"Seek truth from facts" is a historically established idiomatic expression ('' chengyu'') in the Chinese language that first appeared in the '' Book of Han''. Originally, it described an attitude toward study and research. Popularized by Chinese leader

Mao Zedong Mao Zedong pronounced ; traditionally Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Mao Tse-tung. (26December 18939September 1976) was a Chinese politician, revolutionary, and political theorist who founded the People's Republic of China (PRC) in ...

, it has become a major slogan of the

Chinese Communist Party The Communist Party of China (CPC), also translated into English as Chinese Communist Party (CCP), is the founding and One-party state, sole ruling party of the People's Republic of China (PRC). Founded in 1921, the CCP emerged victorious in the ...

(CCP) and the inspiration for its principal theoretical journal, '' Qiushi.''

Use in a political context

The slogan became a key slogan in Chinese Marxism and was first used by

in 1936. Mao had probably remembered it as being the inscription on his alma mater, Hunan's First Teachers Training School. Mao's usage of the slogan built on his themes in '' On Practice'', which argues that people must apply their knowledge to practice in reality in order to test its truthfulness. Beginning in 1978, it was further promoted by

Deng Xiaoping Deng Xiaoping also Romanization of Chinese, romanised as Teng Hsiao-p'ing; born Xiansheng (). (22 August 190419 February 1997) was a Chinese statesman, revolutionary, and political theorist who served as the paramount leader of the People's R ...

as a central ideology of

socialism with Chinese characteristics Socialism with Chinese characteristics (; ) is a set of political theories and policies of the Chinese Communist Party (CCP) that are seen by their proponents as representing Marxism adapted to Chinese circumstances. The term was first establ ...

, and applied to economic and political reforms thereafter.

In contemporary Chinese politics

To "seek truth from facts" means that communists should test theory against reality rather than adhere dogmatically to theory. The slogan implies respect for facts and using facts to inform theory and policy. On 11 May 1978 journalist Hu Fuming published an article in state run newspaper '' Guangming Daily'' entitled "Practice is the Sole Criterion for Testing the Truth" (), directly contradicting then CCP general secretary Hua Guofeng's line of the Two Whatevers () policy and thereby

's policy of class struggle; in favour of economic reform championed by

. The title of the article is inspired by the ancient saying and is widely seen as a seminal document in the contemporary Chinese political landscape and marks the turning point to the era of Reform and Opening Up in 20th century China. In June 1978, Deng endorsed the perspective of the editorial at an All-Army Political Work Conference. Deng stated that Marxist theory should not be "lifeless dogma" and cited Mao's method of seeking truth from facts, contrasting the "Two Whatevers" with the view that "only through practice can the correctness of one's ideas be proved, and there is no other way of testing truth." '' Qiushi'' - "Seeking Truth" () is also the official name of the journal of political theory of the

, derived from the above slogan. The magazine has been published on a continuous bi-monthly basis since 1988 and contains articles and speeches authored by state and senior party leadership on policy and ideology.

References

{{Maoism Chinese proverbs Economic history of the People's Republic of China Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party Maoism Slogans Chinese political catchphrases

Use in a political context

In contemporary Chinese politics

See also

References