Cui Weihang: Transforming the Party's Innovative Theory in the New Era into an Analytical Framework for Philosophy and Social Sciences
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping, rooted in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, has profoundly grasped historical laws, major trends of the times, and the aspirations of the people. He has proposed a series of major propositions characterized by high recognition, theoretical originality, and practical guidance. These include a series of landmark concepts, original ideological perspectives, and fundamental theoretical achievements. These have not only elevated the Party's understanding of what kind of modern socialist power to build and how to build it to a new level, but also provided profound answers to the "questions of the times" regarding "what has happened to the world, and what should we do?" Systematically organizing, deeply extracting, and effectively transforming these landmark concepts, original ideological perspectives, and fundamental theoretical achievements—organically integrating them into academic research and disciplinary construction and transforming them into analytical frameworks for various disciplines in the philosophy and social sciences—is a key issue that the current academic community must consider deeply and strive to resolve.
Landmark Concepts: Promoting the Effective Transformation from Political Discourse to Academic Categories
Landmark concepts are the most distinct and recognizable core terms within a theoretical system, carrying specific value positions, historical logic, and practical orientations. Transforming the landmark concepts of the Party's innovative theories in the New Era from political discourse into academic categories constitutes a revolution in terminology. For example, Chinese-path modernization is not merely a description of a developmental path, but contains a critical transcendence of Western modernization models. Whole-process people's democracy breaks through the periodic and fragmented limitations of Western representative democracy; it emphasizes the integration of the entire chain—including democratic elections, consultation, decision-making, management, and oversight—and embodies the essential requirement that the people act as masters of the country. The key to transforming the landmark concepts of the Party's innovative theories in the New Era into academic categories for the philosophy and social sciences lies in their creative elucidation in a rigorous, systematic, and in-depth manner.
First, one must organize and clarify core concepts, defining their connotative boundaries, historical progression, theoretical premises, and practical foundations, while also distinguishing their relationships with related concepts. Taking Chinese-path modernization as an example: at the philosophical level, one can explore its ontological presuppositions, such as the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature or the relationship between individual development and collective interests. From an economic perspective, one can analyze its institutional arrangements and growth mechanisms. At the sociological level, one can investigate its social structural characteristics and governance logic, studying contents such as the "olive-shaped" income distribution structure [1] and urban-rural integrated development. Only by explaining these specific contents thoroughly can concepts avoid becoming hollow generalities.
Second, these concepts must be embedded into disciplinary theoretical frameworks and transformed into academic topics that can be specifically researched, analyzed, and compared. For instance, political science can subdivide whole-process people's democracy into dimensions such as the breadth of public participation, the depth of policy formulation, and the effectiveness of oversight mechanisms, thereby constructing an index system to evaluate democratic quality. Jurisprudence can extract important academic topics from the construction of a Rule of Law China, such as "good laws and good governance" [2], the simultaneous emphasis on procedural and substantive justice, and the organic unity of Party leadership and the rule of law.
Finally, these academic categories must return to real-world problems to demonstrate their explanatory power and vitality in specific contexts. For example, as many developing countries currently explore modernization paths, Chinese-path modernization provides a solution distinct from Western models. In the new environment where digital technology is profoundly reshaping public life, the concept of whole-process people's democracy can provide a direction for value guidance and institutional construction in emerging fields such as algorithmic governance, platform responsibility, and the digital rights of citizens.
Original Ideological Perspectives: Promoting a Systematic Leap from Value Guidance to Methodological Consciousness
Original ideological perspectives are the soul of theoretical innovation. Their core lies in the keen capture, profound insight, and systematic interpretation of major themes of the times. They are by no means simple reorganizations of concepts, but are based on the heights of history and the era, accurately grasping and profoundly revealing the laws of social evolution. Taking the "Two Combinations" [3] as an example, this not only deepens the essential understanding of the internal laws governing the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, but also profoundly reveals the cultural roots and theoretical consciousness of Chinese-path modernization, providing methodological guidance for research in the philosophy and social sciences. Similarly, the original proposition that "lucid waters and lush mountains are invaluable assets" [4] has fundamentally transcended the "GDP-first" view of development by restructuring the relationship between humanity and nature, establishing a new paradigm of high-quality development characterized by ecological priority and green transformation.
The key to effectively transforming these original ideological perspectives into analytical frameworks for specific disciplines lies in achieving a profound leap from value and policy identification to methodological internalization. Researchers must not only understand and identify with these ideological perspectives and value orientations but also internalize them as perspectives for examining problems, scientific tools for analyzing materials, and value scales for judging conclusions. Taking the "Two Combinations" as an example: history can use this to deeply understand that "Chinese civilization is the only great civilization in the world that has continued uninterrupted and developed to this day in the form of a state, possessing prominent continuity, creativity, unity, inclusivity, and peacefulness," thereby breaking the shackles of metaphysical historical views on the Chinese historical narrative. The field of philosophy can deeply excavate intellectual resources such as the Confucian "governing by virtue" (为政以德), the Daoist "governing through non-action" (无为而治), and the Legalist "governing according to law" (循法而治), seeking their inherent points of convergence with Marxist theories of the state, thereby constructing a philosophical theoretical system that is both national and global, historical and contemporary. It is worth noting that these original ideological perspectives possess cross-disciplinary attributes, capable of bridging traditional disciplinary boundaries to form new "problem domains." For instance, the vision of a community with a shared future for humanity transcends the scope of pure international relations; it requires international relations theory to rethink the relationship between sovereignty, security, and development interests, while also profoundly touching upon institutional designs such as responsibility allocation in the global governance system and the philosophical foundations of the dialogue between civilizations. Only by breaking down disciplinary barriers can the theoretical potential of these original ideological perspectives be truly released, and the autonomy, originality, and global reach of Chinese philosophy and social sciences be continuously enhanced in the process.
Fundamental Theoretical Achievements: Promoting Deep Integration from Systematic Acceptance to Paradigmatic Innovation
Fundamental theoretical achievements are the organic fusion of landmark concepts and original ideological perspectives; they are essentially the systematic summary and theoretical expression of the internal logic and evolutionary laws of specific fields. For example, the theory of promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and the theory of gradually achieving common prosperity for all people, have both formed theoretically complete and logically rigorous systems. These achievements are not only the ideological engines for advancing the great practice of Chinese-path modernization but also provide a rich theoretical mine for building an autonomous knowledge system of Chinese philosophy and social sciences.
To achieve the deep transformation of fundamental theoretical achievements into disciplinary analytical frameworks, one cannot stop at simple interpretation and mechanical application. Instead, one should use them as a fulcrum to leverage the structural renovation and paradigmatic upgrading of the disciplinary knowledge system. For example, in the field of political science, the theory of promoting the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity breaks through the limitations of traditional governance paradigms, emphasizing the organic unity of institutional executive power, governance efficacy, and the people's sense of gain. This theoretical innovation has prompted scholars to shift toward constructing new analytical frameworks containing multi-dimensional elements such as governance performance evaluation, institutional resilience analysis, and the enhancement of social responsiveness, providing a new perspective for the study of national and even global governance. In the field of jurisprudence, the comprehensive implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law has pushed the legal research paradigm from static textual analysis toward dynamic evaluation of implementation effects, constructing a multi-dimensional research paradigm covering legal implementation, cultural identity, and institutional efficacy. This transformation not only expands the theoretical dimensions of legal research but also enhances its explanatory power in responding to real-world problems.
The reason why the landmark concepts, original ideological perspectives, and fundamental theoretical achievements of the Party's innovative theories in the New Era possess strong explanatory power, leadership, and lasting vitality is fundamentally because they were not deduced from Western theoretical categories, nor were they designed behind closed doors in a study. Rather, they are deeply rooted in the magnificent, great practice of Chinese-path modernization; they are the intellectual crystallization formed through the summary, extraction, and sublimation of the creative explorations of hundreds of millions of people. Transforming these intellectual crystallizations into operational and extendable analytical frameworks for various disciplines in the philosophy and social sciences is not only a major academic project but also a profound revolution in academic paradigms. It has become a core link and key path in building an autonomous knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences.