One Country,Two Systems represents an innovative and emblematic concept within China's independent knowledge system.It emerged from the integration of Marxist theories of the state with China's specific realities,as well as with the political wisdom of"harmony in diversity"rooted in traditional Chinese culture.This theory has guided the construction and development of its institutional framework and has been further refined and deepened alongside institutional evolution.Embodying core values of peace,inclusiveness,openness,and shared development,the theory of One Country,Two Systems offers a new form of political civilization for the peaceful resolution to problems carried over from history,enriches the connotations of state structural forms,and provides the international community with public goods that reflect the Chinese stance,Chinese wisdom,and Chinese values in advancing regional governance modernization and the diversification of legal jurisdictions.
"The West" and "Western civilization" are dynamically constructed concepts with rational and historical validity. Yet when extended to notions such as the "European Miracle," which claim that the West's advantages are the inevitable outcome of historical progression since Ancient Greece and that the West constitutes the center of human progress, such assertions embody ignorance and arrogance. This Eurocentric linear historical perspective obscures the diversity, richness, equality, and agency of human civilizations, making it impossible to present an objective and comprehensive world history. American geographer James M. Blaut's concept of the "European tunnel of time" critiques traditional Western narratives that divide history into an inner Western core and an outer Eastern periphery, portraying non- Western development as an inferior Other awaiting "civilization." In confronting the myth of the "European Miracle," both Western scholars engaged in self-reflection and intellectuals from Asia, Africa, and Latin America have sought to reclaim the right to narrate history. UNESCO's initiative of writing a shared human history, based on the principle of serving all humanity, offers another significant path toward de-Western-centrism. Historical materialism, moreover, provides essential intellectual guidance for redrawing the evolutionary map of world civilizations.
World War II was a global conflict of unprecedented scale that profoundly shaped the course of world history. The Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression established the main theater in the East of the World Anti-Fascist War, making indelible contributions to national salvation, independence, people's liberation, and the pursuit of world peace. For decades, however, research on World War II history has been constrained by so-called "international mainstream" historical perspectives, which interpret the war primarily through a Western ideological lens. This narrative framework conceals the war's origins and nature and overstates the role of the United States and some other Western countries, while deliberately downplaying the status of the Chinese theater as the main theater in the East. It further marginalizes, devalues, vilifies, or even denies the role of the socialist forces led by the Soviet Union. To study World War II, it is essential to maintain a materialist historical perspective and historical dialectics, uphold the Marxist view of war, and grasp the comprehensive, practical, and evolutionary nature of historical development. Such an approach helps to profoundly reveal the war's origins and clarify its imperialist nature and evolution, thus properly understanding the architecture of power, its trajectory in the World Anti-Fascist War, the war's outcome, and its various influences on today's world. Meanwhile, it is necessary to oppose all attempts to glorify aggression or distort history. Guided by a correct historical view of World War II, criticism should be directed against the erroneous perspectives of historical nihilism, thus constructing a Chinese intellectual system in the history of the World Anti-Fascist War.
Jin Yuelin's philosophical thought was deeply influenced by a wide range of intellectual traditions, including Chinese and Western philosophy, logic, mathematics and the natural sciences. Among these, traditional Daoist philosophy played a particularly important role in shaping his thought and therefore warrants further scholarly attention. The concepts of Dao and wu (the myriad things) are central to Daoist philosophy and were key elements in Jin's theoretical exploration. Departing from two millennia of interpretative tradition, Jin's Theory of Dao directly adopts, adapts, and transforms several core Daoist concepts-including Dao and wu-and redefines them with rigorous clarity through the lens of modern logic. Employing a logical expository style, Jin deduces the philosophical system of the Dao- wu relationship through a series of a priori and transcendental propositions, thus achieving a breakthrough in traditional Daoist philosophy. By grounding his system in precise logical reasoning and argumentative analysis, and by synthesizing Chinese and Western philosophical insights along with modern scientific achievements, Jin Yuelin provides an important foundation for developing a Chinese intellectual system in philosophy.
In its inception, philosophy was indistinguishable from science, as both were grounded in the identity of thinking and Being. The Scientific Revolution of the 17th century precipitated a crisis in philosophy, with Descartes' "Cogito" bringing the predicament of the first-person perspective into sharp relief and giving rise to the problem of dualism. Kant sought to fully realize the principle of subjectivity by suspending the thing-in-itself and bridging the gap between the mind and the world through a priori forms of knowledge, reinforcing the objectivity of the first-person perspective. Heidegger, in contrast, shifted from the plural to the singular first-person perspective, moving from "knowing" to "acting," anchoring Being not as an object of thought but within the lived engagement of the individual Dasein. While scientific progress relies on eliminating subjective factors to understand the world purely from a third-person perspective, we are continually confronted with the fundamental question of the starting point and foundation of knowledge and, indeed, all human endeavor.
As we commemorate the 80th anniversary of the victory in the Chinese People's War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression and as "new popular literature and art" becomes a focal point in academic discourse, it is timely and valuable to revisit the literary and artistic popularization movement of the Yan'an period. By reconstructing the wartime conditions and cultural environment of the time, and analyzing the theoretical and practical aspects of literary and artistic popularization, we can extract lessons of enduring significance. The popularized literature and art of Yan'an represented a modern, people-oriented revolutionary culture-unprecedented in Chinese history-yet it retained a profound connection with fine traditional Chinese culture, including folk culture. Amid the difficult phase of the war, the Yan'an Literary Movement reconstructed a people-centered ethos grounded in the longstanding traditions of people-based and folk-based values and adopted modern stances of "taking the people as the source of innovation" and "taking the people as the criterion of beauty." These efforts led to extensive theoretical exploration and effective practical engagement with literary and artistic popularization, giving rise to cultural phenomena that actively integrated with the masses and engaged folk culture. The "Yan'an people" demonstrated a remarkable cultural consciousness, characterized by respect for and emphasis on fine traditional Chinese culture, while actively seeking to promote the healthy development of wartime Yan'an literature through integration with the masses and folk culture. Reflecting today on Yan'an literature and art's people orientation and its popularization practices, and contemplating its potential relevance to the contemporary "integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China's fine traditional culture" and the construction of a Chinese intellectual system, can still yield many valuable insights.
The statutory typification of absolute rights in patent transactions has received limited attention in Chinese academic discourse. While the principle of numerus clausus (a closed list of real rights) does not directly apply to patent law, the creation of new types of absolute rights within this domain is nonetheless subject to significant legal constraints. A typological analysis of absolute rights in the patent system reveals significant constraints on their contractual creation. Paradoxes arising from the contractual creation of absolute rights demonstrate that existing legal provisions fail to substantiate the erga omnes effect of licenses and therefore fail to justify contractual freedom in defining absolute rights. Even under the principle of party autonomy, the distinctive features of patent transactions indicate that the absence of statutory typification of absolute rights would lead to increased transaction costs, compromised transaction security, and undue restrictions on third-party conduct.
Even under a sound institutional and systemic framework, the realization of the rule of law ultimately depends on methodology. Rule-of-law thinking enables the translation of legal governance concepts into operationalized methodologies. The distinction between formal and substantive rule of law gives rise to two corresponding sets of cognitive rules. Formal rule-of-law thinking emphasizes adherence to statutory authority, the application of logical reasoning, semantic precision, systematic legal analysis, and the pursuit of legislative intent. However, where formal rule-of-law approaches prove insufficient, substantive rule-of-law thinking must be introduced. This includes goal-oriented observation and careful distinctions among interpretation, balancing, and further development of the law. When a dispute can be resolved within the framework of formal rule-of-law thinking, resorting to balancing or further development of the law should be avoided. The ultimate aim of rule-of-law thinking remains the pursuit of justice.
The construction of a Chinese theory of justice is not only a theoretical necessity of the rapidly developing discipline of political philosophy but also an urgent practical requirement for building a socialist market economy and a rule-of-law society. The divergent cultural roots and historical trajectories between China and the West have produced two distinct paths to modernization, leading not only to differing values in their conceptions of justice but also to different theoretical and practical paradigms. China's modernization beginning in the modern era provides the social foundation for understanding the different conceptions of justice. The fundamental distinctions between socialist and capitalist market economies determine the divergence of their respective concepts and practices of justice. Developing a theory of justice compatible with the socialist market economy with Chinese characteristics requires grounding it in the practice of Chinese modernization, guided by Marxist scientific methodology, drawing from China's rich traditional cultural resources, and conducting systematic research on issues centered on the principle of desert justice, thereby establishing a Chinese theoretical and discursive system of justice.
Since the 20th century, China's constitutional history has reflected the transformation of women's status from exclusion to full recognition and from restriction to comprehensive enjoyment of rights. Women' s attainment of constitutional subjecthood, as independent legal persons, forms the institutional foundation of the modern system of women' s rights. Through provisions guaranteeing general equality, equality between men and women, the prohibition of gender discrimination, and state protection, the Constitution has reshaped traditional gender structures and extended these guarantees across various social domains. The institutional forms of women's rights have continued to evolve, expanding the overall framework of women's rights. The focus of state protection of women's rights has been continuously amended and refined in response to changing times, increasing the realization opportunity of women's rights. Structural gender inequalities are being progressively corrected, and women's well-rounded development is receiving stronger support.
Intelligent digital technologies are reshaping the paradigms of knowledge production, with AI for the humanities and social sciences (AI for HSS) emerging as a key direction for future development. High-quality data is a prerequisite for this evolution. One path toward generating such data is datafication of accumulated human knowledge. Here, expert knowledge, characterized by its iterative refinement, condensed form, and specialized structure, is especially valuable due to its innovative potential. Within the humanities and social sciences, legal expert knowledge is particularly representative. Using law as a case study, datafication of expert knowledge can follow a "three-step" approach: delineating the scope of expert knowledge, reconstructing its internal structure, and designing technological pathways for its transformation. This model is broadly applicable and helps consolidate the data foundations of AI for HSS, while also marking a solid step toward a new paradigm in HSS knowledge production.
Marx's early engagement with the issue of the state within the philosophy of law led him to identify a more fundamental issue:the nature of civil society.Through his research on philosophical anthropology,he further recognized the real individuals who constitute civil society.Using this insight as the basis for his critique of the philosophy of history,he established the historical materialist theory of the state.Marx incorporated this theoretical foundation into empirical historical research and,after analyzing capitalist society through political economy,attempted to extend his critique to the bourgeois state.Thereafter,the critique of political economy marked Marx's overall transition from speculative philosophy to positive science.He was clearly prepared to undertake a critique of positive anthropology and historical science,and work on jurisprudence was also clearly underway.Systematically,Marx's theory of the state evolved through four cardinal anchors-civil society,the real individual,the economic base,and capitalist society-and progressed through four stages of critique:the critique of the philosophy of law,of philosophical anthropology,of the philosophy of history,and of political economy.Taken together,this trajectory reflects Marx's broader movement from critiquing speculative philosophy to critiquing positive science.
Modernity refers to the set of values established by Western countries during their modernization processes and embodies the spirit inherent in each stage of modernization.Because Western capitalist countries were the first to undergo intellectual enlightenment and industrial revolution,they gained a privileged position in defining both modernization and modernity.As a new framework for constructing modernity,Chinese modernization avoids the binary of"dependence versus decoupling."It selectively draws from modernity's values—such as science and innovation,democracy,freedom,equality,and openness—while critically discarding its negative aspects,including Western-centrism,institutional and value biases,and ecological injustice.In doing so,it charts an independent course for late-developing countries to achieve catch-up modernization.As a new form of modernization rooted in socialism with Chinese characteristics,Chinese modernization redefines modernization across multiple dimensions:theoretical logic,value orientation,institutional design,and ecological civilization.It deconstructs and transcends Western modernity,breaking the singular narrative that equates modernization with Westernization,and presents an alternative model with its own distinct trajectory.
Modernization is a systemic social transformation rooted in industrialization.As modernization spread globally,different countries developed distinct models.As a latecomer to modernization,China successfully advanced and expanded the common features of modernization found in various countries,and more importantly,it has developed a Chinese path to modernization with distinctive Chinese characteristics based on its national conditions.However,in international academic discussions on China's modernization,the political dimension is often overlooked or casually dismissed under the label of"Chinese characteristics."In fact,within our analytical framework of the"party-state-government-society,"China's"mission-oriented party,""autonomous state,"and"proactive government,"working in dynamic interaction with society,have developed a form of adaptive governance that serves the overarching goal of national modernization.This institutional configuration explains the sustained progress of China's path to modernization.China's achievements in modernization not only corroborate existing theoretical knowledge but also provide valuable institutional references for late modernizers in areas such as political institution building in relation to political parties,state building,government capacity,and general society.
Do industrial chain risk shocks merely impede Chinese enterprises' technological progress, or do they compel breakthroughs in indigenous innovation? This question is investigated within the context of technological blockades with a focus on effects and underlying mechanisms. The findings reveal that industrial chain risk shocks have pushed Chinese upstream enterprises to enhance their capacity for indigenous innovation. Key mechanisms include incentives to fill domestic market gaps, pressure-driven innovation, and government support policies, with upstream indigenous innovation also generating spillover effects that benefit downstream enterprises. Amid the intensifying technological rivalry, it is imperative to promote self-reliance and self-strengthening in key sectors, refine policies for supporting domestic enterprises to achieve technological innovation, and foster international cooperation in industrial and supply chains, thereby accelerating the formation of an open innovation ecosystem.
People-to-people connectivity is the foundation of China's exchanges with other countries, with social distance reduction serving as the pathway. As an essential component of Chinese social governance, work organizations play a significant role in fostering social proximity between Chinese and foreign residents. Examining the bidirectional social distances between these groups and analyzing data from the Chinese General Social Survey and the Survey of Foreign Residents in China reveals two main findings: first, work organizations help reduce social distance through resource sheltering and expanded interaction; second, large organizations, by leveraging advantages in resource sheltering, can exert a stronger influence on social distance reduction between Chinese and foreign residents. The common roles and distinctive characteristics of work organizations in reducing social distance between Chinese and foreign residents underscore their positive institutional potential in promoting cultural exchanges, societal integration in the new era, and reconstructing the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation.
Under the impact of the global crisis of the 17th century, both China and Europe experienced large-scale state collapse and initiated new rounds of state-building, shaped by their respective political logic. During the Qing dynasty, China achieved multi-ethnic and large-scale national unification by reconstructing the concept of "Da-yi-tong" (great unity). In Europe, the state theory of the Natural Law School emerged, laying the political theoretical foundation for the Westphalian system. China, as the dominant country in East Asia during the Qing dynasty, refrained from pursuing the kind of hegemonic supremacy typical of traditional Western empires. Instead, it effectively maintained long-lasting peace throughout East Asia. In contrast, the European multinational system, which aimed at achieving a power equilibrium and enduring peace, remained burdened by the pressures of war arising from inter-state competition for survival. These pressures fueled both the "military revolution" and the "scientific revolution." To judge whether China's national evolution from the Ming to Qing dynasties was progressive solely through the lens of state theory derived from the European experience is inevitably a one-sided perspective rooted in "Eurocentrism."
