Han Xiping and Yang Yuchuan: The Sinicization and Modernization of Marxism and the Construction of China's Independent Knowledge System
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "To speed up the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, the bottom line is to construct a Chinese independent knowledge system." Adhering to the guidance of Marxist theory "is the fundamental hallmark that distinguishes contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences from other philosophy and social sciences; it must be upheld with a clear-cut banner." The Communist Party of China (CPC) attaches great importance to theoretical innovation. It has not only stood firmly on the Marxist people-centered position in the exploration and development of the theory of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, but has also combined Chinese reality with fine traditional Chinese culture, inheriting Marx's experience in knowledge creation for the construction of independent knowledge systems. In the process of continually answering and resolving problems, the Party has constructed an independent knowledge system characterized by originality and academic rigor.
01. The Original Marxist Leadership in Constructing an Independent Knowledge System
"In the history of human thought, no theory has ever exerted such a broad and profound influence on the progress of human civilization as Marxism." From the birth and developmental trajectory of Marxism, it can be seen that Marxist theory possesses a prominent character of an independent knowledge system, specifically reflected in its distinct orientation toward reality and its scientific research paradigm.
From a general conceptual perspective, a knowledge system is the total combination of specific professional knowledge; it is a systematic integration of fragmented human experience, cognitive results, and scientific theories. It constitutes the common cognitive achievements of human civilization through core concepts, categories, and theoretical propositions, forming a unified whole composed of interrelated and coordinating knowledge from similar or intersecting disciplines. The connotation of an independent knowledge system dictates that it must highlight the unique differences and autonomous adaptability of a theory while conforming to the general concept of a knowledge system. The term "independent" emphasizes an originality and distinction that belongs exclusively to itself. This is manifested in the possession of distinct characteristics in theoretical sources, theoretical properties, and theoretical orientations that are difficult for other subjects to possess. Correspondingly, it stands against the blurred commonalities between theories that are difficult to distinguish; this relies on holistic innovation.
Marxist theory is a leading demonstration of constructing an independent knowledge system. it was born in a special historical period when the contradictions of Western capitalist society broke out in a concentrated manner. The rapid development of large-scale machine industry led to the gradual establishment of the capitalist mode of production; labor productivity was greatly enhanced, and the material wealth of the state and society continued to accumulate. However, the living conditions of the proletariat did not improve significantly with the rapid development of large-scale machine industry and the capitalist mode of production; on the contrary, they continued to suffer from exploitation and oppression: "Labor produces wonderful things for the rich, but it produces destitution for the worker." It was precisely the realities and prominent problems of the development of capitalist society at that time that provided Marxism with rich theoretical sources, clarified the research object of the theory, anchored the reality-oriented direction for the theory to solve problems, and promoted the birth and development of Marxist theory. This endowed it with distinct theoretical uniqueness and autonomous adaptability, determining the nature of Marxism as an independent knowledge system.
As is well known, Marxist theory originated from German classical philosophy, English classical political economy, and French utopian socialism. However, it is not a simple synthesis; rather, it is closely integrated with the reality of capitalist development. Its research methods, research objects, and core research categories all originated from the background of the era and were directed toward solving the practical problems of the development of capitalist society. It possesses distinct characteristics of its own and opened a new research paradigm. From the perspective of the constituent elements and innovative methods of a theory, "the predicament of poverty of language is essentially a predicament of understanding." The breaking of this "predicament" in an independent knowledge system should first be manifested as the innovation of concepts. Marx first carried out a series of innovations and developments in concepts and categories. On the basis of fully absorbing and critically developing existing theories, he proposed concepts and categories such as surplus value, the basic contradictions of society, and the association of free individuals. He also clarified the organic unity and contradictory movement between philosophical concepts such as matter and consciousness, and economic concepts such as productive forces and relations of production, and the economic base and the superstructure. He both inherited the classical expressions of existing theories and carried out original conceptual evolution upon them, using new concepts and categories to constitute the external manifestation of the theory. Using these as the concentrated expression of core viewpoints, he constructed the theoretical framework of an independent knowledge system.
At the same time, in terms of research methodology, Marx based himself on the contradictory movement between productive forces and relations of production, and between the economic base and the superstructure, to conduct an in-depth analysis of the basic contradictions of capitalist society. He argued: "At a certain stage of development, the material productive forces of society come into conflict with the existing relations of production or—this merely expresses the same thing in legal terms—with the property relations within which they have operated hitherto. From forms of development of the productive forces these relations turn into their fetters. Then begins an era of social revolution." Regarding the evolutionary advancement of thinking and theory, Marx also analyzed the progressive evolutionary process from "thought" to "groups of thoughts" to "series" and finally to a "system" through the dialectical relationship between different thoughts and the contradictory movement between "thesis" and "antithesis." He believed: "The fusion of two contradictory thoughts creates a new thought, which is their synthesis. This new thought again splits into two contradictory thoughts, which in turn fuse into a new synthesis. From this reproductive process there is born a group of thoughts. This group of thoughts follows the same dialectic movement as a simple category, and has a contradictory group as antithesis. From these two groups of thoughts is born a new group of thoughts, which is their synthesis. Just as from the dialectic movement of the simple categories is born the group, so from the dialectic movement of the groups is born the series, and from the dialectic movement of the series is born the entire system." From this, he derived the staged evolutionary forms and the universal journey of human theoretical development. Therefore, Marx, using the scientific thinking method of contradiction analysis, found the fundamental driving force for historical development and revealed the laws of development of human society. He provided a new analytical method and scientific theoretical guidance for practice through a new perspective of thinking.
Furthermore, Marx provided systematic methodological guidance for constructing an independent knowledge system through a holistic research paradigm of theory. A paradigm is generally used to summarize "recognized scientific achievements that, for a time, provide model problems and solutions for a community of practitioners." It is the basic orientation for theoretical research, including basic assumptions, basic problems, research techniques, and research exemplars. Marx opened up a new research paradigm with his complete theoretical system, prescribing the directional field, value concepts, and methodological standards of theoretical research from the perspectives of position, viewpoint, and method. Among these, the position is the starting point and foothold for the theoretical subject to understand and solve problems, prescribing the basic "color" of the theory; the viewpoint is the specific cognitive view of the theoretical subject toward things, including fundamental supporting concepts and categories; the method is the path and way the theory guides people to correctly change the world, mainly reflected in the dimension of reality and practical orientation. Together, these constitute an important manifestation of the theoretical research paradigm.
Specifically, regarding the position, Marxism has always highly respected the subjectivity of the people, focused on the active sensuous activity carried out by human beings, and taken the pursuit of human liberation as its theoretical orientation, striving to enter an ideal community of the free and well-rounded development of individuals. Marx saw that "the first premise of all human history is, of course, the existence of living human individuals." He opposed religious theology and historical idealism for ignoring the subjective initiative of the people; he opposed "Absolute Spirit" and the heroic conception of history, and rejected the idea that "speculative idealism replaces the real individual man with 'self-consciousness' or 'spirit'." Thus, he took the human being as the starting point and goal of his theory, establishing the people's position of the theory. Regarding viewpoints, the Marxist theoretical system is also built around its basic viewpoints. Marx used philosophical viewpoints such as matter determining consciousness and the contradictory movement of things; economic viewpoints such as the labor theory of value and the theory of surplus value; and scientific socialist viewpoints such as the socialist revolution and the dictatorship of the proletariat to systematically explain and clearly express the core content of his entire theoretical framework. Together, these constitute the theoretical essence of Marxism and the ideological premise of its independent knowledge system. From a methodological perspective, Marxism established a systematic set of methods on the basis of its distinct people's position and scientific basic viewpoints. These include contradiction analysis, historical analysis, class analysis, and dialectical materialism as modes of thinking and practical methods. All of these move away from principled theoretical criticism limited to the realm of speculation and focus instead on the practical demand for making revolutionary changes in the world. Thus, it uses its own methods to guide humanity in carrying out an actualization process between the ideal and reality to realize the identity of negativity and reality. From this, it is clear that Marxist theory possesses a distinct character of an independent knowledge system in terms of its theoretical sources, theoretical orientation, constituent elements, and research paradigm, becoming an important part of human scientific theory and providing specific demonstrations and scientific guidance on how to construct an independent knowledge system.
02. The Journey of Sinicization and Modernization of Marxism in Constructing an Independent Knowledge System
The theory of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism is the summary of experience and the crystallization of wisdom from the CPC's century-long struggle. It is an independent, original theory belonging to China. It grew out of the practical process of the CPC leading the people in revolution, construction, and reform. Rooted in China and applied in practice, it is both full of distinct Chinese characteristics and possesses a direct orientation toward reality. it is a theoretical understanding based on Chinese experience and, moreover, a theoretical weapon for cracking Chinese problems. Therefore, the CPC's conceptual innovation and methodological application of the theory of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism is the very process of constructing an independent knowledge system. From this, major theoretical achievements have been obtained, such as Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, the Scientific Outlook on Development, and Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, providing a demonstration of how to construct an independent knowledge system [1].
During the period of the New Democratic Revolution [2], Mao Zedong first proposed the proposition of the Sinicization of Marxism, pointing out: "The Sinicization of Marxism—that is to say, making it take on a specific Chinese form and applying it in accordance with Chinese characteristics—is a problem that the whole Party must urgently understand and solve." In terms of theoretical concepts, he proposed "New Democracy," "the armed independent regime of workers and peasants," and "the people's democratic dictatorship" [3]. He insisted on applying the thinking method of contradiction analysis and the important method of the mass line, correctly analyzed the objects and main contradictions of the Chinese revolution, and advocated the revolutionary path of encircling the cities from the countryside and seizing political power by armed force, thereby creating Mao Zedong Thought. This was the first theoretical achievement of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, the Chinese communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their chief representative, explored a path of socialist construction consistent with China's national conditions by combining the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific reality. They rapidly restored the national economy, implemented "one industrialization and three transformations" [4], and proposed concepts such as the "General Line for the Transition Period" and "contradictions among the people." They continued to use principles such as contradiction analysis and independence, adopted conceptual methods such as "taking the Soviet Union as a mirror" [5], and proposed how to correctly handle the "Ten Major Relationships" [6] in China's economic, social, and political life. By combining the basic principles of Marxism with Chinese reality, they achieved a series of major successes in socialist construction, enriching and developing Mao Zedong Thought. This laid the fundamental political premise and material foundation for China's development and realized the first leap in the Sinicization of Marxism.
In the new historical period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, in order to answer major questions such as "what is socialism and how to build it," the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Deng Xiaoping as their chief representative, emancipated their minds, sought truth from facts, and integrated historical experiences—both positive and negative. They pointed out that "only Marxism integrated with China’s reality is the true Marxism we need," and that we must "combine the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete reality of our country, follow our own path, and build socialism with Chinese characteristics." They shifted the focus to economic construction, implemented reform and opening up, and proposed theoretical concepts such as the "essence of socialism," the "primary stage of socialism," a "well-off society" (xiaokang shehui [7]), and the "socialist market economy." By adhering to the fundamental Marxist methods of seeking truth from facts, dialectical analysis, and contradiction analysis, they founded Deng Xiaoping Theory and opened up the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Building on this foundation, successive generations of the Party's leadership groups continued to push forward the process of the Sinicization of Marxism, proposing a series of original concepts and practical methods, thereby upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics. The Chinese Communists, with Comrade Jiang Zemin as their chief representative, deepened the understanding of "what kind of socialism to build and how to build it, and what kind of Party to build and how to build it." They pointed out that "we must center our work on the practical problems of China's reform, opening up, and modernization, and on the things we are currently doing; we must focus on the application of Marxist theory, on theoretical reflection on practical problems, and on new practice and new developments." They proposed important concepts such as "ruling the country by law," "ruling the country by virtue," and "rejuvenating the country through science and education." Under the guidance of scientific Marxist methods, they strengthened Party building, insisted on taking development as the Party's top priority in governing and rejuvenating the country, and formed the Important Thought of Three Represents. Entering the 21st century, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Hu Jintao as their chief representative, answered major questions under the new situation such as "what kind of development to achieve and how to achieve it." They pointed out that "we must combine the adherence to the basic principles of Marxism with the promotion of the Sinicization of Marxism, emancipate the mind, seek truth from facts, advance with the times, and provide theoretical guidance for reform and opening up through theoretical innovation based on practice." They proposed and deepened concepts and propositions such as "harmonious society," "putting people first," "sustainable development," and the "Socialist Outlook on Honor and Disgrace," forming the Scientific Outlook on Development. Consequently, through conceptual innovation and methodological exploration, the Communist Party of China (CPC) opened up the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, achieving a new leap in the Sinicization of Marxism.
Since the 18th National Congress [8], socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era. The Chinese Communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their chief representative, have continued to carry forward the Party's fine traditions. They have become even more convinced that "only by combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s concrete reality and with the best of China’s traditional culture [9], and 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 ensure that Marxism maintains its robust vitality and vigorous energy." They fully recognize that "the reason why the CPC is capable and socialism with Chinese characteristics is good is, in the final analysis, because Marxism is works, and Marxism that has been Sinicized and adapted to our times works." By combining the basic principles of Marxism with China's concrete reality and the best of China's traditional culture, they have driven a series of historic achievements and fundamental changes in China's economic and social development. They have answered the major question of "what kind of socialism with Chinese characteristics to uphold and develop in the New Era, and how to uphold and develop it." They have proposed important concepts such as the "New Development Philosophy," the "new development paradigm," "self-revolution," and "whole-process people's democracy." They have explored scientific methods for advancing the Party's theoretical innovation, such as the "Two Combinations" [10] and the "Six Must-Upholds" [11], continuously deepening the regular understanding of the Party's theoretical innovation and founding Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, achieving a new leap in the Sinicized Marxism. Consequently, the CPC has continuously proposed new concepts across different historical periods, persisted in using fundamental Marxist methods to guide the practical work of China's economic and social development, and accumulated rich experience in constructing an autonomous knowledge system. This profoundly proves that the theory of Sinicized and modernized Marxism is, on the one hand, the fundamental theoretical guidance for the CPC’s major achievements in different historical periods, and on the other hand, it has achieved successive development within China's concrete practice. It originates from the specific experience of China’s development and conforms to the essential characteristics of an autonomous knowledge system; it is an autonomous knowledge system established based on the experiences and achievements of China’s development.
03 The Significance of the Theory of Sinicized and Modernized Marxism in Promoting the Construction of an Autonomous Knowledge System
"If a nation wants to stand at the highest peak of science, it cannot for a moment be without theoretical thinking." Possessing prominent cultural soft power is an important hallmark of truly achieving modernization. A powerful modern country must possess an autonomous theoretical knowledge system and have soft power that matches its developmental status as cultural support; this is an inherent requirement for building a great modern socialist country. The New Era is a golden age for theoretical innovation, as complex problems under a unique historical background create an urgent need for new theories. We must seize the opportunities of the times, grasp their significance, and utilize the existing theoretical foundation to further construct an autonomous knowledge system, highlighting the epochal and global value of theory, and continuously opening up new frontiers for the Sinicized and modernized Marxism.
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "A country without developed natural sciences cannot stand at the forefront of the world, and a country without prosperous philosophy and social sciences cannot stand at the forefront of the world either." Promoting the development of China’s philosophy and social sciences by constructing an autonomous knowledge system and enhancing China’s cultural soft power is an inherent requirement for building a great modern socialist country. Looking at the modernization paths of various countries, to truly realize modernization requires not only the modernization of science, technology, and material living standards but, more importantly, the modernization of an autonomous ideological culture and theoretical system. It requires not only hard power—such as strong scientific and technological strength, military strength, and economic strength—as realistic support but also advanced autonomous theories, rich cultural life, and magnificent civilizational achievements to constitute soft power for spiritual nourishment. So-called soft power is a concept based on culture. In ancient China, there were already preliminary understandings of cultural soft power in the field of social governance, believing that one should "observe the patterns of heaven to understand the changes of the seasons; observe the patterns of humanity to transform the world" (guan hu tianwen, yi cha shibian; guan hu renwen, yi huacheng tianxia [12]), advocating for "transformation through culture" (yi wen jiaohua), and utilizing the influence of culture to play an educational and cohesive role in society. The specific concept of soft power was proposed by Joseph Nye, who argued that soft power relies on a country's own cultural and ideological influence to attract people of other countries to voluntarily emulate and follow its own cultural value tendencies and rules of behavior. Compared to more materialized hard power, soft power emphasizes the importance of cultural dissemination and political propaganda. It builds cultural radiation and attraction globally through values and ideology and exerts a major constraining influence on international behavior. Thus, cultural soft power is a "non-coercive method of education, internalizing one’s own cultural symbols into the political, social, or cultural systems of other countries, thereby obtaining power resources to influence the behavior of other governments and the perceptions of their citizens." It is an important criterion for evaluating a country's comprehensive strength and international influence beyond explicit hard power.
Looking at world history, every country that has had a major influence on the history of human civilization has possessed great soft power. From Ancient Greek, Ancient Roman, and Han-Tang civilizations to the traditional capitalist powers like Britain, France, and Germany in the modern era, to today’s United States and many other countries with global cultural influence—all possess their own unique cultural characteristics and advanced scientific theories. These together constitute different chapters of human civilization, radiating civilizational splendor and vivid epochal influence through vital and attractive cultural soft power; this is what is meant when people say "all talk must refer to Greece" (yan bi cheng xila [13]). Today, China's philosophy and social sciences still primarily use Western theories as objects of imitation and as the main subjects for explaining realistic experiences. Undeniably, when a theoretical system has not yet formed, this can play a positive role in promoting academic development, helping to quickly fill China’s theoretical gaps in relevant fields, narrowing the gap with Western academia, and achieving qualitative accumulation from nothing to something. However, when the primary task of the philosophy and social sciences community undergoes a fundamental transformation—from building theoretical frameworks to perfecting knowledge systems—continuing to rely on "imported goods" of Western theory to interpret Chinese reality, and still "interpreting China through Western lenses" (yi xi shi zhong), will lead to weak theoretical independence and a severe lack of academic influence. It will then be difficult to possess the discourse power that matches the country's comprehensive strength, and thus it cannot become a "great power" in the true sense. Therefore, the theoretical construction paths and practical courses of modernization in various countries show that possessing cultural soft power supported primarily by an autonomous knowledge system is a necessary condition for building a modern great power.
The current developmental situation at home and abroad poses realistic demands on China to promote theoretical innovation while also providing valuable opportunities for constructing an autonomous knowledge system. Under the "Two Overalls" [14], there is an urgent need to provide scientific answers to the "Questions of China, the World, the People, and the Times" in both theoretical and practical dimensions. Domestically, the principal contradiction in Chinese society has undergone a profound shift. The problem of unbalanced and inadequate development remains fundamentally unresolved. China is facing the complex situation of the "overlapping of three periods": the period of shifting gears in economic growth, the painful period of structural adjustment, and the period of digesting previous stimulus policies. Labor costs are rising, resource and environmental constraints are increasing, and the extensive growth model is unsustainable. Internationally, the current "Great Changes Unseen in a Century" have entered a period of accelerated evolution. The world economic map has undergone profound changes; the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation has brought about fierce competition, and the global governance system is struggling to adapt to current development trends. Economic globalization is encountering countercurrents, with surging populism and xenophobia, while protectionism, unilateralism, and hegemonism pose threats to world peace and development. The instability and uncertainty facing China’s development have increased. At the same time, Western societies based on liberalism have begun to fall into developmental predicaments. Under the guidance of liberal theory, Western capitalist countries once achieved high-speed economic growth, advocating for the rapid accumulation of material wealth through liberalized and market-oriented theories. Scientific and technological innovations emerged endlessly, and human civilization made great progress for a period. However, these theories did not fundamentally guide humanity to escape the realistic dilemmas of ecological crises, racial antagonism, and frequent wars. The world is in a more severe developmental environment. The fundamental reason lies in the failure of existing theories, which cannot provide profound theoretical answers to major questions such as "what is wrong with the world" and "where is humanity headed." This creates an urgent need for new scientific theories that can lead the successive development of human society and withstand the test of practice. It is evident that "this is an era that needs theory and is certain to produce theory; this is an era that needs thought and is certain to produce thought."
The CPC insists on valuing theoretical innovation and continuously promotes the development of the theory of Sinicized and modernized Marxism. It "always adheres to emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, advancing with the times, and being realistic and pragmatic, enabling Marxism to radiate great vitality in China." By using the theory of Sinicized and modernized Marxism—which is established on China's concrete reality and based on the experience of China's achievements in revolution, construction, and reform—the CPC has built an autonomous knowledge system and achieved significant theoretical results. As practice evolves, the CPC's understanding of the theory of Sinicized and modernized Marxism has grown deeper, and it recognizes even more the urgency and importance of continuing theoretical development in the current era. Since the 18th National Congress, in response to new changes in the domestic and international situations and new practical requirements, the Party has provided in-depth answers to a series of major questions regarding national economic and social development. It has continuously deepened its understanding of the laws of the CPC's governance, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of the development of human society, achieving major theoretical results. It has summarized the "Ten Clarifications," the "Fourteen Upholds," and the "Achievements in Thirteen Areas" as the main contents of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. On the basis of summarizing historical experience, it has proposed scientific methods for advancing the Party's theoretical innovation, such as the "Two Combinations" and the "Six Must-Upholds," opening up new frontiers for the Sinicized and modernized Marxism. This provides a great advantage and important support for continuing to construct an autonomous knowledge system, providing a solid foundation for further progress.
04 The Path for the Theory of Sinicized and Modernized Marxism to Promote the Construction of an Autonomous Knowledge System
“Spreading China’s voice, China’s theory, and China’s thought so that the world can better understand China” highlights the subjective status of Chinese theory, relying on the development and perfection of an independent system of knowledge. Constructing an independent system of knowledge is a process of “knowledge production”; it is "a process of forming new knowledge on the basis of existing knowledge and new practical experience, constituting a new ladder and support point for the progress of human civilization." The theory of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism not only possesses profound academic-theoretical support directed at the deep requirements of the era but also possesses an independent experiential basis within a profound epochal context. It is a complete and independent system of knowledge. We must continuously advance systematic research and scholarly expression of the Party’s innovative theories, employing scientific methods to enhance the academic and theoretical nature of the theory, as well as its forward-looking character, to better promote the construction of an independent system of knowledge.
Engels pointed out: “Every new aspect of a science involves a revolution in the technical terms of that science.” A cognitive subject’s preliminary understanding of a theory often begins with conceptual categories, subsequently refining the theoretical components inherent in those concepts and conducting in-depth exploration according to their own needs. Categories are the basic forms of expression for a theory; they are direct manifestations of theoretical content, value concepts, and core elements. They are not merely the “theoretical portrait” presented to the outside world, but a condensed explanation of the theoretical core. They manifest the general stylistic characteristics and core essence of the theory in the most direct way, serving as the prerequisite for a theory to become a scientific system. Therefore, constructing an independent system of knowledge first requires a concentrated summarization of China’s developmental achievements through the process of knowledge production, refining perceptions at the experiential level into abstract categories at the theoretical level, and building flagship concepts in disciplinary construction. On the basis of existing theoretical results, we must continue to provide theoretical extension across multiple dimensions—such as epochal background, epochal significance, and methods of advancement—for original concepts based on Chinese experience, such as the “New Development Philosophy,” the “New Development Pattern,” “Chinese-path modernization,” and “Modern Chinese Civilization.” Furthermore, in subsequent practice, we must imbue realistic experience with scholarly connotations, extract new flagship conceptual categories, and advance a “revolution in terminology.” We must rely on terminology with Chinese characteristics to strengthen the theoretical summarization of China’s actual experience, thereby consolidating the underlying foundation and core content architecture of the theory of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism.
“Advancing the systematization and scholarliness of theory is an internal requirement and an important path for theoretical innovation.” Relying on scholarly interpretations and academic expressions of the achievements and experiences of China’s development to strengthen the disciplinary construction of Sinicized and modernized Marxism is the greatest manifestation of “Chinese independence” and the primary process of constructing an independent system of knowledge. It is necessary to deepen scholarly interpretation, embedding original categories into the theoretical framework, and using disciplinary construction to demonstrate the system of knowledge’s abstract, rational understanding of practical experience. Marx believed that in terms of research method, one “must appropriate the material in detail, analyze its different forms of development, and track down their inner connection.” Consequently, “once the life of the material is reflected in ideas, it presents itself as if it were an a priori structure.” Therefore, we must deeply study the thinking and practical activities of the Chinese people, extract basic principles based on reality, use Chinese theory to interpret Chinese practice, and use Chinese practice to enrich Chinese theory. We must strengthen the scholarly and law-based [15] understanding of China’s developmental achievements, enhance the subjectivity and originality of the theory, and enrich the theoretical content of Sinicized and modernized Marxism with academic classics that serve as both a history of practical development and a history of scholarly thought. Regarding the overall research paradigm for the scholarly interpretation of theory, we must remain grounded in successful experience, summarize the scientific modes of theoretical innovation, and establish a relatively systematic and fixed paradigm for academic theoretical synthesis across different theoretical levels such as conceptual categories, argumentation processes, and case analyses. This will enhance the scientific rigor and persuasiveness of the independent system of knowledge through disciplinary construction characterized by scholarly and academic features.
We must rely on original academic capacity to condense academic viewpoints and theoretical propositions into a logically rigorous and systematic scholarly system. This involves enhancing the logical fit between theoretical propositions and building a disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system [16] suited to national conditions, predicated on scientific viewpoints rich in subjective theoretical significance and original innovative value. This will promote the unique characteristics and systematic advantages of China’s philosophy and social sciences. Kant believed that “under the government of reason our cognitions in general must not form a rhapsody, but must constitute a system, in which alone they can support and advance the essential ends of reason.” A systematic Chinese theory composed of scholarly ideological propositions based on Chinese experience is precisely China’s independent system of knowledge. Within this, the disciplinary system is the platform and foundation of theoretical connotation, the academic system is the core component of the theoretical framework, and the discourse system is the external representation of theoretical interpretation. We must use the abundant Chinese experience to deeply root the foundation of the disciplinary system, enrich the basic content of the discipline of Sinicized Marxism studies, and strengthen experiential and scholarly theoretical support. We must build a strong academic system to enhance the theoretical persuasiveness of the independent knowledge system and its scholarly capacity to explain the reality of China’s development, fulfilling its role as the core link between the disciplinary system and the discourse system. Finally, we must innovate the discourse system to explore new modes of expression, telling China’s story well and spreading China’s voice well, manifesting the requirements of “Chinese independence” in “upholding China’s own standpoint, constructing China’s own theory, and expressing China’s own discourse.”
We must extract Chinese theory while adhering to a problem-oriented approach, strengthening the theoretical construction of Sinicized and modernized Marxism based on the practical experience of solving social development problems, thereby highlighting the theory’s distinct practicality. “Abstract expressions isolated from experience are nothing more than unintelligible, empty symbols.” Moving empirical materials from abstract concepts to a scholarly system is a phased evolution of theory, while taking theory from real-world problems and using it to guide practice is both a foundational return to the realistic starting point and an advanced stage of its spiral development. Therefore, focusing on the realistic problems faced by China’s economic and social development and summarizing the practical experience of China’s resolution of actual problems during the analysis of the causes of contradictions is the primary grasp for advancing the disciplinary construction of Sinicized Marxism studies; it is also an important focal point for constructing an independent system of knowledge. At the level of knowledge production, we should address the “external difficulties” constituted by the "contradiction between existing knowledge and new practical experience" and the “internal difficulties” constituted by the "internal contradictions of existing knowledge triggered by external difficulties." At the level of the practical application of the knowledge system, we must “enhance problem awareness, focusing on new problems encountered in practice, deep-seated problems in reform, development, and stability, the urgent anxieties and expectations of the masses, major problems in the shifting international landscape, and prominent problems facing Party building. We must continuously propose new ideas, new thinking, and new methods that truly solve problems.” The goal of advancing the theoretical construction of Sinicized and modernized Marxism is to scientifically recognize, accurately grasp, and correctly solve problems, thereby manifesting the practical value of the theory.
Finally, we must continue to deepen our law-based understanding of promoting theoretical innovation and realistic development. We must transform the historical limitations of theory into a forward-looking perspective centered on the development of the era. This inherently necessitates increasing the degree of logical systematization of theory and organizing conceptual categories and academic theories into an interconnected, independent system of knowledge. Influenced by the reality that Western philosophical and social science theories dominate the academic world, China's independent system of knowledge remains in a state of “apprenticeship” through imitation, lacking theories with Chinese characteristics that possess international influence, leading to a serious deficiency in international discourse power. At the same time, existing theories provide insufficient guidance for future development and cannot offer directional guidance for the development of human society. We must continue to strengthen theoretical exploration and deepen our understanding of the laws of the Communist Party’s governance, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of the development of human society. We must focus on the actual problems encountered by our country in the process of building a Great Modern Socialist Country and promoting the steady and healthy development of the world economy. By providing scientific theoretical guidance for humanity to overcome development dilemmas and offering a theoretical reference for other countries to achieve their own modernization, we will rely on a high-quality independent Chinese system of knowledge to answer the questions of China, the world, the people, and the times, demonstrating the epochal significance of theory oriented toward the future.