Research On Sima Qian’s Economic Thought Based On The Perspective Of Marxist Philosophy

The economic thought of Sima Qian,a historian of the Western Han Dynasty,plays an important role in the study of the history of economic thought in China and is summarized as’good cause theory’.Scholars in the ancient era have a clear tendency to praise and criticize Sima Qian’s economic thought.Of course,there are misinterpretation and misunderstandings,but its evaluation content has a distinct color of people-oriented thought,reflecting the characteristics and needs of China’s economy and society under different backgrounds.Its evaluation criteria are always from the perspective of ethical order and policy effect,which is also the characteristics of oriental academic thinking.Since the founding of the Republic of China,China’s academic circles have begun to use the method of Western interpretation to study the history of thought,or compare Sima Qian’s economic thought with the British scholar Adam Smith,or deconstruct Sima Qian’s economic thought under the framework of Western economics.This style of study still has a huge impact today.After Chinese scholars adopted Western economic thinking to study ancient Chinese economic thought,the influence of Sima Qian’s economic thought decreased significantly,and the research results were not as deep as those of the predecessors,which was caused by the mechanical application of Western economic research paradigm.The basis of Western economic philosophy is rationalism and individualism.The contradiction between these two trends of thought has led to a decline in the explanatory power of Western economics.In contrast,Marxist theory with logical self-consistency and broad vision is more suitable as a philosophical guidance for the study of ancient Chinese economic thought.Based on the research perspective of Marxist philosophy,Sima Qian grew up in the period of Emperor Wu of the Western Han Dynasty,which coincided with the era of great economic change and transformation in ancient China.His experience of official travel provided him with first-hand information on social economy.His father Sima talked about advocating Taoism,while Sima Qian learned from the great Confucians of the Western Han Dynasty and advocated Confucianism.These two theories that constitute the basic ideas of Chinese culture make Sima Qian’s economic thoughts have distinct speculative colors.As a historiographer,Sima Qian has a deep foundation in historiography.Many of his economic propositions are based on the consideration of history and reality.This research method from general facts to general inference is a systematic summary of the current situation and level of China’s economic and social development during the Western Han Dynasty.It is also a theoretical sublimation of the major policies and economic policies of the ruling class in China’s history,and a distinct material for the investigation of historical materialism.Sima Qian’s economic thought covers not only the macro-level criticism and suggestions on the governance of the country,but also the micro-level theoretical analysis of the logic of industry development.The essence of this ideological construction lies in the dynamic analysis based on the guidance of respect for human nature and reality.This analysis is dialectical rather than single,flowing rather than static,systematic rather than fragmented,and cannot be simply regarded as pure advocacy of free market economy.Sima Qian’s economic thought regards economic activities as an important part of governing the country,emphasizing the dynamic development of economy and society and the improvement of people’s living standards.It has important reference significance,but there are also inherent drawbacks such as blind worship of capital flows.Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the Marxism of contemporary China.Applying it to the analysis and evaluation of Sima Qian’s economic thought will not only provide the wisdom of excellent traditional culture for the construction of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era,but also promote the construction of socialist political economy with Chinese characteristics.