The resounding success of Deepseek Nezha 2 is a powerful voice of the renaissance era of Chinese civilization

Wang Yiwei and Xiong Yihan During the 2025 Spring Festival, the artificial intelligence software Deepseek and the animated film "Nezha 2" achieved global popularity, symbolizing the comprehensive rise of China's new forms of hard and soft power. Nowadays, Deepseek reincarnates Qu Yuan's ethos of 'Long is the road and far, far away; I will search up and down' in the AI era. while "Nezha 2" vividly interprets the wisdom of ancient Chinese philosophies, especially the Taoist idea that "My fate is in my own hands, not in Heaven's."

More importantly, both showcase the deep integration of Marxist principles with China's excellent traditional culture, transcending the Western logic of capital, technology, and divinity. They resonate with the universal human pursuit of a better life. Some key examples include:

1. Materialism: From Xunzi's "Mastering destiny and putting it to use" to Deng Xiaoping's "Development is the absolute principle," the combination of Marxist materialism and traditional Chinese materialistic thought is well reflected in China's modernization. New forms of productivity ensure high-quality development. The satire on deities in Nezha 2 incisively reveals the materialist underpinnings of Chinese culture.

2. Dialectics: The digitalization of industries and the industrialization of digital technologies are not just about catching up. More importantly, dialectical thinking has enabled China's parallel and leapfrog development, balancing security and progress. Face the invasion and attack of deepseek by overseas hackers Chinese security software worked closely together to ensure its safe operation. In "Nezha 2," the protagonists Nezha and Ao Bing represent the opposition of "demon" and "immortal," yet their fates are closely intertwined. Nezha is reincarnated from a "demon pill," while Ao Bing is the embodiment of a "divine pearl," symbolizing the interdependence of opposing forces.

3. Theory of Practice: From Confucius's "Learning and constantly practicing what is learned" to Wang Yangming's "Unity of knowledge and action," and Mao Zedong's "On Practice," Chinese philosophical ideas emphasize pragmatism. This is different from European rationalism, focusing on regulating development and developing within regulation. Inspired by the US "Stargate" program and Deepseek, French President Emmanuel Macron recently held an AI action summit in Paris, lamenting that if Europe fails to harness the power of AI and new technologies, its democratic traditions, values, and even language could be at risk. This concern reflects the realization that Europe's overemphasis on "normative power" has led to its lag in AI development compared to the US and China.

As the world's top-grossing animated film, we believe that the cultural output and national sentiment in "Nezha 2" are fundamental to its box-office success. The film combines Sichuanese architectural elements, bronze ware patterns, and Sichuan opera rhythms to create a "Bashu geo-aesthetic." It incorporates cultural heritages like the Sanxingdui civilization, Mongolian throat singing, and Dong ethnic group's grand songs, breathing new life into traditional culture. Advanced technologies such as ink-particle animation, digital image reconstruction (NVIDIA FleX), bio-mechanical engineering (FACS coding), and visual effects synthesis have been integrated to produce over 1,900 special effects shots, presenting the "Oriental Unique Aesthetics" to the world.

A total of 142 animation studios participated in the production, with 138 being Chinese. After nearly two decades of continuous exploration, they have successfully overcome numerous challenges, integrating art and technology to form a unique "Made-in-China" animation industry chain. The ascendance of Chinese animation has cultivated cultural confidence, enabling audiences to appreciate domestic creativity while maintaining engagement with international cinematic achievements. The spirit of perseverance shown by Chinese tech workers, like Nezha, reflects the determination of all Chinese scientists and engineers.

The phrase "My fate is in my own hands, not in Heaven's" symbolizes the breakthrough path of Chinese AI: represented by Deepseek, Chinese AI forces are breaking through US-led technological blockades and writing an Eastern myth of intelligence.

Three Keys to Deepseek's Success in Challenging Dominance:

1. Showcasing the Depth of Chinese Civilization: Deepseek embodies a cultural foundation that relies on human effort rather than divine intervention. The Chinese language, with its 3,500 commonly used characters, outperforms English, which constantly invents new words, leading to soaring learning costs for large language models. The success of Deepseek, like ByteDance before it, reflects the spirit of ancient Chinese myths such as Hou Yi shooting the sun and Jingwei filling the sea.

2. A Different Approach to Capitalism: Unlike Western capital-driven models, Deepseek focuses on minimizing costs rather than relying on massive funding. For example, Liang Wenfeng, a computer science master from Zhejiang University, founded Huanfang Fund with classmates, using AI technology to achieve significant returns. When the fund reached a profit of 1 billion yuan, Liang established Deepseek, developing a computing model with 10,000 A100 GPUs that costs 50% less and consumes 40% less energy than NVIDIA's DGX-A100 while offering comparable functionality. Though with only 300 employees, each has become a multimillionaire. Liang also donated over 100 million yuan in the name of an ordinary pig. The underlying logic of capitalism is twofold: first, it is based on the extraction of surplus value, and second, it involves the subjugation of the state by capital.Contemporary societies exhibit multilayered configurations, with varied citizen engagement models across nations. Within the evolving multipolar framework, Deepseek's emergence has stimulated critical examinations of algorithmic governance frameworks, prompting constructive dialogues on equitable technological development in the global digital ecosystem.

3. A Unique Understanding of Technology: Deepseek emphasizes the importance of tailoring technological talent to national conditions, much like the Chinese saying, "Those who live near mountains live off the mountains; those who live near waters live off the waters ".While some argue that China's population limits its talent pool compared to the global reach of the US, Deepseek's large language model transcends Chinese culture and belongs to the world. This demonstrates that Chinese technology can be adapted to various national contexts without the need for hegemonic dominance. In a way, this marks the end of the post-industrial-revolution era of great powers competing for colonies and spheres of influence.

Conclusion: The success of Deepseek and "Nezha 2" represents a powerful resonance of the resurgence of Chinese civilization. It breaks the so-called "end of history" narrative by integrating human, capital, and technological forces on the basis of traditional Chinese cultural harmony. The establishment of the International STEM Education Institute in Shanghai and the systematic efforts of "Made in China 2025" showcase the combined power of industrialization and digitalization. More surprises and marvels are expected in the future. This is not only the root of Western astonishment but also an inspiration for countries like France and India to explore their own paths, leveraging their unique languages and cultures to achieve breakthroughs.

(Affiliation: School of International Studies and School of Art, Renmin University of China)