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The 1978 Truth Criterion Controversy*

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  12 February 2009

Extract

It is a truism that in politics words often count for as much as deeds. What is surprising about politics in the People's Republic of China, given the Chinese Communist Party's professed commitment to materialism, is how often words count for more than deeds. Disputes concerning the proper order of things are resolved not by reference to what is, but to what ought to be. The right to affect political change is argued first of all on the basis of scriptural authority, and only secondly on the basis of empirical evidence. Acts that cannot be immediately sanctioned on the basis of arguments contained in canonical texts will be kept secret until the obstacles preventing such sanction have been eliminated.

Type
Research Article
Copyright
Copyright © The China Quarterly 1991

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32. Guo, Luoji, “Liangge ‘fanshi’ he zhenli biaozhun” (“The two ‘whatevers’ and the truth criterion”), in Yu, Guangyuan et al. , Mengxing de shike (Brutal Awakening) (Beijing: Zhongwai wenhua chubanshe, 1989), p. 285Google Scholar.

33. [Wu, Jiang], “Guanyu shijian biaozhun wenti taolun de qingkuang” (“Facts surrounding the debate on the practice criterion”), in Zhonggong zhongyang dangxiao lilun, yanjiushi (ed.), Zhenli biaozhun wenti taolun wenji (Collected Articles from the Debate on the Truth Criterion) (Beijing: Zhonggong zhongyang dangxiao chubanshe, 1982), p. 165Google Scholar.

34. Ibid.

35. Ruan, Ming, “Zhenli biaozhun zhi zhan” (“The battle over the truth criterion”) (unpublished manuscript), p. 76Google Scholar.

36. Quoted in [Wu, Jiang], “Guanyu shijian biaozhun wenti taolun de qingkuang,” pp. 165–66Google Scholar. Peter R. Moody is mistaken in suggesting that “the gist” of “the notion that practice is the sole criterion of truth” can be traced to an unpublished speech by Deng Xiaoping, in which Deng had been “outlining” it. See Chinese Politics after Mao: Development and Liberalization 1976 to 1983, p. 56 and note on p. 63.

37. [Wu, Jiang], “Guanyu shijian biaozhun wenti taolun de qingkuang,” p. 165Google Scholar.

38. Sun Changjiang, interview in Beijing, 26 July 1988.

39. Ibid.

40. Sun, Changjiang first elaborated briefly upon the importance of the criterion of “practice” in the essay “Zhongshi qunzhong de lishi zhudongxing” (“Pay attention to the historical initiative of the masses”), Renmin ribao, 23 01 1978Google Scholar. In Zhenli de qiusuo (Quest for Truth) (Shanghai: Shanghai renmin chubanshe, 1989), p. 235Google Scholar, he gives February 1978 as the month in which he began work on “Practice is the sole criterion of truth.” Some readers may at this point wonder what has happened to Hu Fuming. New China News Agency journalist Zhang Xingduan's classic account (“Evergreen is the tree of practice,” Renmin ribao, 21 March 1979) of the Nanjing University professor who believed that only a return to the realism and anti-dogmatism of Mao Zedong in the Yan'an days could open a way out of China's post-Cultural Revolution impasse is actually not about the writing of “Practice is the sole criterion of truth,” but of a very different article, one that did not go much further in emphasizing the importance of “seeking truth from facts” than Deng Xiaoping and Nie Rongzhen had already done at the 11th CCP National Congress in August 1977, and one that if it were to have been published would not have become the spark that lit a fire of nationwide debate, but would have gone as unnoticed as did Zhang, Cheng's “There is only one criterion” (Renmin ribao, 26 03 1978)Google Scholar. It is a mistake to trace the truth criterion controversy back to Hu Fuming, not only because this implies that in post-Mao China the source of new ideological formulations had become more pluralistic and could be found at a much lower level of the Party hierarchy than in the past – which was not the case – but also because it turns everything that happened at the Central Party School before and after April 1978 into a mere side-show, and that it certainly was not. Hu was to play a minor role in the writing of “Practice is the sole criterion of truth” entirely by accident. For this he was awarded 700 yuan plus the directorship of the Jiangsu Provincial Propaganda Department. It is to his credit that, in Zhang Xingduan's account, Hu insists (in a direct quote) that he is not the “author” of “Practice is the sole criterion of truth,” but merely part of a larger “collective” involved in its production. Tsou Tang has called the reliability of Zhang Xingduan's version of events into question, and suggested that “the possibility or even likelihood that Hu's article was the prompting by leaders at a higher level or of an unannounced meeting of a group of like-minded Party leaders and cadres at different levels cannot be excluded.” (See “Back from the brink of revolutionary–‘feudal’ totalitarianism,” p. 269, n. 19.) Tsou is actually not far from the truth, since this is a far more accurate description of the genesis of “Practice is the sole criterion of truth” than the one that begins with Hu Fuming in his study in Nanjing pondering upon a recent Renmin ribao editorial and the problem of how to get Deng Xiaoping back into a leading position.

41. Ruan Ming, private communication, 11 January 1989.

42. See Sun Changjiang, “Gei Guangming ribao, Du Daozheng tongzhi nan” (“Letter to the Guangming Daily and comrade Du Daozheng”), in Sun, Changjiang, Zhenli de qiusuo, p. 258Google Scholar.

43. Zhonggong zhongyang dangxiao nianjian, bianweihui, (ed.), Zhonggong zhongyang dangxiao nianjian 1984, p. 590Google Scholar.

44. For Yang's personal observations on the truth criterion controversy, see Yang, Xiguang, “Guanyu ‘Shijian shi jianyan zhenli de weiyi biaozhun’ yi wen xiezuo de sixiang beijing” (“Ideological background to the writing of the article ‘Practice is the sole criterion of truth’”), in Wenxian heyanjiu 1985 nian huibianben (Selections from Documents and Research 1985) (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1986), pp. 341–43Google Scholar.

45. , Guanyu“Shijian shi jianyan zhenli de weiyi biaozhun” yi wen xiezuo hefabiao de jingguo (How the Article “Practice is the Sole Criterion of Truth” was Written and Published) (Beijing: Guangming ribaoshe, 1985), p. 2Google Scholar.

46. Ibid.

47. I want to thank Dr Robin Munro for lending me a tape-recording of Hu Fuming's 1979 account, given to a class of foreign students at Nanjing University, of his own role in the writing of “Practice is the sole criterion of truth.”

48. Zha, Ruqiang, “Guanyu quandang gongzuo zhongxin de zhuanbian he shijian biaozhun” (“The change in the focus of the work of the entire Party and the practice criterion”), Xueshu yanjiu dongtai, Vol. 7 (1979), p. 9Google Scholar.

49. Guanyu “Shijian shi jianyan zhenli de weiyi biaozhun “yi wen xiezuo he fabiao de jingguo, p. 2.

50. Ibid.

51. Ibid.

52. Yuan, Weishi, “Weixinzhuyi hengxing de you yi biaoben” (“Yet another sample of rampant idealism”), Guangming ribao, 11 04 1978, p. 4Google Scholar. A photograph of the original paste-up of this page, with Hu Fuming's article on it, is in Guanyu “Shijian shi jianyan zhenli de weiyi biaozhun” yi wen xiezuo he fabiao de jingguo, appendix 7.

53. Sun Changjiang, interview in Beijing, 26 July 1988.

54. Ibid., and Guanyu “Shijian shi jianyan zhenli de weiyi biaozhun” yi wen xiezuo he fabiao de jingguo, pp. 2–3.

55. “Wang Qianghua tongzhi suo ji 1978.4.13 Yang Xiguang tongzhi de tanhua jilu” (“Record of Comrade Yang Xiguang's talk on 13 April 1978 as recorded by Comrade Wang Qianghua”), in Guanyu “Shijian shi jianyan zhenli de weiyi biaozhun” yi wen xiezuo he fabiao de jingguo, appendix 8.

56. Guanyu “Shijian shi jianyan zhenli de weiyi biaozhun “yi wen xiezuo he fabiao de jingguo, p. 3.

57. Sun Changjiang, interview in Beijing, 26 July 1988.

58. Some scholars have assumed that Hu Yaobang personally “edited” and “discussed” the manuscript with Hu Fuming. See Brantly, Womack, “Politics and epistemology in China since Mao,” The China Quarterly, No. 80 (1979), p. 774Google Scholar; and Tang, Tsou, “The historic change in direction and continuity with the past,” The China Quarterly, No. 98 (1984), p. 330Google Scholar. In fact, Hu and Hu probably never even met.

59. Guanyu “Shijian shi jianyan zhenli de weiyi biaozhun” yi wen xiezuo he fabiao de jingguo, p. 3.

60. Sun Changjiang, interview in Beijing, 26 July 1988.

61. Compare the texts of Hu Fuming's and Sun Changjiang's manuscripts reproduced in Guanyu “Shijian shi jianyan zhenli de weiyi biaozhun” yi wen xiezuo he fabiao de jingguo, appendixes 9, 10, 11 and 12. In the course of writing the present article, I have gone over a dozen different handwritten and typeset drafts of “Practice is the sole criterion of truth.” A version of the final draft in which plain, italic and underlined text are used to indicate the authorship of individual passages is included in Sun, Changjiang, Zhenli de qiusuo, pp. 249257Google Scholar.

62. Ruan Ming claims that “as a matter of fact, Deng Xiaoping did not know [about the publication] in advance.” See “Hu Yaobang and me” (unpublished manuscript), p. 14. Xu Chengzong is wrong in maintaining “on the basis of Hong Kong hearsay” that the publication took place only after Hu Yaobang and Yang Xiguang had “obtained Deng Xiaoping's consent.” See Xu, Chengzong, Hu Yaobang pingzhuan (Critical Biography of Hu Yaobang) (Taipei, 1987), p. 54Google Scholar.

63. Compare Bao, Yujun, “Lizu shishi, zhengyi zhiyan” (“Basing oneself on facts and speaking from a sense of justice”), in Renmin ribao huiyilu (Recollections of the People's Daily) (Beijing: Renmin ribao chubanshe, 1988), p. 256Google Scholar.

64. Guangming ribao, 1 May 1978.

65. Sun Changjiang, interview in Beijing, 26 July 1988.

66. Sun Changjiang, interview in Beijing, 26 July 1988. Yang Zhongmei and Kenzo Shida mistakenly identify Hu Yaobang as the person who “when approving the final draft” changed the title to “Practice is the sole criterion of truth.” See Hu Yaobang: A Chinese Biography, p. 130; and Ko Yoohoo (Hu Yaobang) (Tokyo: Nitchuu Shuppan, 1983), p. 105Google Scholar.

67. Vol. 60 of Theory Trends contains no other article apart from “Practice is the sole criterion of truth.” Yang Zhongmei mistakenly gives its date of publication as 9 May 1978. See Hu Yaobang: A Chinese Biography, p. 130.

68. Jürgen Domes has suggested that the article was “most probably” written by Hu Qiaomu. See The Government and Politics of the PRC: A Time of Transition (Boulder: Westview Press, 1985), p. 156Google Scholar. In fact, Hu was at no stage involved in the writing of “Practice is the sole criterion of truth.”

69. For some reason, western scholars have without exception translated benbao teyue pinglunyuan as “Our paper's special commentator.” In fact, it is the plural form that is correct. Sun, Changjiang has stressed that the author's attribution in the Guangming Daily “had not just referred to one person” (interview in Beijing, 26 07 1988)Google Scholar. Compare also Tian, Guoliang and Sun, Daxun (eds.), Hu Yaobang Zhuan, p. 103Google Scholar, where Hu Yaobang is said to have remarked that “They publish editorials and write commentaries … We can be the specially appointed commentators.”

70. Ruan, Ming, “Hu Yaobang and me,” pp. 1213Google Scholar.

71. Cf. Zheng, Derong et al. (eds.), Xin Zhongguo jishi 1949–1984 (Record of events in New China 1949–1984) (Changchun: Dongbei shifan daxue chubanshe, 1986), pp. 628630Google Scholar.

72. Nanjing junqu bubing xuexiao zhengzhibu dangshi zhenggong, jiaoyanshi (ed.), “Jianguo yilai dashiji (1949.10–1981.6)” (“Important events since the founding of the nation (October 1949–June 1981”), Xueshu yanjiu dongtai, Vol. 88–89 (1981)Google Scholar.

73. Text as in Ruan, Ming, “Zhenli biaozhun zhi zhan,” pp. 7880Google Scholar. This transcript of Wu Lengxi's telephone call is also reproduced in Tao, Kai, Zhang, Yide and Dai, Qing, “Zouchu xiandai mixin: Zhenli biaozhun taolun shimo” (“Leaving modern superstition behind: the beginning and end of the truth criterion debate”), Zhongshan (Zhong Mountain) No. 3 (1988), pp. 1819Google Scholar. The sentence “According to this kind of argument, the 1lth line as formulated by the Party is not yet the truth” is missing in the latter source. This is probably a typesetter's error, rather than a censor's intervention, since without it the (retained) reference to “another 23 years” that follows makes little sense.

74. Ruan, Ming, “Zhenli biaozhun zhi zhan,” p. 80Google Scholar.

75. Ibid.

76. Ibid. pp. 80–81.

77. Sun Changjiang, interview in Beijing, 26 July 1988. I have not actually seen the bulletins alluded to by Sun.

78. Quoted in [Wu, Jiang], “Guanyu shijian biaozhun wenti taolun de qingkuang,” pp. 160–61Google Scholar.

79. Ibid. pp. 167–68.

80. As noted by Stuart R. Schram, the formulation was merely “endorsed by implication.” See ‘Economics in command’? Ideology and policy since the Third Plenum, 1978–1984,” The China Quarterly, No. 99 (1984), p. 419Google Scholar.

81. Ibid. p. 168.

82. Zha, Ruqiang, “Guanyu quandang gongzuo zhongxin de zhuanbian he shijian biaozhun,” pp. 910Google Scholar.

83. Renmin ribao, 3 June 1978.

84. Ruan, Ming, “Zhenli biaozhun zhi zhan,” p. 84Google Scholar.

85. Ibid. p. 85.

86. Wu, Jiang and Sun, Changjiang, “Hu Yaobang yu zhenli biaozhun taolun” (“Hu Yaobang and the debate about the criterion of truth”), Guangming ribao, 24 04 1989Google Scholar.

87. Zheng, Derong et al. , Xin Zhongguo jishi 1949–1984, p. 629Google Scholar.

88. Mu, Qing, “Jianchi zhenli, lianxi shiji” (“Stick to the truth, stay in touch with reality”), in Xinwen luncong (Journalism Debate), Vol. 4 (1984), p. 12Google Scholar.

89. “Zhongguo Gongchandang di shiyi jie zhongyang weiyuanhui di san ci quanti huiyi gongbao” (“Communique of the Third Plenum of the 11th Central Committee of the Chinese Communist Party”), in Zhonggong zhongyang wenxian, yanjiushi (ed.), Sanzhong quanhui yilai zhongyao wenxian xuanbian (Selected Important Documents Since the Third Plenum of the 11th Central Committee) (Beijing: Renmin chubanshe, 1982), pp. 12Google Scholar.

90. See Hu Qiaomu tongzhi guanyu xuexi Deng Xiaoping wenxuan de jianghua” (“Comrade Hu Qiaomu's talk on studying the Selected Works of Deng Xiaoping”), Xueshu yanjiu dongtai, Vol. 150 (1983), p. 5Google Scholar.

91. Chen, Yun, “Zai zhongyang jilü jiancha weiyuanhui di yi ci quanti huiyi kaimuhui shang de jianghua” (”Speech at the opening of the First Plenum of the CCP Central Disciplinary Inspection Commission”), in Zhonggong zhongyang wenxian, yanjiushi (ed.), Sanzhong quanhui yilai Zhongyao wenxian xuanbian, p. 44Google Scholar.

92. Quoted in Huang, Jianqiu et al. (ed.), Xin shiqi zhuanti jishi (A Topical Factual Record of the New Era) (Beijing: Zhonggong dangshi ziliao chubanshe, 1988), p. 38Google Scholar.

93. Wang, Hongmo, “Shiyi jie san zhong quanhui zai dangshi shang de diwei he gongxian,” p. 84Google Scholar.

94. Deng, Xiaoping, “Sixiang luxian zhengzhi luxian de shixian yao kao zuzhi luxian lai baozheng” (“The realization of ideological and political lines can only be guaranteed by an organizational line”), in Zhonggong zhongyang wenxian, yanjiushi (ed.), Sanzhong quanhui yilai zhongyao wenxian xuanbian, p. 163Google Scholar.

95. “Ba quandang de sixiang zhenzheng jizhong dao sihua shang lai” (“Really concentrate the thinking of the entire Party on the four modernizations”), in Xuanchuan dongtai xuanbian 1979 (Selections from Propaganda Trends 1979) (Beijing: Zhongguo shehui kexue chubanshe, 1981), pp. 152–53Google Scholar.

96. Stuart R., Schram, Ideology and Policy in China Since the Third Plenum, 1978–1984, p. 42Google Scholar. Schram originally used this phrase to refer to events in China in 1984.

97. See the retrospective Jianchi shijian biaozhun, jin yi bu jiefang sixiang” (“Adhere to the practice criterion, further liberate your thinking”), Lilun dongtai, Vol. 786, 20 06 1988Google Scholar.

98. Guangming ribao teyue, pinglunyuan, “Fenqing liangtiao sixiang luxian, jianchi si xiang jiben yuanze” (“Distinguish between two ideological lines, adhere to the four cardinal principles”), Renmin ribao, 11 05 1979Google Scholar. For an overview of the nationwide movement in the second half of 1979 to “make up for lost lessons” in understanding the criterion of truth, see Frank, Ching, “The current political scene in China,” The China Quarterly, No. 80 (1979), pp. 701706Google Scholar.