Editing Three Represents

{{Short description|Chinese political theory by Jiang Zemin}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=October 2017}}
{{Use British English|date=October 2017}}
{{Infobox Chinese
| pic = Futu-north-0059.jpg
| piccap = A slogan in Futu, [[Hubei]], which reads: "Practice the Thought of Three Represents, advance the reform on rural tax system", with the word "reform" ({{lang|zh|改革}}) blocked by a billboard.
| s = 「三个代表」重要思想
| t = 「三個代表」重要思想
| p = "Sān gè dàibiǎo" zhòngyào sīxiǎng
| s2 = 
| t2 = 
| p2 = 
| order = st
| mi = 
}}
{{Jiang Zemin sidebar}}
The '''Three Represents''', officially the '''Theory of Three Represents''',<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jiang Zemin passes away |url=https://english.news.cn/20221130/4ec6705052f648ca8e4890025eb8c003/c.html |access-date=2024-02-22 |website=Xinhua}}</ref> is a political doctrine that defines the role of the [[Chinese Communist Party]] (CCP) in Chinese society. It legitimized the entry of private business owners and bourgeois elements into the CCP.

The theory was first introduced by [[Jiang Zemin]]—then the General Secretary of the CCP—on 25 February 2000, while he was on the inspection tour in [[Gaozhou, Guangdong]]. During Jiang's leadership, the Three Represents was officially described as the "Marxism for contemporary China" and the development of [[Marxism–Leninism]], [[Maoism|Mao Zedong Thought]] and [[Deng Xiaoping Theory]]. The theory was ratified by the party at the [[16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|16th Party Congress]] in November 2002. It was also [[2004 amendment to the Constitution of China|written]] to the [[Constitution of China|Chinese Constitution]] on March 14, 2004.

==History and development==
{{Further|Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party}}
Following the tenure of [[Deng Xiaoping]], Jiang Zemin articulated a new theory to define the new relationship between the party and the people, which is named Three Represents.<ref name=":3">{{Cite journal |last=Bo |first=Zhiyue |date=September 2004 |title=Hu Jintao and the CCP's ideology: A historical perspective |url= |journal=[[Journal of Chinese Political Science]] |language=en |volume=9 |issue=2 |pages=27–45 |doi=10.1007/BF02877001 |s2cid=148491989 |issn=1080-6954}}</ref> The Three Represents was devised by a small team including the political theorist [[Wang Huning]].<ref name=":13">{{Cite news |last=Page |first=Jeremy |date=5 June 2013 |title=The Wonk With the Ear of Chinese President Xi Jinping |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323728204578513422637924256 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210221005604/https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB10001424127887323728204578513422637924256 |archive-date=21 February 2021 |access-date=15 October 2019 |work=[[The Wall Street Journal]] |language=en-US |issn=0099-9660}}</ref> Jiang first delivered a speech about the Three Represents on 25 February 2000 during a symposium on party building in Guangzhou.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Huang |first=Yibing |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1165409653 |title=An ideological history of the Communist Party of China |date=2020 |others=Qian Zheng, Guoyou Wu, Xuemei Ding, Li Sun, Shelly Bryant |isbn=978-1-4878-0425-1 |edition= |volume=3 |location=Montreal, Quebec |pages=468–469 |oclc=1165409653}}</ref> It brought wide attention and many interpretations of the meaning of the speech.<ref name="改革开放以来意识形态创新的历史考察 - 中国知网">{{Cite journal |last=萧 |first=功秦 |date=2006 |title=改革开放以来意识形态创新的历史考察 - 中国知网 |url=https://www.cnki.net/kcms/doi/10.16240/j.cnki.1002-3976.2006.04.008.html |journal=天津社会科学 |publisher=天津社会科学. (04) |issue=4 |pages=45–49 |doi=10.16240/j.cnki.1002-3976.2006.04.008 |access-date=2021-04-17}}</ref>

The Three Represents results from Jiang Zemin's efforts to grapple with the diverse class backgrounds of party members and their sometimes conflicting material interests.<ref>{{Cite book |title=CPC Futures The New Era of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics |date=2022 |publisher=[[National University of Singapore Press]] |isbn=978-981-18-5206-0 |location=Singapore |pages=49 |doi=10.56159/eai.52060 |oclc=1354535847 |doi-access=free|editor-last1=Pieke |editor-last2=Hofman |editor-first1=Frank N |editor-first2=Bert }}</ref> Based on Mao's premise that the Communist Party should serve the people, it became important as China's private sector grew to bring "worthy people from all sectors who are loyal to the motherland and to socialism" into the Party.<ref name=":92">{{Cite book |last1=Marquis |first1=Christopher |author-link=Christopher Marquis |url= |title=Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise |last2=Qiao |first2=Kunyuan |date=2022 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-26883-6 |location=New Haven |doi=10.2307/j.ctv3006z6k |jstor=j.ctv3006z6k |oclc=1348572572 |s2cid=253067190}}</ref>{{Rp|page=50}}

In Jiang's speech on the Three Represents on the 80th anniversary of the founding of the CCP in 2001, he claimed that the expansion of "working class" would help the party remain advanced as the vanguard of the working class by expanding its popular support and increasing its social influence. Jiang made a statement on the concept of the working class that it includes intellectuals:<blockquote>"With intellectuals being part of the working class, the scientific, technical and educational level of the working class has been raised considerably... Consequently some workers have changed their jobs. But this has not changed the status of the Chinese working class. On the contrary, this will serve to improve the overall quality of the working class and give play to its advantages as a group in the long run. The Chinese working class has always been the basic force for promoting the advanced productive forces in China. Our Party must remain the vanguard of the working class and unswervingly and wholeheartedly rely on the working class."<ref>{{Cite web |last= |date=2001-07-01 |title=Jiang Zemin's Speech at the Meeting Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China China |url=http://www.china.org.cn/e-speech/a.htm |access-date=2021-04-17 |website=[[China Internet Information Center]] |publisher=}}</ref></blockquote>The Three Represents were written into the [[Constitution of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP constitution]] to be part of CCP's guiding ideology during the [[16th National Congress of the Chinese Communist Party|16th Party National Congress]] in November 2002.<ref>{{Cite book |last=Huang |first=Yibing |url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/1165409653 |title=An ideological history of the Communist Party of China |date=2020 |others=Qian Zheng, Guoyou Wu, Xuemei Ding, Li Sun, Shelly Bryant |isbn=978-1-4878-0425-1 |edition= |volume=3 |location=Montreal, Quebec |pages=474–475 |oclc=1165409653}}</ref> It was also [[2004 amendment to the Constitution of China|written]] to the [[Constitution of China|Chinese Constitution]] on March 14, 2004.<ref name="bhr">{{cite book |last1=Zhong |first1=Huang |url=https://www.business-humanrights.org/sites/default/files/documents/Merging%20Business%20and%20Human%20Rights%20in%20China.pdf |title=Bridging Human Rights Principles and Business Realities in Northeast Asia |last2=Qian |first2=Cheng |date=2014 |publisher=Vinlin Press |editor1-last=Plantilla |editor1-first=Jefferson R. |location=Malaysia |pages=21–53 |chapter=The Disappearance of Hong Kong in Comics, Advertising and Graphic Design}}</ref>

== Content ==
The theory requires the CCP to:<ref name=":3" />
# Represent the development trend of China's advanced [[productive forces]].
# Represent the orientation of China's advanced culture.
# Represent the fundamental interests of the overwhelming majority of the [[Chinese people]].
In this context, to "represent" means to incorporate.<ref name=":92" />{{Rp|page=50}}

== Influence and reception ==
Jiang's theory was the subject of significant internal debate.<ref name=":4">{{Cite journal |last=Dittmer |first=Lowell |date=2003 |title=Chinese Factional Politics Under Jiang Zemin |url= |journal=[[Journal of East Asian Studies]] |volume=3 |issue=1 |pages=97–128 |doi=10.1017/S1598240800001132 |issn=1598-2408 |jstor=23417742|s2cid=155266344 }}</ref><ref name=":1">{{Cite book |last=Lin |first=Chun |title=The Transformation of Chinese Socialism |date=2006 |publisher=[[Duke University Press]] |isbn=978-0-8223-3785-0 |location=Durham [N.C.] |pages=258 |doi=10.1515/9780822388364 |oclc=63178961}}</ref> Supporters viewed it as a further development of [[socialism with Chinese characteristics]]<ref name=":4" /> or a mechanism to incorporate [[Bourgeoisie|bourgeois]] elements into the discipline of the party.<ref name=":322">{{Cite book |last=Hammond |first=Ken |title=China's Revolution and the Quest for a Socialist Future |publisher=1804 Books |year=2023 |isbn=9781736850084 |location=New York, NY |pages=}}</ref>{{Rp|page=76}} Certain segments within the CCP criticized the Three Represents as being un-[[Marxism|Marxist]] and a betrayal of basic Marxist values.<ref name=":4" /> Criticism originated on all ideological sides of the party.<ref name=":1" />

Three Represents was officially described by [[Li Changchun]], a member of the [[Politburo Standing Committee of the Chinese Communist Party|CCP Politburo Standing Committee]], as the "Marxism for contemporary China".<ref>{{Cite news |date=24 September 2003 |title='Three Represents' is Marxism for contemporary China: official |url=http://en.people.cn/200309/24/eng20030924_124797.shtml |access-date=2 March 2025 |work=[[People's Daily]]}}</ref> The theory officially is continuation and development of [[Marxism–Leninism]], [[Maoism|Mao Zedong Thought]] and [[Deng Xiaoping Theory]].<ref>{{Cite web |date=4 May 2021 |title=The Theory of Three Represents |url=https://en.theorychina.org.cn/c/2021-05-04/1393245.shtml |access-date=2025-03-02 |website=Theory China}}</ref>

Jiang said that by representing Chinese people in three levels, the party used the interests and demands of the overwhelming majority of the people to replace the specific interests of people from different quarters, especially the class nature of the working class. As Xiao Gongqin argues, the innovation of the "Three Represents" theory was meant to complete the historical ideology transformation of CCP from a revolutionary party to a ruling party. The CCP can keep its legitimacy under the 'socialist market economy' or any system that is conducive to the development of advanced productive forces, without promoting any revolutionary movement or keeping the ideal of egalitarianism.<ref name="改革开放以来意识形态创新的历史考察 - 中国知网" />

Jiang disagreed with the assertion that his theories were not Marxist, and concluded that attaining the communist [[mode of production]] (as formulated by earlier communists) was more complex than had been realized; it was useless to try to force a change, as it had to develop naturally by following the [[Historical materialism|economic laws of history]].<ref name=":5">{{Cite book |last=Kuhn |first=Robert Lawrence |url= |title=The Man who Changed China: The Life and Legacy of Jiang Zemin |title-link=The Man Who Changed China |date=2004 |publisher=[[Crown Publishers]] |isbn=978-1-4000-5474-9 |pages=107–110 |language=en |author-link=Robert Lawrence Kuhn}}</ref>{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=December 2022}} The theory is most notable for allowing [[Capitalism|capitalists]], officially referred to as the "new [[Social stratification|social strata]]", to join the party on the grounds that they engaged in "honest labour and work" and through their labour contributed "to build[ing] socialism with Chinese characteristics."<ref name=":5" />{{Better source needed|reason=The current source is insufficiently reliable ([[WP:NOTRS]]).|date=December 2022}} Jiang's decision to allow capitalists into the CCP was criticized{{By whom|date=April 2024}} as "political misconduct" and "ideological confusions".<ref name=":2">{{Cite book |last=Moore |first=Scott |title=China's Next Act: How Sustainability and Technology are Reshaping China's Rise and the World's Future |date=2022 |isbn=978-0-19-760401-4 |location=New York, NY |pages=17 |doi=10.1093/oso/9780197603994.001.0001 |oclc=1316703008}}</ref> These critiques helped fuel the rise of the [[Chinese New Left]] movement.<ref name=":2" />

[[Zheng Bijian]], the executive vice president of the [[Central Party School of the Chinese Communist Party|Central Party School]] who has been active in helping to create the Three Represents, argued that a party of the whole people would be a catch-all party that would include diverse and conflicting interests. To include all of the broad mass of contemporary Chinese intellectuals, science and technology workers, cultural workers, and economic managers, in the category of the so-called 'middle class' would weaken or even obliterate the working class.<ref name=":0">{{Cite journal |last=Fewsmith |first=Joseph |date=December 2001 |title=Rethinking the Role of the CCP: Explicating Jiang Zemin's Party Anniversary Speech |url=https://www.hoover.org/sites/default/files/uploads/documents/clm2_JF.pdf |journal=China Leadership Monitor |volume=1 Part 2 |pages=5}}</ref>

At the time Jiang announced the theory, most entrepreneurs who were members of the CCP had been party members before starting their businesses.<ref name=":6">{{Cite book |last1=Marquis |first1=Christopher |title=Mao and Markets: The Communist Roots of Chinese Enterprise |last2=Qiao |first2=Kunyuan |date=2022 |publisher=[[Yale University Press]] |isbn=978-0-300-26883-6 |location=New Haven |pages=13–14 |doi=10.2307/j.ctv3006z6k |jstor=j.ctv3006z6k |oclc=1348572572 |author-link=Christopher Marquis |s2cid=253067190}}</ref> This change allowed for a new cohort of party members who could join after having had success in business.<ref name=":6" /> The greatest jump in the numbers of party members who are also entrepreneurs came in 2001, not long after the announcement of the Three Represents.<ref name=":6" /> In recent years (as of 2022), around 30-35% of Chinese entrepreneurs have been party members.<ref name=":6" />

Academic Lin Chun writes that while "nothing was politically incorrect in this banal statement" of the Three Represents, "it simply signaled that the party no longer even pretended to be the vanguard of the working class."<ref name=":1" />

Academics [[Steve Tsang]] and Olivia Cheung observe that the Three Represents helped co-opt economic elites and extend the party's reach into the growing private sector.<ref name=":Tsang&Cheung">{{Cite book |last1=Tsang |first1=Steve |author-link=Steve Chang |title=The Political Thought of Xi Jinping |last2=Cheung |first2=Olivia |publisher=[[Oxford University Press]] |year=2024 |isbn=9780197689363}}</ref>{{Rp|page=79}} Academic Pang Laikwan describes the Three Represents as legitimating privately-owned enterprises in the context of the socialist market economy.<ref name=":Laikwan">{{Cite book |last=Laikwan |first=Pang |title=One and All: The Logic of Chinese Sovereignty |date=2024 |publisher=[[Stanford University Press]] |isbn=9781503638815 |location=Stanford, CA |pages=170 |doi=10.1515/9781503638822}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
{{Library resources box}}
* ''[[iarchive:JiangZeminThreeRepresents|On the “Three Represents”]]'', a collection of speeches by Jiang Zemin
* {{cite journal |last=Lewis|first=John W.|author2=Xue Litai|title=Social Change and Political Reform in China: Meeting the Challenge of Success|journal=The China Quarterly|year=2003|volume=176|issue=176|pages=926–942|doi=10.1017/S0305741003000559|s2cid=154325971|url=http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/20615/Lewis-Xue-poli_reform.pdf|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20050502041234/http://iis-db.stanford.edu/pubs/20615/Lewis-Xue-poli_reform.pdf|archive-date=2 May 2005|df=dmy-all}}
*[http://www.china.org.cn/e-speech/a.htm Jiang Zemin's Speech at the Meeting Celebrating the 80th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China] (2001). [[China Internet Information Center]].
{{Jiang Zemin}}

[[Category:Jiang Zemin]]
[[Category:Socialism with Chinese characteristics]]
[[Category:Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party]]
[[Category:Wang Huning]]