposed the philosophy of people-centered development, and led the Chinese people to achieve the First Centenary Goal [11] of poverty alleviation and the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society (xiaokang). General Secretary Xi Jinping not only cares for the well-being and health of the Chinese people and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation but also keeps the whole world in mind. He has proposed the three major initiatives of Global Development, Global Security, and Global Civilization, and the building of a community with a shared future for humanity that shares weal and woe, promoting the development of the world in a better direction. "The Chinese people are always willing to advance along the Great Way (dadao) together with all the people of the world and to achieve happiness and benefit together. Whatever method can enable the people of the world to advance along the Great Way and achieve happiness and benefit together, the Chinese people will always joyfully accept." Undoubtedly, as an outstanding statesman of a "major civilized power" and as the "Leader of the People," General Secretary Xi Jinping’s thoughts on state governance fully embody the continuation and promotion of the three major characteristics of Chinese political thought—minbenism, socialism, and cosmopolitanism—under the premise of unswervingly adhering to the guiding position of Marxism. This has not only activated ancient Chinese wisdom but has also, in practice, achieved its creative transformation and innovative development to a brand-new realm.
During the periods of the New Democratic Revolution and socialist construction, Marxism, in the process of combining with China's concrete realities, thoroughly changed the face of ancient China and gave it new life through its unparalleled revolutionary spirit and practical wisdom in transforming social reality. However, as the process of reform and opening up continues to accelerate and deepen, we clearly recognize that if we allow the "soul-vein" (hunmai) of Marxist guiding ideology and the "root-vein" (genmai) of excellent traditional Chinese culture to remain estranged and neglected by each other, it is impossible to build a truly vigorous and powerful modern socialist country. To build our country into a strong, modern socialist country that is prosperous, democratic, culturally advanced, harmonious, and beautiful, and to realize the grand goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we cannot do without the guidance of the Marxist soul-vein. At the same time, we must attach great importance to the rich nourishment left to us by the five thousand years of Chinese civilization and must plant our roots deeply in the fertile soil of excellent traditional Chinese culture. On June 2, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development, clearly pointing out: "To open up and develop Chinese-path socialism on the profound foundation of more than five thousand years of Chinese civilization, the 'Two Combinations'—the combination of the basic tenets of Marxism with China's concrete realities and with excellent traditional Chinese culture—is the only path."
As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, the "combination" not only enables both sides to "mutually achieve" one another, thereby creating "a new, organically unified cultural life-form" and "making Marxism Chinese and excellent traditional Chinese culture modern," but it also solidifies our "road foundation," "giving the path of Chinese-path socialism a more expansive and far-reaching historical depth and expanding the cultural foundation of the path of Chinese-path socialism." The "combination" will also certainly allow the minben spirit, socialist conviction, and cosmopolitan ideals within the tradition of Chinese political thought to shine once again in the process of advancing the cause of Chinese-path modernization—that is, in the process of developing whole-process people's democracy, realizing common prosperity for all, promoting the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for humanity, and creating a new form of human civilization. This is both a great victory for the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism and a historical witness to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the reglorification of Chinese civilization. This is where our cultural confidence lies and where our confidence in "the ancient state with a new mission" rests, because the great practice of the "Two Combinations" and "the ancient state with a new mission" will surely provide a powerful spiritual impetus and guide for action for the reglorification of Chinese civilization.