The Elements, Model and Changes of Chinese-Path Modernization

In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping solemnly declared, “From now on, the central task of the Communist Party of China is to unite and lead the people of all ethnic groups across the country in building a great modern socialist country in all respects, achieving the Second Centenary Goal, and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through Chinese-path modernization.”[1]1 The Third Plenary Session refers to the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC, held in 1978, which marked the beginning of the reform and opening up era. The series *Selected Important Documents Since the Third Plenary Session* collects key Party documents from that point onward.21 For modern people, modernization is a familiar term. However, to understand what elements Chinese-path modernization includes, how these elements relate to each other, what model they form, and what changes and patterns these models exhibit across different historical periods, a panoramic understanding is needed. Therefore, it is very important to grasp the elements and model of Chinese-path modernization as a whole, and especially to find the patterns and trends of development from the changes in the model. An understanding of this subject not only directly affects the theoretical innovation and knowledge system of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, but also affects the practice of Chinese-path modernization. Starting from this point, this paper attempts to use a corpus of classic texts and methods of big data text and content analysis to examine this issue, hoping to produce some innovative insights into Chinese-path modernization.

在党的二十大报告中，习近平总书记庄严宣布，“从现在起，中国共产党的中心任务就是团结带领全国各族人民全面建成社会主义现代化强国、实现第二个百年奋斗目标，以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴”[1]21。对于现代化，中国人大多耳熟能详。然而，中国式现代化都包含哪些要素，这些要素之间的关系如何，形成什么样的模式，（公众号：马克思主义理论研究）这些模式在不同的历史时期又呈现出怎样的变化及规律，就需要有一个全景式的认识。因此，从总体上理解中国式现代化的要素、模式，尤其是从模式变迁中找到发展的规律与趋势，就非常重要。对这一主题的认识，不仅直接影响到马克思主义中国化的理论创新和知识体系，更会影响到中国式现代化建设的实践。正是由此出发，本文试图用经典文献的语料库，通过大数据分析文本和内容的方法，对这一问题加以考察，以期对中国式现代化有一些创新性的认识。

I. Research Design and Methods

一、研究设计与方法

The Communist Party of China has formed a very distinctive style in governing the country. The entire Party is highly unified in thought, theory, and goals, especially highly unified around the collected works, selected works, and speeches of the leaders. This is a process of mutual causation between top-down and bottom-up: on the one hand, the leaders’ thoughts are the crystallization of the wisdom of the entire Party, the result of democratic centralism; on the other hand, the entire Party will be highly unified in thought and action based on the leaders’ thoughts. Therefore, the collected works and selected works of the leaders become the most important and representative corpus basis for our analysis of Chinese-path modernization. This study selected *The Collected Works of Mao Zedong* (Volumes 1–8)①, *Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping* (Volumes 1–3), *Selected Works of Jiang Zemin* (Volumes 1–3), *Selected Works of Hu Jintao* (Volumes 1–3), and *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China* (Volumes 1–4) as the basic objects of analysis. These five sets of texts were used as the primary corpus, from which the 50 words adjacent to the text “modernization” were extracted, forming a 320,000-word corpus on “modernization” from the leaders of the Communist Party of China. In addition to using the above five sets of texts as the corpus, this study also digitized the series of important documents from *Selected Important Documents Since the Third Plenary Session* to *Selected Important Documents Since the 19th National Congress of the CPC*, using them as an auxiliary corpus to verify the above five sets of texts, ensuring the reliability of the results. In terms of methods, this study used big data text analysis and content analysis methods, combining quantitative and qualitative analysis to obtain more reliable results.

中国共产党治国理政形成了非常鲜明的风格。全党在思想上、理论上、目标上高度统一，尤其是高度统一于领导人的文集、文选、讲话当中。这是一个自上而下和自下而上互为因果的过程：一方面是领导人的思想是全党智慧的结晶，是民主集中的结果；另一方面是全党在思想和行动上会依据领导人的思想具有高度的统一性。因此，领导人的文集、选集等文献就成为我们分析中国式现代化最为重要、最具代表性的语料基础。本研究选择了《毛泽东文集》（1—8卷）①、《邓小平文选》（1—3卷）、《江泽民文选》（1—3卷）、《胡锦涛文选》（1—3卷）和《习近平谈治国理政》（1—4 卷）作为基本的分析对象，并把这五套文献作为一级语料库，抽取了与“现代化”这一文本邻近的50 个词，（公众号：马克思主义理论研究）形成了32 万字的有关中国共产党领导人“现代化”的语料库。另外，除了把上述五套文献作为语料库外，本研究还将《三中全会以来重要文献选编》到《十九大以来重要文献选编》系列重要文献数字化，将之作为上述五套文献语料库的辅助语料库进行验证，以保证结果的可靠性。在方法上，本研究使用了大数据文本分析和内容分析等方法，并将定量分析与定性分析结合起来，以便获得更为可靠的结果。

To better analyze the basic features of the modernization discourse in the five sets of texts, this study used “modernization” as the reference point and employed the qualitative analysis software Nvivo 11 to conduct a basic analysis of reference points and coverage① for the texts. The basic situation is shown in Table 1. From the table, it can be seen that the Party and state leaders all attached great importance to modernization, mentioning it many times, but there were also significant differences. For example, the first five volumes of *The Collected Works of Mao Zedong* did not mention “modernization,” and Volume 1 of *Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping* mentioned it only three times. The main reason is that the first five volumes of *The Collected Works of Mao Zedong* and Volume 1 of *Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping* were both produced during the Chinese revolutionary period, when “modernization” had not yet become a major concept used by the Communist Party of China. However, after the founding of the People’s Republic of China in 1949, the concept of “modernization” ran through the construction and reform of New China, especially the entire process of reform. Although “modernization” did not have a particularly high coverage rate in the five sets of texts, it was particularly striking because modernization appeared as a goal.

为了更好地分析五套文献中现代化话语的基本面貌，本研究以“现代化”为参考点，用质性分析软件Nvivo 11 对文献进行了基本的参考点和覆盖率①分析，基本情况如表1所示。由表中可以看到，党和国家领导人对现代化都高度重视，多次提及，但也有较大的差别，如《毛泽东文集》中前5卷没有提及“现代化”，《邓小平文选》第1 卷只提及3 次，主要原因是《毛泽东文集》前5 卷和《邓小平文选》第1卷都产生于中国革命时期，“现代化”还未成为中国共产党主要使用的概念。但是1949年新中国成立以后，“现代化”这一概念贯穿了新中国的建设与改革，尤其是改革的整个过程。虽然“现代化”在五套文献中没有特别高的覆盖率，但因为现代化是作为目标出现的，所以格外引人注目。

Table 1 Reference Points and Coverage of “Modernization” in the Five Sets of Texts

表1 五套文献“现代化”的参考点和覆盖率

II. The Elements of Chinese-Path Modernization

二、中国式现代化的要素

From Mao Zedong’s proposal of “modernization” in the “Order of the Military Commission on the Collective Transfer of Troops to Civilian Work” in 1952[2]2 “The Party” (党) here refers specifically to the Communist Party of China (CPC), the ruling party of the People’s Republic of China.224, to the theme of the 20th National Congress of the CPC in 2022, “Hold High the Great Banner of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics and Strive in Unity to Build a Modern Socialist Country in All Respects”[1]1 The Third Plenary Session refers to the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC, held in 1978, which marked the beginning of the reform and opening up era. The series *Selected Important Documents Since the Third Plenary Session* collects key Party documents from that point onward.1, it can be said that the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics has always been aimed at modernization. What basic elements does Chinese-path modernization include? This is a question on which opinions differ. Different people will explain the elements of modernization from different perspectives, and in different historical periods, people’s understanding of modernization will also differ. Extracting the elements of modernization on which people in the same period have consensus, while also considering the elements of modernization that have been inherited over time from different periods, is the goal of this paper. Thus, this paper will analyze the relatively stable elements in the historical process of China’s modernization as a whole, enabling a better consideration of the relationships between elements. To better analyze the structural elements of China’s modernization system as a whole, the author adopted a topic model analysis of extracting key shared words②. The specific operation was to extract the top 10 keywords by total co-occurrence frequency③ from the five sets of texts and observe their sharing. The preliminary statistical results are shown in Table 2.

从1952 年毛泽东在《军委关于部队集体转业的命令》提出“现代化”[2]224，到2022 年党的二十大以“高举中国特色社会主义伟大旗帜，为全面建设社会主义现代化国家而团结奋斗”[1]1为主题，可以说中国特色社会主义的建设一直都是以现代化为目标的。中国式现代化包括哪些基本要素，这是一个见仁见智的问题。不同的人会从不同的角度解释现代化的要素，不同的历史时期，人们对现代化的理解也会有所不同。提炼出同一时期人们具有共识的现代化要素，同时将不同时期人们前后有所继承的现代化要素也考虑进来，这是本文致力的目标，由此，本文就会在总体上分析出中国现代化历史进程中相对稳定的要素，从而能够更好地考虑要素间的关系。为了更好地从整体上分析中国现代化体系的结构要素，笔者采取了提取关键共享词的主题模型分析②，具体操作是提取五套文献总共现频率③排名前10的关键词，观察其共享情况。初步统计的结果如表2所示。

Analyzing this shared word list, the author found that the modernization discourse system in the five sets of texts showed good sharing. Compared with other texts, *The Collected Works of Mao Zedong* showed greater independence. The reason is that the content collected in *The Collected Works of Mao Zedong* is mainly concentrated in the two periods of revolution and construction, and the discourse on modernization is diluted. The core words in the modernization discourse system, “reform” and “opening up,” also had low coverage in *The Collected Works of Mao Zedong*, and “opening up” did not co-occur with “modernization.” Relatively speaking, *Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping* is at the beginning of reform, while *Selected Works of Jiang Zemin* and *Selected Works of Hu Jintao* are closer to each other, both in the process of deepening reform. China’s modernization moved toward comprehensive development, and the modernization discourse system in *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China* reflects more theoretical innovation. To verify this result, the author performed the same operation on the modernization corpus formed from the selected important documents. The top 10 were: “construction,” “socialism,” “development,” “reform,” “opening up,” “our country,” “the Party,” “society,” “China,” and “the people” (see Table 3 for details). In Table 2, “economy” and “state,” which entered the top 10, ranked 11th and 12th respectively in Table 3, which also verifies the reliability of this study. Below, the author will use qualitative analysis methods to determine the reliability of these elements.

分析这一共享词表，笔者发现五套文献中现代化话语体系呈现出较好的共享性。与其他文献相比，《毛泽东文集》表现出更强的独立性，原因是《毛泽东文集》收录的内容主要集中在革命和建设两个时期，有关现代化的话语被稀释。处于现代化话语体系核心地位的“改革”“开放”在《毛泽东文集》中覆盖率也不高，“开放”并没有与“现代化”共同出现。（公众号：马克思主义理论研究）相对来讲，《邓小平文选》处于改革初期，而《江泽民文选》和《胡锦涛文选》则更为接近，都处于改革不断深化的进程中。中国的现代化走向全面发展，（公众号：马克思主义理论研究）《习近平谈治国理政》中的现代化话语体系体现出更多的理论创新。为了验证这一结果，笔者将重要文献选编中形成的现代化语料库进行了同样的操作，排名前10 的分别为：“建设”“社会主义”“发展”“改革”“开放”“我国”“党”“社会”“中国”和“人民”（具体情况见表3）。在表2 中进入前10 的“经济”和“国家”在表3 中分别位列第11 和12，这也验证了本研究的可靠性。下面笔者将用定性分析的方法来确定这些要素的可靠性。

Table 2 Coverage of Key Shared Words (Unit %)

表2 关键共享词的覆盖率（单位%）

(I) Modernization Built by the People under the Leadership of the Communist Party of China

（一）中国共产党领导人民建设的现代化

As the most important political subject, the keyword “the Party” [2]2 “The Party” (党) here refers specifically to the Communist Party of China (CPC), the ruling party of the People’s Republic of China. holds significant meaning for understanding Chinese-path modernization. In the discourse system of Chinese-path modernization, the reference count for “the Party” is 1,180, with a coverage rate of 1.35%, ranking fourth (see Table 4). In the modernization corpus formed from selected important documents, “the Party” ranks seventh (see Table 3). If we add the word frequencies that explicitly refer to the Party, such as “Central” (126, 0.14%) and “Communist Party” (103, 0.12%), this further illustrates the important position of the Communist Party of China within the discourse system of Chinese-path modernization. In the process of China’s modernization, whether during the revolutionary period, the period of socialist construction, or the period of reform and opening up, the leadership of the Communist Party of China has played a decisive role. Among the concepts co-occurring with modernization, “the people” (969, 1.11%) ranks sixth (see Table 4) and is the most fundamental political subject in the discourse system of Chinese-path modernization. Because in many contexts, “the people” is used interchangeably with “the masses” (219, 0.25%), if combined, the reference point and coverage rate of “the people” would be even higher. In fact, the Communist Party of China leading the people has become a basic model of Chinese politics, reflected not only in the process of advancing modernization but also in numerous concepts such as democracy [3]3 “Democracy” (民主) in the Chinese political context refers to the CPC’s conception of democracy, which emphasizes collective decision-making under Party leadership, distinct from liberal democratic models. and whole-process people’s democracy [4]4 “Whole-process people’s democracy” (全过程人民民主) is a CPC concept describing a form of democracy that encompasses all aspects of political life—electoral, consultative, decision-making, and supervisory—under Party leadership.. Another point worth mentioning is that the word “construction” has a reference point of 2,965 in the discourse system of Chinese-path modernization, with a coverage rate of 3.40%, ranking first (see Table 4). Some scholars have also studied “construction” in Chinese politics, proposing theories of state-building or state construction.

作为最重要的政治主体，“党”①这个关键词对于理解中国式现代化有着重要的意义。“党”在中国式现代化话语体系当中的参考点计数为1180，覆盖率达到1.35%，排名第4 位（见表4）。在重要文献选编中形成的现代化语料库中，“党”排在第7位（见表3）。如果加上“中央”（126，0.14%）、“共产党”（103，0.12%）这样明确指称党的词频数，就更能说明在中国式现代化的话语体系当中，中国共产党在其中的重要地位。在中国现代化的进程中，无论是革命时期还是社会主义建设时期，抑或是改革开放时期，（公众号：马克思主义理论研究）中国共产党的领导都是起决定性作用的。在与现代化共现的概念当中，“人民”（969，1.11%）排名第6（见表4），是中国式现代化话语体系当中最为基础的政治主体。因为在很多语境中“人民”与“群众”（219，0.25%）一词通用，如果合并的话，“人民”的参考点和覆盖率会更高。而实际上，中国共产党领导人民几乎成了中国政治的一个基本模式，这不仅体现在推进现代化的进程当中，还体现在民主[3]、全过程人民民主[4]等众多的概念当中。另外值得一提的是，“建设”这个词在中国式现代化的话语体系当中的参考点是2965，覆盖率达到了3.40%，排名第1（见表4）。也有学者对中国政治中的“建设”进行研究，提出了国家建构理论或者国家建设理论。

Table 3: Ranking of Modernization Keyword Sharing in the Selected Important Documents Corpus

表3 重要文献选编语料库中的现代化关键词共享情况排位

Table 4: Ranking of Keyword Sharing in the Five Sets of Document Corpora

表4 五套文献语料库关键词共享情况排序

The prominent position of the two main subjects, “the Communist Party of China” and “the people,” in the discourse of Chinese-path modernization indicates that, in the theory and practice of Chinese-path modernization, the Communist Party of China leading the people in building Chinese-path modernization is the fundamental subject choice of Chinese-path modernization. Historically, the Communist Party of China has always emphasized being heart-to-heart, breathing the same air, and sharing the same fate with the Chinese people. From the purpose of “serving the people,” to “representing the fundamental interests of the broadest majority of the people,” and then to the development concept of “people-centered,” the theory and practice of Chinese-path modernization have consistently highlighted the consistency of value orientation between the Communist Party of China leading the people in building Chinese-path modernization. From a practical perspective, the report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC further highlighted this subject characteristic of Chinese-path modernization, clarifying that Chinese-path modernization is the socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China, that upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China is the essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization, and that upholding and strengthening the Party’s overall leadership is a major principle for building Chinese-path modernization [1]1 The Third Plenary Session refers to the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC, held in 1978, which marked the beginning of the reform and opening up era. The series *Selected Important Documents Since the Third Plenary Session* collects key Party documents from that point onward.22, 23, 26. Achieving common prosperity for all the people is the essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization, and adhering to the people-centered development thought is a major principle that must be firmly grasped in comprehensively building a modern socialist country [1]1 The Third Plenary Session refers to the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC, held in 1978, which marked the beginning of the reform and opening up era. The series *Selected Important Documents Since the Third Plenary Session* collects key Party documents from that point onward.22-24, 27.

“中国共产党”“人民”这两大主体在中国式现代化话语中的显要地位说明，在中国式现代化的理论与实践当中，中国共产党领导中国人民建设中国式现代化，是中国式现代化的基本主体选择。从历史上看，中国共产党始终强调与中国人民心连心、同呼吸、共命运。从“为人民服务”的宗旨意识，到“代表最广大人民根本利益”，一直到“以人民为中心”的发展理念，（公众号：马克思主义理论研究）中国式现代化的理论与实践都突出了中国共产党领导人民建设中国式现代化的价值取向一致性。从现实上看，党的二十大报告更是突出了中国式现代化的这一主体特征，明确了中国式现代化是中国共产党领导的社会主义现代化，坚持中国共产党领导是中国式现代化的本质要求，坚持和加强党的全面领导是中国式现代化建设的重大原则[1]22，23，26。实现全体人民共同富裕，是中国式现代化的本质要求，坚持以人民为中心的发展思想是全面建设社会主义现代化国家必须牢牢把握的重大原则[1]22-24，27。

(II) Socialist Modernization

（二）社会主义的现代化

The concept of “socialism” has a reference point of 2,047 in the discourse system of Chinese-path modernization, with a coverage rate of 2.35%, ranking second, which is also particularly striking (see Table 4). This suggests another characteristic of Chinese-path modernization: it is socialist modernization. “Socialist modernization” has become a fixed collocation, with a reference point of 947 in documents such as *Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping*, *Selected Works of Jiang Zemin*, *Selected Works of Hu Jintao*, and *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China*. In the theme of the report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, “socialist modern country” is a fixed collocation. In fact, when the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC proposed advancing the “modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity,” it also emphasized socialism, with the complete formulation being, “the overall goal of comprehensively deepening reform is to perfect and develop the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and advance the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity” [5]5 The Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC was held in 2013 and is known for adopting a comprehensive reform agenda..

“社会主义”这一概念在中国式现代化话语体系中的参考点是2047，覆盖率达到了2.35%，排名第2，也格外引人注目（见表4）。这提示了我们中国式现代化的另一个特征，就是中国式现代化是社会主义的现代化，“社会主义现代化”已经成为一个固定搭配，在《邓小平文选》《江泽民文选》《胡锦涛文选》和《习近平谈治国理政》等文献中的参考点达到947。党的二十大报告主题中“社会主义现代化国家”就是一个固定搭配。实际上，党的十八届三中全会提出推进“国家治理体系和治理能力现代化”时，也是强调了社会主义，其完整的表述是，“全面深化改革的总目标是完善和发展中国特色社会主义制度，推进国家治理体系和治理能力现代化”[5]。

The Communist Party of China leading the Chinese people in revolution, construction, and reform has always revolved around the main thread of socialism. Revolution was to build a socialist country, construction was to build socialism in China, and reform was to adjust those parts of the relations of production that were incompatible with the productive forces. The modernization that began after the founding of New China was naturally completed within the overall framework of socialism. The socialist system generally provides the framework for Chinese-path modernization. Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of achieving common prosperity for all the people. Achieving common prosperity for all the people is a Chinese characteristic that distinguishes Chinese-path modernization from the common characteristics of modernization in various countries and is the essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization. This essential requirement and Chinese characteristic of Chinese-path modernization are based on the understanding of the socialist system. Deng Xiaoping pointed out, “The essence of socialism is to liberate and develop the productive forces, eliminate exploitation and polarization, and ultimately achieve common prosperity” [6]6 The “Four Modernizations” (四个现代化) were goals set in the 1960s–1970s to modernize agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology.373. In this sense, ultimately achieving common prosperity is the essence of socialism and an important content of Chinese-path modernization.

中国共产党领导中国人民进行革命、建设和改革，都是围绕着社会主义的主线展开的。革命是为了建设社会主义国家，建设是为了在中国建成社会主义，改革是为了调整生产关系当中与生产力不相适应的部分。而在新中国成立之后开始的现代化自然是在社会主义的总体框架下完成的。社会主义制度在总体上为中国式现代化提供了框架。中国式现代化是实现全体人民共同富裕的现代化。实现全体人民共同富裕是中国式现代化区别于各国现代化共同特征的中国特色，是中国式现代化的本质要求。中国式现代化的这一本质要求和中国特色，就是基于对社会主义制度的理解。邓小平指出，“社会主义的本质，是解放生产力，发展生产力，消灭剥削，消除两极分化，最终达到共同富裕”[6]373。从这个意义上讲，最终达到共同富裕是社会主义的本质，也是中国式现代化的重要内容。

(III) Modernization Driven by Reform and Opening Up

（三）以改革开放为动力的现代化

Chinese-path modernization is driven by reform and opening up. Among the concepts co-occurring with modernization, both “reform” and “opening up” entered the top ten. Specifically, “reform” co-occurs with “modernization” 1,173 times, with a coverage rate of 1.35%, ranking fourth; “opening up” co-occurs with “modernization” 817 times, with a coverage rate of 0.94%, ranking ninth (see Table 4). It can be said that reform and opening up are closely linked to Chinese-path modernization, accompanying the entire process of Chinese-path modernization and serving as the main driving force for Chinese-path modernization.

中国式现代化是以改革开放为动力的。在与现代化共现的概念中，“改革”和“开放”都进入了前10 名。其中，“改革”与“现代化”共同出现1173次，覆盖率达到1.35%，排名第4；“开放”与“现代化”共同出现817 次，覆盖率达到0.94%，排名第9（见表4）。可以说，改革开放与中国式现代化息息相关，伴随了中国式现代化的全过程，是驱动中国式现代化的主要动力。

China’s reform and opening up and Chinese-path modernization are closely connected in theory and practice. Semantically, reform has a natural connection with modernization. If understood literally, reform is a kind of change, and modernization even more prominently emphasizes transformation; modernization inherently requires reform. Looking at China’s reform and opening up, it is highly consistent with the theory and practice of modernization. In terms of social attributes, China’s reform is a socialist reform, adjusting those parts of the relations of production that are incompatible with the productive forces, and China’s modernization is also socialist in nature. In terms of ultimate goals, reform aims at development, and modernization also aims at development; the two are aligned in their objectives. The goals of the “Four Modernizations” [7]7 The “moderately prosperous society” (小康社会) is a socio-economic development goal first proposed by Deng Xiaoping, aiming for a society where the basic needs of the population are met, later expanded under Xi Jinping to “comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society.” and the “moderately prosperous society” [8]8 The “Four Modernizations” (四个现代化) refers to the goals of modernizing agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology, first formally proposed by Zhou Enlai in 1964 and later revived by Deng Xiaoping as a central policy objective. were also the goals of reform and opening up. Only through reform and opening up could China achieve higher levels of economic and social development.

中国的改革开放与中国式现代化在理论与实践上是紧密联系的。就语义上来讲，改革与现代化有着天然的联系。如果只是从字面意义上理解，改革是一种变化，现代化更是突出了一种变革，现代化就是需要改革的。就中国的改革开放来看，改革开放同现代化的理论与实践更是高度吻合。从社会属性上来看，中国的改革是社会主义性质的改革，是调整生产关系当中与生产力不相适应的部分，中国的现代化也是社会主义性质的。从最终目标上看，改革以发展为目标，现代化也是以发展为目标，两者在目标上是吻合的。“四个现代化”目标、“小康社会”目标同时也是改革开放的目标。也只有通过改革开放，中国才会获得更高水平的经济与社会发展。

(IV) Modernization with Development as Its Goal

（四）以发展为目标的现代化

The goal of development holds significant importance for understanding Chinese-path modernization. As a goal, “development” occupies an extremely important position in Chinese-path modernization, which is an important manifestation of the historical materialism of Chinese Communists. By statistically analyzing the concept of “development” co-occurring with “modernization,” we can clearly see that Party and state leaders have not all understood modernization from the perspective of development; rather, it shows a trend of continuous increase over time. By the time of Hu Jintao, the concept of “development” co-occurred with modernization the most frequently (715 times in total), with the highest coverage rate (1.62%) (see Table 5).

发展的目标对于理解中国式现代化有着重要的意义。作为目标，“发展”在中国式现代化中具有极其重要的地位，这是中国共产党人唯物史观的重要表现。通过统计与“现代化”共同出现的“发展”这一概念，我们可以清晰地看到，党和国家领导人并不是都从发展的角度理解现代化，而是在时间序列上表现出不断增高的趋势。到胡锦涛，“发展”的概念与现代化共同出现的次数最多（总计715次），覆盖率最高（1.62%）（见表5）。

Table 5: Coverage Rate of “Development” in the Five Sets of Document Corpora

表5 “发展”在五套文献语料库中的覆盖率情况

Early modernization, whether proposed by Mao Zedong or Deng Xiaoping, was put forward on the basis of the “four modernizations,” placing greater emphasis on industrialization and highlighting the central position of economic construction. The “moderately prosperous society” is a comprehensive development concept that not only includes economic development but also broadly encompasses the political and cultural content of society. Moreover, in terms of the concept of development, it shifted from the earlier “efficiency first with due consideration to fairness” to the Scientific Outlook on Development. The “Scientific Outlook on Development” was written into the Party Constitution as a guiding ideology, an important milestone that not only became a major theoretical innovation but also an integral part of the historical outlook of the Communist Party of China. Since entering the New Era, the development concept of Chinese-path modernization has also undergone significant development. (Public account: Marxist Theory Research) The development mode of Chinese-path modernization has gradually shifted from “high-speed development” to “high-quality development,” and new development concepts such as “innovation, coordination, green, openness, and sharing” have taken deep root in people’s hearts. From a semantic analysis, Deng Xiaoping’s “development is the absolute principle,” to Hu Jintao’s “Scientific Outlook on Development,” and then to high-quality development and the people-centered new development concept, this expresses both the consistent pursuit of development by Chinese-path modernization and the changes in the concept of development across different historical periods in China.

早期现代化，无论是毛泽东，还是邓小平，都是在“四个现代化”基础上提出来的，更侧重工业化，强调了经济建设的中心地位。“小康社会”就是一个综合的发展理念，不仅包括经济发展，同时也广泛地将社会的政治、文化内容涵盖进来。不仅如此，在发展的理念上，也由原来的效率优先、兼顾公平，转变为科学发展观。“科学发展观”作为指导思想被写入党章，这是一个重要的标志，不但成为重大的理论创新，而且成为中国共产党历史观的重要组成部分。进入新时代以来，中国式现代化的发展观也得到了重要的发展。（公众号：马克思主义理论研究）中国式现代化的发展方式逐渐由“高速度发展”转换为“高质量发展”，“创新、协调、绿色、开放、共享”等新发展理念深入人心。从语义的分析来看，邓小平提出“发展是硬道理”到胡锦涛提出“科学发展观”，再到高质量发展、以人民为中心的新发展理念，既表达了中国式现代化对发展的一贯追求，也表现出发展的观念在我国不同历史时期的变化。

To summarize the above analysis, the co-occurring words of “modernization” mainly include keywords such as “socialism,” “Party,” “development,” “construction,” “people,” “economy,” “reform and opening up,” and “state.” Through further analysis of these words, it can be concluded that the conceptual connotation of “Chinese-path modernization” is a strategic goal of the Communist Party of China leading the Chinese people to promote development and build socialism through reform and opening up. In this concept, for the need of theoretical saturation[8]8 The “Four Modernizations” (四个现代化) refers to the goals of modernizing agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology, first formally proposed by Zhou Enlai in 1964 and later revived by Deng Xiaoping as a central policy objective., we selectively eliminated keywords like “China” and added the keyword “strategic goal.” Why was the added keyword “strategic goal” rather than “goal”? There are two reasons: first, from the theme of the report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC, it is to “advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization”[1]1 The Third Plenary Session refers to the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC, held in 1978, which marked the beginning of the reform and opening up era. The series *Selected Important Documents Since the Third Plenary Session* collects key Party documents from that point onward.7, and Chinese-path modernization carries a strategic positioning; second, the original meaning of the word “modernization” itself contains a processual connotation. Therefore, we ultimately position Chinese-path modernization as a strategic goal.

综上分析而言，“现代化”的共现词，主要包括“社 会主义”“党”“发展”“建 设”“人 民”“经济”“改革开放”和“国家”等关键词。经过对这些词的进一步分析可以概括得出“中国式现代化”的概念内涵是中国共产党领导中国人民通过改革开放推动发展、建设社会主义的战略目标。在这个概念当中，为了理论饱和①的需要，我们选择性地剔除了像“中国”这样的关键词，加入了“战略目标”这个关键词。为什么加入的关键词不是“目标”，而是“战略目标”？这有两方面的原因：一是从党的二十大报告的主题来看，是要“以中国式现代化推进中华民族伟大复兴”[1]7，中国式现代化带有战略定位；二是“现代化”这个词的本义就带有过程性的内涵。因此，我们最终将中国式现代化定位为战略目标。

III. Three Models of Chinese-Path Modernization

三、中国式现代化的三个模式

In the historical process of modernization, Chinese-path modernization has manifested in different models at different time periods. The concept of modernization summarized earlier from the various elements is not a concept that can cover all types of modernization across all times. From the founding of New China to before reform and opening up, the “four modernizations” were proposed, and significant achievements were made in the process of socialist construction. In different historical periods, the tasks of the Chinese people in building socialism under the leadership of the Communist Party of China also differed. Historically, Chinese-path modernization has generally experienced three models: the “four modernizations,” the “moderately prosperous society,” and the “modernized state.”

在现代化的历史进程中，中国式现代化在不同的时间段表现为不同的模式。前面总结各要素得出的现代化的概念，并不是一个能够涵盖所有时间、所有类型的现代化概念。在新中国成立之后到改革开放之前，提出过“四个现代化”，并且在社会主义建设过程中取得了很大的成就。在不同的历史时期，中国人民在中国共产党领导下建设社会主义的任务也不尽相同。从历史上看，中国式现代化大体经历了“四个现代化”“小康社会”和“现代化国家”三个模式。

(I) The Four Modernizations

（一）四个现代化

After the founding of New China, Mao Zedong and other Party and state leaders gradually proposed the strategic goal of the “four modernizations.” As early as before the founding of New China, Mao Zedong repeatedly mentioned “modernization,” which actually carried the meaning of “modernization.” As early as 1945, in the political report “On Coalition Government” at the Seventh National Congress of the CPC, Mao Zedong pointed out that “the task of the Chinese working class is not only to struggle for the establishment of a new democratic state but also to struggle for the industrialization and agricultural modernization of China”[7]7 The “moderately prosperous society” (小康社会) is a socio-economic development goal first proposed by Deng Xiaoping, aiming for a society where the basic needs of the population are met, later expanded under Xi Jinping to “comprehensively building a moderately prosperous society.”. Moreover, he also repeatedly mentioned goals such as “developing into a modernized state” and “modernization of the military”[2]2 “The Party” (党) here refers specifically to the Communist Party of China (CPC), the ruling party of the People’s Republic of China.340, 355[8]8 The “Four Modernizations” (四个现代化) refers to the goals of modernizing agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology, first formally proposed by Zhou Enlai in 1964 and later revived by Deng Xiaoping as a central policy objective.[9]9 The 15th National Congress of the CPC (党的十五大) was held in 1997, where Jiang Zemin’s report formally adopted “a moderately prosperous society” (小康社会) as a key goal for socialist modernization.[10]10 The Scientific Outlook on Development (科学发展观) is a guiding socio-economic principle associated with Hu Jintao, emphasizing balanced, sustainable, and people-centered development.404.

新中国成立以后，毛泽东等党和国家领导人逐步提出“四个现代化”的战略目标。早在新中国成立之前，毛泽东就多次提到“近代化”，实际上就是“现代化”的含义。早在1945 年，党的“七大”政治报告《论联合政府》中，毛泽东就指出，“中国工人阶级的任务，不但是为着建立新民主主义的国家而斗争，而且是为着中国的工业化和农业近代化而斗争”[7]。不仅如此，他还多次提及“发展成为近代化国家”“军队近代化”等目标[2]340，355[8][9][10]404。

In 1954, the First Session of the First National People’s Congress proposed the vision of building a powerful modernized industry, modernized agriculture, modernized transportation, and modernized national defense, which was the first version of the “four modernizations.” In 1957, Mao Zedong, in his article “On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People,” proposed “building our country into a socialist state with modern industry, modern agriculture, and modern science and culture”[11]11 The "Four Modernizations" refers to the goals of modernizing agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology, first proposed by Zhou Enlai in 1964 and later revised in 1975. The "moderately prosperous society" (xiaokang shehui) is a concept introduced by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, with two versions: the initial goal of achieving a basic level by 2000 and the later goal of building a "moderately prosperous society in all respects" by 2020, as outlined at the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012.. This goal was later reiterated, forming a version of three modernizations. By 1959, Mao Zedong “added the modernization of national defense”[10]10 The Scientific Outlook on Development (科学发展观) is a guiding socio-economic principle associated with Hu Jintao, emphasizing balanced, sustainable, and people-centered development.116, thus the second version of the “four modernizations” gradually took shape. Later, Zhou Enlai further clarified “modernization of science and culture” as “modernization of science and technology.” By the time of the Third National People’s Congress in 1964, the second version of the “four modernizations,” including industry, agriculture, national defense, and science and technology, was formally established.

1954 年第一届全国人大第一次会议提出建设强大的现代化的工业、现代化的农业、现代化的交通运输业和现代化的国防的设想，这是“四个现代化”的第一个版本。1957 年毛泽东在《关于正确处理人民内部矛盾的问题》一文中提出“将我国建设成为一个具有现代工业、现代农业、现代科学文化的社会主义国家”[11]。此后又重申这一目标，形成了三个现代化的版本。到1959年，毛泽东又“加上国防现代化”[10]116，这样，第二个版本的“四个现代化”逐渐成型。后来周恩来又将“科学文化现代化”进一步明确为“科学技术现代化”。到1964 年第三届全国人大开会时，包括工业、农业、国防、科技在内的第二个版本的“四个现代化”正式成型。

In the collected works and selected works of the leaders, the term “four modernizations” appears mainly concentrated in the “Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping,” totaling 235 mentions, with as many as 184 mentions in Volume 2 of the “Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping.” This reflects the great significance of the “four modernizations” as a goal in the early period of socialist construction and reform in China. In the auxiliary corpus, the “four modernizations” are mentioned 232 times in the “Selected Important Documents Since the Third Plenary Session” (Volume 1), with a coverage rate of 0.16%, and the “Communiqué of the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China” even regarded it as “the greatest historical task of the present”[12]12 The "Four Modernizations" (agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology) were first proposed by Zhou Enlai in 1964 and later revised in 1975. The two versions refer to the original formulation and subsequent adjustments during the reform era.. This situation changed in the “Selected Works of Jiang Zemin,” where it was mentioned a total of 5 times. Although subsequent works like the “Selected Works of Hu Jintao” and “Xi Jinping:

在领导人的文集、文选当中，“四个现代化”的提法主要集中在《邓小平文选》当中，总计提到235次，在《邓小平文选》第2 卷当中更是高达184 次。这反映了“四个现代化”的奋斗目标在中国社会主义建设和改革初期的重大意义。而在辅助语料库中，“四个现代化”在《三中全会以来重要文献选编》（上卷）中被提及有232 次，覆盖率达到了0.16%，《中国共产党第十一届中央委员会第三次全体会议公报》更是将其视为“当前最伟大的历史任务”[12]。这种情况在《江泽民文选》当中就发生了变化，总计被提到5 次。后续的《胡锦涛文选》《习近平谈治国理政》虽然也会提到，但每套文献总计都没有超过4 次。这种话语转型反映了中国式现代化的时代变化。

The “Four Modernizations” were primarily proposed in response to the fields most in need of development in China at the time. Whether in agriculture, industry, national defense, or science and technology, all were urgently needed. Zhou Enlai’s revision of Mao Zedong’s “modernization of science and culture” to “modernization of science and technology” involved both rhetorical considerations and the greater need for technology in the national economic development of the period. The “Four Modernizations” had a strong connotation of industrialization; people even understood the “Four Modernizations” as industrialization, and industrialization was indeed a crucial link within them. Deng Xiaoping’s proposal to “take economic construction as the central task” and develop the Four Modernizations, even understanding the “Four Modernizations” as “the greatest politics,”[13]13 "Moderately prosperous society" (xiaokang shehui) was first proposed by Deng Xiaoping in 1979 as a goal for the year 2000, and later updated to a "comprehensively built moderately prosperous society" (quanmian jiancheng xiaokang shehui) as a goal for 2020.162 also contained this aspect of meaning. With the development of China’s economy, especially the great success of reform and opening up, this model of the “Four Modernizations” focused on key areas and central development was soon realized. Chinese-path modernization increasingly emphasized comprehensive development, forming a modernization model of a moderately prosperous society.

“四个现代化”主要是针对当时中国最需要发展的领域提出来的。无论是农业、工业、国防还是科技，都是当时迫切需要的。周恩来将毛泽东提出的“科学文化现代化”修改为“科学技术现代化”，既有修辞上的考虑，也有当时国民经济发展对技术更需要的成分在里面。“四个现代化”有着强烈的工业化内涵，人们甚至将“四个现代化”理解为工业化，而工业化也确实是“四个现代化”中极为关键的一环。邓小平提出“以经济建设为中心”，发展四个现代化，甚至将“四个现代化”理解为“最大的政治”[13]162也有着这个方面的内涵。随着中国经济的发展，尤其是改革开放取得了巨大的成功，这种以重点领域、中心发展的“四个现代化”很快得到实现，中国式现代化越来越强调全面发展，形成了小康社会的现代化模式。

(2) A Moderately Prosperous Society

（二）小康社会

In 1997, Jiang Zemin explicitly proposed a “moderately prosperous society” in his report to the 15th National Congress of the CPC. This was the first time “a moderately prosperous society” was clearly written into a Party Congress report. In the report, Jiang Zemin clearly stated, “Socialist modernization should have a prosperous economy, and it should also have a prosperous culture.”[14]14 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022, where the goal of building a "socialist modernized country in all respects" by the middle of the 21st century was reaffirmed. The concept of a “moderately prosperous society” formally became the goal of socialist modernization. A “moderately prosperous society” no longer only emphasized certain fields of socialist construction but was a concept of comprehensive construction.

1997 年，江泽民在党的十五大报告中明确提出了“小康社会”，这是“小康社会”第一次被明确写进党代会报告。在报告当中，江泽民明确提出，“社会主义现代化应该有繁荣的经济，也应该有繁荣的文化”[14]。“小康社会”的概念正式成为社会主义现代化建设的目标。“小康社会”不再只是强调社会主义建设的某些领域，而是一个全面建设的概念。

In 2005, Hu Jintao, during an inspection in Jiangsu, explicitly proposed for the first time “completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects” and linked it with the Scientific Outlook on Development. He clearly stated, “Only by thoroughly implementing and applying the Scientific Outlook on Development can we ensure the completion of the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects and the basic realization of modernization ahead of schedule.”[15]15 “Tongxin” (同心) is a common pseudonym used by editors of Chinese Marxist academic journals, literally meaning “united heart” or “shared aspiration,” and does not refer to a specific individual. “Completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects” appeared only twice in Volume 2 of *Selected Works of Hu Jintao*, but increased to 42 times in Volume 3, gradually becoming another goal following “a moderately prosperous society.”

2005 年胡锦涛在江苏考察时第一次明确提出全面建成小康社会，并将科学发展观与之联系在一起。他明确指出“只有贯彻落实好科学发展观，才能确保率先全面建成小康社会、率先基本实现现代化”[15]。“全面建成小康社会”在《胡锦涛文选》第2 卷中只出现过2 次，在第3 卷当中就增长为42次，逐渐成为继“小康社会”之后的另一个目标。

Most striking is the report of the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012, whose theme took “completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects” as its goal[11]11 The "Four Modernizations" refers to the goals of modernizing agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology, first proposed by Zhou Enlai in 1964 and later revised in 1975. The "moderately prosperous society" (xiaokang shehui) is a concept introduced by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, with two versions: the initial goal of achieving a basic level by 2000 and the later goal of building a "moderately prosperous society in all respects" by 2020, as outlined at the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012.. This in effect set the objective of socialist construction from 2012 to 2020. Thereafter, “completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects” became the strategic-goal setting within the Four-Pronged Comprehensive Strategy, and various localities, based on their own characteristics, put forward concepts such as a “high-quality moderately prosperous society.” As socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, the goal of “completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects” was further developed. In Volume 1 of *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China*, “completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects” appears 43 times; in Volumes 2 and 3, it rises to 72 and 82 times respectively. By 2020, after China had completed the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects, the frequency of this concept began to decline, appearing only 44 times in Volume 4.

最引人注目的是2012 年党的十八大报告，报告的主题就是以“全面建成小康社会”为目标[16]，这实际上设定了从2012 年至2020 年的社会主义建设的目标。此后，“全面建成小康社会”成为“四个全面”战略布局中的战略目标性设定，各地还根据自己的特点，提出了“高质量小康社会”等概念。中国特色社会主义进入新时代，“全面建成小康社会”的目标进一步发展，在《习近平谈治国理政》第1 卷当中，“全面建成小康社会”出现了43 次，在第2 卷、第3 卷当中，分别上升到72 次和82 次，到2020 年，我国全面建成小康社会后，这一概念的词频开始下降，在第4卷当中只出现了44次。

From the initial proposal of a “moderately prosperous society” to “completing the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects,” Party and state leaders including Deng Xiaoping, Jiang Zemin, Hu Jintao, and Xi Jinping successively put forward and advanced it layer by layer, making it the modernization goal for which the entire Party, the entire military, and the people of all ethnic groups in the country strove. This goal runs through the more than 40 years of history since China’s reform and opening up, and during this process China also achieved the two miracles of rapid economic development and long-term social stability. The moderately prosperous society represents the inheritance and innovation of the four modernizations model, embodying the process by which Chinese-path modernization moves from being centered to being comprehensive.

从最开始提出“小康社会”到“全面建成小康社会”，邓小平、江泽民、胡锦涛、习近平等党和国家领导人分别提出并层层推进，使之成为全党、全军、全国各族人民为之奋斗的现代化目标，贯穿了我国改革开放以来40 多年的历史，我国也在这个过程中实现了经济快速发展、社会长期稳定的两大奇迹。小康社会是对四个现代化模式的传承和创新，体现了中国式现代化由中心走向全面的过程。

(3) The Modernized State

（三）现代化国家

In 2020, the Fifth Plenary Session of the 19th Central Committee of the CPC proposed “ensuring the completion of the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects on schedule,” fulfilling the pledge made at the 16th National Congress of the CPC in 2002 to “complete the building of a moderately prosperous society in all respects by 2020.” At the same time, this session also clearly set forth the new goal of “comprehensively building a modern socialist country,” marking the successful realization of modernization under the moderately prosperous society model and the formal inauguration of the modernized state model.

2020 年党的十九届五中全会提出“确保如期全面建成小康社会”，兑现了2002年党的十六大提出的“到2020 年全面建成小康社会”的承诺。同时，这次大会还明确提出了“全面建设社会主义现代化国家”的新目标，这标志着小康社会模式的现代化成功实现，现代化国家模式正式开启。

The changes in Chinese-path modernization embody the integration of society and the state. Modernization can be proposed at different levels—for example, the growth of individual modern consciousness, the formation of social modernity, and modernization at the state level. From the perspective of a comprehensively advanced modernization process, China’s modernization goal ultimately must be evenly grounded in modernization at the state level. (Public account: Marxist Theory Research) The earliest two versions of the “four modernizations” mainly emphasized the industrial and economic dimensions, while the two versions of the “moderately prosperous society” mainly emphasized the social dimension, eventually developing into the dimension of the modernized state. This not only reflects the trend from being centered to being comprehensive but also embodies the integration of social and state modernization.

中国式现代化的变迁体现了社会与国家的结合。现代化可以从不同的层次上被提出来，比如，个人现代意识的成长、社会现代性的形成，以及国家层面的现代化。从全面推进的现代化进程来讲，我国的现代化目标最终还是要均衡地落脚到国家层面的现代化。（公众号：马克思主义理论研究）最初两个版本的“四个现代化”主要强调了工业和经济层面，而两个版本的“小康社会”则主要强调社会层面，最终发展到现代化国家层面，不仅体现了由中心向全面的发展趋势，也体现了社会与国家现代化的结合。

The fixed expression “modernized state” does not appear in *The Collected Works of Mao Zedong*; in *The Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping* it appears only once. But in *The Selected Works of Jiang Zemin* and *The Selected Works of Hu Jintao*, it appears 35 and 30 times respectively. In *Xi

“现代化国家”作为固定表达在《毛泽东文集》中没有出现，在《邓小平文选》中也只出现了1 次，但到了《江泽民文选》和《胡锦涛文选》中，分别出现了35 次和30 次。在《习近平谈治国理政》当中，这个固定表达经常性地被使用，出现了99次，覆盖率也达到了0.71%。另外一个固定表达“现代化强国”更是表现出更为明显的新时代特征，在《习近平谈治国理政》当中却出现了36 次，而在《毛泽东文集》中只出现了3次，《邓小平文选》中出现了7次，在《江泽民文选》和《胡锦涛文选》中总计只出现了1次。

In November 2013, the Third Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the CPC [11]11 The "Four Modernizations" refers to the goals of modernizing agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology, first proposed by Zhou Enlai in 1964 and later revised in 1975. The "moderately prosperous society" (xiaokang shehui) is a concept introduced by Deng Xiaoping in the 1980s, with two versions: the initial goal of achieving a basic level by 2000 and the later goal of building a "moderately prosperous society in all respects" by 2020, as outlined at the 18th National Congress of the CPC in 2012. put forward the major proposition of "modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity." Some scholars consider this the fifth modernization after the "four modernizations." This claim is actually not accurate. In the history of Chinese-path modernization, the "four modernizations" themselves have two versions; combined, there are at least five modernizations. If we add the "science and culture" proposed by Mao Zedong and the "modernization of education" proposed by Deng Xiaoping, the content of modernization already exceeded five before the "modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity" was proposed; the "four" in the four modernizations is merely a rough figure. Moreover, the direction of modernization is no longer centered on specific fields but has developed comprehensively. The proposal of "modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity" is an important link in the development trend of the modernized state. Of course, the proposal of "modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity" does not mean neglecting the modernization of the social level. After proposing "modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity," General Secretary Xi Jinping, in *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China* (Volume 3), [12]12 The "Four Modernizations" (agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology) were first proposed by Zhou Enlai in 1964 and later revised in 1975. The two versions refer to the original formulation and subsequent adjustments during the reform era. first proposed "modernization of social governance." At the 20th National Congress of the CPC, [13]13 "Moderately prosperous society" (xiaokang shehui) was first proposed by Deng Xiaoping in 1979 as a goal for the year 2000, and later updated to a "comprehensively built moderately prosperous society" (quanmian jiancheng xiaokang shehui) as a goal for 2020. content related to social governance was formally written into the congress report, and a dedicated paragraph proposed "improving the social governance system," making it an important component of Chinese-path modernization.

2013年11月，党的十八届三中全会提出“国家治理体系和治理能力现代化”的重大命题。有学者认为这是继“四个现代化”之后的第五个现代化。这一说法其实并不准确。在中国式现代化的历史上，“四个现代化”本身就有两个版本，综合起来至少有五个现代化。如果加上毛泽东提出来的“科学文化”，邓小平提出来的“教育现代化”，现代化的内容在“国家治理体系和治理能力现代化”提出之前就不止五个，四个现代化中的“四个”只是一个笼统的数值。另外现代化的发展方向不再是某些具体领域中心的思路，而是全面发展了。“国家治理体系与治理能力现代化”的提出，是现代化国家这一发展趋势的重要环节。当然，“国家治理体系和治理能力现代化”的提出，并不意味着忽视社会层面的现代化。在提出“国家治理体系和国家治理现代化”之后，习近平总书记在《习近平谈治国理政》（第3卷）中又首次提出“社会治理现代化”。在党的二十大上，有关社会治理的内容被正式写入了大会报告，并以专门一段的形式提出“完善社会治理体系”，成为中国式现代化的重要组成部分。

Although the "grain bank" model has many benefits, it also faces bottlenecks in development. According to reports, the name "grain bank" is difficult to register with industry and commerce departments, and its operation is akin to an "underground organization"; because it is a new thing, its supervision still needs improvement; some also face risks of "absconding" or "rash expansion," "systemic" risks, and hidden dangers of illegal fundraising. All of these threaten the interests of grain-storing farmers.

“粮食银行”这一模式虽然好处多多,但也存在着发展的瓶颈。据报道,“粮食银行”这一名称难以在工商部门注册,运营起来犹如“地下组织”；因为是新生事物,对其监管还有待完善；有的还存在“跑路”“冒进”风险、“系统”风险以及存在非法集资的隐患等。这些均威胁着储粮农户利益。

Through analysis of changes in word frequency across various corpora, we can clearly see that Chinese-path modernization manifests as three successive and innovatively inherited models. The first model is the "four modernizations," mainly during the period of socialist construction and reform, manifested in the development from Mao Zedong to Deng Xiaoping, and realized in the deepening of reform during the Jiang Zemin period; the second model is the "moderately prosperous society," mainly during the process of deepening reform and opening up after 2000, manifested in the development from Deng Xiaoping to Jiang Zemin and Hu Jintao, and simultaneously realized in the historical

通过对各语料库词频变化的分析，我们可以清晰地看到中国式现代化表现为三个前后相连、传承创新的模式。第一个模式是“四个现代化”，主要是在社会主义建设和改革时期，表现为毛泽东到邓小平时期的发展，并在江泽民时期改革的深化中得以实现；第二个模式是“小康社会”，主要是在2000 年以后深化改革开放的过程中，表现为从邓小平到江泽民、胡锦涛时期的发展，同时在习近平全面建成小康社会的历史进程中得以实现；第三个模式是“现代化国家”的建设，这在江泽民、胡锦涛时期都有所提及，但在新时代中国特色社会主义现代化过程中，尤其是在党的二十大报告中得到全面部署：“全面建成社会主义现代化强国，总的战略安排是分两步走：从二〇二〇年到二〇三五年基本实现社会主义现代化；从二〇三五年到本世纪中叶把我国建成富强民主文明和谐美丽的社会主义现代化强国。”[1]24

IV. The Changes of Chinese-Path Modernization

四、中国式现代化的变迁

The history of socialist construction over the more than 70 years since the founding of New China is a history of Chinese-path modernization. From the two versions of the "Four Modernizations," to the two versions of the "moderately prosperous society," and then to "building China into a great modern socialist country in all respects," it has carried the hopes and dreams of the Chinese people. The strategic goals of the Communist Party of China in leading the Chinese people to achieve development and build socialism through reform and opening up have been continuously updated, and Chinese-path modernization has also exhibited certain patterns and trends of change in its ongoing development. Chinese-path modernization combines inheritance and innovation, reasonably handling the issue of time in the modernization process, while simultaneously showing a developmental trend from important areas to the core and then to comprehensiveness.

新中国成立至今70 多年社会主义建设的历史，就是一部中国式现代化的历史。从两个版本的“四个现代化”，到两个版本的“小康社会”，再到“全面建成社会主义现代化强国”，承载着中国人民的希望与梦想。中国共产党领导中国人民通过改革开放实现发展、建设社会主义的战略目标得到不断的更新，中国式现代化也在不断的发展中呈现出一些变迁规律和趋势。中国式现代化结合了传承与创新，合理地处理了现代化进程中的时间问题，同时中国式现代化又表现出从重要领域到中心再到全面的发展趋势。

(A) Inheritance and Innovation

（一）传承与创新

The changes of Chinese-path modernization embody the combination of inheritance and innovation. To separately examine the sharing situation between the modernization corpus of these five sets of documents and the total corpus, we calculated the number of words from each set of documents that could enter the top 10 and top 50 of the total corpus. The results are shown in Table 6.

中国式现代化的变迁体现了传承与创新的结合。为了分别考察这五套文献现代化语料与总语料之间共享的情况，我们计算了在各套文献中能够进入总语料库前10 和前50 的词汇数，结果如表6所示。

Table 6 Sharing of Keywords in the Corpus of Five Sets of Documents

表6 五套文献语料库关键词共享情况

Looking at the number of words entering the top 50, from *The Selected Works of Mao Zedong* to *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China*, a single-peak distribution with a pronounced skew is evident. *The Selected Works of Mao Zedong* and *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China* exhibit stronger innovativeness, while *The Selected Works of Hu Jintao* reflects a transitional and inheriting character. From the number of words entering the top 10 in Table 6, *The Selected Works of Mao Zedong* shows greater independence, with only three keywords ranked in the top 10 also appearing in the overall top 10; *The Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping* increases this to six; *The Selected Works of Jiang Zemin* and *The Selected Works of Hu Jintao* have eight and nine keywords respectively in the top 10 that also enter the overall top 10. *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China* has six shared words, demonstrating more innovativeness. The shared words entering the top 50 and those entering the top 10 show a broadly similar trend in discourse sharing, confirming the inheritance and innovation of the discourse on modernization.

就进入前50 的词数来看，从《毛泽东文集》到《习近平谈治国理政》呈现出偏态较大的单峰分布。《毛泽东文集》和《习近平谈治国理政》具有更强的创新性，而《胡锦涛文选》则体现出承上启下的传承性。而从表6 进入前10 的词汇数来看，《毛泽东文集》的独立性更强，只有3个排名在前10的关键词在总排名中居前10 名，《邓小平文选》则增加至6个，《江泽民文选》《胡锦涛文选》则分别有8、9 个排名在前10 的关键词进入总排名的前10。《习近平谈治国理政》有6个共享词，表现出更多的创新性。进入前50 的共享词与进入前10 的共享词呈现出大体相同的话语共享趋势，印证了现代化话语的传承与创新。

In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly pointed out, “On the basis of long-term exploration and practice since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially since reform and opening up, and through theoretical and practical innovations and breakthroughs since the 18th National Congress, our Party has successfully advanced and expanded Chinese-path modernization.”[1]1 The Third Plenary Session refers to the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC, held in 1978, which marked the beginning of the reform and opening up era. The series *Selected Important Documents Since the Third Plenary Session* collects key Party documents from that point onward.22 This contains a historical logic: the history of China’s modernization has both change and constancy. Change refers to the theoretical and practical innovations and breakthroughs in Chinese-path modernization since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, embodied in its advancement and expansion. Constancy refers to the long-term exploration and practice since the founding of the People’s Republic of China, especially since reform and opening up, which serve as a foundation. The pursuit of modernization is unchanging, but the substantive elements of modernization constantly change with practical exploration and theoretical innovation, remaining ever fresh through repeated discussion.

党的二十大报告中，习近平总书记明确指出，“在新中国成立特别是改革开放以来长期探索和实践基础上，经过十八大以来在理论和实践上的创新突破，我们党成功推进和拓展了中国式现代化”[1]22。这里面蕴藏了一个历史逻辑，（公众号：马克思主义理论研究）即中国的现代化历史既有变化又有常态。变化，是指党的十八大以来中国式现代化在理论与实践的创新突破，体现为推进和拓展。常态，是指新中国成立以后，特别是改革开放以来长期的探索和实践，这是一个基础。现代化的追求是不变的，但现代化的内涵要素却随着实践探索和理论创新不断变化，常讲常新。

The changes in Chinese-path modernization are embodied in three models: the “four modernizations,” the “moderately prosperous society,” and the “modernized country.” These run through the historical process since the founding of the People’s Republic of China and directly affect the comprehensive advancement of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In this process, Chinese-path modernization exhibits a distinct character of inheritance, which is the constancy of Chinese-path modernization. “Upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China at all times,” “upholding socialism with Chinese characteristics at all times,” and “achieving common prosperity for all the people” are all things that successive leaders have emphasized when discussing modernization. The changes in Chinese-path modernization also exhibit the innovativeness of the era, such as “developing whole-process people’s democracy,” “promoting harmony between humanity and nature,” “building a community with a shared future for mankind,” and “creating a new form of human civilization.” Some themes, such as “development” mentioned earlier, have always been emphasized in Chinese-path modernization, but as socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era, development has become high-quality development; this is in fact a shift from high-speed development to high-quality development. Other themes, although they have undergone historical development, have been consistently emphasized, such as “agricultural modernization,” reflecting the foundational position of agriculture.

中国式现代化的变迁，体现为“四个现代化”“小康社会”“现代化国家”三个模式，贯穿了自新中国成立以来的历史进程，并直接影响到全面推进中华民族的伟大复兴。在这一进程中，中国式现代化表现出鲜明的传承性，这就是中国式现代化的常态。“始终坚持中国共产党领导”“始终坚持中国特色社会主义”“实现全体人民共同富裕”，这是历代领导人在讲现代化的时候都会强调的。中国式现代化的变迁也表现出时代的创新性，比如“发展全过程人民民主”“促进人与自然和谐共生”“构建人类命运共同体”“创造人类文明新形态”等。有一些主题，比如前面提到的“发展”，是中国式现代化一直强调的，但中国特色社会主义进入新时代，发展变为高质量发展，这实际上是由高速度发展转换为高质量发展。还有一些主题，虽然经历了历史的发展，却一直被强调，比如“农业现代化”，体现了农业的基础性地位。

(II) Centrality and Comprehensiveness

（二）中心与全面

In the process of modernization, China has experienced two versions of the “four modernizations,” and in the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics, it has formed two historical processes: from a “moderately prosperous society” to a “moderately prosperous society in all respects.” In this evolutionary process, where history and logic are unified, Chinese-path modernization has gradually moved from point to surface, from taking economic construction as the central task to comprehensive development, ultimately forming the essential stipulations of Chinese-path modernization in the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC. It is a constantly developing modernization, and even more so, the most comprehensive modernization.

在现代化的进程当中，中国经历了两个版本的“四个现代化”，并且在中国特色社会主义建设中形成了从“小康社会”到“全面小康社会”两个历史进程。在这一历史与逻辑相统一的演进历程中，中国式现代化逐渐由点到面，由以经济建设为中心到全面发展，最终形成了党的二十大报告中对中国式现代化的本质规定，是不断发展的现代化，更是最全面的现代化。

We can see that in the period of the “four modernizations” model, China’s modernization still emphasized the modernization of certain important fields or important affairs; it was a modernization approach that highlighted central tasks and advanced with a focus. From Mao Zedong’s earliest proposal of the two modernizations of industry and agriculture, to the later three modernizations of industry, agriculture, and science and culture, and then to the four modernizations adding national defense, this approach was consistently reflected.

我们可以看出，在“四个现代化”的模式时期，中国的现代化还是更多强调某些重要领域或重要事务的现代化，是突出中心、重点推进的现代化思路。从毛泽东最早提出的工业、农业的两个现代化，到后来工业、农业、科学文化的三个现代化，再到加上国防现代化的四个现代化，都是这种思路的体现。

The proposal of the “moderately prosperous society” reflects the general trend from centrality to comprehensiveness. The “moderately prosperous society” no longer refers specifically to a single field or a specific central task. Although the working approach of taking economic construction as the central task has been continuously mentioned up to *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China*, socialist construction has clearly become increasingly comprehensive. The shift from a “moderately prosperous society” to a “moderately prosperous society in all respects” has comprehensively upgraded the content of Chinese-path modernization. In this process, the overall plan for the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics also developed from the “three-sphere plan” of politics, economy, and culture proposed during the Jiang Zemin period, to the “four-sphere plan” of politics, economy, culture, and society during the Hu Jintao period, and after socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, it developed into the “five-sphere integrated plan” of politics, economy, culture, society, and ecological civilization. This is in fact the most fundamental manifestation of the content of modernization development shifting from focusing on centrality to focusing on comprehensiveness.

“小康社会”的提出，体现了由中心到全面的大趋势。“小康社会”不再具体指某一个领域，某一项具体的中心工作，虽然以经济建设为中心的工作思路一直到《习近平谈治国理政》都在不断地被提及，但社会主义建设明显越来越强调全面。从“小康社会”到“全面建成小康社会”使中国式现代化的内容得到全面升级。在这个过程当中，中国特色社会主义建设的总体布局也由江泽民时期提出的政治经济文化“三位一体”，发展到胡锦涛时期政治经济文化社会的“四位一体”，并在中国特色社会主义进入新时代后发展为政治经济文化社会生态的“五位一体”，这实际上是现代化发展的内容由注重中心走向注重全面最根本的体现。

The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC provides a comprehensive exposition of the content of Chinese-path modernization. It not only points out the Chinese characteristics, essential requirements, strategic arrangements, goals and tasks, and major principles of Chinese-path modernization, but also makes comprehensive and detailed deployments across the content of the subsequent 11 sections. The report states that the essential requirements of Chinese-path modernization are: “upholding the leadership of the Communist Party of China and socialism with Chinese characteristics, pursuing high-quality development, developing whole-process people’s democracy, enriching the people’s cultural-ethical life, achieving common prosperity for all, promoting harmony between humanity and nature, building a community with a shared future for mankind, and creating a new form of human civilization.”[1]1 The Third Plenary Session refers to the Third Plenary Session of the 11th Central Committee of the CPC, held in 1978, which marked the beginning of the reform and opening up era. The series *Selected Important Documents Since the Third Plenary Session* collects key Party documents from that point onward.23-24 When these essential requirements are combined with the discussions in other sections on elements such as “deepening reform and opening up” and the people-centered development philosophy, the Chinese-path modernization expounded in the congress report becomes the most comprehensive modernization in the history of China’s modernization development, and also a unique modernization in the history of world modernization.

党的二十大报告对中国式现代化的内容作了全面阐释，不仅指明了中国式现代化的中国特色、本质要求、战略安排、目标任务、重大原则，还在接下来的11个部分的内容当中对其进行了全面而详细的部署。（公众号：马克思主义理论研究）报告指出，中国式现代化的本质要求是：“坚持中国共产党领导，坚持中国特色社会主义，实现高质量发展，发展全过程人民民主，丰富人民精神世界，实现全体人民共同富裕，促进人与自然和谐共生，推动构建人类命运共同体，创造人类文明新形态。”[1]23-24这些本质要求加在一起，加上其他部分对“深化改革开放”“以人民为中心”的发展思想等要素的论述，大会报告所阐述的中国式现代化成为中国现代化发展史上最全面的现代化，也是世界现代化史上独一无二的现代化。

In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, not only are the elements of modernization increasingly comprehensive, but the connotations of each element of modernization are also becoming richer. Taking the development of whole-process people’s democracy as an example, the democracy of early Chinese Communists was more concentrated on democratic supervision. However, through continuous development, it formed four aspects: democratic elections, democratic decision-making, democratic management, and democratic supervision. In the new period of building socialism with Chinese characteristics, democratic consultation was added, developing democracy from the original “four major democracies” into the “five major democracies,” and in 2019 it further developed into whole-process people’s democracy. In his speech at the ceremony marking the centenary of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping also clearly issued the important call to “develop whole-process people’s democracy” for the first time. “Developing whole-process people’s democracy” was also written into the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC and into the Party Constitution, becoming an essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization. Whole-process people’s democracy can achieve the “three alls” and thereby realize the “four unifications,” fully demonstrating the “three mosts” of Chinese

在党的二十大报告中，不但现代化的要素越来越全面，而且现代化各要素的内涵也越来越丰富。以全过程人民民主的发展为例，早期中国共产党人的民主更多集中在民主监督方面，但经过不断的发展，形成了民主选举、民主决策、民主管理、民主监督四个方面，在中国特色社会主义建设的新时期，又加入了民主协商，使得民主由原来的“四大民主”发展为“五大民主”，并且在2019 年进一步发展成为全过程人民民主。在庆祝中国共产党成立一百周年大会上的讲话中，习近平总书记还第一次明确提出了“发展全过程人民民主”的重要号召。“发展全过程人民民主”也被写入党的二十大报告，并被写入党章，成为中国式现代化的本质要求。全过程人民民主能够做到“三全”，进而实现“四统一”，充分彰显了中国民主的“三个最”[17]，体现了要素的全面性。

Conclusion

结语

Based on the above analysis, we can find that Chinese-path modernization is the strategic goal of the Communist Party of China leading the Chinese people to promote development and build socialism through reform and opening up. This determines that Chinese-path modernization is a modernization built by the Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, a socialist modernization, a modernization driven by reform and opening up, and a modernization with development as its goal. In the process of socialist construction, Chinese-path modernization has gone through two versions of the "Four Modernizations," [12]12 The "Four Modernizations" (agriculture, industry, national defense, and science and technology) were first proposed by Zhou Enlai in 1964 and later revised in 1975. The two versions refer to the original formulation and subsequent adjustments during the reform era. and then two versions of the "moderately prosperous society" (xiaokang shehui), [13]13 "Moderately prosperous society" (xiaokang shehui) was first proposed by Deng Xiaoping in 1979 as a goal for the year 2000, and later updated to a "comprehensively built moderately prosperous society" (quanmian jiancheng xiaokang shehui) as a goal for 2020. finally forming the strategic goal of a socialist modernized country at the 20th National Congress of the CPC. [14]14 The 20th National Congress of the CPC was held in October 2022, where the goal of building a "socialist modernized country in all respects" by the middle of the 21st century was reaffirmed. Chinese-path modernization is a process of continuous inheritance and innovation, moving from a central focus to comprehensive development.

综合以上分析，我们可以发现，中国式现代化就是中国共产党领导中国人民通过改革开放推动发展、建设社会主义的战略目标。这决定了中国式现代化是中国共产党领导人民建设的现代化，是社会主义现代化，是以改革开放为动力的现代化，是以发展为目标的现代化。在社会主义建设过程中，中国式现代化经历了两个版本的“四个现代化”，又经历了两个版本的“小康社会”，最终在党的二十大形成了社会主义现代化国家的战略目标。中国式现代化是一个不断传承创新、由中心走向全面发展的过程。

It is worth noting here that the analysis and conclusions of this study are all based on textual analysis and are responsible only for the texts. For those thoughts and actions that deviate to some extent from the texts, the reliability of this study still requires further verification, which necessitates additional empirical research. At the same time, word frequency analysis assumes that the higher the frequency of a term’s appearance in the text, the greater its importance; however, in actual research, this is not always the case, and qualitative research is needed to judge and confirm. Although this study incorporates qualitative analysis to enhance the reliability of the conclusions, there may still be areas of imprecision in the research. We have handled these methodological shortcomings with relative rigor in the course of the study, but they still require our attention.

这里值得说明的是，本文的分析及结论都是建立在文本分析的基础上的，也只对文本负责。对于那些与文本有一定出入的思想、行为，本研究的可靠性还需要进一步求证，这需要进一步的实证研究。同时，词频分析假设了文本出现次数越高，（公众号：马克思主义理论研究）重要性越强，但在实际研究当中，也不尽然，需要定性的研究来加以判断和证实。尽管本文结合了定性分析，增强了结论的可靠性，但是仍然会存在研究上不严谨的地方。这些分析方法方面的缺陷，我们在研究当中都进行了比较严谨的处理，但仍然是我们需要注意的。

(Author biographies: Tong Dezhi, Vice President of Tianjin Normal University, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor at the School of Politics and Administration, Tianjin Normal University; Wang Xu, School of Politics and Administration, Tianjin Normal University)

（作者简介：佟德志，天津师范大学副校长，天津师范大学政治与行政学院教授，博士生导师；王旭，天津师范大学政治与行政学院）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心