TITLE:
The Position of Oppose Bookism in Mao Zedong Thought
AUTHORS:
Hongguan Chu
KEYWORDS:
Oppose Bookism, Mao Zedong, Dogmatism, Seeking Truth from Facts
JOURNAL NAME:
Open Journal of Philosophy,
Vol.15 No.1,
February
20,
2025
ABSTRACT: The Western model of modernization has become the new dogmatism, and we should oppose it from the actual situation of China to go our own way in the practice of the Chinese path to modernization. The dogmatism is also called bookism. It means that theory is divorced from practice. Oppose Bookism is a book that criticizes dogmatism by Marxist method, which was written by Mao Zedong (Mao Tse Tung, 1893-1976). This article explores the position of this book in Mao Zedong Thought from the perspective of the sinicization of Marxist philosophy. As far as I’m concerned, influenced by the academic tradition of Neo-Confucianism in Hunan, he emphasizes the dialectical unity between theory and praxis. Through his investigation of the social situation in China, he realizes that correct understanding comes from actual investigation. Therefore, this work, Oppose Bookism, discusses the relationship between theory and practice from the perspective of combining the universal principles of Marxism with the Chinese revolution and traditional Chinese culture, and summarizes the revolutionary experience. Later, On Practice and On Contradiction have elaborated in depth the relationship between theory and practice. Therefore, practically speaking, it marks the beginning of China’s own revolutionary path, and theoretically speaking, it is the beginning of the sinicization of Marxist philosophy. This provides methodological guidance for the Chinese path to modernization in the new era.