Realizing the Integration of Marxist Philosophy with China’s Excellent Traditional Philosophy

The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC points out: “Only by integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese culture, and by adhering to the application of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, can we correctly answer the major questions posed by the times and by practice, and can we always maintain the vibrant vitality and exuberant vigor of Marxism.” Realizing the integration of Marxist philosophy with China’s excellent traditional philosophy is the fundamental requirement for integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with the best of traditional Chinese culture, and it is the necessary path for advancing the adaptation of Marxist philosophy to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

党的二十大报告指出：“只有把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合，坚持运用辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义，才能正确回答时代和实践提出的重大问题，才能始终保持马克思主义的蓬勃生机和旺盛活力”。实现马克思主义哲学与中国优秀传统哲学相结合，是马克思主义基本原理与中华优秀传统文化相结合的根本要求，是推进马克思主义哲学中国化时代化的必由之路。

I

一

Realizing the creative transformation and innovative development of China’s excellent traditional philosophy, integrating it with the basic tenets of Marxist philosophy, and innovatively developing a Sinicized and epochal Marxist philosophy are determined by the characteristics of conceptual culture. The culture of conceptual forms possesses relative independence in its existence and development. Traditional Chinese culture investigates the relationship between heaven and man, comprehends the changes from ancient to modern times, emphasizes human ethics and daily life, esteems dialectical thinking, and pursues the ideal of great harmony [1]1 “Great harmony” (datong) is a classical Confucian ideal of a just, peaceful, and communal society, described in the *Book of Rites* (Liji).; it shares points of convergence and compatibility with Marxism. On the basis of adhering to the integration of the basic tenets of Marxist philosophy with China’s specific realities, and further integrating Marxist philosophy with China’s excellent traditional philosophy, constructing and developing a Sinicized and epochal Marxist philosophy is of great significance for continuously opening up new horizons in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, advancing Chinese-path modernization, constructing the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, developing Marxism, and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics.

实现中国优秀传统哲学创造性转化与创新性发展，将其与马克思主义哲学基本原理结合起来，创新发展中国化时代化的马克思主义哲学，是由观念文化的特性决定的。观念形态的文化，其存在和发展具有相对的独立性。中国传统文化究天人之际，通古今之变，注重人伦日用，崇尚辩证思维，追求大同理想，与马克思主义具有相通契合之处。在坚持把马克思主义哲学基本原理同中国具体实际相结合的基础上，进而把马克思主义哲学与中国优秀传统哲学相结合，建构、发展中国化时代化的马克思主义哲学，对于不断开辟马克思主义中国化时代化新境界，推进中国式现代化，建构中华民族现代文明，发展马克思主义，发展中国特色社会主义，具有重要意义。

Marxist philosophy is the theoretical foundation of the entire scientific system of Marxism, and China’s excellent traditional philosophy is the essence of the best of traditional Chinese culture. The integration of Marxist philosophy with China’s specific realities means applying the Marxist worldview and methodology to study and solve the practical problems of Chinese society and Chinese practice, forming theoretical results that conform to objective reality and objective laws, in order to guide Chinese practice, and on the basis of summarizing the experience of Chinese practice, advancing the adaptation of Marxist philosophy to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, thereby enriching and developing Marxist philosophy. The integration of Marxist philosophy with China’s excellent philosophical tradition means fusing the basic theories, viewpoints, and methods of Marxist philosophy with the fundamental spirit, modes of thinking, and value concepts of China’s excellent traditional philosophy, thereby not only endowing Marxist philosophy with a deep national cultural foundation and a distinct Chinese style and manner, but also realizing the creative transformation, innovative development, and revolutionary sublimation of China’s excellent traditional philosophy, incorporating those concepts, categories, propositions, ideas, and thoughts that endure through the ages and still possess positive significance into the ideological system of Marxist philosophy, making them compatible with the development of modern society and the trends of civilizational progress. Marxist philosophy and China’s excellent traditional philosophy move toward each other and mutually achieve each other. Marxist philosophy promotes and facilitates the modern transformation of China’s excellent traditional philosophy, while China’s excellent traditional philosophy enriches and nourishes Marxist philosophy, endowing it with a distinct Chinese style and Chinese manner, and forming a Sinicized and epochal modern philosophical form.

马克思主义哲学是整个马克思主义科学体系的理论基础，中国优秀传统哲学是中华优秀传统文化的精髓。马克思主义哲学与中国具体实际相结合，就是要运用马克思主义的世界观和方法论研究、解决中国社会与中国实践中的实际问题，形成符合客观实际、客观规律的理论成果，以指导中国实践，并在总结中国实践经验的基础上推进马克思主义哲学中国化时代化，丰富和发展马克思主义哲学。马克思主义哲学与中国优秀哲学传统相结合，就是要把马克思主义哲学的基本理论、观点与方法同中国优秀传统哲学的基本精神、思维方式、价值观念融通起来，既赋予马克思主义哲学以深厚的民族文化根基、鲜明的中国作风气派，又实现中国优秀传统哲学的创造性转化、创新性发展、革命性升华，将那些历久弥新的、仍具有积极意义的概念、范畴、命题、观念、思想纳入马克思主义哲学的思想体系，使之与现代社会发展、文明进步潮流相适应。马克思主义哲学与中国优秀传统哲学是双向趋赴、互相成就的。马克思主义哲学推动、促进了中国优秀传统哲学的现代转型，中国优秀传统哲学充实、滋养了马克思主义哲学，使之具有鲜明的中国风格与中国气派，形成了中国化时代化的现代哲学形态。

The relationship between Marxist philosophy and China’s excellent traditional philosophy, with respect to a Sinicized and epochal Marxist philosophy, is one of theoretical source and ideological nourishment, of inheritance, development, reference, and borrowing. Mao Zedong pointed out: “Today’s China is a development of historical China; we are Marxist historicists, and we should not cut off history. From Confucius to Sun Yat-sen, we should sum it up and inherit this precious legacy.” [2]2 Mao Zedong, “The Role of the Chinese Communist Party in the National War” (October 1938), *Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung*, Vol. II. In a speech during the sixth collective study session of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee on June 30, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that adhering to the soul and root of Marxism and the best of traditional Chinese culture is the foundation and prerequisite for theoretical innovation. We must unswervingly uphold Marxism, the foundation of the Party’s governance and the nation’s rejuvenation; unswervingly adhere to developing Marxism by taking root in the fertile historical and cultural soil of our country and nation without stopping; use Marxism to activate the vital and excellent factors in the best of traditional Chinese culture and endow them with new contemporary connotations; inject the great spirit and rich wisdom of the Chinese nation into Marxism at a deeper level; and effectively integrate the essence of Marxist thought with the cream of the best of traditional Chinese culture. “Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology for the establishment of the Party and the governance of the country, and it is the soul and banner of our Party.” The theoretical foundation of Marxism is precisely Marxist philosophy, the scientific worldview and methodology that run through it; the best of traditional Chinese culture is the foundation for our adherence to and development of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the construction of the modern civilization of the Chinese nation. China’s excellent traditional philosophy, as the worldview, view of history, view of life, values, and methodology formed and adhered to by the Chinese nation over the long course of historical development and still possessing vitality and progressiveness today, is the essence of the best of traditional Chinese culture and the deepest, most fundamental, most refined, and most nourishing ideological and cultural soil for adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. “‘The integration’ results in mutual achievement, creating an organically unified new cultural life-form, making Marxism Chinese and the best of traditional Chinese culture modern, and making the new culture formed through ‘integration’ the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization.” Between Marxist philosophy and Chinese traditional philosophy, it is not that traditional philosophy gestated and gave rise to Marxist philosophy, but rather that Chinese practice under the guidance of Marxist philosophy revived Chinese traditional philosophy and endowed it with new life. The integration of Marxist philosophy with China’s excellent traditional philosophy is to transform traditional philosophy with Marxist philosophy, fusing the basic theories, viewpoints, and methods of Marxist philosophy with the fundamental spirit, modes of thinking, and value concepts of China’s excellent traditional philosophy.

马克思主义哲学与中国优秀传统哲学之于中国化时代化的马克思主义哲学，是理论来源与思想滋养、继承发展与吸收借鉴的关系。毛泽东指出：“今天的中国是历史的中国的一个发展；我们是马克思主义的历史主义者，我们不应当割断历史。从孔夫子到孙中山，我们应当给以总结，承继这一份珍贵的遗产。”2023年6月30日，习近平总书记在主持中共中央政治局第六次集体学习时的讲话中指出，坚守好马克思主义和中华优秀传统文化这个魂脉和根脉，是理论创新的基础和前提。我们必须坚持马克思主义这个立党立国、兴党兴国之本不动摇，坚持植根本国、本民族历史文化沃土发展马克思主义不停步，用马克思主义激活中华优秀传统文化中富有生命力的优秀因子并赋予新的时代内涵，将中华民族的伟大精神和丰富智慧更深层次地注入马克思主义，有效把马克思主义思想精髓同中华优秀传统文化精华贯通起来。“马克思主义是我们立党立国的根本指导思想，是我们党的灵魂和旗帜。”马克思主义的理论基础，就是马克思主义哲学，就是贯穿其中的科学的世界观和方法论；中华优秀传统文化是我们坚持和发展中国特色社会主义、建设中华民族现代文明的根基，中国优秀传统哲学作为中华民族在漫长历史发展过程中形成和信守的、在今日仍然具有生命力和进步性的世界观历史观人生观价值观方法论，是中华优秀传统文化的精髓，是马克思主义中国化时代化的最深刻、最根本、最精粹、最富滋养的思想文化土壤。“‘结合’的结果是互相成就，造就了一个有机统一的新的文化生命体，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。”在马克思主义哲学与中国传统哲学之间，不是传统哲学孕育、催生了马克思主义哲学，而是马克思主义哲学指导下的中国实践复兴了中国传统哲学，赋予中国传统哲学新的生命。马克思主义哲学与中国优秀传统哲学相结合，是以马克思主义哲学改造传统哲学，把马克思主义哲学基本的理论、观点与方法同中国优秀传统哲学的基本精神、思维方式、价值观念融通起来。

Integrating Marxist philosophy with China’s excellent traditional philosophy takes Marxist philosophy as the subject, the leading force, and the guide. In October 1938, in his report at the Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the CPC [3]3 The Sixth Plenary Session of the Sixth Central Committee of the CPC (September–November 1938) was a key meeting that affirmed Mao Zedong’s leadership and the line of the united front during the War of Resistance Against Japan., Mao Zedong put forward two major learning tasks: to study the theory of Marxism-Leninism universally and deeply, and to use Marxist methods to criticize, summarize, and learn from historical heritage. In *On New Democracy*, Mao Zedong pointed out: “Clearing up the development process of ancient culture, discarding its feudal dross, and absorbing its democratic essence is a necessary condition for developing a new national culture and enhancing national self-confidence; but it must never be accepted uncritically without discrimination. We must distinguish between all the decadent things of the ancient feudal ruling class and the excellent ancient popular culture, that is, those elements with a certain democratic and revolutionary character.” [4]4 Mao Zedong, *On New Democracy* (January 1940), *Selected Works of Mao Tse-tung*, Vol. II. Studying and researching Marxist philosophy, and studying and researching China’s excellent traditional philosophy, are two tasks for Chinese Communists in leading the people to advance Chinese-path modernization, and also two tasks for philosophical workers. Among these two tasks, the former is the fundamental prerequisite and guide. The relationship between Marxist philosophy and China’s excellent traditional philosophy is not one of parallel coexistence and mutual adaptation; Marxist philosophy does not accept Chinese traditional philosophy indiscriminately, good and bad alike, nor does it worship it as infallible and unquestionable, nor does it unconditionally revere and protect it. Rather, it regards the excellent achievements of Chinese traditional philosophy as useful material for examination, rumination, criticism, absorption, and reference. Based on the needs of the times, rooted in Chinese practice, and applying the theories, viewpoints, and methods of Marxist philosophy, it carries out sorting, research, criticism, reference, transformation, conversion, innovation, and development of traditional philosophy, “truly making the past serve the present, making foreign things serve China, making a dialectical selection, discarding the old and creating the new, and realizing the organic connection between tradition and modernity.” [5]5 This phrase is a standard formulation in CPC cultural policy, combining the slogans “make the past serve the present” and “make foreign things serve China” with the principle of “discarding the old and creating the new.”

把马克思主义哲学与中国优秀传统哲学相结合，是以马克思主义哲学为主体、主导、指导的。1938年10月,毛泽东在党的六届六中全会上的报告中提出了普遍地深入地研究马克思列宁主义理论以及运用马克思主义的方法批判、总结、学习历史遗产两大学习任务。在《新民主主义论》中，毛泽东指出：“清理古代文化的发展过程，剔除其封建性糟粕，吸收其民主性精华，是发展民族新文化提高民族自信心的必要条件；但是决不能无批判地兼收并蓄。必须将古代封建统治阶级的一切腐朽的东西和古代优秀的人民文化即多少带有民主性和革命性的东西区别开来。”学习、研究马克思主义哲学与学习、研究中华优秀传统哲学，是中国共产党人在领导人民推进中国式现代化过程中的两个任务，也是哲学工作者的两个任务。在这两个任务中，是以前者为根本前提与指导的。马克思主义哲学与中国优秀传统哲学不是一种平行并列、相互适应的关系，马克思主义哲学对于中国传统哲学不是不分良莠、全盘接受，不是奉若神明、不可质疑，不是无条件地敬畏、呵护，而是要把中国传统哲学的优秀成果作为一种审视、反刍、批判、吸收、借鉴的有益材料来看待，基于时代需要，立足中国实践，运用马克思主义哲学的理论、观点与方法，对传统哲学进行清理、研究、批判、借鉴、改造、转换、创新、发展，“真正做到古为今用、洋为中用、辩证取舍、推陈出新，实现传统与现代的有机衔接”。

II

二

Over the course of its long development, the Chinese nation has created, accumulated, forged, and transmitted an excellent traditional philosophy characterized by people-centeredness, scientificity, progressiveness, openness, equality, universality, and commonality. This excellent traditional philosophy transcends specific economic, political, and social environments, transcends particular historical time and space, and possesses enduring and universal significance and value. We must draw upon, learn from, and promote the essences of the Chinese traditional philosophical outlook on the cosmos, on change, on knowing and doing, on history, on ecology, on values, and on life that are compatible with modern society, consistent with the trends of the times, and in harmony with the inner spirit of Marxist philosophy, so as to serve the construction of a new civilization for the Chinese nation and the advancement of Chinese-path modernization.

中华民族在漫长的发展历程中，创造、积淀、熔铸、传续了具有人民性、科学性、进步性、开放性、平等性、普适性、共同性的优秀传统哲学，这种优秀传统哲学超越了特定的经济、政治、社会环境，超越了特定的历史时空，具有长久的、普遍的意义与价值。我们要汲取、借鉴、弘扬中国传统哲学的宇宙观、变易观、知行观、历史观、生态观、价值观、人生观中与现代社会相适应、与时代潮流相一致，与马克思主义哲学内在精神相契合的精华，为中华民族新文明建设和中国式现代化建设服务。

(I) The Chinese Traditional Philosophical Outlook on the Cosmos

（一）中国传统哲学的宇宙观

Ancient Chinese philosophy used primordial qi (vital energy) to explain the origin of the cosmos. In the pre-Qin period, the *Laozi* [6]6 The *Laozi* (also known as the *Daodejing*) is a foundational text of Daoist philosophy, traditionally attributed to Laozi (6th century BCE). regarded qi as the material constituting heaven, earth, and the myriad things: “The Way gives birth to the One; the One gives birth to the Two; the Two give birth to the Three; the Three give birth to the myriad things. The myriad things bear yin and embrace yang, and through the blending of qi they achieve harmony” (*Laozi*, Chapter 42). The *Guanzi* [7]7 The *Guanzi* is a collection of early Chinese philosophical texts attributed to Guan Zhong (720–645 BCE), a statesman of the Qi state, covering political, economic, and cosmological ideas. put forward the theory of “essential qi”: “As for the essence of all things, when it is united, life is produced. Below, it generates the five grains; above, it forms the arrayed stars. Flowing between heaven and earth, it is called ghosts and spirits; stored in the breast, it is called sages. Therefore, this qi, bright as if ascending to heaven, dim as if entering the abyss, vast as if in the sea, and abrupt as if within oneself” (*Guanzi*, “Inner Undertakings”). Xunzi held that the interaction of the two forces of yin and yang within qi leads to the generation of the myriad things and their movement and change: “Heaven and earth unite and the myriad things are born; yin and yang connect and changes arise” (*Xunzi*, “Discourse on Ritual Principles”). During the Han dynasties, people used a primordial, infinite, undifferentiated, and holistic qi to explain the generation of the cosmos and the changes of heaven, earth, and the myriad things. The *Huainanzi* [8]8 The *Huainanzi* is an eclectic philosophical work compiled under the patronage of Liu An, King of Huainan (179–122 BCE), synthesizing Daoist, Confucian, Legalist, and other schools. of the Western Han believed that within primordial qi there were two types of qi: clear and light, and heavy and turbid; the clear and light formed heaven, the heavy and turbid formed earth, and the union of heaven and earth’s essences then generated the four seasons and the myriad things. Wang Chong of the Eastern Han held that “heaven and earth unite qi, and the myriad things are spontaneously born,” “the birth of the myriad things all receive primordial qi,” and “the death of the myriad things all return to primordial qi” (*Lunheng*, “Spontaneity”). Liu Zongyuan of the Tang dynasty believed that the cosmos has no beginning or end, no boundaries, and that its self-motion and self-rest, self-standing and self-flowing, are all results of the self-movement of primordial qi. Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism [9]9 Song-Ming Neo-Confucianism refers to a revival of Confucian thought from the 11th to 17th centuries that integrated metaphysical speculation on principle (li) and material force (qi), with major figures including Zhu Xi and Wang Yangming. combined the issue of cosmic generation with that of substance (ontology) for reflection and explanation, forming a theory of primordial qi as substance. Zhang Zai held that principle (li) resides in qi, and the Way (dao) resides in concrete things (qi); one cannot speak of principle apart from qi, nor of the Way apart from concrete things. Whether it is substance or emptiness, all is filled with one qi: “The Great Void cannot lack qi; qi cannot but condense to form the myriad things, and the myriad things cannot but disperse to return to the Great Void” (*Zhengmeng*, “The Great Harmony”). Fang Yizhi of the Ming-Qing transition integrated science and philosophy, starting from the “study of physical measurement” (physics) to explore the origin of the cosmos and its generation. He pointed out that emptiness and solidity are both qi, and that qi has four states (ji): qi, form, light, and sound. Although it undergoes changes in form, it neither dies nor decays, penetrating both emptiness and solidity. Wang Fuzhi held that apart from material qi, “there is nothing else” in the cosmos, and all things are “gathered from qi.”

中国古代哲学以元气来说明宇宙的本原。在先秦时期，《老子》一书将气作为构成天地万物的材料，“道生一，一生二，二生三，三生万物。万物负阴而抱阳，冲气以为和”（《老子》四十二章）。《管子》提出“精气”说：“凡物之精，此（比）则为生。下生物谷，上为列星。流于天地之间，谓之鬼神；藏于胸中，谓之圣人；是故民（名）气，杲乎如登于天，杳乎如入于渊，淖乎如在于海，卒乎如在于己”（《管子·内业》）。荀子认为气的内部阴阳两种力量的交互作用，导致万物的产生及其运动变化，“天地合而万物生，阴阳接而变化起”（《荀子·礼论》）。两汉时期，人们用原始、无限、浑然一体的总体性的元气来说明宇宙的生成与天地万物的变化。西汉的《淮南子》认为元气中有清阳、重浊两种气，清阳者为天，重浊者为地，天地合精又生成了四时、万物。东汉的王充认为“天地合气，万物自生”，“万物之生，皆禀元气”，“万物之死，皆归元气”（《论衡·自然》）。唐代的柳宗元认为宇宙无始无终、无边无际，自动自休，自峙自流，都是元气自我运动的结果。宋明理学将宇宙生成问题与本体问题结合起来进行思考和阐释，形成了元气本体论思想。张载认为理在气中，道在器中，不能离气言理、离器言道。无论是实体，还是虚空，都是一气充盈的，“太虚不能无气，气不能不聚而为万物，万物不能不散而为太虚”（《正蒙·太和》）。明清之际的方以智，则把科学与哲学结合起来，从“质测之学”（物理学）入手，探讨宇宙本原及其生成问题，指出虚实皆气，气有气、形、光、声“四几”（状态），其尽管有形态变化，但不死不坏、贯通虚实。王夫之认为宇宙中除了物质之气，“更无他物”，一切事物“皆气所聚”。

Chinese traditional philosophy, proceeding from the idea that the cosmos is one qi in great transformation and flux, explored the relationship between heaven and humanity. It held that humans and the myriad things are born by receiving the virtue of heaven and earth, that humans and heaven are interconnected, and that the Way of heaven and the Way of humanity are consistent. The *Doctrine of the Mean* [10]10 The *Doctrine of the Mean* (*Zhongyong*) is a Confucian classic, originally a chapter of the *Book of Rites*, traditionally attributed to Zisi (grandson of Confucius), emphasizing centrality and harmony. states: “Sincerity is the Way of heaven; to attain sincerity is the Way of humanity.” By understanding the Way of heaven and acting in accordance with it, one can reach a state of unity with heaven and participate in and assist its transformative and nurturing processes. The Laozi-Zhuangzi Daoist school believed that heaven has its own laws and nature, that heaven and humanity do not overcome each other, and that humans can only follow nature, not destroy it with human action. Xunzi, on the other hand, advocated “distinguishing between the functions of heaven and humanity” and “mastering the mandate of heaven and using it” (*Xunzi*, “Discourse on Heaven”). On one hand, this means “heaven and humanity are separate,” each having its own laws and responsibilities; humans cannot change the Way of heaven, nor can the Way of heaven interfere in human affairs. On the other hand, it means “heaven and humanity participate with each other”; humans can understand and apply the laws of nature to “master the mandate” and “regulate the myriad things.” Liu Zongyuan of the Tang emphasized that heaven and humanity do not interfere with each other; heaven cannot reward or punish humans, and human merits, faults, blessings, and calamities cannot be attributed to heaven. Liu Yuxi proposed that heaven and humanity “mutually overcome and mutually use each other,” being both distinct and interactive. Wang Fuzhi of the Ming-Qing transition believed that heaven and humanity have unity within separation and separation within unity; humans can understand the Way of heaven and serve heaven by following the Way. The ancient Chinese theory of primordial qi as substance and the outlook on the cosmos laid the theoretical foundation of Chinese traditional philosophy and played an important role in shaping the Chinese nation’s profound, vigorous, resilient, and upward spiritual temperament.

中国传统哲学从宇宙一气、大化流行来探讨天人关系问题，认为人与万物禀受天地之德以生，人与天是相通的、天道与人道是一致的。《中庸》说“诚者，天之道也；诚之者，人之道也”。认识天道，循道而行，就能达到与天为一、参赞化育的境界。老庄道家则认为天有自身的规律和本性，天与人不相胜，人只能顺从自然，而不能以人灭天。荀子则主张“明于天人之分”“制天命而用之”（《荀子·天论》），一方面是“天人相分”，各有自己的规律与职责；人不能改变天道，天道也不能干预人事；另一方面是“天人相参”，人能够认识、运用自然规律，以“制天命”“裁万物”。唐代柳宗元强调天与人不相干预，天不能赏罚人，人的功过祸福也不能归之于天。刘禹锡提出天人“交相胜，还相用”，其既相互区别，又相互作用。明清之际的王夫之认为天与人合中有分、分中有合，人可认识天道、以道事天。中国古代的元气本体论和宇宙观，奠定了中国传统哲学的理论根基，并对塑造中华民族深沉、刚健、坚韧、向上的精神气质，发生了重要作用。

(II) The Chinese Traditional Philosophical Outlook on Change

（二）中国传统哲学的变易观

Chinese traditional philosophy holds that contradictions exist universally and that contradictions give rise to change and development. Shi Mo of the Spring and Autumn period [11]11 Shi Mo was a historian of the state of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period (770–476 BCE), known for his dialectical observations on political change. believed that “things are born with duality”; the *Laozi* enumerates phenomena such as strength and weakness, hardness and softness, nobility and baseness, honor and disgrace, wisdom and foolishness, skill and clumsiness to prove the universality of contradiction; the *Yizhuan* (Commentaries on the *Book of Changes*) [12]12 The *Yizhuan* (Ten Wings) are a set of commentaries on the *Book of Changes* (*Yijing*), traditionally attributed to Confucius but likely compiled by later scholars, elaborating its cosmological and ethical implications. recognizes opposing aspects within a unity: “In change there is the Supreme Ultimate, which generates the Two Modes; the Two Modes generate the Four Images; the Four Images generate the Eight Trigrams” (*Xici*, Part I). Cheng Hao and Cheng Yi of the Northern Song clearly stated: “The principle of all things under heaven is that nothing exists alone without its opposite” (*Surviving Works of the Cheng Brothers*, Chapter 11). The two sides of a contradiction arise simultaneously and depend on each other for existence: “Qian and Kun are established together, with no temporal priority,” “There is no day with Qian but without Kun, and no day with Kun but without Qian” (Wang Fuzhi, *Commentary on the Book of Changes*, Outer Commentary, Chapter 6). Contradictions exist universally, and contradictions give rise to movement. “Heaven and earth interact, and the myriad things are transformed and generated” (*Xian Hexagram*, *Tuanzhuan*). “Heaven and earth intermingle, and the myriad things are transformed and completed; male and female unite their essences, and the myriad things are transformed and generated” (*Xici*, Part II). The fundamental cause of the generation and change of things lies in their internal contradictions; the myriad things of heaven and earth “move and rest of themselves, stand and flow of themselves” (Liu Zongyuan, *Response to Heaven*). “All round-and-turning things move necessarily by a mechanism. Since it is called a mechanism, their movement does not come from outside” (Zhang Zai, *Zhengmeng*, “The Two and the One”). The “mechanism” here refers to the mutual stimulation and response of the two sides of a contradiction within a thing. Wang Fuzhi believed that “the myriad changes under heaven ultimately return to two ends” (*Elaboration on the Laozi*) and “within one qi, once the two ends arise, they rub and agitate each other, and change is inexhaustible” (*Commentary on Zhang Zai’s Zhengmeng*, “The Great Harmony”).

中国传统哲学认为矛盾普遍存在，矛盾引起变化发展。春秋时期的史墨认为“物生有两”；《老子》历数强弱、刚柔、贵贱、荣辱、智愚、巧拙等现象证明矛盾的普遍存在;《易传》把矛盾着的对立面放在一个统一体中来认识:“易有太极,是生两仪,两仪生四象,四象生八卦”（《系辞上传》)。北宋的程颢、程颐明确指出：“天地万物之理，无独必有对”（《二程遗书》卷十一）。矛盾双方同时产生、相依而存，“乾坤并建，时无先后”，“无有乾而无坤之一日，无有坤而无乾之一日”（王夫之：《周易外传》卷六）。矛盾普遍存在，矛盾引起运动。“天地感而万物化生”（《咸卦·彖传》）。“天地絪缊，万物化醇，男女构精，万物化生”（《系辞下传》）。事物生成变化的根本原因是由于它的内部矛盾，天地万物“自动自休，自峙自流”（柳宗元：《天对》）。“凡圜转之物，动必有机。既谓之机，则动非自外也”（张载:《正蒙·参两》）。这里的“机”，就是事物内部矛盾双方的相感相应。王夫之认为“天下之变万，要归于二端”（《老子衍》），“一气之内，二端既肇，摩之荡之，而变化无穷”（《张子正蒙注·太和》）。

The movement, change, and development of things caused by the opposition and interdependence of the two sides of a contradiction are endless. The *Yizhuan* states: “In change, when things reach an extreme, they change; when they change, they become unobstructed; when they become unobstructed, they endure” and “The great virtue of heaven and earth is generation” (*Xici*, Part II). Wang Fuzhi said: “The virtue of heaven and earth does not change, but the transformation of heaven and earth is renewed daily” (*Notes on Pondering Questions*, Outer Section). Inexhaustible change and ceaseless generation are the nature of things. The change and development of things is a process of “inner completion, which is self-completion through penetration” and “outer generation, which is change that gives birth to the other” (*Commentary on the Book of Changes*, Outer Commentary, Chapter 5). The entire cosmos is thus ceaselessly generating and renewing daily. If one “clings to old things and cannot renew daily,” things will wither and become rigid; if one adapts to the times, cleanses the old and brings forth the new, things will have a bright future (*Notes on Pondering Questions*, Outer Section).

矛盾双方的对立互依所引起的事物的运动变化发展是无止境的。《易传》说“易，穷则变，变则通，通则久”“天地之大德曰生”（《系辞下传》）。王夫之说“天地之德不易，而天地之化日新”（《思问录·外篇》）。变化无穷、生生不息是事物的本性。事物的变化发展是一个由“内成，通而自成”而“外生，变而生彼”（《周易外传》卷五）的过程。整个宇宙就是这样生生不已、变化日新，若“守其故物而不能日新”，事物就会枯萎僵化；若顺时应变，涤旧致新，事物就会有光明的前程（《思问录·外篇》）。

(III) The Chinese Traditional Philosophical Outlook on Knowing and Doing

（三）中国传统哲学的知行观

Chinese traditional philosophy divides human cognition into knowledge from hearing and seeing and knowledge from reflection and deliberation. Knowledge from hearing and seeing is acquired through learning and doing; knowledge from reflection and deliberation is acquired through thinking and reasoning. The human sense organs can perceive, and the mind can think, that is, “the office of the mind is to think” (Mencius, Gaozi I). The various sense organs can perceive different objects, i.e., “the heavenly organs register their kinds,” and the mind can select, distinguish, analyze, synthesize, compare, and verify sensory experience, i.e., “the mind has verifying cognition.” And “the mind has verifying cognition” is based on and presupposes “the heavenly organs register their kinds.” “For verifying cognition, one can rely on the ear to know sound, and on the eye to know form. Yet verifying cognition must await the heavenly organs’ appropriate registration of their kinds, and then it is possible” (Xunzi, On the Rectification of Names). Chinese traditional philosophy advocates investigating things to extend knowledge, proceeding from hearing and seeing to reflection and deliberation, from the perceptual to the rational. Cognition originates in sensory experience: “If there were no hearing and seeing, then there would be nothing to describe” (Lunheng, On Knowing the Actual). On this basis, one must also open the mind, use the mind to trace things to their source, and through the thinking function of the mind, discover the connections among things, moving from knowing the actual to obtaining actual knowledge. The modern enlightenment thinker Yan Fu divided cognition into original knowledge (perceptual knowledge) and inferential knowledge, emphasizing the need to start from actual experience and draw conclusions through induction and deduction. The human cognitive process is a process based on practice, moving from perceptual knowledge to rational knowledge, and then from rational knowledge to practice. Knowing and doing, cognition and practice, are the basic issues of epistemology. Chinese traditional philosophy, oriented toward governing the country and benefiting the people, and toward human relations and daily affairs, has taken the study and elucidation of the relationship between knowing and doing as one of its core issues. Its main aspects are as follows: First, the issue of the difficulty or ease of knowing and doing. The “Charge to Yue” in the Book of Documents states, “It is not the knowing that is difficult, but the doing,” emphasizing the difficulty and importance of doing. Sun Yat-sen took “knowing is difficult, doing is easy” and “if one knows, one can certainly do” as important foundations of his doctrine. Second, the issue of the priority of knowing or doing. The Southern Song Neo-Confucian Zhu Xi advocated the priority of knowing over doing, holding that “the sages and worthies teach people to first exhaustively investigate principle, and then to exert effort in practice to complete it” (Collected Literary Works of Zhu Xi, juan 54). But knowing and doing are also interdependent; their order of priority cannot be absolutized. Wang Fuzhi, on the other hand, advocated the priority of doing over knowing, holding that knowledge not obtained from doing lacks foundation and is not true knowledge. Third, the issue of the weight (root and branch) of knowing and doing. Ancient Chinese thinkers were basically advocates of the importance of doing. Confucius said, “The gentleman is ashamed when his words exceed his deeds” (Analects, Xianwen). “The gentleman desires to be slow in speech but quick in action” (Analects, Liren). Xunzi said, “Not hearing is not as good as hearing; hearing is not as good as seeing; seeing is not as good as knowing; knowing is not as good as doing. Learning reaches its end when it is put into practice. … Therefore, hearing without seeing, though broad, will be erroneous; seeing without knowing, though recognized, will be false; knowing without doing, though substantial, will be trapped” (Xunzi, The Achievements of the Ru). Zhu Xi also said, “Regarding the extension of knowledge and the exertion of effort, when discussing their order, one should indeed take the extension of knowledge as primary; but when discussing their weight, one should take the exertion of effort as weighty” (Collected Works of Zhu Xi, juan 50). Fourth, the issue of the separation or unity of knowing and doing. Zhu Xi held that knowing and doing mutually require and stimulate each other, like eyes without feet cannot walk, and feet without eyes cannot see: “The clearer the knowing, the more steadfast the doing; the more steadfast the doing, the clearer the knowing” (Classified Conversations of Zhu Xi, juan 14); “The more forceful the doing, the more advanced the knowing; the deeper the knowing, the more accomplished the doing” (Reply to Pan Zishan, Collected Literary Works of Zhu Xi, juan 60). Wang Yangming, dissatisfied with the trend of valuing knowing over doing and having empty knowing without doing, vigorously advocated the unity of knowing and doing, unifying moral cognition and moral practice. “I now speak of the unity of knowing and doing precisely to make people understand that the moment a thought arises, it is already action. If an unwholesome thought arises, one must overcome this unwholesome thought” (Instructions for Practical Living, Part II). “The genuine and substantial aspect of knowing is doing; the clear and discerning aspect of doing is knowing” (Instructions for Practical Living, Part I). But he also fell into the error of substituting knowing for doing and dissolving doing into knowing. Wang Fuzhi held that knowing and doing interpenetrate and contain each other; there is doing in knowing, and knowing in doing; one cannot say that one thing is knowing and not doing, and another thing is doing and not knowing. But one cannot substitute doing for knowing, nor substitute knowing for doing. Furthermore, regarding the criterion for testing cognition, Mozi advocated “establishing standards for speech” and proposed the “three standards method”: “tracing back to the deeds of the ancient sage-kings” (the indirect experience of predecessors), “examining below the actual experience of the common people” (the direct experience of the people), and “applying it as laws and government to see whether it benefits the state and the people” (see Mozi, Against Fate I).

中国传统哲学将人的认识分为闻见之知和思虑之知。闻见之知通过学习、做事获得；思虑之知通过思考、推理获得。人的感官能感知，心官能思考，即“心之官则思”（《孟子·告子上》）。各种感官能感知不同的对象即“天官薄类”，心官能够对于感觉经验进行取舍、辨别、分析、综合、对比、验证，即“心有征知”。而“心有征知”是以“天官薄类”为根据、前提的。“征知，则缘耳而知声可也，缘目而知形可也。然而征知必将待天官之当簿其类，然后可也”（《荀子·正名》）。中国传统哲学主张格物致知，由闻见而思虑，由感性到理性。认识起源于感觉经验，“如无闻见，则无所状”（《论衡·实知》）。在此基础上，还要开心意，以心原物，经过心官的思考作用，发现事物间的联系，从知实而获得实知。近代启蒙思想家严复把认识分为元知（感性认识）和推知，强调要从实际经验出发，通过归纳、演绎得出结论。人的认识过程是以实践为基础的由感性认识到理性认识、再由理性认识到实践的过程。知和行、认识和实践，是认识论的基本问题。以经国济世、人伦日用为取向的中国传统哲学，更是把知行关系的研究与阐发作为核心问题之一。其主要有以下几个方面：一是关于知行难易问题。《尚书·说命中》讲“非知之艰，行之惟艰”，强调行的困难和重要性。孙中山则把“知难行易”“知必能行”作为其学说的重要基础。二是关于知行先后问题。南宋理学家朱熹主张知先行后，认为“圣贤教人，必以穷理为先，而力行以终之”（《朱文公文集》卷五十四）。但知与行又是相互依赖的，不能将其先后次序绝对化。王夫之则主张行先知后，不是从行中得到的知是缺乏根据的，不是真正的知识。三是关于知行轻重（本末）问题。中国古代的思想家基本上都是重行论者。孔子说“君子耻其言之过其行也”（《论语·宪问》）。“君子欲讷于言而敏于行”（《论语·里仁》）。荀子讲“不闻不若闻之，闻之不不若见之，见之不若知之，知之不若行之，学至于行而止矣。……故闻之而不见，虽博必谬；见之而不知，虽识必妄；知之而不行，虽敦必困”（《荀子·儒效》）。朱熹也说：“致知力行，论其先后，固当以致知为先，然论其轻重，则当以力行为重”（《朱子文集》卷五十）。四是关于知行分合问题。朱熹认为知行相须互发，如目无足不行，足无目不见，“知之愈明，则行之愈笃；行之愈笃，则知之益明”（《朱子语类》卷十四）；“行之力，则知愈进；知之深，则行愈达”（《答潘子善》，《朱文公文集》卷六十）。王阳明不满重知轻行、空知无行的风气，力主知行合一，将道德认知和道德践履统一起来。“我今说个知行合一，正要人晓得一念发动处，便即是行了。发动处有不善，就将这不善的念克倒了”（《传习录下》）。“知之真切笃实处即是行，行之明觉精察处即是知”（《传习录》中）。但他又陷入了以知代行、销行归知的误区。王夫之认为，知与行互渗互含，知中有行，行中有知，不能说一件事是知而非行，一件事是行而非知。但不能以行代替知，也不能以知代替行。此外，关于检验认识的标准，墨子主张“言必立仪”（标准），提出“三表法”，即“上本之于古者圣王之事”（前人的间接经验），“下原察百姓耳目之实”（百姓的直接经验），“废（发）以为刑政，观其中国家百姓之利”（参见《墨子·非命上》）。

(IV) The View of History in Chinese Traditional Philosophy

（四）中国传统哲学的历史观

How to view the people and treat the people is an important issue in the historical outlook of traditional Chinese philosophy. Ancient Chinese thinkers and statesmen deeply pondered the relationship between the ruler, the state, and the popular will, perceiving the immense power of the masses and forming a people-oriented thought that emphasized valuing the people, winning them over, benefiting them, and protecting them. First, they valued the people over spirits and saw Heaven through the people. The rulers of the Xia dynasty, to maintain their dominance, fabricated the myth that they were mandated by Heaven, proclaiming “the Xia received Heaven’s mandate” (The Book of Documents, “Announcement of the Duke of Shao”). The Shang dynasty, which replaced the Xia, claimed to be descendants of the Supreme Deity: “The Deity established a son and gave birth to Shang” (The Book of Songs, “Hymns of Shang”). The Zhou dynasty used Heaven’s mandate and will to explain the acquisition and transfer of political power, asserting that the Shang lost the state because they violated Heaven’s mandate, while the Zhou replaced the Shang because they complied with it. At the same time, the defection of Shang slaves on the battlefield made Zhou rulers realize that popular will could not be ignored, leading to a new understanding of the relationship between Heaven’s mandate and popular will. They believed that “Heaven’s mandate is not constant” (The Book of Songs, “Greater Odes of the Kingdom,” “King Wen”) and that “Heaven always seeks a ruler for the people” (The Book of Documents, “Numerous Regions”). Only by matching Heaven with virtue and revering Heaven while protecting the people could one “enjoy Heaven’s mandate” (The Book of Documents, “Numerous Regions”). The Supreme Deity’s observation and judgment of rulers’ governance were carried out through the popular will: “Heaven sees as my people see; Heaven hears as my people hear” (The Book of Documents, “Great Declaration, Part Two”); “Heaven pities the people; what the people desire, Heaven will surely follow” (The Book of Documents, “Great Declaration, Part One”). During the Spring and Autumn period, the theology of Heaven’s mandate declined, and a trend of valuing the people arose. Ji Liang, a worthy minister of the Sui state, said to the Marquis of Sui: “The people are the master of the spirits; therefore, the sage king first completes the people and then devotes himself to the spirits” (Zuo’s Commentary, the Sixth Year of Duke Huan). Shi Yin of the Guo state said: “When a state is about to prosper, it listens to the people; when it is about to perish, it listens to the spirits. The spirits are intelligent, upright, and single-minded, acting according to human conduct” (Zuo’s Commentary, the Thirty-Second Year of Duke Zhuang). Confucius focused on human affairs, doubted ghosts and spirits, denied that spirits bestow blessings, and loudly proclaimed that “the people’s need for benevolence is more urgent than for water or fire” (The Analects, “Wei Ling Gong”), advising rulers to govern the people with benevolence and respect the right to survival of slaves and commoners. Xunzi believed that Heaven did not create the people for the ruler but established the ruler for the people. Borrowing Confucius’s words, he used the metaphor of a boat and water for the ruler and the people, holding that the ruler is like a boat and the common people like water; water can carry the boat but also capsize it. For the ruler to obtain the water that carries the boat, he must economize and enrich the people, and uphold ritual and law. The thought of valuing the people further developed during the Han and Tang dynasties. Jia Yi of the Western Han proposed that “the people are the foundation of governance,” arguing that the people cannot be bullied or slighted; if one becomes an enemy of the people, sooner or later the people will prevail. Liu Zongyuan of the Tang proposed that “the will of the people” determines historical development. Historical development is determined by an inevitable “tendency,” and this “tendency” is the “will of the people”—that is, the people’s will, desires, and demands. Political power is not mandated by Heaven but by the people; only by gaining the people’s trust and support can it endure. Wang Fuzhi of the Ming-Qing transition criticized the divine right of kings and the heroic view of history, putting forward a historical outlook that integrates principle and tendency and sees Heaven through the people. He called the direction of historical development “tendency” and the inevitability or regularity contained within tendency “principle.” Principle and tendency are inseparable and mutually expressive; tendency is permeated by the necessity and regularity of “principle,” while “principle” manifests itself through tendency. The unity of principle and tendency can be called “Heaven.” This Heaven is not a spiritual or ruling Heaven but “that which all people share in common” (Reading the Comprehensive Mirror, Volume 7) or “the great unity of the people’s hearts” (Reading the Comprehensive Mirror, Volume 19). “Where the great unity of the people’s hearts lies, principle is there, Heaven is there, and good fortune and misfortune respond accordingly” (Reading the Comprehensive Mirror, Volume 19). The people are Heaven; the people’s hearts are Heaven’s principle. Rulers must establish an awareness of valuing the people and discern the likes and dislikes of popular sentiment and the direction of popular will. Second, the people are more valuable than the ruler, and the people are the foundation of the state. The ancient text “The Song of the Five Sons” in the Book of Documents says, “The people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is solid, the state is at peace.” Mencius said, “The people are the most valuable, the altars of the soil and grain come next, and the ruler is the least important” (Mencius, “Jin Xin, Part Two”). Huang Zongxi, a thinker of the Ming-Qing transition, held that the world is the master and the ruler is the guest. The order or disorder of the world does not lie in the rise or fall of a single clan but in the joys and sorrows of the myriad people. Third, govern with virtue, protect the people, and benefit them. “The rise of governance lies in following the people’s hearts; the decline of governance lies in opposing the people’s hearts” (Guanzi, “Shepherding the People”). Those who win the people’s hearts win the world; those who lose the people’s hearts lose the world. Mencius said: “Jie and Zhou lost the world because they lost their people; losing the people means losing their hearts. There is a way to win the world: win the people, and you win the world; there is a way to win the people: win their hearts, and you win the people; there is a way to win their hearts: gather for them what they desire, and do not impose on them what they detest” (Mencius, “Li Lou, Part One”). The people’s hearts are Heaven’s heart; the people’s will is Heaven’s will. To win the people’s hearts, Mencius advocated practicing benevolent governance, providing the people with stable livelihoods, honoring the worthy and employing the capable, taxing the people with restraint, using the people’s labor at appropriate times, sharing the people’s joys, and sharing their sorrows. “Those who rejoice in the people’s joys, the people also rejoice in their joys; those who worry about the people’s sorrows, the people also worry about their sorrows” (Mencius, “King Hui of Liang, Part Two”). The people-oriented thought required rulers to establish an awareness of valuing the people, adopt policies to benefit and enrich them, and improve the relationship between ruler and people and between officials and people, in order to seek stability in the ruling order and long-term peace for the state. To a certain extent, it reflected the interests and aspirations of the people and objectively played a role in reducing the people’s burdens, easing social contradictions, and stabilizing social order. However, its fundamental value orientation was ruler-centered rather than people-centered.

如何看待人民、对待人民，是中国传统哲学历史观的重要问题。中国古代的思想家和政治家深入思考君国天下与民心向背的关系，看到了民众的巨大力量，形成了重民、得民、惠民、保民的民本思想。其一，重民轻神，即民见天。夏王朝的统治者为了维护其统治地位，编造其受命于天的神话，标榜“有夏服天命”（《尚书·召诰》）。代夏而兴的商朝统治者自认是上帝的子孙，“帝立子生商”（《诗经·商颂》）。周王朝则用天命、天意揭示政权的获得与转移，声称殷商失国，是由于它们违背了天命；周代商而兴，则是由于顺应了天命。同时，为商王朝作战的奴隶临阵倒戈，也使周朝的统治者看到民心不可忽视，从而对天命和民心的关系产生了新的认识，认为“天命靡常”（《诗经·大雅·文王》），“天惟时求民主”（《尚书·多方》），只有以德配天、敬天保民，才能“享天之命”（《尚书·多方》）。上帝对于人世间的统治者为政得失的观察和判断，是通过民心民意来进行的，“天视自我民视，天听自我民听”（《尚书·泰誓中》），“天矜于民，民之所欲，天必从之”（《尚书·泰誓上》）。春秋时期，天命神学没落，重民思潮兴起。随国贤臣季梁对随侯说：“夫民，神之主也，是以圣王先成民，而后致力于神”（《左传·桓公六年》）。虢国的史嚚说：“国将兴，听于民；将亡，听于神。神聪明正直而一者也，依人而行”（《左传·庄公三十二年》）。孔子注重人事，怀疑鬼神，否定神灵赐福，大声疾呼“民之于仁也，甚于水火”（《论语·卫灵公》），劝告统治者以仁临民，尊重奴隶和平民的生存权利。荀子认为天不是为君而生民，而是为民而立君。他借孔子之口，以舟水喻君民，认为君主如舟，庶人若水，水可以载舟，也可以覆舟。君主要得到载舟之水，就必须节用裕民，隆礼重法。重民思想在汉唐时期有了进一步的发展。西汉的贾谊提出“民为政本”，民不可欺侮、不可怠慢，若与民为仇，则或迟或速，民必胜之。唐代的柳宗元提出“生人之意”决定历史发展。历史发展是由一种必然之“势”决定的，而这种“势”就是“生人之意”即人民的意志、愿望和要求，政权不是受命于天，而是受命于人，只有得到人民的信赖和拥护，才能得以久存。明清之际的王夫之批判君权神授和英雄史观，提出了理势合一、即民见天的历史观。他把历史发展的趋向称之为“势”，将蕴含于势中的必然性或规律性称之为“理”。理势相即不离、互为表里，势中贯穿着“理”的必然性、规律性，“理”则通过“势”表现出来。理势合之可称为“天”。这个天不是神灵之天或主宰之天，而是“人之所同然者”（《读通鉴论》卷七），或“民心之大同”（《读通鉴论》卷十九）。“民心之大同者，理在是，天即在是，而吉凶应之”（《读通鉴论》卷十九）。民众即天，民心即天理，统治者要确立重民意识，体察民情之好恶和民心之向背。其二，民贵君轻，民为邦本。古文尚书《五子之歌》说“民为邦本，本固邦宁”。孟子说“民为贵，社稷次之，君为轻”（《孟子·尽心下》）。明清之际的思想家黄宗羲认为天下为主，君为客。天下之治乱，不在一姓之兴亡，而在万民之忧乐。其三，为政以德，保民惠民。“政之所兴，在顺民心；政之所废，在逆民心”（《管子·牧民》）。得民心者得天下，失民心者失天下。孟子说：“桀纣之失天下也，失其民也；失其民者，失其心也。得天下有道：得其民，斯得天下矣；得其民有道：得其心，斯得其民矣；得其心有道：所欲与之聚之，所恶勿施尔也”（《孟子·离娄上》）。民心即天心，民意即天意。为了得民心，孟子主张行仁政，制民之产，尊贤任能，取民有制，使民有时，乐民之乐，忧民之忧。“乐民之乐者，民亦乐其乐；忧民之忧者，民亦忧其忧”（《孟子·梁惠王下》）。民本思想要求统治者确立重民意识，采取一些利民惠民政策，改善君与民、官与民的关系，以谋求统治秩序的稳定和国家的长治久安，其在一定程度上反映了人民的利益和愿望，在客观上起到了减轻人民负担、缓和社会矛盾、稳定社会秩序的作用。但其根本的价值取向是君本位而不是民本位的。

(5) The Ecological View of Traditional Chinese Philosophy

（五）中国传统哲学的生态观

For example, Daoism advocates knowing Heaven and following the Way, moderating desires, and harmony between humanity and Heaven, reflecting its understanding of the human-Heaven relationship and its concern for human destiny. The reasonable elements within it are worth exploring, promoting, transforming, and utilizing. Daoism takes the “Way” as the highest entity and the origin of the world. “There is a thing formed in chaos, born before Heaven and Earth. … Humanity follows Earth, Earth follows Heaven, Heaven follows the Way, and the Way follows what is natural” (Laozi, Chapter 25). All things in Heaven and Earth, as well as humanity, are born from the Way, sharing a common essence and equal nature. Humans should view things from the perspective of the Way, treating all things equally, cherishing all living beings, respecting life, protecting the world around them, and coexisting with nature in equality and harmony. They should not view things from the perspective of the self, valuing themselves while devaluing other things. All things in Heaven and Earth, as well as humanity, arise in an interdependent, mutually sustaining, and cyclical movement of generation and continuation, and they also need to survive and develop within the dynamic balance of this cyclical movement. This dynamic harmony and balance is precisely the “Great Way” or the “One.” “In ancient times, those who attained the One: Heaven attained the One and became clear; Earth attained the One and became stable; spirits attained the One and became numinous; valleys attained the One and became full; all things attained the One and came to life” (Laozi, Chapter 39). With this dynamic harmony and balance, the sky is clear, the earth is stable, the spirits are numinous, the valleys are full, all things are endlessly generated, and society is harmonious and stable. The Way of Heaven is natural; humans should follow the natural Way of Heaven and act in accordance with the laws of nature, rather than acting arbitrarily and contrary to the Way.

如道家倡言知天循道、节制欲望、人天和谐，体现了其对于人天关系的认知以及对于人类命运的关怀，其中的合理因素值得我们去发掘、阐扬、改造、利用。道家以“道”作为最高的实体和世界的本原。“有物混成，先天地生。……人法地，地法天，天法道，道法自然”（《老子》二十五章）。天地万物和人类都由道而生，具有共同的本质和平等的性质。人应当以道观物，对万物持平等的态度，珍视众生，尊重生命，保护人类周围的世界，与自然平等而和谐相处，不可以“我”观物，贵己而贱物。天地万物以及人类都在相依互涵，相生相续的循环往复的运动中产生出来，也需要在这种循环往复的动态平衡中得到生存和发展。这种动态的和谐与平衡，也就是“大道”或“一”。“昔之得一者：天得一以清，地得一以宁，神得一以灵，谷得一以盈，万物得一以生”（《老子》三十九章）。有了这种动态的和谐与平衡，则长天清明，大地宁静，诸神充灵，山谷丰盈，万物生生不息，社会和谐稳定。天道自然，人类应遵循自然之天道，行符合自然规律之事，而不能妄自造作、悖道而行。

However, due to errors in human understanding and behavior—destroying nature with human action—serious consequences have arisen: the sky is torn, the earth is wasted, the spirits are exhausted, the valleys are dried up, and all living things perish. In the view of Daoism, the reasons for this phenomenon are, first, that humans value themselves and devalue other things, endlessly extracting from nature to satisfy their own needs. Second, it is due to excessive human greed. Excessive greed harms body and mind: “The five colors blind the eyes; the five tones deafen the ears; the five flavors spoil the palate; racing and hunting madden the mind; rare goods obstruct conduct” (Laozi, Chapter 12), and it also causes environmental and ecological crises. Third, it is due to the misuse of human wisdom and skill. “When the people have many sharp tools, the state becomes increasingly benighted; when people have much cunning and skill, strange things arise more frequently” (Laozi, Chapter 57). Humans and nature are interdependent and symbiotic. Daoism proposes to break the concept of valuing oneself and devaluing things, treating all things in Heaven and Earth with equality; to reduce selfishness and curb desires, act naturally and without contrivance, and return to simplicity. When the ruler acts without contrivance and follows nature, all things will follow their own principles and find their proper places; when the people act without contrivance and without desires, they will not contend, steal, or create disorder. One must know Heaven and follow the Way, acting according to the laws of nature. “Heaven and humanity do not overcome each other”; one must “know what Heaven does and know what humanity does,” so that human understanding and action conform to the Way of Heaven, and never use human action to harm the natural nature of all things.

但由于人类认识与行为的失误，以人灭天，造成了天裂、地废、神竭、谷枯、众生死灭的严重后果。之所以会出现这种现象，在道家看来，一是人类自贵而贱物，为了满足自身的需要，无休止地向自然索取。二是人类过度的贪欲。过度的贪欲损害身心，“五色令人目盲，五音令人耳聋，五味令人口爽，驰骋田猎令人心发狂，难得之货令人行妨”（《老子》十二章），也造成了环境与生态危机。三是人类智慧技巧的滥用。“民多利器，国家滋昏，人多伎巧，奇物滋起”（《老子》五十七章）。人与自然是互依共生的。道家提出要破除贵己贱物的观念，对于天地万物持平等态度；要少私寡欲，自然无为，复归于朴。统治者无为而自然，万物就会各循其理，各得其所；百姓无为无欲，就会不争、不盗、不乱。要知天循道，按自然规律办事。“天与人不相胜”，要“知天之所为，知人之所为”，使人的认识和行为符合天道，切不可以人的行为损害万物的自然本性。

(6) The Value View of Traditional Chinese Philosophy

（六）中国传统哲学的价值观

The value outlook of traditional Chinese philosophy is centrally embodied in the concept of righteousness and benefit. Righteousness (yi) refers to justice and reasonableness, while benefit (li) denotes interest and utility. Confucius advocated that “the gentleman takes righteousness as supreme” (Analects, Yang Huo), holding that righteousness is higher than and weightier than benefit; the gentleman, when faced with benefit, should think of righteousness, and when seeing gain, should think of righteousness—taking only what accords with righteousness and rejecting what does not, for “wealth and rank attained through unrighteousness are to me like floating clouds” (Analects, Shu Er). Xunzi advocated using righteousness to regulate benefit, stating that “one who puts righteousness before benefit is honored; one who puts benefit before righteousness is disgraced” (Xunzi, On Honor and Disgrace). On the issue of righteousness and benefit, the Mohist school advocated giving equal weight to both and unifying them. Benefit is righteousness; the criterion for judging whether an act is righteous or not lies in whether it is beneficial. The benefit Mozi spoke of is not private self-interest, but “the benefit of all under heaven” (Mozi, Universal Love II) and “the benefit of the state, the hundred surnames, and the people” (Mozi, Against Fate I). The Mohists spoke of benevolence in terms of benefit and defined righteousness by benefiting the people. “The reason the benevolent man undertakes affairs is necessarily to promote the benefit of all under heaven and eliminate the harm of all under heaven; this is how he conducts his affairs” (Mozi, Universal Love II). “Nothing is more valuable than righteousness” (Mozi, Valuing Righteousness). “If righteousness is now used to govern the state, the people will surely be numerous, punishments and governance will surely be orderly, and the altars of soil and grain will surely be secure” (Mozi, Geng Zhu). As long as it could benefit all under heaven, they would spare no hardship, even sacrificing their lives. “Mozi practiced universal love, wearing out his body from head to heel, and did so for the benefit of all under heaven” (Mencius, Jin Xin I). Mozi “used the plumb line to discipline himself and prepared for the world’s emergencies”; “he worked day and night without rest, taking self-inflicted hardship to the extreme,” so that “his calves had no flesh and his shins had no hair” (Zhuangzi, All Under Heaven). “The one hundred and eighty followers of Mozi could all be sent into fire and water and would not turn back even in death” (Huainanzi, Instructions on the Grand Clan). In a situation where “no one under heaven practiced righteousness,” the Mohist school was not only not disheartened but held that practicing benevolence and righteousness “must be done with all the more urgency” (Mozi, Valuing Righteousness), displaying their spirit of firm endurance, self-inflicted hardship to the extreme, “being too much for others” and “too little for oneself,” “forgetting the self for the group,” and actively saving the world through sacrifice. The Confucian school spoke of benevolence as extending from oneself to others, from near to far, with graded love; the Mohist school spoke of universal love as having no distinction between inner and outer, near and far, or hierarchical rank. The Confucian school’s speaking of loving others mainly meant awakening people’s moral mind; the Mohist school’s speaking of universal love meant benefiting people through material interests. The Mohist advocacy of the unity of self and others, universal love and mutual benefit, had a loftier intent than Confucian benevolence. Although such lofty ideals could not be realized in a class society, as a value ideal they had the significance of broadening the mind and elevating people’s spiritual realm. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Mohist and Confucian schools were both called prominent schools of thought; “Mozi’s fame blazed brightly, almost equal to that of Confucius, and the number of his followers was also nearly on a par with the disciples of the Confucian school” (Preface to the Index to the Mozi). After the Qin and Han dynasties, with the establishment and consolidation of autocratic rule, the Mohist idea of leveling distinctions and equality ran counter to autocratic rule and the hierarchical system; its doctrine of universal love deviated from the Confucian ethical concept of graded love, which had been established as the sole orthodoxy; its theory of non-aggression was unfavorable to the expansionist policies of conquering cities, seizing territory, and annexation; its spirit of martyrdom “taking self-inflicted hardship to the extreme” did not suit the feudal ruling class’s desire for luxury and pleasure; its sober scientific rational spirit conflicted with the irrational tendencies of superstition and blind obedience under autocratic political rule; and Mohist learning declined and was lost. However, its scientific spirit, consciousness of equality, and values of universal love, mutual benefit, and the unity of righteousness and benefit did not disappear from Chinese cultural history. After more than a thousand years of silence, Mohist learning shone again in modern times with the introduction of Western culture, the convergence of Chinese and Western cultures, and the deepening of the Enlightenment movement. Since modern times, the Mohist tendency to emphasize implements and techniques, as well as its spirit of universal love, mutual benefit, and active salvation of the world, has been re-energized.

中国传统哲学的价值观集中体现为义利观。义指公正、合理，利即利益、功利。孔子提倡“君子义以为上”（《论语·阳货》），义高于利、义重于利，君子要见利思义、见得思义，合于义则取，不合于义则不取，“不义而富且贵，于我如浮云”（《论语,述而》）。荀子主张以义制利，“先义而后利者荣，先利而后义者辱”（《荀子·荣辱》）。在义利问题上，墨家主张兼重义利、义利统一。利就是义，判断一种行为义或不义的标准，即在于这种行为是否有利。墨子所说的利，不是一己私利，而是“天下之利”（《墨子·兼爱中》），“国家百姓人民之利”（《墨子·非命上》）。墨家以利言仁，以利民释义。“仁人之所以为事者，必兴天下之利，除去天下之害，以此为事者也”（《墨子·兼爱中》）。“万事莫贵于义”（《墨子·贵义》），“今用义为政于国家，人民必众，刑政必治，社稷必安”（《墨子·耕柱》）。只要能利天下，即使艰辛备尝，甚至牺牲生命，也在所不辞。“墨子兼爱，摩顶放踵，利天下，为之”（《孟子·尽心上》）。墨子“以绳墨自矫，而备世之急”；“日夜不休，以自苦为极”，以至“腓无股，胫无毛”（《庄子·天下》）。“墨子服役者百八十人，皆可使赴汤蹈火，死不旋踵”（《淮南子·泰族训》）。在“天下莫为义”的情况下，墨家学派非但不沮丧，反而认为履行仁义“不可不益急”（《墨子·贵义》），表现了其坚忍卓绝、自苦为极、“为人太多”“自为太少”“为群忘己”、积极救世的牺牲精神。儒家讲仁是由己推人、由近及远、爱有差等，墨家讲兼爱则无内外远近，无等级差别；儒家讲爱人主要是指启迪人的道德之心，墨家讲兼爱则是以物质利益利人。墨家人我一体、兼爱交利的主张，立意比儒家的仁更为高远。尽管这种高远理想在阶级社会中不可能实现，但它作为一种价值理想，却有开阔胸臆、提高人的精神境界的意义。在春秋战国时期，墨家与儒家并称显学，“墨翟声名炳耀，几与仲尼相埒，其徒属之众，亦几与洙泗并肩”（《墨子引得·序》）。秦汉以后，随着专制政权的建立和巩固，墨家慢差等的平等思想与专制统治和等级制度相忤逆，其兼爱学说与定于一尊的儒家爱有差等的伦理观念相悖离，其非攻之论不利于攻城掠地、侵吞兼并的扩张政策，“以自苦为极”的殉道精神不适合于封建统治阶级奢侈享乐的欲求，其清醒的科学理性精神与专制政治统治下的迷信盲从等非理性倾向相抵牾，墨学衰微湮没。然而，其科学精神、平等意识以及兼爱互利、义利统一的价值观念，并未在中国文化史中消失。墨学在沉寂千余年之后，在近代随着西方文化的传入、中西文化的交汇和启蒙运动的深入而重放异彩。近代以来，墨学重器用技艺的致思倾向以及兼爱交利、积极救世的精神被重新张扬。

(7) The Outlook on Life in Traditional Chinese Philosophy

（七）中国传统哲学的人生观

In traditional Chinese philosophy, the Confucian, Daoist, Mohist, and Legalist schools each had their unique conceptions of life, with the Confucian outlook on life being the most prominent. First, the isomorphism of heaven and humanity. In the Confucian view, the nature of the cosmos lies in generating and nurturing all things. The Commentary on the Book of Changes says, “Production and reproduction is what is called change” and “The great virtue of heaven and earth is giving life” (Appended Remarks II). “Therefore, man is the virtue of heaven and earth, the interaction of yin and yang, the meeting of ghosts and spirits, and the finest qi of the five elements” (Book of Rites, The Conveyance of Rites). “What heaven mandates is called nature; following nature is called the Way; cultivating the Way is called teaching” (Doctrine of the Mean, Chapter 1). Heaven and earth take giving life to things as their mind; man takes the mind of heaven and earth as his mind. Human nature and life originate from the nature and life of the cosmos; the nature of humanity and the nature of heaven and earth, the mind of humanity and the mind of heaven and earth, are interconnected and identical. Humans can, with their conscious and intelligent mind, understand the virtue of heaven and earth and cultivate, develop, promote, and expand it. Second, the unity of virtue between heaven and humanity. Based on the concept of the isomorphism of heaven and humanity, the Confucian school advocated recognizing, cultivating, manifesting, promoting, and practicing the nature of heaven and earth in generating and nurturing all things, making it internally into true knowledge and bright virtue, and externally transforming it into moral practice and socio-political life. The Doctrine of the Mean calls this “sincerity” (cheng), and the Great Learning calls it “manifesting bright virtue” (ming mingde). “Sincerity” and “brightness” are a spiritual realm of regarding all things in heaven and earth with a benevolent mind, taking all things in heaven and earth as one body, widely bestowing benefits, and loving the people and all things. Confucius advocated the way of loyalty and reciprocity: establishing oneself and establishing others, reaching oneself and reaching others, not doing to others what one does not want done to oneself. Mencius advocated expanding the four beginnings, “preserving the night air,” cultivating the “flood-like qi,” and exhausting the mind, knowing one’s nature, and knowing heaven. The Commentary on the Qian Hexagram says: “The great man is one who unites his virtue with heaven and earth, his brightness with the sun and moon, his order with the four seasons, and his good and ill fortune with ghosts and spirits.” Those who can exhaust the spiritual and understand transformation, become one with heaven, and participate in and assist the transformative and nurturing process, and have reached the realm of sincerity and brightness, are gentlemen, great men, and even sages. Third, internal and external cultivation. The Confucian school believed that to manifest and develop the latent benevolent mind and good nature, one must engage in a process of cultivation, self-restraint, and practical practice. Confucius called this “cultivating oneself to bring peace to others” and “cultivating oneself to bring peace to the hundred surnames” (Analects, Xian Wen). Mencius said that the foundation of the state, the family, and the individual lies in the self; “the gentleman’s discipline is to cultivate his person and thereby bring peace to all under heaven” (Mencius, Jin Xin I). Xunzi spoke of possessing the complete Way and perfect beauty, with the character of utmost strength, utmost discrimination, and utmost clarity, and the talent of being able to take responsibility, to differentiate, and to harmonize, thereby ruling all under heaven as a king. The Doctrine of the Mean extolled the “Way that unites the inner and outer,” extending oneself to others and completing oneself and things. The Great Learning explained the process of internal and external cultivation oriented toward the sage as the three guiding principles of “manifesting bright virtue,” “renewing the people,” and “resting in the highest good,” and the eight items of investigating things, extending knowledge, making the will sincere, rectifying the mind, cultivating the person, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to all under heaven. Investigating things, extending knowledge, making the will sincere, and rectifying the mind were to solve the problems of knowledge and cultivation; regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to all under heaven were to solve the problems of moral and political practice in promoting transformation through teaching. The Confucian school pursued the ideal personality of internal and external cultivation mutually nourishing, knowledge and action united, and the integration of establishing virtue, establishing merit, and establishing words in one person. This ideal personality was linked to the ideal society of “the Great Way prevails, and all under heaven is for the common good.” The ideal life required not only embodying benevolence but also practicing benevolence. Mencius said, “The Way of Yao and Shun: without benevolent governance, one cannot bring peace to all under heaven” (Mencius, Li Lou II). Furthermore, during the long process of development and change, the Confucian school formed a unique mode of thinking that was close to reality and emphasized practice, a value orientation that exalted moral spirit and esteemed subjective personality, a transcendent consciousness of advancing in virtue and career and unceasing self-improvement, and the methodological principle of holding to the two extremes and using the mean, and moving with the times.

在中国传统哲学中，儒道墨法等各家都有其独特的人生观念，而以儒家的人生观最为突出。一是天人同构。在儒家看来，宇宙的本性就在于生成化育万物。《易传》说“生生之谓易”“天地之大德曰生”（《系辞下传》）。“故人者，其天地之德，阴阳之交，鬼神之会，五行之秀气也”（《礼记·礼运》）。“天命之谓性，率性之谓道，修道之谓教”（《中庸》第二章）。天地以生物为心，人以天地之心为心。人的本性与生命源于宇宙的本性与生命，人类之性与天地之性、人类之心与天地之心是相通一致的。人类能够以知觉灵明之心觉解天地之德性，并将之加以培养、发展、弘扬和扩张。二是天人合德。儒家基于天人一体同构的观念，主张认识、培育、彰显、弘扬、践行天地生成、化育万物的本性，使之内而成为真知明德，外化于道德实践和社会政治生活之中。对此，《中庸》谓之“诚”，《大学》谓之“明明德”。“诚”与“明”是一种以仁爱之心视天地万物、以天地万物为一体、博施广济、仁民爱物的精神境界。孔子提倡立己立人、达己达人、己所不欲、勿施于人的忠恕之道；孟子主张扩充善端、“存夜气”、养“浩然之气”，尽心、知性、知天。《乾卦·文言传》曰：“夫‘人’者，与天地合其德，与日月合其明，与四时合其序，与鬼神合其吉凶”。能够穷神知化、与天为一、参赞化育，达到了诚明之境的人就是君子、大人乃至圣人。三是内外交修。儒家认为要显扬和发挥潜在的仁心善性，须下一番修持涵养和躬行践履的工夫。对此，孔子谓之“修己以安人”“修己以安百姓”《论语·宪问》；孟子谓天下国家之根本在身，“君子之守，修其身而天下平”（《孟子·尽心上》）；荀子谓备道全美，以至强、至辨、至明的品格和能任、能分、能和的才干而王天下；《中庸》标举推己及人、成己成物的“合内外之道”。《大学》将以圣人为祈向的内外交修过程阐释为“明明德”“亲民”“止于至善”三纲领以及格、致、诚、正与修、齐、治、平八条目，格致诚正是要解决认识和修养问题，齐治平是要解决敦行教化的道德政治践履问题。儒家追求内外交修互养、知行相兼合一、集立德立功立言为一身的理想人格，而这种理想人格又是与“大道之行、天下为公”的理想社会相联系的。理想的人生不仅要体仁，还要行仁。孟子说：“尧舜之道，不以仁政，不能平治天下”（《孟子·离娄下》）。此外，儒家学派在长期发展流变过程中，形成了独具特色的切近现实、推重躬行的致思路数，高扬道德精神、崇尚主体人格的价值取向，进德行业、自强不息的超越意识，以及执两用中、与时偕行的方法论原则。

III

三

General Secretary Xi Jinping points out: “We should strengthen the excavation and elucidation of fine traditional Chinese culture, so that the most basic cultural genes of the Chinese nation adapt to contemporary culture and coordinate with modern society, and carry forward the cultural spirit that transcends time and space, transcends national boundaries, is full of eternal charm, and has contemporary value.” Fine traditional Chinese culture is the cultural root of the Chinese nation. The ideas, humanistic spirit, and moral norms it contains are not only the core of our Chinese people’s thought and spirit but also have important value for solving human problems. We should refine and display the spiritual symbols of fine traditional culture, and refine and display the cultural essence of fine traditional culture that has contemporary value and world significance.

习近平总书记指出：“要加强对中华优秀传统文化的挖掘和阐发，使中华民族最基本的文化基因与当代文化相适应、与现代社会相协调，把跨越时空、超越国界、富有永恒魅力、具有当代价值的文化精神弘扬起来。”中华优秀传统文化是中华民族的文化根脉，其蕴含的思想观念、人文精神、道德规范，不仅是我们中国人思想和精神的内核，对解决人类问题也有重要价值。要把优秀传统文化的精神标识提炼出来、展示出来，把优秀传统文化中具有当代价值、世界意义的文化精髓提炼出来、展示出来。

Since Marxist philosophy was introduced into China, it has begun its historical process of integrating with China’s concrete reality and China’s excellent traditional philosophy. The Chinese Communists, represented by Mao Zedong, both used the Marxist worldview and methodology to study China’s reality, explore the revolutionary path, formulate the strategic tactics of the Chinese revolution, summarize and generalize the practical experience of the Chinese revolution, create and enrich and develop Marxist philosophy adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, and realize the adaptation of Marxist philosophy to the Chinese context and the needs of the times; they also used the Marxist worldview and methodology to critically transform traditional Chinese philosophy, incorporating into Marxist philosophy those concepts, categories, thoughts, and methods that still possess a popular, progressive, scientific, and open character, thereby modernizing and Marxifying China’s excellent traditional philosophy. For example, in the traditional Chinese philosophical theory of knowledge and action, “knowledge” was mainly moral cognition, and “action” was mainly moral practice; it did not understand knowledge and action as the cognition and transformation of the world, nor did it take action as the foundation and premise of the entire cognitive process, thus failing to thoroughly resolve the relationship between knowledge and action. Mao Zedong grasped the basic contradiction of cognition and practice, expounded the dialectical process of development and the fundamental laws of cognition based on practice, and scientifically resolved the problem of the concrete and historical unity of subject and object, theory and practice, and knowledge and action, thereby developing Marxist epistemology and at the same time realizing a fundamental transformation of the traditional Chinese philosophical theory of knowledge and action, bringing it to a new height and a new stage. Traditional Chinese philosophy affirmed the universality of the existence of contradiction: “Among the principles of heaven and earth, there is nothing solitary that does not have its opposite” (The Surviving Works of the Cheng Brothers, Volume 11). Contradictory opposites interact and respond to each other, rub against and stir each other, causing the alternation and transformation of the positions of the two sides of a contradiction and the endless changes of heaven and earth and all things. The development and change of things is a process from the subtle to the manifest, from the latent to the apparent, from the fine to the coarse. If a thing develops to its extreme, it will bring about the opposite result and transform into its opposite. However, traditional Chinese philosophy aimed at maintaining the balance of the original whole and the stability of order, rather than at overall transformation and the reconstruction of order. It emphasized unity while belittling struggle, emphasized stability while belittling transformation, emphasized constancy while belittling change, and thus ultimately moved toward a theory of the fixed position of contradiction, a theory of the reconciliation of contradiction, and a theory of the immutability of the Way of Heaven, which negate struggle, transformation, and change. For example, Zhang Zai of the Northern Song Dynasty said: “Where there are phenomena, there are opposites; where there are opposites, they necessarily act in contrary ways; where there is contrariety, there is enmity; where there is enmity, it must be resolved through harmony” (Correcting Youthful Ignorance, The Great Harmony). Mao Zedong expounded the rich connotations of the law of the unity of opposites, which is the essence and core of materialist dialectics, providing a scientific attitude, viewpoint, and method for correctly viewing, analyzing, and resolving contradictions, promoting the transformation of things, and achieving the goals of the revolution. Mao Zedong’s philosophical thought, as a philosophical summation of the basic experience of the Chinese revolution, embodies the Sinicization of Marxist philosophy in terms of theoretical content; critically inherits the positive achievements of traditional Chinese philosophy, embodying the Sinicization of Marxist philosophy in terms of intellectual resources; and uses language that the common people love to see and hear, embodying the Sinicization of Marxist philosophy in terms of form of expression. Most importantly, Mao Zedong’s philosophical thought, as a Sinicized Marxist philosophy, closely linked Marxist philosophy with China’s concrete reality, not only making Marxist philosophy the guiding ideology for the practice of the Chinese revolution, but also making the practice of the Chinese revolution a pathway for Marxist philosophy to realize and develop itself. Marxist philosophy was no longer a foreign and external body of knowledge, but became a mode of thinking and value orientation for the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people; it was not a dogma, but a guide to action, thereby embodying the Sinicization of Marxist philosophy in terms of theoretical form and functional role.

自从马克思主义哲学传入中国，就开始了其与中国具体实际和中国优秀传统哲学相结合的历史进程。以毛泽东为代表的中国共产党人既运用马克思主义的世界观方法论研究中国实际、探索革命道路、制定中国革命的战略策略，总结概括中国革命实践经验，创立和丰富发展中国化时代化的马克思主义哲学，实现马克思主义哲学的中国化时代化；又运用马克思主义的世界观方法论批判改造中国传统哲学，将其中仍具有人民性、进步性、科学性、开放性的概念、范畴、思想、方法纳入马克思主义哲学之中，使中国优秀传统哲学现代化、马克思主义化。如中国传统哲学知行观的“知”主要是道德认知，“行”主要是道德践履，没有将知与行理解为对于世界的认识与改造，没有将行作为整个认识过程的基础和前提，因而未能彻底解决知行关系问题。毛泽东抓住认识和实践这一基本矛盾，阐述了以实践为基础的认识的辩证发展过程和根本规律，科学地解决了主观与客观、理论与实践、知与行的具体的历史的统一问题，从而发展了马克思主义认识论，同时实现了中国传统哲学知行观的根本转变，使其达到了一个新的高度和新的阶段。中国传统哲学肯定矛盾存在的普遍性，“天地万物之理，无独必有对”（《二程遗书》卷十一），矛盾着的对立面相感相应、相摩相荡，引起矛盾双方地位的交替流转以及天地万物的无穷变化，而物的变化发展是一个由微而著、由潜而显、由细到大的过程，一个事物若发展到极致，就会带来相反的结果，就会向自己的对立面转化。但中国传统哲学以维护原有整体的平衡与秩序的稳定为目的，而不是以整体变革与秩序重建为目的，强调统一而贬抑斗争，强调稳定而贬抑转化，强调奉常而贬抑变革，从而最终走向否定斗争、转化、变革的矛盾定位论、矛盾调和论和天道不变论。如北宋张载就说：“有象斯有对，对必反其为，有反斯有仇，仇必和而解”（《正蒙·太和》）。毛泽东阐述了作为唯物辩证法实质与核心的对立统一规律的丰富内涵，为正确地看待矛盾、分析矛盾和解决矛盾，促成事物的转化，达到革命的目的，提供了科学的态度、观点和方法。毛泽东哲学思想作为中国革命基本经验的哲学总结，在理论内容上体现了马克思主义哲学的中国化；批判继承了中国传统哲学的积极成果，在思想资源上体现了马克思主义哲学的中国化；运用了老百姓喜闻乐见的语言，在表达形式上体现了马克思主义哲学的中国化。尤其重要的是，毛泽东哲学思想作为中国化的马克思主义哲学，将马克思主义哲学与中国实际紧密联系起来，不但使马克思主义哲学成为中国革命实践的指导思想，也使中国革命实践成为马克思主义哲学实现自身、发展自身的途径，马克思主义哲学不再是一种外来的和外在的知识，而成为中国共产党和中国人民的一种思维方式和价值取向；不是一种教条，而是行动的指南，从而在理论形态和功能作用上体现了马克思主义哲学的中国化。

In the present era, profound changes have taken place in both China and the world. We are engaged in the great historical undertaking of further deepening reform comprehensively and advancing Chinese-path modernization comprehensively, which requires the guidance of a philosophical system that is scientific, practical, advanced, people-centered, open, and innovative—Marxist philosophy adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. Marxist philosophy adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of the times is not only the application, innovation, and development of Marxist philosophy in China in the process of its integration with China’s concrete reality, but also the transformation, development, and sublimation of China’s excellent traditional philosophy in the process of its integration with China’s excellent traditional philosophy. In the “Conclusion: The Living and the Dead in Chinese Philosophy” of his Outline of Chinese Philosophy, Zhang Dainian said that in Chinese philosophy there are some tendencies that, from today’s perspective, are still valuable and appropriate; these can be called the living aspects of Chinese philosophy. There are also some tendencies that are harmful and should be rejected; these can be called the dead aspects of Chinese philosophy. The adaptation of Marxist philosophy to the Chinese context and the needs of the times and the modernization of China’s excellent traditional philosophy constitute a two-way interactive process. “The Sinicization of Marxist philosophy means integrating Marxist philosophy with the reality of the Chinese revolution and with traditional Chinese culture, realizing the concretization, nationalization, and popularization of Marxist philosophy in China.” The modernization of China’s excellent traditional philosophy means taking Marxist philosophy as the subject, the leading force, and the guide, examining, discriminating, selecting, transforming, converting, elevating, absorbing, and integrating traditional Chinese philosophy, so that it becomes an organic component and element of Marxist philosophy. Regarding traditional Chinese philosophy, we must use the basic theories and methods of Marxist philosophy, take contemporary Chinese practice as the foundation, take contemporary human civilization as the coordinate, and take the core socialist values and the free and comprehensive development of the individual as the orientation, to carry out a dialectical “sublation” [Aufhebung], so that the rational factors contained within it can be carried forward and developed. At the same time, we must endow Marxist philosophy with Chinese connotations, Chinese style, and Chinese manner. In the two-way convergence and fusion of Marxist philosophy with China’s concrete reality and with China’s excellent traditional philosophy, we will open up new horizons for the adaptation of Marxist philosophy to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, and innovate, create, and construct a new philosophy—the worldview, view of development, view of knowledge and action, view of the people, view of ecology, view of values, and view of life of Marxist philosophy adapted to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

当今时代，中国与世界都发生了深刻变化，我们正在从事着进一步全面深化改革、全面推进中国式现代化的历史伟业，需要具有科学性、实践性、先进性、人民性、开放性、创新性的哲学体系——中国化时代化的马克思主义哲学的指导。中国化时代化的马克思主义哲学，既是马克思主义哲学在与中国具体实际相结合的过程中在中国的运用、创新和发展，也是马克思主义哲学与中国优秀传统哲学相结合的过程中对中国优秀传统哲学的转换、发展、升华。张岱年在《中国哲学大纲》的《结论中国哲学中的活的和死的》中说，中国的哲学中有一些倾向，在现在看来，仍是可贵的、适当的，这可以说是中国哲学中之活的；而也有一些倾向，是有害的、该排斥的，便可以说是中国哲学中之死的。马克思主义哲学中国化时代化与中国优秀传统哲学的现代化是一个双向互动的过程。“马克思主义哲学中国化就是要使马克思主义哲学与中国革命实际相结合，与中国传统文化相结合，实现马克思主义哲学在中国的具体化、民族化、通俗化”。中国优秀传统哲学的现代化就是以马克思主义哲学为主体、主导、指导，对中国传统哲学进行审视、鉴别、选择与改造、转换、提升、吸纳、融合，使之成为马克思主义哲学的有机的成分、要素。对于中国传统哲学，我们要运用马克思主义哲学的基本理论与方法，以当代中国实践为基础，以当今人类文明为坐标，以社会主义核心价值以及人的自由全面发展为取向，对之进行辩证的“扬弃”，使蕴含其中的合理因素得以发扬光大。同时也使马克思主义哲学具有中国意蕴、中国作风、中国气派，在马克思主义哲学与中国具体实际、与中国优秀传统哲学的双向趋赴、融合汇通中开辟马克思主义哲学中国化时代化的新境界，创新、创造、建构一种新哲学——中国化时代化的马克思主义哲学的宇宙观、发展观、知行观、人民观、生态观、价值观、人生观。

First, we must absorb and draw on the categories and concepts from China’s excellent traditional philosophy concerning *qi* (vital energy) and *li* (principle), *dao* (the Way) and *qi* (concrete things), *yin* and *yang*, *li* (principle) and *shi* (circumstantial force), and *tian* (heaven) and *ren* (humanity); absorb the new achievements, new concepts, and new methods of contemporary science and technology; construct the contemporary Chinese Marxist philosophical view of matter, view of motion, and view of law; deeply investigate and elucidate the origin, genesis, and evolution of the universe and the world, the motion, change, and development of the universe and the world, as well as the origin of humanity, humanity’s place in the universe, and humanity’s future destiny; and deeply study with what perspective and attitude humanity should regard the world, how to understand and transform the world, and how to handle the relationship between humanity and the world, among other issues. Second, we must absorb and draw on the concepts from China’s excellent traditional philosophy concerning “motion must have a mechanism,” “motion does not come from without,” “things are born with duality,” “one thing has two bodies,” “the great virtue is called life-giving,” and “change and renewal daily”; construct the contemporary Chinese Marxist philosophical view of dialectical development; deeply investigate and elucidate the internal contradictions of things and the internal basis, objective laws, and inevitable tendencies of their motion, change, and development; establish a dialectical mode of thinking; apply the method of contradiction analysis; and adopt an attitude of advancing with the times. Third, we must absorb and draw on the concepts, categories, and ideas from China’s excellent traditional philosophy concerning “the ability to know and what is known,” “knowledge from hearing and seeing” and “knowledge from reflection,” “action is weightier than knowledge,” “the unity of knowledge and action,” and “knowledge and action advance together”; construct the contemporary Chinese Marxist philosophical epistemology; deeply investigate and elucidate the cognitive capacity and cognitive object, cognitive stages and cognitive types, cognitive laws and the criterion of truth, all based on practice; profoundly reveal the concrete and historical dialectical unity of understanding and practice, theory and reality, the pursuit of knowledge and vigorous action, and the search for truth and practical results; and establish the contemporary Chinese Marxist philosophical view of knowledge, view of truth, and view of practice. Fourth, we must absorb and draw on the ideas from China’s excellent traditional philosophy concerning “the unity of principle and circumstantial force,” “seeing the will of heaven through the people,” “the people are the foundation of the state,” and “governance lies in winning the people”; deeply understand the position of the people as the subject of practice and the subject of value in creating history; deeply understand the high degree of conformity and fundamental consistency between the people’s practice, the people’s interests, and popular sentiment on the one hand, and the laws of social development on the other; deeply understand the historical inevitability of establishing the mass viewpoint, adhering to the mass line, relying on the people to create great historical achievements and a better life, continuously enhancing the people’s well-being, and promoting and realizing the comprehensive development of the individual; and construct the contemporary Chinese Marxist philosophical people-centered view of the people and view of history. Fifth, we must absorb and draw on the ideas from China’s excellent traditional philosophy concerning “the unity of heaven and humanity as one body,” “the equality of all things,” and “acting in accordance with the Way”; deeply understand and elucidate the relationship of shared destiny between humanity and nature; deeply understand humanity’s responsibility, as a conscious being produced in the long process of nature’s development, to maintain the organic evolution and dynamic balance of nature; deeply understand the extreme importance of humanity curbing its own desires, restraining its own behavior, and carrying out material exchange with nature in a reasonable manner; revere nature, respect nature, conform to nature, and protect nature; realize the harmonious coexistence of humanity and nature; and construct the contemporary Chinese Marxist philosophical view of ecology. Sixth, we must absorb and draw on the ideas from China’s excellent traditional philosophy concerning “righteousness is regarded as supreme,” “righteousness is higher than profit,” “use righteousness to control profit,” “the unity of righteousness and profit,” and “taking the profit of the state, the people, and the common people as the greatest public righteousness”; adhere to giving equal weight to righteousness and profit and unifying righteousness and profit; take the realization, maintenance, and development of the fundamental interests of the vast majority of the people as the highest value orientation; take the realization of the multi-dimensional values of economy, politics, society, culture, and ecology as the necessary path to realize the highest value; and construct the contemporary Chinese Marxist philosophical view of values. Seventh, we must absorb and draw on the ideas from China’s excellent traditional philosophy concerning “the unity of the virtue of heaven and humanity,” “cultivation both internally and externally,” and “aspiring to become a sage or worthy”; deeply study and elucidate the relationship between the Way of heaven and the Way of humanity, objective laws and subjective morality, human essence and human value, transforming the objective world and transforming the subjective world, internal cultivation and external achievements, and self-value and social value; and construct the contemporary Chinese Marxist philosophical view of life.

一要吸收借鉴中国优秀传统哲学中关于气与理、道与器、阴与阳、理与势、天与人等范畴与观念，吸收当代科学技术的新成果新理念新方法，建构当代中国马克思主义哲学的物质观、运动观、规律观，深入探究与阐发宇宙、世界的本原、起源、演进，宇宙、世界的运动、变化、发展，以及人类的起源、人类在宇宙中的地位、人类的未来命运，深入研究人类应以怎样的眼光与态度看待世界、如何认识世界和改造世界、如何处理人与世界的关系等问题。二要吸收借鉴中国优秀传统哲学中关于动必有机、动非自外、物生有两、一物两体、大德曰生、变化日新的观念，建构当代中国马克思主义哲学的辩证发展观，深入探究和阐发事物的内在矛盾及其运动变化发展的内在根据、客观规律、必然趋势，树立辩证思维方式，运用矛盾分析方法，确立与时偕行态度。三要吸收借鉴中国优秀传统哲学中关于能知与所知、“闻见之知”与“思虑之知”、行重于知、知行合一、知行并进的概念、范畴与思想观念，建构当代中国马克思主义哲学的认识论，深入探究和阐发以实践为基础的认识能力与认识对象、认识阶段与认识类型、认识规律与真理标准，深刻揭示认识与实践、理论与实际、致知与力行、求真与务实之具体的历史的辩证的统一，确立当代中国马克思主义哲学的知识观、真理观、实践观。四要吸收借鉴中国优秀传统哲学中关于理势合一、即民见天、民为邦本、政在得民的思想观念，深刻认识人民创造历史的实践主体和价值主体地位，深刻认识人民的实践、人民的利益以及民心民意与社会发展规律的高度契合性与根本一致性，深刻认识树立群众观点、坚持群众路线、依靠人民创造历史伟业和美好生活、不断增进人民福祉、促进和实现人的全面发展的历史必然性，建构当代中国马克思主义哲学以人民为中心的人民观和历史观。五要吸收借鉴中国优秀传统哲学中关于天人一体、万物平等、循道而行的思想观念，深刻认识和阐发人与自然命运与共的关系，深刻认识人作为自然界长期发展进程中产生的有意识的存在物维系自然界有机进化和动态平衡的责任，深刻认识人类克制自身欲望、约束自身行为、以合理的方式与自然界进行物质变换的极端重要性，敬畏自然，尊重自然，顺应自然，保护自然，实现人与自然的和谐共生，建构当代中国马克思主义哲学的生态观。六要吸收借鉴中国优秀传统哲学中关于义以为上、义高于利、以义制利、义利统一并以国家百姓人民之利为最大公义的思想观念，坚持义利并重、义利统一，以实现、维护、发展最广大人民根本利益为最高价值取向，以实现经济、政治、社会、文化、生态的多维价值为实现最高价值的必经路径，建构当代中国马克思主义哲学的价值观。七要吸收借鉴中国优秀传统哲学中关于天人合德、内外交修、希圣希贤的思想观念，深入研究和阐发天道与人道、客观规律与主体道德、人的本质与人的价值、改造客观世界与改造主观世界、内在修养与外在事功、自我价值与社会价值的关系，构建当代中国马克思主义哲学的人生观。

In the process of realizing the integration of Marxist philosophy and China’s excellent traditional philosophy, promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of China’s excellent traditional philosophy, and constructing a Sinicized and modernized Marxist philosophy, is an arduous task. Researchers of Marxist philosophy and researchers of Chinese traditional philosophy must shoulder this common historical mission and responsibility of the times, continuously open up new realms for the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist philosophy, provide philosophical theoretical and methodological support for comprehensively advancing Chinese-path modernization, and make their own contributions.

在实现马克思主义哲学与中国优秀传统哲学相结合的过程中，推进中国优秀传统哲学的创造性转换与创新性发展，构建中国化时代化的马克思主义哲学，是一项艰巨的工作。马克思主义哲学研究者与中国传统哲学研究者要肩负起这一共同的历史使命与时代重任，不断开辟马克思主义哲学中国化时代化的新境界，为全面推进中国式现代化提供哲学理论与方法支持，做出自己的贡献。

[Author’s affiliation: Party School of the Central Committee of the CPC (National Academy of Governance)]

[作者单位：中共中央党校（国家行政学院）]

Online editor: Jing Mu

网络编辑：静穆