实践的观点是马克思主义哲学最基本的观点，实事求是是马克思主义的活的灵魂。坚持一切从实际出发、理论联系实际、实事求是的思想路线，是中国共产党人把马克思主义基本原理与中国实际相结合，领导中国人民进行社会主义革命和社会主义建设不断取得胜利的基本经验。改革开放以来，在实事求是、与时俱进思想路线指导下，中国特色社会主义伟大事业取得了举世瞩目的伟大成就，中国道路、中国经验在世界上赢得广泛赞誉。丰富多彩的成功实践推进了中国化马克思主义的理论创新，也为哲学社会科学各学科的繁荣发展提供了坚实沃土。时代呼唤理论创新，实践需要哲学社会科学为中国特色社会主义理论体系的创新发展做出更大的贡献。在中国这样一个统一的多民族的社会主义国家，中国特色的民族理论、民族政策、民族工作，构成了中国特色社会主义的重要组成部分。经济快速发展和剧烈社会转型，民族地区全面建成小康社会，进而实现中华民族的伟大复兴，迫切需要中国特色民族理论和民族工作的创新，而扎扎实实开展调查研究则是推进民族研究事业适应时代要求、实现理论创新、服务发展需要的基本途径。

早在20世纪50年代，应民族地区的民主改革和民族识别之需，我国进行了全国规模的少数民族社会历史与语言调查，今称“民族大调查”。这次大调查搜集获取了大量的有关民族地区社会历史的丰富资料，形成300多个调查报告。在此次调查的基础上，整理出版了400余种、6000多万字的民族社会历史建设的巨大系统工程——《民族问题五种丛书》，为党和政府制定民族政策和民族工作方针，在民族地区开展民主改革和推动少数民族经济社会的全面发展提供了重要的依据，也为新中国民族研究事业的发展奠定了坚实的基础。

半个多世纪过去了，如今我国边疆民族地区发生了巨大而深刻的变化，各民族逐渐摆脱了贫困落后的生产生活状态，正在向文明富裕的现代化社会迈进。但同时我们也要看到，由于历史和现实的原因，各民族之间以及不同民族地区之间经济社会的发展依然存在着很大的差距，民族地区经济发展不平衡性问题以及各种社会问题、民族问题、宗教问题、生态问题，日益成为推动民族地区经济社会发展必须着力解决的紧迫问题。深入民族地区开展长期、广泛而深入的调查研究，全面了解各民族地区经济社会发展面临的新情况、新问题，科学把握各民族地区经济社会发展趋势，是时代赋予民族学工作者的使命。

半个多世纪以来，中国社会科学院民族学与人类学研究所一直把调查研究作为立所之本。1956年成立的少数民族语言研究所和1958年成立的民族研究所（1962年两所合并），从某种意义上讲，就是第一次民族大调查催生的结果。作为我国多学科、综合性、国家级的民族问题专业研究机构，民族所非常重视田野调查，几代学人已在中国各民族地区近1000个点进行过田野调研。20世纪90年代，民族所进行了第二次民族地区典型调查，积数年之功完成了20余部调研专著。进入新的历史时期，为了更好地贯彻党中央对我院“三个定位”的要求，进一步明确今后一个时期的发展目标和主攻方向，民族所集思广益，经过反复酝酿、周密论证，组织实施了“21世纪初中国少数民族地区经济社会发展综合调查”。这是我国民族学研究事业发展的迫切需要，也是做好新时期民族工作的前提和基础。

在充分利用自20世纪50年代以来开展的少数民族社会历史与语言调查相关研究成果的基础上，本次民族大调查将选择60—70个民族区域自治地方（包括城市、县旗或民族乡）作为调查点，围绕民族地区政治、经济、社会、文化、生态五大文明建设而展开，计划用4—5年的时间，形成60—70个田野调查报告，出版50部左右的田野民族志专著。民族调查是一种专业性、学科性的调查，但在学科分化与整合均非常明显的当代学术背景下，要通过调查研究获得开拓性的成果，除了运用民族学、人类学的田野调查方法外，还需结合社会学问卷调查方式和国情调研、社会调查方式，把静态与动态、微观与宏观、定量分析与定性分析、典型与一般有机结合起来，突出调查研究的时代性、民族性和区域性。这是新时期开展民族大调查的新要求。

立足当代、立足中国的“民族国情”，妥善处理民族问题，促进各民族平等团结，促进各民族地区繁荣发展，是中国特色社会主义的重要任务。“21世纪初中国少数民族地区经济社会发展综合调查”作为国家社科基金特别委托项目和中国社会科学院创新工程重大项目，希望立足改革开放以来少数民族地区的发展变化，围绕少数民族地区经济社会发展，有针对性地开展如下调查研究：（1）民族地区经济发展现状与存在问题调查研究；（2）民族地区社会转型、进步与发展调查研究；（3）西部大开发战略与民族问题调查研究；（4）坚持和完善民族区域自治制度调查研究；（5）民族地区宗教问题调查研究；（6）民族地区教育与科技调查研究；（7）少数民族传统文化与现代化调查研究。

调查研究是加强学科建设、队伍建设和切实发挥智库作用的重要保障。基础研究与应用对策研究是现代社会科学不可分割的有机统一的整体。通过全面深入系统的调查研究，我们冀望努力达成以下几个目标：一是全面考察中国特色民族理论、民族政策的探索和实践过程，凝练和总结中国解决民族地区发展问题、确立和谐民族关系、促进各民族共同繁荣发展的经验，把握民族工作的一般规律，为未来的民族工作提供坚实的理论支撑，为丰富和发展中国特色社会主义理论体系做出贡献。二是全面展示改革开放特别是进入21世纪以来民族地区经济社会发展的辉煌成就，展示以“平等、团结、互助、和谐”为核心内容的新型民族关系的当代发展状况，反映各族人民社会生活的深刻变化，增强各民族的自豪感、自信心，建设中华民族共同体，增强中华民族凝聚力。三是深入调查探寻边疆民族地区经济社会发展中存在的问题，准确把握未来发展面临的困难与挑战，为党和国家全面了解各民族发展现状、把握发展趋势、制定未来发展规划提供可靠依据。四是通过深入民族地区进行扎实系统的调研，搜集丰富翔实的第一手资料，构筑我国民族地区社会发展的基础信息平台，夯实民族研究的基础，训练培养一支新时代的民族问题研究骨干队伍，为民族学研究和民族地区未来发展奠定坚实的人才基础。

我们深信，参与调查研究的每一个专家和项目组成员，秉承民族学人类学界前辈学人脚踏实地、不怕吃苦、勤于田野、精于思考的学风，真正深入民族地区、深入田野，广泛汇集干部群众的意见、倾听干部群众的呼声，通过多种方式方法取得丰富的数据资料，通过科学严谨的数据分析和系统深入的理论研究，一定会取得丰硕的成果。这不仅会成为新世纪我国民族学与人类学学科建设的一个重要里程碑，也一定会为党和政府提供重要决策参考，为促进我国民族理论和民族工作的新发展，为在民族地区全面建成小康社会，为实现中华民族的伟大复兴做出应有的贡献。

The practical viewpoint is the most basic viewpoint of Marxist philosophy, and seeking truth from facts is the living soul of Marxism. Adhering to the ideological line of proceeding from reality, integrating theory with practice, and seeking truth from facts is the basic experience of the Chinese Communists in integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China's reality and leading the Chinese people to carry out socialist revolution and socialist construction to victory continuously. Since the reform and opening up, under the guidance of the ideological line of seeking truth from facts and advancing with the times, the great cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics has made great achievements that have attracted worldwide attention, and China's road and experience have won widespread praise in the world. The rich and successful practice has promoted the theoretical innovation of Chinese-style Marxism, and also provided a solid fertile soil for the prosperity and development of various disciplines of philosophy and social sciences. The times call for theoretical innovation, and practice requires philosophy and social sciences to make greater contributions to the innovation and development of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In such a unified multi-ethnic socialist country as China, ethnic theory, ethnic policy and ethnic work with Chinese characteristics constitute an important part of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Rapid economic development and drastic social transformation, the comprehensive construction of a moderately prosperous society in ethnic areas, and the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, urgently need innovation in ethnic theory and ethnic work with Chinese characteristics, and carrying out investigation and research in a down-to-earth manner is the basic way to promote ethnic studies to meet the requirements of the times, achieve theoretical innovation, and serve the needs of development. As early as the 50s of the 20th century, in response to the needs of democratic reform and ethnic identification in ethnic areas, China conducted a nationwide survey on the social history and language of ethnic minorities, now known as the "Great Ethnic Survey". This survey collected a large amount of rich information on the social history of ethnic areas, and formed more than 300 survey reports. On the basis of this survey, the "Five Series of Books on Ethnic Issues" -- a huge systematic project of more than 400 kinds and more than 60 million words of national social history construction -- was sorted out and published, which provided an important basis for the party and government to formulate ethnic policies and ethnic work guidelines, carry out democratic reform in ethnic minority areas, and promote the comprehensive economic and social development of ethnic minorities, and also laid a solid foundation for the development of ethnic studies in New China. More than half a century has passed, and now tremendous and profound changes have taken place in China's border ethnic areas, and all ethnic groups have gradually shaken off poverty and backwardness in their production and living conditions and are moving towards a civilized and prosperous modern society. At the same time, however, we should also realize that, due to historical and practical reasons, there are still great gaps in economic and social development between various ethnic groups and between different ethnic regions, and the problem of unbalanced economic development in ethnic areas, as well as various social, ethnic, religious and ecological problems, have increasingly become urgent issues that must be solved in promoting the economic and social development of ethnic areas. It is the mission entrusted by the times to carry out long-term, extensive and in-depth investigation and research in ethnic areas, to comprehensively understand the new situations and problems facing the economic and social development of various ethnic areas, and to scientifically grasp the trend of economic and social development in various ethnic areas. For more than half a century, the Institute of Ethnology and Anthropology of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences has regarded investigation and research as the foundation of the institute. The Institute of Minority Languages, established in 1956, and the Institute of Ethnic Studies, established in 1958 (merged in 1962), are, in a sense, the result of the first ethnic survey. As a multidisciplinary, comprehensive and national-level professional research institution on ethnic issues in China, the Institute attaches great importance to fieldwork, and generations of scholars have conducted fieldwork in nearly 1,000 points in various ethnic areas of China. In the 90s of the 20th century, the Institute of Nationalities conducted the second typical survey of ethnic areas, and completed more than 20 research monographs over the years. In the new historical period, in order to better implement the requirements of the Party Central Committee for the "three orientations" of our institute and further clarify the development goals and main direction of attack in the coming period, the nationalities pooled their wisdom and wisdom, and after repeated deliberation and careful argumentation, organized and implemented the "Comprehensive Survey on the Economic and Social Development of China's Ethnic Minority Areas in the Early 21st Century". This is an urgent need for the development of ethnological research in our country, and it is also the premise and foundation for doing a good job in ethnic work in the new period. On the basis of making full use of the research results related to the social history and language survey of ethnic minorities carried out since the 50s of the 20th century, this ethnic survey will select 60-70 ethnic regional autonomous areas (including cities, county banners or ethnic townships) as the survey points, focusing on the construction of the five major civilizations of politics, economy, society, culture and ecology in ethnic areas, and plan to form 60-70 fieldwork reports and publish about 50 field ethnographic monographs in 4-5 years. Ethnic survey is a kind of professional and disciplinary investigation, but in the contemporary academic background where the differentiation and integration of disciplines are very obvious, in order to obtain pioneering results through investigation and research, in addition to using the fieldwork methods of ethnology and anthropology, it is also necessary to combine the sociological questionnaire survey method, national condition survey and social survey method, and organically combine static and dynamic, micro and macro, quantitative and qualitative analysis, typical and general, and highlight the epochal, national and regional nature of investigation and research. This is a new requirement for carrying out a large-scale ethnic survey in the new period. Based on the contemporary era and China's "national conditions", properly handling ethnic issues, promoting equality and unity among all ethnic groups, and promoting the prosperity and development of all ethnic regions are important tasks of socialism with Chinese characteristics. As a special commissioned project of the National Social Science Foundation and a major project of the Innovation Project of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, the "Comprehensive Survey on the Economic and Social Development of Ethnic Minority Areas in China in the Early 21st Century" hopes to base on the development and changes of ethnic minority areas since the reform and opening up, and focus on the economic and social development of ethnic minority areas, and carry out the following targeted investigations and studies: (1) Investigation and research on the current situation and existing problems of economic development in ethnic minority areas; (2) Investigation and research on social transformation, progress and development in ethnic areas; (3) Investigation and research on the strategy of the large-scale development of the western region and ethnic issues; (4) Adhere to and improve the investigation and study of the system of regional ethnic autonomy; (5) Investigation and research on religious issues in ethnic areas; (6) Investigation and research on education and science and technology in ethnic minority areas; (7) Investigation and research on traditional culture and modernization of ethnic minorities. Investigation and research is an important guarantee for strengthening the construction of disciplines, team building and effectively playing the role of think tanks. Basic research and applied countermeasure research are an inseparable and unified whole of modern social sciences. Through comprehensive, in-depth and systematic investigation and research, we hope to strive to achieve the following goals: First, comprehensively examine the exploration and practice process of ethnic theory and ethnic policies with Chinese characteristics, condense and summarize China's experience in solving the development problems of ethnic regions, establishing harmonious ethnic relations, and promoting the common prosperity and development of all ethnic groups, grasp the general law of ethnic work, provide solid theoretical support for future ethnic work, and contribute to the enrichment and development of the theoretical system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. The second is to comprehensively display the brilliant achievements of economic and social development in ethnic minority areas since the beginning of reform and opening up, especially since the beginning of the 21st century, show the contemporary development of a new type of ethnic relations with "equality, unity, mutual assistance and harmony" as the core content, reflect the profound changes in the social life of the people of all ethnic groups, enhance the pride and self-confidence of all ethnic groups, build the Chinese national community, and enhance the cohesion of the Chinese nation. The third is to conduct in-depth investigation and explore the problems existing in the economic and social development of border ethnic areas, accurately grasp the difficulties and challenges facing future development, and provide a reliable basis for the party and the state to fully understand the development status of various ethnic groups, grasp the development trend, and formulate future development plans. The fourth is to conduct solid and systematic research in ethnic areas, collect rich and detailed first-hand information, build a basic information platform for social development in ethnic areas, consolidate the foundation of ethnic studies, train and cultivate a backbone team for ethnic issues research in the new era, and lay a solid talent foundation for ethnological research and the future development of ethnic areas. We are convinced that every expert and project team member involved in the investigation and research, adhering to the study style of the predecessors in the field of ethnological anthropology, who are down-to-earth, not afraid of hardship, diligent in the field, and proficient in thinking, truly go deep into the ethnic areas and fields, widely gather the opinions of the cadres and masses, listen to the voices of the cadres and the masses, obtain rich data through various methods and methods, and achieve fruitful results through scientific and rigorous data analysis and systematic and in-depth theoretical research. This will not only become an important milestone in the construction of ethnology and anthropology disciplines in China in the new century, but also provide important decision-making reference for the party and government, promote the new development of China's ethnic theory and ethnic work, build a moderately prosperous society in ethnic areas in an all-round way, and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.（AI翻译）