A Major Debate on What Constitutes Truth

A major debate on what constitutes truth, initiated over 40 years ago under Deng Xiaoping and other revolutionary leaders of his generation, unfolded among Party members and the general public. It was about whether China should abide by every decision and instruction made by Chairman Mao, or whether the people should now seek truth from facts.

In the mid- and late-1970s, blind obedience to the words of Mao effectively blocked China's progress. To break free of these shackles, Deng championed a clear breakaway from dogma-driven thinking, which – as he pointed out on many occasions – ran counter to Marxism. He also highlighted the importance of a more comprehensive and accurate understanding of Mao Zedong Thought.

Theoretical Trends, an in-house journal of the Party School of the Central Committee, published an article on May 10, 1978, entitled "Only Practice Leads to Truth." The article categorically rejected any dogmatic approach to following Mao's instructions. It unequivocally pointed out that according to basic Marxist principles, the only test for truth is practice, and that a theory must be tested continuously through practice in order to prove its validity.

The article was published in Guangming Daily the next day, and was released nationwide through Xinhua News Agency. On May 12, People's Daily and PLA Daily both carried the article in full. As the article rejected blind adherence to the words of Mao, it sparked a heated debate within the Party and among the general public on what constitutes truth.

Naturally, the article met with opposition from those stuck in the old mindset. At this point, Deng made a number of speeches in which he affirmed the need to seek truth from facts and proceed from reality in everything done. He also criticized personality cults, dogmatism and unrealistic idealism, and called on the whole Party to free their minds and abandon stereotypical thinking. This inspired a nationwide debate, with scholars and theoreticians to the fore supported by the media and public engagement.

This debate helped the CPC correct existing erroneous tendencies in ideology and theory, and encouraged people to free their minds. It laid the ground for the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee and led directly to a historic turnaround in China.

真理標(biāo)準(zhǔn)問題的大討論

真理標(biāo)準(zhǔn)問題的討論，是40多年前在鄧小平等老一輩無產(chǎn)階級(jí)革命家的領(lǐng)導(dǎo)和支持下，在全黨全國范圍內(nèi)開展的一場(chǎng)大討論，主要表現(xiàn)為實(shí)事求是和“兩個(gè)凡是”的爭論。

20世紀(jì)70年代中后期，中國面臨著“兩個(gè)凡是”（即：凡是毛主席做出的決策，我們都堅(jiān)決維護(hù)；凡是毛主席的指示，我們都始終不渝地遵循）錯(cuò)誤方針的嚴(yán)重阻礙。針對(duì)這種狀況，鄧小平多次旗幟鮮明地提出，“兩個(gè)凡是”不符合馬克思主義，我們要完整準(zhǔn)確地理解毛澤東思想。1978年5月10日，中央黨校內(nèi)部刊物《理論動(dòng)態(tài)》發(fā)表了《實(shí)踐是檢驗(yàn)真理的唯一標(biāo)準(zhǔn)》一文，鮮明指出，社會(huì)實(shí)踐是檢驗(yàn)真理的唯一標(biāo)準(zhǔn)，任何理論都要不斷接受實(shí)踐的檢驗(yàn)等馬克思主義的基本原理。這就從根本理論上否定了“兩個(gè)凡是”。5月11日，這篇文章在《光明日?qǐng)?bào)》公開發(fā)表，新華社向全國轉(zhuǎn)發(fā)。12日，《人民日?qǐng)?bào)》《解放軍報(bào)》等同時(shí)全文轉(zhuǎn)載。由于這篇文章從根本理論上否定了“兩個(gè)凡是”的錯(cuò)誤方針，因而立即引發(fā)了一場(chǎng)全國性的關(guān)于真理標(biāo)準(zhǔn)問題的熱烈討論。

《實(shí)踐是檢驗(yàn)真理的唯一標(biāo)準(zhǔn)》發(fā)表后，受到了堅(jiān)持“兩個(gè)凡是”觀點(diǎn)的人的壓制。關(guān)鍵時(shí)刻，鄧小平發(fā)表重要講話，深刻闡述了實(shí)事求是、一切從實(shí)際出發(fā)的基本觀點(diǎn)，尖銳地批評(píng)了個(gè)人崇拜、教條主義和唯心論，號(hào)召全體黨員解放思想、打破僵化，有力推動(dòng)了以理論界為主、新聞界積極推動(dòng)、社會(huì)各界廣泛參與的理論問題大討論。

真理標(biāo)準(zhǔn)問題的討論，是中國共產(chǎn)黨在思想上、理論上最根本的撥亂反正，是一場(chǎng)偉大的思想解放運(yùn)動(dòng)，為中共十一屆三中全會(huì)的召開做了思想理論準(zhǔn)備，直接推動(dòng)了中國實(shí)現(xiàn)偉大歷史轉(zhuǎn)折。