The Value Implications of the Modern Civilization of the Chinese Nation

Building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation is an inherent requirement for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the historical goal of the path of Chinese-path modernization, a major mission of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, and an important exploration in creating a new form of human civilization. Building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation is an ongoing process in the present continuous tense, and also an open process oriented toward the future, possessing a profound historical foundation and distinct contemporary value.

建设中华民族现代文明，是实现中华民族伟大复兴的内在要求，是中国式现代化道路的历史旨归，是新时代中国特色社会主义事业的重大使命，也是创造人类文明新形态的重要探索。建设中华民族现代文明，是现在进行时，也是朝向未来的开放过程，具有深厚的历史基础和鲜明的时代价值。

The Modern Civilization of the Chinese Nation Opens New Possibilities for Creating a New Form of Human Civilization

中华民族现代文明为创造人类文明新形态开辟新的可能性

The modern civilization of the Chinese nation has significance for the typology of civilizations. Its profound enlightening value lies in the fact that a civilization based on national characteristics, in the context of contemporary human history, achieving its own modern transformation has both historical necessity and practical possibility. This not only provides confidence for non-Western countries and nations in their path toward modernization but also offers a new dimension for exploring diverse paths and formulating plans for modern human civilization. The successful practice of building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation opens new possibilities for creating a new form of human civilization.

中华民族现代文明具有文明类型学意义，其深刻启示价值在于，一种基于民族性特质的文明，在当代人类历史语境中，实现自身的现代转型，既有其历史的必要性，也有其现实的可能性。这不仅为非西方国家和民族的文明走向现代化提供了信心，而且为现代人类文明的多样性路径探索和方案制定提供了全新维度。建设中华民族现代文明的成功实践，为创造人类文明新形态开辟了新的可能性。

Historically, the modern transformation of human civilization initially began in the West. Modern science and the industrial revolution provided important prerequisites for the rise of modern civilization. Marx and Engels pointed out in the *Communist Manifesto*: “The bourgeoisie, during its rule of scarce one hundred years, has created more massive and more colossal productive forces than have all preceding generations together.” To a certain extent, this is the immense historical progress brought about by “the civilizing role of capital.” However, while creating material wealth and facilitating the transformation of civilization, capitalism also caused tension and even opposition in the relationship between humans and nature, and between humans themselves. Engels warned in *Dialectics of Nature*: “Let us not, however, flatter ourselves overmuch on account of our human victories over nature. For each such victory nature takes its revenge on us. Each victory, it is true, in the first place brings about the results we expected, but in the second and third places it has quite different, unforeseen effects which only too often cancel the first.” It can be said that the history of the 20th century proved Engels right—the existential predicament of humanity caused by the ecological and environmental crisis confirmed the wisdom of this warning. Hegel once said that civil society is “the battlefield of all against all.” Marx and Engels cited this statement, arguing that the competition inherent in bourgeois society is “a war of all against all.” The ideal social goal pursued by the Marxist view of history is the complete resolution of contradictions between humans and nature, and between humans themselves, that is, achieving a genuine reconciliation of the contradictions between humans and nature, and between humans themselves.

从历史上看，人类文明的现代转型最初是从西方开始的。现代科学和工业革命，为现代文明的兴起提供了重要前提。马克思和恩格斯在《共产党宣言》中指出：“资产阶级在它的不到一百年的阶级统治中所创造的生产力，比过去一切世代创造的全部生产力还要多，还要大。”这在一定意义上正是“资本的文明作用”所带来的巨大历史进步。但资本主义在创造物质财富、促成文明转型的同时，也造成了人与自然之间、人与人之间关系的紧张甚至对立。恩格斯在《自然辩证法》中曾如此警告：“我们不要过分陶醉于我们人类对自然界的胜利。对于每一次这样的胜利，自然界都对我们进行报复。每一次胜利，起初确实取得了我们预期的结果，但是往后和再往后却发生完全不同的、出乎预料的影响，常常把最初的结果又消除了。”可以说，20世纪的历史被恩格斯言中了——生态环境危机所导致的人类生存困境，印证了这一预警的睿智。黑格尔曾说，市民社会就是“一切人反对一切人的战场”。马克思和恩格斯引用这句话，认为资产阶级社会所固有的竞争，就是“一切人反对一切人的战争”。而马克思主义历史观所追求的理想社会目标，是人与自然之间、人与人之间矛盾的彻底解决，即达成人与自然之间、人与人之间矛盾的真正和解。

Regarding the dimension of the relationship between humans and nature, only by achieving a transformation of human civilization, that is, completing the shift from industrial civilization to ecological civilization, can a path be opened for creating a new form of human civilization. In the process of conceptual innovation and practical exploration for this transformation, the construction of the modern civilization of the Chinese nation has undoubtedly contributed unique historical experience and blazed a new path. On the one hand, the modern civilization of the Chinese nation condenses the essence of fine traditional Chinese culture; on the other hand, it embodies the positive achievements of modern civilization. This determines that, in addressing the crisis of modernity, it possesses a specific immunity, capable of preventing certain inherent drawbacks and limitations of industrial civilization, and avoiding to the greatest extent the historical costs of modernization.

就人与自然的关系维度来说，只有实现人类文明转型，即完成从工业文明到生态文明的转变，才能为创造人类文明新形态开辟道路。在这一转型的理念创新和实践探索过程中，中华民族现代文明的建设无疑贡献了独特历史经验，开辟出一条新路径。中华民族现代文明一方面浓缩了中华优秀传统文化的精华，另一方面则体现了现代文明的积极成果。这就决定了在应对现代性危机方面，它具有特定的免疫力，能够防范工业文明的某些固有弊端和局限，最大限度避免现代化的历史代价。

The path taken by Western countries to achieve modernization and build a modern civilization is by no means the only possible path. Whether it is the historical practice of modernization in non-Western countries or the different possibilities for moving toward modern civilization revealed by historical materialism based on the unique “historical environment” of different nations, both prove a truth: although modernization has general laws, the ways of its realization are characterized by diversity. The specific method a nation adopts to successfully build a modern civilization depends to a large extent on non-eliminable factors such as different regions, cultures, and histories. The successful construction of the modern civilization of the Chinese nation provides a new possibility for creating a new form of human civilization that is heterogeneous to Western modern civilization, and its profound enlightening significance should not be underestimated. It fully demonstrates the advantages of fine traditional Chinese culture revitalized through Marxism, signifying not only the self-fulfillment of the Chinese nation in the contemporary context but also highlighting the unique contribution of the Chinese nation to the construction of a new form of human civilization.

实现现代化、建设现代文明，西方国家曾经走过的道路绝不是唯一可能的路径。无论是非西方国家现代化的历史实践，还是唯物史观基于不同民族独特“历史环境”所揭示的走向现代文明的不同可能性，都证明了一个道理：虽然现代化具有一般规律，但实现方式却带有多样性的特点。一个民族究竟采取怎样的方式才能成功建设现代文明，在很大程度上取决于不同地域、不同文化、不同历史等这些不可剔除的因素。中华民族现代文明的成功建设，为创造人类文明新形态提供了一种异质于西方现代文明的新的可能性，其深刻启示意义不可低估。它充分展现中华优秀传统文化经由马克思主义的激活所焕发出的优长之处，不仅意味着中华民族在当代语境中的自我成就，而且彰显着中华民族为人类文明新形态构建作出的独特贡献。

The Modern Civilization of the Chinese Nation Constitutes the Objective Criterion for Realizing the Great Rejuvenation of the Chinese Nation

中华民族现代文明构成实现中华民族伟大复兴的客观标志

The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has its profound historical connotations. Looking back across millennia, the Chinese nation historically created a splendid civilization. Since the late Qing Dynasty, Western powers, relying on their strong ships and powerful cannons, forced open China’s door, causing us to encounter “changes unseen in a thousand years,” [1]1 “Changes unseen in a thousand years” (数千年来未有之大变局) is a phrase used by the late Qing official Li Hongzhang in the 19th century to describe the unprecedented crisis facing China due to Western imperialist incursions. turning China into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, and subjecting it to historical humiliation. From that time onward, realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation became the long-cherished vision earnestly sought by Chinese people of lofty ideals in modern times, thus beginning an unyielding struggle and arduous endeavor. However, it was only under the leadership of the Communist Party of China that a new chapter in the historical evolution of the Chinese nation was opened, propelling the great cause of national rejuvenation onto the path of victory. In particular, the establishment of New China, the implementation of reform and opening up, and the inauguration of the New Era have enabled the Chinese nation to achieve a great leap from standing up and growing prosperous to becoming strong. Today, the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has become an irreversible trend.

中华民族伟大复兴有其深邃的历史内涵。思接千载，中华民族在历史上曾经创造了灿烂的文明。晚清以降，西方列强凭借坚船利炮打开了中国国门，使我们遭遇“数千年未有之大变局”，成为半殖民地半封建社会，蒙受了历史的屈辱。从那时起，实现中华民族伟大复兴，就成为近代以来中国志士仁人孜孜以求的愿景，由此开始了不屈不挠的抗争和艰苦卓绝的奋斗。但是，只有在中国共产党的领导下，才开创了中华民族历史演进的新局，推动民族复兴伟业走上了胜利之路。特别是新中国的建立、改革开放的实行、新时代的开启，使中华民族迎来了从站起来到富起来再到强起来的伟大飞跃。今天，中华民族伟大复兴已成为不可逆转的大趋势。

Looking back at history, Western modernization was not achieved by “bidding farewell” to tradition, but by “returning to” tradition on a new historical foundation. As the starting point of Western modernization, the Renaissance movement that emerged in the 14th century meant that Western civilization, spanning the long “Dark Middle Ages,” returned to the classical tradition of ancient Greece and Rome. As Engels stated, “In the multifarious forms of Greek philosophy, the embryos and germs of almost all later modes of thought can be found. Therefore, theoretical natural science, if it wants to trace the history of the formation and development of its current general principles, has to go back to the Greeks.” This enlightens people that a nation moving toward modern civilization does not mean abandoning its ancient cultural tradition, but rather continuing this tradition on a higher level, enabling it to undergo a rebirth like a phoenix rising from the ashes in a new historical context. For the Chinese nation, the process of moving toward modern civilization is itself the process of reviving the local cultural tradition on a new historical foundation; they are internally unified in the great cause of the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

回顾历史，西方的现代化并不是通过“告别”传统实现的，而是在新的历史基础上“复归”传统实现的。作为西方现代化的肇始，兴起于14世纪的文艺复兴运动，意味着西方文明跨越漫长的“黑暗中世纪”，回归于古希腊罗马的古典传统。正如恩格斯所说的，“在希腊哲学的多种多样的形式中，几乎可以发现以后的所有看法的胚胎、萌芽。因此，理论自然科学要想追溯它的今天的各种一般原理的形成史和发展史，也不得不回到希腊人那里去”。这启示人们，一个民族走向现代文明，并不意味着抛弃自己古老的文化传统，而是在更高意义上接续这一传统，使其在新的历史语境中实现一次凤凰涅槃式的重生。对于中华民族来说，走向现代文明的过程本身，也正是本土文化传统在新的历史基础上得以复兴的过程，它们内在地统一于中华民族复兴的伟业之中。

The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation also has profound world-historical significance. The entire modern and contemporary history of China constitutes an indispensable organic part of what Marx called “world history.” Only from the perspective of world history can one see clearly the historical meaning and essence behind China’s revolution, construction, and reform; conversely, only by understanding the meaning behind modern and contemporary Chinese history can one more fully and deeply comprehend and grasp the rich connotations of world history. Modern and contemporary Chinese history is both a part of world history and actively constructs world history itself. From the perspective of universal human intercourse, world history constitutes the profound historical background on which the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation depends for its realization. In his later years, in a letter to the Russian revolutionary Vera Zasulich, Marx put forward the idea of crossing the “Caudine Forks” of the capitalist system, [2]2 “Caudine Forks” (卡夫丁峡谷) refers to a humiliating defeat of the Roman army in 321 BCE; Marx used it as a metaphor for the painful experience of undergoing capitalist development, suggesting that some societies might avoid this stage. revealing the possibility of transplanting “all the positive achievements” of capitalism. According to this logic of historical materialism, in the context of world history, the fundamental criterion and standard for judging the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation can only be the successful construction of the modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

中华民族伟大复兴也具有深邃的世界历史意义。整个中国近现代史，构成马克思所说的“世界历史”的一个不可或缺的有机组成部分。唯有着眼于世界历史视野，才有可能看清中国革命、建设、改革背后的历史含义及其实质；反过来也一样，只有读懂中国近现代史背后的含义，才能够更完整、更深刻地领会并把握世界历史的丰富内涵。中国近现代史既是世界历史的一部分，同时又能动地建构着世界历史本身。从人类普遍交往的角度看，世界历史构成中华民族伟大复兴赖以实现的深邃历史背景。马克思晚年在给俄国革命家查苏利奇的回信中，提出跨越资本主义制度“卡夫丁峡谷”的设想，揭示了移植资本主义“一切肯定成果”的可能性。按照唯物史观的这一逻辑，在世界历史语境中，中华民族伟大复兴得以实现的根本标志和判断标准，只能是中华民族现代文明的成功建构。

Chinese-Path Modernization Is the Only Path for Building the Modern Civilization of the Chinese Nation

中国式现代化是建设中华民族现代文明的唯一路径

The dual dimensions of nationality and contemporaneity inherent in the modern civilization of the Chinese nation determine that it can only be a new type of civilization constructed and expressed through the cause of Chinese-path modernization. This path vividly embodies the national and contemporary characteristics of the modern civilization of the Chinese nation and also provides a specific coordinate for us to grasp its essence.

中华民族现代文明所固有的民族性和时代性双重维度，注定了它只能是通过中国式现代化事业得以建构并表达的全新的文明类型。这一路径鲜明体现了中华民族现代文明的民族性和时代性特征，也为我们把握其实质提供了特定坐标。

As a type of civilization rooted in the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation, the distinctive advantages displayed by the modern civilization of the Chinese nation offer positive revelatory value for correcting the biases of modernity and transcending the limitations of Western-style modernization. The paradox of Western Enlightenment modernity lies essentially in the fact that “the discovery of man” and “the loss of man” originate from the same source, namely the rational spirit itself that constitutes the core of the Enlightenment—this is precisely the dialectic of the Enlightenment. In the West, from the Renaissance, the Reformation, and the Enlightenment to the Industrial Revolution, the “resurrection” of the rational spirit was marked, but the way it pursued the self-questioning of man could only take the form of “what is man?” rather than “who is man?”. In this way, “man” was interrogated into an existence in the objective case rather than the subjective case. This is precisely the theoretical reason why man fell into the fate of reification in the process of Western modernization.

作为植根于中华优秀传统文化的文明类型，中华民族现代文明所显示出来的特有优势，对于矫正现代性的偏颇、超越西方式现代化的局限性具有积极的启示价值。西方启蒙现代性的吊诡，本质上在于从“人的发现”到“人的丧失”源自同一个东西，即作为启蒙精神内核的理性精神本身，这正是启蒙的辩证法。在西方，从文艺复兴、宗教改革、启蒙运动，到工业革命，标志着理性精神的“复活”，但它对人的自我追问所采取的方式只能是“人是什么”而不是“人是谁”。如此一来，“人”便被问成了宾格而非主格的存在。这正是西方现代化过程中人之所以陷入物化命运的学理原因。

While critically drawing on the beneficial elements of Western civilization, Chinese civilization possesses its own pre-existing and effective immunity. In the words of an ancient Chinese saying, it is “to make use of things without being made use of by things.” [3]3 A phrase from the Zhuangzi, meaning to control and use external things without being enslaved or controlled by them. In its interaction with nature, Chinese civilization rejects the orientation of conquest, possession, domination, and control, instead advocating “the Dao follows what is natural” [4]4 A phrase from the Daodejing (Laozi), expressing the idea that the Dao (the Way) operates spontaneously and without forced intervention. and adhering to the principle of “following its inherent nature” and “according with heavenly principle.” [5]5 Phrases from the Zhuangzi, referring to acting in accordance with the natural properties of things and the inherent principles of the cosmos. This undoubtedly has a corrective effect on the orientation of modern technology that seeks to conquer and harness nature. Furthermore, Chinese civilization’s inquiry into and grasp of “man” does not adopt the posture of an external observer but rather that of an introspective cognizer, thereby making it possible to avoid the fate of the objectification of “man.” Confucius’s saying “to follow the heart’s desire without overstepping the bounds” [6]6 A saying from the Analects of Confucius, describing a state of moral cultivation where one’s actions naturally conform to ethical norms without conscious effort. is a typical expression of this posture. The “Chinese path” of Chinese-path modernization and the “Chinese characteristics” of socialism with Chinese characteristics are, in the final analysis, condensed and accumulated from the essence of the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation. At the same time, Chinese-path modernization is a socialist modernization. As a historical practical process of socialism with Chinese characteristics, its socialist nature is ultimately determined and endowed by the practical form of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times. Therefore, Chinese-path modernization can avoid to the greatest extent the “all terrible upheavals” [7]7 An allusion to Marx’s critique of capitalism, referring to the crises, contradictions, and human suffering inherent in capitalist modernization. inherent in Western capitalist modernization. This is both a characteristic and an advantage of Chinese-path modernization. This characteristic or advantage will inevitably be profoundly embodied in the actual historical process of constructing the modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

中华文明在批判地借鉴西方文明有益成分的同时，有其先行有效的免疫力。用中国古话来说，就是“物物而不物于物”。在与自然打交道的过程中，中华文明拒绝那种以征服、占有、支配和驾驭为姿态的取向，而是主张“道法自然”，恪守“因其固然”“依乎天理”的原则。这对于现代技术的那种戡天役物的取向，无疑有着某种矫正作用。进一步说，中华文明对“人”的追问和把握，所采取的不是外在式的旁观者姿态，而是内省式的体认者姿态，从而有可能避免“人”的客体化命运。孔子所谓“从心所欲不逾矩”，就是这种姿态的典型表达。中国式现代化之“中国式”，中国特色社会主义之“中国特色”，归根到底是由中华优秀传统文化的精华浓缩并积淀而成的。同时，中国式现代化是社会主义的现代化。作为中国特色社会主义的历史实践过程，其社会主义性质归根到底是由马克思主义中国化时代化的实践形式决定和赋予的。因此，中国式现代化能够最大限度地避免西方资本主义现代化所固有的“一切可怕的波折”，这是中国式现代化的特点，也是其优点所在。这一特点或优点，必然深刻地体现在中华民族现代文明实际建构的历史进程之中。

The historical practice of Chinese-path modernization is by no means carried out in a closed and isolated state; it can only be realized through the world-historical context of mutual learning among civilizations and universal intercourse. Therefore, it cannot do without critically drawing on and absorbing the achievements of human civilization, including those of capitalist civilization. For example, Marx and Engels revealed a clear causal chain implicit in modern Western history: scientific revolution → technological revolution → industrial revolution → social revolution. In a certain sense, modern civilization was truly constructed on the basis of modern science and technology. Science and technology constitute the primary productive forces. As Marx said, it was only capitalist production that for the first time turned the material production process into the application of science in production. [8]8 A reference to Marx’s analysis in Capital, Volume 1, where he discusses how capitalism systematically applies science to production for the first time. The occurrence of the two industrial revolutions confirmed Marx’s thesis. The application of science in production can only be realized through the technological form, because technology is in essence merely the externalized or materialized form of science. According to the standpoint and requirements of historical materialism, building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation requires fully drawing on and absorbing the achievements of human civilization, including scientific and technological achievements. However, this must be done under the premise of consciously exerting the unique historical and cultural advantages of the Chinese nation, maintaining the necessary tension between the two poles of history and morality, reason and value, conformity with laws and conformity with purposes. Only in this way can the cause of Chinese-path modernization achieve soundness and completeness, and the goal of building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation be realized.

中国式现代化的历史实践，绝不是在封闭和孤立的状态下进行的，只能通过文明互鉴和普遍交往这一世界历史语境而实现，因此不能离开对于人类文明成果包括资本主义文明成果批判地借鉴和吸收。例如，马克思和恩格斯揭示了西方近现代历史上隐含的一条清晰的因果链条：科学革命→技术革命→产业革命→社会革命。从一定意义上说，现代文明是以现代科学技术为基础才被真正建构起来的。科学技术是第一生产力。正如马克思所说的，只有资本主义生产才第一次把物质生产过程变成科学在生产中的应用。两次工业革命的发生，证明了马克思的论断。科学在生产上的应用只有通过技术形态才能实现，因为技术在本质上不过是科学外化或物化的形态。按照唯物史观的立场和要求，建设中华民族现代文明，需要充分借鉴和吸收人类文明成果包括科学技术成果，但必须在自觉发挥自身所特有的历史文化优势的前提下，在历史与道德、理性与价值、合规律性与合目的性的两极之间保持必要张力。唯其如此，中国式现代化事业才能达到健全和完备，建设中华民族现代文明的目标才能得以实现。

(Author: He Zhonghua, Distinguished Researcher of the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era in Shandong Province, Professor at the School of Philosophy and Social Development, Shandong University)

（作者：何中华，系山东省习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心特约研究员，山东大学哲学与社会发展学院教授）

Online Editor: Tongxin

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