Fully Leveraging the Role of Marxist Colleges as One of the “Four Platforms”

In his important speech at the Symposium on Philosophy and Social Sciences, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must fully leverage the role of ideological and theoretical work platforms such as the Project of Marxist Theory Research and Development, the Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, Marxist colleges, and the theoretical propaganda of newspapers and the internet, to deepen and expand the research, education, and propaganda of Marxist theory.” This important exposition by General Secretary Xi Jinping points the direction for advancing the construction of the “Four Platforms” [1]1 The “Four Platforms” refer to the four types of ideological and theoretical work platforms mentioned by Xi Jinping: the Project of Marxist Theory Research and Development, the Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics, Marxist colleges, and the theoretical propaganda of newspapers and the internet. for ideological and theoretical work and for fully leveraging the role of Marxist colleges as ideological and theoretical work platforms.

习近平总书记在哲学社会科学工作座谈会上的重要讲话中指出：“要充分发挥马克思主义理论研究和建设工程、中国特色社会主义理论体系研究中心、马克思主义学院、报刊网络理论宣传等思想理论工作平台的作用，深化拓展马克思主义理论研究和宣传教育。”习近平总书记这一重要论述，为推进思想理论工作“四大平台”建设、充分发挥马克思主义学院的思想理论工作平台作用指明了方向。

On the one hand, Marxist colleges are the main front for fostering virtue and nurturing talent [2]2 “Fostering virtue and nurturing talent” (立德树人) is a core educational principle in the PRC, emphasizing moral character development as the foundation of talent cultivation., bearing the heavy responsibility of teaching ideological and political courses. As the key course for implementing the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing talent, ideological and political courses account for one-seventh of the entire undergraduate training plan. On the other hand, they undertake the construction of the first-level discipline of Marxist theory. At the same time, and crucially, Marxist colleges are one of the “Four Platforms” for ideological and theoretical work. From the perspective of Marxist theoretical research and propaganda, Marxist colleges, as ideological and theoretical work platforms, fulfilling their platform function is one of the key points for college construction and participation in assessment.

马克思主义学院一方面是立德树人的主阵地，承担思想政治课教学重任。作为落实立德树人根本任务的关键课程，思政课占整个本科生培养方案的七分之一，另一方面承担着马克思主义理论一级学科建设工作。同时尤为重要的是，马克思主义学院是思想理论工作“四大平台”之一。在马克思主义理论研究和宣传的角度，马克思主义学院作为思想理论工作平台，发挥平台功能是学院建设和参与考核的重点之一。

How can we better fulfill the function of Marxist colleges as one of the “Four Platforms” for ideological and theoretical work? What is the relationship between the fulfillment of platform functions and fostering virtue and nurturing talent and discipline construction? The academic and Marxist theoretical circles have already made many elaborations. In Marxist theoretical research, education, and propaganda, Marxist colleges serve as high grounds for theoretical research and team building; the key and focus lie in the teaching level and effectiveness of ideological and political courses.

如何更好地发挥马克思主义学院作为思想理论工作“四大平台”之一的功能？平台功能发挥和立德树人、学科建设之间是什么关系？学术界和马克思主义理论界已经作了许多阐发。在马克思主义理论研究和宣传教育中，马克思主义学院作为理论研究高地和队伍建设高地，关键和焦点在于思政课教学水平和效果如何。

Among the “Four Platforms” for ideological and theoretical work, Marxist colleges have their particularities. They differ from government departments and from general academic institutions; their primary function is to educate people for the Party and cultivate talent for the country. The construction of the Marxist theory discipline serves ideological and political courses, and the fulfillment of the Marxist theory propaganda function must be integrated into the education process and cannot be isolated from it. If the theoretical research and interpretation of Marxist colleges are “two separate skins” [3]3 “Two separate skins” (两张皮) is a Chinese idiom used in Party discourse to describe a situation where two related things are disconnected or not integrated, leading to inefficiency or failure. from the education process, their main task of fostering virtue and nurturing talent will be severely damaged, and they will often find it difficult to achieve much in propaganda. From the perspective of talent cultivation, the goals and methods of talent cultivation in Marxist colleges also differ from those of Party schools; respecting the laws of talent cultivation and the laws of education and teaching is the prerequisite for talent cultivation work in Marxist colleges, and using scholarship to discuss politics is the basic method. Marxist colleges are not equivalent to the research and propaganda of the Project of Marxist Theory Research and Development. Education is a long-term process; it cannot be rushed into all at once, nor can it be satisfied with being a “project”; it requires long-term, consistent theoretical commitment. Marxist colleges also differ from the media; they cannot create sensations, nor can they seek to attract attention and please the crowd for the sake of traffic; they can only move people with sincere, profound, and infectious theory, facing students as the objects of education and facing societal expectations.

在思想理论工作“四大平台”中，马克思主义学院有其特殊性。它不同于政府部门，也不同于一般的学术机构，为党育人、为国育才是其首要职能。马克思主义理论学科建设为思政课服务，马克思主义理论宣传职能的发挥必须融入育人过程当中而不能孤立在外。马克思主义学院的理论研究与阐释如果和育人过程是“两张皮”，其立德树人的主任务必将受到重创，在宣传上往往也难有大作为。从人才培养的角度来看，马克思主义学院人才培养目标和方式也不同于党校，尊重人才培养规律和教育教学规律是马克思主义学院人才培养工作的前提，以学术讲政治是基本方式。马克思主义学院不等同于马克思主义理论研究和建设工程的研究和宣传。育人是一个长期过程，既不能一哄而上，也不能满足于做“工程”，而必须有长期的、始终如一的理论坚守。马克思主义学院也不同于媒体，既不能制造轰动，更不能为博取流量而哗众取宠，只能以真情、深刻而富有感染力的理论来打动人，面向作为受教育对象的学生、面向社会期待。

As one of the “Four Platforms,” Marxist colleges bear the theoretical propaganda and theoretical research tasks of special importance, which must be accomplished as an important mission. In reality, Marxist colleges bear the heavy responsibility of teaching ideological and political courses; strengthening the education and propaganda of the Party’s innovative theories, especially education on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, is their focus. The supervisory and assessment departments regard the assessment of the effectiveness of ideological and political courses as a key point. Improving the effectiveness and level of ideological and political courses requires completing a series of major tasks in terms of teaching norms, theoretical system construction, textbook construction, student needs, and learning situation analysis. However, they also face considerable internal and external pressures, such as administrative management, daily operations, competition from other humanities and social sciences disciplines, and high social attention. It is necessary to engage in rational thinking with a responsible attitude, face the real problems existing in the development of Marxist colleges directly, and actively explore possible solutions.

马克思主义学院作为“四大平台”之一，承担的理论宣传和理论研究任务有着特殊的重要性，必须将其作为重要使命来完成。现实中，马克思主义学院承担着思政课教学重任，加强党的创新理论宣传教育特别是习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想教育是其重点，主管和考核部门将思政课效果考核视为重点。提升思政课效果和水平，需要从教学规范、理论体系建设、教材建设、学生需求和学情分析等方面完成一系列重大任务，但也面临着不小的行政管理、日常运行、人文社科同行竞争、社会高度关注等内外部压力。必须以负责任的态度进行理性思考，直面马克思主义学院发展中存在的真实问题，并积极探索可能的解决路径。

Faced with the above pressures, Marxist colleges must adhere to the principle that “it takes a good blacksmith to make good steel” [4]4 “It takes a good blacksmith to make good steel” (打铁还需自身硬) is a Chinese proverb frequently used by Xi Jinping to emphasize the need for self-discipline and self-improvement, especially within the Party., and better fulfill their role as ideological and theoretical work platforms through their own high-quality development. They must take Marxism in the 21st century as the center or theme, strengthen organized research, leverage team strength, conduct in-depth research on Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the Party’s innovative theories and policies, and transform research results into the teaching process on the basis of complete and accurate understanding. In organized research, we must adhere to “walking on two legs” [5]5 “Walking on two legs” (两条腿走路) is a Mao-era slogan advocating for the simultaneous development of two complementary approaches or sectors, here referring to balancing theoretical research and propaganda. with theoretical research and theoretical propaganda, and attach great importance to the importance of Marxist theoretical research, which is the prerequisite for doing a good job in Marxist theoretical propaganda.

面对上述压力，马克思主义学院必须坚持打铁还需自身硬，通过自身高质量的发展更好地发挥思想理论工作平台作用。必须要以21世纪马克思主义为中心或主题，加强有组织科研，发挥团队力量，对习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想、对党的创新理论和方针政策进行深入研究，在完整准确把握的基础上将研究成果转化到教学过程中。在有组织科研中，要坚持理论研究和理论宣传“两条腿走路”，高度重视马克思主义理论研究的重要性，这是做好马克思主义理论宣传的前提。

The relationship between the construction of the Marxist theory discipline and theoretical research must be scientifically handled. Within the first-level discipline of Marxist theory, there are currently six second-level disciplines: Basic Principles of Marxism, History of Marxist Development, Study of the Adaptation of Marxism to the Chinese Context, Study of Marxism Abroad, Ideological and Political Education, and Study of Basic Theoretical Issues in Modern and Contemporary Chinese History. How to connect these second-level disciplines to form a holistic viewpoint and theoretical system must be given high priority. If the two disciplines of Ideological and Political Education and History of Marxist Development are not effectively linked, or if there is opposition and conflict between the Study of Basic Theoretical Issues in Modern and Contemporary Chinese History and the History of Marxist Development, the entire construction of the Marxist theory discipline will be a failure. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the holistic study of Marxist theory guided by Marxism in the 21st century.

要科学处理好马克思主义理论学科建设和理论研究的关系。在马克思主义理论一级学科内部，目前有马克思主义基本原理、马克思主义发展史、马克思主义中国化研究、国外马克思主义研究、思想政治教育和中国近现代基本理论问题研究6个二级学科，二级学科之间如何贯通从而形成具有整体性的观点和理论体系必须高度重视。假如思想政治教育和马克思主义发展史两个学科没有实现有效关联，或者中国近现代基本理论问题研究与马克思主义发展史之间有对立和冲突，整个马克思主义理论学科建设将是失败的。因此，必须加强以21世纪马克思主义为指导的马克思主义理论的整体性研究。

Theoretical propaganda emphasizes comprehensiveness, covering all aspects such as economy, politics, culture, society, ecological civilization, national defense and military, national security, diplomacy, and Party building. It requires Marxist theoretical workers to have an interdisciplinary perspective and more comprehensive knowledge accumulation and research expertise. Every Marxist theoretical researcher must be clear: Marxism is the overall guiding ideology. Within the subdivided fields of humanities and social sciences, one must have theoretical expertise, strive to have in-depth research in other disciplinary fields, and produce research results worthy of respect from disciplinary peers in order to have a foothold. Only by developing together with scholars from various other disciplinary fields can one both play one’s own role well and achieve better growth, and more effectively undertake the heavy responsibility of theoretical propaganda.

理论宣传注重全方位，涉及经济、政治、文化、社会、生态文明、国防军事、国家安全、外交、党的建设等方方面面，要求马克思主义理论工作者具有跨学科视野和更为全面的知识积累与研究专长。每一个马克思主义理论研究者都必须清楚：马克思主义是总体指导思想，在细分的人文社会科学领域中，必须要有理论专长，力争在其他学科领域也有深入研究，有值得学科同行尊重的研究成果出现，才能有立足之地。只有与其他各个学科领域的学者共同发展，才能既发挥好自己的作用，又能获得更好的成长，更有效地承担起理论宣传重任。

The research, teaching, and propaganda characteristics of each school should be highlighted. On the one hand, theoretical propaganda must have unified ideological guidance and issue a consistent voice; on the other hand, it cannot simply repeat the same content and the same voice. Each Marxist college must, based on its own professional characteristics, school characteristics, industry characteristics, regional characteristics, and the personal research characteristics of its Marxist theoretical workers, combine its expertise to explore the Party’s theoretical innovation, so that the Party’s theory can shine even more brilliantly.

要突出研究、教学和宣传的各学校特色。理论宣传一方面要有统一的思想指导、发出一致的声音，另一方面不能单纯重复同样的内容、同一个声音。每一个马克思主义学院都要根据自己的专业特色、学校特色、行业特色、地域特色，以及马克思主义理论工作者个人研究的特色，结合专长去探索党的理论创新，才能使党的理论更加熠熠生辉。

To leverage the role of Marxist colleges as ideological and theoretical work platforms, the most important thing is to build a sustainable Marxist theoretical workforce. Building a sustainable workforce requires systems and mechanisms that can promote the sustainable construction and development of the talent team. Only under a good mechanism that can promote talent to establish themselves, survive, and develop, and where the faculty of Marxist colleges can devote all their energy to research and teaching, can they better defend Marxism, conduct Marxist theoretical propaganda, and promote the development and innovation of Marxist theory. On the one hand, this requires a basic material foundation as a guarantee; on the other hand, it requires Marxist theoretical workers to establish themselves ideologically, to embrace humanity like Marx did even under conditions of relative material scarcity, to shoulder the interests of the nation and the country, and to be willing to make sacrifices.

发挥马克思主义学院的思想理论工作平台作用，最重要的是建设一支可持续发展的马克思主义理论队伍。建设可持续发展的队伍，要求有能够促进人才队伍可持续建设发展的制度和机制。只有在良好的、能够推动人才立足、生存、发展的机制下，马克思主义学院教师队伍将全部精力投入研究和教学，才能更好地捍卫马克思主义，进行马克思主义理论宣传，推动马克思主义理论发展和理论创新。这一方面需要有基本的物质基础做保障，另一方面要求马克思主义理论工作者要在思想上立起来，像马克思那样在物质条件相对匮乏的条件之下仍然能够胸怀人类，把民族和国家利益扛在肩上，勇于作出牺牲。

(The author is Dean and Professor of the School of Marxism at Nanjing University)

（作者系南京大学马克思主义学院院长、教授）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧