On the morning of September 11, 2024, the School of Marxism held a special lecture series on studying the spirit of the 20th CPC Central Committee's Third Plenary Session at Conference Room 1600, Huiwen Building, Yuehai Campus. Professor Guo Zhan, an Honorary First-Class Professor and PhD supervisor from the School of Philosophy at Renmin University of China, delivered an insightful lecture titled "Tradition and Innovation in Nearly a Century of China's Historical Achievements" to the faculty and students of Shenzhen University. The lecture was hosted by Professor Liu Zhi, Dean of the School of Marxism, and was attended by many faculty members and students.
In his lecture, Professor Guo Zhan first emphasized that the tremendous changes China has undergone over the past century are the remarkable achievements of the Chinese Communist Party leading the people through hard work to create history. These efforts have written the most glorious chapter in the history of the Chinese nation. He explained that the interaction between the origins and development of Chinese civilization manifests in the dialectical relationship between tradition and innovation in the historical creation of the Chinese nation. The fundamental reason why China has been able to accomplish the historical feats of national rejuvenation and state prosperity through generations of hard work lies in the inheritance and innovation of the excellent traditions of Chinese civilization.
Next, Professor Guo Zhan elaborated on three key aspects to explain why and how the Communist Party of China (CPC) and the Chinese people have continuously demonstrated the Party’s long-held subjectivity and creativity during the process of national rejuvenation and state prosperity, thereby forming a path of Chinese-style modernization with the attributes of a new form of world civilization.
First, tradition serves as the foundation and precondition for a nation's historical creation. The long-standing historical and cultural traditions of a nation-state, at their core, reflect the subjectivity of national communities as they engage in historical activities. Since modern times, as global interactions have expanded, we have entered the era of "world history." In this era, it is essential to base our actions on historical tradition while looking outward to the world and forward to the future, following an independent and proactive development path. Over the past century, the CPC and the Chinese people, grounded in excellent traditional culture, have exercised their "historical initiative" through subjectivity and creativity. Through hard work, they have profoundly transformed China and the world. The subjectivity and creativity of the CPC have been fully demonstrated in China's century-long historical achievements, which are the fundamental reasons for the tremendous changes that have occurred in China over the past hundred years.
Second, innovation and development in China represent a fundamental shift in the driving mechanisms of progress. When reflecting on human subjectivity, it is crucial to not only uphold subjectivity but also emphasize and leverage creativity. After decades of development, modern China has increasingly embraced a new development vision based on the core principles of innovation, coordination, green development, openness, and sharing. Innovation is the first principle emphasized in this vision. Modern societies rapidly progress through overall innovation in concepts, technology, and institutions, and Chinese-style modernization provides strong motivation and ample space for social innovation. In a specific sense, there is a qualitative difference between the new and the old, but the true value of things lies not in whether they are new or old, but in their truth, goodness, and beauty. Fundamentally, cultural creation is not about creating "new," but about creating excellence—creating higher quality or value, and pursuing truth, goodness, and beauty. Balancing innovation with excellence, and rationally understanding the value orientation of creative activities, is critical for the healthy development of Chinese-style modernization.
Third, the path of Chinese-style modernization embodies the attributes of a new form of world civilization. The most basic aspect of this path is development, starting with economic development, specifically the development of productivity, and extending to the development of people, society, and nature. From a historical materialist perspective, the success of China's development path can be attributed to the decisive role played by the development of social productive forces, which is closely tied to the transformation of production relations. China has pursued a path of liberating and developing productive forces through changes in production relations, which is the essence of China's development model since the reform and opening-up period. The most prominent structural characteristic of this model is a mixed or composite economic structure, in which a market economy based on public ownership as the dominant form coexists with a variety of ownership forms. This structure embraces and encourages the development of private, non-public economic forms in China. Overall, this economic structure has greatly improved and optimized the economic and social ecosystem, adapting flexibly and comprehensively to the internal demands of China’s productive forces for full development. It also aligns with the inevitable requirements of the historical era we are in.
