“The Second Integration” Expands the Mass Base and Cultural Foundation of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics

Entering the New Era, our Party has elevated its understanding of the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics to a new realm. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important discourse on the “Two Integrations” has further advanced the process of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, the needs of the times, and the popular level. The proposal of the “Second Integration” has raised our Party’s historical confidence and cultural confidence in upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics to a new height, and has also raised the Party’s cultural consciousness in inheriting fine traditional Chinese culture to a new height. The “Second Integration” has taken an important step in expanding the mass base and cultural foundation of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

进入新时代，我们党对中国特色社会主义道路、理论、制度、文化的认识提升到新境界。习近平总书记关于“两个结合”的重要论述，进一步推动了马克思主义中国化、时代化、大众化的进程。“第二个结合”的提出，把我们党对坚持和发展中国特色社会主义的历史自信和文化自信提到了新高度，也把党传承中华优秀传统文化的文化自觉提到了新高度。“第二个结合”在拓展中国特色社会主义的群众基础和文化根基方面，又迈出了重要一步。

The “Second Integration” has distinct characteristics of popularization

“第二个结合”具有鲜明的大众化特征

From the perspective of upholding and developing Marxism, the “Two Integrations” are an important proposition closely linked to adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, the needs of the times, and the popular level. Whether it is integrating with China’s specific realities or integrating with fine traditional Chinese culture, both fully embody the requirements and connotations of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context. However, from the perspectives of adapting Marxism to the needs of the times and to the popular level, each has its own emphasis. The “First Integration” emphasizes the characteristics of adapting contemporary Chinese Marxism to the needs of the times, stressing seeking truth from facts, accurately answering the questions of China, the world, the people, and the times based on current Chinese realities and the demands of the times, so as to solve the issues raised by the era. The “Second Integration” emphasizes the characteristics of adapting contemporary Chinese Marxism to the popular level, focusing on integrating and interconnecting the basic principles of Marxism with the extensive, profound, and long-standing fine traditional Chinese culture, linking the ideological essence of Marxism with the common values formed by the Chinese people over thousands of years, and penetrating deeply into the work and life of the broad masses of the people, used daily without conscious awareness [1]1 Mao Zedong, “The Role of the Chinese Communist Party in the National War,” October 1938. This speech was delivered at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the CPC.. The “First Integration” plants the foreign-origin Marxism into the specific realities of the country and the nation, while the “Second Integration” further plants Marxism, which has been integrated into the specific realities of the country and the nation, into the fertile soil of the country’s and the nation’s history and culture, making it easier for the broad masses of the people to accept and more capable

从坚持和发展马克思主义来讲，“两个结合”是与马克思主义中国化、时代化、大众化紧密相连的重要命题。不论是同中国具体实际相结合，还是同中华优秀传统文化相结合，都充分体现了马克思主义中国化的要求和内涵，但从马克思主义时代化和大众化的角度看，又各有侧重。“第一个结合”侧重展现当代中国马克思主义时代化的特征，强调实事求是，从当下中国实际和时代要求来准确回答中国之问、世界之问、人民之问、时代之问，来解决时代提出的课题。“第二个结合”侧重展现当代中国马克思主义大众化的特征，着重在把马克思主义基本原理与博大精深、源远流长的中华优秀传统文化结合融通，把马克思主义的思想精髓与我国人民几千年来形成的共同价值观念联结贯通，深入广大人民群众的工作生活，日用而不觉。“第一个结合”是把外来的马克思主义植根于本国、本民族的具体实际，“第二个结合”则是把融入本国、本民族具体实际的马克思主义，进一步植根于本国、本民族的历史文化沃土，更容易为广大人民群众所接受，更能够深入内心。

The proposal of the “Second Integration” was not a product of凭空想象 [sheer imagination]; it was already implicit from the very beginning when the “First Integration” was proposed. In the process of integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities, Marxism is bound to encounter the existing cultural values of the masses. Only when a positive chemical reaction occurs between them can an organic integration be achieved, enabling Marxism to effectively guide China’s practice and solve the economic and social problems China faces. In October 1938, Comrade Mao Zedong emphasized at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the Party, “It is necessary to sinicize Marxism so that in every one of its manifestations it acquires the necessary Chinese characteristics, that is to say, to apply it in accordance with China’s characteristics has become a problem which the whole Party must understand and solve without delay.” [n] “China’s characteristics” and “China’s features” simultaneously encompassed the specific realities of the Chinese revolution and China’s history and culture. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached great importance to cultural development. During the 13th collective study session of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee on February 24, 2014, he proposed “enhancing cultural confidence and confidence in our values.” Subsequently, he repeatedly emphasized that “cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and deeper confidence.” In his report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, he further pointed out, “We must uphold and develop Marxism by integrating it with China’s fine traditional culture. Only by taking root in the fertile soil of our country’s and our nation’s history and culture can the tree of Marxist truth grow deep roots and flourish.” [n] General Secretary Xi Jinping’s series of important statements provide a theoretical direction for further advancing the popularization of Marxism.

“第二个结合”的提出，不是凭空想象，而是从“第一个结合”提出之始就包含其中。马克思主义基本原理在同中国具体实际相结合的过程中，一定会与人民群众原有的文化价值观念相遇，直至产生正向的化学反应，才能有机结合，才能有效指导中国实践，解决中国经济社会所面临的问题。1938年10月，毛泽东同志在党的六届六中全会上强调，“使马克思主义在中国具体化，使之在其每一表现中带着必须有的中国的特性，即是说，按照中国的特点去应用它，成为全党亟待了解并亟须解决的问题。”“中国的特性”“中国的特点”就同时包含了中国革命、中国历史文化的具体实际。党的十八大以来，习近平总书记高度重视文化建设，在2014年2月24日中央政治局第十三次集体学习中就提出要“增强文化自信和价值观自信”，之后又多次强调“文化自信，是更基础、更广泛、更深厚的自信”，在党的二十大报告中更是指出，“坚持和发展马克思主义，必须同中华优秀传统文化相结合。只有植根本国、本民族历史文化沃土，马克思主义真理之树才能根深叶茂。”习近平总书记的系列重要论述，为进一步推进马克思主义大众化提供了理论指向。

Our Party has fully recognized, through long-term historical practice, that taking root in the country’s specific practice and fine traditional Chinese culture is the source of dynamism for promoting theoretical innovation in socialism with Chinese characteristics. In advancing socialism with Chinese characteristics at the new historical starting point and realizing Chinese-path modernization, the important role and unique value of fine traditional Chinese culture must not be overlooked. Regarding how to publicize and explain Chinese characteristics, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “We must make it clear that because each country and nation has different historical traditions, cultural deposits, and basic national conditions, their development paths must necessarily have their own characteristics; we must make it clear that Chinese culture embodies the deepest spiritual pursuit of the Chinese nation and is the rich nourishment for the endless vitality and growth of the Chinese nation; we must make it clear that fine traditional Chinese culture is the prominent advantage of the Chinese nation and our deepest cultural soft power; we must make it clear that socialism with Chinese characteristics is rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese culture, reflects the will of the Chinese people, and meets the requirements of China’s and the times’ development and progress, possessing profound historical origins and a broad practical foundation.” [n] Achieving these “four clarifications” will make it easier for the broad masses of Party members and the people to deeply understand the connotation, value, and significance of the “Second Integration.”

我们党从长期历史实践中充分认识到，植根于本国的具体实践和中华优秀传统文化是推动中国特色社会主义理论创新的源动力。在新的历史起点上推进中国特色社会主义，实现中国式现代化，尤其不能忽视中华优秀传统文化的重要作用和独特价值。关于如何宣传阐释中国特色，习近平总书记指出，“要讲清楚每个国家和民族的历史传统、文化积淀、基本国情不同，其发展道路必然有着自己的特色；讲清楚中华文化积淀着中华民族最深沉的精神追求，是中华民族生生不息、发展壮大的丰厚滋养；讲清楚中华优秀传统文化是中华民族的突出优势，是我们最深厚的文化软实力；讲清楚中国特色社会主义植根于中华文化沃土、反映中国人民意愿、适应中国和时代发展进步要求，有着深厚历史渊源和广泛现实基础。”做到“四个讲清楚”，就更容易让广大党员群众更深入地理解“第二个结合”的内涵、价值和意义。

The “Second Integration” not only allows fine traditional Chinese culture to be activated and transformed by a Marxism that has been adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, and endowed with new contemporary connotations and elements of modern civilization, but also allows Marxism, which originated in the West, to be nourished by Chinese civilization with its five-thousand-year historical and cultural heritage, thereby achieving an organic integration, two-way interaction, and mutual achievement between the two. Under the guidance of the “Second Integration,” the process of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, the needs of the times, and the popular level will be greatly accelerated. The confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, confidence in the system, and confidence in the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics will undoubtedly possess deeper cultural, historical, and mass foundations.

“第二个结合”既是让中华优秀传统文化被中国化、时代化的马克思主义激活、改造，并被赋予新的时代内涵和现代文明因子，也是让源自西方的马克思主义获得具有五千年历史文化积淀的中华文明的滋养，进而实现二者有机结合、双向互动、彼此成就。在“第二个结合”的引领下，马克思主义中国化、时代化、大众化的进程必将大大加快，中国特色社会主义道路自信、理论自信、制度自信、文化自信必将拥有更深厚的文化根基、历史根基和群众根基。

The “Second Integration” Has the Prominent Significance of an Ideological Emancipation

“第二个结合”具有突出的思想解放的意义

On the new journey of the New Era, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the “Second Integration,” stating that “the ‘Second Integration’ is another ideological emancipation, enabling us to fully utilize the precious resources of fine traditional Chinese culture within a broader cultural space to explore theoretical and institutional innovations oriented towards the future.” [n] The “Second Integration” makes Marxism Chinese and fine traditional Chinese culture modern, allowing the new culture formed through “integration” to become the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization. This is, from an epistemological perspective and at the level of cultural development, an ideological emancipation regarding how to better uphold and develop Marxism. It provides a broader cultural space for the prospects of the path, theory, and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and lays a broader mass foundation.

新时代新征程，习近平总书记提出“第二个结合”，认为“‘第二个结合’是又一次的思想解放，让我们能够在更广阔的文化空间中，充分运用中华优秀传统文化的宝贵资源，探索面向未来的理论和制度创新”。“第二个结合”让马克思主义成为中国的，中华优秀传统文化成为现代的，让经由“结合”而形成的新文化成为中国式现代化的文化形态。这是从认识论的角度，在文化发展层面上，对如何更好地坚持和发展马克思主义进行的一次思想解放，让中国特色社会主义道路、理论、制度的前景有了更广阔的文化空间，奠定更广泛的群众基础。

Measuring the cultural subjectivity of a nation is always inseparable from the philosophical questions of “Who am I, where do I come from, and where am I going?” Over the past two centuries, the subjectivity of Chinese culture has undergone a painful and struggling process: from being looked down upon by others, to being negated by ourselves, and then to gradually restoring self-identity. Our country was once passively drawn into the modernization system dominated by the West. Under the strong impact of Western civilization, many Chinese people equated modernization with Westernization or Americanization, willingly surrendering cultural subjectivity and cultural initiative to others. However, realizing modernization cannot be separated from the strong support of a country’s or a nation’s own historical and cultural traditions. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “The fine traditional Chinese culture created and continued by the Chinese nation over thousands of years of history is the root and soul of the Chinese nation.” [n] Chinese-path modernization is inseparable from both the guidance of Marxism and the nourishment of fine traditional Chinese culture. The proposal of the “Second Integration” is a key historical juncture for the re-establishment of Chinese cultural subjectivity and the re-acquisition and consolidation of cultural initiative, marking that our Party’s cultural confidence and cultural consciousness have reached a new height.

衡量一个民族的文化主体性，始终离不开“我是谁，我从哪里来，我到哪里去”的哲学问题。近两百年来，中华文化主体性从被他者俯视，到被自己否定，再到逐步恢复自我认同，经历了困苦挣扎的过程。我们国家曾经被动卷入了西方主导的现代化体系，在西方文明的强烈冲击下，许多国人将现代化等同于西方化、美国化，把文化主体性和文化主动权拱手于人。但实现现代化离不开一个国家、一个民族自身历史文化传统的有力支撑。习近平总书记指出，“中华民族在几千年历史中创造和延续的中华优秀传统文化，是中华民族的根和魂。”中国式现代化既离不开马克思主义指导，又离不开中华优秀传统文化滋养。“第二个结合”的提出，是中华文化主体性重新确立、文化主动权重新掌握并巩固的一个关键性历史节点，标志着我们党的文化自信、文化自觉达到了新的高度。

The “Second Integration” is an effective and scientific guide proposed as socialism with Chinese characteristics has continuously developed into the New Era and faces new requirements and new tasks. It is a realistic theory for correctly handling the current and future needs of China’s economic and social development, demonstrating the high degree of sobriety, consciousness, and determination of Chinese Communists in the New Era to bravely explore the unknown, break through the fog of history, and advance Chinese-path modernization. The changes unseen in a century present both challenges and opportunities. We can fully utilize the precious resources of fine traditional Chinese culture to further explore paths, theories, and institutional innovations that suit our national conditions and are oriented towards the future, allowing the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization to make new contributions to the world.

“第二个结合”是中国特色社会主义经过不断发展到了新时代，面临新要求、新任务而提出的行之有效的科学指南，是正确处理当前和未来中国经济社会发展需要的现实理论，彰显了新时代中国共产党人勇于探索未知、冲破历史迷雾、推进中国式现代化的高度清醒、自觉和坚定。百年未有之大变局既是挑战也是机遇，我们可以充分运用中华优秀传统文化的宝贵资源，去进一步探索适合国情、面向未来的道路、理论和制度创新，让中国式现代化的文化形态为世界作出新的贡献。

[The author is an associate professor at the Party School of the Guangdong Provincial Committee of the CPC and a researcher at the Guangdong Provincial Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.]

【作者系中共广东省委党校副教授、广东省习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心研究员】

Online editor: Ma Jingren

网络编辑：马京仁