The compatibility between the basic principles of Marxism and China's excellent traditional culture is a classic, enduring subject that merits ongoing exploration. In the 1920s, Chinese author Guo Moruo (1892–1978) portrayed a conversation between Karl Marx (1818–1883) and Confucius (551–479 BCE) transcending time and space with a humorous stroke, revealing the common ground between Marxist thought and China's fine traditional culture.

What are the similarities and differences between the traditional values of the East and the West? Why does Chinese Marxism hold a greater appeal for me? Recently, Australian Sinologist Roland Boer, a part-time professor at the School of Philosophy, Renmin University of China, gave an interview with China News Release to share his experiences in China and address these questions.

Australian Sinologist Roland Boer delivering a keynote speech at the Second World Conference of Sinologists in Beijing, Oct. 27, 2024. [Photo courtesy of Roland Boer]

China News Release: During the past decade or so that you've lived in China, you have made significant contributions to China studies and the research and teaching of Marxist philosophy. As an Australian Sinologist, how did your journey with China and Sinology begin? In your view, what is the most compelling aspect of China that draws you in?

Roland Boer: Let me begin by asking another question: Why did I decide to study the Chinese language? The reason is that I wanted to be able to understand Chinese Marxism and Socialism with Chinese characteristics. From my earlier research, I had developed the following methodological principle: To undertake research and understand a topic comprehensively and thoroughly, I must do it in the original language in which this research is written. In the past, I studied and taught classical Greek and Latin, as well as classical Hebrew. For the sake of studying Marx and Engels (Friedrich Engels, 1820–1895), I studied German and French. So, when the time came for me to delve into Chinese Marxism — especially Marxist philosophy — I knew I had to study the language.

Although my first visit to China was in 2007, I became more deeply involved when I began teaching part-time at Renmin University of China in 2013. The following year, I began studying Chinese. I was not so young at the time, already 53 and with the first grandchild already born. When you are a little older, studying the most difficult language in the world requires more concentration and more hard work. After the first few years, I started to read the key works of Mao Zedong (1893–1976), Deng Xiaoping (1904–1997) and Xi Jinping. Each morning, after my initial hour of dictation practice and grammar study, I would go to a cafe for a couple of hours and — very slowly then — read through some of their key works, one after another. Since then, my Chinese level has slowly improved and about 90% of the scholarly works I read are in Chinese.