Mao Zedong’s Historical Motivations and Contemporary Guidance for Upholding Independence and Self-Reliance in Advancing Chinese-Path Modernization

The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC emphasized that, on the basis of long-term exploration and practice since the founding of New China, especially since reform and opening up, and through theoretical and practical innovations since the 18th National Congress, our Party has successfully advanced and expanded Chinese-path modernization. As the founder and pioneer of China’s socialist modernization, Mao Zedong engaged in profound reflection and arduous exploration of building a modern socialist country. He creatively applied the ideological principle of independence and self-reliance throughout the entire process of socialist modernization, establishing a unique national posture and subjective consciousness for China’s socialist modernization, and setting a distinct “autonomous” tone for the theoretical system and practical deepening of Chinese-path modernization. Chinese-path modernization is a path to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation independently created by the Communist Party of China leading the Chinese people. One of its logical prerequisites is adherence to the ideological principle of independence and self-reliance, which is one of the fundamental markers distinguishing Chinese-path modernization from Western modernization. The theoretical development and successful inauguration of the Chinese-path modernization path have been formed as major theoretical and practical achievements through the inheritance and development of Mao Zedong’s ideological principle of independence and self-reliance. Therefore, reviewing the historical motivations behind Mao Zedong’s insistence on independence and self-reliance in advancing Chinese-path modernization, and elucidating the rich connotations of Mao Zedong’s thought on independence and self-reliance during the period of socialist modernization, are of great significance for upholding independence and self-reliance in deepening and expanding the theory and practice of Chinese-path modernization on the new journey.

党的二十大报告强调，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。毛泽东作为中国社会主义现代化建设事业的开创者和奠基者，对社会主义现代化国家建设进行了深邃思考和艰辛探索，他创造性地将独立自主思想原则贯穿于社会主义现代化建设的全过程，确立起中国社会主义现代化建设独有的民族姿态和主体自觉，为中国式现代化的理论体系构建和实践纵深推进确定鲜明的“自主性”基调。中国式现代化是中国共产党带领中国人民自主创造的民族复兴之路，其开启的逻辑前提之一即是遵循独立自主的思想原则，这是中国式现代化区别于西方现代化的根本标志之一。中国式现代化道路的理论发展及其成功开创，是在对毛泽东独立自主思想原则的继承和发展中形成的重大理论与实践成果。因此，回顾毛泽东坚持独立自主推进中国式现代化的历史动因，阐释社会主义现代化建设时期毛泽东独立自主思想的丰富内涵，对于新征程上坚持独立自主地深化和拓展中国式现代化的理论和实践，具有重要意义。

I. Problem Statement: The Theoretical Basis for Upholding Independence and Self-Reliance in Advancing Modernization

一、问题提出：坚持独立自主推进现代化建设的立论依据

Chinese-path modernization is a major theoretical and practical achievement independently attained by the Communist Party of China leading the Chinese people. From the perspective of historical genesis, reviewing the process of opening up the path of Chinese-path modernization inevitably involves examining Mao Zedong’s exploration and practice, as the core of the Party’s first generation of leadership, in upholding independence and self-reliance to advance Chinese-path modernization. Upholding independence and self-reliance in advancing modernization constitutes a salient feature of Mao Zedong’s theoretical thinking and practical exploration of the Chinese-path modernization path.

中国式现代化是中国共产党独立自主带领中国人民取得的重大理论和实践成果。从历史发生学的角度回顾中国式现代化的开辟历程，绕不开对毛泽东作为党的第一代领导核心坚持独立自主推进中国式现代化的探索和实践的考察，坚持独立自主推进现代化建设构成毛泽东对中国式现代化道路理论思考和实践探索的显著特征。

(1) Mao Zedong Established the Independent and Self-Reliant Spiritual Posture and Important Principle of Chinese-Path Modernization

（一）毛泽东确立起中国式现代化建设独立自主的精神姿态和重要原则

Independence and self-reliance is one of the major historical experiences gained from the Party’s century-long struggle. “Independence and self-reliance are the soul of the Chinese nation and an important principle for the founding of our Party and our country.” This major historical experience is evident in the Party’s great practices during revolution, construction, and reform, and is a theoretical distillation based on the process of opening up the Chinese-path modernization path. The spirit of independent exploration and practice has a prominent presence in Mao Zedong’s historical process of advancing Chinese-path modernization. It is an important ideological principle for modernization construction that Mao Zedong established for our Party and our country. He applied the ideological principle of independence and self-reliance to multiple aspects of socialist modernization, successfully inaugurated Chinese-path modernization, and made indelible historical contributions to the cause of Chinese-path modernization.

独立自主是党百年奋斗取得的重大历史经验之一，“独立自主是中华民族精神之魂，是我们立党立国的重要原则”。这一重大历史经验见诸党在革命、建设和改革时期的伟大实践，是基于中国式现代化道路开辟历程的理论升华。独立自主的探索和实践精神在毛泽东推进中国式现代化建设的历史进程中具有突出的在场性，是毛泽东为我们党和国家确立的现代化建设的重要思想原则，他将独立自主的思想原则运用于社会主义现代化建设的多个方面，成功开启了中国式现代化，为中国式现代化事业作出了不可磨灭的历史贡献。

Mao Zedong’s theoretical and practical exploration of upholding independence and self-reliance in advancing Chinese-path modernization not only laid the autonomous foundation for Chinese-path modernization, enabling it to transcend the historical dilemma of modernization versus independence faced by late-developing countries, but also guided generations of Chinese Communists to base themselves on China’s actual conditions and explore a socialist modernization path suited to China’s national conditions. History is the best textbook. Looking back at the historical process of Mao Zedong’s insistence on independence and self-reliance in advancing Chinese-path modernization is of great significance for our continued adherence to independence and self-reliance in deepening and expanding the theory and practice of Chinese-path modernization.

毛泽东坚持独立自主推进中国式现代化的理论和实践探索，不仅奠定了中国式现代化的自主性基调，使中国式现代化超脱了现代化后发国家现代化与独立性相矛盾的历史困境，而且引领了一代代中国共产党人立足中国实际，探索适合中国国情的社会主义现代化道路。历史是最好的教科书，回望毛泽东坚持独立自主推进中国式现代化的历史进程，对我们坚持独立自主地继续深化和拓展中国式现代化理论和实践具有重要意义。

(2) The Realities of the Early Period after the Founding of New China Determined the Necessity of Advancing Modernization Independently and Self-Reliantly

（二）新中国成立初期的现实状况决定了必须独立自主推进现代化建设

Upholding independence and self-reliance was a historical necessity for modernization in the early period after the founding of New China. Since modern times, the Chinese people’s arduous exploration of modernization had repeatedly proven that clinging to Western countries’ modernization would inevitably fail. After World War II, the painful lessons of most developing countries building modernization under the coercion of the West further demonstrated that to achieve genuine modernization and escape the fate of becoming vassals of Western countries, it was necessary to combine with actual conditions and independently seek a new path of modernization suited to China. At the same time, the enormous losses inflicted on the revolutionary cause during the revolutionary period by blindly copying the Soviet experience warned Chinese Communists to treat the Soviet “modernization experience” with caution; mechanically copying the “Soviet model” would inevitably lead to maladjustment. To forge China’s own modernization path, it was necessary to uphold independence and self-reliance.

坚持独立自主是新中国成立初期现代化建设的历史必然。近代以来，中国人民对现代化的艰辛探索已经反复证明了攀附西方国家的现代化必然失败。第二次世界大战后，大多数发展中国家在西方裹挟中建设现代化的惨痛教训，更证明了要实现真正的现代化，摆脱做西方国家附庸的厄运，就必须结合实际，独立自主地探寻适合中国的现代化新路。同时，革命时期盲目照搬苏联经验对革命事业造成的巨大损失，告诫中国共产党人要审慎对待苏联的“现代化经验”，照抄照搬“苏联模式”必定水土不服，要走出中国自己的现代化道路，就必须坚持独立自主。

Upholding independence and self-reliance was a practical need for modernization in the early period after the founding of New China. In the choice of modernization paths in the early period after the founding of New China, there existed two roads: Western capitalist modernization and Soviet socialist modernization. However, Western capitalist modernization was not only fundamentally incompatible with China’s pursuit of socialism at the theoretical level, but the actual conditions of Western countries’ early modernization through colonial plunder, aggression, and expansion did not exist in New China. Similarly, the problems exposed in the early period of New China by copying the “Soviet model” for modernization, such as coordination among industrial sectors, proved that the “Soviet model” could not adequately answer the practical questions of China’s socialist modernization. Mao Zedong once pointed out, “Copying everything from the Soviet Union… was completely necessary at the time, but it was also a shortcoming, lacking creativity, lacking the ability to be independent and self-reliant.” [1]1 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s speech at the ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC, July 1, 2021. Exploring modernization in a large country like China, where no template could be mechanically copied, only by independently exploring China’s own modernization path could a scientific answer be given to the new subject of socialist modernization.

坚持独立自主是新中国成立初期现代化建设的现实需要。在新中国成立初期对现代化路径的选择中，存在着西方资本主义现代化和苏联社会主义现代化两种道路。然而，西方资本主义现代化不仅在理论层面与中国追求社会主义的愿景根本相悖，而且西方国家在现代化早期通过殖民掠夺、侵略扩张建设现代化的现实条件在新中国也并不存在。同样，新中国初期照搬“苏联模式”建设现代化暴露出的诸如工业部门的协调等问题，证明“苏联模式”并不能够回答好中国社会主义现代化建设的现实课题。毛泽东曾指出，“一切都抄苏联……这在当时是完全必要的，同时又是一个缺点，缺乏创造性，缺乏独立自主的能力”。在中国这样一个大国探索现代化，不存在可以照抄照搬的模板，只有独立自主地探索中国自己的现代化道路，才能对社会主义现代化建设的崭新课题作出科学回答。

(3) Independence and Self-Reliance Is a Core Issue Requiring Study through the Unity of History and Reality

（三）独立自主是需要以历史和现实相统一的方法进行研究的核心议题

After the report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC systematically proposed the theory of Chinese-path modernization, independence and self-reliance and the Chinese-path modernization path, and independence and self-reliance and Mao Zedong’s early exploration of Chinese-path modernization, became hot topics in academic research. Research results are mainly concentrated in the following three areas: First, exploring the logical connection between independence and self-reliance and Chinese-path modernization. Some scholars believe that independence and self-reliance is the foundation for the independent exploration and innovation of the Chinese-path modernization path, and that independence and self-reliance and innovative exploration are essential characteristics of the Chinese-path modernization path. Second, focusing on Mao Zedong’s early exploration of the theory and practice of Chinese-path modernization. Chen Lizhong and Jin Yajing, Wang Peng and Zhu Xinyu, Jin Siyang, Zhu Siyuan, and others have focused on studying the historical background and conditions, theoretical achievements and contributions, and achievements in practical exploration of Mao Zedong’s early exploration of Chinese-path modernization, highlighting Mao Zedong’s historical contributions to the theory and practice of Chinese-path modernization. Third, focusing on the role and status of independence and self-reliance in Mao Zedong’s early exploration of Chinese-path modernization. Some scholars believe that Mao Zedong took upholding independence and self-reliance as the foothold of socialist construction, which played an important role in the brilliant achievements we made during the construction period.

党的二十大报告系统提出中国式现代化理论后，独立自主与中国式现代化道路、独立自主与毛泽东对中国式现代化的早期探索成为学界研究的热点问题。研究成果主要集中在以下三个方面：一是探讨独立自主与中国式现代化的逻辑关联。有学者认为，独立自主是中国式现代化道路自主探索和创新的基础，独立自主和创新探索是中国式现代化道路的本质特征。二是聚焦毛泽东对中国式现代化理论和实践的早期探索。陈立中、晋亚静，王鹏、祝新宇，金思扬，朱思远等人重点研究了毛泽东早期探索中国式现代化的时代背景和历史条件、理论成果贡献、实践探索取得的成就等内容，彰显了毛泽东对中国式现代化理论和实践所作出的历史性贡献。三是关注独立自主在毛泽东对中国式现代化早期探索中的地位作用。有学者认为，毛泽东将坚持独立自主作为社会主义建设的立足点，对建设时期我们取得的光辉成就发挥了重要作用。

In summary, most related research studies Mao Zedong and issues related to Chinese-path modernization from a macro perspective, treating independence and self-reliance as one aspect of Mao Zedong’s theoretical and practical exploration of Chinese-path modernization, and rarely establishes its argument based on the ideological principle of independence and self-reliance itself. The method of unifying history and reality is an important method for our scientific research. Mao Zedong’s insistence on independence and self-reliance in advancing Chinese-path modernization is both a historical process and a historical fact. The study of Mao Zedong’s theory and practice of upholding independence and self-reliance in advancing modernization must not only be based on the historical process itself, but also explain the motivations behind historical phenomena, grasp the脉络 of historical development, analyze historical experience, and organically combine history and reality to provide contemporary inspiration for continuing to deepen and expand Chinese-path modernization.

综上所述，相关研究大都从宏观角度出发研究毛泽东与中国式现代化的相关问题，把独立自主作为毛泽东对中国式现代化理论和实践探索的一个方面，较少基于独立自主的思想原则本身进行立论。历史与现实相统一的方法是我们进行科学研究的重要方法，毛泽东坚持独立自主推进中国式现代化既是历史过程，也是历史事实，对毛泽东坚持独立自主推进现代化理论和实践的研究，不仅要基于历史过程本身，更要解释历史现象背后的动因，把握历史发展的脉络，分析历史经验，将历史与现实有机结合起来，为继续深化和拓展中国式现代化提供现实启示。

II. Historical Motivations for Mao Zedong’s Insistence on Independence and Self-Reliance in Advancing Chinese-Path Modernization

二、毛泽东坚持独立自主推进中国式现代化的历史动因

Marx pointed out: “Men make their own history, but they do not make it as they please; they do not make it under self-selected circumstances, but under circumstances existing already, given and transmitted from the past.” The lessons and experiences of early modern exploration and the new tasks of socialist modernization together constituted the starting point and ultimate goal of Mao Zedong’s insistence on independence and self-reliance in advancing modernization. The theoretical and practical achievements of independently exploring a new revolutionary path during the revolutionary period provided Mao Zedong with important experience for independently building socialist modernization.

马克思指出：“人们自己创造自己的历史，但是他们并不是随心所欲地创造，并不是在他们自己选定的条件下创造，而是在直接碰到的、既定的、从过去承继下来的条件下创造。”近代早期现代化探索的经验教训和社会主义现代化建设的崭新课题，共同构成了毛泽东坚持独立自主推进现代化建设的出发点与落脚点，革命时期独立自主探索革命新道路的理论和实践成果为毛泽东坚持独立自主建设社会主义现代化提供了重要经验。

(I) A Profound Summary of the Lessons and Experiences of Modern Exploration

（一）近代现代化探索经验教训的深刻总结

The establishment of the capitalist mode of production in Europe opened the era of large-scale production with a great explosion of productive forces. Modernization, based on industrialization, expanded with the global spread of capital, ushering in a new stage of human civilization. Western countries, which had completed the Industrial Revolution and gained a first-mover advantage in modernization, used their strong ships and powerful cannons to breach the gates of the ancient Eastern great power. China was forcibly drawn into the capitalist world system. Starting from the crisis of saving the nation from extinction, the Chinese people began a long journey in pursuit of the path of modernization. This is a history of suffering, in which the Chinese people were plundered and humiliated, and also a history of struggle, in which forces from all strata painstakingly explored the path of modernization.

资本主义生产方式在欧洲的确立，开启了生产力大爆发的大生产时代，以工业化为基础的现代化随着资本在全球的扩张，开启了人类文明的新阶段。完成工业革命、取得现代化先发优势的西方国家凭借坚船利炮打开了古老东方大国的国门，中国被迫卷入资本主义的世界体系之内，从挽救民族生死存亡的危局出发，中国人民开始了苦苦追寻现代化道路的漫长征程。这是一部中国人民遭受掠夺、蒙受屈辱的苦难史，也是各阶层力量艰难探索现代化道路的奋斗史。

Reformism and modernization that clung to the West were a “dead end” that could not succeed. “To save the nation from peril, the Chinese people rose up in resistance, and people of lofty ideals cried out and fought, waging heroic and stirring struggles.” [1]1 Quotation from Xi Jinping’s speech at the ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC, July 1, 2021. To realize the beautiful vision of national rejuvenation, the Westernization faction, as representatives of the feudal government and the big landlord class, took “Chinese learning as the essence, Western learning for practical use” as their guiding ideology. They regarded modern Western industrial technology as a lifeline to maintain the feudal ethical code system and ruling order, trying to prop up their tottering ruling edifice. The Reformists advocated constitutional monarchy through institutional reform, laying an institutional foundation for the development of China’s national capitalism. However, this mild and incomplete reform movement was ultimately brutally suppressed by conservative forces and ended in failure. The bourgeois revolutionary faction, represented by Sun Yat-sen, stepped onto the historical stage and led the Revolution of 1911 to overthrow the feudal rule of the Qing dynasty, igniting hope for national rejuvenation. But the national bourgeoisie harbored serious illusions about Western imperialism and feudalism, and the fruits of the revolution were ultimately stolen by feudal warlords. The New Culture Movement even advocated complete “Westernization,” attempting to initiate social transformation through changes in the ideological and cultural sphere. Facts proved that, under the conditions of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, learning from the West and drawing close to the West could not achieve modernization; on the contrary, it led to aggression by the “Western gentlemen.” Mao Zedong once pointed out: “Another aspect of the new changes after the invasion of China by imperialism is the bloodstained picture of turning a feudal China into a semi-feudal, semi-colonial, and colonial China.” Following in the footsteps of the West and attempting to achieve modernization by ceding sovereignty was nothing but a pipe dream in semi-colonial and semi-feudal China.

改良主义与攀附西方的现代化是走不通的“死路”。“为了拯救民族危亡，中国人民奋起反抗，仁人志士奔走呐喊，进行了可歌可泣的斗争”。为了实现民族复兴的美好愿景，作为封建政府和大地主阶级的代表，洋务派官僚以“中体西用”为指导思想，将西方近代工业技术视为维系封建伦理纲常体系和统治秩序的救命稻草，试图扶其统治大厦于将倾。维新派主张通过制度改良推行君主立宪，为中国民族资本主义的发展奠定制度基础，然而，温和的不彻底的改良运动最终遭致守旧势力的残暴镇压而宣告失败。以孙中山为代表的资产阶级革命派登上历史舞台，领导辛亥革命推翻了清王朝的封建统治，点燃了民族振兴的希望，但民族资产阶级对西方帝国主义和封建主义存在严重幻想，革命果实最终被封建军阀窃取。新文化运动更主张全面“西化”，试图以思想文化领域的变革开启整个社会的变革。事实证明，在半殖民地半封建社会条件下，向西方学习，向西方靠拢，苦苦追求的现代化非但不能实现，反而遭受“洋先生”的侵略。毛泽东曾指出，“帝国主义侵入中国以后的新的变化的又一个方面，就是把一个封建的中国变为一个半封建、半殖民地和殖民地的中国的血迹斑斑的图画”。追随西方脚步，试图让渡主权实现现代化的转型在半殖民地半封建社会的中国只能是黄粱一梦。

Independently exploring a modernization suitable for China was the “way out.” Fundamentally, the basic national conditions of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society determined that China’s modernization transformation was suppressed both by domestic feudal forces and faced aggression from imperialism in various fields. Advanced productive forces could not be nurtured within backward relations of production characterized mainly by extreme imbalance in economic and political development. As Mao Zedong pointed out: “Once the superstructure is changed, the relations of production are properly handled and put on the right track, only then is the road opened for the great development of productive forces and the conditions prepared for the strengthening of the material base. Of course, the revolution in relations of production is caused by a certain development of productive forces. However, the great development of productive forces always occurs after the change in relations of production.” With the victory of the October Revolution and the spread of Marxist scientific theory in China, advanced groups represented by Mao Zedong began to discuss the key issue of whether the Western path of modernization was suitable for China’s national conditions. They realized that following slavishly in the footsteps of the “Western gentlemen” in the pursuit of modernization could only mean ceding sovereignty and taking the evil path of high dependence on the West. To achieve modernization, it was necessary to independently explore a path of modernization suitable for China.

独立自主探索适合中国的现代化才是“出路”。从根本上说，半殖民地半封建社会的基本国情决定了中国的现代化转型既遭受本国封建势力的打压，又面临帝国主义在各个领域的侵略，先进的生产力不能在以经济政治发展极端不平衡为主要特征的落后的生产关系中孕育出来。正如毛泽东指出，“上层建筑改变了，生产关系搞好了，上了轨道了，才为生产力的大发展开辟了道路，为物质基础的增强准备了条件。当然，生产关系的革命，是生产力的一定发展所引起的。但是，生产力的大发展，总是在生产关系改变以后”。随着十月革命的胜利和马克思主义科学理论在中国的传播，以毛泽东为代表的中国先进群体开始讨论西方现代化道路是否适合中国国情这个关键议题，意识到跟在“洋先生”身后亦步亦趋追求现代化，只能是让渡主权，高度依附西方的邪路，要实现现代化，必须自主探索适合中国的现代化道路。

(II) The Formation and Practice of the Thought of Independence and Self-Reliance During the Revolutionary Period

（二）革命时期独立自主思想的形成与实践

Problems are the voice of the times; thought is the precursor of action. The propositional domain of the Chinese revolutionary path constituted the historical premise for the formation of Mao Zedong’s thought of independence and self-reliance during the revolutionary era. To break free from the shackles of dogmatism and find a revolutionary path truly suited to China’s national conditions, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their chief representative, underwent long and complex struggles in the practice of exploring the Chinese revolutionary path, gradually forming the thought of independence and self-reliance.

问题是时代的声音，思想是行动的先导。中国革命道路问题的命题域构成了毛泽东独立自主思想在革命年代形成的历史前提，为摆脱教条主义的束缚并找到一条真正适合中国国情的革命道路，以毛泽东同志为主要代表的中国共产党人在探索中国革命道路的实践中历经长期的复杂斗争，逐渐形成了独立自主的思想。

In 1921, the Communist Party of China was founded under the guidance of the Communist International and became a branch of the Communist International. Facing a complex and chaotic situation, the CPC, weak in strength and with an unsteady foundation in its early days, inevitably had to follow the instructions of the Communist International and accept its leadership. It was precisely on the advice of the Communist International that the Party chose to establish the National Revolutionary United Front through “intra-party cooperation” and threw itself into the torrent of the Great Revolution. However, this mode of leadership by the Communist International also had significant problems. As a new type of revolutionary political party, the CPC, to lead the Chinese revolution to victory, had to be an independent party. Recalling this period, Mao Zedong once said: “It seems that what the Communist International provided to the Chinese Communist Party in 1927 was not ‘opinions’ but outright orders; the Chinese Communist Party apparently did not even have the right to refuse them.” [2]2 Mao Zedong’s recollection of the Comintern’s relationship with the CPC in the 1920s. Under such circumstances, some within the Party sanctified the instructions of the Communist International. Chen Duxiu, an early leader of the Party, proposed the “theory of two-stage revolution” in the later period of the Great Revolution, advocating that all work be handed over to the Kuomintang and making continuous compromises and concessions to the Kuomintang right wing, ultimately leading to the failure of the Great Revolution.

1921年，中国共产党在共产国际的指导下成立，成为共产国际的一个党支部。面对纷乱复杂的时局，成立初期力量式微、根基未稳的中国共产党不可避免地要听从共产国际的指示，接受共产国际的领导。党正是接受了共产国际的建议，才选择了以“党内合作”的方式建立国民革命统一战线，投身至大革命的洪流之中。然而，共产国际的这种领导方式也存在着显著的问题，作为新型革命政党的中国共产党要领导中国革命的胜利，必然要是一个独立性的政党。毛泽东回忆这段时期时就曾说：“看来共产国际在1927年提供给中国共产党的不是什么‘意见’，而是干脆发的命令，中国共产党显然甚至无权不接受。”在这样的局面下，党内一部分人士将共产国际的指示神圣化，党的早期领导人陈独秀在大革命后期提出“二次革命论”，主张一切工作归国民党，对国民党右派持续妥协退让，最终招致大革命的失败。

At the same time, some within the Party also engaged in preliminary independent thinking on the issue of the Chinese revolution. During the Great Revolution, Mao Zedong conducted preliminary theoretical explorations of the Chinese revolution in works such as “Analysis of the Classes in Chinese Society” and “Report on an Investigation of the Peasant Movement in Hunan.” During the Agrarian Revolutionary War, the CPC gradually broke free from the shackles of dogmatism and the Communist International through the painful lessons of failure. After the August 7th Meeting [3]3 The August 7th Meeting (1927) was an emergency meeting of the CPC that ended Chen Duxiu’s leadership and decided on the policy of armed resistance against the Kuomintang., the Party’s work focus shifted from the cities to the countryside. Through the practice of the Jinggangshan Revolutionary Base Area, a new path for the Chinese revolution was found. Subsequently, the Zunyi Meeting [4]4 The Zunyi Meeting (January 1935) was a pivotal CPC Politburo meeting that established Mao Zedong’s leadership and marked the Party’s first independent correction of its own errors. not only achieved a great turning point of far-reaching significance in the Party’s history but also had a unique presence in the formation of Mao Zedong’s thought of independence and self-reliance. Mao Zedong once pointed out: “A true understanding of independence and self-reliance began with the Zunyi Meeting.” The Zunyi Meeting, by criticizing the errors of the Communist International’s military advisor Li De, corrected and ended the dominant position of Wang Ming’s “left” dogmatist errors in the Party Central Committee. It not only broke the superstition about the authority of the Communist International but also enabled the Party to independently correct its own mistakes. This showed that the Party had finally become mature enough to independently and autonomously handle the major issues of the Party itself and the Chinese revolution, and had acquired the ability to formulate the Party’s line, principles, and policies based on China’s actual conditions. Guided by the new path of the Chinese revolution—encircling the cities from the countryside and seizing state power by armed force—independently explored by the CPC, the Party led the broad masses of the people to achieve the great victory of the New Democratic Revolution.

同时，党内也有一部分人对中国革命问题进行了初步的独立思考。大革命时期，毛泽东在《中国社会各阶级的分析》和《湖南农民运动考察报告》等文中对中国革命问题进行了初步的理论探索。土地革命时期，中国共产党在失败的惨痛教训中逐渐破除了党内教条主义和共产国际的束缚；在八七会议后，党的工作重心完成了由城市向农村的转移，经历井冈山革命根据地的实践，找到了中国革命的新道路。此后，遵义会议不仅实现了党的历史上具有深远意义的伟大转折，更对毛泽东独立自主思想的形成具有独特的在场意义。毛泽东曾指出：“真正懂得独立自主是从遵义会议开始的。”遵义会议通过批判共产国际军事顾问李德的错误，纠正并终结了王明“左”倾教条主义错误在党中央的领导地位，不仅打破了对共产国际权威的迷信，而且实现了党独立自主对自身错误的纠正。这表明，党终于能够成熟、独立、自主地处理党自身和中国革命的重大问题，拥有了从中国实际出发制定党的路线方针政策的能力。在农村包围城市、武装夺取政权这一中国共产党独立自主探索得来的中国革命新道路指引下，党带领广大人民取得了新民主主义革命的伟大胜利。

(III) The Practical Needs of the New Subject of Socialist Modernization

（三）社会主义现代化崭新课题的现实需要

After the victory of the New Democratic Revolution, following a three-year period of recovery and development, the Party’s historical task shifted from revolution to socialist construction. The interweaving of the theoretical necessity of adhering to independence and self-reliance in Chinese-path modernization and the practical reality of the basic conditions of Chinese-path modernization constituted the contemporary circumstances in which Mao Zedong insisted on independence and self-reliance in carrying out modernization.

新民主主义革命胜利后，经过三年的恢复发展时期，党的历史任务由革命转为社会主义建设。中国式现代化建设坚持独立自主的理论应然与中国式现代化建设基本状况的现实实然间的矛盾交织构成了毛泽东坚持独立自主进行现代化建设的时代境遇。

Only by upholding independence and self-reliance can one shoulder the historical mission of modernization. The victory of the revolution freed China from the tragic fate of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society and ushered in the historical opportunity for modernization. Complete national sovereignty also provided the prerequisite for the Chinese Communist Party and the Chinese people to independently choose their own development path. In 1954, at the First Session of the First National People’s Congress, Mao Zedong pointed out, “We are preparing, within a few five-year plans, to build our country, now economically and culturally backward, into a great country with an industrialized and highly modernized culture.” The starting point of China’s modernization was built on a fragile economic foundation that had been deformed and devastated in modern times, while also facing imperialist encirclement, pursuit, blockade, and embargo. The arduous and complex conditions of construction became a distinctive feature of the problem domain of Chinese-path modernization. For the Chinese Communist Party to successfully answer this entirely new question of modernization, it had to uphold independence and self-reliance, basing itself on China’s actual conditions to explore a Chinese plan for modernization.

坚持独立自主才能担负起现代化建设的历史使命。革命的胜利使中国摆脱了半殖民地半封建社会的悲惨命运，迎来了现代化建设的历史机遇，完整的国家主权也为中国共产党和中国人民独立选择自己的发展道路提供了前提。1954年，在一届全国人大一次会议上，毛泽东指出，“准备在几个五年计划之内，将我们现在这样一个经济上文化上落后的国家，建设成为一个工业化的具有高度现代文化程度的伟大的国家”。中国现代化建设的起点建立在近代畸形发展、饱受摧残的脆弱经济现状之上，又面临着帝国主义的围追堵截和封锁禁运，艰苦复杂的建设条件成为中国式现代化建设问题域的显著特征，中国共产党要答好现代化建设这一崭新课题，就必须坚持独立自主，立足中国的实际情况探索现代化建设的中国方案。

The shortcomings of the Soviet model and Western modernization required that Chinese-path modernization blaze a new path autonomously. Mao Zedong sharply criticized the modernization of Western countries led by the United States, exposing the imperialist essence of Western countries’ internal exploitation and external aggression. Mao Zedong pointed out: “The United States is powerful now, but from a broad perspective, from the whole, from the long-term view, it has no popular support; its policies are disliked by people; it oppresses and exploits the people.” Regarding the successful example of Soviet socialist modernization, in the back-and-forth between the early practice of learning from Soviet experience and the reflection on the path of Chinese-path modernization, the “Soviet model” increasingly “revealed its shortcomings” and “failed to adapt to local conditions” in China. Particularly influenced by Khrushchev’s “lifting the lid” after the 20th Congress of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union and the events in Poland and Hungary, Mao Zedong deeply realized the need to break through the “Soviet model” and independently think about the question of China’s socialist modernization. He pointed out: “We should no longer mechanically copy everything from the Soviet Union; we should use our own brains to think. We should integrate the basic principles of Marxism-Leninism with the concrete realities of China’s socialist revolution and construction, and explore the path of building socialism in our country.”

苏联模式和西方现代化的弊端要求中国式现代化建设要自主地开辟新路。毛泽东激烈地批判以美国为首的西方国家的现代化，揭露西方国家对内剥削对外侵略的帝国主义本质。毛泽东指出：“现在美国强大，但从广大范围、从全体、从长远考虑，它不得人心，它的政策人家不喜欢，它压迫剥削人民。”对待苏联社会主义现代化建设的成功范例，在早期借鉴苏联经验的实践和对中国式现代化建设道路思考的来回反复中，“苏联模式”在中国日益“暴露弊端”“水土不服”，特别是苏共二十大后赫鲁晓夫“揭了盖子”以及波匈事件的影响，毛泽东深刻认识到要突破“苏联模式”，独立自主地思考中国社会主义现代化建设的问题。他指出：“不要再硬搬苏联的一切了，应该用自己的头脑思索了。应该把马列主义的基本原理同中国社会主义革命和建设的具体实际结合起来，探索在我们国家里建设社会主义的道路了。”

Mao Zedong’s own high degree of historical self-consciousness endowed the powerful force for upholding independence and self-reliance in advancing modernization. As a great figure in the history of the Chinese nation, Mao Zedong himself possessed a high degree of historical self-consciousness. Historical self-consciousness requires that the historical subject be able to consciously judge its own historical position and possess a strong sense of responsibility for the historical mission it is to undertake. As the core of the Party’s first generation of collective leadership, Mao Zedong was adept at summarizing the historical laws and historical experiences of Eastern and Western modernization, applying the thought of independence and self-reliance formed during the revolutionary era to socialist modernization, and making independence and self-reliance the foothold of modernization. His greatest wish was “to try to find a relatively fast, relatively perfect, and creatively Chinese path of socialist modernization.”

毛泽东自身高度的历史自觉精神赋予坚持独立自主推进现代化建设的强大力量。作为中华民族历史上的一代伟人，毛泽东自身具有高度的历史自觉精神，历史自觉精神要求历史主体能够自觉地判断其所处的历史方位，对于要承担的历史使命拥有强烈的责任感。作为党的第一代领导集体的核心，毛泽东善于总结东西方现代化建设的历史规律和历史经验，将革命年代形成的独立自主思想运用于社会主义现代化建设之中，将独立自主作为现代化建设的立足点。他最大的愿望就是“试图找出一条比较快、比较完美、有中国人自己创造性的社会主义现代化建设道路”。

III. The Initiation of Chinese-Path Modernization and the Expansion of the Connotation of the Thought of Independence and Self-Reliance

三、中国式现代化开启与独立自主思想的内涵拓新

Mao Zedong’s upholding of independence and self-reliance in exploring a path of modernization suited to China, and the full unfolding of the entirely new subject of socialist modernization, provided an opportunity for the expansion of the connotation of Mao Zedong’s thought of independence and self-reliance. Socialist modernization constituted a new problem domain for Mao Zedong’s thought of independence and self-reliance. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, Mao Zedong’s thought of independence and self-reliance contained the profound connotations of independence and self-reliance in national sovereignty, the development path, and spiritual belief. It laid the fundamental prerequisite for modernization, broke the path dependence, provided spiritual strength, and successfully led the initiation of Chinese-path modernization.

毛泽东坚持独立自主探索适合中国的现代化建设道路，社会主义现代化建设这一崭新课题的全面展开，为毛泽东的独立自主思想的内涵拓新提供了契机。社会主义现代化建设是毛泽东独立自主思想的新的问题论域，在社会主义革命和建设时期，毛泽东的独立自主思想蕴含着国家主权、建设道路和精神信仰独立自主的深刻内涵，为现代化建设奠定了根本前提、破除了路径依赖、提供了精神力量，成功引领了中国式现代化的开启。

(I) The Independence and Self-Reliance of National Sovereignty Lays the Fundamental Prerequisite for Modernization

（一）国家主权的独立自主为现代化建设奠定根本前提

National sovereignty constitutes the core concept of the modern state and is the prerequisite for the formation of a modern state. Unlike Western countries, which initiated the process of modernization through capitalist large-scale industrial production, China’s early exploration of modernization in modern times unfolded against the backdrop of capitalist global colonial expansion. The imperialist wars of aggression against China and the crisis of the loss of national sovereignty gave the Chinese people a strong emotional pursuit of sovereign independence. In 1935, in the political report at the Wayaobu Conference [5]5 The Wayaobu Conference (December 1935) was a meeting of the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held in Wayaobu, northern Shaanxi, which formulated the strategy of establishing an anti-Japanese national united front., Mao Zedong, based on an analysis of the current situation in China, pointed out, “Our task is to turn China into an independent, free, and territorially intact country. Achieving China’s independence and freedom is a great task.” For a China with neither democracy internally nor independence externally to achieve modernization, it had to obtain complete national sovereignty and realize the independence and self-reliance of national sovereignty, only then could it escape the historical fate of following Western imperialist countries step by step in building modernization. With the foresight of a proletarian revolutionary, Mao Zedong, proceeding from the relationships between politics and economics, revolution and construction, and China and the world, profoundly elucidated the profound connotation of the independence and self-reliance of national sovereignty in modernization.

国家主权构成了现代国家的核心概念，是现代国家形成的先决条件。不同于以资本主义大工业生产开启现代化进程的西方国家，中国现代化在近代的早期探索是在资本主义全球殖民扩张的大背景下展开的。帝国主义对中国的侵略战争，国家主权的陷落危机使中国人民对主权独立有着强烈的情感追求。1935年，在瓦窑堡会议的政治报告中，毛泽东在分析当前中国形势的基础上指出，“我们的任务，是变中国为独立、自由和领土完整的国家。实现中国的独立自由是一个伟大的任务”。内无民主、外无独立的中国要实现现代化，必须取得完整的国家主权，实现国家主权的独立自主，才能摆脱跟在西方帝国主义国家身后亦步亦趋建设现代化的历史命运。毛泽东以无产阶级革命家的远见卓识，从政治与经济、革命与建设、中国与世界的关系出发，深刻阐明了国家主权的独立自主在现代化建设中的深刻内涵。

Political self-determination is the prerequisite for autonomous economic development. Mao Zedong analyzed the question of China’s modernization from the broad perspective of historical materialism. Without the independence of national sovereignty, there is no autonomous right to develop the economy. The economic aggression of Western imperialist countries was precisely built on the historical fact of the loss of sovereignty in modern China. The lack of political sovereignty directly led to the occupation of the means of production by imperialism. Only by obtaining complete and independent national sovereignty could the means of production be liberated from the hands of imperialism and the working people be organized from under the bullying of imperialism. As Mao Zedong emphasized in 1945 at the memorial meeting for martyrs after the conclusion of the Seventh National Congress of the CPC, for China to become a modernized and prosperous country, “it is necessary to liberate the productive forces,” and “it is precisely imperialism and feudalism that have fettered the productive forces of the Chinese people; if they are not destroyed, China cannot develop and progress.”

政治上的自立自决是经济上自主发展的先决条件。毛泽东将中国现代化问题置于历史唯物主义的广阔视野之中分析，没有国家主权的独立，就没有发展经济的自主权。西方帝国主义国家的经济侵略，正是建立在近代中国丧失主权的历史事实之上。政治主权的缺失直接导致生产资料被帝国主义占领。只有取得完整独立的国家主权，才能将生产资料从帝国主义手中解放出来，将劳动人民从帝国主义的欺凌之下组织起来。正如1945年毛泽东在党的七大结束后的烈士追悼大会上所强调的，中国要成为现代化的富强的国家，“就要解放生产力”，“正是帝国主义和封建主义束缚了中国人民的生产力，不破坏它们，中国就不能发展和进步”。

Achieving the independence and self-reliance of national sovereignty is the prerequisite and means for modernization. Mao Zedong pointed out: “What China lacks is indeed a great deal, but the main thing is that it lacks two things: one is independence, and the other is democracy. If either of these two things is lacking, China’s affairs cannot be handled well.” The goal of the New Democratic Revolution was to overthrow the “three big mountains” [6]6 “Three big mountains” (三座大山) is a standard Mao-era metaphor for the three forces that oppressed old China: imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism. and establish an independent, democratic New China. Under the oppression of the “three big mountains” of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism, China had to undergo a thorough democratic revolution, achieve the independence and self-reliance of national sovereignty, establish a democratic people’s republic, and only then could it liberate the productive forces from the backward relations of production that suppressed their development, giving them room to develop and laying the foundation for modernization. As Mao Zedong pointed out: “What is revolution for? It is to break this pressure, to liberate the productive forces of the Chinese people, to liberate the Chinese people, and to enable them to gain freedom. Therefore, the first thing is to seek the independence of the country, and the second is democracy. Without these two things, China cannot be unified and cannot become prosperous and strong.”

实现国家主权的独立自主是现代化建设的前提和手段。毛泽东指出：“中国缺少的东西固然很多，但是主要的就是少了两件东西：一件是独立，一件是民主。这两件东西少了一件，中国的事情就办不好。”新民主主义革命的目标就是要推翻“三座大山”，建立一个独立的、民主的新中国。在帝国主义、封建主义和官僚资本主义“三座大山”的压迫下，中国必须经过彻底的民主革命，实现国家主权的独立自主，建立民主的人民共和国，才能将生产力从压抑它发展的落后的生产关系中解放出来，使其获得发展的空间，为现代化建设奠定基础。正如毛泽东指出的那样：“革命是干什么呢？就是要冲破这个压力，解放中国人民的生产力，解放中国人民，使他们得到自由。所以，首先就应该求得国家的独立，其次是民主。没有这两个东西，中国是不能统一和不能富强的。”

The modernization of complete national sovereignty is a common aspiration of the vast majority of developing countries. China’s revolution was part of the world proletarian revolution. Only by relying on revolution to achieve independent and complete national sovereignty could China contribute its strength to the revolutionary movement on a global scale. Mao Zedong once pointed out, “…the national liberation struggle led by the Communist Party is a fact known to everyone. This patriotism is not in conflict with internationalism, for only through China’s independence and liberation can it be possible to participate in the world movement for great harmony.”[7]7 Mao Zedong, “The Chinese Communist Party in the National War,” *Selected Works of Mao Zedong*, Vol. 2, p. 521. In the 20th-century struggle of developing countries for national independence and political liberation, China’s achievement of independent national sovereignty and its subsequent construction of modernization on this basis carried profound world significance. Within the capitalist-dominated paradigm of modernization, late-developing countries inevitably had to abandon their independence, relying on the capital export of Western countries to initiate and build modernization, thus falling into the developing-country dilemma of either having independence without modernization or having modernization without independence. As a typical representative of developing countries, China achieved national sovereignty independence under extremely difficult conditions and, on this foundation, began large-scale socialist modernization construction, breaking through the historical predicament in which developing countries cede national sovereignty interests to build modernization.

完整国家主权的现代化是广大发展中国家的共同心愿。中国的革命是世界无产阶级革命的一部分，中国依靠革命取得独立自主的完整的国家主权，才能为世界范围内的革命运动贡献自己的力量。毛泽东曾指出，“……共产党领导的民族解放斗争，是人人皆知的事实。这种爱国主义与国际主义并不冲突，因为只有中国的独立解放，才有可能去参加世界的大同运动”。在20世纪发展中国家谋求民族独立、政治解放的斗争中，中国实现国家主权的独立自主，并在此基础上建设现代化，具有深刻的世界意义。在资本主义主导的现代化范式中，后发国家不可避免地要放弃独立性，依附西方国家的资本输出开启现代化、建设现代化，陷入有独立性无现代化、有现代化无独立性的发展中国家现代化困境。中国作为发展中国家的典型代表，从极端困苦的条件下实现了国家主权的独立，并以此为基础开始大规模的社会主义现代化建设，突破了发展中国家出让国家主权利益建设现代化的历史困境。

(2) The Independence and Self-Reliance of the Construction Path Breaks Path Dependence for Modernization Construction

（二）建设道路的独立自主为现代化建设破除路径依赖

After the victory of the New Democratic Revolution, China obtained the political and social conditions for large-scale economic construction. The Party led the Chinese people to begin independently exploring the path of socialist modernization. Faced with the imperialist blockade and encirclement and an economic situation in ruins, through critical reflection on the capitalist modernization model, through imitation and learning from the Soviet modernization model, and through repeated exploration in practice, Mao Zedong established the policy of independently and self-reliantly carrying out socialist modernization construction. Mao Zedong pointed out: “Self-reliance as the mainstay, with external assistance as a supplement; break down superstitions, independently and self-reliantly engage in industry, agriculture, technology revolution, and cultural revolution; defeat slavish thinking, bury dogmatism; earnestly study the good experiences of foreign countries, and also certainly study the bad experiences of foreign countries — take them as a warning — this is our line.”[8]8 Mao Zedong, “Instruction on the Question of Self-Reliance and Foreign Aid,” *Mao Zedong’s Manuscripts Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China*, Vol. 7, p. 380.

新民主主义革命胜利后，中国取得了大规模经济建设的政治和社会条件，党带领中国人民开始自主探索社会主义现代化道路。面临帝国主义的封锁包围和百废待兴的经济现状，在对资本主义现代化模式的批判反思中，在对苏联现代化模式的模仿借鉴中，在实践的反复探索中，毛泽东确立了独立自主进行社会主义现代化建设的方针。毛泽东指出：“自力更生为主，争取外援为辅，破除迷信，独立自主地干工业、干农业、干技术革命和文化革命，打倒奴隶思想，埋葬教条主义，认真学习外国的好经验，也一定研究外国的坏经验——引以为戒，这就是我们的路线。”

In critically reflecting on the capitalist modernization model, a Chinese plan for socialist modernization was constructed. “Western modernization under the dominance of capital begins with bloody primitive accumulation of capital and continuously carries out modernization construction through the evil methods of exploiting workers internally and colonial expansion externally.” On the one hand, the capitalist mode of production not only bears the bloody and filthy “original sin” of primitive accumulation through colonial plunder but also cannot overcome the “fate” of eventual extinction caused by its inherent contradictions. On the other hand, the inherent logic of capital supremacy inevitably leads to polarization; the broad masses of working people are alienated by capital into “production tools” for material production and bourgeois enjoyment, seriously violating Marxism’s people-centered nature and the Communist Party of China’s people’s standpoint, and failing to offer the broad masses of Chinese people a bright development prospect. At the same time, the Western blockade and China’s backward reality also determined that China’s construction path must open up a new road and seek a leapfrog development plan.

在批判反思资本主义现代化模式中建构社会主义现代化的中国方案。“资本主导下的西方现代化是以血腥的资本原始积累为起点，并通过对内剥削工人、对外殖民扩张的罪恶方式，不断进行现代化建设”。一方面，资本主义生产方式既有殖民掠夺完成原始积累的血腥肮脏的“原罪”，也不能克服其内在矛盾导致的终归消亡的“宿命”。另一方面，资本至上的内在逻辑不可避免地导致两极分化，广大劳动人民被资本异化为物质生产和资产阶级享乐的“生产工具”，严重违背马克思主义的人民性和中国共产党的人民立场，不能给广大中国人民光明的发展前景。同时，西方的封锁和中国的落后现状也决定了中国的建设道路必须开辟新路，寻求跨越式发展的建设方案。

In imitating and learning from the Soviet modernization model, the Chinese road of socialist modernization was explored. The Soviet Union was the first socialist country to achieve industrialization. The strong desire to build an industrialized country and the lack of experience in socialist construction made the Soviet Union a natural object of study for China’s modernization construction. However, the Soviet Union’s primitive accumulation through the “price scissors”[9]9 “Price scissors” (剪刀差) refers to the Soviet practice of setting artificially low prices for agricultural products and high prices for industrial goods, effectively transferring surplus from agriculture to fund industrial investment. between industry and agriculture very easily caused an imbalance in the development of industry and agriculture, and the construction plan centered on heavy industry also led to a disproportion between heavy and light industries. These drawbacks were fully exposed in China’s actual practice. Zhou Enlai once said: “The Soviet Union only emphasized industrialization and neglected agriculture.”[10]10 Zhou Enlai, “On the Question of the Relationship Between Heavy Industry and Light Industry,” *Selected Works of Zhou Enlai*, Vol. 2, p. 192. On the basis of reflection on the “Soviet model” and extensive investigation and research, Mao Zedong, in *On the Ten Major Relationships*, systematically pointed out the overall conception of China’s industrialization construction, emphasizing the need to coordinate the relationships among heavy industry, light industry, and agriculture. Guided by this, China successfully established the world’s most complete modern industrial system. Xi Jinping pointed out: “Under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, the people of all ethnic groups in our country devoted themselves with high spirits to the socialist construction that had never before existed in Chinese history, full of vigor and vitality. In a short period of time, our society underwent earth-shaking changes, establishing an independent and relatively complete industrial system and national economic system.”[11]11 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Commemoration of the 120th Anniversary of the Birth of Comrade Mao Zedong,” *People’s Daily*, December 27, 2013.

在模仿借鉴苏联现代化模式中探索社会主义现代化的中国道路。苏联是第一个实现工业化的社会主义国家，建设工业化国家的强烈愿望和社会主义建设经验的缺乏使得苏联成为中国建设现代化的天然学习对象。然而，苏联通过工农业“剪刀差”进行原始积累极容易造成工农业发展失衡，以重工业为主的建设方案又会导致重工业、轻工业的比例失调，这些弊端在中国的现实实践中都暴露无遗。周恩来曾说：“苏联就是光提工业化，把农业丢了。”在对“苏联模式”的反思和大量调查研究的基础上，毛泽东在《论十大关系》中系统指明了中国工业化建设的总体设想，强调要协调重工业、轻工业和农业的关系。以此为指导，中国成功建立起了世界上最为完备的现代化工业体系。习近平指出：“在中国共产党领导下，我国各族人民意气风发投身中国历史上从来不曾有过的热气腾腾的社会主义建设。在不长的时间里，我国社会就发生了翻天覆地的变化，建立起独立的比较完整的工业体系和国民经济体系。”

Adhering to the combination of independence and self-reliance with actively seeking external assistance to advance modernization construction. Adhering to independence and self-reliance absolutely does not mean building behind closed doors; rather, on the basis of upholding independence, self-reliance, and self-sustenance, it means actively seeking external assistance, earnestly learning from the beneficial experiences of foreign economic construction, and integrating foreign practices beneficial to economic development with China’s actual conditions. In 1956, when talking with relevant figures from Latin American countries, Mao Zedong pointed out: “China is still very backward economically and culturally. To achieve true independence, to realize the country’s prosperity and strength and industrial modernization, a very long time is needed, and the support of comrades and people from various countries is required.”[12]12 Mao Zedong, “Conversation with Friends from Latin America,” *Mao Zedong’s Manuscripts Since the Founding of the People’s Republic of China*, Vol. 6, p. 148. Socialist construction absolutely cannot adopt a closed-door policy; it must independently and self-reliantly draw on relevant experiences beneficial to our construction and make these experiences serve our own purposes.

坚持独立自主与积极争取外援相结合推进现代化建设。坚持独立自主绝不意味着要关起门来搞建设，而是在坚持独立自主、自力更生的基础之上，积极争取外部援助，积极学习国外经济建设的有益经验，将国外发展经济的有益做法与中国的实际结合起来。1956年，毛泽东同拉美国家有关人士谈话时曾指出：“中国现在经济上文化上还很落后，要取得真正的独立，实现国家的富强和工业现代化，还需要很长的时间，需要各国同志和人民的支持。”社会主义建设绝对不能采取关门主义，要独立自主地借鉴对我国建设有益的相关经验，将这些经验为我所用。

(3) The Independence and Self-Reliance of Spiritual Belief Fortifies the Ideological Foundation for Modernization Construction

（三）精神信仰的独立自主为现代化建设筑牢思想根基

Modernization construction is a systematic project requiring theoretical guidance, spiritual strength support, and overall planning. “Spirit is of great significance to the development of a country and a nation, and spiritual independence and self-reliance are even more so.”[13]13 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Symposium on the Centenary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China,” *People’s Daily*, July 2, 2021. Mao Zedong’s thought on independence and self-reliance not only contains important practical content at the levels of national sovereignty and construction path but also has the profound connotation of independently and self-reliantly upholding ideals and beliefs, constructing modernization theory, and using advanced socialist culture to break through the cultural suppression and civilizational discrimination of capitalist modernized countries.

现代化建设是一个需要理论指导、精神力量支撑、统筹谋划的系统性工程，“精神对于一个国家和民族的发展具有重要意义，精神上的独立自主更是如此”。毛泽东独立自主思想不仅蕴含着国家主权和建设道路等实践层面的重要内容，更有着独立自主坚守理想信念、建构现代化理论，以社会主义先进文化冲破资本主义现代化国家的文化压抑和文明歧视的深刻内涵。

Marxist scientific theory provides fundamental theoretical guidance for independently and self-reliantly advancing modernization construction. In the early modern period of China’s pursuit of modernization, various exploratory plans failed one after another. The Chinese people lacked scientific ideological weapons to deal with the so-called “advanced culture” imposed on them by Western imperialist countries by virtue of their first-mover advantage in modernization. The Chinese people lost confidence in the cultural and civilizational achievements they had previously created and fell into a historical entanglement over culture. However, after the October Revolution, Marxism-Leninism entered China as a new type of ideological weapon and guided the Chinese people to overthrow the oppression of feudalism and imperialism over China. Mao Zedong pointed out: “Since the Chinese learned Marxism-Leninism, the Chinese people have shifted from passivity to initiative in spirit.”[14]14 Mao Zedong, “On New Democracy,” *Selected Works of Mao Zedong*, Vol. 2, p. 663. Advanced scientific theory can not only lead the Chinese people to victory in revolution but can also, with its scientific worldview and methodology, guide the Chinese people to victory in the cause of modernization construction. For the Chinese people to maintain the independence and self-reliance of spiritual belief, uphold subjective consciousness, and choose theoretical guidance that aligns with their own practice, they must adhere to the guiding position of Marxism and unswervingly pursue the lofty goal of socialist modernization.

马克思主义科学理论为独立自主推进现代化建设提供根本理论指导。在近代早期中国追寻现代化的征程中，各种探索方案纷纷破产，中国人民缺乏科学的思想武器应对西方帝国主义国家凭借现代化的先发优势强加给中国人的所谓“先进文化”。中国人民对以往创造的文化文明成果丧失自信，陷入文化的历史纠结之中。然而，十月革命后，马克思列宁主义作为新型的思想武器进入中国，并指导着中国人民推翻了封建主义和帝国主义对中国的压迫。毛泽东指出：“自从中国人学会了马克思列宁主义以后，中国人在精神上就由被动转入主动。”先进的科学理论不仅能够带领中国人民取得革命的胜利，更能够以其科学的世界观和方法论指导中国人民取得现代化建设事业的胜利。中国人民要保持精神信仰的独立自主，坚持主体自觉，选择与自身实践相契合的理论指导，就要坚持马克思主义的指导地位，坚定不移地追求社会主义现代化的远大目标。

In light of the concrete realities of socialist construction, Mao Zedong independently explored the theory of Chinese-path modernization with self-reliance. In the practical explorations of the early years after the founding of New China, Mao gradually displayed a spiritual self-awareness of independently constructing a theory of Chinese-path modernization, expressing that copying the Soviet Union left him “always feeling dissatisfied and ill at ease.” Mao pointed out, “Relying on others for everything is unreliable. We must have our own ambition and drive,” and “Revolution is independent, and construction is also independent.” Faced with the entirely new undertaking of modernization, Soviet experience could provide useful reference, but if applied poorly, or copied in a dogmatic manner, it would inevitably lead to maladaptation and constraint, and when reflected in modernization practice, would certainly bring about mistakes. In his “On the Ten Major Relationships,” Mao put forward the major proposition of taking the Soviet Union as a mirror and carrying out a second integration of Marxism-Leninism with China’s actual conditions, [15]15 Mao Zedong, “Speech at the Expanded Central Work Conference” (January 30, 1962), in *Selected Works of Mao Zedong*, vol. 8, p. 305. stressing that the Soviet experience must not be copied mechanically but must be approached with a spirit of originality. Mao pointed out, “To speak of internationalism and to learn from the strong points of the Soviet Union and other foreign countries is a principle. But there are two methods of learning: one is mere imitation; the other is a spirit of originality, combining learning with originality. Rigidly copying the Soviet Union’s rules and regulations is precisely a lack of originality.” This emphasized that Chinese Communists must possess a high degree of theoretical self-awareness and independently construct a theory of Chinese-path modernization.

结合社会主义建设的具体实际独立自主探索中国式现代化理论。在新中国成立初期的实践探索中，毛泽东逐渐展现出独立自主建构中国式现代化理论的精神自觉，对于照搬苏联表示“总觉得不满意，心情不舒畅”。毛泽东指出，“什么都靠别人，靠不住。自己要有志气，有干劲”，“革命是自主，建设也是自主”。面对现代化建设的崭新事业，苏联经验可以给我们提供有益借鉴，但运用不好，教条主义式地照搬，就一定会水土不服，反受束缚，反映到现代化实践中，就一定会带来失误。毛泽东在《论十大关系》中提出了以苏为鉴，将马克思列宁主义与中国实际进行第二次结合的重大命题，提出对待苏联的经验，一定不能照搬照抄，而要有独创精神。毛泽东指出，“讲国际主义，学习苏联及其他外国的长处，这是一个原则。但是学习有两种方法：一种是专门模仿；一种是有独创精神，学习与独创结合。硬搬苏联的规章制度，就是缺乏独创精神”。这就强调了中国共产党人必须拥有高度的理论自觉，独立自主地建构中国式现代化理论。

Building a socialist advanced culture strengthens the spiritual force for advancing modernization independently and self-reliantly. The independence of spiritual faith is also reflected in a high degree of confidence in the cultural spirit of one’s own nation and country. In modern times, the Chinese people suffered cultural aggression from imperialism, lost confidence in the splendid history and rich spiritual world of the Chinese nation spanning over five thousand years, and once fell into blind worship of Western cultural spirit. In his article “The Bankruptcy of the Idealist Conception of History,” Mao pointed out: “The great, victorious Chinese people’s war of liberation and the great people’s revolution have revived and are reviving the great culture of the Chinese people. This culture of the Chinese people, in its spiritual aspect, has already surpassed the entire capitalist world.” After the New Democratic Revolution washed away the humiliation inflicted on the Chinese people since modern times, the Chinese people, led by the Party, carried forward and inherited the fine traditional Chinese culture with an exalted spiritual posture, developed a socialist advanced culture, and broke the spiritual and cultural oppression imposed by imperialism on China.

建设社会主义先进文化增强独立自主推进现代化的精神力量。精神信仰的独立自主还体现在对本民族国家文化精神的高度自信上。近代中国人民遭受帝国主义的文化侵略，对中华民族五千多年的灿烂历史文化和丰富精神世界失去信心，一度陷入对西方文化精神的盲目崇拜之中。毛泽东在《唯心历史观的破产》一文中指出：“伟大的胜利的中国人民解放战争和人民大革命，已经复兴了并正在复兴着伟大的中国人民的文化。这种中国人民的文化，就其精神方面来说，已经超过了整个资本主义的世界。”在经历新民主主义革命洗刷近代以来中国人民的屈辱之后，中国人民在党的带领下以昂扬的精神姿态传承弘扬中华优秀传统文化，发展社会主义先进文化，打破了帝国主义对中国的精神文化压抑。

IV. Mao Zedong’s Contemporary Guidance for Upholding Independence and Self-Reliance in Advancing Chinese-Path Modernization

四、毛泽东坚持独立自主推进中国式现代化的现实指引

Mao Zedong’s early theoretical and practical explorations in upholding independence and self-reliance to advance Chinese-path modernization successfully guided the initiation of Chinese-path modernization and, moreover, provided intellectual resources and historical reference for the great cause of comprehensively building a modern socialist country and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization on the new journey.

毛泽东坚持独立自主推进中国式现代化的早期理论和实践探索，成功引领了中国式现代化的开启，更为新征程上以中国式现代化全面推进强国建设、民族复兴的伟大事业提供了思想资源和历史借鉴。

(I) Deepening Theoretical Innovation and Independently Constructing the Theory of Chinese-Path Modernization

（一）深化理论创新，独立自主建构中国式现代化理论

Mao Zedong was an important founder of the theory of Chinese-path modernization. In the process of exploring this theory, he demonstrated a high degree of theoretical self-awareness in upholding independence and self-reliance, guiding us to continuously deepen theoretical innovation with independent theoretical self-awareness, independently construct the theory of Chinese-path modernization, and steadily advance the great cause of Chinese-path modernization.

毛泽东是中国式现代化理论的重要奠基者，在探索中国式现代化理论的进程中，呈现出坚持独立自主的高度理论自觉，指引着我们以独立自主的理论自觉不断深化理论创新，独立自主建构中国式现代化理论，将中国式现代化的伟大事业不断推向前进。

Solidly promote theoretical innovation to enrich and develop the theoretical system of Chinese-path modernization. “Upholding the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese culture”

扎实推动理论创新，丰富发展中国式现代化理论体系。“坚持把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合”，是我们以独立自主的理论自觉推动理论创新，丰富发展中国式现代化理论体系的根本途径。马克思主义基本原理与中国具体实际相结合，就是要在深刻把握中国国情的基础上，对关乎中国式现代化建设的重大理论和实践问题提出中国人自己的主张和判断。同时，要结合时代要求，对中华优秀传统文化的价值理念进行创造性转化和创新性发展，使其成为当代中国马克思主义的有机组成部分，不断推进中国式现代化理论体系的内容更新。独立自主建构中国式现代化理论，就其实质而言，就是要扎根中国大地，以我们正在推进的现代化建设事业为中心，坚持问题导向，不断发现新问题，提出新观点，建构新理论，凝练总结中国式现代化建设的实践经验，用中国理论阐释中国实践。

With a high degree of theoretical self-consciousness, independently create original theories with Chinese characteristics. Theoretical self-consciousness means that the subject, starting from the ongoing practical reality and integrating the requirements of the times, critically absorbs and draws on foreign theories, is not restricted or bound by foreign theories, and creates original theories suited to its own developmental needs. When discussing the experience of the Soviet Union, Mao Zedong once pointed out: “When transplanting, one must analyze; one must not transplant mechanically. Mechanical transplantation means not thinking independently, forgetting the lessons of dogmatism in history.” [15]15 Mao Zedong, “Speech at the Expanded Central Work Conference” (January 30, 1962), in *Selected Works of Mao Zedong*, vol. 8, p. 305. Western modernization theories, because of their earlier emergence and development, have a broad base of followers and markets in late-developing modernizing countries. Yet every specific theory has its own historical and practical soil in which it was generated. Blindly believing in Western modernization theories will only lead to maladaptation and counterproductive results. For contemporary China, carrying forward the spirit of independent theoretical creation means breaking free from the shackles of Western modernization theories and, with the critical spirit of dialectics, independently creating the theory of Chinese-path modernization.

以高度的理论自觉独立自主创造中国特色的原创性理论。理论自觉是主体能够从正在进行的现实实践出发，结合所处的时代要求，批判地吸收借鉴外来理论，不受外来理论的限制和束缚，创造适合自己发展需求的原创性理论。毛泽东在谈及苏联经验时曾指出：“搬，要有分析，不要硬搬，硬搬就是不独立思考，忘记了历史上教条主义的教训。”西方现代化理论因其生成发展的历史较早，在后发现代化国家中拥有广阔的信众和市场，但每一种具体的理论都有其生成的历史和现实土壤，盲目信服西方现代化理论只会水土不服，适得其反。对当代中国而言，发扬独立自主的理论创造精神，就是要突破西方现代化理论的束缚，以辩证法的批判精神独立自主地创造中国式现代化理论。

(II) Uphold independence and self-reliance, and advance Chinese-path modernization

（二）坚持独立自主、自力更生，推进中国式现代化建设

In the early exploration of Chinese-path modernization, Mao Zedong always emphasized independence and self-reliance, transforming the spiritual will for independence into a conscious action for modernization. This guides us to uphold independence and self-reliance, continuously advance Chinese-path modernization, and realize the great cause of building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.

在中国式现代化的早期探索中，毛泽东始终强调独立自主、自力更生，将独立自主的精神意愿转化为现代化建设的自觉行动，指引着我们坚持独立自主、自力更生，持续推进中国式现代化建设，实现强国建设、民族复兴的伟业。

After the founding of New China, the Party and the people carried out modernization on the fragile foundation of imperialist blockade, embargo, and “poverty and blankness.” [16]16 “Poverty and blankness” (一穷二白) is a phrase Mao used to describe China’s economic backwardness and cultural underdevelopment after 1949. Yet Mao Zedong firmly believed that, even in the face of imperialism and various external forces’ interference and obstruction, the Chinese nation and the Chinese people, through their own unremitting efforts, would certainly be able to change China’s backward appearance and certainly realize the fine aspiration for modernization. Faced with the Soviet Union’s complete withdrawal of expert assistance and the technological blockade by Western countries, the Party led the people of the whole country to “tighten their belts” to support a vast number of scientific researchers in independently developing the “two bombs and one satellite” [17]17 “Two bombs and one satellite” (两弹一星) refers to China’s nuclear bomb, missile, and satellite programs developed in the 1960s and 1970s. in the desert and Gobi, achieving success within a short period of time. As Mao Zedong said: “Being able to be independent is what one should do.” Under the Party’s leadership, the Chinese nation and the Chinese people have ample confidence and ability to solve the various problems encountered in modernization and to carry out modernization independently by relying on their own strength.

新中国成立后，党和人民在帝国主义的封锁禁运和“一穷二白”的脆弱根基之上开展现代化建设，但毛泽东坚信即便面对帝国主义和各种外来势力的干预和阻挠，中华民族和中国人民通过自己的不懈努力，一定能够改变中国的落后面貌，一定可以实现现代化的美好夙愿。面临苏联全面撤走专家援助和西方国家的技术封锁，党带领全国人民“勒紧裤腰带”支持广大科研工作者在沙漠戈壁里独立研制“两弹一星”，在不长的时间里均取得成功。正如毛泽东所说：“能够独立自主，是自己应做的事情。”在党的领导下，中华民族和中国人民有充足的信心和能力解决现代化建设中遇到的各种问题，独立自主地依靠自己的力量进行现代化建设。

Today, facing the changes unseen in a century in the world, and facing the suppression and containment of China’s modernization cause by Western countries, we must all the more uphold independence and self-reliance. Under the Party’s leadership, relying on the joint efforts of all the people, we must unswervingly advance the cause of Chinese-path modernization. Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must uphold independence and self-reliance, base the development of the country and the nation on our own strength, and firmly hold the destiny of our country’s development and progress in our own hands.” Basing the development of the country and the nation on our own strength means coordinating development and security, strengthening independent innovation, striving to break through the technological blockade of Western countries, avoiding being “strangled,” [18]18 “Being strangled” (卡脖子) is a Chinese metaphor for being blocked or choked off by foreign technological restrictions. achieving a high level of scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening, and ensuring that core technologies are independently controllable. It means attaching great importance to the security of the national supply chain and industrial chain, never becoming dependent on other countries, and firmly holding the “lifeblood” of development in our own hands. Upholding independence and self-reliance does not mean decoupling from the international community; rather, it means deepening cooperation and exchange while learning from the excellent experience of countries around the world, and firmly grasping the initiative and autonomy of development through independence in international cooperation and competition.

今天，面对世界百年未有之大变局，面对西方国家对我国现代化事业的打压和遏制，更要坚持独立自主、自力更生，在党的领导下，依靠全体人民的共同努力，坚定不移将中国式现代化事业向前推进。习近平指出：“要坚持独立自主、自立自强，坚持把国家和民族发展放在自己力量的基点上，坚持把我国发展进步的命运牢牢掌握在自己手中。”把国家和民族发展放在自己力量的基点上，就是要统筹发展和安全，加强自主创新，着力破解西方国家的科技封锁，避免“卡脖子”，实现高水平的科技自立自强，确保核心技术自主可控。高度重视国家供应链、产业链安全，绝不依附别国，把发展的“命门”牢牢攥在自己手中。坚持独立自主、自立自强也绝不是要跟国际社会脱钩，而是在学习借鉴世界各国优秀经验的同时深化合作交流，在国际合作和竞争中通过独立自主牢牢把握发展的主动权和自主权。

(III) Uphold independence, and continuously expand the path of Chinese-path modernization

（三）坚持独立自主，不断拓展中国式现代化道路

The path determines success or failure; the direction determines destiny. Mao Zedong, by upholding independence and self-reliance, carried out arduous explorations of the socialist modernization path, guiding us to independently choose a development path suited to ourselves, to firmly walk our own road without external interference, and to continuously expand the path of Chinese-path modernization.

道路决定成败，方向决定命运。毛泽东坚持独立自主对社会主义现代化道路进行了艰辛探索，指引着我们自主选择适合自己的发展道路，坚定地不受外力干扰地走自己的路，不断拓展中国式现代化道路。

Xi Jinping points out, “Walking our own road is the foothold of all the Party’s theory and practice.” “Walking our own road” runs through the Party’s century-long history of struggle. During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, the Chinese Communists represented mainly by Comrade Mao Zedong, under the guidance of the ideological line of seeking truth from facts, broke with the dogmatic superstition of the October Revolution’s “urban center theory” and explored the New Democratic Revolution path of “encircling the cities from the countryside and seizing political power by armed force.” During the period of socialist revolution and construction, Mao Zedong, in the spirit of independence and self-reliance, explored a socialist construction path suited to China, demanding that we take the Soviet Union as a mirror and promote the Second Integration of Marxism-Leninism with China’s concrete reality. Mao Zedong pointed out: “Now is the period of socialist revolution and construction; we must carry out the Second Integration and find the road for building socialism in China.” Mao Zedong’s exploratory practice of the socialist construction road contributed valuable theoretical experience to the opening up of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new period of reform and opening up. During the new period of reform and opening up and socialist modernization, the Party integrated the basic principles of scientific socialism with China’s concrete reality, built socialism with Chinese characteristics, promoted a series of reform measures suited to reality, and successfully opened up the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the only way to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, integrating the conditions of the new era, closely centering on the historical task of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, has carried out theoretical and practical innovation and walked out the path of Chinese-path modernization.

习近平指出，“走自己的路，是党的全部理论和实践立足点”。“走自己的路”贯穿于党的百年奋斗史。新民主主义革命时期，以毛泽东同志为主要代表的中国共产党人在实事求是的思想路线引领下，破除了对十月革命“城市中心论”的教条主义迷信，探索出了“农村包围城市、武装夺取政权”的新民主主义革命道路。社会主义革命和建设时期，毛泽东更以独立自主的精神探索适合中国的社会主义建设道路，要求以苏为鉴，推动马克思列宁主义同中国具体实际的第二次结合。毛泽东指出：“现在是社会主义革命和建设时期，我们要进行第二次结合，找出在中国怎样建设社会主义的道路。”毛泽东对社会主义建设道路的探索实践，为改革开放新时期开辟中国特色社会主义道路贡献了宝贵的理论经验。改革开放和社会主义现代化建设新时期，党把科学社会主义基本原则同中国具体实际相结合，建设中国特色的社会主义，推动一系列符合实际的改革举措，成功开辟了中国特色社会主义道路这一实现中华民族伟大复兴的必由之路。中国特色社会主义进入新时代，以习近平同志为核心的党中央结合新的时代条件，紧紧围绕实现中华民族伟大复兴这一历史任务进行理论创新和实践创新，走出中国式现代化道路。

The path of Chinese-path modernization is a development path independently explored and chosen by the Party. The five major characteristics contained in Chinese-path modernization — “a huge population, common prosperity for all the people, coordination between material and cultural-ethical progress, harmony between humanity and nature, and taking the path of peaceful development” — break the myth that “modernization equals Westernization.” It is a new path of modernization independently walked out by the Communist Party of China. Xi Jinping points out:

中国式现代化道路是党独立自主探索选择的发展道路，中国式现代化蕴含的“人口规模巨大、全体人民共同富裕、物质文明和精神文明相协调、人与自然和谐共生、走和平发展道路”的五大特质，打破了“现代化＝西方化”的迷思，是中国共产党独立自主走出的现代化新路。习近平指出：“实践证明，中国式现代化走得通、行得稳，是强国建设、民族复兴的唯一正确道路。”中国式现代化道路来之不易，要沿着中国式现代化道路走下去，就必须坚持独立自主的道路自觉，坚定对中国式现代化的道路自信，保持充分的战略清醒和战略坚定，对任何歪曲诋毁中国式现代化道路的论调给予坚决回击，沿着中国式现代化道路一步一步将全面建成社会主义现代化强国的美好愿景变为现实。

(Author bios: Liu Lühong, Dean, Professor, and Doctoral Supervisor of the School of Marxism, Zhengzhou University; Zun Shuaihui, Master’s Student in the School of Marxism, Zhengzhou University)

（作者简介：刘吕红，郑州大学马克思主义学院院长，教授、博士生导师；遵帅辉，郑州大学马克思主义学院硕士研究生）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心