Editor's Note
In the past 30 years, the team of Professor Chen Guoquan of Zhejiang University has been engaged in the research of power constraint supervision, and has initially constructed the "functional decentralization theory" called the "new three rights theory" by the academic community, trying to crack the "Goldbach conjecture" of China's state governance and improve the socialist supervision system with Chinese characteristics. "The Theory of Power Constraint and Supervision", "Power Rule of Law and Integrity Governance", and "Functional Decentralization: China's Exploration" are the "trilogy" of Professor Chen Guoquan's team's functional decentralization theory research.
One
In China's history, 1978 was undoubtedly an epoch-making year, a year in which China entered the great era of reform and opening up. For me personally, 1978 is also an important life node, this year I was admitted to Zhejiang University, left Wenzhou, came to Hangzhou, and began to enter a new stage of life in which I systematically understand the world, understand the world and participate in the transformation of the world.
In the more than four decades since the beginning of reform and opening up, China's economy and society have undergone earth-shaking changes. Among them, the most prominent feature of the economy is the rapid GDP growth; the most prominent phenomenon in politics is the high integrity risk of officials. I call this phenomenon of high economic growth and high integrity risk the "double high phenomenon", and use power supervision as a research incision, trying to explore the systemic reasons behind the "double high phenomenon". It seems to me that power in political life is like capital in economic life. As I wrote in my 2013 book" "TheOry of Power Constraint and Supervision": "Capital is power in economic life, power is capital in political life, and the meaning of power in political science is the same as the meaning of capital in economics." "The metaphor of power as capital originated in the 1980s, when I studied Capital with Professor Yu Mingren, a well-known expert in the study of Capital, and systematically listened to his "Capital" research course for graduate students of the Department of Social Sciences of Zhejiang University. It is also hoped that through the analysis of the phenomenon of power, the internal logic of the operation of Chinese political society will be explained. As we all know, power is a very complex political phenomenon, and the study of power constraint and supervision is also one of the oldest and most challenging research propositions in political science, from Aristotle to Locke, Montesquieu and other theories. I have been exploring and thinking about this since the beginning of the 1990s, and it has been a full thirty years now. In the past thirty years, my research topics have basically not changed much, and at the same time, I have basically continued the research framework of decision-making power, executive power and supervision power, and on this basis, I have continuously expanded and extended. Especially in the past ten years, this research topic has been highly valued by the National Philosophy and Social Science Planning Office, and the relevant topics have been included in the bidding guidelines for major projects of the National Social Science Foundation for many times. I had the privilege of winning the bid three times in a row, organizing the team to explore the power constraint supervision system with Chinese characteristics, and constructing a systematic theoretical system called "functional decentralization theory" in an orderly manner. This book is the preliminary interpretation of the basic viewpoint and analytical framework of this theoretical system, and it is also the final result of the third major project of the National Social Science Foundation, "Research on the Party and State Supervision System Based on the Construction of a Rule of Law China". Of course, the final result of this project is not necessarily entirely appropriate to name the final result of this project "Functional Decentralization: An Exploration in China", because the research results of my team and I on the theory of functional decentralization are not all included in this book, and some of the contents are also found in the final research results of the two major projects of the National Social Science Foundation completed in the previous period, "Theory of Power Constraint and Supervision" and "The Rule of Power and Integrity Governance". These three works are all research papers on our construction of functional decentralization theory, which can be described as a "trilogy" of functional decentralization theory research.
The famous writer Xu Chi's reportage "Goldbach Conjecture" published in January 1978 had a huge impact on the youth of the time, and the scientist Chen Jingrun described in the work became a model for a generation of young people to pursue science. I was in my second year of high school that year, and although my liberal arts grades were good, I resolutely chose the science class when I was divided into liberal arts and sciences, and I was successfully admitted to the Mechanical Engineering Department of Zhejiang University that year. But I didn't expect that the liberal arts major I worked in after graduating from college was not related to science, which was once a big regret for me. At the beginning of 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the second plenary session of the 19th Central Discipline Inspection Commission: "Self-supervision is a worldwide problem and a Goldbach conjecture of national governance. Seeing the metaphor of General Secretary Xi Jinping, I feel that my thirty years of functional decentralization theory research are still related to my dream of chasing the Goldbach conjecture when I was young.
Two
The main mission of colleges and universities is talent training and scientific research, but in my opinion, the significance of talent training is higher than scientific research. In practice, I try to combine the two organically. In the past ten years, I have combined the training of doctoral students with the research of major topics of the National Social Science Foundation. The research of major projects of the National Social Science Foundation emphasizes "national standards and authority", and I have always strictly trained the scientific research ability of doctoral students with this requirement. At the same time, I work with phD students to explore and construct functional decentralization theories, and this book is the result of my collaboration with PhD students. The cooperation method is that I put forward the main ideas and detailed research framework, often I first make an academic report on the research problem, then the doctoral student writes the first draft, and then discusses and revises it many times, and finally I revise the final draft. The chapters of this book are written as follows: Chapter 1 Huang Fuxin and Sun Shaoyang; Chapter 2 Huang Fuxin and Gu Zhijun; Chapter 3 Huang Fuxin; Chapter 4 Zhou Luyao and Huang Fuxin; Chapter 5 Chen Xiaowei and Li Li; Chapter 6 Xu Tianxiang; Chapter 7 Yang Yaxing; And Chapter 8 Chen Yongjie. Huang Fuxin, Mao Yimin, and Chen Jieqiong conducted the first, second, and third drafts respectively; graduate students Lu Zhipeng, Chang Cheng, Lao Yuting, Li Xuehong, Wang Xiaoyi, Shi Hangqi, and Yue Shitao read the manuscript many times and put forward many suggestions for revision. Most of the chapters of the book have been published in major journals, thanks to the journal editors' quality checks on the relevant content and the valuable revisions provided by many anonymous reviewers.
Thanks to Professor Yu Keping of Peking University. Professor Yu Keping is a famous scholar in China, who has in-depth research on political theory and profound insight into realpolitik. He wrote the following preface specifically for the book: "Power can benefit mankind, but also harm mankind." Unchecked and supervised power not only harms humanity, but also distorts human nature. How to restrain the power of supervision is an eternal theme of political science. Professor Chen Guoquan has been committed to the study of power constraint supervision for more than 30 years, and I hope that his research results will help reduce the willfulness of power and make power more beneficial to the people." The words show Professor Yu Keping's deep concern about the willfulness of power, and also place high hopes on our research on the theory of power constraint and supervision.
Thanks to researcher Wang Shengqiang, deputy editor of Academic Monthly, who has long been concerned about my research, a few years ago I was asked to do an academic interview, this year I finally made up my mind to make a more systematic review of my thirty years of academic research in the form of interviews, doctoral student Lu Zhipeng not only communicated with me many times, but also read through my relevant works and articles over the past thirty years, and completed "Thirty Years of Functional Decentralization Theory Exploration - Interview with Professor Chen Guoquan" (the article was published in Academic Monthly, No. 11, 2020). This interview is a good example of my academic vein for building a theory of functional decentralization, and is specially prefaced to this book.
Thanks to Professor Jing Yuejin of the Department of Political Science of Tsinghua University, we are peers and academic confidants. A few years ago, he comprehensively analyzed my relevant research results, and very accurately and clearly summarized my research into ten propositions that were advanced layer by layer, and summarized them as the "new three rights theory". His study, published in Comparative Economic and Social Systems, No. 4, 2017, was included in the book as an appendix with the consent of this paper. I would also like to thank Professor Lan Zhiyong, Professor Xu Xianglin, Professor He Zengke, Professor Zheng Chunyan and other scholars, who have strongly supported and helped our team to carry out research on functional decentralization theory in different ways.
Thank you to Mr. Zhao Jianying, President of China Social Sciences Press. I remember that after announcing on the Internet in 2014 that I was awarded the second major project of the National Social Science Foundation, President Zhao Jianying personally called and hoped that the research results of the project could be published by their publishing house. In 2018, the research results of the research results "Power Rule of Law and Integrity Governance" were published in high quality by China Social Science Press, which lived up to the expectations of President Zhao Jianying, and the book was selected as the recommended book for Chinese academic foreign translation by the National Social Science Foundation, won the first prize of Zhejiang Provincial Philosophy and Social Science Outstanding Achievements, and was rated as the most popular political science academic monograph among professionals in 2018. Based on the last pleasant cooperation, the book continues to be published by the China Social Sciences Press, and the responsible editor is still Wang Yin, deputy editor-in-chief of the society and director of the Major Project Publishing Center, and Wang Qi, editor of the Major Project Publishing And Publishing Center. Thank you for their excellent editorial work.
Three
Each academic team will have a specific spiritual temperament, Professor Jing Yuejin of Tsinghua University once asked me what is the spiritual temperament of the academic team? I couldn't answer it at the time, and I hadn't really thought about it in the past. Therefore, I raised this question in the WeChat group of students engaged in academic research, and the students left messages one after another, Liao Danzi said: "The spirit of the three truths: solid, pragmatic, and realistic." In addition, Chen Men also has a spirit that is very valuable: the spirit of sincere unity and cooperation, temporarily called the 'pomegranate' spirit"; Chen Jieqiong said: "I think Teacher Chen talks more about 'atmospheric tolerance and balanced development'"; Chen Xiaowei said: "Seeking truth and seeking innovation, perseverance, and tolerance; seeking truth and innovation is the pursuit of ambition, perseverance is academic character, and inclusiveness is the team's mind"; Cao Wei said: "Seeking knowledge is to know, and being virtuous"; Zhou Luyao said: "Trend judgment, thousands of miles; abide by the bottom line, So that conscience, knowledge and keeping between the retreat and grace. Chen Yongjie said: "Unity of the atmosphere, the pursuit of excellence." Mao Yimin said: "Truth-seeking and pragmatic, atmospheric tolerance; the former does things, the latter acts." This is my deepest feeling at Chenmen." I thought about it for a few days, and I wanted to use the "Spirit of Yugong Moving Mountains" to summarize the spirit I advocated and practiced in the team. In China, the restraint and supervision of political power is undoubtedly an extremely important theoretical problem, and I have studied it for thirty years, and many of my doctoral students have followed me for more than ten years; students who teach in colleges and universities have also begun to guide their graduate students to explore the problem of power constraint and supervision. I deeply hope that through the joint research of several generations of scholars, rooted in China's practice, the theory of power constraint and supervision that can explain The political phenomena in China will be established, the theory of functional decentralization, and contribute to the cracking of the Goldbach conjecture of state governance.
Text/Chen Guoquan (Qiushi Distinguished Professor, School of Public Administration, Zhejiang University)
Transferred from the "ZJUCCLGI" WeChat public account