The Dialectical Relationship between Theory and Fact

True knowledge comes from practice; practice is the fact, and true knowledge is the theory; theory originates from practice. Practice and true knowledge are not merely a relationship of coordination, but a unified relationship in which they complement each other, with practice coming first and theory coming after. Those who have not gone through practice must act in accordance with correct and truthful theory, and to verify whether the theory is correct, they must also practice. If one lacks the ability to practice and does not know the methods of practice, one cannot prove whether a theory is correct, nor can one derive correct theory.

Whether some facts are indeed facts is also worth scrutinizing. What appears on the surface to be a fact may not actually be a fact, while what does not appear to be a fact on the surface may in reality be a fact. This requires wisdom to discern; without wisdom, one cannot discern it. Wisdom means having mastered and fully possessed correct theoretical methods, and using these methods to guide practice, testing the so-called facts in practice—only then can one arrive at correct and reasonable results.