▲Introduction to the community of the Chinese nation
In order to completely, accurately and comprehensively explain General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thoughts on strengthening and improving ethnic work, deepen the education of forging the awareness of the community of the Chinese nation, and promote the construction of the community of the Chinese nation, the State Ethnic Affairs Commission organized the compilation of the textbook "Introduction to the Community of the Chinese Nation", which was jointly published by the Higher Education Press and the Nationalities Publishing House.
In the article "Introduction to the Community of the Chinese Nation and Its Educational Significance", the author points out that the characteristics of this textbook are obvious: the unity of politics and academic reason, the unity of professionalism and general knowledge, and the combination of mainstream culture and national culture; It is also believed that the publication of this textbook is conducive to forging the sense of community of the Chinese nation, enhancing the "five identities", popularizing the common language of the country, promoting exchanges and integration of various ethnic groups, and strengthening the core values of socialism. This paper analyzes the academic value and significance of this textbook from the perspective of the construction of the discipline of Chinese national community studies.
General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed: "To build a theoretical system of the community of the Chinese nation, we must base ourselves on the long history of the Chinese nation, combine the Marxist theory of nationalities with the specific reality of China and the excellent traditional culture of China, follow the historical logic and theoretical logic of the development of the Chinese nation, and scientifically reveal the principles, theories and philosophies of the formation and development of the Chinese nation." General Secretary Xi Jinping demanded that we must "use the party's important ideas on strengthening and improving ethnic work to guide and guide the construction of the theoretical system of the Chinese national community." It is necessary to optimize the discipline setting, strengthen the construction of disciplines, set the direction of research, deepen the research on major basic issues of the Chinese national community, strive to solve the problems in the study of ethnology in the mainland that are influenced by the Western ethnic theoretical ideas and discourse systems, and accelerate the formation of China's independent historical data system, discourse system and theoretical system of the Chinese national community."
In recent years, some scholars in the field of ethnology have discussed on different occasions how to forge the sense of community of the Chinese nation, and some scholars believe that it is necessary to construct "community studies of the Chinese nation" or "studies of the Chinese nation" in order to strengthen the construction of the community of the Chinese nation and forge the sense of community of the Chinese nation. This is because the discipline system, theoretical system, and discourse system of ethnology formed since the reform and opening up are no longer suitable for the development of the new era, which is not conducive to forging the sense of community of the Chinese nation, and is not conducive to maintaining national unity, social stability, and ethnic unity.
In February 2023, in order to implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's instructions and serve the construction of the Chinese national community, the United Front Work Department of the CPC Central Committee and other four departments jointly issued the "Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of the Theoretical Research System for the Consciousness of the Community of the Chinese Nation", pointing out that "it is necessary to establish and improve the discipline system, academic system and discourse system for the theoretical research of the sense of community of the Chinese nation." In February 2024, the Party Group of the State Ethnic Affairs Commission also published an article "Strengthening and Improving the Party's Ethnic Work with the Consciousness of the Community of the Chinese Nation as the Main Line" in "Qiushi", emphasizing "strengthening the construction of disciplines of the Chinese national community, accelerating the adjustment of ethnic disciplines", and "striving to build a scientific and complete theoretical system of the Chinese national community".
The compilation of "Introduction to the Community of the Chinese Nation" fully embodies the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping's instructions on "building a theoretical system of the community of the Chinese nation", makes a comprehensive study on the major basic issues and theoretical systems, historical data systems, and discourse systems of the Chinese community, and scientifically explains the basic concepts and theories of the community of the Chinese nation. Therefore, in addition to its important theoretical and educational significance, the textbook "Introduction to the Community of the Chinese Nation" also has important academic value, which is the foundation work of the study of the community of the Chinese nation, which is conducive to the construction of the discipline of common studies of the Chinese nation.
Why is Introduction to the Community of the Chinese Nation the foundation of the study of the community of the Chinese nation? Because the textbook has achieved "four firsts": first, the first unified textbook on the "community of the Chinese nation"; second, it is the first textbook that scientifically explains the basic concepts and theories of the Chinese nation; the third is the first textbook that comprehensively discusses the formation and development of the Chinese nation; Fourth, it is the first monograph to systematically expound the historical outlook of the Chinese nation. This article briefly analyzes and elaborates on these issues.
1. The first unified textbook on the "Community of the Chinese Nation".
In recent years, although the academic community has published several monographs related to the "community of the Chinese nation", the "Introduction to the Community of the Chinese Nation" compiled by the State Ethnic Affairs Commission is the first textbook compiled by the Ministry of Education. The textbook is a milestone textbook with lofty intentions, prominent main lines and distinctive characteristics, which is of pioneering and pioneering significance for the education of forging the sense of community of the Chinese nation.
Forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation is the main line of the party's ethnic work in the new era, the main line of all work in ethnic areas, and the main line of ethnic education. It is necessary to guide students of all ethnic groups to firmly establish a correct view of the country, history, nationality, culture and religion by forging a strong sense of community of the Chinese nation; Enhance the high recognition of the great motherland, the Chinese nation, Chinese culture, the Communist Party of China, and socialism with Chinese characteristics among the people of all ethnic groups; Enhance the awareness of the state, citizenship and the rule of law among the people of all ethnic groups; We will continue to strengthen the community concept of sharing weal and woe, weal and woe, life and death, and destiny, so that the Chinese nation will continue to move towards a community with a shared future with a higher degree of identity and stronger cohesion. This textbook is the first unified textbook that comprehensively and systematically expounds General Secretary Xi Jinping's important thoughts on strengthening and improving ethnic work, is a public course textbook with ideological and political education attributes, and is an important achievement in constructing the discipline system, theoretical system, historical data system, discourse system and method system of the Chinese national community studies.
2. The first textbook that scientifically explains the basic concepts and theories of the community of the Chinese nation
The "Opinions on Strengthening the Construction of the Theoretical Research System for Strengthening the Sense of Community of the Chinese Nation" of the four central ministries and commissions emphasized that it is necessary to "strengthen the research on major basic issues of the Chinese national community, and deepen the research on the connotation and extension of the concepts of the nation, the Chinese nation, and the community of the Chinese nation".
Basic issues such as basic concepts and theories are the key elements of discipline construction, and they are also a key part of the compilation of textbooks. "Introduction to the Community of the Chinese Nation" scientifically explains the basic concepts and theories of the community of the Chinese nation, and lays the foundation for the discipline construction of the community of the Chinese nation.
The first chapter of the textbook scientifically explains the basic concepts and theories of the Chinese nation and the Chinese national community. The first section, "The Basic Concept of the Community of the Chinese Nation", scientifically explains the basic concepts of "Chinese nation", "community of the Chinese nation" and "consciousness of community of the Chinese nation", so that readers can clearly understand what is the "Chinese nation", what is the "community of the Chinese nation" and what is the "sense of community of the Chinese nation". The second section, "The Basic Concept of the Community of the Chinese Nation", scientifically explains the "12 musts", "four commons", "four commons" and "four pairs of relationships". These concepts are important concepts of General Secretary Xi Jinping on strengthening and improving ethnic work. Not only undergraduate students need to be familiar, but also teaching and scientific research personnel and cadres in ethnic minority areas must be familiar. The third section, "The Theoretical Origins of the Community of the Chinese Nation", systematically discusses three theoretical sources, one is the Marxist theory of nationalities, the second is the historical tradition of China's great unification, and the third is the "two combinations". The fourth section, "The Modern Civilization of the Chinese Nation and the Community of the Chinese Nation", explains the relationship between the outstanding characteristics of the Chinese civilization and the promotion of the construction of the community of the Chinese nation.
With regard to the basic theories and concepts of the Chinese nation, there has been no consensus in ethnological circles for a long time. This textbook puts forward the basic concepts and theories about the Chinese nation and the community of the Chinese nation, and provides a basis for correcting and eliminating various erroneous trends of thought in the field of ethnology.
For example, on the concept of the Chinese nation, many scholars in the field of ethnology define it as "a general term for 56 ethnic groups". This definition is unscientific, because it excludes all ethnic groups in history, foreigners who have become Chinese nationals in Hong Kong and Macao, and overseas Chinese. The textbook first defines the concept of the Chinese nation, pointing out: "The Chinese nation is a people's community formed by various groups of people in the land of China who have been immersed in Chinese civilization for thousands of years, experienced long-term exchanges, exchanges and blending, and formed in the historical process of jointly creating a unified multi-ethnic country, and has the identity of the Chinese national community; Today, it mainly includes compatriots of all ethnic groups in the mainland, Hong Kong, Macao, Taiwan, and overseas Chinese who have the identity of the Chinese national community. In this national entity, compatriots of all ethnic groups have formed an interdependent, unified and inseparable whole, and all members have a high level of national identity. Although compatriots of all ethnic groups have different ethnic titles, they are first and foremost members of the Chinese nation and share the most important identity of the Chinese nation. The author believes that this concept is scientific and accurate.
Another example is that there have been a variety of specious views in academic circles on the nature of the Chinese nation: first, it is believed that the Chinese nation is not an entity, but that the 56 ethnic groups are; Second, it is believed that the "Chinese nation" refers to the Han nationality; The third is that the Chinese nation is a virtual identity and an imaginary community. The textbook emphasizes that the Chinese nation is an entity, pointing out that "the Chinese nation, as a conscious national entity, was formed in the process of modern China's resistance to imperialism; As a self-contained national entity, it has been formed and developed in China's long history. Although the concept of the 'Chinese nation' clearly appeared in modern times and has a history of only more than 100 years, as a national entity, the Chinese nation has existed and developed for thousands of years and has a profound historical foundation. ”
According to the above, the textbook scientifically explains the basic concepts and theories of the Chinese nation and the Chinese national community, lays the foundation for the discipline construction of the Chinese national community, and also provides a basis for eliminating the erroneous trend of thought in the academic circles.
3. The first comprehensive textbook on the formation and development of the Chinese nation
Since the 20s of the 20th century, dozens of books or textbooks on the Chinese nation have been published in academic circles. As early as the first half of the 20th century, he published a number of works on the history of the Chinese nation. For example, in 1926, Chang Naide published the first volume of A Bird's Eye View of Chinese History, The Composition and Development of the Chinese Nation. In 1928, on the basis of "The Composition and Development of the Chinese Nation", he revised it into "A Short History of the Chinese Nation", which was published by Shanghai Aishu Publishing House. This book is a pioneering work in the history of the Chinese nation. In the 30s and 40s of the 20th century, the study of the history of the Chinese nation formed an upsurge, and many monographs were published. For example, Cao Songye's History of the Chinese People (1933), Guo Weiping's History of the Development of the Chinese Nation (1936), Li Guangping's History of the Development of the Chinese Nation (1941), Zhang Xuguang's Outline of the History of the Development of the Chinese Nation (1942), Li Zhentong's The Origin of the Chinese Nation (1942), Ma Jingwu's The Formation of the Chinese Nation (1942), Yu Jianhua's History of the Chinese Nation (1944), Zang Bojing's New Theory of the Chinese Nation (1945), etc.
From the 50s to the 90s of the 20th century, there were no academic works on the Chinese nation published in the mainland publishing circles. After entering the 21st century, he published several monographs on the history of the Chinese nation. For example, Xiao Junhe's History of the Chinese Nation (2001), Tian Xiaoxiu's History of the Development of the Chinese Nation (2001), You Zhong's History of the Development of the Chinese Nation (3 volumes, 2007), and Xu Jieshun's History of the Chinese Nation (6 volumes, 2014).
Looking at the published monographs or textbooks on the historical development of the Chinese nation, some of them discuss the formation, development, and changes of various ethnic groups in history from the perspective of individuality, while others expound the historical changes of various ethnic groups from the perspective of dynastic history and national history, and there are no monographs that discuss the origin, formation, development, and laws of the Chinese nation from the perspective of the whole. "Introduction to the Community of the Chinese Nation" is a monograph that comprehensively discusses the formation and development of the Chinese nation. From the third lecture to the fifteenth lecture, it will be systematically discussed from the perspective of integrity and regularity, such as the third lecture "The Emergence of Civilization and the Origin of the Chinese Nation", the fourth lecture "The Order of the World and the Evolution of the Chinese Community", the fifth lecture "The Great Unification and the Initial Formation of the Chinese Nation", the sixth lecture "The entry of the 'Five Hus' into China and the great integration of the Chinese nation", the seventh lecture "The integration of Huayi and the unprecedented prosperity of the Chinese nation", the eighth lecture "The cohesive development of China and the Chinese nation", the ninth lecture "The integration of the north and the south and the great unification of the Chinese nation", and the tenth lecture Lectures 11 "The Chinese Family and the Bottom Pattern of the Chinese Nation", Lecture 12 "National Perils and the Awakening of the Chinese Consciousness", Lecture 13 "The Vanguard and the Independence and Liberation of the Chinese Nation", Lecture 14 "New China and the New Era of the Chinese Nation", Lecture 15 "The New Era and the Construction of the Community of the Chinese Nation". The book is rigorous in structure, in-depth in analysis, comprehensively expounds the history, present and future of the Chinese nation, and comprehensively summarizes the changes in the origin, formation and development of the Chinese nation, which has important academic value and theoretical significance for the discipline construction of Chinese national community studies.
Fourth, the first textbook that systematically explains the historical outlook of the Chinese nation
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "A history of China is a history of the integration of all ethnic groups into a pluralistic and integrated Chinese nation, and a history of all ethnic groups jointly creating, developing and consolidating a unified great motherland. He also emphasized: "We talk about the pattern of pluralism and integration of the Chinese nation, unity includes pluralism, pluralism forms unity, unity is inseparable from pluralism, pluralism is inseparable from unity, unity is the main line and direction, pluralism is the element and driving force, and the two are dialectically unified." In the second lecture "Establishing a Correct View of the History of the Chinese Nation", the editor of "Introduction to the Community of the Chinese Nation" systematically expounded General Secretary Xi Jinping's view of the history of the Chinese nation, and explained it with a large number of historical materials, pointing out that in "China's history, there are not only long periods of reunification, but also periods of division that are not short. During the period of reunification, the great integration of ethnic groups continued to deepen; During the period of division, the great integration of ethnic groups never stopped, and even more extensively. The reunification after each split always leads to deeper integration on a broader basis. With the evolution of the ancient unified state from the Qin and Han dynasties to the Ming and Qing dynasties, the commonality of the Chinese nation has developed and advanced in a deeper and broader alternation." In addition, the Introduction to the Community of the Chinese Nation points out that the increase in commonality is an important feature of the development of the Chinese nation. These commonalities include political, economic, cultural, and social commonalities. In the history of China, various ethnic groups interacted frequently and migrated, and the result was, on the one hand, the integration of various ethnic groups, and on the other hand, the formation of a form of large mixed and small settlements, forming an inseparable whole of you and me, and I and you. In the 5,000-year history of national development of the Chinese nation, one of the important major trends is the process of continuous integration from loose to close, from divisible to inseparable, and from pluralistic to integrated. Each round of ethnic interaction and integration is not a simple repetition, but a spiral rise. After each great integration, the structure of the Chinese nation has become closer and closer, ethnic relations have become more and more harmonious, cultural commonalities have become more and more, and the overall civilization quality of the Chinese nation has become higher and higher.
This textbook is the first textbook to systematically expound the historical outlook of the Chinese nation, which is conducive to establishing a scientific view of the history of the Chinese nation for undergraduates and readers, and is conducive to enhancing the identity of the Chinese nation and Chinese culture among undergraduates and readers.
In general, the publication of "Introduction to the Community of the Chinese Nation" not only has important theoretical and educational significance, but also has important academic value. This textbook can be said to be the foundation work of the study of the community of the Chinese nation, because it is the first unified textbook on the "community of the Chinese nation", the first textbook that scientifically expounds the basic concepts and theories of the Chinese nation, the first textbook that comprehensively expounds the formation and development of the Chinese nation, and the first textbook that systematically expounds the historical outlook of the Chinese nation. This textbook is an important achievement in the construction of the discipline system, theoretical system, methodological system, historical data system and discourse system of the Chinese national community studies, and is of great significance for the discipline construction of the Chinese national community studies.
(The author is a member of the Faculty of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and a first-class professor at the University of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; The Major Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences "Research on the Spiritual Civilization of the Chinese Nation" [2023YZD055] was funded)
Source: China National Daily