Promoting the Construction of an Independent Knowledge System for the Study of CPC History and Party Building through Academic Innovation

As the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics led by the Communist Party of China advances continuously at both the theoretical and practical levels, the study of CPC history and Party building, as a discipline investigating the history of the Communist Party of China and the laws of its own construction, has undoubtedly become one of the most distinctly Chinese disciplines within the field of philosophy and social sciences. In the New Era, to accelerate the construction of China’s independent knowledge system and to build philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics, the study of CPC history and Party building should play an important role. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Education Conference that the Party’s innovative theories should guide knowledge innovation, theoretical innovation, and methodological innovation in philosophy and social sciences, and that an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences should be constructed, with disciplinary hallmark concepts and original theories as its backbone. In his congratulatory letter to Fudan University on its 120th anniversary, he again proposed promoting knowledge innovation, theoretical innovation, and methodological innovation in philosophy and social sciences, continuously enhancing the capacity to serve major national strategies and regional economic and social development, and making new and continuous contributions to comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization. These important expositions provide the fundamental guidance and methodological path for advancing the construction of an independent knowledge system for philosophy and social sciences, including the study of CPC history and Party building, in the New Era.

随着中国共产党领导的中国特色社会主义事业在理论和实践层面的不断推进，作为一门研究中国共产党历史和自身建设规律的学问，中共党史党建学在哲学社会科学领域内无疑成为最具中国特色的学科之一。在新时代，加快构建中国自主知识体系、建设中国特色哲学社会科学，中共党史党建学理应发挥重要作用。习近平总书记在全国教育大会上指出，以党的创新理论引领哲学社会科学知识创新、理论创新、方法创新，构建以各学科标识性概念、原创性理论为主干的中国哲学社会科学自主知识体系；在致复旦大学建校120周年的贺信中再次提出，推动哲学社会科学知识创新、理论创新、方法创新，不断提升服务国家重大战略和区域经济社会发展能力，为以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业不断作出新贡献。这些重要论述为新时代推进包括中共党史党建学在内的哲学社会科学自主知识体系构建提供了根本遵循和方法路径。

Consolidating the Academic Foundation through Knowledge Innovation

以知识创新夯实学术基础

Knowledge constitutes the basic unit of a knowledge system. Strengthening knowledge innovation in the discipline of CPC history and Party building means breaking through existing cognitive boundaries, reshaping the knowledge map, forming new knowledge and new perspectives on the experiences and lessons of the Communist Party of China in different historical periods and on the logic of national governance, and continuously creating and accumulating original knowledge with disciplinary characteristics through solid and in-depth research results.

知识是构成知识体系的基本单元。加强中共党史党建学学科知识创新，就是要通过突破已有认知边界、重塑知识图谱，形成对中国共产党不同历史时期经验教训、国家治理逻辑的新知识、新观点，用扎实、深入的研究成果持续创造、积淀具有学科特色的原创性知识。

As a newly established first-level discipline, [1]1 In the Chinese academic degree system, disciplines are classified into levels: discipline categories, first-level disciplines, and second-level disciplines. The study of CPC history and Party building was elevated to a first-level discipline in 2022. knowledge innovation in the study of CPC history and Party building must adhere to disciplinary subjectivity and clarify disciplinary boundaries and research subjects. Its core is the study of the history of the Communist Party of China and the laws of its own construction. This unique positioning determines that its knowledge innovation must be based on the basic characteristic of combining history and theory within the discipline. In the process of knowledge innovation, we must insist on excavating real problems and real materials from the practice of our Party’s revolution, construction, and reform. For example, when examining the development of the Communist Party of China’s foreign affairs work during the total War of Resistance against Japan, [2]2 The War of Resistance against Japan (1937–1945) was the Chinese theater of World War II, fought between the Republic of China and the Empire of Japan. one should not simply apply Western international political theory; instead, one should note the direct influence of Marxist-Leninist theory and the pattern of the international communist movement on the Communist Party of China’s concepts of foreign relations, while simultaneously refining the historical process of the dialectical interaction between the “united front” thinking and the “revolutionary diplomacy” concept.

作为一门新设一级学科，中共党史党建学的知识创新需要坚守学科主体性，明确学科边界与研究主体。其核心是研究中国共产党的历史与自身建设规律，这一独特定位决定了其知识创新必须立足于学科史论结合的基本特点。在知识创新过程中，要坚持从我们党革命、建设、改革的实践中挖掘真问题、真材料。比如，在考察中国共产党全面抗战时期外事工作的发展历程时，不能简单套用西方国际政治理论，而应该注意到马克思列宁主义理论、国际共产主义运动格局对中国共产党人对外关系理念有直接影响，同时提炼出“统一战线”思维与“革命外交”观念辩证互动的历史过程。

For the study of CPC history and Party building, the key to achieving knowledge innovation is to establish a complete closed loop from material excavation to knowledge production, that is, the “three linkages.”

对中共党史党建学而言，实现知识创新的关键是要建立从材料挖掘到知识生产的完整闭环，即“三个打通”。

First, excavate new materials by “linking history and reality.” Research in CPC history and Party building needs to break through the limitations of traditional documents and extensively explore and utilize primary materials such as local archives, oral historical materials, and audio-visual materials. For example, the vast quantities of video and audio materials, especially newsreels, documentaries, and television programs, officially and privately recorded since the founding of New China, are stored in archives at various levels, television station libraries, local chronicles museums, and so on. The excavation of these materials can help us build a micro-level historical foundation for understanding the Party’s construction practices.

一是在“打通历史与现实”中挖掘新材料。中共党史党建学研究需要突破传统文献的局限，大范围发掘和利用地方档案、口述史料、影音资料等一手材料。例如，新中国成立以来官方和民间摄录的海量影像、音频资料，特别是新闻资料片、纪录片、电视片很多都存在各级档案馆、电视台资料库、方志馆等，这些材料的挖掘可以帮助我们构建起理解党的建设微观实践的史料基础。

Second, propose new viewpoints by “linking the whole and the individual.” Taking the author’s research on “the Communist Party of China’s perception and prediction of the situation” as an example, this topic seems ordinary at first glance. However, by combining the diaries and notes of various cadres, conducting a specific analysis of the ideological consciousness of the cadre group, and dissecting the commonalities and differences in cadres’ understanding of the situation at different levels and positions, one will notice that the relevant understanding of Party cadres not only originates from the classic expositions of Marx, Engels, Lenin, Stalin, and others but also has an inherent connection with the understanding of “form” (xing) and “momentum” (shi) in ancient Chinese Neo-Confucian tradition. [3]3 “Form” (xing) and “momentum” (shi) are key concepts in classical Chinese strategic and philosophical thought, often associated with assessing objective conditions and seizing the initiative. From this, one can further sort out the intellectual history origins of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context during this period and propose new viewpoints with greater explanatory power.

二是在“打通整体与个体”中提出新观点。以笔者关于“中国共产党人对形势问题的感知与预判”的研究为例，此题目看似平淡，但如果结合各类干部的日记、笔记，对干部群体思想意识进行具体分析，剖析不同层级岗位干部对形势问题的共性与差异，则会注意到党内干部的相关认识不仅源于马克思、恩格斯、列宁、斯大林等人的经典论述，也与中国古代理学传统里关于“形”和“势”的理解有内在关联，由此能进一步梳理出此时期马克思主义中国化的思想史源流，提出更具解释力的新观点。

Third, create new concepts by “linking Party history and Party building.” We must be adept at refining hallmark concepts from the rich practice of Party building and, through rigorous academic enhancement, turn them into conceptual resources and analytical tools that are scientific and grounded in practice.

三是在“打通党史与党建”中创造新概念。要善于从丰富的党的建设实践中提炼标识性概念，并通过严格的学术化提升，使其成为具有科学性、实践感的概念资源、分析工具。

Following this line of thought, driving the construction of the discipline’s independent knowledge system through knowledge innovation ultimately aims to innovate the academic conceptual system and construct an independent academic discourse. This requires us not only to summarize practical experience but also to form an original conceptual system through the construction of “meta-theory.” For example, the major proposition of the Party’s “self-revolution” needs to be constructed into a complete theoretical system encompassing ideological origins, driving mechanisms, practical paths, and effectiveness feedback through the organic integration of historical logic, theoretical logic, and practical logic.

循此思路，以知识创新驱动学科自主知识体系构建最终是要创新学术概念体系，构建自主学术话语。这要求我们不仅要总结实践经验，更要通过“元理论”构建形成原创概念体系。例如，“党的自我革命”这一重大命题，需要通过历史逻辑、理论逻辑和实践逻辑的有机整合，构建起包含思想源流、动力机制、实践路径、效用反馈等方面的完整理论体系。

Achieving Theoretical Breakthroughs through Theoretical Innovation

以理论创新实现学理突破

Theoretical innovation means establishing new chains of explanatory logic through the innovation of theoretical frameworks, thereby carrying out a systematic integration of knowledge resources. As a newly established first-level discipline, the construction of an independent knowledge system for the study of CPC history and Party building can only form original, systematic scholarly thought and a disciplinary system by relying on theoretical innovation.

理论创新是要通过理论框架的创新，建立新的解释逻辑链条，展开对知识资源的系统性整合。作为一门新设一级学科，中共党史党建学的自主知识体系构建，只有依托理论创新才能形成原创的、系统的学说思想和学科体系。

The vitality of theoretical innovation first stems from the long-term adherence to the guiding ideology. Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology for building the Party and the country, and for rejuvenating the Party and the country. It reveals the objective laws of the development of human society and provides a scientific worldview and methodology for the study of CPC history and Party building. History has irrefutably proven that if the “soul” of Marxism is abandoned, disciplinary construction will lose its direction. Therefore, to construct an independent knowledge system for the study of CPC history and Party building, “the books of these ancestors, Marx and the others, must be read, and their basic principles must be observed.” [4]4 This is a paraphrase of a well-known statement by Mao Zedong, emphasizing the necessity of studying Marxist classics.

理论创新，其生命力首先源于对指导思想的长期坚持。马克思主义是我们立党立国、兴党兴国的根本指导思想，揭示了人类社会发展的客观规律，为中共党史党建学提供了科学的世界观和方法论。历史雄辩地证明，抛弃马克思主义这个“魂脉”，学科建设就会迷失方向。因此，构建中共党史党建学自主知识体系，“马克思这些老祖宗的书，必须读，他们的基本原理必须遵守”。

Furthermore, it is essential to adhere to the “root” of fine traditional Chinese culture. The Communist Party of China is the faithful inheritor and promoter of fine traditional Chinese culture. An important reason why Marxism has been able to take root, blossom, and bear fruit in China, achieving a new leap in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, lies in the combination of the basic tenets of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture. The unique philosophical thought, value concepts, and political wisdom of Chinese civilization provide rich nourishment for understanding the Party’s organizational culture, leadership methods, mass line, and so on.

此外，必须坚守中华优秀传统文化这个“根脉”。中国共产党是中华优秀传统文化的忠实传承者和弘扬者。马克思主义之所以能在中国大地生根发芽、开花结果，实现马克思主义中国化时代化新的飞跃，其中重要一环即在于马克思主义基本原理同中华优秀传统文化相结合。中华文明独特的哲学思想、价值理念、政治智慧，为理解党的组织文化、领导方式、群众路线等提供了丰厚滋养。

On this basis, we must insist on guiding the discipline’s theoretical innovation with the Party’s innovative theories. The construction of an independent knowledge system for the study of CPC history and Party building must be tempered and enriched in responding to and solving major issues of the times. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, [5]5 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in 2012, marking the beginning of the Xi Jinping era. the Communist Party of China, with Comrade Xi Jinping as its main representative, has adhered to combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with fine traditional Chinese culture, founding Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. This important thought, as the Marxism of contemporary China and the Marxism of the 21st century, provides the latest theoretical resources and fundamental guidance for constructing the independent knowledge system of the study of CPC history and Party building.

在此基础上，我们必须要坚持以党的创新理论引领学科理论创新。中共党史党建学的自主知识体系构建，必须在回应和解答重大时代课题中得以锤炼和丰富。党的十八大以来,以习近平同志为主要代表的中国共产党人，坚持把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合,创立了习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想。这一重要思想，作为当代中国马克思主义、二十一世纪马克思主义，为中共党史党建学自主知识体系构建提供了最新的理论资源和根本遵循。

The political positioning of the study of CPC history and Party building requires that its knowledge system must continuously and effectively respond to the new issues of the times. Currently, changes unseen in a century are accelerating, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered a critical period. “The questions of China, the questions of the world, the questions of the people, and the questions of the times” present us with many complex and winding new challenges. Scholars engaged in the study of CPC history and Party building must accurately grasp the historical trend and practical requirements of Chinese-path modernization, deeply understand the Party’s core role in coordinating the domestic and international situations, integrate theory with practice, and produce new theoretical achievements that meet the standards of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

中共党史党建学的政治定位，要求其知识体系必须持续、有效地回应时代之新课题。当前，世界百年未有之大变局加速演进，中华民族伟大复兴进入关键时期，“中国之问、世界之问、人民之问、时代之问”给我们提出了不少繁复、曲折的新考题。从事中共党史党建学研究的学者必须准确把握中国式现代化的历史大势与实践要求，深刻理解党在统筹国内国际两个大局中的核心作用，理论联系实际，推出符合马克思主义中国化时代化标准的新的理论成果。

Providing Development Momentum through Methodological Innovation

以方法创新提供发展动能

Methodological innovation involves breaking through the limitations of traditional research paradigms through the integration of new academic pathways, research tools, and analytical means. The study of CPC history and Party building is a highly comprehensive and interdisciplinary discipline. To construct its independent knowledge system, we should, while adhering to the academic traditions of Party history and Party building, promote interdisciplinary integration and actively draw upon and absorb the theories and methods of other disciplines. For example, applying institutional analysis from political science can deepen research on intra-Party decision-making and the operation of power; applying network analysis from sociology can reveal the interactive relationship between the Party’s organizational networks and social structures; and drawing on political psychology theory can help us better understand the unique political advantages of the CPC. Of course, such theoretical borrowing must be guided by the standpoints, viewpoints, and methods of Marxism for screening and digestion, with the aim of enriching and developing the discipline itself.

方法创新是通过新的学术路径、研究工具、分析手段的整合，突破传统研究范式的限制。中共党史党建学是一门综合性、交叉性很强的学科。构建其自主知识体系，应在坚守党史、党建学术传统的前提下，推动跨学科融合，积极借鉴、吸收其他学科的理论与方法。例如，运用政治学的制度分析可以深化对党内决策与权力运行的研究；运用社会学的网络分析可以揭示党的组织网络与社会结构的互动关系；借鉴政治心理学理论，能帮助我们更好地理解中国共产党的独特政治优势。当然，这种理论借鉴，必须坚持以马克思主义的立场观点方法为指导进行甄别消化，其目的是丰富和发展自身。

In the era of artificial intelligence, methodological innovation must also embrace technological revolution. The introduction of digital humanities technology has brought a series of important changes to the disciplinary construction of the study of CPC history and Party building. Conducting text mining and computational analysis in the field of Party history—such as word frequency analysis, topic modeling, and sentiment analysis of diaries, notes, speeches, and meeting records of certain cadres—can make “political intellectual history” and “cadre mentality history” more measurable and analyzable. In the field of Party building, database construction and statistical analysis—building large databases of Party cadres and organizational institutions, and using methods such as social statistics and spatial analysis to study cadre group characteristics and organizational structural evolution—can provide more reliable empirical data to support cadre selection and appointment, as well as organizational construction. Additionally, GIS (Geographic Information System) technology can be used to digitally reconstruct lost revolutionary sites and recreate the spatial scenes of historical events, offering a visual and immersive research experience.

在人工智能时代，方法创新还必须拥抱技术革命。数字人文技术的引入，为中共党史党建学学科建设带来一系列重要变化。在党史领域展开文本挖掘与计算分析，通过对一些干部的日记、笔记、讲话及会议记录进行词频分析、主题建模、情感分析，可以让“政治思想史”“干部心态史”变得更容易量度、分析。在党建领域进行数据库建设与统计分析，建设党员干部、组织机构的大型数据库，运用社会统计、空间分析等方法，研究干部群体特征、组织结构演变等，让干部选任、组织建设有更可靠的经验数据支撑。此外，还可以利用GIS（地理信息系统）技术重现已消失的革命旧址、重建历史事件的空间场景，提供可视化、沉浸式的研究体验。

In summary, constructing an independent knowledge system for the study of CPC history and Party building is an important part of constructing philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. It is of great significance and an arduous task. To achieve this goal, its lifeline and driving force lie in sustained and unremitting academic innovation. Among these, knowledge innovation is the foundation: the expansion of materials, the deepening of specialized topics, the creation of concepts, and the transformation of discourse provide the fundamental support for system construction. Theoretical innovation is the core: adhering to the Two Integrations [6]6 The Two Integrations (两个结合) refers to the principle of integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese culture, as articulated by Xi Jinping. and responding to the issues of the times erect solid “pillars” for system construction. Methodological innovation is the engine: through disciplinary integration and technological empowerment, it provides a “toolbox” and “experimental field” for system construction. These three elements are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, together constituting the basic pathway for guiding the construction of an independent knowledge system for the study of CPC history and Party building.

总之，构建中共党史党建学自主知识体系是构建中国特色哲学社会科学的重要一环，意义重大、任务艰巨。要实现此目标，其生命线与动力源于持续不懈的学术创新。其中，知识创新是基础，材料的拓展、专题的深化、概念的创生、话语的转换，为体系构建奠定了根本依托；理论创新是核心，坚持“两个结合”，回应时代课题，为体系构建架起了坚实的“梁柱”；方法创新是引擎，它通过学科融合、技术赋能，为体系构建提供了“工具库”和“实验场”。这三者相互依存、相互促进，共同构成了引领中共党史党建学自主知识体系构建的基本路径。

(Author: Zhao Nuo, tenured associate professor at the School of Marxism, Peking University)

（作者：赵诺，系北京大学马克思主义学院长聘副教授）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧