Hou Wailu’s Three Identities in Adapting Marxism to the Chinese Context

Regarding the path of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, Hou Wailu conducted in-depth reflection and argumentation from three angles: “revolution,” “historiography,” and “thought.” Correspondingly, he possessed the triple identity of “revolutionary,” “historian,” and “thinker,” through which we can understand the purpose of his historical research and his academic contributions. In terms of research purpose, Hou Wailu, as a revolutionary, “fought with his pen,” seeking to find a historical basis for the legitimacy of the New Democratic Revolution led by the Communist Party of China and for the dissemination of Marxism in China, while also responding to the epochal task of objectively sorting out and inheriting traditional Chinese culture and providing intellectual resources for China’s modernization. In terms of research content, as a historian, he systematically examined, studied, and wrote about Chinese intellectual and social history from the Shang-Zhou transition to the early 20th century, thereby constructing and establishing a Marxist research paradigm for Chinese intellectual history. In terms of academic thought, as a thinker, he systematically studied nearly 3,000 years of Chinese thought and society, and engaged in profound reflection on the characteristics of Chinese thought and society, the driving forces of historical development, and the future path of Chinese culture.

针对马克思主义的中国化路径，侯外庐从“革命”“史学”“思想”三个角度进行了深入思考和论证。与此相应，他兼具了“革命家”“史学家”“思想家”的三重身份，我们正可以借此理解其史学研究的目的及学术贡献。从研究目的来说，侯外庐以革命家的身份“用笔杆子战斗”，他要为共产党领导的新民主主义革命、为马克思主义在中国的传播找到合法性的历史依据，并呼应客观整理和继承中国传统文化、为中国现代化建设提供思想资源的时代课题。从研究内容来说，他以史学家的身份系统考察、研究和书写了自商周之际至20世纪初的中国思想和社会历史，并建构和确立了马克思主义的中国思想史研究范式。从学术思想来说，他以思想家身份系统研究了近3000年中国思想和社会，并对中国思想和社会特点、历史发展动力、中国文化未来出路进行了深刻思考。

“A Revolutionary Who Fought with His Pen”

“用笔战斗的革命家”

Throughout his life, Hou Wailu’s academic research and social activities were precisely aimed at seeking answers to the epochal questions of national salvation and survival and the realization of China’s social modernization. By engaging in revolutionary work and pursuing academic national salvation, he practiced the “revolutionary path” of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context, thereby acquiring the identity of a “revolutionary.”

侯外庐毕生所从事的学术研究和社会活动，正是为了求索救亡图存和实现中国社会现代化这一时代课题的答案。通过践行革命工作和从事学术救国，他实践了马克思主义中国化的“革命路径”，以此具备了“革命家”身份。

He threw himself into the national salvation and survival movement led by the Communist Party of China and the New Democratic Revolution. During his early years as a university student in Beijing, Hou Wailu actively participated in student movements against imperialism and warlords. In 1924, he met Li Dazhao and, under his guidance, “established a Marxist worldview.” [1]1 Li Dazhao (1889–1927) was a co-founder of the Communist Party of China and a leading figure in the New Culture Movement; he was executed by the warlord Zhang Zuolin in 1927. After Li Dazhao was killed in 1927, Hou Wailu, cherishing the ideal of pursuing communist truth, went to study in France, where he studied and attempted to translate *Capital*, and, under the guidance of Zhou Enlai, participated in the work of the Chinese Communist Party branch in France at the time. [2]2 Zhou Enlai (1898–1976) was a key leader of the Communist Party of China and the first Premier of the People’s Republic of China. In 1936, together with Wang Sihua, he co-translated and published China’s earliest complete translation of Volume One of *Capital*, thereby “filling a major gap in the propaganda of Marxist theory in China.” [3]3 Wang Sihua (1904–1996) was a Chinese Marxist economist and translator. After returning to China in 1930, Hou Wailu used the university lectern to propagate Marxist historical materialism and the cause of resistance against Japan and national salvation, and, as a “leftist professor,” went to Shanxi to engage in activities for resistance against Japan and national salvation and the united front. During the War of Resistance Against Japan, he served as editor-in-chief of the Chongqing-based magazine *Sino-Soviet Culture*, working under the Party’s leadership to promote Sino-Soviet friendship, consolidate the anti-Japanese united front, and propagate Marxism. Thus it can be seen that Hou Wailu, possessing the multiple identities of a Chinese Marxist historian, a renowned social activist, and a revolutionary theorist, made important contributions to revolutionary work such as the War of Resistance and national salvation and the united front.

投身中国共产党领导的救亡图存运动和新民主主义革命。侯外庐早年在北京就读大学期间就积极参加了反帝反军阀等学生运动，1924年，他结识李大钊，并在其指导下“确立了马克思主义的世界观”。1927年，李大钊遇害后，侯外庐怀抱着追寻共产主义真理的理想赴法留学，学习和试译《资本论》，并在周恩来的指导下参与当时旅法共产党支部的工作。1936年，他与王思华合译出版了我国最早的《资本论》第一卷合译本，从而“填补中国马克思主义理论宣传一大空白”。侯外庐1930年归国后，利用大学讲台进行马克思主义唯物史观和抗日救亡的宣传，并以“左派教授”身份赴山西从事抗日救亡和统一战线活动。抗日战争期间，他担任重庆《中苏文化》杂志主编，在党的领导下从事促进中苏友好、巩固抗日统一战线、宣传马克思主义等工作。由此可知，兼具中国马克思主义史学家、著名社会活动家和革命理论家等多重身份的侯外庐，在抗战救国和统一战线等革命工作中作出了重要贡献。

He took academic research as the main pathway for practicing Marxist faith and revolutionary ideals. Hou Wailu inherited the May Fourth-era currents of “democracy” and “science,” taking Marxism as his lifelong faith and ultimate destination. In his later years, he wrote in his memoir *The Pursuit of Tenacity*: “For most of my life, on the uneven path of my pursuit and research, the driving force was the ideal of communism saving China.” [4]4 The Chinese title *韧的追求* (Rèn de Zhuīqiú) literally means “The Pursuit of Tenacity” or “The Pursuit of Resilience.” On the one hand, Hou Wailu traced and reflected on traditional Chinese thought and culture with a scientific attitude of seeking truth from facts, comprehensively and objectively evaluating their value and status, thereby completing the unfinished historical tasks of the New Culture Movement. On the other hand, he sought to provide academic answers for national independence and freedom and for solving the epochal question of China’s modernization. His theoretical innovations, such as the unique “reformist path” of ancient Chinese civilization and state origins, the system of state land ownership in Chinese feudal society, and the modern Chinese enlightenment, were all aimed at proving the rationality of classical Marxist theory, thereby providing academic proof for the dissemination of Marxism in China.

将学术研究作为践行马克思主义信仰和革命理想的主要途径。侯外庐上承五四时期的“民主”“科学”思潮，将马克思主义作为其毕生信仰和归宿，他晚年在回忆录《韧的追求》中曾自述：“大半生来，在我追求、研究的不平坦历程中，鞭策力是共产主义拯救中国的理想。”侯外庐一方面以实事求是的科学态度追溯和反思中国传统思想文化，全面客观评判其价值与地位，以此完成新文化运动未完的历史任务；另一方面则要为民族独立和自由、为解决中国现代化的时代课题提供学术答案。他提出的中国古代文明和国家起源的独特“维新路径”、中国封建社会土地国有制、中国近代启蒙思潮等理论创见，目的就在于证明马克思主义经典理论的合理性，进而为马克思主义在中国的传播提供学术证明。

He used historical research to demonstrate the necessity and urgency of China’s New Democratic Revolution. Hou Wailu systematically examined and studied nearly 3,000 years of Chinese intellectual history, attempting to find the reasons for the backwardness of modern Chinese thought and society from the social and economic conditions of the eras in which these thoughts emerged, and thereby to demonstrate the necessity and urgency of China’s New Democratic Revolution. Hou Wailu’s revelations of the conservative and reformist tendencies of ancient Chinese thought, the slow development of materialist thought, and the lack of concepts of freedom and legal rights in fact reflected his critique of the negative aspects of traditional Chinese thought and culture and his exploration of the tortuous path of China’s modernization. On this basis, he further used theory to prove the urgency and necessity of political and social revolution in China, as well as the rationality of using Marxist theory and communist ideals to guide the Chinese revolution.

用史学研究论证中国新民主主义革命的必要性与紧迫性。侯外庐系统考察研究了近3000年的中国思想历史，试图从思想所处时代的社会和经济状况中寻找近代中国思想和社会落后的原因，并借此论证中国进行新民主主义革命的必要性与紧迫性。侯外庐对中国古代思想的保守性和改良倾向、唯物论思想发展缓慢、自由法权观念缺乏等思想文化特点的揭示，实际上正反映出他对中国传统思想文化消极性的批判和对中国现代化发展曲折性的探源。在此基础上，他进一步用理论证明了中国进行政治和社会革命的紧迫性和必要性，以及用马克思主义理论和共产主义理想指导中国革命的合理性。

“A Historian Seeking Truth for Practical Application”

“求真致用的史学家”

With the identity of “a historian seeking truth for practical application,” Hou Wailu systematically examined, studied, and wrote about Chinese intellectual and social history from the Shang-Zhou transition to the early 20th century, inaugurating a Marxist research paradigm for Chinese intellectual history, and hoped thereby to achieve the “practical application” goal of guiding social practice and solving social problems.

侯外庐以“求真致用的史学家”身份，系统考察和研究书写了自商周之际至20世纪初的中国思想和社会历史，开创了马克思主义的中国思想史研究范式，并希望以此实现指导社会实践、解答社会问题的“致用”目的。

A “trinity” academic system of economics, philosophy, and historiography. Hou Wailu’s academic system encompassed the three major fields of economics, philosophy, and historiography, forming a dialectical unity of “trinity.” In his academic thought system, philosophy served as the theoretical guide for historical and economic research, a tool for research methodology and critical reflection; economics was the pathway for exploring the deep-seated causes of Chinese philosophy, historiography, and social evolution; and historiography was the academic retrospection and sorting of traditional Chinese philosophical theory, general thought, and socio-economic conditions. The formation of this logical structure was precisely the product of his use of Marxist historical materialism to guide academic research.

经济学、哲学和史学“三位一体”的学术体系。侯外庐的学术体系包含着经济学、哲学和史学三大领域，并构成了“三位一体”的辩证统一关系。在他的学术思想体系中，哲学是进行史学和经济学研究的理论指导，是研究方法论和进行批判反思的工具；经济学是探索中国哲学、史学、社会演变深层原因的途径；史学则是对中国传统哲学理论、一般思想及经济社会状况的学术回溯和整理。这一逻辑结构的形成，正是其运用马克思主义唯物史观指导学术研究的产物。

The research characteristic of “combining social history with intellectual history.” The most well-known feature of Hou Wailu’s historical research is “the combination of intellectual history and social history”—treating Chinese history as a unified whole of social history and intellectual history for consideration. This research path originated from his early study and translation of Marx’s *Capital*, and Marxist economics and the method of socio-historical analysis became the most basic theoretical basis for his study of ancient Chinese society and thought. On this basis, Hou Wailu’s historical research organically consisted of two parts: social history and intellectual history. In his study of Chinese intellectual history, he paid attention to analyzing the essential reasons for the evolution and development of philosophical thought from perspectives such as land systems, social class structure, and ownership, while also examining the interaction between society and thought, revealing the driving forces and rich connotations of Chinese historical development, in order to achieve the “truth-seeking” goal of “returning the thoughts of the ancients to the actuality of ancient history.”

“社会史与思想史结合”的研究特色。最为学人所熟知的侯外庐史学研究特色是“思想史与社会史的结合”——将中国历史视为社会历史和思想历史的统一整体进行考量。这一研究路径渊源自于他早年对马克思《资本论》的研究和翻译，而马克思主义经济学和社会历史分析法也成为其研究中国古代社会和思想最基本的理论依据。在此基础上，侯外庐的史学研究由社会史和思想史两部分有机组成。他在中国思想史的研究中既注意从土地制度、社会阶层结构、所有权归属等角度分析哲学思想发展演变的本质原因，也注意审视社会与思想之间的互动，揭示中国历史的发展动力和丰富内涵，以达到“以古人之思想还诸古史之实际”的“求真”目的。

The historical perspective of “studying Chinese problems with a world vision.” Inspired by the basic principles of Marxism, Hou Wailu paid attention to viewing the characteristics of Chinese historical evolution within the macro-framework of world historical development and change, proposing that the study of Chinese intellectual history should adopt a world-historical perspective of Sino-Western comparison, and must adhere to the principle of “combining a world vision with Chinese problems.” The significance of this research perspective of “world vision, Chinese problems” is that the development of modern Chinese historiography must break through the self-centered limitation of traditional historiography, which held that “China is the world, and the world is China.” Only by basing themselves on China’s real problems and conducting Sino-Western comparisons from a world-historical perspective can scholars comprehensively examine and reflect on the characteristics, values, and shortcomings of Chinese thought and society, and thereby discover and solve the problems of China’s social and cultural development from an academic angle.

“以世界眼光研究中国问题”的史学视野。侯外庐在马克思主义基本原理的启发下，注意从世界历史发展演变的宏观格局中看待中国历史的演变特点，提出中国思想史研究应具有中西比较的世界史视野，必须坚持“世界视野与中国问题结合”的原则。这种“世界眼光，中国问题”研究视野的意义是，中国现代史学的发展必须突破传统史学“中国即天下，天下即中国”的自我中心局限。学人只有立足中国的现实问题、以世界历史的视野进行中西比较，才能对中国思想和社会的特点、价值与不足作出全面的考察和反思，进而从学术角度发现并解决中国社会和文化的发展问题。

“A Thinker Exploring the Way Forward”

“探索出路的思想家”

With the identity of a thinker, Hou Wailu, through a comprehensive study of Chinese thought and society, “inquired into the future path of Chinese culture.” His historical research and theoretical viewpoints all embodied a critique and summation of the characteristics of Chinese thought and society and the driving forces of historical development, as well as his profound reflection on the future direction of Chinese cultural development.

侯外庐以思想家的身份，通过对中国思想和社会的贯通性研究以“叩问中国文化的未来出路”。他的史学研究和理论观点无不体现出对中国思想和社会特点、历史发展动力的批判和总结，以及他对中国文化未来发展方向的深刻思考。

Cultural reflection: inheriting and promoting fine traditional Chinese culture on the basis of systematic critique and reorganization. In his historical research, Hou Wailu deeply recognized that in order to achieve the inheritance and development of traditional Chinese culture, it was necessary to conduct a thorough and systematic critical reorganization of it, ultimately clearing ideological obstacles for China’s modernization. This was the “primary task” of academic research at the time. Hou Wailu took a resolute critical stance toward the autocratic character of ancient Chinese orthodox philosophy, the strong religious nature of traditional philosophy, the state ownership of feudal land, and the lack of free private property rights. At the same time, he paid attention to and focused on such intellectual legacies in Chinese intellectual history as anti-autocratic thought, naive materialism, atheism, and the concept of natural rights. His purpose was to promote the enlightenment and development of scientific, free, and democratic thought and the concept of rights through the application of classical Marxist principles adapted to the Chinese context.

文化反思：在系统批判与整理的基础上继承和弘扬中华优秀传统文化。侯外庐在史学研究中深刻认识到，要实现对中国传统文化的继承与发展，必须对其进行深入系统的批判性整理，最终为中国现代化扫清思想障碍，这是当时学术研究中的“首要任务”。侯外庐对中国古代正统哲学的专制色彩、传统哲学的浓厚宗教性、封建土地国有制和自由私有权缺乏等持坚决的批判态度。与此同时，他对中国思想史上的反专制思想、朴素唯物主义、无神论、自由法权观念等思想遗产给予了重视和关注。其目的就在于通过对马克思主义经典原理的中国化运用，推进科学、自由、民主思想和法权观念的启蒙和发展。

Cultural confidence: using Marxism to construct a Chinese path for historical research. Hou Wailu believed that Marxist historical materialism was a truly scientific research theory, and that only by applying this theory and method could an objective explanation be given to the complex and diverse traditional Chinese thought and society. The starting point and ultimate goal of his historical research was precisely to demonstrate the rationality of combining Marxist theory with China’s historical reality. Therefore, Hou Wailu also regarded the work of historical research as “removing rotten dregs from new things and extracting new opportunities from old things” — that is, by examining the characteristics of Chinese history, to reassess the value of Chinese culture; by exploring an independent and self-consistent Chinese historical paradigm, to rebuild the confidence of Chinese scholarship and culture.

文化自信：运用马克思主义建构史学研究的中国道路。侯外庐认为，马克思主义唯物史观是真正科学的研究理论，只有运用这一理论和方法才能对纷繁复杂的中国传统思想和社会作出客观解释。其史学研究的出发点及归宿正是论证马克思主义理论与中国历史实际结合的合理性。因此，侯外庐也将史学研究工作视为“从新事物里剔除腐烂渣滓，从旧事物里提取新生契机”，即通过考量中国历史的特点，进而重估中国文化的价值；通过探索独立自得的中国史学范式，进而重建中国学术和文化的自信。

Cultural self-awareness: exploring the future path of Chinese culture on the basis of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context. In Hou Wailu’s view, although traditional Chinese thought and society had their own particularities and formed a self-contained system, they lacked the internal driving force for self-evolution and could hardly meet the demands of the times for China’s modernization. Therefore, it was necessary to take scientific Marxism as a new cultural driving force, thereby promoting reform in such areas as traditional Chinese philosophical thought and social institutions. He demonstrated the “scientific nature” of Marxist theory methodologically, and the “rationality” of Marxism’s transformation of traditional Chinese culture ideologically, thereby revealing the developmental direction of modern Chinese culture and academic research: on the one hand, inheriting and developing the materialist and atheist thought in traditional Chinese culture; on the other hand, adhering to the scientific worldview and methodology centered on Marxist dialectical materialism and historical materialism, so as to construct a new Chinese academic form and national culture. In this sense, the purpose of Hou Wailu’s academic research was “to inquire into the future path of Chinese culture” — that is, to find answers for China’s independence and prosperity, and for the liberation and freedom of the Chinese nation. These theoretical experiences still have important theoretical reference and enlightening significance for current academic discussions on adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the future developmental direction of Chinese culture.

文化自觉：在马克思主义中国化基础上探索中国文化的未来出路。在侯外庐看来，中国传统思想和社会虽然有其特殊性并自成体系，但缺乏自我进化的内在动力、难以适应中国现代化的时代要求。因此，需要将科学的马克思主义作为新文化动力，从而推动中国传统哲学思想、社会制度等方面的改革。他从方法上论证了马克思主义理论的“科学性”，从思想上论证了马克思主义改造中国传统文化的“合理性”，进而揭示了现代中国文化和学术研究的发展路向，即一方面继承和发展中国传统文化中的唯物主义和无神论思想；另一方面坚持以马克思主义的辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义为核心的科学世界观和方法论，构建出新的中国学术形态和民族文化。从这种意义上说，侯外庐学术研究的目的是“叩问中国文化的未来出路”，即为中国的独立和富强、中华民族的解放和自由寻找答案。这些理论经验，对当前马克思主义中国化和中国文化未来发展方向的学术讨论，依然具有重要的理论参考和启示意义。

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗