Editor's note: The Communist Party of China has inherited the fine tradition of the Chinese nation of attaching importance to history, studying history, and drawing on history, always attaching great importance to the study of historiography, and being good at grasping the law of historical development from the rise and fall of history. In the new era, we must do a good job in studying historiography around the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, better summarize historical experience, reveal historical laws, and grasp historical trends.
Contemporary China comes from historical China. To uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, it is necessary to systematically study Chinese history and culture, profoundly grasp the historical law of human development, draw wisdom from in-depth thinking about history, and move toward the future. General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed during his inspection in Chengde, Hebei Province: "We must do a good job in studying historiography around the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, integrate historical research resources and forces, improve the research level and innovation ability, better summarize historical experience, reveal historical laws, and grasp historical trends." "General Secretary Xi Jinping's important speech has pointed out the direction and provided guidance for us to do a good job in studying the history of history, accelerate the construction of the discipline system, academic system and discourse system of history with Chinese characteristics, and give full play to the role of historiography in learning from the past and the present, and educating senior officials."
Attaching importance to the study of historiography is the fine tradition of our party
Attaching importance to history, studying history, and drawing on history is a fine tradition of the Chinese nation's more than 5,000 years of civilization history. As an important link in the continuation of civilization, the basic carrier of the inheritance of the national spirit, the treasure house of experience in governing the country and the country, and the wisdom guide that enlightens life, history cannot be ignored and forgotten. Ancient historians believed that the study and application of history "is the urgent task of the living people and the key to the country."
As a Marxist political party, the Communist Party of China has inherited the fine tradition of the Chinese nation of attaching importance to history, studying history, and drawing on history, always attaching great importance to the study of historiography, and being good at grasping the law of historical development from the rise and fall of history. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "Marxists are good at studying history" and "Reading history is a matter of wisdom. That is: Do you want to increase your wisdom? History books are indispensable to read" "If you look at history, you will see the future." From the height of "a spiritual motive force for China's development," Comrade Deng Xiaoping profoundly expounded the value and significance of "understanding some Chinese history" and stressed that "summing up the past is to guide everyone to unite and look forward." Comrade Jiang Zemin stressed: "We must strive to study Chinese history, especially China's modern and contemporary history, and the party's history, and strive to grasp and carry forward the fine traditions of the Chinese nation and the party through this kind of study." Comrade Hu Jintao demanded that "leading cadres should strengthen the study of historical knowledge while focusing on strengthening the study of Marxist theory and studying practical problems."
Since the Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached great importance to the study of historiography and history, and has issued a series of important expositions on how to understand history and historical science, how to do a good job in historical research, how to view historical China and contemporary China, and how to study the history of the Party. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Historical research is the foundation of all social sciences" "History is the best textbook" "It is necessary to educate and guide the whole party to bear in mind the overall situation of the great rejuvenation strategy of the Chinese nation and the great changes in the world in a hundred years, establish a great historical concept, analyze the mechanism of evolution from the long river of history, the tide of the times, and the global situation, explore the laws of history, put forward strategies and strategies to respond, and enhance the systematicness, foresight and creativity of work." The important speech of "July 1st" delivered by General Secretary Xi Jinping on the occasion of the centenary of the Party is magnificent and has a broad vision, penetrating history, reality and the future, showing strong historical penetration and historical insight, and embodying the historical wisdom and historical vision of taking history as a mirror and creating the future.
The broad masses of historians should inherit and carry forward the fine traditions of our party, persist in establishing the tide of the times, understand the changes of the past and the present, give the forerunner of ideology, strive to promote the development of Chinese historiography in the new era, and provide ideological support for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with excellent research results. This is the mission of Chinese historiography in the new era, and it is also the only way for historiography to prosper and achieve sublimation.
The study of the history of historiography must adhere to the correct orientation
Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology for building our party and country. The fundamental mark that distinguishes contemporary Chinese philosophy and social science from other philosophical social sciences is that Marxist scientific theory has always been regarded as the foundation of academic research. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the latest achievement of the sinification of Marxism, contemporary Chinese Marxism, and Marxism of the 21st century. General Secretary Xi Jinping's important exposition on history is the best inheritance and development of the materialist view of history, an important part of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era, and a fundamental observance of the development of Chinese historiography in the new era. To do a good job in studying historiography around the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, establish a correct view of history, nationality, country and culture, so that academic research results can withstand the test of history and the people, and be established in the world and passed on to future generations.
Persist in seeking truth from facts. Seeking truth from facts is the essence and soul of Marxism, the fundamental viewpoint of Marxism, the fundamental requirement for Chinese communists to understand and transform the world, and the ideological, working, and leadership methods of our party. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must adhere to the materialist view of history to understand history, adhere to the ideological line of seeking truth from facts, distinguish between the mainstream and tributaries, adhere to the truth, correct mistakes, carry forward experience, and learn lessons." Seeking truth from facts is the basic way to understand the truth, and in any case we must persist in viewing problems from the reality of objective existence, rather than imposing subjective assumptions on reality, and persist in taking practice as the only criterion for testing truth. To uphold the basic principle of seeking truth from facts in historical research, we must persist in proceeding from historical reality in everything we do, stress evidence, norms, and methods, remove the falsification and preservation of truth from research materials, find out the internal links of historical development, and draw scientific conclusions.
Adhere to the people-centered approach. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The people are the driving force for creating history, and we Communists must never forget the most basic truth of historical materialism." Serving the people wholeheartedly is the value pursuit of every Communist Party member, and it is also the starting point and foothold for Marxist historians to behave, do things, and do their studies. In order for historical research to make a difference, it is necessary to adhere to the people-centered research orientation, adhere to the viewpoint that the people are the creators of history, establish the ideal of doing scholarship for the people, and be good at drawing wisdom and nutrition from the great practice of the masses of the people in creating history.
Insist on looking at problems from the perspective of development and connection. History is continuous and cannot quiesce the object of study. Static cannot constitute history, and human society has always been in a state of development and change, which is the most basic historical reality. History is a continuous change composed of people and events, which are the products of specific historical conditions, and all have their processes of emergence, development and decline. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The evaluation of historical figures should be analyzed under the historical conditions of their times and societies, and cannot be separated from a comprehensive understanding of historical conditions and historical processes and a scientific grasp of historical laws, and the relationship between historical inevitability and historical contingency cannot be ignored." Successes in historical favorable circumstances cannot be simply attributed to individuals, nor can setbacks in historical adversity be simply attributed to individuals. "In historical research, the observation problem should have a long-term vision, can not be limited to one thing at a time, can not be based on the historical phenomena of individual periods of time rashly draw historical conclusions for a long period of time, and we must persist in placing the research object in a longer historical period for calm observation and in-depth analysis.
Promote the high-quality development of the work of studying the history of history in the new era
In the more than 5,000 years of civilization history of the Chinese nation, a large number of outstanding historical achievements have been produced, providing valuable historical wisdom and powerful spiritual strength for the development of the Chinese nation. To do a good job in the study of historiography in the new era, we must base ourselves on the contemporary era, persist in proceeding from historical China, cherish and make good use of these outstanding historical achievements, take serving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as the center, and constantly broaden the correct path for studying the history of historiography in the new era, so that the achievements of historiography can better sum up historical experience, reveal historical laws, and grasp historical trends, so that historiography can give full play to the role of knowing the past and learning from the present and educating people.
Adhere to the integrated development of basic theoretical research and applied countermeasure research. In the study of history, it is necessary to "recount the past" and "think about the comers." It is a fine tradition of Chinese historiography. True historical research is never a cold academic activity, but a scientific exploration full of feelings, ambitions, and inspiration. The rise of environmental history, disaster and famine history, medical history, urban history, etc. in recent years all reflect the care of historians for social reality. In the new era, Chinese historiography should take the courage and pursuit of "basing itself on China, looking at the world, establishing the tide of the times, changing through the ancient and modern times, and making the precursor of thought", inspire inspiration with social practice, find academic growth points in the reality of service, cultivate the feelings of the family and the country, and strive to provide historical wisdom for economic and social development.
Strengthen ideological guidance and theoretical analysis. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Only by truly understanding Marxism can we continue to discover and create in revealing the law of the Communist Party's governance, the law of socialist construction, and the law of the development of human society, and can we better identify various idealistic views and better resist various historical nihilistic fallacies." "Historiography is a basic and strategic discipline related to the inheritance of civilization, the development of the country, and the prosperity of the nation. Promoting the prosperity and development of Chinese historiography in the new era is a glorious duty entrusted to historians by the party and the people, and it is also a heavy responsibility entrusted to historians by history and the times. There was a time in the past when historical nihilism was more prominent. The reason for this is that it deviates from the direction guided by Marxism. We must maintain a reverential attitude toward history, and we must never "joke" about history, "spoof" history, and still less engage in historical nihilism. The broad masses of historians should strengthen their analysis and guidance in historical research, base their historical conclusions on the basis of detailed and accurate historical data support and in-depth and meticulous research and analysis, let history speak and use historical facts to speak, and expose the fallacy of historical nihilism.
Integrate historical research resources and forces. Both history and practice have shown that scholarship should achieve breakthroughs and progress in the integration and convergence of different disciplines. Therefore, it is necessary to adhere to the deep integration of multiple disciplines and joint research. Starting from adjusting the discipline setting, personnel composition, project management, etc., we will integrate research resources and forces, promote interdisciplinary dialogue and integration, and let historical research achieve breakthroughs and innovations in the integration and convergence of different disciplines. At the same time, it is necessary to explore breaking down the disciplinary barriers of natural sciences and philosophy and social sciences, so that researchers can examine the development process of human civilization from a multidisciplinary perspective. Through the integration of resources and forces, a number of high-quality masterpieces with ideological penetration have been launched, and a group of historians who have studied chinese and Western studies have been trained, so that historiography can better contribute to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
(Author: Gao Xiang, Vice President of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, Deputy Secretary of the Party Group (at the level of Minister), President of the Chinese Academy of History, Secretary of the Party Committee, Academic Advisor of the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Source: People's Daily (October 13, 2021)