Crossing the river by touching the stones explained

Crossing the river by touching the stones
Label1:Initiator
Label2:Initiated
Data2:April 7, 1950
Crossing the river by touching the stones
T:摸著石頭過河
S:摸着石头过河
Order:st
P:Mōzhe shítouguò hé

Crossing the river by touching the stones[1], or crossing the river by feeling the stones,[2] touching the stone to cross the river,[3] is originally a folk saying, complete with two expressions, crossing the river by touching the stones - step steadily, then take a step; crossing the river by touching the stones - seeking stability. It is borrowed to denote a scientific method of work, indicating a steady attitude of exploration in the face of new things.[4]

Origin

"Crossing the river by touching the stones" is a slogan initially put forward by Chen Yun, one of the leaders of the Chinese Communist Party.[5] It was originally coined at the administrative meeting of the State Council of the Central People's Government on April 7, 1950, where Chen Yun pointed out: price rise was not good, fall was also bad for production. We should "cross the river by touching the stones", it was better to be stable.[6]

Although Chen first proposed the phrase, it has always been associated with Deng Xiaoping, who is known for his adherence to the reform philosophy of "crossing the river by touching the stones".[7]

Definition

Crossing the river by touching the stones means "to take one step and look around before taking another".[8] It is a programmatic attitude toward China's reform and opening up.[9] China's leaders often cite this popular metaphor to describe the path they have followed in economic reform.[10] The idea is similar to risk tradeoff analysis or "risk risk" (how reducing some risks can increase others), with added emphasis on the importance of past experience.

Methods

The methods of "crossing the river by feeling the stones" include allowing farmers to grow and sell their own crops while maintaining state ownership of the land; removing investment restrictions in "special economic zones" but retaining them in other parts of China; or introducing privatization by initially selling only minority stakes in state-owned enterprises.[11]

See also

Notes and References

  1. Web site: China's half-year report card on economic reform: slow, safe and steady. Kevin Yao, Tomasz Janowski. May 5, 2014. Reuters. June 24, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624205235/https://www.reuters.com/article/uk-china-economy-reform-idUKKBN0DK0MD20140504. live.
  2. Book: Sen Peng. Reforming China. 1 September 2010. Enrich Professional Publishing. 978-981-4298-05-6. 26–. 2021-06-24. 2024-01-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20240121024911/https://books.google.com/books?id=3mRZDwAAQBAJ&pg=PR26#v=onepage&q&f=false. live.
  3. Book: Xiaoqin Guo. State and Society in China's Democratic Transition: Confucianism, Leninism, and Economic Development. 12 October 2012. Routledge. 978-1-135-94418-6. 61–. 24 June 2021. 21 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240121024914/https://books.google.com.ph/books?id=xf6TAgAAQBAJ&pg=PA61&redir_esc=y#v=onepage&q&f=false. live.
  4. Web site: The origin of "crossing the river by touching the stones". 2018-04-12. People's Daily. 2021-06-29. https://web.archive.org/web/20210629093815/http://cpc.people.com.cn/n1/2018/0412/c69113-29921565.html. live.
  5. Web site: The layout of the CCP's senior leadership has received unprecedented attention. September 29, 2017. BBC News. June 25, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210625040456/https://www.bbc.com/zhongwen/simp/chinese-news-41435585. live.
  6. Web site: The ins and outs of the reform method of "crossing the river by feeling the stones". 2014-04-09. Guangming Daily. 2021-06-24. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624204600/https://epaper.gmw.cn/gmrb/html/2014-04/09/nw.D110000gmrb_20140409_3-14.htm. live.
  7. Web site: China's Gradualist Reform Approach Reaching Bitter End - WSJ. Nathaniel Taplin. Mar 6, 2017. The Wall Street Journal. June 24, 2021. https://web.archive.org/web/20210624212332/https://www.wsj.com/articles/chinas-gradualist-reform-approach-reaching-bitter-end-1488751380. live.
  8. Book: Lou Ning. Chinese Democracy and the Crisis of 1989: Chinese and American Reflections. 1 January 1993. SUNY Press. 978-0-7914-1269-5. 104–. 24 June 2021. 21 January 2024. https://web.archive.org/web/20240121025025/https://books.google.com/books?id=Bcl8jLxcXboC&pg=PA104#v=onepage&q&f=false. live.
  9. Book: Xibao Zhang. Shenggen Fan. Arjan de Haan. Narratives of Chinese Economic Reforms: How Does China Cross the River?. 2010. World Scientific. 978-981-4293-31-0. 5–. 2021-06-24. 2024-01-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20240121024954/https://books.google.com/books?id=AfkUT5hQMKUC&pg=PA5#v=onepage&q&f=false. live.
  10. Book: Jacques deLisle. Jacques deLisle. Avery Goldstein. Avery Goldstein. China's Challenges. 2015. University of Pennsylvania Press. 978-0-8122-2312-5. 59–. 2021-06-24. 2024-01-21. https://web.archive.org/web/20240121024912/https://books.google.com/books?id=VNDYBAAAQBAJ&pg=PA59#v=onepage&q&f=false. live.
  11. Web site: The Land That Failed to Fail. Philip P. Pan. Philip P. Pan. 2018-11-18. The New York Times. 2021-05-15. https://web.archive.org/web/20210515160050/https://www.nytimes.com/zh-hans/interactive/2018/11/18/world/asia/china-rules.html. live.

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