Karl Marx had passed away for more than a century, but he still enjoys high reputation among the world's people, and Marxism has experienced unprecedented development.

Following is the full text of this article written by Xue Baosheng:

Before I went to Britain, I had never expected that Karl Marx would enjoy such a high position in the hearts of Westerners.

On our way to pay homage to Marx's tome, we asked a man to show us the way to get there. At first, he did not know who Marx was, but when he learned that it was Karl Marx, he joyfully patted me on the shoulder, shouting: Oh, it is Karl Marx! Then he put down his baggage and drew a sketch showing us the way to get there, he repeatedly held up his thumb, expressing his admiration and respect for Karl Marx.

wing the route he showed us, we went into the depth of the bush in the Highgate Cemetery, the farther we went, the more solemn atmosphere we found it prevailing there. When the highest tomb-stone came into view, we saw the familiar statue: an amiable old man, wise scholar, fearless fighter and giant who predicted and created a new world. On the tomb-stone was inscribed with the flashing famous remark: "Proletarians of the World, Unite!", that was rending the open sky.

Lots of flowers were placed before the tomb of Marx, some of which were withering, others were bright red. It can be imagined that there had been an endless stream of people coming to pay respect here. Although many places in Britain and elsewhere in the world seemed to see only the ray of money, the working people always cherish the memory of this wise man and sage. This was a once penniless Jew who had written Capital, the Bible of the Proletarians. Those cherishing the memory of him came from all corners of the world. A writer presented pieces of his new works before Marx's tomb, on the cover of which was printed with a steelworker who was sweating profusely amidst the glare of flames.

Amid mist and in the glow of the setting sun, we sat silently on a huge rock before the tomb-stone, retrospecting the manner of that man and the fresh and withering flowers placed before the tomb and experiencing the surrounding sacredness and solemnity, the heart-stirring speech made by Friedrich Engels before the tomb of Marx, "The blank formed after the death of this giant will soon be felt by the people", was ringing in our ears.

More than a century has elapsed since the death of Karl Marx, Marxism has experienced unprecedented development, history has left behind a long stretch of blank. In a bid to fill up the "blank" and thoroughly change the destiny of the laboring people, the successors to Marxism have waged persistent and arduous struggles, with the result that the 20th century has witnessed the great development of and major achievements in socialism. At the same time, because this stretch of "blank" as well as the process needed for the late-comers to renew their understanding and practice of socialism, the cause of socialism has experienced unavoidable frustrations and setbacks. Our Party, in leading the people of the whole country, has finally found the road of building socialism with Chinese characteristics and continues writing the historical chapter about the transition from utopian to scientific socialism for the realization of the great prediction of Marxism. In a certain sense, this also means filling in the "blank". This represents a new development of Marxism under new historical conditions. What a price history and we have paid for the achievement of this new development!

However, no matter how tortuous the road is, truth is, after all, truth. In September 1999, in the appraisal of the world's most influential great man of the past millennium made by BBC (the British Broadcasting Corporation) through Internet, Karl Marx headed the list. British social system and ideology are different from those of the socialist countries, while Marxism, at the time of its birth, was seen as a "specter". This, of course, does not mean that Marxism is immutable and will no longer develop. On the contrary, its life hinges upon practice, the time and human destiny, and is combined with the achievements of mankind's most advanced ideology and culture, only then, can its basic viewpoints remain everlasting.

Marxism is not the whim and accidental discovery of the great man, but rather it is the epitome of the achievements of mankind's most advanced ideology and culture, it is pure gold extracted from knowledge minerals. So far, we have not learned of any scholar who, like Marx, has left behind deep footprints on the ground of the Museum of Great Britain. Comrade Mao Zedong said with feeling that there were not many people in our Party who really understood Marxism, so he advocated studying Marxism hard and learning from Marx. Whether in theory or in practice, one should display this hardworking spirit, always race against the time, and pursue the achievements of mankind's most advanced ideology and culture at all times and draw nourishment therefrom.