American sociologist: The new Long March spirit I have witnessed

This year marks the 90th anniversary of the victory of the Red Army's Long March. To mark the occasion, China International Communications Group (CICG) launched the international communication project "Together on the Long March: 90th Anniversary of an Epic Journey." The initiative aims to help global audiences better understand the founding ideals and mission of the Communist Party of China (CPC), as well as the enduring values that have guided the Chinese people through decades of struggle and development.

On July 24, as a key component of this project, the sharing and exchange meeting titled "The Enduring Echo of the Long March: Toward a Shared Future" was held in Yan'an. More than 50 Chinese and foreign guests gathered to discuss the contemporary relevance of the Long March spirit.

Below is the full text of the speech delivered by Mark H. Levine, Ph.D. in sociology and chief expert of Levine's "Telling China Stories" Workshop at the School of Foreign Studies, Minzu University of China.

For more than twenty years, I have lived, worked, traveled and grown with the Chinese people as a foreign scholar, educator, songwriter, writer and storyteller. I first learned about the Long March long before coming to China. I first encountered its story in the 1960s during my college years, and gained deeper insight in the mid-1970s after reading Edgar Snow's classic work "Red Star Over China."

In 1976, after earning my Ph.D. in sociology, I left academia and for the next 30 years was a "public sociologist" working as a full-time volunteer labor organizer in poor American communities. That was when I first read Snow's vivid account of the Long March which left a strong impression on me. At that time, I saw the Long March as a glorious chapter in Chinese history: a tough journey defined by persistent effort, extraordinary courage and firm faith forged through extreme hardship.

After more than two decades living in Chinese society, observing the country's dramatic changes, communicating with people from remote villages to modern cities, and visiting revolutionary sites including Zunyi and Xibaipo, I have developed a richer and more personal understanding. Early in my time in China, I composed my first Chinese-themed song "Huai'an - Promise of the Future", which was inspired by the clear progress and development I witnessed during my earliest days residing and exploring across China.

The Long March is clearly not a closed chapter of history. From all the tremendous changes I have witnessed, I clearly see it as a living, evolving spirit for the new era. It carries lasting value and global significance, and this modern Long March spirit is what I have experienced firsthand over twenty years in China. The original Long March was a journey of survival and hope. Facing harsh natural environments, wild terrain and constant military suppression, Chinese revolutionary leaders chose faith over despair, unity over division, and collective dedication over personal gain. 

For a long time, Western narratives reduced this historic feat to an outdated legend, something of the past. They have, however, ignored its core universal spirit: bravery in adversity, resilience in the face of continuous challenges, and commitment to shared progress rather than personal gain. My twenty years in China have demonstrated to me that this spirit has never faded. It has simply taken on new meaning and adapted to the needs and dreams of the new era.

I have seen the new Long March spirit in China's grassroots development. I have traveled to remote western areas once isolated by poor transportation and trapped in long-term poverty, similar to the harsh landscapes the Long March revolutionaries endured. Today, local villagers, rural teachers, grassroots workers and engineering pioneers are undertaking a quiet yet persistent modern Long March. They have built mountain roads, connected isolated villages to the outside world, expanded education and medical resources across rural China, and lifted hundreds of millions out of poverty. There are no grand battles or dramatic heroics here. Yet every effort to change local fortunes and pursue shared prosperity embodies the perseverance and selflessness of the original Long March spirit.

I have also seen this spirit in China's progress through difficult times, such as the 2008 winter disaster and Wenchuan earthquake, the COVID-19 pandemic, and today's uncertain global environment. These were all subjects of some of the songs that I have written.

The modern world faces technological blockades, geopolitical tensions, economic fluctuations and cross-border crises. Against this backdrop, China's pursuit of independent innovation, green development and inclusive growth is a new-era Long March of exploration and innovation. Faced with core technological barriers and global development challenges,Chinese policymakers, researchers, workers and students do not back down. They keep experimenting and moving forward, inheriting the Long March's fearless spirit for national development.

Most importantly, the new Long March spirit has grown beyond the China story to become a valuable spiritual asset for the world. Its core values are universal: resilience in hardship, unity in difficulty, and dedication to long-term collective progress. Today's world faces interconnected global challenges: worsening climate change, unequal development, ongoing regional conflicts, and persistent public health risks. No country, no matter how powerful, can solve these complex problems alone.

Division, selfish competition and zero-sum efforts only widen global gaps and slow human progress. This makes the timeless wisdom of the Long March more relevant than ever.

For decades, I have taught Chinese youth, created cross-cultural music, and shared authentic Chinese stories with global audiences. I have felt this living spirit not only in national achievements, but in ordinary daily moments rarely seen by foreign visitors. Unlike short-term travelers who only witness China's urban prosperity, my long-term work in education and culture has allowed me to observe the new Long March spirit through real, hands-on cross-cultural experience.

As a foreign educator for nearly two decades at Minzu University of China, a school dedicated to the cause of ethnic unity and progress, I have guided generations of students. Some are ethnic minority youth from remote plateau, mountain and border areas in western and southwestern China— once underdeveloped and isolated frontier lands, much like the terrain of the original Long March. These students leave their hometowns at a young age, adapt to new languages and cultures, and pursue higher education while overcoming family financial pressure and heavy academic workloads, yet they never give up their dreams.

What impresses me most is their determination. They study hard not only for personal success, but to master professional skills, inherit ethnic cultures, and often return home to contribute to local construction, education, cultural revitalization and regional development. This quiet dedication to collective progress and willingness to overcome personal hardship for the public good represents the youthful continuation of the Long March's perseverance and communal spirit.

My decades of work as a songwriter, author and chief expert of the "Telling China Stories" Workshop has deepened my understanding of this evolving spirit. Throughout my years in China, I have worked to break Western stereotypes that oversimplify China's development into superficial headlines and biased political narratives. I have focused on field research, grassroots interviews and real-life artistic creation. I have traveled widely across inland provinces, ethnic autonomous regions and former poverty-stricken rural areas, listening to ordinary farmers, teachers, civil servants, artisans creating intangible cultural heritage and young community workers. I have learned their untold stories: years of persistent infrastructure building, the revival of fading ethnic traditions, and steady efforts to help villages shake off backwardness. Based on these authentic experiences, I have created cross-cultural songs, articles and academic works to present genuine Chinese stories to global English readers. My workshop's mission is simple: to show a real, vivid and human China to the world, replacing prejudice with understanding, estrangement with connection, and ignorance with respect. This long-term, persistent cross-cultural work against biased global narratives is my own modern practice of the new Long March spirit.

Through my teaching and cross-cultural work, I deeply realize that this spirit rejects stagnation and embraces continuous renewal. Western views once fixed the Long March as a distant, static historical story. But my years of immersive experience prove it is a living belief that shapes modern China. I see it in my students' growing sense of social responsibility, in the revitalization of rural communities I have documented over the years, and in Chinese innovators' courage to move forward amid external barriers. It lives in tech pioneers breaking limits, rural people reshaping their futures, and ordinary individuals choosing collective progress over personal comfort. This is not distant history, but a powerful, ongoing force driving China's new-era development and offering precious spiritual wisdom for today's troubled, interconnected world.