Abstract: In the process of constructing an independent knowledge system, "Chinese Characteristics" functions as a transitional discourse, undergoing a functional transformation from the situational to the normative. Over the past forty-plus years of reform and opening-up, academic discourses have responded to political discourse in various ways, revealing the internal logic and applicability boundaries of the "Chinese Characteristics" discourse in the realm of knowledge production. This process highlights the tensions between the political normative and academic independence, between local particularity and theoretical universality, as well as the dilemma of choice in the modern transformation of traditional resources. To transcend the functional limitations of the "Chinese Characteristics" discourse, it is necessary to grasp the intrinsic relationship between "Chinese Characteristics" and "Chinese Self-reliance" as unified within "Chinese path to modernization" in the context of world modernization. This will facilitate a fundamental shift in knowledge production from "taking the West as method and China as purpose" to "taking China as method and the world as purpose." The construction of an independent knowledge system is thus rooted both in the tradition of Chinese civilization and contemporary practice, while also addressing major issues of common human concern.