Crossing the river by touching the stones

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Crossing the river by touching the stones
InitiatorChen Yun
InitiatedApril 7, 1950
Crossing the river by touching the stones
Simplified Chinese摸着石头过河
Traditional Chinese摸著石頭過河

Crossing the river by touching the stones[1] (simplified Chinese: 摸着石头过河; traditional Chinese: 摸著石頭過河), 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[edit]

"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[edit]

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[edit]

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[edit]

References[edit]

  1. ^ Kevin Yao, Tomasz Janowski (May 5, 2014). "China's half-year report card on economic reform: slow, safe and steady". Reuters. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021.
  2. ^ Sen Peng (1 September 2010). Reforming China. Enrich Professional Publishing. pp. 26–. ISBN 978-981-4298-05-6. Archived from the original on 2024-01-21. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  3. ^ Xiaoqin Guo (12 October 2012). State and Society in China's Democratic Transition: Confucianism, Leninism, and Economic Development. Routledge. pp. 61–. ISBN 978-1-135-94418-6. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  4. ^ "The origin of "crossing the river by touching the stones"". People's Daily. 2018-04-12. Archived from the original on 2021-06-29.
  5. ^ "The layout of the CCP's senior leadership has received unprecedented attention". BBC News. September 29, 2017. Archived from the original on June 25, 2021.
  6. ^ "The ins and outs of the reform method of "crossing the river by feeling the stones"". Guangming Daily. 2014-04-09. Archived from the original on 2021-06-24.
  7. ^ Nathaniel Taplin (Mar 6, 2017). "China's Gradualist Reform Approach Reaching Bitter End - WSJ". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on June 24, 2021.
  8. ^ Lou Ning (1 January 1993). Chinese Democracy and the Crisis of 1989: Chinese and American Reflections. SUNY Press. pp. 104–. ISBN 978-0-7914-1269-5. Archived from the original on 21 January 2024. Retrieved 24 June 2021.
  9. ^ Xibao Zhang; Shenggen Fan; Arjan de Haan (2010). Narratives of Chinese Economic Reforms: How Does China Cross the River?. World Scientific. pp. 5–. ISBN 978-981-4293-31-0. Archived from the original on 2024-01-21. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  10. ^ Jacques deLisle; Avery Goldstein (2015). China's Challenges. University of Pennsylvania Press. pp. 59–. ISBN 978-0-8122-2312-5. Archived from the original on 2024-01-21. Retrieved 2021-06-24.
  11. ^ Philip P. Pan (2018-11-18). "The Land That Failed to Fail". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2021-05-15.
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