The “Second Integration” and the Reshaping of the Human Spiritual World in Chinese-Path Modernization

The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC [1]1 The three slogans “stand up” (站起来), “grow rich” (富起来), and “become strong” (强起来) are a standard periodization of the CPC’s historical achievements, often attributed to Xi clearly states: “Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress in coordination. Material abundance and spiritual prosperity are the fundamental requirements of socialist modernization.” Promoting the comprehensive enrichment of things and the all-round development of the human person is the inherent requirement of Chinese-path modernization. This not only concerns the theoretical construction and practical exploration of Chinese-path modernization, but also has important significance for breaking the binary opposition between material prosperity and spiritual impoverishment. As China’s social structure undergoes profound changes, the interest demands of various social groups are becoming increasingly diverse and complex. General Secretary Xi Jinping points out, “China’s social structure is undergoing profound changes… social concepts, social psychology, and social behavior are undergoing profound changes,” and “only when a nation stands firm and stable in spirit can it stand undaunted and ride the tide in the torrent of history.” To comprehensively advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization, spiritual prosperity must be achieved. In the context of Chinese-path modernization, the “Second Integration,” [2]2 The “Second Integration” refers to the combination of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture, formally proposed by Xi Jinping as a complement to the first integration (with China’s specific realities). characterized by its popular, national, and contemporary features, manifests the cultural subjectivity consciousness in the process of Chinese-path modernization, provides a fundamental foundation for cultural confidence, reveals the historical logic of the past, present, and future of Chinese civilization, is the crystallization of wisdom in the process of Chinese-path modernization, and is a powerful spiritual source and spiritual pillar for comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

党的二十大报告明确指出：“中国式现代化是物质文明和精神文明相协调的现代化。物质富足、精神富有是社会主义现代化的根本要求。”促进物的全面丰富和人的全面发展是中国式现代化的内在要求，这不仅关乎中国式现代化的理论构建和实践探索，也对破除物质繁荣与精神贫乏的二元对立局面具有重要意义。随着中国社会结构发生深刻变化，社会各个群体的利益诉求愈发多样化、复杂化。习近平总书记指出，“我国社会结构正在发生深刻变化……社会观念、社会心理、社会行为发生深刻变化”,而“唯有精神上站得住、站得稳，一个民族才能在历史洪流中屹立不倒、挺立潮头”。以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴，必须实现精神富有。在中国式现代化的语境下，具有人民性、民族性、时代性特征的“第二个结合”彰显了中国式现代化发展过程中的文化主体性自觉，让文化自信找到了根本依托，展现了中华文明的过去、当下、将来的历史逻辑，是中国式现代化进程中的智慧结晶，是全面推进中华民族伟大复兴的强大精神来源和精神支柱。

Scientific socialism establishes the all-round development of the human person as the ultimate value of socialism. The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC [3]3 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, held in July 2024, focused on further deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization. once again emphasizes that “Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress in coordination,” which aligns with Marx’s view that “the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.” Socialism with Chinese characteristics not only bears the contemporary task of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, but also carries the historical mission of realizing “the all-round development of the human person”—the human person is both the subject of practice and the subject of value, and is the ultimate purpose. The “Second Integration” is not only of great significance for the path dimension, institutional dimension, political dimension, and historical dimension of Chinese-path modernization, but also has a profound impact on the dimension of the human spiritual world within Chinese-path modernization. The “Second Integration” focuses on and reflects upon the present era from the dimension of the individual spiritual world, clarifies the spiritual direction of Chinese-path modernization, manifests the spiritual consciousness of Chinese-path modernization, and reshapes the human spiritual world in Chinese-path modernization. This article attempts to advance the thinking on the human spiritual world in the process of Chinese-path modernization through the “Second Integration” from the historical dimension, theoretical dimension, and cultural dimension, and attempts to reshape the human spiritual world in Chinese-path modernization through the “Second Integration,” resolving human spiritual loss and confusion.

科学社会主义把人的全面发展确立为社会主义的终极价值。党的二十届三中全会再次强调，“中国式现代化是物质文明和精神文明相协调的现代化”,与马克思提出的“每个人的自由发展是一切人自由发展的条件”这一观点相契合。中国特色社会主义不仅承担全面建设社会主义现代化国家的时代重任，也承载着实现“人的全面发展”这一历史使命——人既是实践主体，也是价值主体，更是终极目的。“第二个结合”不仅对中国式现代化的道路之维、制度之维、政治之维、历史之维具有重大意义，也对中国式现代化中人的精神世界之维产生深刻影响。“第二个结合”从个人精神世界的维度关注和反思当下之时代，阐明了中国式现代化的精神路向，彰显了中国式现代化的精神自觉，重塑了中国式现代化中人的精神世界。本文尝试从历史维度、理论维度、文化维度推进“第二个结合”对中国式现代化进程中人的精神世界之思考，尝试以“第二个结合”重塑中国式现代化中人的精神世界，解决人的精神迷失与困惑。

I. The “Second Integration” Clarifies the Spiritual Direction of the Human Person in Chinese-Path Modernization

一、“第二个结合”阐明了中国式现代化中人的精神路向

Chinese-path modernization is a socialist modernization with Chinese characteristics built by the Chinese people under the leadership of the CPC. Every step of its development is a product of combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture. The formal proposal of the “Second Integration” indicates that the CPC’s understanding of adhering to and developing the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics has reached a new height, providing ideological consciousness, theoretical consciousness, and action consciousness for the realization of cultural subjectivity in Chinese-path modernization. Viewed from the historical process of Chinese-path modernization, from China’s passive initiation of the modernization process in modern times to the CPC leading the Chinese people to actively explore a socialist modernization path suited to China’s national conditions, the Chinese nation has achieved a great leap from standing up and growing rich to becoming strong. In this process, the CPC has consistently combined the basic tenets of Marxism with the fine traditional Chinese culture, integrating the essence of Marxist thought with the spiritual characteristics of fine traditional Chinese culture. In the development of Chinese-path modernization, fine traditional Chinese culture has enriched the cultural vitality of Marxism, providing Marxism with profound historical depth and a mass base, enabling Marxism to be adapted to the Chinese context and popularized. At the same time, Marxism has organically linked fine traditional Chinese culture with the times, modernizing fine traditional Chinese culture, and through the “Second Integration” has created a “new cultural life form.” This embodies a more fundamental, broader, and deeper cultural confidence, forming a more fundamental, deeper, and more enduring spiritual force.

中国式现代化是中国共产党领导中国人民建设的具有中国特色的社会主义现代化，其每一步开拓都是把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际、同中华优秀传统文化相结合的产物。“第二个结合”的正式提出表明，中国共产党对坚持和发展中国特色社会主义理论的认识达到了新高度，为中国式现代化中文化主体性的实现提供了思想自觉、理论自觉和行动自觉；从中国式现代化的历史进程看，由中国近代被动开启现代化进程到中国共产党带领中国人民主动探索符合中国国情的社会主义现代化之路，中华民族迎来了从站起来、富起来到强起来的伟大飞跃。这一过程中，中国共产党始终将马克思主义基本原理同中华优秀传统文化相结合，将马克思主义思想精髓同中华优秀传统文化精神特质相融通。在中国式现代化发展过程中，中华优秀传统文化充实了马克思主义的文化生命力，为马克思主义提供了深厚的历史底蕴和群众基础，使马克思主义得以中国化、大众化；同时，马克思主义将中华优秀传统文与时代有机衔接，使中华优秀传统文化现代化，并经由“第二个结合”创造出“新的文化生命体”，这体现了更基本、更广泛、更深厚的文化自信，形成了更基本、更深沉、更持久的精神力量。

(I) Viewing the “Second Integration” from Historical Consciousness

（一）从历史自觉看“第二个结合”

The “Second Integration” enhances historical consciousness, strengthens historical confidence, and increases historical initiative in the process of Chinese-path modernization. Marx pointed out: “All social and state relations, all religious and legal systems, all theoretical viewpoints that appear in history can only be understood when one understands the material conditions of life of each corresponding era corresponding to them and derives them from these material conditions.” Fei Xiaotong [4]4 Fei Xiaotong (1910–2005) was a pioneering Chinese sociologist and anthropologist known for his studies of rural China. pointed out: “Our ‘modernization’ is closely related to the impact of foreign cultures on our country.” China’s modern exploration and choice of paths and doctrines reflect historical consciousness. At that time, insightful Chinese figures all attempted to solve the problem of “where is China going,” reflecting and putting into practice at the levels of material objects, institutions, and culture, but none could change China’s semi-colonial and semi-feudal social nature. The fundamental reason was that they did not find a path belonging to China itself, until Marxism was introduced to China, which resolved this practical predicament. The deepest problem of old China was spiritual independence, autonomy, and liberation. “Marxism brought advanced ideological theory to China, activated the genes of Chinese civilization with the light of truth, led China into the modern world, and promoted the life renewal and modern transformation of Chinese civilization.” The CPC combined the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture, transcending the two extreme paths of “Chinese learning as the substance, Western learning for practical use” [5]5 “Chinese learning as the substance, Western learning for practical use” (中体西用) was a late-19th-century reformist slogan advocating selective adoption of Western technology while preserving Confucian values. and “wholesale Westernization,” [6]6 “Wholesale Westernization” (全盘西化) was a radical intellectual position in early 20th-century China calling for complete adoption of Western culture and institutions. stimulating the emotional resonance and ideological liberation of the Chinese people. By stimulating emotional resonance and ideological liberation, the Chinese people moved from passivity to initiative, achieved spiritual independence and autonomy, embarked on the socialist path, and completed national independence and liberation. As Li Dazhao [7]7 Li Dazhao (1889–1927) was a co-founder of the CPC and a leading Marxist intellectual in early 20th-century China. said, “I believe that the foundation of all liberation lies in spiritual liberation.” The truth of Marxism injected a “living soul” into Chinese civilization, closely linking cultural development with issues such as national independence and liberation, social construction and development, giving Chinese civilization strong adaptability to the torrent of modernization, and initiating the socialist modernization process on the basis of spiritual liberation.

“第二个结合”在中国式现代化进程中提升了历史自觉，坚定了历史自信，增强了历史主动。马克思指出：“在历史上出现的一切社会关系和国家关系，一切宗教制度和法律制度，一切理论观点，只有理解了每一个与之相应的时代的物质生活条件，并且从这些物质条件中被引申出来的时候，才能理解。”费孝通指出：“我们的‘现代化’与我们的国家遭受外来文化的冲击有着密切的联系。”中国近代对道路、主义的探索与选择，体现了历史自觉。当时，中国的有识之士都尝试着解决中国“向何处去”这一难题，并在器物、制度、文化等层面做出反思并付诸实践，但均无法改变中国半殖民地半封建的社会性质，其根本原因是没有找到一条属于中国自己的道路，直到马克思主义传入中国，才解决了这一现实困境。旧中国最深层的问题就是精神上的不独立、不自主、不解放，而“马克思主义把先进的思想理论带到中国，以真理之光激活了中华文明的基因，引领中国走进现代世界，推动了中华文明的生命更新和现代转型”。中国共产党将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，超越了之前“中体西用”与“全盘西化”两个极端道路，激发了中国人民情感共鸣与思想解放，通过激发情感共鸣和思想解放，中国人民从被动走向主动，实现了精神的独立自主，走上了社会主义道路，完成了民族独立与解放。正如李大钊所言，“我以为一切解放的基础，都在精神解放”。马克思主义真理为中华文明注入了“活的灵魂”，将文化发展与民族独立和解放、社会建设和发展等问题紧密联系在一起，使中华文明应对现代化激流有了极强的适应性，在精神解放的基础上开启了社会主义现代化进程。

“In human history, no nation or country has achieved strength and revitalization by relying on external forces and following behind others step by step. The result of doing so is either inevitable failure or becoming an appendage of others.” While Sinicizing Marxism, it is also necessary to adapt Marxism to the Chinese context, which requires adhering to the principle of confidence in Chinese history. Mao Zedong pointed out: “Marxism must be realized through combination with China’s specific characteristics and through a certain national form. … To make Marxism concrete in China, so that it carries the necessary Chinese characteristics in every manifestation, that is, to apply it according to China’s characteristics, has become a problem that the entire Party urgently needs to understand and solve.” Mao Zedong Thought, as the first historic leap in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, laid the practical and realistic foundation for the combination of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture.

“人类历史上，没有一个民族、没有一个国家可以通过依赖外部力量、跟在他人后面亦步亦趋实现强大和振兴。那样做的结果，不是必然遭遇失败，就是必然成为他人的附庸。”在马克思主义化中国的同时，还要让马克思主义中国化，这就要求对中国历史秉持自信的原则。毛泽东指出：“马克思主义必须和我国的具体特点相结合并通过一定的民族形式才能实现。……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。”毛泽东思想作为马克思主义中国化的第一次历史性飞跃，为马克思主义与中华优秀传统文化的结合奠定了实践基础和现实基础。

At different stages, Chinese Communists have devoted themselves to resolving different contradictions: “standing up” focused primarily on achieving national independence and liberation, providing a political foundation for socialist construction; “growing rich” concentrated on liberating productive forces and raising the people’s living standards, accumulating the material base for the comprehensive realization of modernization; “becoming strong” is dedicated to comprehensively building a modern socialist country and comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, enabling China to move toward a new form of human civilization characterized by “the free and comprehensive development of the individual.” [1]1 The three slogans “stand up” (站起来), “grow rich” (富起来), and “become strong” (强起来) are a standard periodization of the CPC’s historical achievements, often attributed to Xi The proposal of the “Second Integration” in the process of comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the rejuvenation of the nation through Chinese-path modernization indicates that we have strengthened historical confidence, enhanced historical consciousness, and increased historical initiative, allowing Marxism and fine traditional Chinese culture to jointly constitute the unique spiritual identity of the Chinese nation, representing the most fundamental spiritual pursuit of the Chinese nation.

在不同阶段，中国共产党人致力于解决不同的矛盾：“站起来”主要着眼于取得民族独立与解放层面，为社会主义建设提供政治基础；“富起来”聚焦于解放生产力和提高人民生活水平，为全面实现现代化积累物质基础；“强起来”则致力于实现全面建设社会主义现代化国家、全面推进中华民族伟大复兴，使中国走向“人自由而全面发展”的人类文明新形态的国家。在以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业过程中提出“第二个结合”，这就表明我们坚定了历史自信，提升了历史自觉，增强了历史主动，让马克思主义与中华优秀传统文化共同构成中国民族独特的精神标识，代表着中华民族最根本的精神追求。

(II) Viewing the “Second Integration” from the Perspective of Theoretical Consciousness

（二）从理论自觉看“第二个结合”

The “Second Integration” provides ideological consciousness, theoretical consciousness, and action consciousness for the realization of cultural subjectivity in Chinese-path modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “We must not only follow the general laws of modernization but, even more, conform to our own national conditions and have our own national characteristics.” [2]2 The “Second Integration” refers to the combination of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture, formally proposed by Xi Jinping as a complement to the first integration (with China’s specific realities). Chinese-path modernization is a socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China; it is the modernization of people. Once the Chinese nation has accumulated a certain amount of material wealth and achieved “growing rich,” the Chinese nation must work hard on the path of “becoming strong,” must realize the spiritual liberation of people, and must reshape the spiritual world of people in Chinese-path modernization. The new cultural life form created by Chinese-path modernization contains Marxist, traditional Chinese, and outstanding global cultural elements, and it is compatible with the concrete realities of contemporary China and the world. The civilizational form of Chinese-path modernization both develops the “ethical civilization” based on agricultural civilization and transcends the “capital civilization” based on the logic of capital, forming a people-oriented, “Five-Sphere Integrated Plan” “people-oriented civilization.” This process embodies ideological consciousness, theoretical consciousness, and action consciousness.

“第二个结合”为中国式现代化中文化主体性的实现提供了思想自觉、理论自觉和行动自觉。习近平总书记指出：“既要遵循现代化的一般规律，更要符合本国实际、具有本国特色。”中国式现代化是中国共产党领导的社会主义现代化，是人的现代化。当中华民族积累了一定的物质财富并实现“富起来”之后，中华民族就要在“强起来”的道路上下功夫，要实现人的精神解放，要对中国式现代化中人的精神世界进行重塑。中国式现代化所创造出的新的文化生命体包含了马克思主义的、中国传统的、世界优秀的文化因素，并且与当今世界、中国具体实际相契合。中国式现代化的文明形态既发展了以农耕文明为基础的“伦理型文明”，又超越了以资本为逻辑的“资本型文明”，形成了以人为本、“五位一体”的“民本型文明”，这一过程体现了思想自觉、理论自觉和行动自觉。

First, Chinese-path modernization follows the general laws of modernization development. On the one hand, Chinese-path modernization contains the general elements of modernization, emphasizing industrialization and urbanization, focusing on the market economy and science and technology, and striving in the course of development for prosperity, democracy, rule of law, freedom, equality, justice, and so on. On the other hand, Chinese-path modernization follows the historical laws of modernization development: in the early stage it focuses on stimulating the driving forces of economic and social development; in the stable development stage it pays attention to balance and social harmony; when development momentum is insufficient, it achieves the unity of dynamism and balance through national governance.

第一，中国式现代化遵循现代化发展的一般规律。一方面，中国式现代化蕴含现代化的一般要素，强调工业化与城市化发展，注重市场经济和科学技术，在发展过程中致力于富强、民主、法治、自由、平等、正义等。另一方面，中国式现代化遵循了现代化的历史发展规律，在初期注重激发经济社会发展动力，在稳定发展阶段关注平衡与社会和谐，当发展动能不足时，通过国家治理实现动力与平衡的统一。

Second, Chinese-path modernization is a modernization of a socialist nature, a modernization with Marxism as its foundation. First, Marx affirmed the contribution of capitalist society to productive forces and to social development, acknowledging that capitalism “has played a most revolutionary role in history” and “created a world.” [3]3 The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, held in July 2024, focused on further deepening reform and advancing Chinese-path modernization. Second, in the further development of capitalist society, a situation emerged where economic development was pursued at the cost of sacrificing society, the environment, and people’s own development; society’s balancing mechanism was broken. In the *Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844*, Marx, taking “the comprehensive development of the individual” as his logical starting point, used the theory of humanism and alienation to discuss and criticize the distorted development of people caused by capitalism, and proposed that the way to resolve this problem was through proletarian revolution. Finally, Marx believed that “modernization” is holistic rather than one-sided, covering all spheres of society. The “Five-Sphere Integrated Plan” overall layout of Chinese-path modernization is a powerful implementation of Marx’s “comprehensive modernization.” A one-sided modernization can only satisfy people’s material needs, whereas a comprehensive modernization can satisfy people’s various needs in society.

第二，中国式现代化是社会主义性质的现代化、以马克思主义为底色的现代化。首先，马克思肯定了资本主义社会对生产力、对社会发展的贡献，承认资本主义“在历史上曾经起过非常革命的作用”，并“创造出一个世界”。其次，在资本主义社会进一步发展中，出现了以牺牲社会、环境及人自身发展为代价以谋求经济发展的情况，社会的平衡机制被打破，马克思在《1844年经济学哲学手稿》中，以“人的全面发展”为逻辑起点，以人道主义和异化理论对资本主义造成人的畸形发展进行论述和批判，并提出解决这一问题的方式就是通过无产阶级革命。最后，马克思认为“现代化”是整体而非片面的，其覆盖于社会各个领域，中国式现代化“五位一体”的总体布局就是对马克思“全面的现代化”的有力践行。片面的现代化对人的影响，就只能满足人对物质方面的需求，而全面的现代化则可以满足人在社会中各方面的需求。

Third, Chinese-path modernization embodies a unique spatial logic, reflecting China’s actual national conditions and development characteristics. First, the main characteristic of Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of a huge population. The base of over 1.4 billion people exceeds the total population of all currently developed countries combined. Therefore, in the process of advancing Chinese-path modernization, on the one hand it is necessary to firmly rely on the creative power of the broad masses of the people, and on the other hand it is necessary to resolve the various imbalances that arise in the course of development. Second, the goal of Chinese-path modernization is to achieve common prosperity; it is the modernization of the entire nation, not the modernization of individuals. This is the essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics, different from Western modernization characterized by a wide gap between rich and poor or even polarization. Therefore, realizing the people’s aspiration for a better life must be taken as its starting point and ultimate goal. Third, the implementation path of Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress in coordination; it is an all-round modernization, not a wealth-first modernization, different from the one-dimensional modernization of the West. Fourth, the civilizational orientation of Chinese-path modernization is the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature; it does not follow a path of development first and treatment later. Therefore, it is necessary to take the path of sustainable development and high-quality development. Finally, Chinese-path modernization is a modernization that takes the path of peaceful development, internally generating a new form of human civilization. It transcends the discourse system of “Western-centrism” and takes the path of peaceful development, mutual benefit, and win-win cooperation.

第三，中国式现代化体现了独特的空间逻辑，反映了中国的实际国情与发展特征。首先，中国式现代化的主体特征是人口规模巨大的现代化，14亿多人口这一基数超越了当前所有发达国家的人口总和，因此在中国式现代化的推进过程中，一方面必须紧紧依靠广大人民群众的创造力量，另一方面要解决发展过程中出现的各种不平衡问题。其次，中国式现代化的目标是实现共同富裕的现代化，是全国人民的现代化而非个人的现代化，这是中国特色社会主义的本质要求，不同于西方贫富差距悬殊甚至两极分化的现代化，因此必须把实现人民对美好生活的向往作为其出发点和落脚点。再次，中国式现代化的实施路径是物质文明与精神文明相协调的现代化，是全方位的现代化而非财富至上的现代化，区别于西方单向度的现代化。复次，中国式现代化的文明取向是人与自然和谐共生，并非先发展后治理，因此必须走可持续发展、高质量发展道路。最后，中国式现代化是走和平发展道路的现代化，内生出人类文明新形态，它超越了“西方中心论”的话语体系，走的是和平发展、互利共赢之路。

(III) Viewing the “Second Integration” from the Perspective of Nurturing a “New Cultural Life Form”

（三）从孕育“新的文化生命体”看“第二个结合”

The purpose of the “Second Integration” is to make Marxism Chinese and to make fine traditional Chinese culture modern. The introduction and development of Marxism in China occurred against the backdrop of multiple crises: national stagnation, backward popular intellect, and invasion and partition by Western powers. It emerged as a political faith for national salvation and survival. For this reason, for a long time most Chinese people regarded Marxism as an ideology, without delving deeply into its cultural connotations.

“第二个结合”的目的在于要让马克思主义成为中国的，让中华优秀传统文化成为现代的。马克思主义在中国的传入和发展，发生在国家停滞、民智落后以及西方列强侵略瓜分的多重危机背景下，作为一种救亡图存的政治信仰而出现。正因如此，长期以来的大多数国人将马克思主义视为意识形态，而对其文化内涵没有深究。

Regarding the understanding and practice of Marxism by the Communist Party of China in different periods, Professor Cheng Zhongying believes it can be divided mainly into three stages: the first stage, from the introduction of Marxism into China to the founding of the People’s Republic of China, focused on the ontological rather than the instrumental aspect—awakening the Chinese people’s attention to, understanding of, and exploration of reality, and helping the Communist Party of China lead the people to find answers to overcoming difficulties and changing the status quo; the second stage, from the 1950s to the 1980s, focused on the instrumental aspect of understanding Marxist philosophy—Marxism as an ideology for governing the country, helping the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people grasp reality, helping China move toward modernization and the world, and understand the West; the third stage, from reform and opening up to before the 18th National Congress of the CPC, saw the Communist Party of China lead the Chinese people in expanding the ontological aspect of Marxism and innovating its instrumental aspect, achieving further consciousness in the understanding of Marxism, helping us achieve our own development in the process of modernization and globalization. [4]4 Fei Xiaotong (1910–2005) was a pioneering Chinese sociologist and anthropologist known for his studies of rural China. The author believes that since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the understanding and application of Marxism can be regarded as a fourth stage: taking the high degree of compatibility between the two as a premise, with Marxism as the dominant position, emphasizing the use of the excellent parts of traditional Chinese culture to promote theoretical and practical innovation in Marxism. The proposal of the “Second Integration” is essentially to adhere to the basic principles of Marxism as the “soul vein” for the self-renewal and improvement of Chinese culture, to consolidate the cultural confidence of the Chinese nation through the integration of the two, to promote the adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times with fine traditional Chinese culture, and to manifest Chinese characteristics and Chinese style in the process of autonomously achieving modernization.

关于不同时期中国共产党对马克思主义的理解与实践，成中英先生认为主要分为三个阶段：第一阶段从马克思主义传入中国至新中国成立前，侧重于本体性而非工具性方面——唤醒中国人民对现实的关注、理解、探索，并帮助中国共产党带领人民找到战胜困难、改变现状的答案；第二阶段从20世纪50年代到80年代，对马克思主义哲学的理解重在工具性——马克思主义作为治理国家的意识形态，帮助中国共产党和中国人民掌握现实，帮助中国走向现代化、走向世界，认识西方；第三阶段是改革开放至党的十八大之前，中国共产党带领中国人民将马克思主义的本体性进行扩大并创新了它的工具性，对马克思主义的理解有了进一步自觉，帮助我们在现代化、全球化过程中得到自身发展。笔者认为，党的十八大以来，对马克思主义的认识与运用可视为第四阶段：以二者高度的契合为前提，以马克思主义为主导地位，强调以中华传统文化中的优秀部分推动马克思主义的理论创新和实践创新。“第二个结合”的提出，实质上是坚持以马克思主义基本原理为“魂脉”对中华文化的自我更新与完善，在二者的融合中巩固中华民族的文化自信，以中华优秀传统文化推动马克思主义中国化、时代化，在自主实现现代化的进程中彰显中国特色、中国气派。

To answer the question of which excellent traditional cultures should be inherited and promoted, it is necessary to clarify what kind of traditional Chinese culture is needed in contemporary China. In other words, we must ask: which excellent traditional cultures are worthy of our inheritance and promotion? Currently, the academic definition of “excellent traditional culture” within Chinese culture is rather complex and can be roughly divided into three levels: first, those that can be directly inherited, such as the ideas of “sacrificing one’s life for righteousness,” “hard work and perseverance,” and “the benevolent person loves others”; second, traditional cultures that have both positive and negative influences in the present era, typically exemplified by ethical culture formed under the background of the differential mode of association [8]8 Xi Jinping, "Speech at a Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development" (June 2, 2023), in *Qiushi*, 2023, no. 12. based on blood ties, such as the cultures of “ruler and minister,” “father and son,” and “husband and wife”; third, traditional cultures that were proposed in the past but can be endowed with new meanings in the New Era, such as the ideas of “unity of heaven and humanity” and “great harmony under heaven.” China’s excellent traditional culture has a significant

要回答继承和弘扬哪些优秀传统文化这一问题，就要厘清什么样的中华传统文化是当下中国所需要的。换言之，就是追问：哪些优秀传统文化是值得我们继承和弘扬的？目前学界对中华文化中“优秀传统文化”的界定较为复杂，大致可以分为三个层次：一是可以直接继承的，如“舍生取义”“艰苦奋斗”“仁者爱人”等思想；二是在当下兼具积极性影响和消极影响的传统文化，典型的就是有关以血缘关系形成的差序格局背景下的伦理文化，如“君臣”“父子”“夫妻”等方面的文化；三是传统文化提出、新时代可赋予其新的意义的传统文化，如“天人合一”“天下大同”等思想。中华优秀传统文化对中国式现代化的道路、制度、目标等都有重大影响，如“美美与共、天下大同”的人类命运共同体思想，与中华“礼乐文明”相结合的中国特色社会主义法治思想，与民本思想相结合的“以人民为中心”的发展观等。

To explore the issue of the compatibility between Marxism and Chinese culture, it is necessary to examine the similarities and differences among Chinese philosophy, Western philosophy, and Marxist philosophy. First, the deep-seated logic of Eastern and Western cultures themselves differs: the West takes the "will to power" as its starting point, while China emphasizes the "will to virtue." Second, Marxist philosophy and the yin-yang thinking and dialectics in traditional Chinese philosophy coincide in substance. Marx focused on the issues of social reality and human emancipation, emphasizing the importance of practice and history. He believed that relationships such as subject and object, reason and sensibility, and freedom and necessity must all be treated with dialectical thinking—that is, the two are interconnected and interdependent. This breaks with the binary oppositional thinking in traditional Western culture. In traditional Western philosophy, subject and object are considered separate, whereas Marx argued that the subject understands and transforms the object through practice, and the object is both the target and result of the subject's practice. Traditional Western philosophy regards reason as the primary way humans understand the world, while Marx emphasized that sensibility is the foundation for understanding the world, and reason develops on the basis of sensibility. Traditional Western philosophy views freedom as the essence and purpose of humanity, believing that necessity limits freedom; Marx, however, held that freedom is realized on the basis of necessity, and necessity is the precondition and condition for freedom.

探讨马克思主义与中国文化之契合性的问题，需要考察中国哲学、西方哲学、马克思主义哲学三者之间的异同关系。首先，东西方自身文化的深层次逻辑不同：西方以“权力意志”为起点，中国注重“德性意志”。其次，马克思主义哲学与中国传统哲学中的阴阳思维、辩证法在实质上不谋而合。马克思关注社会现实与人类解放的问题，强调实践和历史的重要性，认为对主体与客体、理性与感性、自由与必然这些关系都要利用辩证的思维去对待，即二者是相互联系、相互依存的，这就打破了西方传统文化中的二元对立思想。在传统西方哲学中，主体与客体被认为是分离的，而马克思主张主体通过实践认识和改造客体，客体则是主体实践的对象与结果；传统西方哲学认为理性是人类理解世界的主要方式，而马克思强调感性是认识世界的基础，理性是在感性基础上发展起来的；传统西方哲学将自由视为人类的本质与目的，认为必然限制自由；而马克思认为自由是在必然基础上实现的，必然是自由的前提与条件。

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "After long-term efforts, we are more capable than any previous era of resolving the 'ancient-modern, Chinese-Western debate,' and we are also more urgently in need than any previous era of a batch of cultural achievements that fuse the ancient and modern and integrate China and the West." [8]8 Xi Jinping, "Speech at a Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development" (June 2, 2023), in *Qiushi*, 2023, no. 12. The new cultural life form created through the "Second Integration" provides a new logical starting point for resolving the "ancient-modern, Chinese-Western debate." That is, to adhere to the "soul vein" and the "root vein," inherit and promote the essence of fine traditional Chinese culture, continue to advance the adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, while also absorbing and drawing on all achievements of human civilization. Based on the present and looking toward the future, we must build an advanced socialist culture, allowing China's fine traditional culture to radiate new vitality in the New Era.

习近平总书记强调：“经过长期努力，我们比以往任何一个时代都更有条件破解‘古今中西之争’，也比以往任何一个时代都更迫切需要一批熔铸古今、汇通中西的文化成果。”经由“第二个结合”创造出的新的文化生命体，为破解“古今中西之争”提供了新的逻辑起点，即坚守“魂脉”与“根脉”，继承和弘扬中华优秀传统文化的精华，继续推进马克思主义中国化、时代化，同时吸收借鉴一切人类文明成果，立足当下，着眼未来，建设社会主义先进文化，让中国优秀传统文化在新时代焕发出新的生命力。

II. The "Second Integration" Manifests the Spiritual Self-Awareness of People in Chinese-Path Modernization

二、“第二个结合”彰显了中国式现代化中人的精神自觉

The core of modernization is the modernization of people. As Alex Inkeles pointed out, a country truly called modernized should be one in which the people within that country have acquired a certain modernity corresponding to the development of modernization. Academic discussions of Chinese-path modernization usually unfold from a theoretical dimension, a historical dimension, or a cultural dimension, but lack an elaboration from the dimension of constructing the individual's spiritual world. The "Second Integration" should reflect the concern for "people" in the process of Chinese-path modernization—that is, to reflect critically on the state of "people" in modern society, guide the direction of people's hearts and minds, and stimulate people's spiritual self-awareness.

现代化的核心是人的现代化。正如英格尔斯指出的，真正被称为现代化的国家，应当是身处于这个国家中的人都获得了某种与现代化发展相应的现代性。学界对中国式现代化的阐述通常从理论的维度、历史的维度或文化的维度展开，而缺少从个人精神世界构建的维度进行阐释。“第二个结合”应当体现出中国式现代化进程中对“人”的关照，即对现代社会中“人”的状态做出反思批判，引导人的心灵所向，激发人的精神自觉。

(I) The "State of People" in Western Modernization

（一）西方现代化中“人的状态”

Since the Enlightenment lifted the curtain on Western modernization, the light of reason, which undertook the mission of disenchantment, shone upon Europe, giving rise to instrumental reason and value reason. However, the Enlightenment ultimately degenerated into myth. The social progress brought about by the continuous expansion of capital caused instrumental reason to gradually occupy a dominant position. People often pay more attention to efficiency and effectiveness, while the Enlightenment ideals of freedom, equality, and fraternity are cast aside. As Marx pointed out, "All our invention and progress seem to result in endowing material forces with intellectual life, and stultifying human life into a material force." [9]9 Karl Marx, "Speech at the Anniversary of the *People's Paper*" (April 14, 1856), in *Marx and Engels Collected Works*, vol. 12 (Beijing: People's Publishing House, 1962), p. 4. People are reified, becoming tools without intrinsic value and meaning, possessing only external functions and effects. So-called modernization degenerates into the continuous extension and expansion of instrumental reason, pursuing material and interests, with the starting point of all actions being merely to maximize benefits, turning a blind eye to people's beliefs, ideals, and so on, thereby fettering people's free and comprehensive development. People submit to the domination of technology, while pervasive secularization makes modern people's pursuit of vulgar hedonism appear high-sounding. Society emphasizes the importance of money through various channels, cloaking the worship of money in a cloak of rationality, regarding money as the only way to solve problems, leading to the refusal to do or do with care anything that cannot maximize economic value. Reified people lose their humanity, freedom of decision-making, and freedom of action, as well as the meaning and dignity of life. According to Hegel's conception of human reason, the critique of the social state should continue with the development of the times, but the reality is that modern people are powerless to critique, forced to maintain a high degree of conformity with the existing society dominated by instrumental reason, ultimately losing their spiritual attributes in the cage of modern society.

自启蒙运动揭开西方现代化序幕以来，承担祛魅使命的理性之光照向欧洲，产生了工具理性与价值理性。然而，启蒙终于堕落成了神话。资本不断增殖带来的社会进步，使工具理性逐渐占据了主导地位。人们往往更加注重效率和效益，启蒙精神关于自由、平等、博爱的理念则被抛之脑后。正如马克思指出的，“我们的一切发明和进步，似乎结果是使物质力量成为有智慧的生命，而人的生命则化为愚钝的物质力量”。人被物化，成为没有内在价值和意义的工具，只具有外在的功能和作用。所谓的现代化蜕变为工具理性的不断延伸和扩展，追求物质与利益，一切行为的出发点只是为了实现利益的最大化，对人的信仰、理想等视而不见，从而束缚了人的自由和全面发展。人屈从于技术统治下，而普遍的世俗化让现代人对庸俗的幸福主义追求看起来冠冕堂皇。社会通过各种途径强调金钱的重要性，为对金钱的崇拜披上合理性外衣，将金钱视为解决问题的唯一途径，导致不能最大体现经济价值的事不去做、不用心去做。被物化的人失去了人性、决策自由及行为自由，也丧失了生命意义与尊严。按照黑格尔对人的理性设想，对社会状态的批判应随时代发展而持续进行，而现实却是现代人无力于批判，被迫与工具理性主导的社会现存保持高度一致，在现代社会的牢笼中最终丧失精神属性。

(II) Pursuing People's Spiritual Self-Awareness in the Awakening of Species-Life Consciousness

（二）在类生命意识的觉醒中追求人的精神自觉

There is no doubt that we are in the era of capital—it defines those who occupy a high position in capital as the strong. This value scale makes people's pursuit of capital reach a state of obsession and become the yardstick for which people strive. But the human heart's pursuit of desire is limitless; material abundance cannot fill spiritual emptiness. The "Second Integration," as an innovative cultural theory, promotes the awakening and pursuit of species-life consciousness among modern people. Chinese scholars represented by Gao Qinghai believe that species-life consciousness originates spontaneously from fine traditional Chinese culture, breaking through the single dimension of "human beings as biological entities," and focuses on broadening the breadth and depth of species-life—people possess nationality, culture, and even worldliness and cosmicity. This is the "transcendence" of people, manifested in three levels: understanding oneself, understanding society, and understanding the world. Mr. Gao Qinghai described species-nature as "no longer satisfied with the instinctive life given by nature, beginning to use one's own wisdom to strive for and create an intellectual life and a human world suitable for human nature." [10]10 Gao Qinghai, "The Awakening of Species Consciousness and the Modernization of the Theory of Human Nature," *Social Science Front*, 1996, no. 6. Therefore, the pursuit of species-nature is mainly manifested in three aspects: the relationship between people and their inner selves, between people and others, and between people and nature.

毫无疑问，我们处于资本的时代——它将身居资本高位的人定义为强者，这种价值尺度让人对资本的追求达到了痴迷的程度，并成为人为之奋斗的标尺，但人心对欲望的追求是无限的，物质丰盈填不满精神空虚。“第二个结合”作为一种创新性的文化理论，促进了现代人对类生命意识的觉醒与追寻，以高清海为代表的中国学者认为，类生命意识自发于中华优秀传统文化之中，突破了“人是生物”的单一向度，着重拓宽类生命的广度和深度——人具有民族性、文化性甚至是世界性、宇宙性，这就是人的“超越性”，体现在理解自己、理解社会、理解世界三个层面。高清海先生形容类本性是“已不再满足于自然给予的那种本能生活，开始要用自己的智慧去争取和创造适于人之本性的理智生活和属人世界”。因此，对类本性的追寻主要体现在三个方面：人与内心、人与人、人与自然。

People possess both a "logic of materiality" and a "logic of humanity." So-called awakening species-nature is the awakening of humanity. The free and conscious species-nature requires the accumulation of wisdom through conscious thought and reflection to be completed. When people, through production and creation, break free from nature's control over the body and achieve the "freedom" of self-development, the life bound by it achieves its own transcendence, becoming an "open system" that can dialogue with nature. That is, people move from the realm of "being-for-itself" to "being-in-itself," creating infinite life value within finite life. This is the significance of species-nature for the individual. By understanding their own existence and particularity, people use objective facts and laws to grasp self-consciousness, truly activate "species-nature," and realize the unity of "materiality" and "species-character."

人具有“物性逻辑”，也具有“人性逻辑”，所谓唤醒类本性即是对人性的唤醒，自由自觉的类本性需要通过意识思考和积累以增长智慧来完成。当人通过生产和创造摆脱了自然对肉体的控制，实现了可以自我发展的“自由”之时，被其束缚的生命就实现了自身的超越，成为可以与自然对话的“开放系统”，即人从“自为”走向“自在”的境界，在有限的生命中创造出无限的生命价值，这就是类本性之于个体的意义。人通过认识自我的存在性与特殊性，利用客观事实和规律把握自我意识，真正激活“类本性”，实现“物性”与“类性”的统一。

In Marx’s view, the human being is “socialized humanity,” and the ideal state of communist society is the realization of a “community of free individuals.” This community is not a false community established on the basis of “material logic,” because the isolation and closure of “material logic” ignore human difference and individuality; people are restricted in their freedom and required to survive and develop according to the logic formulated by the collective. This community is one in which the species-nature of the human being is activated—that is, the human being realizes the unity of the small self and the great self. Reconstructing “the society of human beings with human beings”—a community with a shared future for mankind—on the basis of the theory of species-nature means that society becomes an organic whole, and the fate and development of the individual are inseparable from others, thereby achieving harmonious integration among people.

在马克思看来，人是“社会化的人类”，而共产主义社会的理想状态是实现“自由人联合体”，这种联合并不是以“物性逻辑”建立的虚幻共同体，因为“物性逻辑”的孤立性与封闭性忽略了人的差异性与个体性，人被限制自由，被要求按照群体制定的逻辑生存发展。这种联合是人的类本性被激活，即人实现了小我与大我统一之后的共同体。以类本性理论重建“人与人的社会”——人类命运共同体，即社会成为有机的整体，个人命运与发展与他人密不可分，从而实现人与人之间圆融和谐。

III. The “Second Integration” Reshapes the Human Spiritual World in Chinese-Path Modernization

三、“第二个结合”重塑了中国式现代化中人的精神世界

Modernity “is an extremely complex civilizational or cultural process full of internal contradictions, a paradoxical practical value orientation, an existential structure interwoven with internal tensions and conflicts, a seemingly transparent yet ambiguous mode of life, and a human spiritual state mixed with optimistic imagination and pessimistic complex, certainty and perplexity.” Marx pointed out that the human being is first a natural being, second a being with species-characteristics, third a being situated in different social relations, and finally a being with different individualities; moreover, the human being’s “‘spirit’ is from the outset afflicted with the curse of being ‘burdened’ by matter.” Du Weiming believes that “secular humanism has in fact become the dominant ideology of the world”; Mr. Lou Yulie holds that modern people have reached the point of “losing their souls”; Fromm laments that the problem of the 19th century was that God is dead, while the problem of the 20th century is that the human being is dead, and all spiritual content no longer exists. The impact of modernization has made the question of where our hearts and minds should go increasingly apparent: the ideal of self-life has become disconnected from the environment of the times, and no cultural thought can guide modern people out of such a predicament. This is a profound and urgent problem of the era. We keep asking ourselves: What is wrong with “me”? What is the meaning and value of “my” life? What should “my” spiritual world look like? Faced with these deep-level inquiries about the self, the authors attempt to explore how to reshape a spiritual world belonging to contemporary people from the cultural perspective represented by the “Second Integration.”

现代性“是一种极其复杂、充满内在矛盾的文明或文化过程，一种悖论式的实践价值取向，一种交织着内在紧张和冲突的存在结构，一种看似透明却又诸多暧昧的生活样式，以及一种挟杂着乐观主义想象与悲观主义情结、确信与困顿的人类精神状态”。马克思指出，人首先是自然人，其次是具有类特性的人，再次是处在不同社会关系中的人，最后是具有不同个性的人，而人的“‘精神’从一开始就很倒霉，受到物质的‘纠缠’”。杜维明认为，“世俗性的人文主义事实上成为了主导世界的意识形态”;楼宇烈先生则认为现代人到了“丢魂落魄”的地步;弗洛姆感慨，19世纪的问题是上帝死了，而20世纪的问题是人死了，一切精神内容不复存在。现代化的冲击导致了我们心灵何去何从的问题愈发显现，自我生活理想与时代环境发生脱节，没有一种文化思想可以指导现代人摆脱这样的困境，这是一个深刻而又迫切需要解决的时代问题。我们不断追问自己：“我”到底怎么了？“我”的生命意义与价值何在？“我”的精神世界到底应该是什么模样？面对这些对自我深层次的追问，笔者尝试从“第二个结合”所代表的文化视角探索如何重塑属于当代人的精神世界。

(1) Cultivate the Root and Cast the Soul: Construct a Spiritual World That Understands the Substance and Applies It

（一）培根铸魂，构建明体达用的精神世界

With the rapid development of artificial intelligence and high technology, coupled with the flattening of communication and the complexity of information exchange, we are facing the social pathology of the collapse of traditional values and universal “reification.” The values of rationalism, individualism, liberal thought, and multiculturalism have challenged the beliefs and ideals of modern people, leading to erroneous values, unrealistic fantasies, or excessive pursuit of power, wealth, fame, and so on. Therefore, it is necessary to construct a “spiritual world of virtue”:

随着人工智能、高新技术快速发展，加之交往扁平化与信息交流复杂化，我们正面临传统价值观崩塌与普遍“物化”的社会病态，理性主义、个人主义、自由思想和多元文化的价值观让现代人的信仰和理想都受到了挑战，导致错误的价值观、不切实际的幻想或对权力、财富、名誉等过度追求。因此，必须构建“德性的精神世界”：

First, we must “reject the reification of spiritual life”—so that people have subjective consciousness and freely and autonomously choose practical activities. That is, people no longer realize self-worth by acquiring “possessions,” but instead, based on historical materialism, liberate themselves from dependence on things, and through the thoughts and reflections of the “heart-mind,” actively practice and develop comprehensively. This “activeness” is not merely an active attitude toward external, physical activities; it refers more to the inner activity of creatively using human powers. “In a comprehensive way, that is to say, as a complete person, the human being appropriates his own comprehensive essence.” “His own comprehensive essence” means all the elements that constitute the essential powers of the human being, including his will, potential, etc., which are not oppressed or kidnapped; the human being gains freedom and full development in the relationship between the human being and the object, setting aside false needs and pursuing genuine, heartfelt necessities. On the one hand, we must develop our own comprehensiveness, enhancing overall quality by exercising various abilities, and realize the comprehensive development of the subject in practical activities; on the other hand, while creating and pursuing wealth, we must also attend to the practical activities of the spiritual world, escaping the “predicament of reification.”

第一，要“拒绝精神生活被物化”——使人具有主观意识，自由自主选择实践活动，即人不再以获取“占有物”实现自我价值，而是以历史唯物主义为依据，把人从对物的依赖中解放出来，通过“心”之所思所想主动实践、全面发展。这种“主动”不仅是对外在的、身体上的活动持主动态度，更多是指创造性运用人的力量的内心活动，“人以一种全面的方式，也就是说，作为一个完整的人，占有自己的全面的本质”。“自己的全面的本质”，即构成人的本质力量的所有要素，包括其意志、潜能等，不受到压迫、绑架，在人和对象的关系中获得自由并充分发展，放下虚假的需求，追求发自内心的、真正的所需。一方面，我们要发展自身的全面性，通过锻炼各方面能力以增强综合素质，在实践活动中实现主体的全面发展；另一方面，在创造和追求财富的同时，要兼顾精神世界的实践活动，摆脱“物化困境”。

Second, constructing a virtuous life requires enhancing the moral cultivation of the subject. Zhao Tingyang believes that “morality is a pre-normative concept. ‘Dao’ means the inherent mode of existence of any thing, just as Laozi said, ‘the Dao models itself on what is natural.’ ‘De’ is the possible mode of development of the Dao, or the best mode of expression of the Dao.” In other words, morality should manifest the radiance of human nature without taking interests as its starting point, allowing the original heart-mind to appear. On the one hand, it requires the self-awakening and self-cultivation of the individual life. Huang Zongxi proposed that “the heart-mind has no substance; where effort reaches, there is its substance.” This aims, through self-knowledge and self-awareness, to continuously advance the understanding and transformation of the subjective world in the process of understanding the laws of the objective world and transforming the objective world, and to transform the principles of things into principles of cognition, thereby realizing the perfection of the personality of the knowing subject. Only then can one “know Heaven” and “serve Heaven,” and through “each rectifying its own nature and destiny,” achieve “manifesting luminous virtue.” In his works, Marx criticized the Western exogenous concept of morality while proposing that “the basis of morality is the self-discipline of the human spirit,” emphasizing the immanence of morality, advocating that morality should be based on human dignity or the pursuit of value, and focusing on the spontaneity of morality. On the other hand, whether it is Mencius’s “theory of the goodness of human nature” or Xunzi’s “theory of the evil of human nature,” both emphasize that when individuals are polluted by the external world and exhibit behaviors such as mutual alienation and disaffection, moral cultivation should be achieved through the secular norms of moral ethics. Ancient thinkers proposed that “the human heart-mind is precarious; the Dao-heart-mind is subtle” to distinguish the “human heart-mind” from the “Dao-heart-mind,” pointing to a cultivation orientation that guides individuality with sociality and restrains private interests with public-mindedness. These moral ethics can be regarded as the “passive behavior” of people, formed by the combined action of various forces in social development, and are moral behaviors governed by “free will” that can overcome the necessity of egoism. In other words, it is to unify the “virtue” of society and the “virtue” of the individual to the greatest extent possible, which is also what social development ought to be. Its significance lies in that, in contemporary society, it can constrain egoistic behavior, consciously observe public order, safeguard public interests, and fulfill social responsibilities, fostering a strong sense of social responsibility and historical mission. That is to say, the “virtue” of the state and the “virtue” of society must be built upon the foundation of the “establishment of virtue” by the individual as a living being.

第二，构建德性生活需要提升主体的道德修养。赵汀阳认为，“道德是一个前规范概念，‘道’意味着任何一种事物本然的存在方式，正如老子所说的‘道法自然’的意思。‘德’则是道的可能发展方式，或者说是道的最好表现方式”。换言之，道德应当是不以利益为出发点而彰显人性之光辉，使本体之心显现。一方面，需要生命个体的自我觉醒、自我修行。黄宗羲提出“心无本体，功夫所至，即其本体”,旨在通过自知、自觉，在认识客观世界规律、改造客观世界过程中不断推进认识和改造主观世界，并将事物之理转化为认识之理，实现作为认识主体的人格的完善，方能“知天”“事天”，通过“各正性命”以期“明德”。马克思在其著作中批判了西方外生性道德观的同时，提出“道德的基础是人类精神的自律”,强调道德的内在性，主张道德应建立在人的尊严或价值追求基础之上，注重道德的自发性。另一方面，不论是孟子“性善论”还是荀子“性恶论”，都强调在个体受到外界染污而出现人心相背、离心离德等行为时，要通过道德伦常的世俗规范实现道德培养。古代思想家提出“人心惟危，道心惟微”以将“人心”与“道心”区别，指出以社会性引导个性、以公心约束私心的修养取向，这些道德伦常可以看作人的“被动行为”，是各种合力在社会发展中共同作用所形成的，是在“自由意志”支配下所具有的道德行为，它可以克服利己的必然性。换言之，就是让社会的“德”与个人的“德”尽最大限度统一，这也是社会发展的应然。它的意义在于，在当下社会中可以约束利己主义行为，自觉遵守公共秩序、维护公共利益、践行社会责任，具有强烈的社会责任感和历史使命感。也就是说，国家的“德”和社会的“德”要建立在作为生命个体的人的“立德”基础之上。

Third, attention must be paid to the unity of individual moral development with the requirements of social public morality, pursuing a moral life in which individual interests and collective interests are internally aligned. Marx pointed out that the essential attribute of the human being is sociality; only in social relations can the essence of the human being be manifested. That is to say, a society is established on the basis of satisfying individual needs; to satisfy needs, intercourse occurs between people, and this is a necessity. Human society was originally organized in precisely this way from the very beginning. In such a society, each individual has full freedom, and individuals cooperate with one another to satisfy their own needs. Marx pointed out that the genuine collective is the association of free individuals, which existed from the outset in human history. However, it was only with the emergence of the division of labor and private property that individual interests began to differentiate and become opposed. With the development of the division of labor, there also arose a huge contradiction between individual interests and collective interests, giving rise to a moral outlook that aims to satisfy individual interests and desires. Only when individual interests and public interests achieve a certain consistency—that is, when individual interests, after eliminating the material roots of opposition, can be transformed into universal interests, i.e., individual interests must ultimately develop into common interests—can the freedom and independence of the individual be truly realized. In this way, the society-based moral outlook established by Marx is distinguished from the Western God-based and individual-based moral outlooks. In the excellent traditional Chinese culture, a society-based moral outlook is also revered. Confucius emphasized that the exemplary person should “cultivate the self, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to all under Heaven”; Mencius stressed that the exemplary person should possess “benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and faithfulness”; Zhang Zai proposed that the exemplary person should “establish a heart for Heaven and Earth, establish a destiny for the living, carry on the lost teachings of the past sages, and open up peace for ten thousand generations”; Xunzi put forward that “learning reaches its culmination in ritual propriety and then stops.” These views coincide with Marx’s “genuinely human morality,” all emphasizing that morality must achieve the unity of the internal and the external, the individual and the society, so that collective interests are placed above individual interests. In other words, when individual interests conflict with collective interests, one can sacrifice the “small self” to achieve the “great self.”

第三，要注重个人道德的发展与社会公德的要求相统一，追求个人利益与集体利益内在契合的德性生活。马克思指出，人的本质属性是社会性，只有在社会关系中才能体现人的本质。也就是说，一个社会是基于满足个人需求而建立起来的，为了满足需求，人与人之间发生了交往，这是一种必然性。人类社会一开始，本来就是按照这样的方式组织起来的，在这样的社会里面，每个人都有充分的自由，而个体和个体之间，是为了满足自身需求而相互合作的。马克思指出，真正的集体是自由人的联合体，一开始就存在于人类历史之上，但是由于分工和私有制的出现，才使得个人利益开始出现分化和对立，随着分工的发展，也产生了个人利益和集体利益之间的巨大矛盾，产生了以满足个人利益和欲望的道德观。只有个人利益和公共利益达成了某种一致性，即个人利益在消除对立的物质根源后才能够转化为普遍利益，即个人利益最终要发展为共同利益，才能真正实现个人的自由和独立。这样，马克思建立的社会本位的道德观，就与西方神本位、个人本位的道德观区分开了。在中华优秀传统文化中，也推崇以社会为本位的道德观。孔子强调君子应“修身齐家治国平天下”；孟子强调君子要“仁义礼智信”；张载提出君子“为天地立心，为生民立命，为往圣继绝学，为万世开太平”等；荀子提出“学至乎礼而止矣”。这些观点与马克思主张的“真正人的道德”不谋而合，都强调了道德要达到内在与外在、个人与社会的统一，使集体利益高于个人利益。换言之，当个人利益与集体利益相冲突时，可以牺牲“小我”，成就“大我”。

(II) Enlightening Wisdom and Nourishing the Heart-Mind: Constructing a Spiritual World of Luminous Heart-Nature

（二）启智润心，构建心性光明的精神世界

Indeed, Marx revealed the general laws and developmental trends of human society and put forward the beautiful ideal of building a communist society. However, the time and space in which we currently exist differ from those of Marx. Marx treated the human being as a species-being, pointing out that human ideals and beliefs always “cleverly and always calculatingly submit to inhuman, refined, unnatural, and imaginary desires.” [17]17 Karl Marx, “Economic and Philosophic Manuscripts of 1844,” in Marx and Engels Collected Works, vol. 42 (Beijing: People’s Publishing House, 1979), p. 133. The common demands of politics and economy deprive people of both their labor time and their free time, making them unable to actively contemplate how life should be lived. This repressive nature causes modern society to lack a universal, healthy ideal and belief, or even leads to the distortion of ideals and beliefs. From this perspective, the significance of “the Second Integration” as another ideological emancipation lies precisely here: the integration of the basic principles of Marxism with the excellent traditional Chinese culture. On the one hand, it supplements Marxism’s insufficient elaboration on human heart-nature, thereby enriching the connotation of a Sinicized Marxism; on the other hand, through the rich spiritual and cultural resources contained in the excellent traditional Chinese culture, it provides Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions for contemporary people to resolve their spiritual predicaments and build a community with a shared future for mankind.

诚然，马克思揭示了人类社会运行的一般规律及发展趋势，并提出了构建共产主义社会这一美好理想，但当下我们所处的时间和空间与马克思不同。马克思将人作为类存在，指出人的理想信念总是“要机敏地而且总是精打细算地屈从于非人的、精致的、非自然的和幻想出来的欲望”,政治、经济的共同需求将人的劳动时间和自由时间全部剥夺，无法主动思考人生应该如何度过，这种压抑性使得现代社会缺少一种普遍的、健康的理想信念甚至是理想信念发生扭曲。从这个角度来看，“第二个结合”是又一次思想解放的意义正在于此：马克思主义基本原理同中华优秀传统文化相结合，一方面补足马克思主义对人心性方面的阐释，以丰富中国化的马克思主义之内涵；另一方面通过中华优秀传统文化所蕴含丰厚的精神文化资源，为当代人解决精神困境、构建人类命运共同体提供中国智慧和中国方案。

Marx proposed that human beings should achieve “free and comprehensive development” according to the “human measure,” that is, to become “people with different individualities.” When people have solved the basic problem of survival, possess species-characteristics, and live reasonably within different social relations, they will inevitably yearn for and pursue a higher-level spiritual world. Unlike Marx’s advocacy of “struggle thought,” the Chinese nation has always placed exceptional emphasis on the realm of life. In the excellent traditional Chinese culture, the universe is a great living organism, containing Heaven, Earth, and the human being. Born between Heaven and Earth, the human being converges and gathers with Heaven and Earth, mutually forming a community of life and influencing one another, thus forming a holistic life entity. Ancient Chinese sages believed that “Heaven” is the master of all things and can govern all things. “What Heaven mandates is called nature.” This “Heaven” can be understood as the Heaven of moral principle; the Daoist school calls it the “Dao,” the supreme truth of the universe. Emphasizing “the unity of Heaven and the human being” and “the Dao follows what is natural” is actually a hope that the human being can connect with Heaven, that the human being can connect with the Dao. It points out that the connection between the human being and Heaven relies on “nature,” i.e., “heart-nature.” Qian Mu pointed out: “In the universe, the value of the heart-mind is the highest, life is secondary, and the value of matter is the lowest.” [18]18 Qian Mu, “An Outline of the History of Chinese Thought” (Taipei: Student Bookstore, 1993), p. 3. The heart-mind is the master of life; the fundamental reason why human life can be manifested is that the human heart-mind plays its role.

马克思提出人要按照“人的尺度”实现“自由全面的发展”，即成为“具有不同个性的人”。当人解决了基本的生存问题，具有了类特性并合理地生活于社会不同关系中，人必然会渴望和追求更高层次的精神世界。和马克思主张的“斗争思想”不同，中华民族历来格外注重人生境界。在中华优秀传统文化中，宇宙是一个大的生命体，其中包含着天、地、人。人生于天地之间，与天地会和而相聚，互为群生、相互影响，形成一个生命整体。中国古代先贤认为“天”是万物主宰，可以统摄万物。“天命之谓性”，此“天”可理解为义理之天，道家称其为“道”，是宇宙最高真理。而强调“天人合一”“道法自然”实则是希望人与天通、人与道通，并指出人与天连接是靠“性”，即“心性”。钱穆指出：“宇宙间，心灵价值实最高，生命次之，而物质价值却最低。”心是生命主宰，人的生命得以表现的根本原因是人心发挥了作用。

What is called enlightening wisdom and nourishing the heart-mind is to “observe real life with a realist spirit and a romanticist sentiment, dispel darkness with light, overcome ugliness with beauty and goodness, and let people see beauty, see hope, and see that dreams lie ahead.” [19]19 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Forum on Literature and Art Work” (October 15, 2014), in Xi Jinping: Selected Important Speeches on Literature and Art Work (Beijing: Central Party Literature Press, 2015), p. 28. First, the human being should place their feelings on the common people. Laozi pointed out, “The sage has no constant heart-mind; he takes the heart-mind of the common people as his heart-mind.” Zhuangzi proposed, “The heart-mind of the sage is still, is it not? It is the mirror of Heaven and Earth, the glass of all things.” That is, through the cultivation of the heart-nature of the individual life, one can achieve a selfless heart-mind. Combining ancient Chinese thoughts such as “people-centeredness,” “the Dao follows what is natural,” and “the Great Harmony under Heaven,” under the contemporary background of Chinese-path modernization, taking the people as the foundation and pursuing the righteous path of the human world is to adhere to the people-centered stance of historical materialism and is a materialist practice for seeking the liberation of humanity. Second, the heart-mind should be made to belong to nature. The ancients believed that the “heart-mind” belongs to the central position of the Five Phases; “all things belonging to the heart-mind follow the heart-mind.” The “heart-mind” has the ontological function of governing the other four phases, that is, the “heart-mind” exists as the ontological being of the individual life, playing a guiding role in the behavior of the individual life. The “heart-mind” has transcended its functional aspect; the heart-mind generates emotions and thoughts, playing a role in understanding and transforming both the subjective and objective worlds. Wang Yangming believed that the “heart-mind” belongs to the “body,” and the “body” follows the “heart-mind.” It is precisely because the “heart-mind” has a governing function that people have the faculties of seeing, hearing, speaking, and acting. For this reason, “the original substance of the heart-mind” is “the life-principle of nature,” which can also be understood as the “true self,” i.e., the “authentic self.” “Enlightening wisdom” to “nourish the heart-mind” is to enable the “heart-mind” to transcend the “body,” so that the “heart-mind” becomes the “public heart-mind” and the “Dao-heart-mind,” rather than the “private heart-mind” and the “human heart-mind.” Not limited by time and space, the heart-mind endows the body with culture and soul, and can be an eternal existence, allowing the heart-mind to govern life with the attributes of the Dao of life, reaching a realm beyond time and space to pursue the ultimate concern of life.

所谓启智润心，就是要“用现实主义精神和浪漫主义情怀观照现实生活，用光明驱散黑暗，用美善战胜丑恶，让人们看到美好、看到希望，看到梦想就在前方”。首先，人要情寄于苍生。老子指出，“圣人无常心，以百姓心为心”；庄子提出，“圣人之心静乎，天地之鉴也，万物之镜也”，即通过生命个体的心性修养，做到具有无私之心。结合中国古代“民本”“道法自然”“天下大同”等思想，在中国式现代化建设这一时代背景下，以人民为本，追求人间正道，是坚持以人民为中心的唯物史观立场，是为人类谋求解放的唯物主义实践。其次，要让心归属自然。古人认为，“心”属五行中央，“凡心之属皆从心”，“心”具有统摄其余四行的本体性，即“心”是作为生命个体的本体存在，起到对生命个体行为的指导作用。“心”已超越其功能本身，心生发了情感、思想，起到了认识与改造主观世界和客观世界的作用。王阳明认为“心”属“身”，“身”又从于“心”，正是“心”具有主宰作用，才使人有视听言动之功，正因如此，“心之本体”就是“性之生理”，亦可理解为“真己”，即“本真之自我”。“启智”以“润心”，就是让“心”超越了“身”，使“心”成为“公心”“道心”，而非“私心”“人心”，不受时间与空间局限，心赋予躯体文化和灵魂，是可以永恒的存在，让心以生命之道的属性主宰人生，达到超时空的境界以追求人生的终极关怀。

The pursuit of “luminous heart-nature” first means living in accordance with the natural course of things with an optimistic attitude. External things such as life and death, fame and fortune, are not subject to human will. A meaningful and complete life is to clearly see the objective fact that the heart-mind determines things, not that things determine the human being. Only by getting rid of the troubles of “desire,” adhering to the “original heart-mind,” merging with nature, akin to the Daoist school’s “non-contention,” can one achieve spiritual freedom, obtain the value of one’s own life, and not be burdened by the mundane world. At the same time, a truly natural life must also explore the cultural attributes of the human being in real society. Only when the human being possesses cultural attributes can they create their own history; this is the truly natural life. This is precisely the greatest care that “the Second Integration” shows for the heart-nature. The richness of material things cannot prevent the human being from contemplating their own ontology and yearning for the spiritual world; the pursuit of the wholeness of life runs through from beginning to end. Chinese society is in a period of rapid transformation. The beliefs and morals that once supported the Chinese people are insufficient to solve the real, contemporary spiritual predicaments of the Chinese people. Therefore, the significance of “the Second Integration” for the individual lies in reshaping the individual’s spiritual world. To properly handle the dialectical relationship between matter and spirit, ideal and reality, it is necessary to construct a spiritual world consistent with the essence of socialism through the integration of Marxism and the excellent traditional Chinese culture, pursuing the ultimate existence and ultimate value of the human being as a “species-being.”

追求“心性光明”，首先是以乐观心态顺自然之势生活。生死、功名等外在事物不以人的意志为转移，有意义和圆满的生命，就是要看清心决定物而不是物决定人这一客观事实。只有摆脱“欲”的困扰、坚守“本心”、与自然融为一体，同道家所指的“不争”，进而实现精神上的自由，获得自身生命价值而不被世俗所累。同时，真正的自然人生还要在现实社会中探求人的文化属性，当人拥有了文化属性，才能创造自己的历史，才是真正的自然人生。这恰恰就是“第二个结合”对心性最大的关照。物质的丰富性无法阻止人对本体性的思考和对精神世界的向往，对生命整体性的追求贯穿始终。中国社会正处于急剧的转型期，过去支撑中国人的信仰和道德不足以解决现实的、当代的中国人之精神困境，由此，“第二个结合”对个体之意义在于重塑个体心灵世界。为了处理好物质与精神、理想与现实的辩证关系，就必须通过马克思主义、中华优秀传统文化相结合的方式构建与社会主义本质相一致的精神世界，追寻人作为“类”的终极存在和终极价值。

(Author bios: Qi Si, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor, School of Philosophy, Guizhou University; Li Yuan, Doctoral Candidate, School of Philosophy, Guizhou University)

（作者简介：漆思，贵州大学哲学学院教授博士生导师；李源，贵州大学哲学学院博士研究生）

Online editor: Jing Mu

网络编辑：静穆