Abstract: An insight into the specific stages of Li Dazhao’s ideological evolution from 1913 to 1920 tells that his cultural outlook experiences a systematic transformation from a dialectical examination of Eastern and Western cultures and an exploration of their reconciliation to integrating the two sides with Marxism as the core. Rooted in profound traditional Chinese cultural foundations, he deconstructed Confucianism through an approach of dialectical sublation, criticizing the dross of Confucian thought that served autocracy while upholding its cultural essences such as benevolence and universal harmony. From a rational critical perspective, he examined the Western “dynamic civilization”, affirming its spirit of reform and innovation while exposing its deep-seated drawbacks including material worship and institutional hypocrisy derived from capitalist logic. After the October Revolution, the introduction of Marxism equipped Li Dazhao with scientific ideological tools and analytical frameworks, elevating his vague conception of reconciling China and the West into a Marxist cultural proposition centered on the Theory of the Socialist Third Civilization. This transformation blazed a third path for cultural development amid the binary opposition between total Westernization and cultural conservatism during the May Fourth Movement. It also carries profound contemporary implications: Li Dazhao’s cultural stance of upholding fundamentals while pursuing innovation, dialectical integrative thinking, reality-based value orientation, and commitment to civilizational self-confidence offer vital historical references and methodological guidance for adhering to the “Two Integrations” in the new era.

Key words: Li Dazhao, transformation of cultural outlook, Theory of the Third Civilization, cultural subjectivity, the Two Integrations