Contributing Historical Scholarship to the Construction of a Modern Chinese Civilization

General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development [1]1 The Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development was held in Beijing on June 2, 2023, where Xi Jinping delivered a key speech outlining the “five outstanding characteristics” of Chinese civilization and the “Second Integration” (of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture). profoundly elucidates the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization from a historical perspective, and profoundly answers the epochal question of how to integrate the fundamental tenets of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture. This speech has important guiding significance for our continuous deepening of the understanding of the laws governing cultural development, for our unwavering cultural confidence and self-strengthening, and for building a modern Chinese civilization. To thoroughly study and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech, we must clarify from a theoretical perspective the rich connotations and fundamental characteristics of China’s fine traditional culture, profoundly reveal the intrinsic close connection between Chinese history and culture and the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, as well as its important role in uniting national strength and consolidating the spiritual foundation, and further advance the study of Chinese history and culture, thereby flourishing and developing Chinese historical scholarship in the New Era.

习近平总书记在文化传承发展座谈会上的重要讲话，从历史的高度出发深刻阐明了中华文明的突出特性，深刻回答了马克思主义基本原理如何同中华优秀传统文化相结合的时代命题，对于我们不断深化对文化建设的规律性认识，始终坚定文化自信自强，建设中华民族现代文明，具有重要指导意义。深入学习贯彻习近平总书记重要讲话精神，就要从学理上阐明中华优秀传统文化的丰富内涵和根本特质，深刻揭示中华历史文化与中国特色社会主义道路的内在紧密关联以及对凝聚民族力量、筑牢精神根基的重要作用，进一步推进中国历史文化研究、繁荣发展新时代中国历史学。

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China’s fine traditional culture is the root and soul of the Chinese nation, the common spiritual home that unites and binds the hearts of the Chinese people, the spiritual support that has enabled the Chinese nation to remain unyielding through vicissitudes, an important source for nurturing the core socialist values, and the solid foundation on which we stand firm amidst the global clash of cultures. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized that cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and deeper confidence, and is the most basic, most profound, and most enduring force in the development of a country and a nation. To develop socialism with Chinese characteristics on the deep foundation of over five thousand years of Chinese civilization, the only path is to integrate the fundamental tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture. Every major innovation and creation in contemporary China is rooted in the fertile soil of profound traditional Chinese culture, and represents a process of self-transformation and discarding the old for the new within the history of over five thousand years of civilization. China’s fine traditional culture establishes a clear historical coordinate for the Chinese nation, stimulates powerful historical initiative, and provides irreplaceable spiritual resources. To enhance the historical consciousness of inheriting and promoting China’s fine traditional culture, and to advance the study of Chinese history and culture, we must draw confidence and strength from the deepest wellsprings of history.

中华优秀传统文化是中华民族的根和魂，是中华儿女团结凝聚、心灵相系的共同精神家园，是中华民族历经沧桑而百折不挠的精神支撑，是涵养社会主义核心价值观的重要源泉，也是我们在世界文化激荡中站稳脚跟的坚实根基。习近平总书记强调，文化自信是更基础、更广泛、更深厚的自信，是一个国家、一个民族发展中最基本、最深沉、最持久的力量。在五千多年中华文明深厚基础上开辟和发展中国特色社会主义，把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际、同中华优秀传统文化相结合是必由之路。当代中国的每一次重大创新创造，都根植于深厚的中华传统文化土壤，都是五千多年文明历史的自我更化、革故鼎新。中华优秀传统文化为中华民族确立明确的历史坐标，激发强大的历史主动，提供无可替代的精神资源。增强传承、弘扬中华优秀传统文化的历史自觉，推进中华历史文化研究，就要从历史的最深处汲取自信和力量。

A nation’s culture is closely related to its history; culture continuously reveals its full content in the process of historical development. Culture originates from historical accumulation, and historiography is also a product of culture. “To emerge from history and enter the Way, if one wishes to understand the great Way, one must first understand history” [2]2 A classical saying from the Qing dynasty thinker Gong Zizhen (1792–1841), emphasizing that understanding history is a prerequisite for understanding the fundamental principles (the Way) of society and governance.. The Chinese nation possesses an extremely profound historical consciousness and an extremely long historiographical tradition. The unbroken transmission of Chinese civilization is sustained by a deep and solid historiographical tradition, which is an extremely important cultural support. The vast corpus of historical texts is not only the major component of traditional Chinese culture but also a conscious record of the Chinese nation’s process of reproduction and development. It is an important vehicle for transmitting Chinese culture, a crucial link in the continuity of Chinese civilization, and contains the genetic code of Chinese culture.

一个民族的文化与历史密切相关，文化是在历史发展过程中不断显示其全部内容的。文化源于历史积淀，史学亦为文化之产物。“出乎史，入乎道，欲知大道，必先为史”，中华民族具有极为深厚的历史意识、极为悠久的史学传统。中华文明薪火不断，深厚而坚实的史学传统是极其重要的文脉支撑。浩繁的历史典籍不仅是中华传统文化的大宗，也是中华民族繁衍发展历程的自觉记述，是传承中华文化的重要载体，是中华文明延续的重要纽带，蕴含着中华文化的基因密码。

When China entered class society, the dissolution of blood ties was not yet complete, thus forming a unique patriarchal system. Due to this patriarchal social structure, China very early developed a historical consciousness that placed great importance on ancestral deeds. The various pre-Qin schools, such as Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism, all expressed this historical consciousness from different angles. By the time of Xunzi and the *Yizhuan* [3]3 Xunzi (c. 310–c. 235 BCE) was a Confucian philosopher; the *Yizhuan* (“Commentaries on the Book of Changes”) is a set of philosophical texts traditionally attributed to Confucius and his school, which systematize early Chinese cosmology and historical thought., this historical consciousness was further elevated into a worldview that connected past and present, heaven and humanity. Within the configuration of Chinese culture, historiographers and historians held a special status. The Xia dynasty already established the office of court historian—the Grand Scribe. The Shang and Zhou dynasties further developed this into a system of historiographers. The emergence of historiographers and the historiographer system marked the awakening of people’s historical consciousness, with the compilation of history regarded as an immortal undertaking. At the end of the Spring and Autumn period, Confucius compiled the *Spring and Autumn Annals*, initiating the practice of private historical writing. By the Han dynasty, in response to ethnic integration, cultural synthesis, and national unification, the even more magnificent *Records of the Grand Historian* appeared. On the ideological basis of “great unity,” it traced the origins of all Chinese ethnic groups back to a unified lineage from the Yellow Emperor, achieving cultural integration and national cohesion through historical compilation. Thereafter, the official establishment of historians to compile history became customary. From the Tang dynasty onward, a special History Office was established to compile history, with the Grand Councilor supervising the work as a fixed institution. Compiling the history of the preceding dynasty and the current dynasty was a necessary means to demonstrate the legitimacy of the ruling dynasty’s governance and an important method of statecraft. Historical compilation strengthened the continuity and transmission of Chinese culture. Subsequently, each dynasty produced dynastic histories, continuously forging a unique historiographical character and molding an enduring cultural tradition.

中国步入阶级社会时血缘纽带解体尚不充分，从而形成了独特的宗法制度；缘于宗法社会结构，中国很早即有了高度重视祖先史迹的历史意识。先秦各家如儒、墨、道、法等都从不同角度表现了这种历史意识。到荀子、《易传》，则将这种历史意识进一步提升为贯古今通天人的世界观。在中国文化构型中，史官与史家具有特殊地位。夏朝就设置了史官——太史令；商、周进一步发展形成史官制度。史官与史官制度的出现，标志着人们历史意识的自觉，视修史为不朽之事业。春秋末期孔子撰成《春秋》，首开私人修史之风。至汉代，与民族融合、文化整合、国家一统相适应，出现更为恢宏的《史记》，在“大一统”的思想基础之上将中国各族群的渊源上溯至黄帝的统一谱系，通过历史编纂实现文化整合与民族凝聚。此后，由官方设官修史成为惯例；从唐代开始，专设史馆修史，且由宰相监修成为定制。为前朝和当世修史是彰显本朝统治合法性的必要手段，也是治国理政的重要方式。修史强化了中华文化的赓续和传承。此后每个王朝都有断代史著作，不断造就独树一帜的史学品格，陶铸绵延不衰的文化传统。

Over the long course of history, Chinese historiography has accumulated extremely deep layers, forming historiographical traditions such as seeking truth, seeking the essence, and applying knowledge to practical affairs, as well as the grand ambition to “investigate the relationship between heaven and humanity, penetrate the changes of past and present, and form a school of one’s own” [4]4 A famous phrase from Sima Qian (c. 145–c. 86 BCE), the author of the *Records of the Grand Historian*, expressing the ideal of historical scholarship as a comprehensive, independent, and transformative intellectual endeavor.. The historiographical tradition has enabled the Chinese nation to consistently uphold a strong consciousness of historical and cultural transmission. Historical writing is not only a record of the historical development of the Chinese nation but also, through the traditional culture it carries, participates in real politics, stimulates people’s sense of national pride, enhances cultural identity, and achieves the cohesion of people’s hearts and the construction of social order. Chinese culture, through the vast ocean of historiographical texts, has accumulated in the bloodline of the entire nation, generating powerful cultural cohesion and continuity.

在漫长的历史长河中，中国史学产生了极为深厚的积淀，形成了求真、求是、经世致用等史学传统，形成了“究天人之际，通古今之变，成一家之言”的宏伟抱负。史学传统使中华民族始终秉持强烈的历史文化传承意识。历史书写不仅是对中华民族历史发展的记载，也通过其所承载的传统文化参与现实政治，激发人们的国家民族自豪感，增进文化认同，实现人心的凝聚和社会秩序的建构。中华文化通过浩瀚的史学典籍积淀在整个民族的血脉之中，产生强大的文化凝聚力与延续力。

In modern times, due to the aggression of Western powers, the normal process of Chinese social development was interrupted. Although Chinese culture did not sever its roots or collapse in spirit, the Chinese people’s confidence in their own history and culture was ruthlessly devastated. Even the deeply accumulated field of historiography faced challenges; some Chinese scholars fell into the “Western-centric” view and could not extricate themselves. Lacking an objective and fair examination of the heritage of traditional Chinese historiography, Chinese historical scholarship once lost its own luster under the shadow of Western discourse. Since the founding of New China, under the guidance of Marxism, Chinese historical scholarship has gradually recovered and achieved important accomplishments. As the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical process, the Chinese people’s cultural confidence has become increasingly firm. Western theories once regarded as authoritative are increasingly showing their inadequacy in explaining Chinese history and reality. Therefore, to flourish and develop Chinese historical scholarship in the New Era and to completely shake off the fetters of modern Western historical theory is an inevitable requirement for historical workers in the New Era in building a modern Chinese civilization.

近代以来，由于西方列强的侵略，中国社会正常发展进程被打断，中华文化虽然根脉不绝，精神不倒，但国人对自身历史文化的自信遭到无情摧残。即便积淀极为深厚的历史学也曾面临挑战，一些中国学者落入“西方中心论”难以自拔；对中国传统史学遗产缺乏客观公允的审视，中国历史学在西方话语的笼罩之下一度失去了自身的光彩。新中国成立以来，在马克思主义指导下，我国历史学逐渐恢复发展并取得了重要成就。随着中华民族伟大复兴进入不可逆转的历史进程，中国人民的文化自信愈益坚定，以往曾被奉为圭臬的西方理论在解释中国历史和现实时，日益显现捉襟见肘的困窘。因此，在新时代繁荣发展中国历史学研究，彻底摆脱近代以来西方历史理论的羁绊，是建设中华民族现代文明对新时代史学工作者的必然要求。

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Historical research is the foundation of all social sciences. The level of development of historical science is not only a sign of scientific progress and civilizational maturity but also a symbol of comprehensive national power and a manifestation of cultural confidence. “To uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, it is even more necessary to systematically study Chinese history and culture, and even more necessary to profoundly grasp the laws of human historical development, drawing wisdom and moving toward the future through deep reflection on history” [5]5 A quotation from Xi Jinping, reflecting the Party’s emphasis on historical research as a tool for guiding contemporary socialist practice.. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s great call to build a modern Chinese civilization has set important missions and tasks for Chinese historical scholarship and has brought unprecedented opportunities for its flourishing development. We must earnestly study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, comprehensively grasp the worldview, methodology, and the positions, viewpoints, and methods that run through this thought, deeply explore the historical thinking, scientific connotations, and spiritual essence contained within it, integrate them thoroughly, and internalize them in the practice of historical research.

历史研究是一切社会科学的基础。历史科学的发展水平，既是科学进步、文明成熟的标志，也是综合国力的象征、文化自信的体现。“新时代坚持和发展中国特色社会主义，更加需要系统研究中国历史和文化，更加需要深刻把握人类发展历史规律，在对历史的深入思考中汲取智慧、走向未来”。习近平总书记发出建设中华民族现代文明的伟大号召，给中国历史学提出了重要的使命和任务，也给中国历史学繁荣发展带来前所未有的机遇。我们要认真学习贯彻习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想，全面把握这一思想的世界观、方法论和贯穿其中的立场观点方法，深入发掘蕴含其中的历史思维、科学内涵和精神实质，融会贯通，将其内化于史学研究实践。

A splendid historical culture and a continuous historiographical tradition are the foundation of our confidence in history and the basis and prerequisite for our march into the future. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that Chinese culture has a long history and Chinese civilization is extensive and profound. Only by comprehensively and deeply understanding the history of Chinese civilization can we more effectively promote the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture, more forcefully advance the building of a culturally strong country, and build a modern Chinese civilization for the nation. To construct Chinese historiography in the New Era, we must comprehensively and systematically summarize, organize, and inherit the rich historiographical legacy left by sages of past generations, and use the viewpoints and methods of historical materialism to infuse it with new contemporary connotations, achieving an organic integration of national character and the spirit of the times. We must base ourselves on the historical practice of the Chinese nation’s development and evolution, strengthen research and elucidation of Chinese history and culture, deeply investigate the profound influence of Chinese culture on political and economic development in different historical periods, and refine and summarize the concepts and wisdom of governance embedded in fine traditional Chinese culture; deeply explore the historical continuity of fine traditional culture that runs through ancient and modern times; profoundly explain that fine traditional culture is a distinctive value marker of China’s standing in the world and its demonstration of strong cultural soft power; profoundly reveal the historical and cultural soil in which the “Chinese characteristics” of socialism with Chinese characteristics are rooted, and grasp the continuity and innovativeness of the modern civilization of the Chinese nation within the entire course of human history.

辉煌灿烂的历史文化与一脉相承的史学传统，是我们坚定历史自信的底气所在，也是我们走向未来的基础和前提。习近平总书记强调，中国文化源远流长，中华文明博大精深。只有全面深入了解中华文明的历史，才能更有效地推动中华优秀传统文化创造性转化、创新性发展，更有力地推进文化强国建设，建设中华民族现代文明。建设新时代中国史学，必须全面系统总结、整理、继承历代先贤留下的丰厚史学遗产，并运用唯物史观的观点方法为其注入新的时代内涵，实现民族性与时代性的有机结合。我们要立足中华民族发展演进的历史实践，加强对中华历史文化的研究阐发，深入考察中华文化对不同历史时期政治经济发展的深远影响，提炼总结中华优秀传统文化中蕴含的治国理政的理念和智慧；深入探讨优秀传统文化贯通古今的历史继承性；深刻阐释优秀传统文化是中国屹立于世界、彰显强大文化软实力的鲜明价值标识；深刻揭示中国特色社会主义的“中国特色”所植根的历史文化土壤，并在整个人类历史进程中把握中华民族现代文明的继承性与开创性。

Viewed from the development of modern Chinese historiography, Chinese Marxist historiography emerged precisely in response to the concerns of the times. It was born in the historical torrent of national awakening and national salvation in the early 20th century, embodying the dialectical unity of revolutionary character and scientific character, contemporaneity and national character, and inheritance and creativity. After the founding of New China, the Marxist historiographical system occupied a completely dominant position, achieving fruitful results in general history, dynastic history, and specialized history research, with influence extending far beyond the field of historiography. The century-long development of Marxist historiography has left an extremely rich academic legacy, which is an important academic resource for advancing historical research in the future. To accelerate the construction of a Chinese historical science disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system, we must find indigenous sources within the development trajectory of historiography, must be based on a systematic review and profound summary of the century-long development of Chinese Marxist historiography, while integrating profound insight and understanding of the trends of the times and great social practice.

从近代中国史学发展历程来看，中国马克思主义史学正是在回应时代关切中应运而生的，它创生于20世纪初民族觉醒救亡图存的时代洪流之中，体现出革命性与科学性、时代性与民族性、继承性与创造性的辩证统一。新中国成立以后，马克思主义史学体系居于完全主导地位，在通史、断代史和专史研究方面均取得了丰硕成果，其影响也远远超出了史学领域。马克思主义史学的百年发展留下了极其丰厚的学术遗产，是未来我们推进史学研究重要的学术资源。加快构建中国特色历史学学科体系、学术体系、话语体系，必须在史学发展脉络中找到本土源头，必须基于对百年来中国马克思主义史学发展的系统梳理与深刻总结，同时融合对时代潮流和伟大社会实践的深刻洞察体悟。

In the current era, changes in the world, changes in the times, and changes in history have rekindled the concerns of people of all countries about the destiny and future of humanity. Issues such as the laws, driving forces, subjects, and direction of history have received attention from historiography and related disciplines, and grasping the historical process and laws from a macro perspective has become an important academic pursuit of historical studies. On the journey to achieve national rejuvenation and strength, historiography must not be absent, and historical researchers must not stand by; they must stand at the tide of the times, connect the changes of ancient and modern times, and give voice to pioneering ideas. To prosper and develop Chinese historical research in the New Era, under the guidance of the great call to “build a modern Chinese civilization for the nation,” we must comprehensively examine the “changes” in history from the long river of history, deeply explore the “principles” of history, and clearly, firmly, and loudly issue the voice of Chinese historical workers in the New Era, providing historical nourishment for Chinese-path modernization, thickening the historical roots for Chinese civilization, and consolidating the historical foundation for national rejuvenation and strength.

当今时代，世界之变、时代之变、历史之变重新激起各国人民对人类命运与未来的忧思。历史的规律、动力、主体、走向等问题受到史学等相关学科的重视，从宏观上把握历史进程和规律成为历史学的一项重要学术旨趣。在实现强国复兴的征程上，历史学决不能缺席，历史研究者决不能旁观，必须立时代之潮头，通古今之变化，发思想之先声。新时代繁荣发展中国历史学研究，要在“建设中华民族现代文明”这一伟大号召的指引下，从历史长河中全面考察历史之“变”，深入探究历史之“理”，清晰、坚定、响亮地发出新时代中国史学工作者的声音，为中国式现代化提供历史滋养，为中华文明厚植历史根脉，为强国复兴夯实历史根基。

Online editor: Zhang Fujun

网络编辑：张福军