How to accurately evaluate historical figures?

We must adhere to historical materialism.

The so-called historical materialism is "to explain people's consciousness by their existence; Instead of using people's consciousness to explain their existence, as has been the case in the past". (Engels: "The Development of Socialism from Utopia to Science").

Historical materialism requires that the evaluation of historical figures must be commented on under specific historical conditions, and must not be judged in isolation from the historical conditions of the time. To put it bluntly, it is necessary to determine the evaluation criteria for historical figures according to the "social existence" of the time, the historical conditions, and evaluate the historical role of historical figures on this basis.

The merits of history are judged not by the fact that historical activists did not provide what modern times demanded, but by what they offered more than their predecessors. (Lenin, "On Economic Romanticism").

For example, the evaluation of historical figures in modern China cannot be separated from the historical background of modern China.

The entire modern history of China is the process of imperialism conquering China's ruling class by constantly waging wars of aggression, signing a series of unequal treaties that humiliated the country, and then colluding with each other to gradually turn an independent feudal China into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal China. At the same time, it was also a process in which the Chinese people continued to carry out anti-aggression and anti-feudal struggles, and finally, under the leadership of the Communist Party of China, overthrew the three mountains of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucratic capitalism, and won the victory of the new democratic revolution in China, thus advancing the development of history.

The above historical facts show that the harsh reality of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society is the basic national condition of modern China. The basic contradictions in semi-colonial and semi-feudal Chinese society are: the contradiction between imperialism and the Chinese nation, and the contradiction between feudalism and the masses of the people; The contradiction between imperialism and the Chinese nation is the main contradiction.

The main contradictions in modern Chinese society, combined with the development trend of modern world history, determine the historical theme of modern China. These are: First, it is necessary to get rid of the aggression and oppression of foreign imperialism, fulfill the historical mission of the anti-imperialist struggle, and solve the problem of national independence; Second, after completing the new democratic revolution, we should take the socialist road, solve the problem of modernization, and catch up with and surpass the world's development level.

From this, it can be concluded that in China's modern history, all historical figures who have made outstanding contributions to the cause of China's modernization should be affirmed for opposing imperialism, feudalism and their lackeys. On the contrary, all historical figures who stand on the side of imperialism, feudalism and reaction should be denied. Like ***, the people's leaders who have made great contributions to solve the two major historical themes of modern China - national independence and modernization are naturally the greatest national heroes of the Chinese nation. -

Most people can't do it, why, because most people can't get in touch with the truth of history, the primary premise of the so-called materialist view of history, seeking truth from facts, and not understanding what you really want to do. There is also objectivity, what is objective, many people still don't understand, objective is not subjective, this many can't do it at all, idealistic, the supervisor's view of the problem is a common problem for most people, objective has nothing to do with morality, just a scientific and rigorous attitude towards things.

Three points: look at the overall situation and abandon trivialities. The second is to read history in parallel.

It is impossible to accurately evaluate history, especially the relevant figures of the CCP! Because to this day, China has not adopted the system of declassifying historical raw materials!