The origin of "crossing the river by feeling the stones".
Wang Dayang
Introduction: Over the past 40 years of reform and opening up, if you want to mention a landmark language of reform and opening up, many people will say "crossing the river by feeling the stones", and think that this is Deng Xiaoping's originality. In fact, the leader who quotes this sentence a lot is Chen Yun. From the 50s of the 20th century to the new period of reform and opening up, we can find at least six records of Chen Yun quoting this sentence, some of which are written on paper, some are spoken orally on the occasion of conversations, and some are speeches at official party meetings. What is certain, however, is that "crossing the river by feeling the stones" is also a clear attitude and an important method adopted and repeatedly emphasized in the reform and opening up led by Deng Xiaoping.
Crossing the river by feeling the stones - seeking stability
"Crossing the river by feeling the stones" was originally a folk saying, which is completely "crossing the river by feeling the stones-stepping on a steady step, and then taking another step" or "crossing the river by feeling the stones-seeking stability". This remark, which is full of folk wisdom, was later borrowed by the party documents, and vividly expressed a scientific method of work, that is, the method of experimentation, and the gradual promotion and deepening of a certain measure, emphasizing the need to try and explore in a cautious and prudent manner.
"Crossing the river by feeling the stones" appeared very early in the official documents of the party and the state and was used to guide specific work, especially economic work. For example, in 1959, the Party Committee of the Ministry of Agriculture submitted to Chairman Mao and the Party Central Committee a report entitled "Several Opinions on Agricultural Production in 1959," which said: To implement the principle of planting less and yielding more and reaping more and the great ideal of the three-three system of cultivated land, there must be steps, and it must be "crossing the river by feeling the stones," and the cultivated land area and sown area of the whole country in 1959 must not be reduced too much[1].
Since the beginning of reform and opening up, the documents of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council have often quoted this sentence. For example, on October 29, 1981, the State Council approved and forwarded the "Opinions on Several Issues Concerning the Implementation of the Economic Responsibility System for Industrial Production" issued by the State Economic Commission and the State Council Office for Structural Reform, which said: "The implementation of the economic responsibility system is still in the exploratory stage, and all localities and departments must strengthen their leadership, cross the river by feeling the stones, and the depth of the water is not very clear. Only in this way can the economic responsibility system move forward in a healthy way. [2] The report quotes "crossing the river by feeling the stones" to vividly and accurately express that the implementation of the economic responsibility system in the case of lack of experience should be explored step by step.
Through these examples, we have a clearer understanding of the meaning of "crossing the river by feeling the stones" to boldly explore and move forward steadily. Now this sentence is usually regarded as the methodology of reform, which has the following meanings: first, the river must be crossed, the reform must be carried out, it is not possible to avoid problems by the river, it is more dangerous to stand in the river to stagnate, and it is even more undesirable to regress; Second, there is no bridge, there is no ready-made experience and method to copy; Third, the river is relatively deep, and there may be whirlpools, which must be explored, and there are many difficult problems encountered in the reform, including risks and crises; Fourth, go slowly, find the fulcrum and stand firm before taking the next step, reform to experiment more, sum up experience, grope forward, and then promote and spread after the experiment is successful, emphasizing both prudence and exploration.
The leader who quotes "crossing the river by feeling the stones" a lot is Chen Yun
Among the party leaders, Chen Yun, Li Xiannian, Gu Mu, Nie Rongzhen, and many others have quoted the phrase "crossing the river by feeling the stones," and it is often used to guide economic work.
For example, Li Xiannian, who has long served as vice premier of the State Council, directing the country's economic work. On February 16, 1962, Li Xiannian sent a letter to Deng Chenxi (then deputy director of the Finance and Trade Office of the State Council), pointing out: "Is it an unplanned import of one million US dollars of goods? I think it is still within the plan, and the unplanned use of foreign exchange is not approved as a last resort, and it is necessary to look at it step by step when ordering, and cross the river by feeling the stones, and be more stable. [3] On September 9, 1978, at a retreat of the State Council, Li Xiannian pointed out when discussing the issue of modernization: "The introduction of projects should be lined up, and those that are urgently needed and those that have already been identified will be arranged first, and the rest will be arranged in batches to do a batch of projects, and they will cross the river by feeling the stones." [4] Li Xiannian quoted this sentence as a guide to specific working methods, requiring that the method of experimentation and exploration should be adopted for things with uncertain results.
Chen Yun was the earliest leader in the party that we can find that advocated, explicitly used, and repeatedly emphasized "crossing the river by feeling the stones". In the "Selected Writings of Chen Yun" and "Chen Yun's Annals", from the fifties and sixties of the 20th century to the new period of reform and opening up, we can find at least six records of Chen Yun quoting this sentence, some of which are written on paper, some are spoken orally on the occasion of conversations, and some are speeches at formal party meetings.
From March 6 to 8, 1961, Chen Yun listened to a report from the Ministry of Chemical Industry and said: "It seems that the reform of a work must be tested first, and cannot be rolled out all at once. To carry out experiments, we must dare to think, speak, and do, but when we do concrete things, we must proceed from reality and cross the river by feeling the stones. It is necessary to separate experimentation from popularization, and promotion must be something that is mature, and it cannot be done in a big way before it is mature. [5] Experimenting first, then summarizing, and then promoting, reflects Chen Yun's work idea of focusing on summing up experience based on reality.
In the new era of reform and opening up, Chen Yun has made outstanding contributions to creating the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics. On the road of exploring reform, he took "crossing the river by feeling the stones" as a working and ideological method for leading economic work and comprehensive reform, and set demands on the whole party. On December 16, 1980, Chen Yun delivered a speech at the Central Work Conference, saying: "We want to reform, but we must take steady steps. Because of the complexity of our reforms, we cannot ask for too much haste. Of course, reform must rely on a certain amount of theoretical research, economic statistics, and economic forecasting, but more importantly, it is necessary to start with experiments and sum up experience at any time, that is, to 'cross the river by feeling the stones.' Start with small steps and walk slowly. This is by no means a rejection of reform, but a desire to make reform conducive to adjustment and to reform itself. ”[6]
Chen Yun's speech was not only a specific requirement for economic adjustment at that time, but also a methodological guide for reform. He stressed the need to "cross the river by feeling the stones," which means that reform should start with experiments and advance while making adjustments. This is also the working method that Chen Yun has always advocated to pay attention to experiments and sum up experience at any time, that is, to repeatedly and comprehensively consider things that we do not understand very well, and only after going through experiments can we find out whether the policy decisions are correct and whether the methods are complete.
In the process of reform and opening up, Chen Yun repeatedly emphasized the importance of adhering to the ideological method of "crossing the river by feeling the stones" [7]. On June 30, 1984, Chen Yun commented on the internal materials of the International Liaison Department of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (CPC) reflecting the two opinions put forward by Edloer, an adviser to the Economic Research Center of the US State Department, on the mainland's financial and economic work: "Experienced foreigners also cross the river by feeling the stones, and this is the case with all foreign capitalists. They don't engage in any dangerous project, preferring to eat interest. This is a true truth. ”[8]
Chen Yun stressed: The key point of "crossing the river by feeling the stones" lies in proceeding from reality and paying attention to summing up experience. In the mid-80s of the 20th century, some people held that "'crossing the river by feeling the stones' shows that the reform lacks a systematic and complete theoretical system"[9], resulting in "incomplete reform measures, vague goals, and unclear stage tasks"[10], and "a rough overall reform plan is better than 'crossing the river by feeling the stones'" [11]. Regarding these discussions, Chen Yun believes that they do not really understand the meaning of "crossing the river by feeling the stones" to emphasize groping in practice and constantly summing up experience. On May 12, 1988, when Chen Yun had a conversation with a responsible comrade of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, he said: "Some people criticized the phrase 'crossing the river by feeling the stones' in the newspaper, but they did not make sense." 'Nine streams and eighteen streams', you have to touch the stones. I didn't give up on the phrase 'crossing the river by feeling the stones'. [12] Before and after this speech, he repeatedly stressed the need to persist in groping for progress and pay attention to summing up experience. In October 1988, when Chen Yun talked with the responsible comrades of the Central Committee at that time, he once again pointed out: "In a socialist country like ours, it seems that it is quite difficult to learn the methods of the Western market economy. You are groping, and it is inevitable that you will encounter some problems in the process of exploring, and you can continue to explore and sum up experience at any time. ”[13]
"Crossing the river by feeling the stones" is Deng Xiaoping's attitude and method of leading reform and opening up
Many people think that "crossing the river by feeling the stones" is a phrase that Deng Xiaoping often says, but in fact, all the authoritative works of Deng Xiaoping, including the "Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping", the "Collected Works of Deng Xiaoping" before the reform and opening up, and the "Annals of Deng Xiaoping", which records Deng Xiaoping's life and thoughts, have not found that Deng Xiaoping said the phrase "crossing the river by feeling the stones". A review of reminiscences or interviews written by people who had contact with Deng Xiaoping did not reveal any mention of Deng Xiaoping saying this. The most typical example comes from the article "Courage to Innovate and Make More Contributions" written by Rong Yiren, former vice president of the People's Republic of China, which says: "Comrade Xiaoping admonished everyone: 'Be bold and take steady steps' in reform, that is, proceed from reality, cross the river by feeling the stones, take one step, and look at one step." [14] Among them, "be bold and steady" is put in quotation marks, which is Deng Xiaoping's original words, which are recorded in "Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping"; And "crossing the river by feeling the stones" does not make a reference, which shows that this is not Deng Xiaoping's original words. It is understandable that Rong Yiren's recollection reflects the record that Deng Xiaoping did not say this sentence, but insisted on the idea of "crossing the river by feeling the stones" in the reform and opening up. This article is from the book "Memories of Deng Xiaoping" interviewed and edited by the Central Literature Research Office on the first anniversary of Deng Xiaoping's death, and the material is rigorous and reliable.
The author also consulted the People's Daily and CNKI, and searched for articles published between 1976 and 2000 that included "crossing the river by feeling the stones", and found that beginners did not quote this sentence as Deng Xiaoping's language, but only mentioned that reform and opening up was led by Deng Xiaoping, and discussed "crossing the river by feeling the stones" as a method and idea of reform and opening up. Gradually, however, in the late 90s of the 20th century, some authors associated "Deng Xiaoping's theory" with "crossing the river by feeling the stones", and gradually some people thought that it was "Deng Xiaoping's small theory of 'crossing the river by feeling the stones'" [15] and so on. As a result, "crossing the river by feeling the stones" was gradually regarded as Deng Xiaoping's original words, and was once spread as Deng Xiaoping's "touch theory".
On the contrary, although Deng Xiaoping did not say the words "crossing the river by feeling the stones," it can be said with certainty that "crossing the river by feeling the stones" was a clear attitude and an important method adopted and repeatedly emphasized in the reform and opening up led by Deng Xiaoping.
Deng Xiaoping explicitly agreed with Chen Yun's speech "The Economic Situation and Lessons Learned" at the 1980 Central Work Conference, which he mentioned above, and on the day of the end of the meeting, he delivered a speech entitled "Implementing the Principle of Adjustment and Ensuring Stability and Unity," opening with the words: "I completely agree with Comrade Chen Yun's speech. This speech correctly summed up the lessons and lessons of the mainland's economic work over the past 31 years on a series of issues, and is our long-term guiding principle for the future. [16] He also said that if we want to find a way of development and achieve modernization, we need to continue to shake off the shackles of various frameworks and "truly find out the national conditions of the mainland and the interrelationship between various factors in economic activities"[17]. Earlier, in December 1978, on the eve of the Third Plenary Session of the 11 th CPC Central Committee, Deng Xiaoping proposed that in managing the economy, "before the national unified plan is come up, we can start with a local area, a region, and an industry, and gradually push it forward." The central departments should allow and encourage them to carry out such experiments. Various contradictions will arise in the course of the experiment, and we must discover and overcome these contradictions in a timely manner. In this way, we can progress relatively quickly. ”[18]
The party's second-generation central leadership collective with Deng Xiaoping at the core adopted the method of experimenting, summing up, improving, and popularizing reform and opening up. Deng Xiaoping said: Reform should "start with one or two things first, and we can't do it all at once, because then it will be chaotic." The country is so big, the situation is too complicated, and it is not easy to reform, so we must be cautious in our decision-making, and we must make up our minds after seeing that there is a greater possibility of success" [19]. As a window for the mainland to open up to the outside world, the establishment of special economic zones is to start with four special economic zones, gradually expand them to 14 coastal cities, and then gradually spread them to the whole country. From July 1979 to the end of 1980, under the leadership and support of Deng Xiaoping, the four special economic zones of Shenzhen, Zhuhai, Shantou and Xiamen were formally established.
Deng Xiaoping did not blindly seek speed, but encouraged the whole party to face the brand-new practice of reform and opening up, break through ideological barriers, boldly open up new frontiers, and advance steadily. "Bold" and "steady" were always said by Deng Xiaoping in combination. Deng Xiaoping regarded reform as China's second revolution, saying: "The principle we have established is: Be bold and take steady steps. The so-called courage is to unswervingly carry it out; The step should be steady, that is, to find the problem and change it quickly. [20] On the one hand, there is no ready-made answer to the reform, no foolproof is necessary, and it is necessary to make bold experiments, and only through experimenting and constantly gaining experience can we promote the deepening of reform and gradually form a complete set of systems in all aspects. On the other hand, the method of experimentation means that in reform and opening up, we must constantly sum up experience and correct mistakes in a timely manner. In September 1986, when Deng Xiaoping was interviewed by American journalist Wallace, he introduced the mainland's reform undertaking to the world, saying: "Our method is to constantly sum up experience, make mistakes as soon as possible, and prevent small mistakes from becoming big mistakes." [21]
Securities and stock markets were new things in the early 90s of the 20th century, and people have different opinions on how to understand them. In response to this new thing, Deng Xiaoping said in his speech in the south in February 1992: "Securities and stock markets, whether these things are good or not, whether they are dangerous, whether they are unique to capitalism, and whether socialism can be used?" It is permissible to see, but it is necessary to try resolutely. Look right, do it right for a year or two, let go; Wrong, correct, just turn it off. It can be turned off quickly, it can be turned off slowly, and it can also be left a little tail. It doesn't matter what you're afraid of, stick to this attitude, and you won't make big mistakes. [22] In this very important conversation, Deng Xiaoping also pointed out earnestly: "Every year, the leadership should sum up experience, persist in what is right, quickly correct what is wrong, and solve new problems as soon as they come out." [23]
It can be seen that Deng Xiaoping and Chen Yun have completely identical basic ideological views on reform and opening up. Some scholars pointed out: "It is precisely for this reason that people regard 'crossing the river by feeling the stones' as an important idea of Deng Xiaoping and as an important idea of the second generation of central leadership collectives." [24]
Exegesis:
[1] "Several Opinions of the Party Group of the Ministry of Agriculture on Agricultural Production in 1959 Approved by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China", Selected Documents of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (1949.10-1966.5), edited by the Literature Research Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the Central Archives, Vol. 30, People's Publishing House, 2013, p. 137.
[2] "Notice of the State Council on Approval and Forwarding of the State Economic Commission and the State Council Institutional Reform Office<关于实行工业生产经济责任制若干问题的意见>", Selected Important Literature Since the Third Plenary Session (II), edited by the Literature Research Office of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, People's Publishing House, 1982, p. 1383.
[3] The Compilation Group of "The Biography of Li Xiannian", the Editorial Department of the Revolutionary History of the Hubei-Henan Border Region: The Annals of Li Xiannian, Vol. 3, Central Literature Publishing House, 2011, p. 409.
[4] "Speech at the State Council Retreat", Selected Writings of Li Xiannian, People's Publishing House, 1989, p. 326.
[5] Chen Yun's Annals (Revised Edition) (Chinese), Central Literature Publishing House, 2015, p. 77.
[6] "Economic Situation and Lessons Learned", Selected Writings of Chen Yun, Vol. 3, People's Publishing House, 1995, p. 279.
[7] Zhao Shigang, "A Discussion on "Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones", in Party Literature, No. 1, 2006.
[8] Chen Yun's Annals (Revised Edition) (II), Central Literature Publishing House, 2015, p. 406.
[9] Pan Weiming, "A Bit of Views on Theoretical Work," People's Daily, November 29, 1985.
[10] "Economic Facts Analysis and Near-term Prospects in 1986", Wu Jinglian, Hu Ji et al., eds., Dynamic Analysis and Countermeasures of China's Economy, Chinese University Press, 1988, p. 188.
[11] Jiang Qingxiang, "A Rough Overall Reform Plan Is Better Than "Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones"", Comparison of Economic and Social Systems, No. 3, 1987, pp. 11-12.
[12] Jin Chongji and Chen Qun, eds., The Biography of Chen Yun (II), Central Literature Publishing House, 2015, p. 1789.
[13] Chen Yun, "Several Problems in Current Economic Work", Selected Works of Chen Yun, Vol. 3, People's Publishing House, 1995, p. 365.
[14] Rong Yiren, ""Be Brave in Innovation and Make More Contributions", in Memories of Deng Xiaoping (I), edited by the Central Literature Research Office, Central Literature Publishing House, 1998, p. 22.
[15] Yabuki Jin, translated by Zhang Huicai, "Deng Xiaoping's Historical Achievements", in Foreign Trends in the Study of the History of the Communist Party of China, No. 6, 1995.
[16] [17] [18] Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Vol. II, People's Publishing House, 1993, pp. 354, 354, 150.
[19] [20] [21] [22] [23] Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping, Vol. 3, People's Publishing House, 1993, pp. 177, 118, 174, 370-383, 370-383.
[24] Han Zhenfeng, "The Ins and Outs of the Reform Method of "Crossing the River by Feeling the Stones", in Leadership Literature, No. 10, 2014, p.82.
Source: Yanhuang Chunqiu Magazine
Author: Wang Dayang (Central Academy of Party History and Literature)