How Did Historical Materialism Appear In China

At the beginning of the 20th century,various western social ideological trends were introduced into China and had an impact on the Chinese ideological circle.In order to seek the truth of national salvation,Yan Fu introduced the theory of evolution from the West,and constructed the theory of "Evolution from Heaven".Although the evolutionary thought has played a positive role in the movement of Chinese advanced intellectuals to save the nation and survive,it is essentially unable to correctly answer the question of the times "where is China going".Under the influence of the October Revolution and the inspiration of the May Fourth Movement,China’s advanced intellectuals turned into Marxists one after another,and historical materialism replaced the theory of evolution as the mainstream trend of thought in Chinese society.In this historical process,Li Dazhao,the earliest Marxist in China,who has contributed most to promoting the appearance and widespread dissemination of historical materialism in China.From 1913 to 1916,Li Dazhao came into contact with Marxism while studying at Waseda University in Japan.After the May Fourth Movement,Li Dazhao took the lead in completing the transformation from a revolutionary democrat to a Marxist,and from an evolutionary view of history to a materialist view of history.After Li Dazhao established his belief in Marxism,he emphasized that historical materialism is the theoretical basis of Marxism,and creatively explained the historical materialism,from which we can see the mental process and internal logic of his ideological development.In the process of spreading Marxism,Li Dazhao and other early Marxists were distorted and criticized by reformism,anarchism,pseudo-socialism and other ideological trends.Li Dazhao insisted and developed Marxism in the theoretical struggle against non-Marxist ideological trends,and effectively defended the ideological position of Marxism in China.More importantly,under the guidance of Marxist standpoints,viewpoints and methods,Li Dazhao created a modernized new-type proletarian party,guided social revolution and explored the Chinese road.It can be seen that while Li Dazhao promoted the widespread dissemination of Marxist philosophy in China,he inherently included the combination of Marxism and Chinese revolutionary practice,which not only started the process of Sinicization of Marxist philosophy,but also correctly answered the question of "Where is China going?".Li Dazhao was the first to undertake the task of sinicizing Marxist philosophy,influencing the thoughts and actions of a generation of Chinese communist leaders,not only having an important impact on the formation of Mao Zedong Thought,but also laying a theoretical foundation and a foundation for the sinicization of Marxist philosophy Practical basis.Generation after generation of Chinese Communists has promoted the further enrichment and development of the theoretical forms of Chinese Marxist philosophy in the process of continuous theoretical creation.Looking back on Li Dazhao’s historical contribution to the Sinicization of Marxist philosophy,it enlightens us that we must start from the "real reality" and take the road of Chinese-style modernization,and promote the innovation and development of Marxism in the process of world history.