Independence, as a fine tradition of the Chinese nation, has become a concept for the Chinese nation to abide by consistently in practice. At different times, however, the Chinese nation has been faced with different specific historical tasks, so independence has had different contents in the eras. On the whole, the independent spirit of the Chinese nation has gone through three historical development forms: the ancient spirit of independence, the independent movement of “saving the nation from subjugation and ensuring its survival” in the modern times, and the contemporary thought of independence in the new era of socialism. In such a historical process, the Chinese nation has always adhered to the unique spirit of selfreliance, autonomy and selfimprovement.