A Critique of Historical Nihilism from the Perspective of the Grand View of History

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized the need to establish a grand view of history, stating that “we must educate and guide the entire Party to embrace the strategic overall situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the changes unseen in a century in the world, establish a grand view of history, and analyze the mechanisms of evolution and explore the laws of history from the long river of history, the tide of the times, and the global winds and clouds.” [1]1 The term "阵地" (position/阵地) is a military metaphor frequently used in Chinese political discourse to describe the ideological sphere as a battlefield that must be held and defended. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourse on the grand view of history profoundly elucidates the scientific connotation and practical focus of the Marxist view of history in the New Era, providing a sharp weapon for deeply criticizing historical nihilism.

党的十八大以来，习近平总书记多次强调要树立大历史观，“要教育引导全党胸怀中华民族伟大复兴战略全局和世界百年未有之大变局，树立大历史观，从历史长河、时代大潮、全球风云中分析演变机理、探究历史规律”。习近平总书记关于大历史观的重要论述，深刻阐明了马克思主义历史观在新时代的科学内涵和实践落点，为深入批判历史虚无主义提供了锐利武器。

As a method for grasping the universal connections of historical events and exploring the laws of historical development, the grand view of history insists on using the worldview and methodology of dialectical materialism and historical materialism to grasp history from the grand spatiotemporal scale of the evolution of the long river of history. That is, it comprehensively examines history from dimensions such as temporal continuity, spatial interconnectedness, and the indivisibility of objective conditions and subjective creation. Thus, the so-called grand view of history is a view of history that grasps history and its developmental laws from the long river of history, placing historical events and figures within the tide of the times and global winds and clouds for identification, analysis, and examination. It is a Marxist view of history that focuses on the overall situation, emphasizes universal connections while insisting on eternal development, and, moreover, respects historical laws. “Only by understanding history can we see far; only by comprehending history can we go far.” [2]2 "改旗易帜的邪路" (the evil road of changing the banner and the system) is a standard Chinese political phrase referring to abandoning the socialist path with Chinese characteristics in favor of a capitalist or Western-style political system. Therefore, we can fully say that the “grand view of history” is an important feature of historical materialism, requiring us to objectively grasp the internal dynamics and laws of each stage of human civilization development from a holistic perspective, and also requiring us to consciously critique various imagined historical connections and nihilistic historical plots.

作为一种把握历史事件普遍联系、探寻历史发展规律的方法，大历史观坚持运用辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的世界观和方法论从历史长河演进的大时空尺度来把握历史，即从时间上的相续性、空间上的联系性以及客观条件与主观创造之不可分裂性等维度来全面考察历史。由此，所谓大历史观，就是从历史长河中把握历史及其发展规律，将历史事件和历史人物置于时代大潮与全球风云中加以分辨、透视与剖析的历史观，是着眼于全局，既注重普遍联系又坚持永恒发展更尊重历史规律的马克思主义历史观。“了解历史才能看得远，理解历史才能走得远。”因此，我们完全可以说，“大历史观”是历史唯物主义的重要特征，要求我们从总体性中客观把握人类文明各个发展阶段的内在动力与规律，更要求我们对各种想象的历史关联、虚无的历史情节进行自觉的批判。

Broad vision, broad pattern, and adherence to daring struggle are the distinctive characteristics of the grand view of history. Broad vision focuses on revealing the laws of historical development, insists on grasping historical laws in the long river of historical development from the past, through the present, to the future, and insists on using historical laws to analyze specific historical events and figures. Broad pattern focuses on the overall grasp of historical events and figures, insists on focusing on the overall historical situation, pays attention to the specific development process and partial appearance of events and figures, also focuses on the specific era background and domestic and international situations that promoted their formation and development, and emphasizes grasping the overall history from the tide of the times. Adherence to daring struggle is one of the historical experiences of the Party leading the people in their century-long struggle. Struggle is embodied not only in the historical torrent from the New Democratic Revolution to the socialist revolution but also highlighted in the great tide of the preliminary exploration of socialist construction, reform and opening up, and the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics. It includes both class struggle with the ruling class of the old society and internal struggles against various conservative forces that imprison people on the new journey, and, more importantly, it includes clear-cut struggles in the ideological field against various forms of non-Marxist and anti-Marxist views of history.

大视野、大格局和坚持敢于斗争是大历史观的鲜明特质。大视野，注重对历史发展规律的揭示，坚持在从过去、现在到未来的历史发展长河中把握历史规律，并坚持运用历史规律来辨析具体历史事件和历史人物。大格局，注重对历史事件和历史人物的整体把握，坚持着眼于历史全局，既注重事件和人物的具体发展过程和局部样貌，也关注促其形成与发展的特定时代背景和国内外局势，更强调从时代发展大潮中把握历史整体。坚持敢于斗争，是党领导人民百年奋斗的历史经验之一，斗争既体现在从新民主主义革命到社会主义革命的历史洪流中，也突显于对社会主义建设的初步探索、改革开放和中国特色社会主义伟大实践大潮里；既有与旧社会统治阶级的阶级斗争，也有在新征程中同禁锢人们的各种保守力量的内部较量，更包括在意识形态领域中同形形色色的非马克思主义历史观、反马克思主义历史观的旗帜鲜明地斗争。

As a social trend of thought with complex theoretical, social, and political roots, historical nihilism does not “study” history but rather studies it idealistically; it does not hold a value position but stands in a position that deviates from the people; it does not nihilize all things but fundamentally nihilizes and denies the guiding position of Marxism, denies the historical inevitability of China’s path to socialism, and denies the leadership of the CPC. In recent years, after in-depth exposure and criticism, blatant historical nihilism has become a “rat crossing the street” [3]3 This is a direct quotation from Karl Marx's *Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right. Introduction* (1844). and has somewhat restrained itself, but disguised historical nihilism still exists within a certain scope and continues to confuse people. Currently, we should stand at the height of actively responding to the changes unseen in a century in the world and promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, use the perspective and method of the grand view of history, and from the angle of the unity of historical logic, theoretical logic, and practical logic, conduct a multi-field, all-round critique of historical nihilism, avoid being misled by it into making subversive mistakes, and effectively grasp the initiative to push history forward.

作为一种有着复杂的理论根源、社会根源和政治根源的社会思潮，历史虚无主义并非不“研究”历史，而是唯心地“研究”历史；并非不持价值立场，而是站在背离人民的立场；并非虚无所有事物,而是从根本上虚无和否定马克思主义指导地位，否定中国走向社会主义的历史必然性，否定中国共产党的领导。近些年来，经过深入揭批，明目张胆的历史虚无主义已成“过街老鼠”而有所收敛，但是改头换面的历史虚无主义仍然在一定范围内存在并继续蛊惑人心。当前，应当站在主动因应世界百年未有之大变局、推进中华民族伟大复兴的高度，运用大历史观的视角和方法，从历史逻辑、理论逻辑、实践逻辑相统一的角度，对历史虚无主义进行多领域、全方位的批判，避免被其误导而犯下颠覆性错误，切实掌握推动历史向前发展的主动权。

I. Recognizing the Essence of Idealist View of History in Historical Nihilism

一、认清历史虚无主义的唯心史观本质

Adhering to the perspective and method of the grand view of history, we can clearly see the idealist characteristics of historical nihilism from its very beginning, the different forms it has taken in the changes of the times, and its natural fear of and inevitable hostility towards historical materialism. No matter how historical nihilism changes its tricks, its general characteristics have not changed. It replaces the objective laws of historical development with partial, one-sided individual historical facts that do not reflect the inevitable connections of history, thereby attempting to achieve its ulterior political purposes. Only by adhering to the grand view of history, guided by historical materialism, starting from the original face of history, viewing the past, present, and future as an indivisible whole, and deeply understanding and revealing the laws of historical development from the whole, can we resist various forms of historical nihilism. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Only by truly understanding Marxism can we continuously make discoveries and creations in revealing the laws of governance by the Communist Party, the laws of socialist construction, and the laws of human social development, and can we better identify various idealist viewpoints and better resist various fallacies of historical nihilism.” [4]4 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in 2012, marking the beginning of the Xi Jinping era and the "New Era" of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

坚持大历史观的视角和方法，我们可以清晰地看到历史虚无主义从一开始就具有的唯心主义特质，在时代变迁中所呈现出的不同样貌，及其对唯物史观的天然害怕与必然敌视。历史虚无主义不管怎样翻新花样，但总的特点并没有变，它是以局部的、片面的、没有体现历史必然性联系的所谓个别历史事实替代，进而否定历史发展的客观规律，以此企图达到其不可告人的政治目的。只有坚持大历史观，以历史唯物主义为指导，从历史的本来面目出发，将过去、现在、未来看作一个不可分割的整体，从整体上深刻认识和揭示历史发展规律，才能抵御各种历史虚无主义。正如习近平总书记所指出的：“只有真正弄懂了马克思主义，才能在揭示共产党执政规律、社会主义建设规律、人类社会发展规律上不断有所发现、有所创造，才能更好识别各种唯心主义观点、更好抵御各种历史虚无主义谬论。”

(I) Historical Nihilism in the Evolution of the Long River of History

（一）历史长河演进中的历史虚无主义

Historical nihilism is a long-standing social trend of thought in the West, presenting different forms of expression in different historical periods. Although they differ in conceptual orientation and argumentation methods, they all fail to truly focus on the practical activities of “real people.” Instead, they start from subjective speculation, constructing their own worldviews and human history in their minds, thereby virtualizing the true history of human society. Its main types are as follows.

历史虚无主义是西方一种历史悠久的社会思潮，在不同历史时期呈现出不同的表达样态。它们虽然在概念指向和论证方法等方面有所不同，但是都没有真正关注“现实的人”之实践活动，而是从主观臆测出发，在头脑中构建出各自的世界图景和人类历史，从而虚化了人类社会的真正历史。其主要类型有以下三种。

First, historical nihilism based on deities. Mythology is a common cultural phenomenon in early human civilization. Many figures are endowed with supernatural powers, thus shaping numerous deity images such as the sun god, earth god, sea god, etc. They project the hierarchical system of human society onto the pantheon, stipulating different levels of divine power for deities of different ranks, and believe that everything from individual life and death to the emergence and demise of human society is determined by the deities above. Marx pointed out that “all mythology masters and dominates the forces of nature in and through the imagination; hence it disappears as soon as man gains mastery over the forces of nature.” [5]5 "Persisting in daring to struggle" is a key formulation from Xi Jinping's report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC (October 2022), emphasizing the necessity of struggle in the New Era. Taking deities as the creators, promoters, and determiners of human history virtualizes the history of human social development, essentially taking the will of the gods as the driving force governing the development of human society, rendering the real trajectory of human society illusory and imaginary.

其一，以神灵为本位的历史虚无主义。神话是人类早期文明中普遍存在的文化现象，很多人物被赋予超自然的力量，从而塑造出诸如太阳神、大地神、海神等众多神灵形象，把人类社会的等级制度投射到神衹体系中，为不同位阶的神灵规定了大小不同的神力，并认为从个人的生老病死到人类社会的产生与消亡都是由高高在上的神灵决定的。马克思指出，“任何神话都是用想象和借助想象以征服自然力，支配自然力，把自然力加以形象化”，把神灵作为人类历史的创造者、推动者、决定者，这样人类社会发展的历史被虚无了，实质上是将神的意志作为支配人类社会发展的动力，把人类社会真实的发展轨迹予以虚幻和臆想化了。

Second, historical nihilism based on spirit. This is a form of historical nihilism that has a considerable degree of deceptiveness due to its refined formal logical argumentation, mainly presenting two forms.

其二，以精神为本位的历史虚无主义。这是经过精致的形式逻辑论证因而具有相当大程度迷惑性的历史虚无主义，主要呈现两种样态。

One form takes reason as the essence of the world. From Heraclitus’s “Logos,” to Parmenides’s “Being,” to Plato’s “Ideas,” ancient Greek philosophers attempted to find an eternal and unchanging world outside the ever-changing real world that could only be grasped by reason, thereby taking reason itself as the noumenon of this world, believing that the real world is merely a copy of the world of ideas and thus cannot exist independently. Hegel regarded the entire world and human history as the complete process and logical system of the self-negation and self-movement of the absolute spirit. Although it embodies a great sense of history, its premise is the subjectively conjectured “absolute spirit,” and thus its subsequent argumentation process is difficult to scientifically verify in the real world history.

一种是把理性作为世界本质。从赫拉克利特的“逻各斯”，到巴门尼德的“存在”，再到柏拉图的“理念”，古希腊哲人试图在变动不居的现实世界之外，找到一个只有理性才能把握的永恒不变的世界，进而把理性本身作为这个世界的本体，认为现实世界只是理念世界的摹本因而不能独立存在。黑格尔把整个世界和人类历史视为绝对精神的自我否定和自我运动的完整过程与逻辑体系，虽然体现出巨大的历史感，但是其立论前提是主观臆断的“绝对精神”，因而其后续的论证过程都难以在现实世界历史中得到科学印证。

Another view takes the will as the essence of the world. Schopenhauer was the first to propose an irrationalist worldview and to use it as the basis for explaining historical phenomena. He believed that “the thing-in-itself, however, is the will, which is always completely free,” that is, the will is the origin and driving force of the generation and development of things, while the “completely free” will is in fact a completely blind, self-interested survival desire and impulse. Nietzsche and others inherited Schopenhauer’s voluntarism to varying degrees and developed variants such as the “will to power” and “philosophy of life.” This spirit-based view of history affirms human agency in historical development and represents a major advance over the theocentric view of history. However, it exaggerates the active role of human spirit and will, while denying the foundational and decisive role of the real-life world in historical development. Therefore, it fundamentally belongs to a subjectivist view of history.

另一种是把意志作为世界本质。叔本华率先提出非理性主义世界观并把它作为解释历史现象的依据，他认为“同一事物自在的本身却是意志，意志永远是完全自由的”，亦即意志是事物生成与发展的本原和动力，而“完全自由的”意志实际上就是完全盲目的、自我的生存欲望和冲动。尼采等人不同程度地继承了叔本华的唯意志论，并形成了“权力意志论”“生命哲学”等变种。以精神为本位的历史观，肯定人在历史发展中的能动性，相对于神本主义历史观是一大进步，但是却夸大了人的精神和意志的能动作用，否定了现实生活世界对于历史发展的基础性、决定性作用，因而从根本上来说属于主观主义历史观。

Third, historical nihilism that denies historical objectivity. This type, typified by the postmodernist view of history, is also the most widespread and deeply influential form of historical nihilism today. Since the 1960s, a trend of postmodernist thought has emerged in the Western humanities and social sciences, characterized by a comprehensive rebellion against modern social order and traditional concepts. Represented by Jacques Derrida’s deconstructionism, Martin Heidegger’s existentialism, and Hayden White’s metahistory, this trend has launched a fierce critique of rationalism, logocentrism, and essentialism. In the field of historiography, it criticizes the “grand narrative” that emphasizes the completeness and continuity of the historical process, advocating instead for fragmented “micro-studies.” By excavating archives, diaries, and other materials that record historical events, it seeks to reinterpret major historical events and figures, even aiming to reconstruct history. Because postmodernist historiography opposes the construction of authoritative theoretical systems with objective laws, its research conclusions mostly remain at the level of historical symbols themselves and micro-narratives. This historiographical method is easily exploited by the logic of commodification, making “playful” or “exaggerated” accounts of historical events and figures an important means of attracting attention and traffic. As a result, history is “consumed,” ultimately leading people to a state of historical emptiness and confusion. As Daniel Bell pointed out, “Such a situation brings us back to nothingness. Having neither past nor future, we are facing a blank.” This historical nihilism, manifested as a postmodernist view of history, submerges the true picture, fundamental driving forces, and developmental trends of human history within a heap of fragmented historical illusions.

其三，否定历史客观性的历史虚无主义。这是一种以后现代主义史学观为典型的历史虚无主义，也是当前传播范围最广、影响程度最深的历史虚无主义。20世纪60年代以来，西方人文社会科学领域出现了一股全面反叛现代社会秩序和传统观念，以德里达（Jacques Derrida）的解构主义、海德格尔（Martin Heidegger）的存在主义和怀特（Hayden White）的元史学等为代表的后现代主义思潮，对理性主义、逻各斯中心主义和本质主义等思潮进行了激烈批判。在史学领域，他们批判强调历史过程完整性、连续性的“宏大叙事”，主张碎片化的“微观研究”，通过挖掘记载历史事件的档案和日记等资料，达成对重大历史事件和历史人物的重新解读，甚至欲重构历史。由于后现代主义史学反对构建权威的、具有客观规律性的理论体系，因而其研究结论大多停留在历史符号本身和微观叙事层面。这种史学方法极易被商品逻辑所利用，使“戏说”或“大话”历史事件和历史人物成为博人眼球、吸引流量的重要手段，从而使得历史被“消费”，最终导致人们对历史的虚无和迷茫。正如贝尔（Daniel Bell）所指出的，“如此局势将我们带回到虚无。由于既无过去又无未来，我们正面临着一片空白”，这种呈现为后现代主义史学观的历史虚无主义，把人类历史发展的真实图景、根本动力、发展趋势等，都湮没在一堆碎片化的历史幻象之中。

(II) The Continuous Struggle between Marxism and Historical Nihilism

（二）马克思主义与历史虚无主义的持续斗争

From the day of its birth, Marxism has waged a thorough and resolute struggle against all forms of historical nihilism.

从诞生之日起，马克思主义就与形形色色的历史虚无主义展开彻底而坚决的斗争。

First, the critique of two types of nihilistic views of history by the founders of Marxism. On the one hand, they resolutely opposed fabricating history divorced from actual life and real history. Marx pointed out, “Where history begins, the thought process must also begin, and its further development is merely the reflection of the historical process in an abstract, theoretically consistent form; this reflection is corrected, but corrected according to the laws of the actual historical process itself.” Thus, Marx profoundly criticized the spirit-based view of history, clearly stating that spirit, i.e., thought, originates from real history. At the same time, Marx also offered a profound critique of Hegel’s conception of constructing the historical process through the self-movement of the “Absolute Spirit,” arguing that Hegel’s “philosophy of history is merely the history of philosophy, the history of his own philosophy. There is no ‘history that corresponds to the order of time,’ only ‘the order of ideas in reason.’” On the other hand, they criticized vulgar skepticism. Marx pointed out that the “Historical School of Law” [1]1 The term "阵地" (position/阵地) is a military metaphor frequently used in Chinese political discourse to describe the ideological sphere as a battlefield that must be held and defended. negated what was rational and moral in various institutions with a “frivolous, i.e., vulgar skepticism.” This skepticism “is arrogant towards thought, yet humbly submissive to the obvious, only beginning to feel its wisdom when it stifles the spirit of positive things.” Marx’s critique of these two types of nihilistic views of history remains applicable to the various forms of historical nihilism today that construct and deconstruct history based on subjective conjecture.

其一，马克思主义创始人对两种虚无主义历史观的批判。一方面，坚决反对脱离实际生活和现实的历史来虚构历史。马克思指出，“历史从哪里开始，思想进程也应当从哪里开始，而思想进程的进一步发展不过是历史过程在抽象的、理论上前后一贯的形式上的反映；这种反映是经过修正的，然而是按照现实的历史过程本身的规律修正的”，由此，马克思深刻批判了以精神为本位的历史观，明确指出精神即思想来自现实的历史。同时，马克思也对黑格尔以“绝对精神”的自我运动构建历史过程的观念进行了深刻批判，认为黑格尔“历史的哲学仅仅是哲学的历史，即他自己的哲学的历史。没有‘与时间次序相一致的历史’，只有‘观念在理性中的顺序’”。另一方面，对庸俗的怀疑主义展开批判。他指出，“法的历史学派”以一种 “轻佻即庸俗的怀疑主义”态度否定各种制度中合乎理性和合乎道德的东西，这种“怀疑主义对思想傲慢无礼，对显而易见的东西却无比谦卑顺从，只有在扼杀实证事物的精神时才开始感觉到自己的智慧”。马克思对这两种虚无主义历史观的批判，对于当今各种从主观臆测出发建构与解构历史的历史虚无主义仍是适用的。

Second, during the period of the New Democratic Revolution, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their main representative, exposed and criticized historical nihilism. Particularly on the eve of the founding of New China, the Truman administration published the White Paper *United States Relations with China, with Special Reference to the Period 1944-1949* and the *Letter of Transmittal* from then-Secretary of State Dean Acheson to President Truman, which grossly distorted the Chinese revolution and glorified imperialist aggression. In response, Mao Zedong personally wrote five commentaries for the Xinhua News Agency: *Cast Away Illusions, Prepare for Struggle*, *Farewell, Leighton Stuart!*, *Why Discuss the White Paper?*, *‘Friendship’ or Aggression?*, and *The Bankruptcy of the Idealist Conception of History*. These commentaries comprehensively exposed the imperialist nature of U.S. policy toward China, criticized the illusions of some domestic bourgeois intellectuals about U.S. imperialism, and provided a theoretical explanation of the causes and victory of the Chinese revolution. They constituted a profound exposure and fierce denunciation of the historical nihilist rhetoric of the time.

其二，新民主主义革命时期，以毛泽东同志为主要代表的中国共产党人对历史虚无主义的揭批。特别是新中国成立前夕，杜鲁门政府发表《美国与中国的关系——着重于 1944—1949年时期》白皮书和时任美国国务卿艾奇逊写给杜鲁门的《附信》，极力歪曲中国革命、美化帝国主义侵略行径。为此，毛泽东亲自为新华社写了《丢掉幻想，准备斗争》《别了，司徒雷登》《为什么要讨论白皮书？》《“友谊”，还是侵略？》和《唯心历史观的破产》5篇评论，在全面揭露美国对华政策的帝国主义本质的同时，批评了国内一部分资产阶级知识分子对于美国帝国主义的幻想，并且对中国革命的发生和胜利的原因作了理论上的说明，是对当时历史虚无主义论调的深刻揭批和猛烈抨击。

Third, the contest between Marxism and historical nihilism in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics. After reform and opening up, some individuals took advantage of the Party’s efforts to bring order out of chaos to vehemently deny Comrade Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, and to deny the necessity and major achievements of the Chinese revolution. Historical nihilism, mixed with the trend of bourgeois liberalization, spread within certain circles. To unify thinking, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Deng Xiaoping as their main representative, formulated the *Resolution on Certain Questions in the History of Our Party since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China* [2]2 "改旗易帜的邪路" (the evil road of changing the banner and the system) is a standard Chinese political phrase referring to abandoning the socialist path with Chinese characteristics in favor of a capitalist or Western-style political system.. Adhering to historical materialism, it “simultaneously fought against dogmatism and against historical nihilism,” comprehensively reviewed the Party’s history since the founding of New China, thoroughly repudiated the “Cultural Revolution,” and scientifically evaluated Comrade Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought, setting a brilliant example for our Party in opposing historical nihilism.

其三，中国特色社会主义伟大实践中马克思主义与历史虚无主义的较量。改革开放后，个别人借我们党拨乱反正之机，极力否定毛泽东同志和毛泽东思想、否定中国革命的必要性和重大成就，历史虚无主义夹杂在资产阶级自由化思潮中在一定范围内得以传播。为了统一思想，以邓小平同志为主要代表的中国共产党人作出了《中国共产党中央委员会关于建国以来党的若干历史问题的决议》，坚持唯物史观，“一方面同教条主义作斗争，一方面同历史虚无主义作斗争”，全面回顾了新中国成立以来党的历史，既彻底否定了“文化大革命”，又科学评价了毛泽东同志和毛泽东思想，为我们党反对历史虚无主义树立了光辉典范。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has vigorously strengthened the Party’s leadership over ideological work. From the strategic height of the rise and fall of political parties and the survival of political power, it has waged a comprehensive, in-depth, and sustained struggle against historical nihilism, exposing its theoretical essence, political essence, and harm. It has vigorously carried out study and education activities on the history of the Party, the history of the country, the history of reform and opening up, and the history of socialism. It has formulated and improved laws and policies such as the *Law on the Protection of Heroes and Martyrs* [3]3 This is a direct quotation from Karl Marx's *Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right. Introduction* (1844)., and seriously punished acts of maliciously distorting the Party’s history, defaming the Party’s image, and slandering Party and state leaders. It has promoted the transformation of the internet from the “greatest variable” to the “greatest positive energy,” fundamentally reversing the passive situation that once existed in the ideological sphere. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must take a clear stand against historical nihilism, strengthen ideological guidance and theoretical analysis, clarify vague understandings and one-sided interpretations of some major historical issues in Party history, and better trace the origins and consolidate the foundations.” [4]4 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in 2012, marking the beginning of the Xi Jinping era and the "New Era" of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央大力加强党对意识形态工作的领导，从关系政党兴衰、政权存亡的高度，全面深入持续地开展了反对历史虚无主义的斗争，揭露了历史虚无主义的理论本质、政治本质及其危害，大力开展党史、国史、改革开放史、社会主义史的学习教育活动，制定完善《英雄烈士保护法》等法规政策，严肃惩处恶意歪曲党的历史、诋毁党的形象、污蔑党和国家领导人等行为，推动互联网由“最大变量”向“最大正能量”的转变，从根本上扭转了意识形态领域一度出现的被动局面。习近平总书记指出：“要旗帜鲜明反对历史虚无主义，加强思想引导和理论辨析，澄清对党史上一些重大历史问题的模糊认识和片面理解，更好正本清源、固本培元。”

(III) Persist in Using Historical Materialism as a Sharp Weapon to Criticize Historical Nihilism

（三）坚持将唯物史观用作批判历史虚无主义的利器

In the field of historical research, historical materialism insists on the objective laws of historical development, insists on the class analysis method for historical driving forces, and insists on the comprehensive and holistic nature of the historical process. It is the only scientific theory and a powerful weapon for fundamentally criticizing historical nihilism.

在历史研究领域，唯物史观坚持历史发展客观规律性、坚持历史推动力量阶级分析方法、坚持历史过程全面整体性，是唯一科学的理论，是从根本上批判历史虚无主义的有力武器。

First, adhering to historical materialism shifts the focus of historical research back to real life itself. In *The German Ideology*, Marx and Engels pointed out, “Where speculation ends—in real life—there real, positive science begins: the representation of the practical activity, of the practical process of development of men.” Historical nihilism ignores tangible, living reality, constructing fragmented, subjective, and incoherent historical shards out of abstract, hollow concepts such as “man,” “thing,” and “relation.” If the refutation of historical nihilism engages in debate over its imagined speculative theories—such as the linguistic turn in historical research or pathways to historical verification—it would precisely fall into the trap of abstract speculation that historical nihilism anticipates. Therefore, the most powerful method of refutation is to step outside empty speculation, start from the phenomena of life, and conduct concrete research on productive forces, relations of production, economic base, superstructure, and their interrelations. Only in this way can the true face of history be revealed.

其一，坚持唯物史观把历史研究的关注点拉回到现实生活本身。在《德意志意识形态》中，马克思恩格斯指出，“在思辨终止的地方，在现实生活面前，正是描述人们实践活动和实际发展过程的真正的实证科学开始的地方”。历史虚无主义无视有血有肉的现实生活，用抽象的、空洞的“人”“物”“关系”等构筑起一个个主观臆测、不成体系的历史碎片。对于历史虚无主义的批驳，如果围绕着其臆想出来的历史研究的语言学转向、历史确证路径等思辨理论进行辩论，则恰恰会落入其所期待的抽象思辨的圈套。因此，最有力的批驳方法是跳出空洞的思辨，从生活现象出发，对生产力、生产关系、经济基础、上层建筑及其相互关系等进行具体研究，这样才能真正呈现出历史的本来面目。

Second, adhering to historical materialism involves deepening the work of excavating and organizing historical materials. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, “History will not change with the passage of time, nor will facts disappear because of glib denials.” [1]1 The term "阵地" (position/阵地) is a military metaphor frequently used in Chinese political discourse to describe the ideological sphere as a battlefield that must be held and defended. No one can alter or distort what has happened in history. Therefore, comprehensively, accurately, and thoroughly organizing historical documents, artifacts, and sites—doing the work of discarding the dross and selecting the essential, eliminating the false and retaining the true, and promoting and displaying them—letting history speak for itself, is fundamentally a way to dismantle the fragmented, selective, and speculative interpretations of history that characterize historical nihilism.

其二，坚持唯物史观深入做好史料挖掘和整理工作。习近平总书记指出，“历史不会因时代变迁而改变，事实也不会因巧舌抵赖而消失”。对于发生过的历史，谁都改变不了，也歪曲不了。因此，全面、准确、翔实地把历史资料、历史文物、历史遗迹等整理出来，做好去粗取精、去伪存真、宣传展示的工作，让历史本身说话，就是从根本上对碎片化、选择性、臆测式解读历史的历史虚无主义的瓦解。

Third, guided by historical materialism, we must correctly approach major issues in the Party’s history. A key target of historical nihilism’s attacks on our Party is the disregard for facts in exaggerating the setbacks the Party encountered in its development and infinitely magnifying the mistakes of the Party’s leaders in their work. In response, we must adhere to the principle of Party spirit and adopt a scientific attitude toward the Party’s history. On this issue, General Secretary Xi Jinping has offered a penetrating exposition. He pointed out: “Our Party has always taken a serious attitude toward its own mistakes and errors, including those of its leaders. First, it dares to acknowledge them; second, it analyzes them correctly; and third, it resolutely corrects them. In this way, mistakes and errors, together with the Party’s successful experiences, become valuable historical teaching materials.” [2]2 "改旗易帜的邪路" (the evil road of changing the banner and the system) is a standard Chinese political phrase referring to abandoning the socialist path with Chinese characteristics in favor of a capitalist or Western-style political system. It must be deeply understood that regarding the Party’s historical mistakes and errors, we can neither ignore nor exaggerate them, nor can we use them as an excuse to completely negate the Party’s historical achievements and its leading position. This is an important distinction between a Marxist political party and non-Marxist political parties. Only by doing so can we sum up experience, continuously advance the Party’s self-revolution, and enable our Party to march from victory to victory.

其三，以唯物史观为指导正确对待党史上的重大问题。历史虚无主义攻击我们党的一个重要矛头，就是罔顾事实过分放大党在事业发展过程中的挫折，无限夸大党的领袖在工作上的失误。对此，我们应坚持党性原则，科学对待党的历史。关于这个问题，习近平总书记曾作过精辟论述，他指出：“我们党对自己包括领袖人物的失误和错误历来采取郑重的态度，一是敢于承认，二是正确分析，三是坚决纠正，从而使失误和错误连同党的成功经验一起成为宝贵的历史教材。”要深刻认识到，对于党在历史上的失误和错误，既不能无视也不能夸大，更不能借机全盘否定党的历史功勋和党的领导地位，这是马克思主义政党与非马克思主义政党的重要区别。也只有这样，才能总结经验、不断推进党的自我革命，使我们党不断从胜利走向胜利。

II. The Erroneous Value Stance of Historical Nihilism in Deviating from the People

二、历史虚无主义背离人民的错误价值立场

Value stance determines the target orientation of people’s actions. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: “The people’s standpoint is the fundamental political stance of the Communist Party of China, a distinctive sign that distinguishes a Marxist political party from other political parties.” [3]3 This is a direct quotation from Karl Marx's *Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right. Introduction* (1844). The grand view of history has a distinct people’s standpoint. Starting from the real life of actual people, it regards the true subject of social practice—the people—as the creators of history, and takes creating a happy life for humanity and promoting “the independent movement of the immense majority, in the interest of the immense majority” [4]4 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in 2012, marking the beginning of the Xi Jinping era and the "New Era" of socialism with Chinese characteristics. as the ultimate goal of all theory and practice. Historical nihilism, which claims to be “value-neutral,” ignores the decisive role of the masses of the people in historical development. Starting from the goal of comprehensively controlling society and safeguarding the interests of capital, it deliberately obscures, distorts, and denies the historical role of the masses, undermining the people’s pursuit of a better life. In essence, it stands on a value stance that deviates from the people.

价值立场决定人们的行为目标指向。习近平总书记强调：“人民立场是中国共产党的根本政治立场，是马克思主义政党区别于其他政党的显著标志。”大历史观具有鲜明的人民立场，从现实的人的生活出发，把社会实践的真正主体——人民作为历史的创造者，把创造人类幸福生活、推动“绝大多数人的,为绝大多数人谋利益的独立的运动”作为全部理论与实践旨归。声称“价值中立”的历史虚无主义无视人民群众在历史发展中的决定性作用，从全面操控社会、维护资本利益出发，刻意虚化、歪曲、否定人民群众的历史作用，消解人民对美好生活的追求，实质上站在了背离人民的价值立场上。

(A) Historical Nihilism Denies the People’s Position as the Subject of History

（一）历史虚无主义否认人民群众的历史主体地位

The masses of the people are the subjects of social history, the creators of society’s material and spiritual wealth, and the decisive force for social change—this is a basic tenet of historical materialism. As the decisive force for social change, the masses of the people directly influence the course of history by participating in political activities and even military activities. Throughout history, on the stage where various political and military forces compete, destiny does not inherently favor any side. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, “The country is the people, and the people are the country.” [5]5 "Persisting in daring to struggle" is a key formulation from Xi Jinping's report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC (October 2022), emphasizing the necessity of struggle in the New Era. Whoever truly serves the people and relies on the people will ultimately achieve victory. Consistently coming from the people, taking root among the people, and serving the people—this is the very foundation of the Communist Party of China’s continuous march from victory to victory.

人民群众是社会历史的主体、社会物质财富和精神财富的创造者，是社会变革的决定力量，这是唯物史观的基本观点。作为社会变革的决定力量，人民群众通过参与政治活动甚至军事活动而直接地影响历史的走向。古往今来，在各种政治力量、军事力量竞相角逐的舞台上，命运并不先入为主地偏向哪一方。正如习近平总书记所指出的，“江山就是人民，人民就是江山”，谁真正为了人民、依靠人民，谁就能取得最终的胜利。始终坚持来自于人民、植根于人民、服务于人民，这是中国共产党不断从胜利走向胜利的根本所在。

Although the masses of the people are the subjects of social history, history is recorded by specific individuals, and therefore carries the distinct and specific political stance and value concepts of the recorder. Regarding major issues in the history of the Party, the country, reform and opening up, and socialism, the Party has provided scientific and detailed explanations through its three historical resolutions. [6]6 "Bipolar confrontation" refers to the Cold War division of the world into two opposing blocs led by the United States and the Soviet Union. The vast majority of theoretical workers, using Marxist stances, viewpoints, and methods, have conducted research and arrived at historical conclusions based on the people’s value stance. However, historical nihilists, disregarding historical facts and standing on a stance that deviates from the people, use the so-called scholarly methods of Western bourgeois historians, seize upon trivial pieces of “new historical materials,” and engage in so-called “re-evaluations” of historical events, national heroes, and Party leaders for which historical conclusions have already been formed. They vainly attempt to negate heroic figures and Party leaders based on minor flaws, and to rehabilitate negative historical figures based on minor merits.

虽然人民群众是社会历史的主体，但是历史却是由特定人物记载的，因此带有记载者鲜明而特定的政治立场和价值观念。对于党史、国史、改革开放史、社会主义史中的重大问题，党以三个历史决议进行了科学翔实的阐述，广大理论工作者运用马克思主义的立场、观点和方法加以研究，得出了站在人民价值立场上的历史公论。然而，历史虚无主义者罔顾史实，站在背离人民的立场上，运用西方资产阶级史学家的所谓治学方法，抓住点滴“新史料”对已经形成历史公论的历史事件、民族英雄、党的领袖等进行所谓“重新评价”，妄图以细枝末节的瑕疵来否定英雄人物和党的领袖，以细枝末节的优点为历史上的反面人物翻案。

Ironic beyond measure, the so-called “new historical materials” seized upon by historical nihilists are often fabricated concepts or forged rumors concocted for specific purposes, and some are even direct copies of old news that has already been proven false. For example, the “totalitarian government theory” currently hyped by some historical nihilists is merely a concept fabricated in the 1949 U.S. Truman administration’s White Paper, [7]7 Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya (1923–1941) was a Soviet partisan executed by Nazi forces during World War II and posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. In the late Soviet period, historical nihilist accounts questioned her heroism and mental state. aimed at smearing the people’s regime as a dictatorial, brutal, and unfree totalitarian government. Mao Zedong long ago refuted this head-on. He pointed out: “This government is a government that exercises dictatorship or autocracy over internal and external reactionaries, granting no freedom of counter-revolutionary activity to any internal or external reactionaries… For the people, however, it is not a dictatorship or autocracy, but democracy. This government is the people’s own government.” [8]8 Xi Jinping, "Speech at the National Conference on Propaganda and Ideology Work" (19 August 2013), in *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China*, vol. 1 (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2014), p. 153. The establishment of the Central People’s Government of New China made the people truly the masters of the country. It was the first unification of the historical subject and the political subject, a tremendous historical progress. The historical nihilists’ hype of the “totalitarian government theory” is essentially a repackaging of the anti-people viewpoint put forward by Western anti-China forces decades ago. It has no novelty whatsoever, yet its value stance of deviating from the people is thoroughly exposed.

无比讽刺的是，历史虚无主义者们抓住的所谓“新史料”往往都是为了特定目的而炮制出来的虚假概念或伪造传闻，有的甚至是照搬照抄已被证伪的旧闻。比如，当前被一些历史虚无主义者炒作的“极权政府论”，不过是1949年美国杜鲁门政府白皮书炮制的一个概念，目的是把人民政权抹黑为独裁残暴、毫无自由的极权政府。毛泽东早就针锋相对地进行了揭批，他指出：“这个政府是对于内外反动派实行专政或独裁的政府，不给任何内外反动派有任何反革命的自由活动的权利……对于人民内部来说，不是专政或独裁的，而是民主的。这个政府是人民自己的政府。”新中国中央人民政府的成立，使人民真正成为国家的主人，是历史主体与政权主体的第一次统一，是一个巨大的历史进步。历史虚无主义者对“极权政府论”的炒作实质上是把西方反华势力在几十年前提出的反人民观点改头换面重新包装，毫无新意，然而其背离人民的价值立场却暴露无遗。

(B) Historical Nihilism Satisfies the Need of the Logic of Capital for Comprehensive Control over Society

（二）历史虚无主义满足了资本逻辑对社会全面操控的需要

The nature of capital determines that it will always seek to increase itself by any means, even at the cost of trampling on the law. Consequently, capital itself is endowed with the original sin of exploitation, plunder, bloodiness, and filth, becoming “that which comes into the world dripping from head to foot, from every pore, with blood and dirt.” [9]9 Karl Marx, *Capital*, Volume 1 (1867).

资本的本性决定了它总会千方百计甚至不惜以践踏法律的手段来寻求增殖，其本身也因而被赋予了剥削与掠夺、血腥与肮脏的原罪样貌，成为“从头到脚，每个毛孔都滴着血和肮脏的东西”。

On the one hand, the logic of capital requires capital to achieve comprehensive control over society. Only when all classes and strata of society, including both capitalists and workers, become passive cogs in the logical chain of capital, does capital create the most ideal conditions for its unlimited self-expansion. Under the rule of the omnipresent logic of capital, the broad working class “produces the more objects, the less it can possess and the more it falls under the dominion of its product, capital.” [10]10 Karl Marx, *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844* (1844). Their labor products, instead of benefiting themselves, become an alien force controlling their own life destinies and restricting their all-round development. Although the capitalists appropriate the fruits of the workers’ labor through surplus value, they can never attain true happiness, because the spiritually empty possessors of capital “are enslaved to their own capital and profit lust… all ‘educated classes’ are enslaved to all sorts of local narrow-mindedness and one-sidedness.” [11]11 Friedrich Engels, *Anti-Dühring* (1878).

一方面，资本逻辑要求资本实现对社会的全面操控。只有当包括资本家和工人在内的整个社会各阶级、阶层都成为资本逻辑链条上的被动零件时，资本就为其无限增殖创造出了最为理想的条件。在无所不在的资本逻辑统治之下，广大工人阶级“创造的价值越多，他自己越没有价值、越低贱”，其劳动产品不仅不能造福自己，反而成为一种控制自己生活命运、限制自己全面发展的异己力量。资本家虽然通过剩余价值占有了工人的劳动成果，但是他们永远无法获得真正的幸福，因为精神空虚的资产者“为他自己的资本和利润欲所奴役……一切‘有教养的等级’都为各式各样的地方局限性和片面性所奴役”。

On the other hand, historical nihilism assists the logic of capital in achieving comprehensive control over society. Fabricating history is a habitual trick of historical nihilists. Under the manipulation of the logic of capital, history is reduced to a commodity, because the nature of the bourgeoisie and the conditions of its existence "require it to falsify all commodities" [1]1 The term "阵地" (position/阵地) is a military metaphor frequently used in Chinese political discourse to describe the ideological sphere as a battlefield that must be held and defended.; history, of course, cannot escape this fate. Those "historical works that are falsified to best suit the interests of the bourgeoisie receive the highest remuneration." [2]2 "改旗易帜的邪路" (the evil road of changing the banner and the system) is a standard Chinese political phrase referring to abandoning the socialist path with Chinese characteristics in favor of a capitalist or Western-style political system. Engels profoundly exposed the social roots of the proliferation of historical nihilism in capitalist society. Regarding certain historical truths of capitalist society, historical nihilists of all stripes are often secretive, do everything to cover them up, and even resort to falsification, which reveals the true face of historical nihilists serving capital and the bourgeoisie.

另一方面，历史虚无主义协助资本逻辑实现对社会的全面操控。伪造历史是历史虚无主义者的惯用伎俩，在资本逻辑操控下，历史沦为商品，因为资产阶级的本性及其生存的条件“就是要伪造一切商品”，历史当然也无法幸免，那些“伪造得最符合于资产阶级利益的历史著作，所获得的报酬也最多”。恩格斯深刻揭露了历史虚无主义在资本主义社会滥觞的社会根源,对于资本主义社会的一些历史真相，形形色色的历史虚无主义者往往是讳莫如深、百般掩盖，甚至不惜伪造，这暴露了历史虚无主义者为资本和资产阶级服务的本来面目。

In the present era, the internet has become a mode of life and existence for people, and capital will inevitably accelerate its deep penetration and control of cyberspace. Behind many seemingly neutral websites, there is invariably a clear tendency to serve capital. In particular, the United States and other Western developed countries firmly hold the dominant advantage in the internet, monopolizing the internet's root servers and core technologies. The modes of thought and values of the Western bourgeoisie flood the internet, thereby providing a platform for the spread of historical nihilist viewpoints such as "aggression is justified," "colonialism is meritorious," and "revolution is criminal." This deeply harms countries that are inconsistent with Western developed countries in areas such as social systems and ideologies. The younger generation is deceived, which further strengthens capital's comprehensive control over society.

当今时代，网络已成为人们的生活和生存方式，资本必然会加速推进向网络空间的深度渗透与控制。许多看似中立的网站背后，无不具有为资本服务的鲜明倾向，特别是美国等西方发达国家牢牢把握着互联网主导优势，垄断了互联网根服务器和核心技术，西方资产阶级的思维方式、价值观念等充斥于网络之中，从而为“侵略有理”“殖民有功”“革命有罪”等历史虚无主义观点的传播提供了平台，使得那些在社会制度、意识形态等领域同西方发达国家不一致的国家深受其害。年轻一代被蒙蔽，又进一步强化了资本对于社会的全面操控。

(3) Historical nihilism undermines the people's pursuit of a better life

（三）历史虚无主义消解人民对美好生活的追求

Although historical nihilists sometimes cannot avoid acknowledging the enslaved and oppressed tragic fate of the working people in class society, they do not and will not point the way or direction for the working people to fundamentally change their fate and pursue a better life. Moreover, by disseminating erroneous views of history, they deny the historical trend of humanity moving toward a better future, deny the correct path for the masses to pursue a better life, and dissipate the will and strength of the masses to create a better life.

虽然历史虚无主义者有时也不得不正视劳动人民在阶级社会中被奴役、被压迫的悲惨命运，但是他们没有也不会为劳动人民从根本上改变命运、追求美好生活指明道路与方向。不仅如此，他们还通过散布谬误的历史观，否定人类走向美好未来的历史趋势，否定人民群众追求美好生活的正确道路，消解人民群众创造美好生活的意愿与力量。

First, historical nihilists strive to depict the historical illusion of the eternity of the capitalist system. In solving the "riddle of history," Marx and Engels profoundly analyzed the contradiction inherent in capitalism between private ownership of the means of production and socialized production, revealing the historical trend that "the fall of the bourgeoisie and the victory of the proletariat are equally inevitable." [3]3 This is a direct quotation from Karl Marx's *Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right. Introduction* (1844). However, historical nihilists try every means to deny the inevitability of communism as the highest goal of the people's better life, racking their brains to argue that the exploitative and oppressive capitalist system will exist eternally.

首先，历史虚无主义者极力刻画资本主义制度永恒的历史幻象。对于“历史之谜”的解答，马克思恩格斯深刻剖析了资本主义所固有的生产资料私有制与社会化大生产之间的矛盾，揭示了“资产阶级的灭亡和无产阶级的胜利是同样不可避免的”历史趋势。然而，历史虚无主义者千方百计否认共产主义是人民美好生活的最高目标之必然性，挖空心思论证剥削人、压迫人的资本主义制度将永恒存在。

Second, historical nihilists attempt to dissolve the class consciousness of the working people. Class struggle and the method of class analysis are the fundamental methods of Marxism. Before the birth of Marxism, the toiling masses spontaneously waged struggles against oppression, but because they had not formed the consciousness and strength of the oppressed class as a whole to resist the oppressing class, they were not a class-for-itself; unorganized proletarians were merely a sack of potatoes. [4]4 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in 2012, marking the beginning of the Xi Jinping era and the "New Era" of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Marxism awakened the class consciousness of the proletariat, stimulated the transformative power latent within the proletariat, united them into a whole, and threw them into the great struggle to advance human history across epochs. However, historical nihilists strenuously deny the method of class analysis, stigmatizing viewpoints and methods such as "class analysis" and "class struggle" with ideological labels, and replacing class analysis with abstract theories of human nature. In doing so, they erase the irreconcilable antagonistic relationship between the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, attempting to return the proletariat to the scattered state of a sack of potatoes, thereby losing their ability to create a better life through their own collective strength.

其次，历史虚无主义者妄图消解劳动人民的阶级意识。阶级斗争和阶级分析方法是马克思主义的根本方法。在马克思主义诞生之前，劳苦大众虽然也自发地举行过反对压迫的斗争，但由于没有形成以被压迫阶级整体反抗压迫阶级的意识和力量，还不是自为的阶级，没有联合起来的无产者只是一盘散沙。马克思主义唤起了无产者的阶级意识，激发了蕴含在无产阶级中的变革伟力，将他们凝聚成一个整体，并投身于推动人类历史跨时代发展的伟大斗争中。然而，历史虚无主义者则极力否认阶级分析方法，给“阶级分析”“阶级斗争”等观点和方法贴上意识形态标签予以污蔑，并用抽象的人性论取代阶级分析法，从而抹杀资产阶级与无产阶级不可调和的对立关系，妄图使无产阶级重新回到一袋马铃薯的分散状态，进而丧失通过自身整体力量创造美好生活的能力。

Finally, historical nihilists do not hesitate to use "amusing ourselves to death" to paralyze the fighting spirit of the working people. In recent years, historical nihilism has used new media platforms to consume historical events, spoof classic works, and mock painful memories in an entertaining way. By creating "jokes" and "talking points," it spreads erroneous ideas such as "entertainment has no limits" and "history is for fun," dismantling people's cognition of serious history and causing them to gradually lose their long-term pursuit of a better life in the pursuit of immediate gratification.

最后，历史虚无主义者不惜用“娱乐至死”麻痹劳动人民的斗志。近年来，历史虚无主义借助新媒体平台，以娱乐方式消费历史事件、恶搞经典作品、戏谑痛苦回忆，通过制造“笑料”“槽点”等来传播“娱乐无极限”“历史是用来玩的”等错误思想，瓦解人们对严肃历史的认知，使人们在及时行乐中逐渐丧失对美好生活的长远追求。

III. Opposing Historical Nihilism Is a Serious Political Struggle

三、反对历史虚无主义是一场严肃的政治斗争

In today's world, which is in an accelerated period of evolution and a new period of turbulence and transformation, adhering to the grand view of history means "persisting in daring to struggle." [5]5 "Persisting in daring to struggle" is a key formulation from Xi Jinping's report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC (October 2022), emphasizing the necessity of struggle in the New Era. It means being particularly vigilant against the serious harm of historical nihilism, having the courage and skill to wage a resolute struggle against all kinds of non-Marxist and anti-Marxist views of history. In particular, opposing historical nihilism must not be treated as a purely academic issue; rather, it must be viewed from a political height and with a global perspective as a serious political struggle.

置身加速演进和新的动荡变革期的当今世界，坚持大历史观就是要“坚持敢于斗争”，就是要特别警惕历史虚无主义的严重危害，勇于并善于同形形色色的非马克思主义历史观、反马克思主义历史观展开坚决斗争，特别是不能把反对历史虚无主义当作一个单纯的学术问题，而是要站在政治高度、运用全球视野，将其看作一场严肃的政治斗争。

(1) Historical Nihilism Aids the Western "Peaceful Evolution" Scheme

（一）历史虚无主义助力西方“和平演变”图谋

Historical nihilism played an indispensable role in the dissolution of the Soviet Union and the drastic changes in Eastern Europe. After the end of World War II, the world fell into a pattern of "bipolar confrontation." [6]6 "Bipolar confrontation" refers to the Cold War division of the world into two opposing blocs led by the United States and the Soviet Union. The capitalist countries, led by the United States, adopted two means—military deterrence and "peaceful evolution"—to contain and subvert socialist countries. Driven in a planned and step-by-step manner by Western countries, various trends of historical nihilism that denied Marxism, denied the history of the development of scientific socialism, and denied the achievements of socialist countries gradually penetrated and became prevalent in the Soviet Union and Eastern European socialist countries.

苏联解体、东欧剧变，历史虚无主义功不可没。第二次世界大战结束后，全球陷入“两极对抗”格局。以美国为首的资本主义国家采取了武力威慑和“和平演变”两种手段来遏制和颠覆社会主义国家。在西方国家有计划有步骤的推动下，各种否定马克思主义、否定科学社会主义发展史、否定社会主义国家发展成就的历史虚无主义思潮，逐渐向苏联和东欧社会主义国家渗透并流行起来。

By the late 1980s and early 1990s, the ideological sphere of the Soviet Union and Eastern Europe was filled with various arguments of historical nihilism. Denying the history of the CPSU and slandering Soviet heroes became the norm. Stalin was called a tyrant and a dictator, and even the hero Zoya [7]7 Zoya Anatolyevna Kosmodemyanskaya (1923–1941) was a Soviet partisan executed by Nazi forces during World War II and posthumously awarded the title Hero of the Soviet Union. In the late Soviet period, historical nihilist accounts questioned her heroism and mental state. was baselessly suspected of "suffering from schizophrenia." Similar "rediscoveries of historical truth" and so-called "re-evaluations" based on subjective conjecture completely overturned society's sense of right and wrong and confused people's thinking. In this process, the Western bourgeois democratic system was deliberately elevated and beautified. This was an important reason for the dissolution of the Soviet Union. In this regard, General Secretary Xi Jinping once profoundly pointed out: "Why did the Soviet Union disintegrate? Why did the CPSU collapse? An important reason was the extremely fierce struggle in the ideological sphere. The complete denial of Soviet history, the history of the CPSU, the denial of Lenin, the denial of Stalin, engaging in historical nihilism, confused people's thinking, Party organizations at all levels almost ceased to function, and the military was no longer under the leadership of the Party. In the end, the huge CPSU scattered like birds and beasts, and the huge socialist state of the Soviet Union disintegrated." [8]8 Xi Jinping, "Speech at the National Conference on Propaganda and Ideology Work" (19 August 2013), in *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China*, vol. 1 (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2014), p. 153. The lessons of history are extremely profound!

至20世纪80年代末90年代初，在苏联东欧意识形态领域内充斥着历史虚无主义的各种论调，否定苏共历史、污蔑苏联英雄成为风气，斯大林被说成是暴君、独裁者，甚至英雄卓娅也被无端质疑为“罹患精神分裂症”。类似的建立在主观臆测基础上的各种“重新发现历史真相”和所谓“重评”，彻底颠覆了社会是非观，搞乱了人们的思想。而西方资产阶级民主制度却在这一过程中被刻意地拔高与美化。这是导致苏联解体的一个重要原因。对此，习近平总书记曾经深刻地指出：“苏联为什么解体？苏共为什么垮台？一个重要原因就是意识形态领域的斗争十分激烈，全面否定苏联历史、苏共历史，否定列宁，否定斯大林，搞历史虚无主义，思想搞乱了，各级党组织几乎没任何作用了，军队都不在党的领导之下了。最后，苏联共产党偌大一个党就作鸟兽散了，苏联偌大一个社会主义国家就分崩离析了。”历史的教训极其深刻！

The success of the "peaceful evolution" strategy in the Soviet Union and the socialist countries of Eastern Europe has made Western countries even more unscrupulous in peddling the trend of historical nihilism. Not only have socialist countries such as China become their targets of attack, but Arab countries have also suffered deeply. The most typical example is the "Arab Spring" movement that swept across the Middle East and North Africa. The French publication *The Hidden Face of the Arab Revolution* provides detailed evidence showing that the United States was the driving force behind this enormous humanitarian disaster. Through on-the-ground guidance and online incitement, the United States directed and funded "street revolutions" in Middle Eastern countries. The shadow of historical nihilism can be seen here: under the ideological seduction of admiring and imitating Western democratic values and democratic systems, some Middle Eastern countries gradually lost their self-identity regarding their own historical traditions, national identity, and cultural advantages. Some young people, embracing anarchism and taking to the streets at the slightest provocation, became tools to be exploited. Wherever the "Arab Spring" went, it brought social turmoil, a withering of people's livelihoods, and the expansion of extremist forces. The so-called "democratic movement" brought heavy disaster and suffering. Consequently, American scholar Noah Feldman proposed replacing the term "Arab Spring" with "Arab Winter." To destroy a state, one must first erase its history. History once again shows that if a people or a country cannot hold firm the important position of its view of history, allowing historical nihilism to dissolve established historical consensus and erode national self-confidence and pride, it will fall into turmoil and even national ruin.

“和平演变”战略在苏联和东欧社会主义国家的得手，使得西方国家在推销历史虚无主义思潮时更加肆无忌惮，不仅中国等社会主义国家成为其攻击目标，阿拉伯国家也深受其害。最典型的就是席卷中东和北非的“阿拉伯之春”运动。法国出版的《阿拉伯革命背后隐藏的一面》用翔实的证据表明，美国是这场巨大人道主义灾难的背后推手，通过实地引导和网络煽动，美国指导和资助了中东国家的“街头革命”，这其中就可以看到历史虚无主义的身影：在崇尚和模仿西方民主价值观、民主制度的思想蛊惑下，一些中东国家逐渐失去了自身历史传统、民族身份和文化优势的自我认同，一些年轻人崇尚无政府主义，动辄上街示威，成为被利用的对象。“阿拉伯之春”所到之处，社会动荡、民生凋零、极端势力扩张，所谓的“民主运动”带来的是沉重的灾难与苦痛。由此，美国学者诺亚·费德曼（Noah Feldman）提出以“阿拉伯之冬”替代“阿拉伯之春”一词。灭人之国，必先去其史。历史再次表明，如果不能坚守历史观的重要阵地，任由历史虚无主义来瓦解既定的历史共识，消解民族自信心和自豪感，一个民族、一个国家就会陷入动荡乃至亡国之中。

(2) Historical Nihilism Possesses a Distinct Political Aggressiveness

（二）历史虚无主义具有鲜明的政治攻击性

As a political trend of thought, the political aggressiveness of historical nihilism is very distinct. The crux of historical nihilism is to fundamentally negate the guiding role of Marxism and the historical inevitability of China's path toward socialism, and to negate the leadership of the Communist Party of China.

作为一种政治思潮，历史虚无主义的政治攻击性十分鲜明。历史虚无主义的要害，是从根本上否定马克思主义指导地位和中国走向社会主义的历史必然性，否定中国共产党的领导。

First, historical nihilism takes idealist conceptions of history as its theoretical foundation, treating history with an attitude of skepticism, relativism, and pragmatism. From the moment Marxism was born, it began to critique and struggle against historical nihilism. Today, various arguments of historical nihilism direct their attacks straight at Marxism, advocating the "outdated theory of Marxism," and even slandering that "Marxism itself is historical nihilism" and that "the laws of historical development expounded by Marxism are merely a Christian historical schema." Their negation of Marxism aims to empty the spiritual pillar of Communists, dismantle our country's ideological阵地 [1]1 The term "阵地" (position/阵地) is a military metaphor frequently used in Chinese political discourse to describe the ideological sphere as a battlefield that must be held and defended., and confuse the thinking of the entire nation.

首先，历史虚无主义以唯心史观为理论基础，用怀疑主义、相对主义和实用主义的态度对待历史。马克思主义甫一诞生，即对历史虚无主义展开批判和斗争。如今，形形色色的历史虚无主义论调把攻击的矛头直指马克思主义，鼓吹马克思主义“过时论”，甚至污蔑“马克思主义也是历史虚无主义”“马克思主义所阐明的历史发展规律不过是基督教的历史图式”。它们对马克思主义的否定，就是要抽空共产党人的精神支柱、瓦解我国意识形态阵地、搅乱全国人民的思想。

Second, historical nihilism adheres to the "Western civilization-centric view," replacing the revolutionary paradigm of modern China with the modernization paradigm of Western societies. It regards the modernization path of Western countries as the only correct path to modernization, arguing that China must go through the stage of capitalism, thereby negating the historical inevitability of China's path toward socialism with Chinese characteristics. Historical nihilists fail to see that the path of modernization a country takes is jointly determined by its cultural traditions, specific national conditions, and the trends of the times. They fail to see the various attempts old China made outside the socialist path and their failures, and even less do they see the earth-shaking changes that the socialist path has brought to China. Their purpose in negating the Chinese path is to lead China onto the evil road of changing the banner and the system. [2]2 "改旗易帜的邪路" (the evil road of changing the banner and the system) is a standard Chinese political phrase referring to abandoning the socialist path with Chinese characteristics in favor of a capitalist or Western-style political system.

其次，历史虚无主义坚持“西方文明中心论”，以西方社会的现代化范式取代中国近代以来的革命范式，把西方国家的现代化道路视为唯一正确的现代化路径，认为中国必须补资本主义课，从而否定中国走向中国特色社会主义道路的历史必然性。历史虚无主义者看不到一个国家走什么样的现代化道路是由这个国家的文化传统、具体国情、时代趋势共同决定的，看不到旧中国在社会主义道路之外所经历的各种尝试及其失败，更看不到社会主义道路给中国带来的翻天覆地的变化。他们否定中国道路之目的，就是要把中国引向改旗易帜的邪路。

Finally, historical nihilism uses so-called "new historical materials" to infinitely magnify individual setbacks and mistakes made by the Party in the course of revolution, construction, and reform. It negates the Party's fine traditions, slanders the Party's leaders, smears the Party's image, and defends reactionaries, traitors, and collaborators who have long been judged by history, all in order to comprehensively negate the historical legitimacy of the Party's leadership, dissolve the people's identification with and trust in the Party, and alienate the relationship between the Party and the people.

最后，历史虚无主义以一些所谓的“新史料”，无限放大党在革命、建设和改革进程中的个别挫折和失误，否定党的优良传统，污蔑党的领导人，抹黑党的形象，并为历史上已有定论的反动派、卖国贼和汉奸等辩白，以全面否定党的领导的历史合理性，瓦解人民对党的认同和信任，离间党和人民的关系。

(3) Seize Historical Opportunities, Dare to Struggle, and Win the Overall War against Historical Nihilism

（三）把握历史机遇，敢于斗争，打赢反对历史虚无主义的总体战争

The struggle against historical nihilism is, in essence, a struggle against Westernization, division, infiltration, and subversion. For this war without gunpowder smoke, it is necessary to mobilize the strength of the entire Party and the entire nation, persevere over the long term, and strive for total victory.

反对历史虚无主义的斗争，本质上是反西化、反分化、反渗透、反颠覆的斗争。对于这场没有硝烟的战争，必须集全党、全国之力，久久为功，务求全胜。

First, strengthen the Party's overall leadership over ideological work. Improve the governance structure of ideological work, which features unified leadership by Party committees, coordination led by the propaganda department, division of labor and responsibility among relevant departments, and the joint participation of the broad masses of cadres and the people. Improve the systems and mechanisms for the Party to lead ideological work, covering all spaces, all processes, and all targets. Strengthen the building of a propaganda and ideological work team that is politically reliable and highly competent. Firmly grasp the dominant power, management power, and discursive power in the ideological field.

一是加强党对意识形态工作的全面领导。完善党委统一领导、宣传部门牵头协调、有关部门分工负责、广大干部群众共同参与的意识形态治理格局，完善全空间、全过程、全对象覆盖的党领导意识形态工作的体制机制，健全建设政治过硬、本领高强的宣传思想工作队伍，牢牢把握意识形态领域的主导权、管理权和话语权。

Second, strengthen the guidance and management of the media. Adhere to the principle of focusing on unity, stability, encouragement, and positive publicity. Guide various media to closely focus on the overall work of the Party and the state, tell positive energy stories well, and castigate erroneous statements that "nihilize history." Promote the in-depth development of media convergence, and continuously enhance the communication power, guidance power, influence, and credibility of mainstream media. Improve the network public opinion monitoring system and mechanisms, continuously squeeze the channels and space for the spread of historical nihilism. Strike as soon as any historical nihilist statement appears, using comprehensive, detailed, and accurate historical materials to restore the truth and set the record straight.

二是加强对媒体的引导与管理。坚持团结稳定鼓劲、正面宣传为主的原则，引导各种媒体紧紧围绕党和国家工作大局，讲好正能量故事，鞭挞“虚无历史”的错误言论。推动媒体融合向纵深发展，不断增强主流媒体的传播力、引导力、影响力、公信力。完善网络舆情监测体系和机制，不断挤压历史虚无主义的传播渠道和空间，对各种历史虚无主义的言论露头就打，用全面、翔实、准确的历史资料，还原真相、以正视听。

Third, use legal means to counter the challenges of historical nihilism. "The weapon of criticism cannot, of course, replace criticism by weapons." [3]3 This is a direct quotation from Karl Marx's *Critique of Hegel's Philosophy of Right. Introduction* (1844). For behaviors with clear political purposes that maliciously spread historical lies, it is necessary to adopt rigid and binding regulations and policies to curb and punish them. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, [4]4 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in 2012, marking the beginning of the Xi Jinping era and the "New Era" of socialism with Chinese characteristics. a number of laws and regulations aimed at protecting the reputation rights of heroes and martyrs and protecting the historical image of the Party and the state have been successively promulgated. For example, the *Guidelines on Political Life within the Party under the New Situation* (2016) explicitly requires Party cadres and members to take a clear stand against and resist all words and deeds that distort, vilify, or negate the history of the Party, the history of the state, and the history of the people's army. The *Law on the Protection of Heroes and Martyrs* (2018) explicitly prohibits the distortion, vilification, desecration, or negation of the deeds and spirit of heroes and martyrs. The *Criminal Law Amendment (XI) of the People's Republic of China* (2020) criminalizes acts of insulting, defaming, or otherwise infringing upon the reputation and honor of heroes and martyrs when the circumstances are serious.

三是用法治手段应对历史虚无主义的挑战。“批判的武器当然不能代替武器的批判”，对于有着明确政治目的、恶意散布历史谎言的行为，必须采取具有刚性约束力的法规政策予以遏制和惩处。党的十八大以来，多项旨在保护英雄人物名誉权、保护党和国家历史形象的法律法规陆续出台。比如，《关于新形势下党内政治生活的若干准则》（2016），明确要求党员干部要旗帜鲜明反对和抵制一切歪曲、丑化、否定党史、国史和人民军队历史的言行。《英雄烈士保护法》（2018），明令禁止歪曲、丑化、亵渎、否定英雄烈士事迹和精神。《中华人民共和国刑法修正案（十一）》（2020），将侮辱、诽谤或者以其他方式侵害英雄烈士的名誉、荣誉且情节严重的行为定为犯罪。

In addition, the Cyberspace Administration of China has also promulgated the "Ten Articles on WeChat," the "Ten Articles on Accounts," and the "Ten Articles on Interviews," urging internet operators and industry organizations to proactively investigate and correct historical nihilist statements on online platforms in accordance with the law. Currently, China has established a relatively complete system of regulations and policies against historical nihilism, ensuring that there are laws to rely on in combating historical nihilism, thereby transforming this once-passive serious struggle into a comprehensively proactive one.

此外，国家网信办还颁布了“微信十条”“账号十条”“约谈十条”，督促互联网运营商和行业组织依法主动查纠网络平台的历史虚无主义言论。当前，我国已构建起了比较完善的反对历史虚无主义的法规政策体系，打击历史虚无主义做到了有法可依，从而把这项一度被动的严肃斗争转变为全面主动。

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧