{{Short description|Chinese Communist Party ideology}} The '''Sinicization of Marxism''' ({{lang-zh|s=马克思主义中国化|hp=Mǎkèsīzhǔyì Zhōngguó Huà}}) is a [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) [[Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party|ideological]] concept that proposes to adapt (or "[[Sinicization|Sinicize]]") [[Marxism]] to China's national conditions, [[Chinese culture]] and [[History of China|history]].
== History == Mao Zedong first used the term in October 1938 in his political report ''On the New Stage'' at the sixth plenary session of the [[6th Central Committee of the Communist Party of Vietnam|6th Central Committee of the CCP]].<ref name=":122">{{Cite book |last=Galway |first=Matthew |title=The Communist Party of China: Understanding the Durability of the World's Most Powerful Political Organization |date=2025 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-009-66843-9 |editor-last=Hillman |editor-first=Ben |edition= |location=New York |chapter=The Chairman's Long Shadow: Mao Zedong and Mao Zedong Thought in Post-Maoist China |doi=10.1017/9781009668385 |editor-last2=Ji |editor-first2=Fengyuan}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=50}} Through the Sinicization of Marxism, Mao sought to adapt the ideological discourse and organizational methods of Marxism-Leninism in a concrete way for China's revolution.<ref name=":122" />{{Reference page|page=50}} According to Mao, "[I]n applying Marxism to China, Chinese communists must fully and properly integrate the universal truth of Marxism with the concrete practice of the Chinese Revolution ... the universal truth of Marxism must have a national form before it can be useful, and in no circumstances can it be applied subjectively and formulaically as a mere formula."<ref name=":122" />{{Reference page|page=50}} He added "the history of this great nation of ours goes back several thousand years. It has its own laws of development [and] its own national characteristics" and these characteristics must be implemented to the program of the Chinese communists because even though a "a communist is a Marxist internationalist…. Marxism must take on a national form before it can be put into practice".<ref name=":1222">{{Cite web |title=Glossary |url=https://chinaopensourceobservatory.org/glossary#primary-stage-of-socialism |access-date=2026-05-18 |website=China Open Source Observatory|publisher=[[Council on Foreign Relations]]}}</ref>
[[Chen Boda]] had previously used the phrase "Sinification of Marxism" to refer to the idea that cadres should systemically critique traditional philosophy, "enrich" [[dialectical materialism]] by "concretizing" it in the Chinese context, and synthesize [[Chinese nationalism|nationalism]] with [[proletarian internationalism]].<ref name=":122" />{{Reference page|page=51}} This was a partial precursor to Mao's use of the phrase.<ref name=":122" />{{Reference page|page=51}}
After [[Deng Xiaoping]] started [[reform and opening up]] in December 1978, the Sinicization of Marxism began to be associated with the [[socialist market economy]] system and [[socialism with Chinese characteristics]]. Deng said that "We firmly believe in Marxism, but Marxism must be combined with Chinese realities. Only Marxism that is integrated with China's realities is the genuine Marxism we need."<ref>{{Cite web |last= |title=Further promoting Sinicization of Marxism |url=https://www.chinadaily.com.cn/a/202111/22/WS619ace61a310cdd39bc76943.html |access-date=2025-11-10 |website=[[China Daily]]}}</ref>{{Independent source inline|date=April 2026}}
In 2004, the CCP launched the [[Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project]], and [[Peking University]] began to hold the World Congress of Marxism in 2015, attempting to present China as the center of contemporary Marxist research.<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2015-09-28 |title=中国重振马克思主义，保护"正确"西方价值观 |url=https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20150925/c25sino-philosophy/ |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724044523/https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20150925/c25sino-philosophy/ |archive-date=2022-07-24 |access-date=2022-02-17 |work=[[The New York Times]] |language=zh-hans}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724044523/https://cn.nytimes.com/china/20150925/c25sino-philosophy/}}</ref>
[[Xi Jinping]] expresses the principle of the "Two Combinations," which calls for the Sinification of socialist theory by combining it with "China's specific reality" and "China's excellent traditional culture".<ref name=":12322">{{Cite book |last=Ji |first=Fengyuan |title=The Communist Party of China: Understanding the Durability of the World's Most Powerful Political Organization |date=2025 |publisher=[[Cambridge University Press]] |isbn=978-1-009-66843-9 |editor-last=Hillman |editor-first=Ben |edition= |location=New York |chapter=Language, Discourse, and Hegemony |doi=10.1017/9781009668385 |editor-last2=Ji |editor-first2=Fengyuan}}</ref>{{Reference page|page=85}} In November 2021, the [[Sixth plenary session of the 19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|sixth plenary session]] of the [[19th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|19th CCP Central Committee]] stated out that "[[Xi Jinping Thought|Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era]] has achieved a new leap in the Sinicization of Marxism".<ref>{{Cite web |author= |title=马克思主义中国化新的飞跃的理论逻辑 |url=http://www.qstheory.cn/qshyjx/2022-01/27/c_1128305426.htm |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623013812/http://www.qstheory.cn/qshyjx/2022-01/27/c_1128305426.htm |archive-date=2022-06-23 |access-date=2022-02-16 |work=[[Qiushi]] |publisher= |language=zh}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220623013812/http://www.qstheory.cn/qshyjx/2022-01/27/c_1128305426.htm}}</ref>
Many political textbooks in Chinese universities say that "the [[history of the Chinese Communist Party]] is the history of the Sinicization of Marxism".<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2014-09-15 |title=观察：中国化的马克思主义是什么？ |url=https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world/2014/09/140915_karl_marx_china_today |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724035728/https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world/2014/09/140915_karl_marx_china_today |archive-date=2022-07-24 |access-date=2022-02-17 |work=[[BBC News]] |language=zh-hans}} {{webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220724035728/https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/world/2014/09/140915_karl_marx_china_today}}</ref>
== See also ==
* [[Chinese Marxist philosophy]] * [[Sinicization]]
== References == <references /> [[Category:Socialism with Chinese characteristics]] [[Category:Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party]] [[Category:Marxist theory]] [[Category:Sinicization]]