Qin Xuan and Qiu Anqi: Promoting High-Quality Development of the Discipline of Marxist Theory Through Uprightness and Innovation
Discipline construction is the foundational project for conducting basic research, applied research, and frontier exploration. The discipline of Marxist theory is the leading discipline within the disciplinary system of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics.
On May 17, 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the Symposium on Philosophy and Social Sciences [1], systematically discussing the importance of "upholding the guiding position of Marxism in the field of philosophy and social sciences in our country." He explicitly proposed the important task of "accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics" under the guidance of Marxism, providing a fundamental compliance for the development of philosophy and social sciences in the New Era, and pointing the way forward for the construction of the Marxist theory discipline. Over the past decade, the construction of the Marxist theory discipline has achieved substantial progress, and its leading role within the disciplinary system of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics has become increasingly prominent. On the New Journey, to advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization, we must promote theoretical innovation based on practical innovation, further propelling the high-quality development of the discipline while upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground.
Substantial progress in the construction of the Marxist theory discipline
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to ideological Party building and strengthening the Party through theory. General Secretary Xi Jinping has delivered a series of important discourses surrounding the strengthening of Marxist theoretical research and construction, profoundly answering directional and fundamental questions regarding upholding and developing Marxism. He has systematically elucidated the goals, basic principles, fundamental tasks, and key work of Marxist theoretical research and discipline construction, providing scientific guidance and fundamental compliance for the discipline’s development. Over the past decade, under the strong leadership and high-level planning of the Party Central Committee, the Marxist theory discipline has entered a stage of rapid development, achieving historical achievements in serving national strategies, perfecting the disciplinary system, improving the effectiveness of education, and optimizing the talent pool.
Persistence in serving national strategies has effectively consolidated the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological sphere. Over the past decade, the Marxist theory discipline has remained committed to advancing the Party's ideological and theoretical construction, achieving remarkable results in scientific research, theoretical interpretation, and service to practice. First, scientific research has yielded more fruitful results, providing academic support for promoting the Party's theoretical innovation. A vast number of theoretical workers have focused their research on classic Marxist texts, fundamental Marxist theory, and the latest achievements in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, producing a batch of high-quality academic works that have played an important role in raising the Marxist theoretical level of the entire Party and the theoretical community. Second, the research and interpretation of the Party's innovative theories have become more profound, providing an important guarantee for the effectiveness of theoretical study and publicity. The construction of the Marxist theory discipline has always focused on its important role in "consolidating the soul and soul-building" [2]. Through systematic and academic research on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, focusing on the era's background, scientific system, spiritual essence, practical requirements, and original contributions of the Party's innovative theories, scholars have gained deep insights into the reasoning, scholarship, and philosophy therein. This has promoted the internalization, deepening, and transformation of the Party's innovative theories, enhancing the targeting and effectiveness of study and publicity. Third, by focusing on major issues in the practice of Chinese-path modernization, the discipline has provided intellectual support for the development of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The construction of the Marxist theory discipline has always maintained a clear practice-oriented approach, applying Marxist positions, viewpoints, and methods to carry out in-depth research on major issues concerning the development of the Party and the country, providing theoretical navigation for the practice of socialist modernization.
The disciplinary system is increasingly perfected, effectively shoring up the leading role of the Marxist theory discipline. Over the past decade, along with the in-depth advancement of discipline construction, Marxist theory has made major strides in layout optimization, scale expansion, platform construction, and institutional norms. First, the disciplinary layout has been continuously optimized. The various secondary disciplines under the first-level discipline have undergone several adjustments, forming a scientifically rational layout consisting of six secondary disciplines with clear positioning, complete structure, and mutual support. Second, the scale of the discipline has expanded significantly. After more than 20 years, and especially the last 10 years of development, the Marxist theory discipline has become one of the disciplines with the most distribution points, the largest construction teams, the largest enrollment scale, the widest social influence, and the most abundant academic output in the country. Third, platform support has been comprehensively strengthened. The construction of National Key Schools of Marxism has been deeply advanced. Platforms such as the Ministry of Education's key research bases, collaborative innovation centers, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era Research Centers (Institutes) have worked in synergy to support a massive academic community with a sound echelon structure, providing solid organizational support for discipline construction. Fourth, disciplinary management has gradually improved. Institutional norms such as the standards for reviewing degree-granting authority and the disciplinary evaluation index system have become increasingly sound, forming a healthy development pattern that combines national overall guidance with the autonomous construction of universities. These achievements have enabled the Marxist theory discipline to form a complete and effective disciplinary institutional framework, laying a solid foundation for its leading role in the disciplinary system of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics.
The effectiveness of education has been continuously enhanced, with disciplinary development supporting significant achievements in the construction of "Ideological and Political Courses" (思政课). Over the past decade, the Marxist theory discipline has always regarded supporting the construction of Ideological and Political Courses as an important mission of its development, making significant progress in construction concepts, reform and innovation, teaching methods, and teaching effectiveness. First, the concepts guiding the construction of Ideological and Political Courses have been continuously elevated. From the strategic positioning that "Ideological and Political Courses are the key courses for implementing the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education (立德树人)" [3], to the revelation of the law that "the essence of Ideological and Political Courses is to explain reasoning," and then to the proposal and practice of the "Great Ideological and Political Course" [4] concept, these have provided fundamental compliance for promoting the construction of these courses in the New Era. Second, the reform and innovation of Ideological and Political Courses have been advanced in depth. The course "Introduction to Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era" has been fully established in universities, primary, and secondary schools nationwide. Unified textbooks have been published and distributed, and the integrated construction of Ideological and Political Courses across all educational levels has been continuously promoted, achieving simultaneous improvements in curriculum, textbooks, and teaching. Third, teaching methods have been continuously innovated. Case teaching, situational teaching, and flipped classrooms have been widely applied. Digital technologies such as virtual simulation, big data, and artificial intelligence have been deeply integrated into teaching. The construction of the "Great Ideological and Political Course" has extended the educational field from the classroom to society. Fourth, the effectiveness of teaching has been significantly improved. Through the careful establishment of practical teaching bases, the continuous holding of training seminars for backbone teachers, and the innovative organization of collective lesson preparation meetings for college teachers nationwide, the pertinence and effectiveness of university Ideological and Political Courses have been essentially enhanced.
The construction of the talent pool has been optimized, fully activating the endogenous power of disciplinary development. The talent pool is the primary resource for disciplinary development. Over the past decade, the Marxist theory discipline has exerted effort in both team building and talent cultivation, providing a solid talent guarantee for the sustainable development of the discipline. First, the ranks of Marxist theoretical talent have continuously expanded. The number of full-time researchers has continued to grow, and the structures of educational background, age, academic origin, and professional titles have been significantly optimized. A group of leading talents and young-to-middle-aged academic mainstays have emerged, and a high-quality research team with firm faith, solid theoretical foundations, sufficient numbers, and an optimized structure is rapidly forming. Second, talent cultivation at all levels has achieved remarkable results. The structure of disciplinary talent cultivation has been continuously optimized, forming an integrated undergraduate-master-doctoral talent cultivation system, realizing continuity, specialization, and progression in talent cultivation, and steadily improving the quality of cultivation. Third, talent cultivation and team building have achieved a virtuous interaction. Through the implementation of measures such as the "Special Support Plan for Cultivating Reserve Talents for the Team of University Ideological and Political Theory Course Teachers" and the "Special Plan for Backbone Personnel in University Ideological and Political Work to Pursue Doctoral Degrees while Working," a large number of excellent talents have been channeled into university teaching and grassroots ideological and political work. This virtuous cycle of mutual promotion between talent cultivation and team building has injected inexhaustible impetus into the sustained prosperity and development of the discipline.
Opportunities and challenges facing the construction of the Marxist theory discipline
In the New Era and on the New Journey, the construction of the Marxist theory discipline faces both unprecedented opportunities and challenges that cannot be ignored. Assessing these opportunities and challenges is an important prerequisite for promoting the high-quality development of the discipline while upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground.
In terms of opportunities, multiple favorable factors such as the expansion of the discipline's mission, the nourishment provided by great practice, the adjustment of the global order, and the empowerment of digital technology are interwoven, providing broad space for the further development of the Marxist theory discipline.
First, the strategic leading opportunity brought by the expansion of the discipline's mission. From the 2015 "Opinions on Further Strengthening and Improving the Publicity and Ideological Work of Universities under the New Situation" which required "enhancing the leading role of the Marxist theory discipline and implementing the Marxist Theory Discipline Pilot Plan," to General Secretary Xi Jinping's 2016 emphasis at the Symposium on Philosophy and Social Sciences on "upholding the guiding position of Marxism in the field of philosophy and social sciences in our country," to the 2017 "Opinions on Accelerating the Construction of Philosophy and Social Sciences with Chinese Characteristics" which proposed "consolidating the fundamental status of the first-level discipline of Marxist theory and strengthening the construction of Marxist-related disciplines in various fields of philosophy and social sciences," the leading position of the Marxist theory discipline in the system of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics has been gradually established. Particularly, the proposal to "accelerate the construction of an autonomous knowledge system for China's philosophy and social sciences" has further expanded the functional positioning and responsibilities of the Marxist theory discipline, providing strategic traction for planning development from a higher standpoint and within a larger framework.
Second, the opportunity for theoretical innovation brought by the achievements of grand practice. Practice is the basis of theory. Major theoretical innovations in Marxism are often refined and sublimated based on the summary of practical experience. The great practice of Chinese-path modernization in the New Era and the full manifestation of the advantages of the Chinese system have provided the Marxist theory discipline with rich empirical material and new growth points for theory. The conditions for "summing up Chinese experience well using Chinese reasoning and elevating Chinese experience into Chinese theory" are more mature.
Third, the opportunity for international communication brought by the adjustment of global order. As the great changes unseen in a century accelerate, the international community's attention to Chinese theory, the Chinese path, and Chinese solutions continues to rise. Global demand for research on and reference to the Sinicized and modernized Marxism is growing daily. This provides a brand-new historical opportunity for the Marxist theory discipline to "go global," tell China's story well, and enhance its international academic influence.
Fourth, the opportunity for innovative development brought by the empowerment of digital technology. The new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation, represented by big data, artificial intelligence, and blockchain, is profoundly changing the production methods, lifestyles, and thinking patterns of human society. The rapid development of digital technology provides powerful technical support for the digital processing of classic literature, the innovation of academic research paradigms, the intelligent transformation of teaching models for Ideological and Political Courses, and the precise reach of theoretical communication, opening a brand-new space for the high-quality development of the Marxist theory discipline.
At the same time, the Marxist theory discipline has accumulated some existing problems that urgently need to be resolved during its rapid development, and it also faces some incremental problems brought about by "the changes of the world, of history, and of the times" [5].
First, discipline construction urgently needs to shift from scale expansion to quality improvement. The rapid growth in the number of disciplinary points has, to a certain extent, led to uneven construction levels. The problem of being "large but not strong" and "numerous but not excellent" still exists within a certain scope. Some regions and universities tend to favor form over content and achievements over problems in discipline construction.
Second, discipline construction urgently needs to shift from breakthrough development to balanced development. There is a large gap in the construction level of Marxist theory disciplines between different regions and different levels of universities. The imbalance between the eastern and the central-western regions, and between key universities and general universities, is prominent. The allocation of development resources needs further optimization.
Third, discipline construction urgently needs to shift from development guaranteed by external conditions to development driven by subjective initiative. Discipline construction cannot rely solely on external policy support and resource investment; in the final analysis, it must rely on itself. Status is earned through achievement (有为才能有位). Only by effectively building a strong and excellent disciplinary team can the leading position of the Marxist theory discipline truly be worthy of the name.
Fourth, discipline construction faces the problem of insufficient innovation capacity. Currently, the phenomenon of homogenization in the research of the Marxist theory discipline is relatively serious. The ability to "explain politics through scholarship" and to carry out theoretical innovation based on practical innovation needs to be improved. Facing the continuous acceleration of the pace of reality, theoretical research responses are lagging to a certain extent. The tension between the discipline's theoretical supply and practical development is increasingly prominent, and the ability to "explain the world" and "change the world" is somewhat insufficient.
Fifth, the transformation of disciplinary paradigms to adapt to the development of digital technology remains to be further advanced. The rapid development of digital technology demands a comprehensive revolution in the research paradigms, teaching models, and dissemination methods of the discipline of Marxist theory. At present, however, the overall progress of the discipline’s digital transformation remains relatively lagging. The reconstruction of research paradigms under the conditions of artificial intelligence is still in its nascent stages; the deep integration of digital technology with the teaching of ideological and political theory courses [6] has not yet effectively unfolded; and the modes of scholarly discourse expression suited to the laws of dissemination in the age of artificial intelligence require further exploration and innovation. Accelerating the promotion of digital transformation and paradigm reconstruction has become an urgent task for the high-quality development of the discipline.
Adopting Multiple Measures to Promote the High-Quality Development of the Discipline of Marxist Theory
"This is an era that requires theory and is certainly capable of producing theory; this is an era that requires thought and is certainly capable of producing thought. We must not fail this era." [7] Advancing the construction of the discipline of Marxist theory from a new historical starting point requires an objective analysis of the new situation facing disciplinary development. We must persist in upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, and pursue a path of high-quality, connotative development.
We must persist in upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, using original research to drive the study and interpretation of the Party’s innovative theories to new heights. We must maintain the correct orientation of disciplinary construction and grasp its key priorities, consistently taking the study, research, publicity, and implementation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the top priority. We must deeply research its scientific system, essential essence, and practical requirements, focusing on interpreting the original contributions and fundamental theoretical achievements contained therein. We must strengthen the systematization and theorization of our research and interpretation, consciously using the "Two Combinations" [8] as methodological guidance. Grounded in the profound theoretical foundations of classical works, we should promote the construction of the disciplinary system through the organic unity of historical, theoretical, and practical logic, thereby accelerating the construction of an independent knowledge system for the discipline of Marxist theory. We must strengthen discourse innovation, using easy-to-understand language to convincingly explain the reasoning, scholarship, and philosophy within the Party’s innovative theories, effectively promoting these theories so they take root in the hearts of the people.
We must strengthen disciplinary leadership, using high-quality disciplinary development to drive the prosperity and growth of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. We must profoundly understand and grasp the duties and missions of the discipline of Marxist theory, using its high-quality development to provide directional, theoretical, and methodological leadership for other disciplines in the philosophy and social sciences, ensuring that the construction of the entire philosophy and social science field always adheres to scientific guiding ideologies and the correct standpoint. Specifically, on one hand, we must continuously improve the level of the discipline’s own construction, striving to build a more complete disciplinary system, an independently innovative academic system, and a discourse system that integrates Chinese and foreign elements. This will comprehensively enhance the discipline's strength and academic influence, consolidating the disciplinary foundation for its leadership role. On the other hand, we must give full play to the discipline's driving and pivotal functions, strengthening the sense of academic community. We must coordinate the "Five Armies" [9] to work in synergy and explore new models of "organized scientific research" across disciplines. We should use the "arrow" of Marxism to shoot at the "target" of New Era China [10], exploring new paradigms for philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics through multi-disciplinary collaboration, and driving the overall prosperity of philosophy and social sciences through high-quality disciplinary development.
We must persist in a problem-oriented approach, enhancing disciplinary consciousness in responding to major issues of national governance and human development. The era is the mother of thought. "An era of great social change is bound to be an era of great development in philosophy and social sciences." [11] Against the backdrop of accelerating iterations of technological change and increasingly fierce competition between major powers, the discipline of Marxist theory should deeply grasp the pulse of the era’s development, analyze and judge new situations and problems emerging in practice, and promote theoretical innovation through the resolution of practical problems. Specifically, we must adapt to the changes of the era by optimizing and innovating theoretical paradigms for explaining and changing the world, optimizing developmental concepts, goals, and paths, and facing reality and responding to the era with a stronger problem-consciousness. We must focus on major issues in the process of Chinese-path modernization, providing effective theoretical supply and powerful spiritual strength for the construction of a strong country and national rejuvenation through high-quality think tank achievements. We must keenly grasp the profound impact of the technological revolution and the superimposed transition from industrial civilization to digital civilization, actively responding to major theoretical and practical questions during this civilizational transition to consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological sphere in the digital age.
We must remain true to our original aspiration of educating people, transforming theoretical and disciplinary advantages into the practical efficacy of cultivating people through university ideological and political theory courses. The key path here lies in supporting the construction of ideological and political courses with high-quality disciplinary construction, promoting the connotative development of these courses. Regarding educational content, we must synchronize the construction of ideological and political courses with the arming of students with the Party’s innovative theories, using the latest research results of the discipline as support to ensure new achievements in soul-shaping and person-cultivating through the Party's innovative theories. Regarding the educational landscape, we must coordinate the integrated construction of ideological and political education across primary schools, secondary schools, and universities, building a "Grand Ideological and Political" [12] educational pattern with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the core content—connecting vertically across levels and linking horizontally across sectors—to consolidate a majestic force for cultivating the newcomers of the era. Regarding educational methods, we must adapt to the requirements of the digital civilization era, promoting the intelligent upgrade of teaching methods and platforms, empowering the construction of the teaching force with digital technology, and enhancing teachers' ability and literacy in using new technologies for teaching, while cultivating students' basic literacy in digital civilization. In short, we must support the curriculum system with the disciplinary system, consolidate the textbook system with the academic system, and empower the teaching system with the discourse system, truly transforming disciplinary advantages into advantages in education and teaching.
We must expand our global perspective, continuously enhancing the international discourse power and influence of the discipline. Against the backdrop of the accelerated evolution of the world's changes unseen in a century, the discipline of Marxist theory must participate in global academic dialogues with a more proactive stance. Regarding theoretical dissemination, we should focus on constructing an academic discourse system that integrates Chinese and foreign elements, distilling "identifying concepts" that are easily understood and accepted by the international community to enhance the explanatory power and appeal of Chinese theory internationally. Regarding mutual academic learning, we should maintain an open and inclusive academic mind, scientifically identifying and critically absorbing the research results of foreign philosophy and social sciences, treating their positive achievements as beneficial nourishment for disciplinary construction, and broadening our theoretical horizons through deepening international academic exchange and cooperation. Regarding civilizational contribution, we should uphold a commitment to the common good of the world, basing ourselves on the successful practice of Chinese-path modernization to contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the advancement of the global modernization process.