Meng Yuanbei: The "Two Combinations" and the Chinese Characteristics of Socialism
Xi Jinping pointed out at the Meeting on Cultural Inheritance and Development: "Why is our socialism different? Why is it able to be full of vitality and vigor? The key lies in Chinese characteristics, and the key to Chinese characteristics lies in the 'Two Combinations'." He emphasized: "This is a programmatic understanding we have reached in exploring the path of Chinese-path socialism, and it is our greatest magic weapon [1] for achieving success." This important thesis not only provides critical theoretical guidance for us to deepen our understanding of the connotation of Chinese characteristics, grasp the laws governing Chinese characteristics, and continuously promote the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism on the basis of accurately grasping the scientific essence of the "Two Combinations"; it also possesses significant practical value for further strengthening the "Four Consciousnesses," firming up the "Four Confidences," achieving the "Two Upholds," and contributing a more proactive force toward the comprehensive advancement of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization.
I. The "Two Combinations" are the Logical Starting Point of Chinese Characteristics
Lenin pointed out: "Without revolutionary theory there can be no revolutionary movement." Theory is the guide to practice. To accurately understand and grasp Xi Jinping’s proposition that "the key to Chinese characteristics lies in the 'Two Combinations,'" one must carry out an investigation of this issue from a theoretical perspective. Based on Xi Jinping’s important expositions, one can discern that since Chinese characteristics are the key to Chinese-path socialism, and the "Two Combinations" are in turn the key to Chinese characteristics, the "Two Combinations" thus constitute the vital foundation supporting Chinese-path socialism. They establish the logical starting point for the Communist Party of China (CPC) in founding and developing Chinese-path socialism during its exploration of socialist construction. Under the operation of the "Two Combinations," Chinese socialism inherently presents a logical path that proceeds from the principles of socialism, goes a layer deeper to Chinese characteristics, and goes a layer deeper still to the "Two Combinations"—moving from the surface to the underlying principles, from the external to the internal, and from the shallow to the profound.
The so-called "Two Combinations" refer to combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress pointed out: "The Chinese Communists have become deeply aware that only by combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture, and only by persisting in the application of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, can we correctly answer the major questions posed by the times and practice, and can we consistently maintain the vigorous vitality and exuberant energy of Marxism." This exposition fully demonstrates that the "Two Combinations" are the fundamental path for promoting the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. Some scholars believe that the "Two Combinations" possess three fundamental dimensions and three levels of connotation: "Sinicization," "transforming China" [2], and "theoretical results." Among these, combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture allows Marxism to take root in China, which is "transforming China"; combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities allows Marxism to bloom and bear fruit in China, which is "Sinicization"; and the "Two Combinations" as the fundamental path for innovating and developing Marxism represents the requirement for "theoretical results."
While understandings of the connotation of the "Two Combinations" vary within the academic community, we can—based on relevant expositions from the 20th National Congress and existing academic views—specifically deconstruct the four aspects of meaning contained within the "Two Combinations." First, from the perspective of the value of the "combination," it answers "why combine." On one hand, it is to correctly answer the major subjects posed by the times and practice; on the other hand, it is to innovate and develop Marxism. To summarize this into a single point: it is to resolve the dialectical unity of China’s specific realities and the development of Marxism.
Second, from the perspective of the basis of the "combination," it answers "what to combine." Specifically, it is the combination of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and China’s fine traditional culture. Here, the basic tenets of Marxism serve as the theoretical basis of the "combination," while China’s specific realities and fine traditional culture serve as the practical basis. Since the value-orientation of the "Two Combinations" is to resolve the dialectical unity between China’s specific realities and the development of Marxism, the "combination" will continuously enrich and develop Marxism. Consequently, the theoretical basis and the practical basis of the "combination" undergo mutual transformation, manifesting a theoretical progression from practice to theory and back to practice.
Third, regarding the method of combination, it is a question of "how to combine." The report to the 20th National Congress pointed out: "Our insistence on taking Marxism as our guide is to apply its scientific worldview and methodology to solve China’s problems." This indicates how the basic tenets of Marxism are combined with China’s specific realities: the combination is realized through the application of a scientific worldview and methodology to solve specific realities. At the same time, the report emphasized "integrating the essence of Marxism with the gems of China’s fine traditional culture, and merging them with the common values that the masses use daily without even realizing it" [3]. This clarifies the path for combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture: it is achieved through the integration of cultural essences and the merging of value concepts.
Fourth, from the perspective of the results of "combination," combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities means accurately grasping specific realities such as China’s national conditions and environment, applying the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and method to correctly answer major theoretical and practical subjects posed by the era, and enriching and developing Marxism in the process of summarizing the answers to these subjects. Combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture means using the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and method to promote the creative transformation and innovative development of China’s fine traditional culture, while simultaneously enriching and developing Marxism. In this way, the "Two Combinations" result in the formation of a Chinese form of Marxism through the process of addressing China’s specific realities and promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional culture. As Xi Jinping pointed out at the Meeting on Cultural Inheritance and Development: "The result of the 'combination' is mutual achievement, creating a new, organically unified cultural life-form; it makes Marxism Chinese and China’s fine traditional culture modern, and makes the new culture formed through 'combination' the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization." One could say that the four questions—"why combine," "what to combine," "how to combine," and "what is the result of combination"—are a complete and unified whole, together constituting the scientific system of the "Two Combinations."
Under the leadership of the CPC, every development of China’s socialism and every step forward in Chinese-path socialism is the inevitable result of following the "Two Combinations." Xi Jinping pointed out: "Our Party has always emphasized that Chinese-path socialism both adheres to the basic principles of scientific socialism and endows them with distinct Chinese characteristics according to the conditions of the times." On one hand, this emphasizes that Chinese-path socialism is socialism and possesses distinct institutional attributes; its overarching principle is scientific socialism—if this principle is lost, it is no longer socialism. Or rather, if Marxism is lost, Chinese characteristics would not be socialist. On the other hand, it emphasizes that the result must produce a Chinese manifestation with distinct characteristics and specialized features; it is a new form with Chinese national attributes produced in the process of using the basic principles of scientific socialism to guide China in answering major theoretical and practical questions posed by the times. In short, Chinese-path socialism is a product built on the foundation of socialist principles that possesses Chinese characteristics.
The times are evolving, and theoretical innovation knows no end. As the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism continuously advance, the CPC can better adhere to the theoretical principles of the "Two Combinations" in practice. On one hand, it must adhere to the basic tenets of Marxism, as well as the stance, viewpoint, and method that run through them, and persist in the guidance of the theoretical innovation results produced on this basis. Since the New Era began, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their chief representative, have persisted in pushing forward the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism through the "Two Combinations" on the basis of the basic tenets of Marxism and its stance, viewpoint, and method. They created Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era—this Sinicized and modernized Marxism—providing a scientific guide for Chinese Communists to adhere to the theoretical principles of the "Two Combinations" in the New Era. This requires that in all practical activities of theoretical innovation, one must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, especially the application of the scientific worldview and methodology that permeates it.
Specifically, this means adhering to the stance, viewpoint, and method of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as proposed in the report to the 20th National Congress, which includes: "must put the people first," "must maintain self-confidence and self-reliance," "must uphold the fundamentals and break new ground," "must persist in a problem-oriented approach," "must maintain a systems-oriented perspective," and "must maintain a global vision" [4]. Only by accurately grasping the stance, viewpoint, and method of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era—including these "Six Must-Persists"—can one better understand the essence of this thought, get the ideological method right, stand high when perceiving problems, see deep when analyzing problems, and be precise when carrying out work, thereby ensuring a proper balance between tension and relaxation and ease of execution. Only then, under the guidance of the "Two Combinations," can we better provide solid theoretical support for Chinese characteristics and endow them with more distinct contemporary connotations.
On the other hand, we must persist in drawing ideological wisdom from China's fine traditional culture. Xi Jinping pointed out: China's fine traditional culture "embodies the worldview, outlook on life, values, and aesthetics formed and inherited by the Chinese nation through generations of production and life, the most core contents of which have become the most fundamental cultural genes of the Chinese nation." China's fine traditional culture contains rich wisdom for governance; it can provide the intellectual nourishment for continuously enriching the scientific connotation of the "Two Combinations" and opening new frontiers for the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. This further establishes the cultural foundation for persisting in the "Two Combinations" to promote the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, causing Chinese characteristics to bloom with even more brilliant ideological and cultural light under the nourishment of China’s fine traditional culture.
II. The "Two Combinations" are the Summary of Experience of Chinese Characteristics
Xi Jinping pointed out: "The history of our Party is a history of continuously promoting the Sinicization of Marxism, and a history of continuously promoting theoretical innovation and theoretical creation." The history of the CPC is a history of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. In this historical process, "our Party has moved forward step by step, and a very important factor has been the continuous summarization of experience and the improvement of capabilities," thereby forming Sinicized and modernized Marxism—this important fruit of the "Two Combinations"—within the historical process of promoting theoretical innovation and creation. In the historical journey of over 100 years of promoting the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, the CPC has closely revolved around "why combine," accurately based itself on "what to combine," and continuously explored "how to combine." In the course of promoting the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, the Party overthrew the rule of imperialism and feudalism in China, established the socialist system on Chinese soil, and pioneered Chinese-path socialism. To a certain extent, all the great achievements created by the CPC in the vivid practice of revolution, construction, and reform were created based on the continuous summarization of experience following the scientific connotation of the "Two Combinations."
Xi Jinping’s scientific thesis that "the key to Chinese characteristics lies in the 'Two Combinations'" explicitly emphasizes that this is a "programmatic understanding." This is intended to point out that this is both a summary of experience based on the CPC’s promotion of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism over the past century, and a result built upon a scientific understanding of the historical process of socialist development. Therefore, to accurately understand and grasp the "Two Combinations" as the key to Chinese characteristics, one must carry out an exploration of this issue from the perspective of historical experience.
As early as the period when Marxism was first introduced to China, progressive Chinese people realized that Marxism must take deep root in China to resolve the country's practical problems. In August 1919, Li Dazhao pointed out in his article "More on Problems and 'Isms'": "Generally speaking, any 'ism' has both an idealistic and a practical side... Appling this ideal to actual politics will result in certain differences depending on the time, the place, and the nature of the matters at hand. So it is with socialism. ... A socialist, in order to make his 'ism' exert some influence in the world, must study how to maximize the application of his ideal to the actual environment surrounding him." [15] What Li Dazhao referred to as "actual politics," "depending on the time, the place, and the nature of the matters," and the "actual environment surrounding him" implicitly included not only the application of Marxism to specific practical problems requiring resolution, but also an investigation into the culture, characteristics, and national conditions of different nations. He emphasized the high degree of unity between the basic tenets of Marxism and China's specific realities as well as fine traditional Chinese culture, demonstrating a primordial summary of experience regarding the "two combinations." At the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth CPC Central Committee in 1938, when Mao Zedong first proposed the concept of the "Sinicization of Marxism," he emphasized: "Marxism must be integrated with the specific characteristics of our country and achieved through a certain national form." [16] Implementing it "through a certain national form" reflects the concretization of Marxism in China and contains a profound concern for China's specific realities and Chinese culture. This illustrates that from the very moment the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism appeared on the stage, Chinese Communists began to include the "two combinations" as a crucial piece of experience. This provided important experiential preparation for continuously and creatively opening new paths and creating new theories in the historical process of advancing the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, thereby imbuing Chinese characteristics with more distinct connotations.
With the continuous advancement of
The quest of Chinese Communists to resolve the major theoretical and practical issues posed by the times has accompanied the entire developmental process of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. When Mao Zedong first proposed the concept of the "Sinicization of Marxism," he emphatically stressed: "To make Marxism concrete in China and ensure that its every manifestation carries essential Chinese characteristics—that is to say, to apply it according to China’s particularities—has become a problem that the whole Party urgently needs to understand and resolve." [5] To "apply it according to China’s particularities" is, in essence, to consciously employ Marxism to answer the major theoretical and practical questions posed by the era. Within this practical "application," the Party’s explorations during different historical stages have always persisted in the "two combinations" [6] while remaining clear about their primary tasks. They have successively and creatively answered the questions of the era regarding national independence and people's liberation within the national conditions of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society; the questions of the era regarding socialist revolution and socialist construction; and a series of questions including "what is socialism and how to build it," "what kind of party to build and how to build it," and "what kind of development to achieve and how to achieve it." These efforts drove the great leap of the Chinese nation and the Chinese people from standing up to becoming prosperous.
Since the 18th National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Xi Jinping at its core has faced the vivid practice of profoundly answering the "questions of China, the world, the people, and the times." They have consistently persisted in the "two combinations," placing particular emphasis on combining the basic tenets of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture. They have creatively answered a series of major theoretical and practical questions, such as "what kind of socialism with Chinese characteristics should be upheld and developed in the New Era and how to uphold and develop it," "what kind of great modern socialist country should be built and how to build it," and "what kind of long-term governing Marxist party should be built and how to build it." This has ushered in a great leap for the Chinese nation and the Chinese people from becoming prosperous to becoming strong, opening a new realm for the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism.
It must be recognized that while the subjective purpose of Chinese Communists in persisting with the "two combinations" to advance the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism is to answer the major theoretical and practical questions of the times, their practice in answering these questions has—consciously or unconsciously—created and enriched the scientific connotations of "Chinese characteristics." During the New Democratic Revolution period [7], in order to answer the questions of the era regarding national independence and people's liberation, the Party united and led the people to open up a revolutionary path with Chinese characteristics: "encircling the cities from the countryside and seizing power by armed force." During the period of socialist revolution and construction, while answering how to conduct socialist revolution and construction, the Party opened up paths for socialist transformation and socialist construction with Chinese characteristics. During the period of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, the Party opened up the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics while answering a series of questions about how to build socialism, the Party, and development. Since the 18th National Congress, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their chief representative, have continued to unswervingly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, opening the correct path for the comprehensive advancement of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization. It can be said that throughout more than a century of practice, although the primary tasks and themes of different historical periods have varied, the master thread running through them all has been the exploration and answering of major theoretical and practical questions posed by the times. In the process of exploring these questions, the scientific connotations of "Chinese characteristics" have been continuously enriched.
In the New Era, persisting in the "two combinations" to advance the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism requires us to always focus on China's concrete realities, center our efforts on what we are currently doing, and scientifically answer the series of major theoretical and practical questions posed by the times. On one hand, we must treat the "two combinations" as a sharp weapon for liberating the mind [8], providing new ideas for answering the questions of the era in practice. Xi Jinping pointed out: "The 'second combination' is another liberation of the mind, allowing us to fully utilize the precious resources of fine traditional Chinese culture within a broader cultural space to explore future-oriented theoretical and institutional innovations." [9] Libration of the mind is an ever-fresh and endless process. Taking the "two combinations" as a sharp weapon for liberating the mind means mastering the methodology of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. It means being adept at using Marxism to analyze China’s concrete realities, promoting the creative transformation and innovative development [10] of fine traditional Chinese culture, and forming both general and specific theoretical innovations. These must then be transformed into the Party's line, principles, and policies, thereby providing guidance for resolving China’s concrete realities and answering the major theoretical and practical questions of the times.
On the other hand, we must treat the "two combinations" as the fundamental path for continuing to advance theoretical innovation based on practice, providing path guidance for answering the questions of the era. In practical exploration, we must dare to say things our predecessors never said and do things they never did. We must accurately grasp the pulse of the times in practice and scientifically lead the trends of the times through theoretical innovation. In doing so, through the process of advancing the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism via the "two combinations," we will continuously bestow more distinct and enriched connotations upon "Chinese characteristics." This will better contribute greater practical power to opening new realms for the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism and comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization.
(The author is the Executive Vice President [President] and Researcher of the Party School of the CPC Guangzhou Municipal Committee [Guangzhou Academy of Governance])
Web Editor: Tong Xin Source: Theoretical Horizon, Issue 2, 2024