Yu Guangyuan

Yu Guangyuan

Yu Guangyuan (July 5, 1915 - September 26, 2013), formerly surnamed Yu and named Zhong Zheng, changed his name to Yu Guangyuan after joining the Communist Party. Born in Shanghai, he is a famous Chinese economist and a researcher of the Chinese Academy of social sciences. He has been engaged in economic research for a long time. Since the 1980s, he has devoted himself to multi-disciplinary research of philosophy and Social Sciences, organizational activities to promote their development, and actively participated in various social activities. In 1935, he took part in the 129 student movement. He graduated from the Department of physics of Tsinghua University in 1936. Before the Anti Japanese war in early 1937, he joined the Communist Party of China. In 1939, he also served as the director of Yan'an Zhongshan Library. He has successively served as director of the library of the CPC Central Committee, Professor of the Library Department of Peking University, deputy director of the Theoretical Publicity Department of the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, member and standing committee member of the philosophy and Social Sciences Department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Deputy Secretary General of the Science Planning Commission, and deputy director of the science and Technology Commission. Since 1941, he has been engaged in the economic research of the Shaanxi Gansu Ningxia border region, and later taught in the Department of Finance and economics of Yan'an University. He worked in the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee from 1948 to 1975. In 1955, he was elected as a member of the Department of philosophy and social sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences. In 1964, he was deputy director of the National Scientific Committee. Since 1975, he has been the director of the Institute of economics of the State Planning Commission, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences and director of the Institute of Marxism Leninism and Mao Zedong thought, vice director of the State Science Commission, member of the Advisory Committee of the CPC Central Committee, consultant of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and vice chairman of the general editorial board of the Encyclopedia of China. In 2000, he served as honorary president of Qiannan Normal University for nationalities. He died at 3 a.m. on September 26, 2013 due to invalid medical treatment. He was 98 years old. December 18, 2018

，

Yu Guangyuan was awarded the title of "pay homage to the 40th anniversary of reform and opening up · 40 Chinese think tanks".

Personal resume

Born in Shanghai in 1915

In 1932, he was admitted to Shanghai Datong University

In 1935, he took part in the 129th movement

He graduated from the Department of physics of Tsinghua University in 1936

In 1937, he joined the Communist Party of China

In 1939, he was transferred from Peking to Yan'an

In 1942, engaged in economic research

In 1954, he was a member of the Department of philosophy and social sciences of the Chinese Academy of Sciences

In 1956, he was elected deputy to the Eighth National Congress of the Communist Party of China

In 1964, he was deputy director of the State Science and Technology Commission

In 1975, head of the Policy Research Office of the State Council

In 1977, he was director of the Economic Research Institute of the Planning Commission

In 1979, he was director of the Institute of Marxism Leninism and Mao Zedong studies of the Chinese Academy of social sciences

In 1982, he was a consultant of the Chinese Academy of social sciences

In 2000, he served as honorary president of Qiannan Normal University for nationalities

He died in Beijing on September 26, 2013

research field

Yu Guangyuan has been engaged in economic theory research for a long time. In the late 1950s, he participated in the discussion of important economic theories such as commodity production, law of value, socialist reproduction, economic effect, speed and proportion of economic development. In 1959, it was put forward that we must pay attention to economic benefits. In the late 1970s, he refuted the so-called "critique of the theory of productivity only", believing that the theory of productivity only is to admit that productivity is the most fundamental decisive factor of social development, that is, to admit that the relations of production and superstructure are determined by productivity in the final analysis, and that the theory of productivity only is the fundamental viewpoint of historical materialism. On how to evaluate the superiority of socialist ownership, he pointed out that the only criterion to measure whether a production relationship is superior or not, or which one is more superior, is whether it can best promote the development of local productive forces at that time. Similarly, which form of socialist ownership is advanced and which form is backward must be put in the historical context of the relationship with productive forces We should study in the process of development. And for the existence and development of non socialist economic components in the period of socialist construction, we should also use this standard. On the theory of distribution according to work, he pointed out that distribution according to work not only does not produce capitalism and the bourgeoisie, but also is the only way to eliminate capitalism and the bourgeoisie. He believed that there is no problem of implementing distribution according to work excessively in our country, but not enough. In 1978, he proposed that commodity production is an essential feature of the socialist system.

In 1979, he proposed to discuss the issue of socialist production purpose, linking the issue of socialist production purpose with the final product. He believed that the goal of socialist economy should be to maximize the production of the final product needed by the people within the scope of possibility, and the situation of increasing the production of the final product should be taken as the yardstick to measure the achievements of the whole economic work. At the same time, he unifies the use value production of the whole society with that of individual enterprises, which is subordinate to the use value production of the whole society. In the late 1970s, he proposed that planned development of socialist economy should include planned adaptation to external changes. Under the conditions of socialist commodity production and commodity exchange, planning should adapt to changes in the market, not only for guiding plans, but also for instructive plans. After the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, he made unremitting efforts to explore reform. He believed that the economic system reform was another great change in production relations after the socialist transformation of private ownership of means of production in socialist countries. As early as 1977, he pointed out that the general guiding ideology of China's economic system reform is the combination of the general principles of Marxism and the specific practice of the country. He once supported the establishment of some new economic disciplines, such as productivity economics, land economics, economic and social development strategy, technical economics, and put forward his own views on economic efficiency, education economics, consumption economics, environmental economics, tourism economics, etc.

Main contributions

Yu Guangyuan is knowledgeable and has learned "natural science and social science". Many important theoretical issues in economic construction and economic system reform were put forward by him first or earlier, and he participated in many important decisions.

He is an important participant and witness of China's contemporary ideological liberation movement and reform and opening up.

He not only attaches great importance to applying the principles expounded in Marxist works to modern economic life, but also attaches great importance to how to apply Marxism to the development of economic theory in China's reform practice.

In Chinese academic circles, Yu Guangyuan is famous for his keen thinking, erudition and diligence.

Gong Yuzhi, former vice president of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, once commented on Guangyuan as being knowledgeable and integrated with "two subjects", that is, integrating natural science and social science organically; during his whole academic career, he opened up many new disciplines, especially in promoting the alliance of natural science and Social Science in China, and in the establishment and development of the school of philosophy of Dialectics of nature He is a brave pioneer and diligent cultivator in the field of exhibition, anti pseudoscience and so on.

It can be said that this evaluation basically summarizes Yu Guangyuan's contribution to Chinese Academy, thought and reform.

Participants in reform and opening up

Yu Guangyuan was born in Shanghai, an intellectual family influenced by Western democratic thought and modern science and technology education. He was admitted to Shanghai Datong University in 1932 and transferred to the third grade of Physics Department of Tsinghua University in 1934. In the face of the Japanese imperialism's ravages on China, Yu Guangyuan gave up his dream of becoming a great physicist and joined the "129" student movement which broke out at the end of 1935. Under the influence of the Communist Party, he joined the Communist Party of China in March 1937. From then on, in the social practice of Chinese revolution and construction, social science research began.

Now, as a senior scholar, Yu Guangyuan has been exploring in the field of social science for more than half a century. From the call of the early induction era, he devoted himself to the flood of national liberation war, to the reform and opening up in the new era, he has been active in the ideological and theoretical front, except for the devolution of cadre school labor in the cultural revolution.

Yu Guangyuan is not only a scholar who is diligent in thinking, but also a scholar who is good at action and participates in many important decisions.

The Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh Central Committee held in 1978 opened a new chapter in Chinese history. Yu Guangyuan attended this famous conference and the previous central working conference as a non voting representative. At the central working conference, Deng Xiaoping made the famous speech "emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, uniting and looking forward", which was later considered as the theme report of the Third Plenary Session of the Central Committee. The handwritten outline of this speech has been preserved in Guangyuan.

Since 1981, taking advantage of the opportunity of participating in the discussion of the central documents, he has repeatedly advocated that the concept and basic characteristics of the primary stage of socialism should be written into the central documents. His opinions have played a certain role. It can be said that Yu Guangyuan is an important participant and witness of China's contemporary ideological liberation movement and reform and opening up.

In the 1950s, Yu Guangyuan worked in the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee for a long time as director of the science department of the Propaganda Department of the CPC Central Committee. From 1977 to 1982, he was deputy director of the State Science and Technology Commission, vice president of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and director of the Institute of Marxism Leninism. He is a member of the Central Advisory Committee of the 12th and 13th CPC National Congress. In 2006, he was awarded honorary member of the Chinese Academy of social sciences. He also served as Professor, honorary president or consultant of many universities and research institutions. He is also one of the only four academicians of the Philosophy Department of the Chinese Academy of Sciences who were elected in 1955, and he is the youngest.

Economic achievements

Yu Guangyuan's works, etc

Chinese PinYin : Yu Guang Yuan