Lu Pinyue: "Two Combinations" as the Fundamental Path to Constructing China's Independent Knowledge System
On May 17, 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping, at the Symposium on Work in Philosophy and Social Sciences, proposed that we “must follow an approach that is based on China, draws on foreign experience, excavates history, grasps the present, cares for humanity, and faces the future; we must strive to construct philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics that fully embody Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese flair in terms of guiding ideology, disciplinary systems, academic systems, and discourse systems.” Here, the "disciplinary, academic, and discourse systems" constitute the "knowledge system" of the philosophy and social sciences that implements the guiding ideology. On July 1, 2021, at the ceremony marking the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping further explicitly proposed: "We must persist in combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture. We must use Marxism to observe, grasp, and lead the times, and continue to develop contemporary Chinese Marxism and 21st-century Marxism!" From this, the "two combinations" [1] were formally proposed. On April 25, 2022, during an inspection of Renmin University of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics is, in the final analysis, the construction of China's independent knowledge system." As can be seen from this series of speeches, the "two combinations" constitute the fundamental path for constructing China's independent knowledge system. Why, then, can the "two combinations" serve as the fundamental path for constructing China's independent knowledge system? What aspects does this fundamental path include? What kind of great role and significance does it possess? These are the questions this article seeks to explore.
I. The "Two Combinations": A Great Scientific Method Born in Response to the "Questions of the Times"
Why are the "two combinations" the fundamental path for constructing China's independent knowledge system? "This is not a question of theory, but a question of practice"; the answer should be sought within the actual historical process. Marx pointed out: "The degree to which theory is realized in a nation is always determined by the degree to which theory satisfies the needs of that nation." All theories possessing great vitality arise from "social needs" and are born in response to the "questions of the times." Reviewing the developmental history of the "two combinations," one finds that the Communist Party of China (CPC) faced "questions of the times" in every different period: Why must we build our own theoretical system? How should such an independent theoretical system (guiding ideology) be constructed? It was precisely in answering such "questions of the times" that the CPC successively discovered the great scientific methods of the "first combination" and the "second combination." The scientific methods of the "first" and "second" combinations are the fundamental paths for constructing China’s independent theoretical system (guiding ideology) and the independent knowledge system under its guidance. They are the "fundamental paths" because they stem from the roots of the objective laws of social development and the foundation of the people's interests—the "questions of the times"—and have been proven through practice to be the only feasible and immensely successful paths.
1. The First Combination: Born in the Struggle Against the Dogmatization of Marxism
Since the day of its founding, the CPC has taken Marxism as its guiding ideology and theoretical foundation. However, in the early stages of building the Party, due to insufficient ideological preparation, many people suffered from the problem of treating all conclusions of Marx, Engels, and Lenin as dogmas to be followed, failing to truly grasp the stance, viewpoint, and method behind these conclusions. During the first Revolutionary Civil War [2], two erroneous tendencies appeared within the Party. First was the Right opportunism represented by Chen Duxiu, which dogmatically applied the Marxist theory of social developmental stages. He believed that since China had not yet experienced a capitalist society, the primary task of the CPC was to assist the Kuomintang in carrying out a bourgeois revolution to establish a capitalist society, waiting until capitalist contradictions developed to a certain point before conducting a proletarian revolution. This was the "Two-Revolution Theory," characterized by dogmatism, which focused only on cooperation with the Kuomintang and forgot the peasantry. Second was the "Left" opportunism represented by Zhang Guotao, who copied the dogma that the proletarian revolution is a revolution of the industrial working class; they paid attention only to the workers' movement and likewise forgot the peasantry. During the second Revolutionary Civil War (the Central Soviet period) after the failure of the Great Revolution, "Left" radical-adventurist dogmatism represented by Wang Ming and Li Lisan emerged, leading to the loss of over 90% of the revolutionary base areas and the near-paralysis of work in the White areas [3]. These two views, which dogmatized Marxism, brought extremely severe losses to the Chinese revolution and repeatedly placed the Party at a critical juncture of life and death. The historical laws of the Chinese revolution and the fundamental interests of the broad masses of the people demanded that our Party oppose dogmatism and establish our own system of Marxist theory; this became the call of the era.
Mao Zedong, with extraordinary wisdom and courage, pondered and answered the "question of the times" regarding how to use Marxism to guide the Chinese revolution. He did not seek answers from books but understood Marxism starting from China's specific realities. Facing the problem of dogmatization during the first Revolutionary Civil War, he returned to his hometown of Shaoshan in February 1925, conducted more than 100 days of "fieldwork," and wrote Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society. This was the first magnificent essay combining Marxism with China’s specific realities. Once published, it became widely renowned and established Mao Zedong’s leadership position in the peasant movement. Facing the dogmatic views of the Central Soviet period, Mao Zedong conducted a series of typical and systematic investigations and studies of the nascent Soviet regime. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that "many of these famous investigative research works provided penetrating analyses of our society and are classics of social science"; they remain exemplary works for us in constructing China’s independent knowledge system today. In Oppose Book Worship, Mao Zedong for the first time publicly proposed the famous dictum "no investigation, no right to speak," clearly pointing out: "The 'books' of Marxism must be studied, but they must be combined with the actual situation of our country." After the end of the Long March, in On Practice and On Contradiction, Mao criticized dogmatism and empiricism from a philosophical height, providing a solid philosophical foundation for the "first combination." In 1939, in his "Introducing The Communist," he systematically summarized the experience of Party building, explicitly pointing out that the "combination of Marxist-Leninist theory with the practice of the Chinese revolution" was the key to the Party’s maturity and victory. During the Yan'an Rectification Movement [4], Mao further critiqued subjectivism, sectarianism, and stereotyped Party writing in essays such as Reform Our Study, Rectify the Party's Style of Work, and Oppose Stereotyped Party Writing. He required the whole Party to establish a style of study centered on researching the practical problems of the Chinese revolution and guided by Marxism-Leninism, driving the Party to reach unprecedented ideological unity. This gave rise to Mao Zedong Thought, which was the "first historic leap in the Sinicization of Marxism." This series of historical facts irrefutably proves that combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities is the fundamental path by which Mao Zedong Thought was born.
Under the new conditions of the era of reform and opening up, Deng Xiaoping proposed "combining the universal tenets of Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought with the specific practice of socialist modernization and developing them under new historical conditions." Simultaneously, targeting the trend of bourgeois liberalization that opposed Marxist guiding ideology in society, Deng Xiaoping clearly proposed "upholding the Four Cardinal Principles." In his "Southern Tour Speeches," Deng emphasized: "Seeking truth from facts is the essence of Marxism. We should promote this, not book worship. The success of our reform and opening up did not rely on books, but on practice and seeking truth from facts." Thus, by combining the basic tenets of Marxism with the specific realities and characteristics of the era of China's reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, Deng Xiaoping Theory was created. Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, building upon Deng Xiaoping Theory, continued to persist in combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific realities, proposing the Theory of Three Represents and the Scientific Outlook on Development. The formation of the system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics—including Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development—demonstrates that combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities is the fundamental path by which the system of theories of socialism with Chinese characteristics was born.
2. The "Second Combination": The Call of the Era for Constructing China's Independent Knowledge System in the 21st Century
Mao Zedong once pointed out: "We Chinese must use our own heads to think and decide what things can grow in our own soil." The "our own soil" mentioned here is the soil of the Chinese people's practice, which has a two-layered structure: first is the current Chinese practice, namely the realistic problems faced in our current practice—this is the surface level of the soil of practice; second is the historical practice of the Chinese nation—the results of the practice of generations of the masses, accumulated within the organism of the community of the Chinese nation, becoming a cultural gene passed down through generations, forming Chinese people's values, rules of social interaction and etiquette, and ways of thinking. While these cultural elements are reflected in cultural classics, their deepest accumulation resides in the psychological structure and daily behavioral patterns passed down through generations within the Chinese nation; this is the deep level of the soil of practice. Marxism, taking root in the soil of Chinese practice, must be combined with both layers of this structure, thereby forming the "two combinations."
During the Yan'an period, in the process of combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities, Mao Zedong pointed out in On New Democracy: "Marxist theory must be completely and appropriately unified with the specific practice of the Chinese revolution; that is to say, it must be combined with national characteristics and expressed through a certain national form to be useful; it can never be applied subjectively or formulaically." Here, the relationship between Marxism and "national characteristics and national forms" was understood from the "horizontal" relationship between universality and particularity. What was the meaning of "national characteristics and national forms"? Which parts of Chinese traditional culture was Marxism combined with? How were they combined? What was the profound significance? At that time, people only understood these questions from the relationship between "content and form," rather than from historical depth or the internal logic of the historical development of the Chinese nation. This was determined by the objective logic of the era's development. Our Party's central task then was to overthrow the "three big mountains" of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism, establish the New China, and eradicate the feudal systems and toxic feudal culture left over from history. Therefore, under the historical background of that time, China’s fine traditional culture and its immense significance to China and the world did not yet have the conditions to be fully manifested. Under such historical conditions, it was impossible to explicitly propose the question of combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture. This new combination of great historical significance had to wait for a new "question of the times" facing the Sinicization of Marxism; it could only step onto the stage of human history when responding to the "call of the era."
In the early period of reform and opening up, the huge gap in economic and social development between China and Western countries prompted the Chinese people to actively introduce advanced Western science and technology and production equipment, and to study and draw on advanced Western business and management methods. From then on, China's level of productive forces rose rapidly, and in 2010 it became the world's second-largest economy; this was the great achievement of reform and opening up. But simultaneously, some people came to worship the Western knowledge system based on "universal values," speaking of the West in every breath and treating the Western capitalist system as the model and standard for China. This led to "foreign dogmatism": a veneration of the Western bourgeois liberal knowledge system and a lack of confidence in our country's road, theory, system, and culture. If this trend were to become mainstream in China, it would inevitably turn China into a dependent of the West. History has repeatedly proven that no matter which party is in power in a Western hegemonic country, they will do everything possible to contain China's strength, turning China into a supplier of cheap labor and resources to support Western civilization. Should that happen, China would not only face the risk of falling into the middle-income trap or even a low-income trap, but national security would also face a serious threat. Therefore, our country needs to break away from a state of "apprenticeship" and gain self-assertion. This background provided the objective conditions for us to recognize the value of the Chinese people's own national culture and its points of compatibility with Marxism; establishing national cultural confidence became the call of the era.
As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters the New Era, we face the realization of—
The great goal of "becoming strong" also carries the historical mission of comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization. Chinese-path modernization is a brand-new form of modernization, unprecedented in human history. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out with great foresight: "The great social transformation of contemporary China is not a simple continuation of the template of our country's history and culture, not a simple application of the template envisioned by classical Marxist writers, not a reprint of other countries' socialist practices, and not a carbon copy of foreign modernization development. There are no ready-made textbooks to be found." The development of practice inevitably gives rise to theoretical needs. China must establish an autonomous knowledge system that is fundamentally different from that of the West; this is an urgent requirement of the New Era.
What kind of system, then, is this autonomous knowledge system called for by the times? What is the fundamental path for constructing this autonomous knowledge system? This is the "question of the times" [5] posed to the Chinese people in the New Era.
As stated above, such an autonomous knowledge system must never be constructed by departing from Marxism or by adhering to Western "universal values." Quite the opposite: this autonomous knowledge system was born precisely to prevent China from becoming a spiritual and cultural appendage of the West, and to prevent the country's entire political and economic landscape from becoming an appendage of Western nations. At the same time, such an autonomous knowledge system can never be realized through a mere restoration of Chinese civilization. This is because Chinese civilization, founded on agrarian civilization, possesses a dual nature. The first is its popular nature (人民性). Chinese civilization is the only traditional civilization to have survived continuously in the form of a state, created over thousands of years by both the agrarian and nomadic peoples of the Chinese nation. Therefore, "the Chinese nation has profound cultural traditions and has formed a distinctive system of thought, reflecting the knowledge, wisdom, and rational speculation accumulated by the Chinese people over thousands of years. This is our country's unique advantage." The second is its class nature. Historically, the great achievements of Chinese civilization were appropriated and utilized by the feudal landlord class, branded with the mark of feudalism, and turned into a ruling tool for the exploitation and oppression of the people. Historical practice since the Opium War has proven that in a global landscape surrounded by powerful enemies, if China adheres to feudal culture, it will inevitably fall into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. In short, any so-called "autonomous knowledge system" that departs from the guidance of Marxism is bound to be a failed knowledge system and cannot possess true autonomy. Therefore, upholding the guiding position of Marxist ideology is the unswerving fundamental stance of the Communist Party of China in the ideological sphere.
It is against this historical background that General Secretary Xi Jinping grasped the pulse of the times and proposed the idea of the "Two Combinations." This idea has undergone a step-by-step progression from "cultural confidence" to the "Two Combinations," and finally to the "construction of China’s autonomous knowledge system."
In 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly explained the significance of strengthening cultural confidence: "When we say we must strengthen confidence in the path, theory, and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, in the final analysis, we mean strengthening cultural confidence. Cultural confidence is a more fundamental, deeper, and more lasting force. Both history and reality show that a nation that abandons or betrays its own history and culture cannot possibly develop; instead, it is likely to play out a historical tragedy." This laid the ideological foundation for the "Second Combination." At the ceremony marking the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly proposed the "Two Combinations" for the first time—insisting on combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture. The "Two Combinations" were subsequently written into the Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on the Major Achievements and Historical Experience of the Party over the Past Century and the report to the 20th CPC National Congress.
On June 2, 2023, at the Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development, General Secretary Xi Jinping comprehensively, systematically, and profoundly explained the rich connotations, internal mechanisms, and great significance of the "Two Combinations," especially the "Second Combination," from five aspects: the premise of the "combination" is mutual compatibility; the result of the "combination" is mutual achievement; the "combination" solidifies the foundation of our path; the "combination" opens up space for innovation; and the "combination" consolidates cultural subjectivity. He pointed out that the historical mission of the "Two Combinations" is to "achieve spiritual independence and autonomy." For the Chinese philosophy and social sciences, this means constructing an autonomous Chinese knowledge system through the "Two Combinations." This is a precise grasp of the pulse of the times and a visionary, scientific answer to the "question of the times." It expands the historical depth of the Sinicization of Marxism and the autonomous knowledge system under its guidance, allowing Marxism to take deeper and more lasting root in the soil of the Chinese people's own practice—rooting it in the historical process and future development of the Chinese nation, and in the hearts of hundreds of millions of people. This fundamental path is manifested through the following aspects: first, as the fundamental path for generating a "chemical reaction"; second, as the fundamental path for upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground; and third, as the fundamental path for carrying out mutual learning among civilizations.
II. The "Two Combinations": The Fundamental Path for Generating China’s Autonomous Knowledge System through "Chemical Reactions"
- The "Two Combinations" generate a "Trinity" of a "New Cultural Lifeform"
The autonomous Chinese knowledge system constructed through the "Two Combinations" must contain three basic elements: first, Marxist guiding ideology, which is the "soul-vein" (魂脉) of the autonomous knowledge system; second, specific practical problems, which are the realistic themes of the system; and third, the fine traditional Chinese culture that runs through the past, present, and future of the Chinese nation, which is the "root-vein" (根脉) of the system. These three are not "simple substances" existing independently but are a unified whole fused through a "chemical reaction." General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: "'Combination' is not a 'platter' [6], not a simple 'physical reaction,' but a profound 'chemical reaction' that creates an organically unified transition to a new cultural lifeform." This "organically unified new cultural lifeform" is precisely the "trinity" formed by the interweaving of the three elements mentioned above. China's autonomous knowledge system is the spiritual and civilized achievement of this "cultural lifeform," which serves the great practical achievement of Chinese-path modernization. The reason a "new cultural lifeform" can be generated is that each element is internally linked through mutual combination and penetration, merging with one another to generate a "whole greater than the sum of its parts"—a "new cultural lifeform" possessing new qualitative properties of a holistic system.
Through the "Two Combinations," Marxism is not only a theoretical system written in books but is also concretized into a living reality on Chinese soil by combining with China's specific realities and fine traditional culture. Through the "chemical reaction" of the first combination, the basic principles of Marxism are concretized, realized, and brought up to date; they are transformed into profound analysis, understanding, and judgment of current specific realities, and further into efficient governance philosophies, strategic decisions, and various principles and policies, becoming a theory written in the living language of reality. Through the "chemical reaction" of the "Second Combination," the basic principles of Marxism are combined with China’s fine traditional culture, expressing their universal and rich connotations through the excellent values, modes of thinking, and behavioral habits rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people. They merge with China's historical process and fine cultural genes, thus becoming Sinicized. The basic principles of Marxism thus run through the "trinity" of this "organically unified new cultural lifeform," and through this process, they themselves achieve new development and a "leap," becoming Marxism adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.
Through the "Two Combinations," "China's specific realities" have also undergone tremendous changes. They have been transformed by the basic principles of Marxism, undergoing a massive "chemical reaction" to become a grand contemporary chapter in the great historical development process of the Chinese nation. They have been converted into great civilizational achievements in understanding and transforming the world using Marxism: transforming the old China ruled by the "Three Great Mountains" [7] into a new socialist China; transforming a poor and backward China into the world's second-largest economy; historically solving the problem of absolute poverty; and comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society (小康社会) [8] on Chinese soil. Thus, the process of the "Two Combinations" is the process of analyzing, judging, and transforming China's specific realities using the basic principles of Marxism; it is the process of the earth-shaking historical changes that have occurred in Chinese society in modern times.
By adhering to the "Two Combinations," China’s fine traditional culture inevitably undergoes creative transformation and innovative development. Activated by the power of Marxist truth, China's fine traditional culture undergoes a "chemical reaction," transforming into new cultural genes for the Chinese nation. For example, the Marxist principle of the nation-state combined with the concept of the "integration of family and state" (家国一体) [9] produced the concept of "forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation." The Marxist idea of the "popular nature" (人民性), combined with the ancient Chinese concept that "the people are the foundation of the state" (民为邦本), produced the concept of "whole-process people's democracy" under the leadership of the Party. Marxist epistemology, combined with traditional Chinese philosophical ideas such as "seeking truth from facts" (实事求是) and the "unity of knowledge and action" (知行合一) [10], produced the Party's ideological line of seeking truth from facts. Materialist dialectics, combined with the ancient Chinese concept of the "unity of heaven and humanity" (天人合一) [11], produced a holistic systems view. The Marxist idea of world history, combined with ancient Chinese philosophical ideas such as "harmony produces new things, while sameness brings no growth" (和实生物，同则不继) [12], produced the great vision of "a community with a shared future for humanity." In this way, Marxist theory has taken deep root in the hearts of the Chinese people and merged into the lifeblood of Chinese culture.
In short, the "Two Combinations" have produced a new overall system where the "whole is greater than the parts." This is the "trinity" of a "new cultural lifeform," which takes Marxism as its "soul-vein," fine traditional Chinese culture as its "root-vein," and the center-task as solving the specific current realities of China through seeking truth from facts. The autonomous knowledge system constructed under the guidance of Sinicized Marxism in the New Era is precisely the spiritual and civilized achievement of this "new cultural lifeform."
- The non-substitutability of the "First Combination" and the "Second Combination" and the profound influence of the "Second Combination"
In the process of generating the "new cultural lifeform," the "First Combination" and the "Second Combination" each play different roles at different levels and cannot substitute for one another. We know that current specific realities are produced by people within a certain cultural tradition in their practice of striving for their own survival and development; they are the "surface layer" of the soil of practice, which latently contains the traditional cultural genes passed down through generations. Does this mean, then, that the "First Combination" (combining Marxist principles with China's specific realities) already includes the "Second Combination" (combining Marxist principles with fine traditional culture), thus making the "Second Combination" redundant? This cannot be assumed. This is because the traditional cultural genes implied in the specific reality are only local and superficial expressions of the deep-seated traditional cultural genes, not the genes themselves. Therefore, although the "First Combination" also indirectly, locally, and superficially connects with "fine traditional Chinese culture," it cannot contain or replace the "Second Combination."
Just as the traits of the human body are jointly determined by deep-seated genes and the external living environment: for treatment and healthcare, it is necessary to combine modern medicine with the specific problems occurring in the body's specific traits, which also indirectly connects with human genes because these traits contain the partial effects of deep-seated human genes. However, for those diseases and health issues that affect a person's entire life, it is necessary not only to combine modern medicine with current specific symptoms but also to combine modern medicine directly with the person's genes—to fully unleash the potential of good genes and to eliminate or suppress the interference of bad genes. As a science for treating social diseases and maintaining the healthy development of the entire society, Marxism is the same. It must not only be combined with China's specific realities (the "First Combination"), but it must also be linked to the deep-seated causes of these specific realities—the Chinese traditional cultural genes—to eliminate and resist the "bad genes" in traditional culture and fully unleash the potential of the "fine traditional cultural genes" (the "Second Combination"). Only in this way can the long-term healthy development of the entire society be fundamentally ensured.
Therefore, in the New Era, while adhering to—
Building upon the basis of the "first combination," we must also consciously persist in the "second combination." This is because fine traditional Chinese culture represents the historical accumulation of the Chinese nation’s pursuit of its own survival and development across generations; it is the root of the Chinese nation’s cultural lineage and the root of the Chinese people’s historical subjectivity. While the "first combination" addresses the problems currently facing the survival and development of the Chinese people, the "second combination" addresses the questions of the historical traditions and future directions of the Chinese nation—past, present, and future. It establishes the subjective identity of the Chinese nation and roots it within the historical process of the nation, as well as within the hearts of the broad masses of the people who inherit and create fine traditional Chinese culture.
In today's world, where the changes unseen in a century [13] are accelerating, persisting in the "second combination" is of particular importance. Should it be absent, our major policies and principles would lose their "roots and veins" anchor in a turbulent world, falling into the trap of historical nihilism [14]. The country and the nation would be reduced to historical orphans, the people would become spiritual and cultural refugees, and there would be no possibility of constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system. Furthermore, fine traditional Chinese culture is not an abstract concept; it is a living reality accumulated over thousands of years of transmission, rooted in the hearts and daily behaviors of every son and daughter of China. From the perspective of the development of human history, the "second combination" has a particularly profound influence on the historical development of the nation, providing a deep and heavy historical foundation for the "first combination."
III. The "Two Combinations": The Fundamental Path for Upholding the Fundamentals and Breaking New Ground
The process of constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system must be a process of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground in Marxist theory: upholding the "fundamentals" of Marxism’s people-centered approach and seeking truth from facts, while "breaking new ground" in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. How, then, can we walk this path? Only through the "two combinations."
1. The Fundamental Path for "Upholding the Fundamentals"
In the process of constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system, we must uphold the "fundamentals" of Marxism, the essence of which is the people-centered approach and seeking truth from facts. Any deviation would cause the independent knowledge system we construct to degenerate into a "derivative" of Western "universal values" [15] wearing a Marxist label. It must be pointed out that true upholding of the fundamentals does not mean sticking stubbornly to the words and sentences of Marxism, but rather implementing the "two combinations."
"Upholding the fundamentals" must implement the "first combination." The most important criterion within this is "bottom-line thinking." General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "We are a large country and must never commit subversive errors on fundamental issues; once they occur, they are irreparable and irredeemable." Not committing "subversive errors" is the bottom line of upholding the fundamentals, and "bottom-line thinking" is its deep logic. It is precisely in the spirit of the "bottom-line thinking" principle that our Party, facing complex and ever-changing objective realities, has formulated bottom lines that must be strictly observed in the economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological civilization fields. The insistence of the independent Chinese knowledge system on the Marxist bottom line is precisely the manifestation of bottom-line thinking in ideology. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must persist in upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground. No matter how reform is carried out, fundamental things such as upholding the Party's overall leadership, persisting in Marxism, persisting in the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and persisting in the people's democratic dictatorship must absolutely not be wavered. At the same time, we must dare to innovate, changing what should and can be changed effectively and thoroughly, and grasping firmly what we have set our sights on."
The overall bottom line must be reflected in various specific fields, thereby clarifying the boundaries of "upholding the fundamentals" and preventing the erosion of the bottom line through "playing edge ball" (taking risks near the limit of what is allowed). For example, regarding the reform of the economic system, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that for the rural land system, "no matter how it is reformed, we cannot collapse the collective ownership of rural land, we cannot reduce the amount of arable land, we cannot weaken grain production capacity, and we cannot harm the interests of the farmers." Regarding the reform of state-owned enterprises (SOEs), "promoting the preservation and appreciation of the value of state assets, driving state capital to become stronger, better, and larger, and effectively preventing the loss of state assets"—anything detrimental to these three points constitutes crossing the "bottom line." In the construction of the knowledge system of jurisprudence, we must strictly guard against some people using abstract human nature theory and so-called "universal values" to dissolve the foundation of the democratic dictatorship of the proletariat.
"Upholding the fundamentals" must also implement the "second combination." To use Marxism as the guiding ideology for a country with such vast territory and a huge population like China, we must combine the basic tenets of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture. This is because fine traditional Chinese culture is a precious spiritual and cultural wealth for the sons and daughters of China; it has bridged the divide between agricultural and nomadic peoples and became the common spiritual wealth of the entire Chinese nation. Historically, the agricultural people of the Central Plains and the surrounding nomadic peoples were inherently interdependent in their material and cultural lives, possessing strong complementarity. In history, internal wars within the Chinese nation were actually a negative expression of this interdependence: because without the other, neither could survive or develop. It was precisely through the interactions and conflicts arising from this interdependence that the cultural gene of "integration of family and state" and the "Great Unity" [16], transmitted through generations, was formed, along with the basic structure of Chinese culture which integrates Confucianism, Legalism, and Taoism. As [Henry] Kissinger mentioned, China's ability to endure to this day has depended mainly on a set of values believed in by the common people and the literati (shidaifu), rather than on the repression of successive emperors. The sentiment of family-country and the ideology of "people as the foundation" (minben) are the values most esteemed by the Chinese people. The collectivist values we have formed over the long term share many points of affinity with the values under the socialist system that are compatible with modern socialized productive forces. Therefore, through the "second combination," the "roots and veins" of fine traditional Chinese culture and the "soul and veins" of Marxism are mutually anchored, enriching and strengthening the power of Marxist fundamentals as a whole and promoting the rooting of Marxism in the hearts of the masses.
2. The Fundamental Path for "Breaking New Ground"
"The 'combination' itself is an innovation, opening up a vast space for theoretical and practical innovation"; "the process of 'combination' is extremely complex and full of challenges, requiring great creativity." While the "two combinations" strengthen "upholding the fundamentals," they also provide a source of practice and a historical goldmine for theoretical innovation. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is a classic exemplary work in this regard. In the process of constructing independent knowledge systems in various fields, we must not only take this as programmatic thought but also learn the scientific method of the "two combinations" contained within it, thereby constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system that meets the requirements of the times and possesses Chinese characteristics and Chinese style.
The reason why the "two combinations" can open up inexhaustible sources of innovation is that once the basic tenets of Marxism are combined with contemporary China’s specific realities, a "chemical reaction" occurs. This results in many new things and new landscapes that transform the world, while also generating new problems at a higher level that need to be solved, providing a continuous stream of innovative power. For example, the socialist market economy system was created this way, rather than through debates in a study. In order to better develop and revitalize enterprises, we reformed China's economic system and established an ownership structure with public ownership as the mainstay and the common development of multiple forms of ownership. During this process, although some problems emerged, they prompted us to carry out theoretical innovation, leading to the formation of the basic socialist economic system and a series of theoretical innovations such as the "two unswervinglys" [17]. In the process of opening up to the outside world, we encountered "bottleneck" (straitjacket) problems [18], so we persisted in combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities, carried out theoretical innovation, and produced the theoretical achievement of the "new development pattern with the domestic cycle as the mainstay and the domestic and international dual cycles promoting each other." Every theoretical innovation of our Party is a result of combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities.
The "two combinations" can also open up inexhaustible sources of innovation because every innovative achievement and corresponding decision of our Party in the New Era embodies the "second combination." Integrating the basic tenets of Marxism into the long historical development of the Chinese nation both "inherits from the past" to continue the roots and "opens up the future" to create a new path. This not only makes full use of the affinities between fine traditional Chinese culture and Marxism in terms of values and philosophical concepts but also deeply analyzes the various historical experiences of Chinese governance over thousands of years, using their successes and failures as references for today's decision-making. A prominent and great innovation among these is the combination of the Marxist theory of the people as the subject with ancient Chinese "people-as-foundation" (minben) thought, which, combined with China's specific realities, created the system of whole-process people's democracy. The combination of Marxist Party-building thought with the Chinese cultural tradition of "cultivation of the gentleman" (junzi) has realized major theoretical innovations in "democratic supervision" and "the Party's self-revolution" to govern corruption with Chinese characteristics. Such examples are too numerous to mention. The "second combination," with the historical accumulation formed by the great practices of the Chinese nation’s thousands of years of civilizational development, provides a source of theoretical innovation with a sense of historical weight for constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system. Thus, "the 'two combinations' are both the guiding principles for Chinese Communists to understand and grasp the theoretical characteristics and internal laws of Marxism, and the fundamental path to promote the Party’s theoretical innovation and continuously open up new frontiers in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism."
IV. The "Two Combinations": The Fundamental Path for Establishing Subjective Status to Realize Mutual Learning Between Civilizations
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that building an independent Chinese knowledge system requires being adept at integrating various resources from ancient and modern, Chinese and foreign sources. In particular, three types of resources must be grasped: first, Marxist resources; second, fine traditional Chinese culture resources; and third, foreign philosophy and social science resources. "We must persist in making the past serve the present and foreign things serve China, integrating various resources, and continuously promoting innovation in knowledge, theory, and methods." The "two combinations" are not meant to construct a closed system, but to establish the subjective status of the Chinese nation, absorb the advanced cultures of all countries in the world, and carry out mutual learning between civilizations and international cooperation.
First, the "two combinations" provide the subjective prerequisite for us to carry out mutual learning between civilizations in the construction of an independent Chinese knowledge system. To boldly absorb and borrow from all civilizational achievements created by human society and to realize mutual learning between civilizations in the process of building China’s independent knowledge system, we must first establish the subjective status of the Chinese nation. This is because "for any culture to stand firm and travel far, to have leadership, cohesion, transformative power, and radiation power, it must have its own subjectivity." Learning from foreign experience without subjectivity will inevitably lead to the loss of one's own right to speak (huayuquan). Not only will the most critical things remain unlearned, but by losing what was originally one’s own, one falls into the predicament of "the toddler of Handan" [19], and building an independent Chinese knowledge system becomes empty talk. The "two combinations" establish the subjectivity of the Chinese nation from three aspects: first, by persisting in the people-centered approach and the guiding status of Marxism to establish the real subjective status of the people, which is the foundation of subjectivity; second, by combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities to clarify the fundamental purpose of China's foreign exchanges—to solve its own specific practical problems; and third, by combining the basic tenets of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture to clarify the subjective positioning of Chinese civilization in the history of world civilizations, thereby establishing the root of subjectivity.
Second, constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system through the "two combinations" makes a Chinese contribution to mutual learning between civilizations and provides reciprocal conditions for absorbing and borrowing from other countries. Any international exchange or learning of advanced theories and experiences from other countries is a two-way reciprocal process, rather than a one-sided one. The prerequisite for two-way reciprocity is that each party must have its own unique expertise rather than having no strengths and relying blindly on other countries. One-way learning and exchange cannot last long, because depending on others’ whims leaves one susceptible to "bottlenecks" at any time. Only by constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system through the "two combinations"—thereby producing unique contributions for solving China’s specific problems and unique advantages gained from the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture—can we be in a proactive position in learning and truly realize mutual learning between civilizations, ensuring that the independent knowledge system we construct benefits the whole world.
Third, through...
The "Two Combinations" construct China’s independent knowledge system, providing Chinese solutions for global governance, building a community with a shared future for humanity, and enhancing China’s international discourse power. Western civilization, utilizing its first-mover advantage in the process of modernization, occupies a dominant position in the contemporary system of human civilization. The "law of the jungle" [20] they uphold, and its derivative rational logic cloaked in the "liberal order," currently dominate the world. When the Left is in power, they deceive the world with disguised "universal values," while the Right, when in power, acts willfully with naked hegemonic force, plundering the resources and land of other nations in total disregard for the constraints of international law and the condemnation of international morality. The "law of the jungle" model practiced by the international community, characterized by the strong bullying the weak, is not only costly but also places the world in the perilous danger of fragmentation and war. The independent Chinese knowledge system constructed through the "Two Combinations" can provide concepts and solutions to address the severe problems facing the world today.
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Chinese civilization possesses outstanding inclusivity. Chinese civilization has never replaced diverse cultures with a single culture; rather, it allows diverse cultures to converge into a common culture, resolving conflicts and building consensus... The inclusivity of Chinese civilization fundamentally determines the historical orientation of the Chinese nation toward interaction, exchange, and integration; it determines the harmonious pattern of pluralistic coexistence of various religious beliefs in China; and it determines the open-mindedness of Chinese culture toward world civilizations in terms of drawing on their strengths. Chinese civilization possesses outstanding peaceability. Peace, amity, and harmony are concepts that Chinese civilization has inherited for over five thousand years. It advocates constructing a world of 'unity between the group and the self' [21] through a moral order, prioritizing others in the relationship between the self and others. It advocates for 'intercourse leading to harmony' [22] and opposes isolation and occlusion; it advocates for 'coexistence and joint progress' and opposes forcing others to follow oneself; it advocates for 'maintaining supreme harmony' [23] and opposes the law of the jungle. The peaceability of Chinese civilization fundamentally determines that China will always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order. It determines that China continuously pursues exchange and mutual learning among civilizations rather than seeking cultural hegemony; it determines that China will not impose its own values and political system on others; and it determines that China persists in cooperation rather than confrontation, and will never engage in 'siding with those of the same ilk and persecuting those who differ' [24] in small cliques." It is precisely on the basis of the "Two Combinations" that China has proposed the "Four Major Global Initiatives" to the world—namely, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, the Global Civilization Initiative, and the Global Governance Initiative—to promote the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, making major contributions to human survival and development. The independent knowledge system thus constructed by China will inevitably gain the recognition of the people of the world and achieve international discourse power.
In summary, the "Two Combinations" constitute the fundamental path for constructing China’s independent knowledge system. The independent knowledge system established through this path not only uses the basic principles of Marxism to guide China's specific practices, serving the knowledge system of Chinese-path modernization, but also integrates the "soul-vein" of Marxism into the "root-vein" of fine traditional Chinese culture, engaging in mutual learning among civilizations with other countries as a subject in its own right. This independent knowledge system, possessing Chinese spirit and Chinese style, benefits both China and the world.
(The author’s affiliation: School of Marxism, Shanghai University of Finance and Economics) Source: Marxism Studies (Mǎkèxūzhǔyì Yánjiū), Issue 4, 2026. Editor: Huihui.