Basic Principles of Promoting the Sinicization and Modernization of Marxism | China | Marxism

Looking at the centennial struggle history of the CPC, the fundamental way to promote the sinicization and modernization of Marxism is to adhere to the combination of the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific reality, and with China's excellent traditional culture, so as to realize the Party's theoretical innovation.

The sinicization and modernization of Marxism is an inherent requirement for the development of Marxism. Although Marxism was born more than a century and a half ago, history and reality have proven that it is a scientific theory and still has strong vitality to this day. Engels once said, "Marx's entire worldview is not doctrine, but method. It provides not ready-made dogma, but the starting point and method for further research.". Marxist theory is not a dogma, but a guide to action, which must develop with the changes of the times and practice. Marxism itself is a great theory that has absorbed and transformed the beneficial achievements of human ideological and cultural development over the past two thousand years, based on the transformation of national history into world history. It has important global historical significance. Marx's worldview is far beyond the realm of Germany and Europe, and has found supporters in all civilized languages of the world. Therefore, if Marxism wants to take root in the language of all civilizations in the world, it will inevitably lead to a problem of localization and modernization. Marxism can only take root through localization, and modernization can be full of vitality. The sinicization and modernization of Marxism emerged and continuously developed in this context. The reason why our Party is able to lead the people to complete arduous tasks that other political forces in China cannot accomplish through repeated explorations, setbacks, and explorations is fundamentally because we insist on combining the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities and excellent traditional Chinese culture, and continuously promoting the sinicization and modernization of Marxism.

In the process of promoting the sinicization and modernization of Marxism, sinicization and modernization are two aspects of the same problem. The sinicization of Marxism itself is also a process of modernization, which is determined by the fact that Marxism is a product of world history and the communist cause can only be achieved as a historical existence in the world. From the Chinese revolution being a part of the proletarian socialist world revolution, to China's development being inseparable from the world, and then to promoting the construction of a community with a shared future for mankind, all reflect the dialectical unity of Marxism's sinicization and modernization. In the process of promoting the modernization of Marxism in China, it is a scientific summary of the historical experience of the CPC's centennial struggle and the Party's theoretical innovation laws to combine the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific reality and with China's excellent traditional culture. The specific reality of China inherently includes both China's reality and historical and cultural reality. The process of combining Marxism with China's specific reality is also a process of combining Marxism with China's excellent traditional culture. The reason why the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics emphasizes the "second combination" is to more effectively promote the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture, and to more effectively promote the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and the construction of modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

The key to combining the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities is to have a correct understanding of China's national conditions. A correct understanding of China's national conditions is the fundamental basis for recognizing all revolutionary, construction, and reform issues in China, and is the prerequisite and foundation for the sinicization and modernization of Marxism. A correct understanding of China's national conditions runs through various historical periods, including the period of the New Democratic Revolution, the period of socialist revolution and construction, the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization construction, and the new era of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The core of a correct understanding of the national situation is to scientifically analyze the main social contradictions in different historical periods and determine the central tasks. This is a model of combining the basic principles of Marxism with the specific realities of China for scientific analysis. The century long struggle of the Party tells us that whether the cause of the Party and the people can move forward in the right direction depends on whether we can accurately understand and grasp the main contradictions in society and determine the central task. When the judgment of the main contradictions and central tasks in society is accurate, the cause of the Party and the people will develop smoothly; otherwise, the cause of the Party and the people will suffer setbacks.

The combination of the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities is mainly to solve the problem of where China is going. To understand where China is going, one must also understand where China comes from. To understand where China comes from, one needs to have a sense of history and combine the basic principles of Marxism with the excellent traditional Chinese culture. After modern times, where did the Chinese nation go when the country was humiliated, the people suffered, and civilization was shrouded in dust? Where is Chinese culture heading? The CPC has stepped onto the historical stage when the Chinese people have been exploring hard but failed repeatedly. "Since the Chinese people learned Marxism Leninism, their spirit has shifted from passive to active." Mao Zedong's evaluation deeply indicates the cultural awakening and civilization rebirth of the Chinese nation. Armed with sinicized and contemporary Marxism, the CPC has united and led the Chinese people from victory to victory, and the founding of the People's Republic of China has greatly inspired the national spirit, and embarked on a sonorous step towards the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the creation of a new form of human civilization.

The key to combining the basic principles of Marxism with excellent traditional Chinese culture is to activate Chinese civilization and build modern Chinese civilization through Marxism. In the context of the sinicization and modernization of Marxism, Marxism is the soul and excellent traditional Chinese culture is the root. Sticking to this soul and root is the basis and premise of the CPC's theoretical innovation. This requires us to use Marxist historical materialism to scientifically analyze and fully tap the idealistic and universal factors of Chinese excellent traditional culture and endow it with new era connotation, connect the essence of Marxist thought with the essence of Chinese excellent traditional culture, and integrate it with the common values that people use daily without being aware of, so as to truly promote the modernization of traditional culture and enrich and expand the cultural heritage and civilization form of Marxism's sinicization and modernization. At the same time, the sinicized and modernized Marxism injects scientific and ideological connotations that are in line with China's reality and the requirements of the times into Chinese culture, revitalizing it and building modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

Marxism is an open theoretical system that constantly develops with the times, practice, and scientific development. It has not ended truth, but has opened up a path to truth. In the context of the accelerated evolution and deep interaction of two major situations, human society is facing many common problems that urgently need to be solved. China's reform, development and stability, domestic and foreign affairs, national defense, governance of the party, the country, and the military are also facing a series of new major issues. The new questions posed by China's question, the world's question, the people's question, and the era's question are more complex and difficult than in the past, and we urgently need to answer them from the combination of theory and practice. We need to enhance our theoretical consciousness and confidence, deepen our research on the historical experience and development laws contained in these theoretical and practical topics, continuously promote the integration of the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific realities, and with China's excellent traditional culture, continue to write a new chapter in the sinicization and modernization of Marxism, and continuously create new brilliance in the modern civilization of the Chinese nation.