Changes through ancient and modern times - how to look at the first thirty years of New China 010203

Only by looking at the history of New China for more than seventy years, and even the history of the Chinese revolution before it, as a whole, can we see the complete meaning and far-reaching significance of China's great rejuvenation.

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As for why he wrote the "Records of History", that is, why he studied history, Sima Qian had three famous words: When the heavens and the people are investigated. Through the changes of ancient and modern times. Words of a family.

Sima Qian is indeed a great historian. These three sentences are in the essence of history, and each sentence is worth writing an article or even a book to explain. Today I would like to use the second sentence of it, the changes in ancient and modern times, to talk about how to view the history of New China in the first thirty years.

The change of ancient and modern means that there are differences and changes between ancient times and today. Everyone can see this. The ancients wore cloth clothes, and today's people wear chemical fibers. The ancients took horse-drawn carriages, and today's people took trains and planes. The ancients used oil lamps, the present people used electric lamps... It is not difficult to enumerate these changes. But if history only studies this, it will not be very interesting.

The question is, are there some consistent similarities underneath these distinctions and variations? This is what historiography is about. That is to say, the unique ability of historians lies in the insight into the deep and inner laws of human society under the changes of ancient and modern times that ordinary people can see.

From another point of view, it can also be said that the work of historians is actually to create, not to discover. The creation mentioned here is simply to tell a good story. This good story must be able to knead the great differences and changes between ancient and modern times into a logical and reasonable framework.

For example, the history of the Spring and Autumn Warring States was seen by people at that time as a mess, with bad ceremonies and bad wars, and all kinds of bad words. But after the historians sorted out and created, more than two thousand years later, we can see a story: hundreds of political bodies scattered and fighting with each other gradually merged, first into the seven warring states, and finally into the unified Qin Empire.

With this framework, we can put all kinds of complicated and complicated histories in the Spring and Autumn Warring States into it, and they can be orderly and echo each other. There is also a new understanding of all kinds of "liturgical collapse and happiness". On this basis, we can tell a story of "China's first great reunification." Moreover, this story framework will continue to influence reality later on, becoming the background for people to predict the future.

This is the change of ancient and modern times.

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It has been more than 70 years since the founding of New China. In these 70 years, there is a clear turning point, that is, the first thirty years are very different from the subsequent years. Taking the late 1970s and early 1980s as the dividing point, the history of New China can be divided into two distinct stages.

Before and after these two stages, there is a clear "change" between. Anyone can see that. In the first thirty years, it was relatively poor; after that, it became richer and richer; in the first thirty years, there were more political movements, and after that, economic construction was the mainstay; in the first thirty years, the planned economy, and later, the socialist market economy...

Taking the direction of "changes through ancient and modern times", are there any similarities and consistencies between these two seemingly different stages?

This is the important "real problem".

There is a view that the first thirty years were pitch black and undesirable, a great disaster. The reason why the country building became better and better later was because the practices of the previous thirty years were completely abandoned.

According to this view, there is clearly little in common between the first thirty years and the following. If there is any, it is that the first thirty years are a lesson, admonishing future generations not to repeat the same mistakes.

This view is obviously excessive, and it is obviously inconsistent with many facts, and it is impossible to resist questioning and questioning.

The other view, while less radical, is not very positive about the first thirty years. This view acknowledges that the first thirty years and the subsequent socialist new China, which was led by the Communist Party, was committed to serving the people, but in the first thirty years it took too many detours and made many avoidable mistakes.

A typical idea of this view is that if new China had implemented the policy of reform and opening up after the founding of New China, China would have become a rich and developed country long ago.

In this view, the first thirty years are wasted thirty years, preferably never existing. That being the case, there is certainly no similarity or consistency between the first thirty years and the following.

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Neither of the above two views meets the requirements of "changes through ancient and modern times.". They failed to find similarities and consistencies in the first thirty years and years to come. In their eyes, the history of new China is fractured. This fails to truly understand in depth why New China is "new", let alone truly gain insight into the deep laws of society.

In fact, if we throw away the first thirty years, we cannot even correctly understand reform and opening up. In the course of reform and opening up, China has devoted itself to economic construction and strived to learn from Western developed countries in many aspects, including systems and technologies. Therefore, if we look at reform and opening up in isolation, we will draw the conclusion that China is a "latecomer" and a "backward student" in the international community. No matter how well China develops in the future, it is nothing more than the latecomers catching up, and in the end it is still not as good as "learning hegemony".

Only by looking at the history of New China for more than seventy years, and even the history of the Chinese revolution before it, as a whole, can we see the complete meaning and far-reaching significance of China's great rejuvenation. It is a revival, not a rise, nor a catch-up.

In history, China has always been in a leading position in the world in the level of civilization development. In East Asia, it is the undisputed peak and leader of civilization. The history of humiliation for more than a hundred years in modern times is only a short-term phenomenon. The Great Revival put an end to this short-term phenomenon and restored history to normal. The norm is that China is the peak of world civilization.

Only by understanding this level can we realize the following problems.

(I) Historically, what are the reasons for China's long-term civilization leadership?

(2) What are China's natural, geographical and climatic advantages?

(III) What are the advantages of China's social civilization tradition and historical tradition?

As an excellent agricultural civilization, why is China equally excellent in the era of industrial civilization?

What is unique about China's political system since ancient times?

(VI) Where does the power of a major country in China's maintenance system come from? Are there any cheats and tricks?

What forces have revived Chinese civilization again and again in history?

(viii) How did these factors manifest themselves in the first thirty years?

(ix) Many of the measures taken in the first thirty years were on the surface wrong and caused losses, but were they not mistakes, did they cause losses, or did they pay the necessary costs in advance for future revival?

(10) In the first thirty years and the years to come, what were the principles and practices of New China's perseverance and perseverance?

(11) In the course of more than seventy years of New China, what are the principles and practices of perseverance and perseverance that are common to historical China?

(xii) Thousands of years of ancient history, and all kinds of them, what continued in New China? What was discarded? What's the driving force behind that?

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Similar questions can be asked a lot. Only by abandoning prejudices and emancipating the mind can we truly achieve "changes through ancient and modern times" and find those factors that Have been consistent and successive in China and Chinese in historical China and contemporary China, in the first thirty years and years to come.

When China is poor and weak, even if these factors are discovered, they will only be regarded as scum and lessons, and they must be thoroughly exposed and criticized and completely denied. But today, China has achieved a great renaissance, and these factors have been given new meaning. They are in fact precious treasures and proud of their merits.

It is time to rediscover our Chinese history and reality. Full self-confidence can only and must come from full understanding.

For more excitement, please pay attention to the public account "Li Ziyang"

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