Systematically Grasping the Rich Connotations of the Modern Civilization of the Chinese Nation

The new mission and new requirements of building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation have pointed the way forward for fully manifesting cultural subjectivity among the nations of the world and writing a new chapter in Chinese civilization. The modern civilization of the Chinese nation is the modern form of Chinese civilization, a new form of human civilization created by Chinese-path modernization. It embodies the fusion of tradition and modernity, the unity of critique and construction, and the intersection of national character and global character. We must use dialectical thinking to comprehensively and systematically grasp its rich and profound historical connotations.

建设中华民族现代文明的新使命新要求，为在世界民族之林充分彰显文化主体性、谱写中华文明新篇章指明了前进方向。中华民族现代文明是中华文明的现代形态，是中国式现代化创造的人类文明新形态，体现着传统与现代的交融、批判与建构的统一、民族性与世界性的交汇，需要我们运用辩证思维全面系统地把握其丰富而深刻的历史内涵。

The Fusion of Tradition and Modernity

传统与现代的交融

The history of human civilization development shows that civilization is like a towering tree: the deeper it is rooted in tradition, the more luxuriant its growth. General Secretary Xi Jinping has stressed: “Only by fully and deeply understanding the history of Chinese civilization can we more effectively promote the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture, more forcefully advance the building of a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, and build the modern civilization of the Chinese nation.” [1]1 “The nation subjected to humiliation, the people subjected to suffering, and the civilization subjected to dust” (国家蒙辱、人民蒙难、文明蒙尘) is a formulation used by Xi Jinping to describe the plight of China during the period of national decline from the Opium War to the founding of the People’s Republic. This important exposition, with its historical vision spanning past and present and its grand breadth, profoundly reveals the internal connection between inheriting fine traditional Chinese culture and building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

人类文明发展的历史表明，文明如同参天巨木，扎根传统愈深则发展愈盛。习近平总书记强调：“只有全面深入了解中华文明的历史，才能更有效地推动中华优秀传统文化创造性转化、创新性发展，更有力地推进中国特色社会主义文化建设，建设中华民族现代文明。”这一重要论述以贯通古今的历史眼光和宏大气魄，深刻揭示了承继中华优秀传统文化与建设中华民族现代文明的内在关联。

A great nation can always shape a great civilization. The modern civilization of the Chinese nation is the modern form of the long-standing Chinese civilization. It both contains the底色 (underlying tone) of fine traditional Chinese culture and radiates the brilliance of modern civilization. One of the key words here is “modern,” but modernity does not mean discarding tradition. On the contrary, it is precisely the fusion and mutual transformation of tradition and modernity that together bring about the new form of Chinese civilization, which continues its cultural heritage without interruption and renews itself daily. A modernity that discards tradition lacks a solid foundation; a tradition that rejects modernity has no bright future. Through successive generations of unremitting effort, the Chinese ancestors made Chinese civilization the only civilization in the world that has never been interrupted and continues to this day. The five prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization—continuity, innovativeness, unity, inclusiveness, and peacefulness—have not only formed a robust and harmonious civilizational organism and value system but also provided profound historical roots and internal support for the continuous development and innovation of the civilization.

一个伟大的民族，总能塑造伟大的文明。中华民族现代文明是源远流长的中华文明的现代形态，既内蕴着中华优秀传统文化的底色，又闪烁着现代文明的光彩。这里的关键词之一是“现代”，但现代并不意味着对传统的舍弃，恰恰相反，正是传统与现代二者的水乳交融、氤氲化生，共同成就了中华文明弦歌不辍、日新又新的新形态。丢弃传统的现代，缺乏厚重的依托；拒绝现代的传统，没有光明的未来。中华先民通过一代代接续奋斗，使得中华文明成为世界上唯一未曾中断、绵延至今的文明。中华文明体现出的连续性、创新性、统一性、包容性、和平性这五大突出特性，既形成了一种刚健圆融的文明机体和价值体系，又为文明的接续发展、革故鼎新提供了深厚的历史渊源和内在支撑。

General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “Without the five thousand years of Chinese

习近平总书记指出：“如果没有中华五千年文明，哪里有什么中国特色？如果不是中国特色，哪有我们今天这么成功的中国特色社会主义道路？只有立足波澜壮阔的中华五千多年文明史，才能真正理解中国道路的历史必然、文化内涵与独特优势。”对五千多年中华文明史的通透理解，揭示了中国道路从古至今的发展密码和深层逻辑，体现了马克思主义唯物辩证法关于事物发展的源泉和动力主要在于内因的真理性认识。马克思主义是中华民族现代文明的魂脉，我们所实现的传统与现代交融并不是毫无章法的杂糅拼凑，而是在马克思主义指导下通过“两个结合”实现的。“第二个结合”，即马克思主义基本原理同中华优秀传统文化相结合，是在当代中国坚持和发展马克思主义、开辟马克思主义中国化时代化新境界的必由之路，也是在新时代传承发展中华优秀传统文化、建设中华民族现代文明的必由之路。

The Unity of Critique and Construction

批判与建构的统一

Marx once said that the “fruits of civilization” are the “productive forces already acquired.” Without the support of strong productive forces, so-called civilization is but a withered shell. The modern civilization of the Chinese nation is the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization, a high-level unity of deeply reflecting on and critiquing the existing model of capitalist civilization and constructing a new form of human civilization, representing a new direction for the development of civilization.

马克思曾说，“文明的果实”是“已经获得的生产力”。没有强大的生产力作支撑，所谓的文明就是干瘪的空壳。中华民族现代文明，是中国式现代化的文化形态，是深入反思、批判资本主义文明既有模式和建构人类文明新形态的高度统一，代表了文明发展的新方向。

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC: “China does not follow the old path of some countries that achieved modernization through war, colonization, plunder, and the like. That old path, which harms others to benefit oneself and is steeped in blood and sin, has brought profound suffering to the people of many developing countries.” History and reality constantly show that the form of civilization created by the Western developed countries under capitalist private ownership, although it once broke the shackles of feudalism, created enormous material wealth, and played a great historical role, was in the final analysis aimed at more freely and extensively exploiting the people. Capital’s pursuit of profit is endless. To satisfy capital’s exploitative desires, these countries can sell slaves, smuggle opium, exterminate indigenous peoples, wage wars, and even falsify history. When Marx criticized British colonial rule in India, he wrote: “When we turn our gaze from the homeland of bourgeois civilization to the colonies, the extreme hypocrisy and barbaric nature of bourgeois civilization stand nakedly before us.” In modern times, the history of colonization and aggression in Africa and the Americas, as well as the tragic experience of “the nation subjected to humiliation, the people subjected to suffering, and the civilization subjected to dust” [1]1 “The nation subjected to humiliation, the people subjected to suffering, and the civilization subjected to dust” (国家蒙辱、人民蒙难、文明蒙尘) is a formulation used by Xi Jinping to describe the plight of China during the period of national decline from the Opium War to the founding of the People’s Republic. in semi-colonial and semi-feudal modern China, fully prove this point. As Chinese people, we especially should not forget that from the Opium War, the Second Opium War to the war of the Eight-Nation Alliance against China, this series of wars of aggression was all waged under the guise of “civilization,” to the point that Marx denounced the British government that launched the Opium War as “the British government putting on a Christian hypocritical face and flaunting civilization.” Engels called the British and French aggressors who launched the Second Opium War “civilization peddlers who fired red-hot shells into defenseless cities, killed people and raped women.” Western modernization is full of bloody sins such as war, slave trading, colonization, and plunder, bringing profound suffering to the people of many developing countries.

习近平总书记在党的二十大报告中指出：“我国不走一些国家通过战争、殖民、掠夺等方式实现现代化的老路，那种损人利己、充满血腥罪恶的老路给广大发展中国家人民带来深重苦难。”历史和现实不断表明，西方发达国家在资本主义私有制下所创造的文明形态，尽管曾斩断封建枷锁，创造了庞大的物质财富，发挥出巨大的历史作用，但归根结底是为了更自由更广泛地剥削人民。资本对利润的追逐是无止境的，为了满足资本的剥削欲望，这些国家可以贩卖奴隶、走私鸦片、剿灭原住民、发动战争甚至伪造历史。马克思在批判英国对印度的殖民统治时写道：“当我们把目光从资产阶级文明的故乡转向殖民地的时候，资产阶级文明的极端伪善和它的野蛮本性就赤裸裸地呈现在我们面前。”近代以来，非洲、美洲被殖民和侵略的历史，以及半殖民地半封建的近代中国遭受的“国家蒙辱、人民蒙难、文明蒙尘”的悲惨经历，都充分证明了这一点。作为中国人，我们尤其不应忘记，从鸦片战争、第二次鸦片战争到八国联军侵华战争，这一系列侵略战争都是在“文明”的幌子下进行的，以致马克思斥责发动鸦片战争的英国政府是“摆出一副基督教伪善面孔、标榜文明的英国政府”。恩格斯则将发动第二次鸦片战争的英法侵略者称为“把炽热的炮弹射向毫无防御的城市、杀人又强奸妇女的文明贩子们”。西方现代化充满战争、贩奴、殖民、掠夺等血腥罪恶，给广大发展中国家带来深重苦难。

With the development of all progressive forces in the world, the capitalist form of civilization formed through exploiting people and plundering other countries is becoming a thing of the past. Chinese-path modernization, which grew out of the land of China, resolutely abandons the logic of capital and the barbaric essence hidden under the shell of civilization by Western developed countries, consistently adheres to a people-centered approach, consistently upholds exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, creates a new form of human civilization, and provides a Chinese solution and contributes Chinese wisdom to promoting the progress of human civilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Chinese-path modernization is the new mission of the ancient Chinese nation; it will surely enable Chinese civilization to radiate new glory.” Looking back at the history of world civilizations, those countries or nations that completely started from scratch, disregarding their own national conditions and historical and cultural traditions, often fall into development difficulties and do not go far. This also confirms from the side that the path and choice of socialist China in adhering to Chinese-path modernization and building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation are completely correct.

随着世界上一切进步力量的发展，通过剥削人民、掠夺他国所形成的资本主义文明形态正在成为明日黄花。从中华大地生长出来的中国式现代化，坚决摒弃西方发达国家在文明外壳下隐藏的资本逻辑和野蛮本质，始终坚持以人民为中心，始终坚持文明交流互鉴，创造了人类文明新形态，为促进人类文明进步提供了中国方案，贡献了中国智慧。习近平总书记指出：“中国式现代化是中华民族的旧邦新命，必将推动中华文明重焕荣光。”反观世界文明史，那些不顾本国国情和历史文化传统，完全另起炉灶的国家或民族，往往陷入发展困境，行之不远。这也从侧面印证了社会主义中国坚持中国式现代化、建设中华民族现代文明的道路和选择是完全正确的。

The Intersection of National Character and Global Character

民族性与世界性的交汇

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Only a confident civilization can, while maintaining its own national characteristics, tolerate, learn from, and absorb various different civilizations.” The modern civilization of the Chinese nation embodies the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation and demonstrates a high degree of cultural confidence. It belongs not only to China and the Chinese people but also to the world and the people of the world, vividly displaying the intersection and integration of national character and global character.

习近平总书记指出：“只有充满自信的文明，才会在保持自己民族特色的同时包容、借鉴、吸收各种不同文明。”中华民族现代文明体现了中华民族的文化主体性，彰显了高度的文化自信，它不仅属于中国和中国人民，而且属于世界和世界人民，生动展现了民族性与世界性的交汇融通。

Civilizations become colorful through exchange and rich through mutual learning. Today, more than 200 countries and regions, over 2,500 ethnic groups, and more than 8 billion people live together on this planet of ours. The idea that so many countries and nations can only have one certain form of civilization is unrealistic. The theory of civilizational superiority, which holds that one’s own civilization is advanced and superior while other civilizations are backward and inferior, is full of the narrowness and fallacy of cultural chauvinism. The Chinese classic *Mencius* says: “Things are unequal; that is their nature... If you equalize them all, you will throw the world into chaos.” [2]2 This quotation from the *Mencius* (Book of Mencius, Teng Wen Gong I) argues that the natural inequality of things means that imposing uniformity leads to chaos, used here to critique the idea of a single, superior civilization. Humanity can only learn from each other’s strengths and make progress together by adhering to exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. Only by appreciating the beauty of others and sharing beauty can we achieve common progress and prosperity. Therefore, replacing civilizational estrangement with civilizational exchange, civilizational clash with civilizational mutual learning, and civilizational superiority with civilizational coexistence is the only correct choice for all humanity.

文明因交流而多彩，因互鉴而丰富。如今，有200多个国家和地区、2500多个民族、80多亿人口共同居住在我们这颗星球上。要求如此之多的国家、民族只能有某一种文明形态的想法，是不切实际的。认为自身的文明高级、先进而其他文明低级落后的文明优越论，更是充满了文化沙文主义的偏狭和谬误。中国传统典籍《孟子》中有言：“夫物之不齐，物之情也……子比而同之，是乱天下也。”人类只有坚持文明交流互鉴才能取长补短、互学并进，只有做到美人之美、美美与共，才能实现共同进步和繁荣。因而，以文明交流超越文明隔阂、文明互鉴超越文明冲突、文明共存超越文明优越，是全人类的唯一正确选择。

It is often said that the more national something is, the more it belongs to the world. Equally important, the more one faces the world with an open and inclusive attitude, the more one can manifest one’s national character. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Chinese-path modernization, as a new form of human civilization, will draw on and complement other civilizations across the globe and greatly enrich the garden of world civilizations.” [3]3 Xi Jinping, “Hold High the Great Banner of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Strive in Unity to Build a Modern Socialist Country in All Respects — Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China” (October 16, 2022). The modern civilization of the Chinese nation is a form of civilization created by the Chinese people, one that possesses distinct national characteristics and modern qualities. It fully embodies the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation, endowing Chinese civilization with distinctive cultural traits that enable exchange and mutual learning with other civilizations of the world. At the same time, it manifests a world-embracing breadth of vision, reflecting the lofty ideal and grand spirit of the Chinese nation in pursuing harmony among all nations and the great unity of the world. [4]4 “Harmony among all nations” (协和万邦) and “the great unity of the world” (天下大同) are classical Chinese ideals drawn from the *Book of Documents* (《尚书》) and the *Book of Rites* (《礼记》), respectively, expressing the aspiration for peaceful coexistence and universal commonwealth.

人们常说，越是民族的就越是世界的，同样重要的是，越是以开放包容的态度面向世界就越能展现民族性。习近平总书记指出：“中国式现代化作为人类文明新形态，与全球其他文明相互借鉴，必将极大丰富世界文明百花园。”中华民族现代文明是中国人民所创造的具有鲜明民族特色和现代特质的文明形态，充分体现了中华民族的文化主体性，使中华文明有了和世界其他文明交流互鉴的鲜明文化特性；同时又彰显了包容天下的世界胸怀，体现了中华民族追求协和万邦、天下大同的高远理想和恢宏气度。

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗