Talent training is an important task in discipline construction. Cultivating outstanding graduate students with firm belief in Marxist theory, strong Marxist theoretical knowledge and innovation ability, and ability to teach ideological and political science is one of the original intentions and inevitable requirements for the construction of Marxist theoretical disciplines, and an important evaluation criterion for the effectiveness of discipline construction is the quality of graduate students. As a graduate student in the discipline of Marxist theory (hereinafter referred to as "graduate student"), his compulsory courses and basic skills are to study the classic works of Marxism. General Secretary Xi Jinping once pointed out: "The classic works of Marxism contain and concentrate on the basic principles of Marxism, and are the source and foundation of Marxist theory. If graduate students do not seriously "read the original works and learn the original texts", they will not be able to "understand the principles", and their theoretical knowledge and theoretical beliefs will not be able to talk about. However, due to the obscure content of Marxist classic works, complex logic and abstraction, coupled with the limitations of graduate students' academic background and academic interests, their study of classic works often has the disadvantages of formalization and inefficiency. According to the author's opinion, graduate students can only improve the effectiveness of the study of classic works by making good use of the "five methods", that is, "choosing correctly, reading diligently, entering and going, coming out, and using".
First, the selection is correct: scientifically select the reading and determine the selection criteria
In the face of the vast sea of Marxist classics, "choosing the right one" is the primary prerequisite for graduate students to study science. The large number of Marxist classic writers, the voluminous number of Marxist classic works, and the profundity of Marxist theory determine that even scholars and people in the field of Marxist theory cannot exhaust all the works of Marxist classic writers, let alone graduate students who have just advanced from undergraduate studies, do not know much about Marxist theory, and are at the same time limited by their years of study and their own qualifications. Therefore, the study of classic works by graduate students must be selective, and there are three selection criteria: First, combined with the direction of disciplines. The subject direction stipulates the main objectives, basic contents and common methods of postgraduate study and research, and plays a basic navigation role in the selection of classic works. Graduate students should take the training program of the discipline as the guide, based on the reference article recommended by the supervisor, and scientifically select the study topic based on their own research focus or thesis topic selection direction; second, based on personal interests. Selective readings based on points of interest for graduate students will effectively activate their own thinking and inspiration, and improve their understanding, digestion and absorption of classic works. Of course, interest does not come out of thin air, and its cultivation needs to be based on extensive reading of classic works: in a wide range of reading, graduate students either find themselves interested in content and motivate themselves to continue their research, or encounter theoretical problems that are difficult to solve in the process of reading, and stimulate their determination to read through and understand. Both of these situations can become an important point of convergence for the development of graduate students' interests; third, they are linked to practical problems. Problem awareness is an important source of theoretical innovation, and it is also an essential quality for graduate students to study classic works. Graduate students studying classic works should have the theory to serve reality, take the major theoretical and practical problems that the party and the country are paying attention to or urgently need to be solved, and take the initiative to seek inspiration and inspiration in the classic works. This requires graduate students to pay frequent attention to current affairs news and situation policies, have the courage to go out of school, be good at discovering problems, and improve their ability to integrate theory with practice.
Second, read diligently: perseverance, diligent reading and frequent reading
Lenin summed up his experience in reading and studying in this way: "Those who want to seriously investigate and independently comprehend it must study it repeatedly, discuss it repeatedly, and think from all aspects in order to obtain a clear and thorough understanding." "Graduate students studying classic works can not stop and settle once and for all, but must repeatedly chew and learn and understand on the basis of scientific selective reading, so as to persevere, work for a long time, and read frequently, so as to achieve the sublimation of understanding and the innovation of thinking in the repeated reading of classic works." "Diligent reading" contains two basic requirements: First, read different articles diligently. Different articles can be articles written by the same classic writer at different times on the same problem or similar problems, or different articles written by different classical writers on the same problem or similar problems, or articles written by the same classic writer or different classic writers on completely different problems. Through the diligent reading of different articles, graduate students can expand the extension of reading and increase the accumulation of reading, so as to deepen their understanding of classic works in the induction, classification, comparison and summary of different articles. Second, read the same article frequently. Mao Zedong studied the Communist Manifesto no less than a hundred times, and each time he read it, he would gain new gains. Graduate students should also have the patience to read the key articles in the classic works upside down and enjoy it, and achieve a profound grasp of the purpose of the classics in repeated study. Especially for some articles that are longer in length and difficult to understand their meaning even if they are read through many times, it is even more necessary to spend great efforts and painstaking efforts to study them repeatedly, and carefully deliberate on every paragraph, every sentence and even every word, so as to achieve a scientific grasp and innovative understanding of classic works. In order to "read diligently", graduate students must develop a "schedule" for studying classic works, and accordingly restrain themselves to complete the study tasks within the specified time. For graduate students, if they really have the perseverance to "read the book a hundred times" and the tenacity to not give up until they reach the goal, the classic works will surely "manifest their righteousness".
Third, go in: go deep into the original work itself and study it comprehensively and systematically
Due to the wide content and profound thinking of classic works, if graduate students want to truly understand the basic principles, core ideas and scientific methods condensed in them, they cannot be satisfied with the literal meaning of the text sentences, but must "go in", that is, go deep into the original work and read it comprehensively and systematically. First, gain insight into the background of the classic writings. Classic works have existed for a long time, and it is impossible to correctly understand them without understanding the historical background of their writing in advance and the ideological and practical problems that classical writers want to solve. Therefore, when a graduate student reads a classic work, he must return to the historical context, grasp the social background and historical motives of the classic work, as well as the ideological state, target motivation, and mental process of the classic writer when creating the work. Second, understand the process by which classic works were created. Because the ideological understanding of classical writers is diachronic and changeable, this requires that when graduate students study classic works, they must not only focus on a certain document created by classic writers on a certain issue in a certain historical period, but should be through the front and back, dynamically grasping how the classical writers have raised their thinking on practical issues into theoretical viewpoints and constantly improved and developed, that is, to understand the creative process of classic works, including their time context, critical inheritance of predecessors' ideas, Changes in ideology and understanding at different times before and after and the influencing factors that contributed to this change. Third, grasp the main content of the classic works. Graduate students studying classic works need to deal with the relationship between macroscopic and microscopic, whole and partial: from the macroscopic and holistic points of view, it is first necessary to read through the whole text, macroscopically grasp the basic framework, main content and core viewpoint of the article, as well as the scientific world outlook and methodology contained in Marxism to understand the world and transform the world; from the microscopic and partial points, it is necessary to carefully study the preface, keywords, paragraphs, sentences and even annotations of the work. In particular, it is necessary to study the key paragraphs and classic sentences that can reflect the core ideas of the article word by word, grasp the internal logic between sentences and sentences, paragraphs and paragraphs, and explore the author's ideological trajectory between the words and lines of the article. Fourth, analyze the historical value of classical works. Classic works originate from the times, and will certainly return to the times, and have a more or less influence on the development of the times, large or small. Therefore, when a graduate student studies a classic work, he must not only understand where it comes from, but also explore where it points, that is, analyze the historical value of the classic work: on the one hand, the status and significance of the classic work in the history of the development of Marxism and the Marxist theoretical system, that is, the theoretical value; on the other hand, what is the significance and influence of the classic work on the development of practice at that time and later, that is, the practical value.
Fourth, out of the: not limited to the original text, objectively understand the contemporary value and historical limitations of the work
After all, Marxist classic works are historical documents, and the background of the times in which their creations were published and the practical problems to be solved have undergone historical changes. Under the conditions of the new era, graduate students studying classic works cannot be confined to the original text, trapped in the text and cannot extricate themselves, but must "come out": First, correctly view the contemporary value of classic works with a realistic vision. Although the classic works of Marxism are the products of history, the scientific theoretical wisdom contained in them has not become obsolete in contemporary times, but has increasingly shown the endogenous force of self-innovation and the vitality of guiding new practice. Therefore, graduate students should study and understand the classic works, adhere to the classics to observe reality, deeply excavate and appreciate the practical theoretical value and practical value contained in the classic works, explore the positive impact of the classic works on the development of China and even the world today, and find inspiration and inspiration for solving practical problems in the repeated study of the classic works. This is also the embodiment of adhering to the problem orientation in the process of study; second, it objectively looks at the historical limitations of classic works with a critical eye. As a product of history, classic works inevitably carry historical limitations. Therefore, graduate students should believe in the classic works but not superstitiously, and correctly distinguish between the general principles and specific theories contained in the classic works. The general principle reflects the basic principles of Marxism, and its truth will not change due to the changes of the times, and it is the part that we should firmly believe in and resolutely practice. Specific theories are specific judgments made according to specific conditions and specific problems, which have certain conditions and limitations, and cannot be believed blindly, but should be analyzed in specific terms. As General Secretary Xi Jinping said, "If we ignore historical conditions and changes in the actual situation, and stick to certain individual assertions and specific programs of action made by Marxist classic writers under specific historical conditions and in light of specific conditions", there will be biases in understanding and practice. Therefore, graduate students cannot fully affirm and sing praises to the classic works, and sloppily and mechanically use the individual theoretical viewpoints in them to measure and cut the reality, but apply a critical eye to dialectically look at the individual judgments and individual conclusions made in the classic works because they are aimed at individual situations or confined to historical limitations, which are not in line with the development of the times.
Fifth, can be used: adhere to the application of learning, used to guide their own practice
"Useable" means that graduate students should persist in applying what they have learned and truly exert the practical guiding value of studying classic works for their own practice. If we only learn and do not use them, and are limited to understanding and memorizing some of the views and assertions in the classic works, then the significance of studying the classic works will be greatly reduced. First, from a macroscopic point of view, graduate students should grasp the scientific positions, viewpoints and methods contained in the classic works, and consciously apply them to their own study, research, work and life, and use them to guide practice and solve practical problems. The scientific positions, perspectives and methods contained in the classic works have universal significance across the ages and are a valuable asset for graduate students to benefit for life. Graduate students should strive to be faithful believers and staunch defenders of Marxism in the true study of these positions, viewpoints and methods. Second, from a microscopic point of view, graduate students studying classic works can be used for their own graduation thesis writing. First of all, graduate students studying classic works can be used to establish research directions and thesis selection topics. Through a large number of reading classic works, graduate students can discover or gradually cultivate their own interests, so as to motivate themselves to further explore and establish research directions and thesis topics that are suitable for their own reality. Secondly, the process of graduate students studying classic works is also the process of precipitating knowledge and accumulating materials for thesis writing. The completion of any high-quality academic paper needs to be premised on rich knowledge accumulation and complete argumentative materials. The study of classic works can not only arm the theoretical minds of graduate students and lay the knowledge base of thesis writing, but also help graduate students to discover and excerpt some classic expositions and ideas from them, which can be cited as the materials required for thesis writing. Thirdly, the clear and reasonable logical rationale, precise and rigorous argumentation method, and smooth and natural writing style of classic works also provide a method reference for graduate thesis writing. Imitation is the premise of creation. As beginners in writing, graduate students inevitably have to go through a period of arduous and tedious imitation before reaching a higher academic attainment. In studying classic works, in addition to being able to refer to the arguments of classic writers, you can also imitate their intentions, article structure, writing structure, argumentation skills and expression techniques, and even achieve transcendence and innovation in continuous imitation.
(The author is dean and professor of the School of Marxism, Qufu Normal University)
Editor: Chen Xuanyu
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