The “Second Integration” and the Reshaping of the Spiritual World of People in Chinese path to modernization

QI Si， Li Yuan

Abstract： Chinese modernisation is the pursuit of people-oriented modernisation， modernisation that focuses on the harmony between material civilisation and spiritual civilisation， and aims at continuously enriching the people’s spiritual world. The proposal of the major assertion “the second integration” is of great significance as a theoretical and spiritual guide for the reshaping of the spiritual world of the people in Chinese-style mod？ ernisation. It is necessary to elaborate in depth from the three dimensions of history， theory and culture.

Firstly， the “second integration” clarifies the spiritual direction of human beings in Chinese moderniza？ tion. The “second integration” connects the historical lineage of Chinese civilization， and raises historical con？ sciousness， strengthens historical self-confidence， and enhances historical initiative in the process of Chinese modernization. The “second integration” has found a fundamental support for the cultural confidence of con？ temporary Chinese people， and provided ideological guidance and action guidelines for the realization of cul？ tural subjectivity in the process of Chinese modernization. The creation of a “new cultural organism” through the “second integration” provides a new logical starting point for solving the “ancient-modern-China-West controversy”， allows the fine traditional Chinese culture to be revitalised in the process of creative transforma？ tion and innovative development， injects a strong spiritual impetus for the comprehensive promotion of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation， and built a solid spiritual foundation.

Secondly， the “second integration” manifests the spiritual consciousness of people in Chinese path to modernization. In the historical process of modern social development， instrumental rationality has been pro？ moted while value rationality has been lost， and material abundance has failed to fill spiritual emptiness， resulting in spiritual dilemmas and nihilism. As an innovative cultural perspective， the “second integration”inspires modern people to go beyond the “l(fā)ogic of materiality” in pursuit of the “l(fā)ogic of humanity”. That is to say， it focuses on broadening the breadth and depth of human life， promoting the awakening and pursuit of human life consciousness， stimulating human spiritual self-consciousness， promoting the reconciliation of man and nature， man and man， and man and himself， activating man’s free and self-conscious human nature， and realizing the intrinsic unity of man’s “materiality” and “species-essence”.

Finally， the “second integration” reshapes the spiritual world of human beings in Chinese path to mod？ ernisation. Adhering to the “second integration” provides a new perspective and direction for the contempo？ rary question of “where the human mind goes”. Promoting the creative integration of Marxism and the fine Chi？ nese traditional culture has， on the one hand， expanded the theoretical interpretation of Marxism on the nature of the human mind， and enriched the spiritual connotation of the Chinese modernization of Marxism. On the other hand， through the promotion of the rich spiritual and cultural resources embedded in the fine Chinese tra？ ditional culture， we can provide Chinese wisdom and Chinese solutions to the spiritual dilemmas of the modern people and the construction of a community of human destiny. That is to say， through cultivating the roots and casting the soul， we should build a spiritual world that is clear and practical.

Key words： “The second integration”， Chinese path to modernization， the spiritual world

“Living Labor”， Artificial Intelligence and Marx’s Labor Theory of Value

YAN Meng-wei

Abstract： With the development of artificial intelligence（AI） science and technology， the re-understanding of the thought of “l(fā)iving labor” in Marx’s labor theory of value has caused great controversy. In Marx’s labor theory of value， living labor refers to labor in direct material production activities， which not only preserves value but also creates value. Therefore， it is the only source of value and surplus value. However， in Marx’s time， machines and equipment， which were the material factors or conditions of living labour， were nonintelligent “dead labour”， which could only transfer its value to new labour products under the action of living labour. Therefore， in the non-intelligent production process， only the production workers can become the undertaker of living labour. In the process of intelligent production， the wide application of intelligent robots is gradually realizing the intelligence of industrial technology. “Unmanned factories”， “unmanned workshops”，“unmanned shops”，“ unmanned Aerial Vehicle”， and “autonomous vehicle” and so on are already in front of people and are expanding in reality. The development of AI technology makes AI machines possess intelligent factors that can meet the needs of product production， so that they can replace production workers as the undertaker of living labor with the ability to create value.

Some scholars deny that AI machines can create value mainly because they don’t see the essential differ？ ence between AI machines and non-intelligent machines. It is true that only human beings are living， willful， emotional beings， and intelligent robots do not have these characteristics at all. But in the labor theory of value， we are talking about the “undertaker” of “l(fā)iving labour”， rather than the complete sense of human beings themselves. The undertaker of living labour only needs to have the intellectual factors closely related to the work task， which intelligent robots can fully possess. Therefore， AI machine replaces production workers as the undertaker of living labor， which can liberate production workers from heavy manual labor and create more sufficient “free time” for people. Therefore， we must recognize and accept the fact that AI machines can create value. That is to say， in the age of intelligence， the only source of commodity value is still “l(fā)iving labour”， only that AI machines replace production workers as “undertakers of living labour”. The core of Marx’s labor theory of value remains applicable， but it must be adapted to the age of artificial intelligence in light of the advancements in AI technology.

Philosophically speaking， the design， manufacture and use of AI machines is equivalent to the “external？ ization” of human intelligence into intelligent machines， and it can even be said that AI machines becoming the undertakers of “l(fā)iving labour” is the “externalization of living labour”. This is one of the greatest achieve？ ments of mankind’s scientific and technological progress： the liberation of human beings from direct material production activities. However， in an economy dominated by the logic of capital， it is difficult to distribute free time fairly. In order to develop Chinese path to modernization and build a high-level socialist market economy， China should reasonably limit the scope of capital logic and take increasing the free time of citizens as an important content of people’s livelihood construction， in order to realize “time justice”.

Key words： Living labor， artificial intelligence， Marx’s theory of labor value， free time

An Examination of the Flux of the “Yuanben”after the Jin Dynasty

ZHANG Hua-yu， TAN Fan

Abstract： Although “Yuanben” and “poetic drama” share the same origin， the latter is considered more sig？ nificant in the history of Chinese opera. The artistic life of “Yuanben” seems to have come to an abrupt end at the turn of the Jin and Yuan Dynasties. Most of the historical works of opera did not intend to provide space for its backward narration， but only regarded it as the predecessor of opera， so that the Yuanben fell into the embarrassing situation of a complete lack of historical narration after the Jin Dynasty. It seems that when refer？ ing to “Yuanben”， people only know “Yuan in Jin Dynasty” and do not think of anything else， as if they have already formed the stereotype of “Jin Yuanben”， i.e.， the rise and fall of the Yuanben is only confined to the and has never got rid of the labels of “small drama”， “former opera”， “general opera”.

As a matter of fact， whether we examine the history of the evolution of the form of “Yuanben” after the Jin Dynasty or the history of the conceptual change， it is by no means stagnant. During the Jin and Yuan Dynas？ ties， “Yuanben” eventually emerged independently from “poetic drama” and evolved into a comic opera that emphasized acting， reading and gagging， and was enriched in terms of footage system and performance tech？ niques. In the middle of the first half of the Ming Dynasty， Yuanben performances were still very popular. How？ ever， between the seventeenth year （1589） and the forty-seventh year （1619） of the Wanli reign， they gradually disappeared from the mainstream view， along with the gradual increase in the use of Yuanben by the ancients.“Yuanben” once referred to the “Northern Songs and poetic drama”. Beside， “Yuanben” also referred to the usage of “Southern Songs and poetic drama”and “script”. Similarly， due to the unfamiliarity of the people of the time with the Yuanben and the stylistic characteristics of the Yuanben itself， a group of “Yuanben-like”works with similar stylistic characteristics appeared， some of which were “real Yuanben” and some were“pseudo-Yuanben”. The sudden change in the style of “poetic drama’ in the mid- to late-Ming period also makes them likely get confused with “Yuanben”. Of course， the Yuanben performances did not disappear com？ pletely， and we can find many traces of Yuanben in the Qing opera performances as well as in folk competi？ tions.

Although the existing material is still limited， but at least it can prove that “Yuanben after the Jin Dynasty” is not speechless. It is necessary to reverse the academic community for a long time around the“Yuanben in Jin Dynasty” to form the stereotype of “Yuanben in Jin Dynasty” as well as the stage of “Yuan？ ben” as an opera of disregard. Through a series of examination， the Yuanben in the Yuan and Ming dynasties already have the elements of mature opera. Therefore， in addition to the classical opera “poetic drama” and“l(fā)egend”， there should be “Yuanben” a place. Existing materials may not be enough to write a general history of the “Yuanben”， but it does not prevent a “panoramic” presentation of the Yuanben’s origin and evolution from the dual dimensions of art history and conceptual history in the history of the opera. The missing part of“Yuanben after Jin Dynasty” in the history of opera and the identity of “Yuanben” of some operas such as“Garden Noon Dream” and “Playing Mute Zen” should also be supplemented and clarified.

Key words： Yuanben， poetic drama， opera， history of opera