Portrait of Zhuanzi, Daoist master of the Tang Dynasty

By Tang Aijun

Study Times, China

Jan 15, 2025 – On December 11, 2015, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Party School Work Conference: “Marxism is the ‘true scripture’ of us Communists. If we fail to study the ‘true scripture’ well and always think about ‘going to the West to obtain the scriptures’, we will miss out on important things!”

“Zhenjing” originally referred to the works of Taoist masters such as Zhuangzi in the Tang Dynasty. Later, its connotation and extension were continuously expanded to refer to Taoist and Buddhist classics. Now it is often used to refer to classic works or ideological systems that have withstood the test of history and have eternal charm.

General Secretary Xi Jinping used “Zhenjing” to metaphor Marxism, vividly pointing out that Marxism is a worldview and methodology that scientifically explains the world and actively transforms the world, and emphasizes that Marxism is the fundamental magic weapon that guides the Chinese Communists to continuously move from victory to new victory.

The “truth” of the “True Scripture” is reflected in both scientificity and truthfulness, as well as real usefulness. The reason why Marxism is like a “True Scripture” is that it reveals the general laws of human social development, reveals the special laws of the operation of capitalism, points out the way for mankind to leap from the kingdom of necessity to the kingdom of freedom, and points out the way for the people to achieve freedom and liberation. The “True Scripture” is really useful and can transform the world.

For more than a hundred years, the Chinese Communists have used Marxism, a powerful ideological weapon, to work tirelessly to achieve national independence, people’s liberation, national prosperity, and people’s happiness, making China, an ancient oriental country, create an unprecedented development miracle in human history. Marxism, the “True Scripture”, has brought both “material achievements” and “spiritual achievements” to the Chinese nation – it has changed the passive mental state of the Chinese nation. The Chinese people have continuously strengthened their ambition, backbone, and confidence in the comprehension of the “True Scripture”, and demonstrated their spiritual self-confidence, self-reliance, and self-improvement in the historical initiative of practice.

After finding the “true scriptures”, we must persist in applying them. If we do not grasp the “true scriptures” well and always think about “going to the West to get scriptures”, we will miss out on important things.

The “going to the West” criticized by General Secretary Xi Jinping refers to some party members and cadres who are unwilling or even disdainful to learn and master the basic principles of Marxism, always want to seek the so-called truth from Western theories, and blindly admire Western theories. Those who always think about “going to the West to get scriptures” are actually people who take Western theories and Western discourse as their criterion. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “If we use the Western capitalist value system to tailor our practice and use the Western capitalist evaluation system to measure my country’s development, it is fine if it meets Western standards. If it does not meet Western standards, it is backward and outdated, and we must criticize and attack it, and the consequences will be disastrous!” In this regard, we must have a clear understanding that it is absolutely not advisable to always think about “going to the West to get scriptures”.

Grasping the “true scriptures” is a compulsory course for Communists. At the same time, it is also very necessary to master the “true scriptures”. For party members and cadres, they must work hard to truly learn, understand, believe in and use Marxism.

The first is to “read the scriptures well”. Party members and cadres should carefully read the works of classic writers such as Marx, Engels, and Lenin, and be willing to spend time reading the “true scriptures”. Mao Zedong said: “You can go without food for a day, you can go without sleep for a day, but you cannot go without reading for a day.” He said, “I have read The Communist Manifesto no less than a hundred times.” This is the attitude we should have towards the “true scriptures”.

The second is to “understand the scriptures well”. We must not only read the classics, but also understand the truth and principles in the “true scriptures”. General Secretary Xi Jinping summarized the “four laws” at the conference commemorating the 200th anniversary of Marx’s birth: the materiality of the world and its laws of development, the naturalness, historicity and related laws of human social development, the laws of human liberation and free and all-round development, and the essence of cognition and its laws of development. Marxism has a theoretical quality that keeps pace with the times and is an open theoretical system that is constantly developing. The Chinese Communists treat science with a scientific attitude and pursue truth with the spirit of truth. They always adhere to combining the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific reality and with China’s excellent traditional culture, and promote the sinicization and modernization of Marxism. Therefore, in order to understand the “true scriptures”, party members and cadres must not only understand the basic principles of Marxism, but also understand the principles, theories and philosophies contained in the scientific theory of the sinicization and modernization of Marxism.

The third is to “use the scriptures well”. “What is valuable is that it can be used.” We must constantly improve our ability to use Marxism to analyze and solve practical problems, and constantly improve our ability to use scientific theories to guide us in responding to major challenges, resisting major risks, overcoming major resistance, resolving major contradictions, and solving major problems, so that the “true scriptures” can lead us to win new and greater victories.

(Editors: Wang Keyuan, Wang Xianjin)