Delve into the Vast Chinese Scene and Expand China Studies

China studies is a comprehensive discipline that examines China, covering fields such as history, culture, society, and economy. It serves as an important window for understanding, recognizing, and comprehending China. The theme of the Second World Conference on China Studies is “Historical China and Contemporary China from a Global Perspective,” which profoundly confirms the breadth of China studies in connecting the past and the present, as well as the depth of exploring the civilizational connotations of the Chinese path and uncovering its global value.

中国学是一门研究中国的综合性学科，涵盖历史、文化、社会、经济等诸多领域，是了解中国、认识中国、理解中国的重要窗口。第二届世界中国学大会的主题是“世界视野下的历史中国与当代中国”，深刻印证了中国学所具有的贯通古今的广度，以及探寻中国道路文明内涵和挖掘中国道路全球价值的深度。

As China studies increasingly becomes a prominent international field, we have come to feel in practice that without the Chinese scene, any narrative about China risks becoming a view of the scenery from across the river. To expand China studies, the scholarly approach lies in grounding oneself in the Chinese land and delving into the Chinese scene. Only by embedding research within the triple scenes of five thousand years of continuous civilization, a super-large-scale society, and socialism with Chinese characteristics can we produce Chinese knowledge that truly reads, explains, and benefits humanity. Here, I would like to offer some thoughts and suggestions on the development of China studies in the New Era, centered on the theme “Delve into the Vast Chinese Scene and Expand China Studies.”

当中国学日益成为国际显学，我们在实践中愈发感到：离开中国场景，任何关于中国的叙事都有可能变成隔岸观景。拓展中国学研究，治学之道在于立足中国大地、深入中国场景。唯有把研究嵌入五千年连续文明、超大规模社会与中国特色社会主义这三重场景，才能产出真正读懂中国、解释中国、造福人类的中国知识。在此，我想围绕“深入博大中国场景，拓展中国学研究”这一主题，就新时代的中国学发展谈几点思考和建议。

First, grasp the temporal scene of China studies from the inheritance and development of a civilization spanning over five thousand years. This ancient land of China has nurtured a splendid and brilliant Chinese civilization, which, after more than five thousand years of trials and tribulations, still shines brightly. Rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese civilization, China studies will gain a continuous stream of research topics and intellectual resources; this is the temporal coordinate, value foundation, and source of innovation for China studies. Two years ago, in his congratulatory letter to the First World Conference on China Studies, President Xi Jinping insightfully pointed out that “China studies is the study of historical China, and also the study of contemporary China,” and that “only by tracing the source of history can we understand the real world, and only by following the roots of culture can we identify contemporary China.” China studies must examine not only contemporary Chinese politics, economy, and society but also ancient Chinese language, philosophy, and culture, especially the influence of Chinese philosophy and culture on contemporary China’s development. Only by connecting the past and the present, tracing the source of historical China, identifying the development of contemporary China, and pondering and exploring the future of humanity can we continuously provide Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to solve the problems of the times.

第一，从五千多年文明的传承与发展中把握中国学研究的时间场景。中国这片古老的土地，孕育了灿烂辉煌的中华文明，历经五千多年风雨洗礼，依旧熠熠生辉。立足于中华文明的丰厚土壤，中国学研究将获得持续不断的研究题目与思想资源，这是中国学研究的时间坐标、价值基点和创新源泉。两年前，习近平主席在向首届世界中国学大会的贺信中高屋建瓴地指出，“中国学是历史中国之学，也是当代中国之学”，“溯历史的源头才能理解现实的世界，循文化的根基才能辨识当今的中国”。中国学既要研究中国当代的政治、经济与社会，也要研究中国古代的语言、哲学和文化，特别是中国哲学、文化对当代中国发展的影响。只有贯通古今，追溯历史中国的源头，辨识当今中国的发展，思索和探求人类的前途命运，才能源源不断为破解时代难题提供中国智慧和中国方案。

Second, grasp the spatial scene of China studies from the background of governance and prosperity of a super-large-scale country. The current “China Miracle” is a systematic and holistic great achievement. I believe it has three prominent manifestations: first, rapid economic development; second, long-term harmony and stability in a super-large-scale society; and third, the outstanding effectiveness of national governance. These three perspectives together constitute the “spatial scene” that China studies can observe, verify, and compare. First, the economic dimension provides the largest-scale continuous data: a population of over 1.4 billion and a GDP exceeding 130 trillion yuan mean that the micro-effects of any industrial policy can be rapidly amplified and quantified, contributing a rare “large-sample laboratory” to development economics and industrial economics. Second, the social dimension presents order within diversity: from coastal megacities to western border villages, 660,000 urban and rural communities operate under the same legal framework, with population flows, information flows, and logistics interacting at high frequency within a unified market, yet maintaining overall security and order. Finally, the governance dimension involves a five-level chain of major decision-making—“central-provincial-city-county-township”—enabling political science and policy science to test governance effectiveness on a “great-power scale.” The coexistence and mutual support of economic magnitude, social scale, and governance detail constitute the unique spatial scene that China, as a super-large-scale country, provides to global China studies.

第二，从超大规模国家的治理与繁荣背景中把握中国学研究的空间场景。当今的“中国奇迹”是一个系统性、整体性的伟大成就，我认为它有三个方面的突出体现：一是经济的高速发展，二是超大规模社会的长期和谐稳定，三是国家治理的卓越有效。这三重视野共同构成了中国学可观察、可验证、可比较的“空间场景”。首先，经济维度提供了最大规模的连续数据：14亿多人口、超过130万亿元GDP，使任何一项产业政策的微观效应都能被迅速放大并量化呈现，为发展经济学、产业经济学贡献了罕见的“大样本实验室”。其次，社会维度呈现出差异中的有序：从沿海特大城市到西部边疆村寨，66万个城乡社区在同一法律框架下运行，人口流动、信息流动和物流在统一市场内高频互动，却保持了总体的安全与秩序。最后，治理维度重大决策“中央—省—市—县—乡”的五级链条，使政治学与政策科学有机会在“大国尺度”上检验治理效能。经济之巨、社会之大、治理之细同时并存且互为支撑，正是中国作为超大规模国家向世界中国学研究提供的独特空间场景。

Third, grasp the ecological scene of China studies from socialism with Chinese characteristics. Contemporary China is writing the most magnificent chapter of modernization in human history. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the broad path for China to catch up with and lead the times. The ecological scene of China studies lies not in abstract principles, but in the “living experience” woven from the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics. For example, the multi-layered institutional framework of Party leadership, the system of people’s congresses, multiparty cooperation and political consultation, regional ethnic autonomy, and grassroots self-governance provides political science and public administration with a continuous sample of “great-power governance.” The interweaving of institutional operation with history and culture, and the interactive model of central coordination and local innovation, embody the traditional governance logic of “affairs lie in the four directions, but the key lies in the center” [1]1 “Affairs lie in the four directions, but the key lies in the center” (事在四方，要在中央) is a classical Chinese expression from the Legalist text *Han Feizi*, emphasizing that while administrative tasks are distributed across localities, ultimate authority and coordination rest with the central government.; the extensive application of consultative democracy continues the Confucian gene of “harmony in diversity” [2]2 “Harmony in diversity” (和而不同) is a Confucian concept from the *Analects*, advocating unity and coexistence without requiring uniformity, often cited to describe the principle of consultative democracy.. Observing how socialism with Chinese characteristics enriches and develops in Chinese soil, bursting with vigorous vitality, can both verify the applicability boundaries of existing theories and refine new analytical frameworks, providing a standardized, transparent, and replicable research paradigm for global governance studies.

第三，从中国特色社会主义把握中国学研究的生态场景。当代中国正在书写的，是人类历史上规模最为宏阔的现代化篇章。中国特色社会主义是中国大踏步赶上时代、引领时代发展的康庄大道。中国学的生态场景不在抽象的原则，而在中国特色社会主义道路、理论、制度、文化交织而成的“活的经验”之中。例如，党的领导、人民代表大会制度、多党合作和政治协商、民族区域自治、基层群众自治等多层制度架构，为政治学、公共管理学贡献了“大国治理”的连续样本。制度运行与历史文化相互嵌套，中央统筹与地方创新的互动模式内含着“事在四方、要在中央”的传统治理逻辑；协商民主的广泛运用，延续了“和而不同”的儒家基因。观察中国特色社会主义在中国土壤中丰富和发展，迸发出蓬勃的生机与活力，既能验证既有理论的适用边界，也能提炼出新的分析框架，为全球治理研究提供规范、透明且可复制的研究范式。

Thus, it can be seen that the new form of human civilization is not an abstract concept, but a concentrated manifestation of Chinese civilization, Chinese society, and socialism with Chinese characteristics in the present era. When China engages in dialogue with the world using original categories such as “whole-process people’s democracy,” “Chinese-path modernization,” and “a community with a shared future for mankind,” China studies is no longer merely “object research” but should become “theoretical co-construction”; it should no longer only answer “what is China,” but should deeply explore “what new form of civilization can China provide for humanity.” The path of Chinese-path modernization and the new form of human civilization created by the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people are not only the real samples that China studies must confront, but also important breakthroughs for China studies to participate in global academic competition and contribute universal knowledge. It will open new paths, provide new choices, and contribute new wisdom for the development of human civilization, allowing the world to see that China is not only an ancient civilization in history, but also an active participant, promoter, and leader in the development of civilization in the present era.

由此可见，人类文明新形态不是抽象概念，而是中华文明、中国社会、中国特色社会主义在当今时代的集中呈现。当中国用“全过程人民民主”“中国式现代化”“人类命运共同体”等原创范畴与海外对话时，中国学不再只是“对象研究”，而应当成为“理论共建”；不再只回答“中国是什么”，而应当深入探讨“中国能为人类提供何种新的文明形态”。中国共产党和中国人民创造的中国式现代化道路、创造的人类文明新形态，既是中国学必须直面的现实样本，也是中国学参与全球学术竞争、贡献普遍知识的重要突破口。它将为人类文明的发展开辟新的道路、提供新的选择、贡献新的智慧，让世界看到中国不仅是历史上的文明古国，更是当今时代文明发展的积极参与者、推动者、引领者。

China studies is not only about scholarship; it is also about the future of humanity. I look forward to our joint efforts, with a more open mindset, a more pragmatic style, and more innovative thinking, to delve into the Chinese scene, promote the continuous development of China studies, and strive to build a better world.

中国学不仅关乎学术，更关乎人类的未来。期待我们共同努力，以更加开放的心态、更加务实的作风、更加创新的思维，深入中国场景，推动中国学研究不断向前发展，为构建一个更加美好的世界而努力奋斗。

(The author is President of Renmin University of China)

（作者系中国人民大学校长）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧