Zhang Xiaoping: The New Era Urgently Requires Philosophy and Social Sciences to Play a Better Role
On May 17, 2016, General Secretary Xi Jinping presided over the Seminar on Philosophy and Social Sciences and delivered an important speech. He profoundly elucidated major theoretical and practical issues, including why the New Era urgently requires the philosophy and social sciences to play a better role, why contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences must adhere to the guidance of Marxism, and how to flourish and develop contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences endowed with Chinese style, Chinese character, and a Chinese discourse system. He proposed the strategic task of building the "Three Systems"—a disciplinary system, an academic system, and a discourse system guided by Marxism. Over the past ten years, the "Five Armies" [1] of the philosophy and social sciences have focused closely on the epochal demand for these fields to play a greater role, achieving significant results in their respective domains. Facing new situations and changes in the internal and external environments of the New Era, workers in the philosophy and social sciences must stand at the forefront of the trends of the times, penetrate the transformations of the past and present, and voice the precursors of thought. In particular, they must give full play to the unique role of the philosophy and social sciences in integrating Chinese and foreign cultures and promoting civilization exchange, shoulder the glorious mission bestowed by history.
The Necessity of Attaching Great Importance to the Philosophy and Social Sciences
Every major leap in human society and every significant development of human civilization is inseparable from the knowledge transformation and intellectual leadership provided by the philosophy and social sciences. The "Axial Age" from 800 BC to 200 BC was a vital turning point in the history of human thought, seeing the emergence of many great philosophers and thinkers. This era was a period of major breakthrough for the spirit of human civilization. During the "Axial Age," great spiritual mentors appeared in various civilizations: Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle in Ancient Greece; Shakyamuni in Ancient India; and Confucius, Laozi, and Mozi in China... The ideological principles they proposed shaped different cultural traditions, laid the foundations of several major human civilizations, and have continued to influence human society thereafter.
The European Renaissance from the 14th to the 16th centuries was a great cultural movement of intellectual emancipation. In just two or three hundred years, it produced a host of cultural and intellectual giants across multiple fields such as politics, literature, art, science, and philosophy, including Dante, Boccaccio, Da Vinci, Raphael, Copernicus, Bruno, Galileo, Shakespeare, Thomas More, and Campanella. When referring to the Renaissance, people often cite an evaluation by Engels in the introduction to Dialectics of Nature: "It was the greatest progressive revolution that mankind had so far experienced, a time which called for giants and produced giants—giants in power of thought, passion and character, in universality and learning."
The European Enlightenment of the 17th and 18th centuries was another great movement of intellectual emancipation following the Renaissance, producing a large number of bourgeois thinkers such as Hobbes, Locke, Voltaire, Montesquieu, Rousseau, Diderot, and Helvétius. The Enlightenment provided the ideological and theoretical preparation for the British Bourgeois Revolution, the French Bourgeois Revolution, and the American War of Independence; simultaneously, it provided the essential intellectual context and epochal background for the birth of Marxism. As the three sources of Marxism, German classical philosophy, English classical political economy, and French utopian socialism all took the Enlightenment as their direct precursor. It can be said that without the development of European philosophy and social sciences in the 18th and 19th centuries, the formation and development of Marxism would not have been possible.
Chinese civilization has a long history. From the "Study of the Masters" [2] of the pre-Qin period, the "Study of the Classics" [3] of the Han dynasties, and the "Gnosis" [4] of the Wei and Jin periods, to the Buddhist studies of the Sui and Tang, the convergence of Confucianism, Buddhism, and Taoism, and the "Rationalist School" [5] of the Song and Ming dynasties, it has experienced several periods of intellectual prosperity. It has produced a vast number of great thinkers and left behind a sea of cultural heritage. The numerous monumental works of ancient China contain rich content regarding the philosophy and social sciences and the wisdom of governance and administration. These provided an important basis for the ancients to perceive and transform the world, constituted vital content for Chinese civilization, and made significant contributions to human civilization.
After the Opium War, figures such as Lin Zexu, Wei Yuan, and Yan Fu turned their gaze toward the West. From "learning the superior techniques of the barbarians to control the barbarians" [6] to "Chinese learning as the essence, Western learning for application" [7], and from the Westernization Movement to the New Culture Movement, Western philosophy and social sciences were translated and introduced into China. Many began to use modern social science methods to study China's social problems. Particularly after the October Revolution, Chen Duxiu, Li Dazhao, and others actively spread Marxism, advocating its use to transform Chinese society. Many progressive scholars employed Marxism to conduct research in the philosophy and social sciences.
History demonstrates that eras of great social transformation must also be eras of great development in the philosophy and social sciences. Contemporary China is undergoing the most extensive and profound social transformation in our history and is carrying out the most grand and unique practical innovation in human history. Such unprecedented and great practice will inevitably provide powerful momentum and broad space for theoretical creation and academic prosperity. This is an era that needs theory and is certainly capable of producing theory; it is an era that needs thought and is certainly capable of producing thought. We must not fail this era.
Shouldering the Glorious Mission Bestowed by History
For the philosophy and social sciences to achieve success in the New Era, they must adhere to the concept of "conducting scholarship for the people." In the New Era, only by adhering to this concept and obtaining rich nourishment and a source of strength from the practice of the masses can we truly create research results that stand the test of practice, the people, and history. We must persist in a research orientation centered on the people, uphold the historical materialist view that the people are the creators of history, and take the fulfillment of the people’s aspiration for a better life as our goal. We must take it as our mission to respond to and resolve the hot-button and difficult issues that concern the people. We must go deep among the masses to explain the Party's theories, lines, principles, and policies clearly and profoundly, refining and elevating the experiences created by the people. We should resolve doubts and clarify truths around the needs of the people, enhancing theoretical persuasiveness and strengthening social cohesion.
The philosophy and social sciences in the New Era must use developing theory to guide developing practice. Since ancient times, Chinese intellectuals have held the aspiration and tradition "to establish the heart of Heaven and Earth, to secure the life and fortune of the people, to continue the lost teachings of past sages, and to establish peace for all future generations." [8] To uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, we must continuously explore in practice and theory, using developing theory to guide developing practice. We must closely integrate the development of the philosophy and social sciences with the resolution of major theoretical and practical problems in the development of the Party and state undertakings. We must adhere to a problem-oriented approach, base ourselves on Chinese reality, solve Chinese problems, and provide theoretical and academic support for effectively preventing and defusing various major risks, while providing intellectual support for planning national development strategies. Work in the philosophy and social sciences in the New Era should center on what we are currently doing, excavating new materials, discovering new problems, proposing new perspectives, and constructing new theories from the practice of China's reform and development.
The philosophy and social sciences in the New Era shoulder the important mission of telling China's story well and shaping China's image. To fully exert the role of our country’s philosophy and social sciences, we must pay attention to strengthening the construction of the discourse system, striving to create an academic discourse system with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese character. We must use Chinese theory to answer Chinese questions and Chinese discourse to interpret the Chinese path, telling China's story and spreading China's voice well. Philosophy and social science work in the New Era must be based on the historical context of building a strong country and national rejuvenation. It must proactively integrate history and reality, and stories and truths, to innovate narrative paradigms. It should take the historical achievements and transformations in the Party and state undertakings since the New Era, the building of a community with a shared future for humanity, and the creation of a new form of human civilization as narrative objects and fulcrums. We should tell China's story well through academic research, integrative construction, cross-cultural empathy, and empirical narratives.
The philosophy and social sciences in the New Era should contribute Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to solving global problems. We must exert their unique role in integrating Chinese and foreign cultures and increasing civilized exchange, focusing on answering the "questions of the times." We should actively disseminate Chinese voices, theories, and thoughts to promote the formation of international discourse power commensurate with our comprehensive national strength and international status, providing strong support for identifying the correct direction and gaining advantages amidst changes. Contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences have powerfully criticized "Western-centrism," making theoretical contributions to effectively resisting Western cultural hegemony and building a new international cultural order. Since the early 20th century, Western developed countries, led by the United States, have utilized their economic and information advantages to conduct one-dimensional cultural expansion toward developing countries, "exporting" Westernized cultural values to non-Western developing nations. This formed an international cultural order based on Western values, thereby maintaining their cultural hegemony internationally. Since the 21st century, with the rise of emerging economies, the center of gravity of the world economy has begun to shift from traditional developed countries to emerging economies. Developing countries, represented by China, promote interactions, exchanges, and heart-to-heart communication among the people of all countries in a spirit of equality, friendliness, mutual assistance, and cooperation, achieving harmonious coexistence and mutual learning between different civilizations. Such culture is no longer a "one-way" export but a "two-way" interaction. Such efforts are bound to usher in a new era in the international cultural landscape.
Contemporary Chinese Philosophy and Social Sciences Must Adhere to the Guidance of Marxism
Adhering to the guidance of Marxism is the fundamental hallmark that distinguishes contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences from others. Marxism profoundly reveals the universal laws of the development of nature, human society, and human thought, pointing the way for the progress of human society. Marxism adheres to the standpoint of achieving the liberation of the people and safeguarding their interests, taking the realization of free and well-rounded human development and the liberation of all mankind as its own responsibility, reflecting humanity's beautiful aspirations for an ideal society. Marxism reveals the essence, internal connections, and developmental laws of things; it is a "great tool of cognition" and a powerful intellectual weapon for people to observe the world and analyze problems. Marxism possesses a distinct practical character, committed not only to scientifically "explaining the world" but also to actively "changing the world." Contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences must unequivocally adhere to the guidance of Marxism.
Adhering to a problem-oriented approach is a distinct feature of Marxism. Problems are the voice of the times and the source of power for innovation. Only by listening to the voice of the times, responding to its calls, and earnestly studying and solving major and urgent problems can we truly grasp the pulse of history, find the laws of development, and promote theoretical innovation. In general, adhering to the guidance of Marxism must ultimately be implemented in the resolution of the problems of the era.
Adhere to the perspective of practice, the perspective of history, the perspective of dialectics, and the perspective of development. In research across all disciplines and fields of the philosophy and social sciences, we must consciously adhere to the basic principles of Marxism and the standpoints, viewpoints, and methods that permeate them. In particular, we should uphold the perspectives of practice, history, dialectics, and development. Within the great historical practice of the "Two Combinations" [9], we must continuously discover new situations, propose new problems, summarize new experiences, and explore new laws, pushing the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism to new heights.
Carry forward the integration of theory with practice, and oppose dogmatism and pragmatism. We must earnestly study the classic works of Marxism, but we cannot treat the words, phrases, or specific conclusions within them as immutable dogmas to regulate or prune reality. Instead, we should treat them as powerful intellectual weapons for observing the world and analyzing problems, fully exerting Marxism's function as a scientific worldview and methodology. In dealing with Marxism, we must not adopt a dogmatic or pragmatic attitude; rather, we should carry forward the fine academic style of integrating theory with practice and emphasizing investigation and research. Our country’s philosophy and social science workers must base themselves on national conditions, practice, and the contemporary era—going deep into the grassroots, into life, and among the masses—to observe life, gain insight into society, propose insightful views, and produce academic masterpieces.
Deepen and expand Marxist theoretical research and publicity/education. We must deeply implement the Project to Study and Build Marxist Theory, strengthen research on the basic principles of Marxism, increase efforts in the compilation and study of classic works, improve the disciplinary system of Marxist theory, and continue to promote the construction of national key Marxist Academies. We must consolidate the foundational status of Marxist-related theories in various disciplines and integrate Marxist standpoints, viewpoints, and methods into every link, including discipline construction, textbook compilation, classroom teaching, project research, academic exchange, and the evaluation of results.
Deepen and expand the research and interpretation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. We must provide in-depth academic elaborations from the aspects of theoretical themes, systematic frameworks, logical structures, and conceptual categories, better leading the academic research, knowledge construction, and textbook compilation of related disciplines. We should establish research centers (institutes) for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and strengthen the construction of bibliographic databases and theoretical libraries for the same.
Support and drive the Party’s theoretical innovation through academic innovation; deepen research into the laws governing the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism; deepen research into the Party’s basic theory, basic line, and basic policy; deepen research into the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics; and deepen research into the relationship between Chinese civilization and socialism with Chinese characteristics. We must profoundly interpret the rationale, academic logic, and philosophy [10] behind the "Chinese miracle," promoting the use of developing theory to guide new practices.
Characteristics of Philosophy and Social Sciences with Chinese Characteristics
Embodying inheritance and nationality. We must be adept at integrating various resources from the past and present, and from China and abroad, particularly by mastering three sets of resources: first, Marxist resources, including the basic tenets of Marxism and the achievements and cultural forms resulting from the Sinicization of Marxism; second, the resources of fine traditional Chinese culture, which is an extremely precious and rare resource for the development of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics; third, resources from foreign philosophy and social sciences, including the positive achievements made by all countries in the world, which can serve as beneficial nourishment. We must persist in making the past serve the present and foreign things serve China [11], integrating various resources to continuously advance innovation in knowledge, theory, and methodology. We must persist in not forgetting our origins, absorbing outward influences, and facing the future. This involves looking inward to deeply research major issues concerning the national economy and people’s livelihoods, while looking outward to actively explore major issues regarding the future and destiny of humanity. It involves looking forward to accurately judge the development trends of socialism with Chinese characteristics, while looking backward to be adept at inheriting and promoting the essence of fine traditional Chinese culture. Our emphasis on nationality is not intended to exclude the academic research results of other countries, but rather to make nationality better correspond to the development requirements of contemporary China and the world today—based on comparison, contrast, critique, absorption, and sublimation. The more "national" something is, the more "universal" it becomes. By resolving issues of nationality, we gain a stronger capacity to resolve global issues; by summarizing Chinese practice well, we gain a stronger capacity to provide ideas and methods for resolving global issues.
Embodying originality and timeliness. Whether our philosophy and social sciences possess Chinese characteristics depends, in the final analysis, on whether they possess subjectivity and originality. Simply following in the footsteps of others [12] makes it difficult to form philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics and fails to solve our country’s practical problems. We must strengthen original innovation, persist in autonomous knowledge production and theoretical creation, and persist in the localized and specialized development of philosophy and social sciences. We must focus on integrating Marxist research resources, fine traditional Chinese culture resources, and foreign philosophy and social sciences resources to continuously drive innovation in knowledge, theory, and methodology. We must persist in a quality-oriented approach and high-quality development, striving to produce landmark innovative achievements that reach the heights of the era and represent the highest level of our country’s philosophy and social sciences, providing more solid theoretical support for the inheritance, innovation, and development of Chinese scholarship.
Embodying systematicity and professionalism. Philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics should cover all fields, including history, economics, politics, culture, society, ecology, military affairs, and Party building. They should encompass a wide range of disciplines, including traditional, emerging, frontier, interdisciplinary, and "less-popular" [13] disciplines. We must continuously advance the construction and innovation of the disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system, striving to build a philosophy and social sciences system that is comprehensive, all-encompassing, and inclusive of all elements. Contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences must adopt a broader global perspective and a modern outlook, learning from and drawing on the positive achievements of philosophy and social sciences from all countries—including theoretical viewpoints, knowledge systems, and research methods beneficial to human development and progress. That is to say, while we should absorb and learn from beneficial theoretical viewpoints and academic achievements created by humanity, we cannot treat any single theoretical viewpoint or academic achievement as the "sole criterion." We must not attempt to transform the entire world using a single model; otherwise, we risk falling into the "pit of mechanism" [14].
Constructing a Disciplinary System, Academic System, and Discourse System with National Characteristics
Only by taking our country's reality as the starting point for research, proposing subjective and original theoretical viewpoints, and constructing a disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system with our own characteristics can our country's philosophy and social sciences form their own features and advantages. The construction of these "three major systems" reflects the academic independence and autonomy of a country and is an inevitable requirement for philosophy and social sciences to form their own characteristics and advantages. The disciplinary system is the foundation of the "three major systems," the fundamental reliance for academic innovation, and an important carrier for discourse innovation. The construction and development of academic and discourse systems are both built upon the classification of disciplines. If the disciplinary system is not solid, the academic and discourse systems will be like "water without a source or a tree without roots." The academic system is the core and support of the disciplinary and discourse systems; its level and attributes determine theirs. The discourse system is the form and outlet of the "three major systems," the carrier of the disciplinary system, and the knot that constitutes the web of the disciplinary system. It is also the mode of reflection, expression, and dissemination of the academic system, possessing specific ideological directions and value orientations. The construction of the discourse system is an indispensable link in building philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, an important strategy for building a culturally strong country, and an inevitable requirement for telling China’s stories well and making China's voice heard. It is of great significance in strengthening ideological and theoretical construction, enhancing national soft power, and increasing international discourse power.
The key to constructing the "three major systems" lies in subjectivity and originality. Originality is the core competitiveness of philosophy and social sciences and is the key point and focus for accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. We must aim for the goal of "sound and solid basic disciplines, prominent advantages in key disciplines, innovative development in emerging and interdisciplinary disciplines, inheritance across generations for less-popular disciplines, complementarity between basic and applied research, and mutual reinforcement between academic research and the application of results." Based on the needs of national economic and social development, we must optimize the disciplinary layout and talent structure to adapt to high-quality development. We should build a group of advantageous disciplines that reflect the development trends of the era, support the disciplinary system of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, lead disciplinary trends, and possess deep foundations, thereby accumulating potential energy to enhance original capacity.
First, enhancing subjectivity and originality must take Chinese reality as the starting point for research. Chinese scholarship possesses vitality only if it is rooted in Chinese reality. The Chinese nation possesses a splendid civilization spanning over 5,000 years; the Communist Party of China possesses more than a century of practice in struggle, over 70 years of experience in governing and rejuvenating the country, and over 40 years of valuable experience accumulated through reform and opening up—particularly the successful experience of the great practice of governance in the New Era. This is the most important foundation and the greatest source of confidence for building philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. We must stand at the heights of history and the era to propose subjective and original theoretical viewpoints, construct a disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system with our own characteristics, build China’s autonomous knowledge system, and form the "Chinese School" of philosophy and social sciences, providing academic support and intellectual assistance for building a modern Chinese civilization.
Second, enhancing subjectivity and originality requires using Chinese theory to interpret Chinese practice and using Chinese practice to enrich Chinese theory. In the current international landscape, "Western-centrism"—where the West plays the dominant role and international relations concepts are primarily oriented toward Western values—is no longer sustainable. Western governance concepts, systems, and models find it difficult to adapt to the new international landscape and trends of the era, and neoliberalism has faced widespread questioning following the 2008 international financial crisis. This further highlights the value of the era and the global significance of theoretical innovation based on Chinese practice. In advancing theoretical innovation, we must never mechanically copy Western theories, Western standards, or Western discourse. We must continuously use Chinese theory to interpret Chinese practice and use Chinese practice to enrich Chinese theory, ensuring Chinese scholarship stands tall among the world's academic community and allowing the "Chinese School" to shine brilliantly in the development of global philosophy and social sciences.
Third, enhancing subjectivity and originality requires adhering to the "Two Combinations." [15] We must resolutely preserve our "soul-root" and "cultural-root" [16], persisting in facing the future without ever severing history, and persisting in promoting tradition without ever becoming rigid or stagnant. We must always remain at the forefront of the progress of the times, creating the future by continuing history, and activating the vitality of fine traditional Chinese culture with the spirit of the era, continuously promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture. We should focus on drawing wisdom and nourishment from the vast and profound fine traditional Chinese culture, extracting new concepts, new categories, and new expressions. By using fresh, vivid forms and language that the masses love to see and hear, we should produce more theoretical products welcomed by the people, allowing them to profoundly feel the power of truth and the practical might of contemporary Chinese Marxism and twenty-first-century Marxism.
Fourth, enhancing subjectivity and originality requires improving international communication capacity. Currently, in the international public opinion arena, we sometimes find ourselves in a position where "we have the truth on our side but cannot speak it out, or even if we speak it, it does not spread." To improve our ability to shape the national image and influence international public opinion, and to enhance our international discourse power, we must rely on the enhancement of academic originality. We should strengthen academic exchange and dissemination, continuously increasing the global influence of Chinese theory, Chinese thought, and Chinese scholarship, thereby enhancing national cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture. We must strengthen the construction of international communication capacity, deepen theoretical research on international communication, and innovate international communication methods. We must accelerate the construction of a Chinese discourse and narrative system, tell China’s stories well, participate extensively in the dialogue among world civilizations, and form international discourse power commensurate with our comprehensive national strength and international status.