The Chinese Path

By Xinyuan He

Since the Opium War of 1840, China has pioneered a uniquely Chinese Path to modernization, created a new model for human advancement, and expanded the channels for developing countries to achieve modernization. The formation and extension of the Chinese Path shows that modernization need not mean "Westernization." By reviewing the marvels that have taken place in the evolution of the Path, the book reveals the inevitability of the formation of the Chinese Path, highlights its uniqueness, advantages and dynamics, and its relevance for humanity's search for alternative ways to successfully modernize. It provides both a diachronic account of the intrinsic vitality and a synchronic interpretation of the superiority of the Chinese Path despite the so many twists and turns China has gone through. The message it delivers is loud and clear: the Chinese Path, which is completely different from the Western path to modernization, is a sure path to realizing the rejuvenation and modernization of the Chinese nation and offers a Chinese approach to solving problems facing humankind.

• Language: English
• Publisher: American Academic Press
• Release date: Apr 23, 2024
• ISBN: 9798224625697

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Preface

General Secretary Xi Jinping visited the exhibition of The Road to Rejuvenation on November 29, 2012, after the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (hereinafter referred to as CPC or the Party). Xi affirmed that, Our struggles in the over 170 years since the Opium War have created bright prospects for achieving the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. We are now closer to this goal, and we are more confident and capable of achieving it than at any other time in history.[1] The view was echoed by Song Luzheng, a visiting scholar to France, who claimed that, China today is in the best position it has known since 1840. China today has the best system since 1840. China today is delivering the best performance among all major countries across the world.[2] What we can learn from these remarks is: the Chinese Path embodied in today’s path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is at its best since 1840. While staying humble, we must remain confident in the Chinese Path and advance along the path towards rejuvenation.

In The Eighteenth Brumaire of Louis Bonaparte (1852), Marx suggested that we examine closely the political, economic, social and cultural development of France since the French Revolution of 1848 to identify the reasons behind the success of Bonaparte’s coup. He said, Men make their own history, but they do not make it just as they please; they do not make it under circumstances chosen by themselves, but under circumstances directly encountered, given and transmitted from the past.[3]

The evolution of the Chinese Path is no exception. It was chosen under the guidance of Marxism and under given or specific political, economic, social and cultural circumstances and made under circumstances transmitted from the past.

The Chinese Path conveys the arduous yet marvelous transformation of Chinese society. It has transformed China from a closed, pre-modern agricultural country to an open, modern industrial one. The turnaround began in the late Qing dynasty (in 1840 to be more exact), and is yet to be completed after more than 170 years of endeavor. At the new starting point since the 18th National Congress, we, once again, raise the topic of the Chinese Path to further contemplate how the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, a path following the laws of social evolution, is a historic process. Why do we bring this up again? It is because the path has been instrumental in fulfilling the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation. Urged by a strong sense of responsibility, scholars probe into this question time and again.

As the search for the Chinese Path is still ongoing, it is inevitable that hurdles and setbacks will surface in the journey ahead. Two other issues to be addressed are how to summarize and analyze the experience gained and lessons learned from what we have accomplished during the Chinese revolution and modernization and which orientation is the way forward? One of the key objectives of the book is to seek common ground with a wider readership by extensive research and discussion on these issues.

Over the past 170-odd years, China has experienced revolutions and profound changes for its survival and thrival. The evolution of the Chinese Path can be divided into four phases.

Phase I extends from the Westernization Movement, the Reform Movement of 1898 and the New Culture Movement to the Revolution of 1911. During this period, pioneers sought to define the Chinese Path, moving forward with hesitation and missteps.

Phase II starts from the arrival of Marxism in China to the founding of the CPC, the Great Revolution,[4] the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression, the War of Liberation, through the founding of People’s Republic of China (PRC) in 1949.

After three years of economic recovery and the socialist transformation of agriculture, handicrafts, and capitalist industry and commerce, the basic socialist system was established and the Chinese people, led by the CPC, opened up a revolutionary path with Chinese characteristics.

Phase III includes China’s experience with the Great Leap Forward, the People’s Commune Movement, the Cultural Revolution, the War to Resist US Aggression and Aid Korea, the leaning to one side (Soviet Union) period, the Sino-Soviet Dispute, the Sino-Soviet Split, and the Sino-US Alliance against the Soviet Union. During this phase, China’s exploration of socialism was strenuous, with hard-earned experience and bitter lessons.

Phase IV begins with the downfall of the Gang of Four and the launch of reform and opening up, with economic development becoming the top priority as initiated during the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee (hereinafter referred to as the Third Plenum) held in late 1978. From the 12th to 17th national congresses, the Party opened a path of building socialism with Chinese characteristics which is always developing and improving. In the Report to 17th National Congress, the path was defined as the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

All of the attempts, mistakes, revolutions, developments and reforms were driven by the desire for national independence and prosperity as well as the people’s longing for emancipation and happiness. All of the experiences China has undergone, consciously or unconsciously, willingly or reluctantly, were processes in which China learned from the West. Since its doors were flung open by Western powers, China has gone through material, institutional, ideological Westernization, and Westernization in its totality. China has also gone through the adaption of Marxism to the Chinese context and using capitalism to develop socialism. Over the past 170-plus years, China’s pursuit of modernization has led to great and profound economic, political, cultural, social, lifestyle and intellectual changes, with deep imprints from the West. These changes, therefore, are fundamentally linked with China’s modernization drive, albeit at different levels and in different respects. Historically speaking, China’s modernization has taken a clear path: the transformation from a traditional (pre-modern) society to a modern one. It is obvious that China’s modernization has been designed not only to achieve national prosperity, but also to realize national rejuvenation, and people’s happiness and wellbeing, and build a community of free individuals.

The fundamental issue that the Chinese Path seeks to resolve is the challenge of China’s destiny under particular social circumstances. The issue sprung from China’s social progress and was successively addressed by Communists with Mao Zedong, Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zeming and Hu Jintao as their chief representatives. The blazing of the Chinese Path largely concerns two issues: direction (which way to go?) and supporting forces (whom to rely on?). Both have been addressed by the Party. Since its founding, Marxism has been the Party’s guideline, communism its ultimate goal, and the people, with worker-peasant alliance as the majority, its true supporting forces. People make history, but history making should be evaluated based upon objective possibilities signaled in the conditions of the country and the world. How can we determine that the people are acting in line with the right path of history? In On Coalition Government, Mao Zedong proposed two criteria: whether and how much it helps to develop their productive forces, and...whether it fetters or liberates these forces; the supreme test of the words and deeds of a Communist is whether they conform with the highest interests and enjoy the support of the overwhelming majority of the people.[5] If practice meets these two standards, history is following the right path designed by the Party. Over 170 years of practice has endorsed the fact that the Chinese people chose the Chinese Path.

The Chinese Path is the natural and legitimate evolution of social development. Although the Chinese Path was a historical choice, it cannot be taken for granted. We must learn from experience and draw lessons, probe the way forward, and let history be the beacon for the Chinese Path.

China’s modernization entails the transformation of civilization, which is a country’s foundation. To be fair, China’s traditional society has been dismantled, but its modern order has not yet been fully established. China is still transforming itself. Past efforts and missteps led to the rise and fall of dynasties. Revolutions contributed to national independence, and development laid a foundation for society. Reform has transformed China’s material life, institutions and values.

Undoubtedly, during its modernization, or its transformation to a modern civilization, China learned a great deal from developed capitalist countries, from the first socialist country, the Soviet Union, from Japan which is also a member of the Confucian community,[6] as well as from other developing countries.

Europe emerging from the Enlightenment and the United States rising after World War II gradually came to represent Western modernization. Similarly, the world’s first socialist state, founded after Russia’s October Revolution in 1917 and upholding the basic tenets of Marxism, began to build an alternate road to modernization and societal development alongside the European-American path to modernization. For a period of time during the 1950s and 60s, socialist modernization posed both a challenge and a threat to European-American capitalist civilization, leading to the Cold War between two major civilizations. There was another period of time when socialist countries became overly obsessed with doctrinaire Marxism, complacent with the superiority of the socialist system, and lost in the romantic communist utopian ideal, resulting in the formation of Stalinism and the outbreak of the Cultural Revolution. With the collapse of socialism in Eastern Europe and the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the practice of socialism around the world suffered and the international communist movement fell to low ebb, posing a serious setback for socialist modernization. The American scholar Francis Fukuyama came to a conclusion that the end point of mankind’s ideological evolution and the universalization of Western liberal democracy is the final form of human government. Such a theory of the end of history prompted by strong Western liberal obstinacy neither brought more glory to capitalist modernization, nor put an end to socialist modernization. Rather, this theory has been exposed to discredit by Chinese socialist practice.

China’s reform and opening up policy launched in 1978 revitalized the Party and nation that had been on the brink of collapse. It shifted a deadly crisis into an opportunity and initiated the path of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. In the name of protecting freedom and democracy, the United States ganged up with major European countries in starting two Iraq wars, and launched wars in Afghanistan and Libya. The dictatorial political character of the West was once again exposed, proving that Western modernization is far from qualified to serve as an example for the rest of the world. In October 2008, a financial crisis starting in Wall Street evolved into a global financial tsunami, causing worldwide economic turmoil. Western scholars who probed into the causes of this crisis concluded that the devil lay in structural defects and capitalist greed found within the capitalist economic order. Therefore, a wave of criticism and reflection was ignited in academic and political circles, leading to the coining of the phrase Beijing Consensus by Joshua Cooper Ramo, and the proposing of a China Model by other Western scholars. All of a sudden, the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics became a concept keenly discussed around the world as an alternative solution to Western capitalist modernization.

Indeed, modernization is a never-ending experiment. Europe and America are constantly tinkering with their own modernization path through criticism and reflection. Likewise, pioneering a path of socialism with Chinese characteristics has brought both hardship and glory, and the path will constantly be adjusted and developed as we proceed.

China’s rise has become an irreversible fact. The time has arrived for some adjustments in an international order that has been dominated by the Western world since the 16th century. Propelled by the driving force of globalization and more than 30 years of reform and opening up, China has expanded the stage of its performance, moving from the fringe to the center of the international arena. The dream of prosperity that China has been pursuing over the last century has to a large extent been realized, with its global GDP ranking leaping from 15th in 1978 to 2nd in 2010, surpassing that of Japan. The Chinese nation is drawing closer and closer to its great rejuvenation. However, in the face of inevitable challenges, both internal and external, China still needs to ask itself: will the uphill path ahead remain as plain and smooth as it was?

In today’s world, a truly powerful nation is not only strong in military and economic terms, but is also equipped with knowledge and culture, especially a modern core value system or civilizational paradigm. Based on this criterion, even after a hundred years of modernization and with all it has achieved to date, China still has a long way to go before it can fulfill its vision. This will require the transformation and construction of its modern civilizational order (specifically speaking, to achieve the Two Centenary Goals[7] and realize the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation) by overcoming many inadequacies, difficulties and problems. Issues such as seriously unbalanced, uncoordinated, and unsustainable development, insufficient innovation in science and technology, irrational industrial structure, an agricultural foundation that needs strengthening, worsening environmental and resource constraints, and institutional obstacles that confine sound development must all be addressed. The tasks of deepening reform and opening up and transforming the economic development model are challenging. The development gap between urban and rural areas and between regions still needs narrowing, as well as that of personal income distribution. Social conflicts are notably increasing, with persistent problems in education, employment, social insurance, medical care, housing, the environment, food and drug safety, social order and law enforcement. These issues are of immediate concern to all Chinese, and for some people are urgent matters of life and death. Immoral behavior and dishonesty plague certain domains, with some incompetent officials leading development, primary party organizations showing weakness and slackness, and a few unprincipled party members and officials vacillating in their ideals and convictions. In addition, some sectors are prone to corruption, formalism, bureaucratism, extravagance and waste, and the fight against corruption remains formidable.

Xi said, we must resolutely keep to the right path that we have found through great difficulties.[8] We are able to embark on this path thanks to the great endeavors of reform and opening up made in the past 30 years and more, the continuous quest made in the 60-plus years of the PRC, a thorough review of the evolution of the Chinese nation in its 170-plus years of modern history, and carrying forward the 5,000-plus years of Chinese civilization. This path is deeply rooted in history and broadly based on China’s present realities.[9] At present, China is at a critical moment of major social transformation. To press ahead with the transformation of Chinese society into a modern civilization following the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, at least three types of resources should be utilized: nourishment by socialism drawn from the historical lessons learned in its practice in the 20th century; enlightenment by capitalism and its evolution and experience gained since the 15th century; and inspiration from the development paths postcolonial countries that obtained independence after World War II have chosen and from the predicaments they have confronted.[10] These resources must be integrated with China’s own culture (including its traditions, revolution, development, and reform and opening up), especially with its time-honored civilization of over five millennia. One of the main implications of Chinese characteristics is China’s cultural characteristics, which mean that the modern socialist civilizational order that China seeks to build is one with Chinese cultural characteristics. This requires the constant efforts of generation after generation of Chinese people, just as Deng Xiaoping proclaimed, it will require persistent struggle by many generations, a dozen or even several dozens.[11] It is true that capitalism prevails in the world today, but the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics in its long-running rivalry with capitalism will undoubtedly shine, and the Chinese Dream of national rejuvenation will most certainly succeed.

This book represents the latest research findings and thinking of the author’s on the Chinese Path over the last few years. Some of the opinions here might not align with the understanding of the general public. With these problems in mind, the author tries to interpret the evolution of the Chinese Path from natural and historical perspectives, applying Chinese theoretical and academic methods to fully demonstrate the inevitability of the formation of the Chinese Path. And by reviewing the marvels that took place in the development of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the author hopes to highlight the uniqueness and creativity of this path, its theoretical contributions and institutional advantages. This result is presented to serve as a forum for discussion. To create a platform for academic exchange and debate, all comments and criticism are welcome, which, the author believes, will better inform future research.

Introduction

0.1 Path (Daolu) – The Dialectical Unity of Abstraction and Concreteness

Path in Chinese consists of two words [Way (Dao) and Road (Lu)] that had different meanings in traditional Chinese culture. Way was written in early bronze inscriptions as = 卡通人物 低可信度描述已自动生成 (行, crossroads) + 文本 描述已自动生成 (首, people) + (止, to walk), meaning to lead the way at crossroads. The original interpretation of this character referred to guiding or leading those who were disoriented. The core content of this character included such elements as approach, method and laws, truth and justice, the origin of the tangible world – the intangible entrance to the wonderful, to lead, to guide, to elaborate, to explain, and to express and a thoroughfare, highway. Road was displayed in early bronze inscriptions as 画着卡通人物 中度可信度描述已自动生成 = 图片包含 文本 描述已自动生成 + . The original understanding of this character was to follow one’s feet, to act independently, or to go one’s way and its core content included way out, clues and guidance and lines and cohorts.

Based on the explanation of the Chinese bronze inscriptions, Way can be comprehended as to act under the guidance of one’s brain, namely, to seek an accessible and feasible course between uncertain routes with a certain objective after analyzing, pondering and exploring. Therefore, ancient Chinese used it to express abstract concepts such as senses, rules and laws. For instance, Lao Zi’s aphorism that the "Dao that can be spoken of is not a true one can be applied to the governance of a nation, code of conduct as well as health tips. Road means a specific path along which people reach their destination as is used in the saying All roads lead to Rome. To this extent, Way tends to represent abstract concepts, while Road mainly refers to something concrete. The two combined as Path conveys the meaning that the physical and concrete exploration of Road should be guided by the metaphysical and abstract Way. Based on Marxist dialectics, we understand that abstraction does not exist without concreteness, and vice versa. The unity of abstraction and concreteness is the basis of the objective existence of the whole world. This sense of dialectic unity of abstraction and concreteness combined in the concept of Path is embodied in the proposition of the Chinese Path."

In fact, the Chinese Path was a historical choice of the people. The Road of the Chinese Path stands for the road to the rejuvenation and modernization of the Chinese nation; the Way of the Chinese Path aims to establish the road to rejuvenation and the road to modernization. The question of how to achieve rejuvenation and modernization has also been answered by history and the people. We should combine China’s national conditions and contemporary characteristics, creatively march along the path of socialism, adhere to people’s democratic dictatorship, uphold the leadership of the CPC, Marxism-Leninism and Mao Zedong Thought. This betokens the significance and quintessence of Way in the Chinese Path. However, theoretical proposition can never replace historical facts, which require logical analysis. Logical analysis, in turn, must be validated through history.

0.2 The Chinese Path: The Dialectical Unity of Historical and Logical Points of Origin

On January 5, 2013, in his opening remarks at the seminar on the guiding principles of the 18th National Congress for recent and alternate committee members of the Central Committee, Xi asked, Which path should we follow? This is the paramount question for the future of the Party and the success of its cause.[12]

A comprehensive review of the Chinese Path is, therefore, critical both theoretically and practically. To understand the Chinese Path, we need to understand its historical and logical points of origin.

Hence, what was its historical starting point? Opinions vary in the academia, but they roughly fall into four categories:

➢ The first viewpoint places the origin in 1978 when the PRC undertook reform and opening up, believing the Chinese Path is the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics that was formed during this period.

➢ The second places it at the founding of the PRC in 1949, referring to the Chinese Path as Chinese socialist revolution, development and reform;

➢ The third considers the founding of the CPC in 1921 as the historical starting point of the Chinese Path, holding that the Chinese Path was the road of the New Democratic Revolution (1919-1949), socialist revolution, development, and reform and opening up, led by the CPC; and

➢ The fourth reckons the starting point of the Chinese Path as the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, commencing at the outbreak of the Opium War of 1840.

Sensible as the first three viewpoints may sound, they make neither historical nor geopolitical sense as they are more or less biased. Why rejuvenate? Because after the Opium War of 1840, China fell victim to Western aggression and exploitation and entered a century of humiliation. Therefore, the fourth statement represents a combination of historical and logical points of origin.

Since 1840, the Chinese people have begun their quest for modernization. Since then, the study of the path has been explored through discussion, evaluation, development and research. Along this way, the Chinese people discovered the Chinese Path to revolution and development, and finally developed the theory of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics in reform and opening up.

The Chinese Path, as a temporal and spatial concept, has been explored, formed, evolved and expanded in a given period of time and in a given space. By a given period of time, we mean the period beginning with the Opium War of 1840 to the present, whereas, a given space refers to more than the geographic context. It refers to the particular political, economic and cultural circumstances in which China encountered Western capitalist colonization. Temporally speaking, the exploration of the Chinese Path is still ongoing. It has not yet finished. While in terms of space, the Chinese Path is not just relevant to China, but also has global implications.

The historical origin of the Chinese Path should be traced back to the Opium War of 1840. The reasons are twofold. First, the door of the Oriental Empire with its abundant resources was forced open at gunpoint as Western capitalist powers, armed with advanced industrial civilization, eagerly promoted colonization around the world. China naturally fell prey to such an aggressive expansion. Thus, 1840 marked a time when the East met the West and traditional Chinese civilization met Western capitalist industrial civilization face to face, albeit an encounter under the duress of combat. Second, for thousands of years, a Chinese Order with China at the center had been established between dynastic China and its tributaries. Though China had dwarfed other countries with its unmatched power and influence, this dominance gave the rulers of the late Qing dynasty a false sense of complacency. This complacency led the Qing rulers to bury their heads in the sand and totally ignore world affairs. Therefore, the Chinese nation gradually lagged behind the West in terms of politics, economy, culture, science and technology.

However, defeat at the hand of foreigners in the Opium War brought a shock to China that alerted it to the severity of the foreign threat. China gradually descended into semi-colonial and semi-feudal status and experienced enormous suffering and destruction. Therefore, the Opium War served as a watershed in determining the fate and future of the Chinese nation. The obsolete form of governance and traditional agricultural civilization collapsed and was transformed, in the face of Western powers and an emerging Japan. After suffering turmoil and torment, devastating feudalism and war with Western capitalism and Japanese fascism, China cleared a path to national rejuvenation.

Shortly after taking office at the First Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee, the new helmsman of the CPC, Xi Jinping, and other members of the Standing Committee of the Political Bureau visited the exhibition of The Road to Rejuvenation. We are now all talking about the Chinese Dream. Xi said. In my opinion, achieving the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has been the greatest dream of the Chinese people since the advent of modern times.[13] The statement marked with authority the historical start of the Chinese Path at 1840.

National rejuvenation naturally becomes the logical starting point of the Chinese Path. A logical starting point is where a theory or thought begins and is normally manifested in the form of a starting concept. Generally, a logical starting point must be equipped with four conditions: Firstly, it should be a stipulation of the most fundamental and simplest nature; secondly, it should be a basic component of the research object of the theory or thought; thirdly, it should be embedded in the entire course of development of the theory or thought; and fourthly, it should be conducive to building a complete system of scientific theory.

So in view of these conditions, national rejuvenation should be the logical starting point of the Chinese Path. The rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the most fundamental and simplest stipulation of the nature of the Chinese Path. It is the most basic concept in the study of the Chinese Path and it runs through the entire development process of the path. And it is only with this very concept that the inevitability, objectivity and integrity of the Chinese Path can be better understood and investigated. And the logical starting point perfectly corresponds to the historical start of the Chinese Path – the 1840 Opium War. The logic is in line with history, with the start of a history also being the start of logic. As Engels put it, The point where this history begins must also be the starting point of the train of thought, and its further progress will be simply the reflection, in abstract and theoretically consistent form, of the course of history, a corrected reflection, but corrected in accordance with laws provided by the actual course of history, since each moment can be examined at the stage of development where it reaches its full maturity, its classical form.[14]

The Chinese Path, as a starting point in both historical and logical terms, is a path to modernization with bright prospects, yet also with twists and turns. Beginning in 1840, China declined from a flourishing power, and degraded into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The Chinese nation fell to the oppression and exploitation of invaders, drawn into the capitalist world system and forced to start searching for its own modernization path. Since then, China was faced with two major historic tasks: to fight against imperial and feudal regimes for national emancipation and independence, and to obtain prosperity, strength, and rejuvenation. Also since 1840, China has been developing into a great and strong country, with the Chinese nation rising time and again from setbacks and identifying a modernization path distinct from that of the West. This is a path towards a bright future, identified by men and women with high ideals of saving the country, by people of all ethnic groups jointly striving for national rejuvenation under the leadership of the CPC.

The 170-odd-year Chinese Path can be divided into two historical stages and four periods of time according to specific historical stages and historic tasks. The first historical stage is also the first period of time, which lasted 80 years from 1840 to the birth of the CPC. At that time, apart from countless failures, setbacks and great loss of life, efforts made by patriotic progressives were not in vain. In return, they inspired a profound understanding of the path and a choice of the right path. The path was pursued by people with lofty ideals who sought to save the nation from subjugation and ensure its surviving in the semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The second historical stage began at the birth of the CPC. Based on the attempts and mistakes made by its predecessors, CPC leaders led the people to integrate the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and features, and persistently strived for national independence, national liberation, national prosperity and the wellbeing of the people, as they sought to realize national rejuvenation and modernization. This historical stage can be split into three periods of time: revolution, development, and reform and opening up. The path of socialim with Chinese characteristics gradually came into being during this time.

The Chinese Path took shape during these two historical stages, with the first stage focusing on comparison and attempts and the second emphasizing choice and pursuit. The former comprised the foundation and the premise, and the latter formed the bloom and fruit, allowing Chinese socialism to bloom and yielding the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The first historical stage, lasting for nearly a century, actually presented a picture of endless endeavors and national salvation by progressives. On the one hand, imperial powers waged a series of wars against China, including two Opium Wars, the Sino-French War of 1883-1885, the Sino-Japanese War of 1894, and the Aggression of Eight Allied Powers. Western powers triggered World War I with an aim to vie for spheres of influence, which expedited the victory of Russia’s October Revolution. The continuous signing of unequal treaties by the Qing court resulted in ceding territory, paying reparations, and losing some sovereignty. On the other hand, China witnessed a series of resistance movements, including the Westernization Movement, the Reform Movement of 1898, the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom Movement[15](1851-1864), the Yihetuan Movement[16] (1899-1900) and the Bourgeois-Democratic Revolution (Old Democratic Revolution) led by Sun Yat-sen. In short, people from all classes and political persuasions entered the political arena and proposed and carried out various programs to save the nation – and employed a variety of isms – including pre-modern peasant uprisings, reform within the feudal aristocracy, reform of national capitalism, and Bourgeois-Democratic Revolution. However, neither the isms nor the movements spared the Chinese nation and Chinese people from misery, weakness, poverty or willful trampling. Mao Zedong pithily characterized the situation, Thus Western bourgeois civilization, bourgeois democracy and the plan for a bourgeois republic have all gone bankrupt in the eyes of the Chinese people.[17] The Chinese people learned from struggles and failures that reforms that did not change the groundwork of feudalism or that imitated Western capitalism would always fail to achieve the mission of national salvation, nor accomplish the historic tasks against imperialism and feudalism. What came next? Wherein lay the hope of the Chinese nation? After nearly a century’s onerous efforts, history and the people finally found the leader and supporting power for their own ism and movement. The ism was Marxism-Leninism brought by the October Revolution. The movement was socialist movement and class struggle. The leader was the CPC and the supporting forces were the Chinese working class and peasantry, namely the worker-peasant alliance. From then on the Chinese Path entered its second historical stage. The fate of the Chinese nation featured historic change and the Owl of Minerva began to call at dusk. The ancient Oriental land was about to welcome its aurora.

The century-long history of the second historical stage revealed a magnificent scroll of the New Democratic Revolution, socialist revolution, development, and reform, led by the CPC. On the one side of this scroll, major Western capitalist countries suffered from the global financial crisis in 1929 after stepping away from the haze of World War I. Economic crisis led to World War II, which in turn spawned national liberation movements around the world. With the independence of a great number of nation states, especially the building of socialist states, the Western world adopted several strategies such as the Marshall Plan and the peaceful evolution to capitalism to contain, restrain, and overturn socialist states. Internal and external factors triggered the demise of the Soviet Union and drastic changes in Eastern Europe, and socialist movements fell onto hard times.

On the other side of the scroll, the CPC rallied the Chinese people to overcome all obstacles, through the Northern Expedition (1926-1928), the Agrarian Revolutionary War (1927-1937), the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression (1931-1945), the War of Liberation (1946-1950), Land Reform, and the Socialist Transformation. It combined basic tenets of Marxism with China’s realities and came up with Mao Zedong Thought. It founded the People’s Republic, and established the basic socialist system and achieved national independence and liberation. These events founded the political premise and established the foundation for the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This is the revolutionary path of achieving state independence and national liberation explored by the CPC.

From imitation of the Soviet socialist model to reform of the Soviet Model in light of national conditions, from national economic recovery to the establishment of an independent and relatively intact industrial system and national economic system, from the Three Red Banners (the general line for socialist development, the Great Leap Forward, and the People’s Commune Movement) to the Cultural Revolution, from suffering the Western blockade to the restoration of the lawful rights of China in the United Nations, the CPC scored achievements, experienced twists and turns, learned lessons, and accumulated experience in pursuing socialist development. These efforts laid both material and ideological foundations, both positive and negative, allowing the PRC to find a new path and a right path successfully. This is the path to building a new socialist China.

The end of the Cultural Revolution brought new vitality to socialist development and inspired the Party’s newer and deeper understanding of what socialism is and how to build it, and the correct understanding and handling of the relationship of socialism to capitalism. This understanding has enabled the Party to overcome difficulties and gain victories in the three decades of reform and opening up. This understanding, difficulties and victories are presented as follows:

Concerning the development of the socialist path, the Party worked from emancipating the mind to shifting the work focus of the Party and the nation to economic development and reform and opening up in the Third Plenum;

Concerning the economic system, the planned economy was transformed into a socialist market economy;

Concerning socialism, the Party advanced from the theory of the primary stage of socialism to the theory of the essence of socialism;

Concerning the general plan for Chinese socialism, China improved the development from two-sphere integrated plan, focusing on material and ethical progress, to five-sphere integrated plan, focusing on economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological advancement;

Concerning the theoretical innovation of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, a system of socialist theories with Chinese characteristics has been established: from Deng Xiaoping Theory and the Theory of Three Represents to the Scientific Outlook on Development;

Concerning unifying thinking, Deng Xiaoping proposed to emancipate the mind, seek truth from facts and unite as one in looking to the future and gave talks during his inspection tour of the south in 1992, while Xi Jinping made his fact-finding tour to the south in 2012;

Concerning international exchanges, China has made successful bids for hosting Olympiads and successfully held the 2008 Olympic Games, acceded to the World Trade Organization (WTO), tackled major disasters such as Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS), earthquakes, mudslides, the collapse of the Soviet Union, drastic changes in Eastern Europe, as well as international political and economic shocks during the global financial crisis;

Concerning economic achievements, China’s world GDP ranking climbed from 15th in 1978 to 2nd in 2010;

Concerning the development of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, Deng put forward blaze a path of our own and build a socialism with Chinese characteristics at the 12th National Congress. The general principle of one central task, two basic points was established at the 13th Congress. Developing a socialist market economy was proposed at the 14th Congress. Building a moderately prosperous society in all respects was announced at the 16th Congress. Socialism with Chinese characteristics was generalized as a path and theories at the 17th Congress. The whole Party was required to have every confidence in our path, in our theories and in our system at the 18th Congress, aiming at achieving the renewal of the Chinese nation along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

These all validated that China’s reform and opening up has been successful. The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics therein is the integration of the theory of scientific socialism and social development theories of Chinese history. Socialism has taken root in China. It reflects the wishes of the people and meets the development needs of the country and the times. It is a sure route to success in building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, in the acceleration of socialist modernization, and in the great renewal of the Chinese nation.[18] This is the path of reform and opening up, and the path of building Chinese socialism.

In summary, without exploration in the first historical stage, the people could hardly have made the historical choices of Marxism, socialism and the CPC. The Chinese people would have stumbled blindly for much longer.

Chinese history since the Opium War of 1840 has proven that the Chinese Path is the necessary outcome of China’s historical development as well as the historical choice of the Chinese people. The course of history, from the year 1840 to the Chinese revolution, development and reform led by the CPC, determined the logical development process of the Chinese Path, which in turn reflects the Chinese course of history since 1840. The dialectical unification relations between history and logic must be studied systematically and explicitly.

0.3 The Chinese Path Marks the Transformation of Chinese Civilization

Every nation participates in and enriches various aspects of world civilization with their own traditions and creations. The success of the development path to modern civilization of every nation depends on whether this path conforms to the actual situation of the nation as well as the extent to which it relies on its people and meets the needs of its people.

Before modern times, Chinese civilization never faced a crisis that it was unable to overcome and integrate into its development. When brought to China, Buddhism was transformed into Tibetan Buddhism and Han (Chinese) Buddhism. Likewise, northern nomadic peoples were merged into the Chinese nation as they came southward. However, the Opium War of 1840 brought an unprecedented civilizational crisis to the Chinese nation. The invading Western countries, equipped with military prowess and an advanced model of civilization, severely challenged the Chinese nation. This civilizational crisis has lasted for more than 170 years. It now seems that the crisis is far from over. For more than three decades of reform and opening up, China has achieved rapid economic development. Its overall national strength rivals that of the Western world with its GDP even ranking 2nd in the world in 2010. However, the transformation of the Chinese nation is not yet finished. The 18th National Congress called upon the whole Party to have full confidence in the path, theory, and system of Chinese socialism, but there was no mention of confidence in the civilization or culture.[19] Thus, the transformation and upgrading of Chinese civilization still has a long way to go.

What is the aim of the transformation of Chinese civilization? Modernization is certainly the right course. But it is neither Western modernization that China has already encountered, nor Soviet socialist modernization which has collapsed, but rather Chinese socialist modernization. Modernization is the inevitable destiny for every nation, but the path for each can be different. As the saying goes, All roads lead to Rome.

Modernized civilization requires: a. material foundation as its cornerstone, which contains no value bias; b. a rational order and a secular spirit to serve as its flesh and blood, embedding a strong sense of values; c. the establishment of systems to serve as the framework, which entails a certain value orientation.

Capitalism prompts historical progress in the forging of modern civilization. The development of capitalism was spearheaded by the establishment of a material foundation which required the support of science and technology. Established in Europe from the scientific revolution of the 16th century to the Industrial Revolution that began in the 18th century, the wealth and power created by capitalism were invincible and irresistible. In the 20th century, new forms of innovation such as the information technology revolution, the new energy technology revolution, and the biotechnology revolution continued to enhance humankind’s ability to transform and control both nature and themselves. The so-called rational order (Rationalisierung) in capitalism is the rational capitalism proposed by Max Weber, including the impersonal bureaucracy and the double ledger accounting system. This increasingly popular modern corporate management system has successfully colonized the entirety of modern society and has become the universal principle in the economics, culture, and politics and even in daily lives. The secularization of spiritual pursuit is embodied in the infinite release and pursuit of human desire, which brings forth the spirit of adventure and entrepreneurialism. The insatiable quest for money and wealth produces the work ethics of frugality and industry. This spirit of capitalism has its own rules of survival and rewards survival to the fittest. To a certain extent, market competition and the victory of the strongest greatly promote the progress of human society.

Western modern civilization’s influence on the world not only depends on modern material and rational strengths, but also a more powerful civilized discourse, legal and political systems. Thus, the Western modern civilization may be regarded as a new axis of civilization.

China’s extraordinary development over the last 30 years or more has proven to the world that China possesses the elements necessary for modern political orders, such as a prosperous, strong, and law-based country, and a responsible government. The values of modern civilization include development, rationality, happiness, democracy, freedom, equality, and harmony. More importantly, these elements and values have been integrated with advanced socialist institutions. This integration represents notable advances in China’s modern civilization.

However, even though China’s aggregate national strength has expanded considerably, an internal civilization crisis has emerged. It takes massive effort to transform the world’s manufacturing champion into the world’s top innovation hub. However, we see an ironic contrast between China’s internal civilizational crisis and its national prosperity. The loss of core traditional values and the chaos of social ethics as well as doubts about the legitimacy of the political system, the authority and credibility of the government, and the rule of law are all dramatic and disruptive signs indicating that China’s rise to this point has been more about a rise in wealth and strength than a rise in civilization.

Chinese intellectuals differ widely regarding what this prevailing reality in China entails. One position embraces universal values, while the other supports the China Model. Followers of universal values advocate one single road to modernization for the entire world – the exemplary model of Western modernization, which they argue has been proven as the only track to modernization since the 16th century. They contend that the problems China faces today, to a large extent, arise from it being an awkward follower of the West. What China needs today is not a superficial self-improvement movement adopting Western technological innovations while retaining its traditional power structures, but rather the application of universal values and Western political systems in their totality. On the other hand, supporters of the China Model argue that China’s success is like a slap in the face of Western civilization. China can have its own path to modernization, its own values, and its own political system: unique, but in line with its national conditions. China’s rise, they contend, also sets a good example for underdeveloped countries, which by abandoning Western civilization’s model could also achieve national prosperity.

Hence, competing modern civilizations present a pressing concern: should China be an opponent or a follower of mainstream Western civilization, or is there a third alternative?

Apparently, success stories in world history emerge from the concrete practices of countries across the world. That is to say, common grounds are found in country-specific differences.

Edgar Morin, French philosopher and a supporter of the universal values thesis, claimed, Culture and civilization are two poles apart. Culture means uniqueness, subjectivity and personality. On the contrary, civilization represents transmissibility, objectivity and universality. To take Europe as an example, European culture and European civilization are different. European culture takes Judaism, Christianity, Greece and Rome as its peculiar basis, while European civilization, featuring humanism, science and technology, spreads across the entire European continent, and takes root in totally different cultural contexts.

Civilization is a common value or essence shared by mankind, while culture emphasizes differences among nations and distinctions among ethnicities. Civilization manifests itself in various ways, ranging from materials to technologies and systems. However, regardless of their manifestation, each is within the scope of a set of universal values. Culture, however, is demonstrated in intellectual form. Culture reflects values created by certain nations or ethnicities, rather than abstract humanity. Obviously, in terms of civilization and culture, the universal values and China Model theses highlight differences between notions of a common civilization and unique culture. This also sheds light on the conflict between Western modernization and Chinese modernization.

The four key cultural traditions in today’s China include:

✓  ancient Chinese civilization with Confucianism at its core;

✓  modern civilization marked by the enlightenment starting with the May 4th Movement of 1919;

✓  the socialist revolution, and

✓  socialist reform and opening up led by the CPC.

Confucianism disintegrated between 1911 and 1919 due to the collapse of its institutional and social basis. Only fragments of this civilization can be found in the everyday life of Chinese people today. Modern civilization from the West has experienced ups and downs over the past 100-plus years, and still has subtle impact on society. On the other hand, the cultural tradition of socialist revolution is widely accepted by the public and is highly capable of mobilizing the public because, having also gone through twists and turns, it is nonetheless opposed to bureaucratic capitalism and pursues equality, justice, national liberation and independence. The cultural tradition of socialist reform and opening up broadly and deeply enhances the transformation and quality of modern Chinese civilization. In The Philosophy of History, Hegel argued that a nation’s position in world history is not determined by its external achievements but by the spirit it unfolds. To put it more specifically, It is only an inference from the history of the World, that its development has been a rational process; that the history in question has constituted the rational necessary course of the World-Spirit – that Spirit whose nature is always one and the same, but which unfolds this its one nature in the phenomena of the World’s existence.[20] Viewed from this assertion, if the transformation of modern Chinese civilization can be counted as a success, a World Spirit stemming from the Chinese nation should come into being. It is obvious that the transformation of Chinese civilization still has a long way to go in its quest to achieve greater heights.

0.4 A Path of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics Is of Vital Importance for China’s Future

Truthful ideas, through comparison and struggle, will be developed and will spread in a superior and faster way. The truthfulness of ideas can be identified and presented after comparison and struggle. In recent years, mistaken thinking such as democratic socialism, neoliberalism, historical nihilism, Western constitutionalism, new Confucianism, and universal values have been flaring up, causing disruption in China’s development. Struggling with erroneous views is an effective means as well as a key aspect of producing, developing, improving, and spreading the truth.

More than 30 years of ideological comparison, struggle, and practice has proven that the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a path of scientific socialism and nothing else, and that it is the path of scientific socialism referred to by Marx and nothing else. Socialism and socialism alone can save China, and Chinese socialism and Chinese socialism alone can develop China.

The central leadership has repeatedly emphasized the importance of the path by pointing out that the path is the flag, the direction, and the lifeline. The report to the 18th National Congress stated, Looking back at China’s eventful modern history and looking to the promising future of the Chinese nation, we have drawn this definite conclusion: We must unswervingly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics in order to complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, accelerate socialist modernization, and achieve the great renewal of the Chinese nation. General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward the Chinese Dream after taking office. At the closing ceremony of the First Session of the 12th National People’s Congress (NPC), Xi highlighted, To realize the Chinese Dream, we must take our own path, which is the path of building socialism with Chinese characteristics. It is not an easy path. We are able to embark on this path thanks to the great endeavors of reform and opening up made in the past 30 years and more, the continuous quest made in the 60-plus years of the PRC, a thorough review of the evolution of the Chinese nation in its 170-plus years of modern history, and carrying forward the 5,000-plus years of Chinese civilization. This path is deeply rooted in history and broadly based on China’s present realities.[21]

The Chinese Path evolves at various phases and in different forms. The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics in its present phase aligns with the primary stage of socialism. This path will move towards a future phase, which means socialism will develop into intermediate and advanced stages. The Chinese Path also has a past phase, which can be divided into four stages: 1840-1921, 1921-1949, 1949-1956, and 1956-1978. Due to different historic tasks, the four stages unfolded differently. During the first stage, patriots of high ideals fought for national salvation through trial and error. The second stage centered on the New Democratic Revolution led by the CPC. The third and fourth stages were about socialist revolution and development.

In a nutshell, since 1840, national salvation, rejuvenation, and modernization have been China’s major political themes.

The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics also influences prospects for the entire world. Modern history has shown that China cannot develop without the world, and vice versa. This path, which gradually took shape on the basis of consistent exploration and effort, is a path to success. The