Li Hui: The Primary Characteristic of a Leading Country in Education with Chinese Characteristics
During his speech at the National Education Conference held from September 9 to 10, 2024, Xi Jinping emphasized that the leading country in education we aim to build is a socialist leading country in education with Chinese characteristics. It should possess strong ideological-political leadership, talent competitiveness, scientific and technological support capacity, livelihood guarantee capacity, social synergy, and international influence. These will provide powerful support for comprehensively advancing the great cause of building a strong country and national rejuvenation through a Chinese path to modernization. Notably, placing "ideological-political leadership" at the head of these "six capacities" represents a new contribution to the important discourse on education [1], as well as a new contribution to the theory and practice of ideological and political education.
I. Ideological-political leadership is the Chinese characteristic of building a leading country in education
The proposition of "Chinese characteristics in education" is a sub-proposition of the broader theme of "socialism with Chinese characteristics"; it is the concretization of socialism with Chinese characteristics within the realm of education. Our assertion that the leading country in education we aim to build is a socialist leading country in education with Chinese characteristics is a deepening of the thesis on socialist education with Chinese characteristics, and a deepening of the theme of building a great modern socialist country with Chinese characteristics. This is the "Chinese characteristic" dimension through which we must understand a leading country in education.
First, Xi Jinping’s discourse on Chinese characteristics in education laid the ideological foundation for understanding the Chinese characteristics of a leading country in education.
In 2014, during a speech at a seminar with faculty and students of Peking University, Xi Jinping pointed out: "To run China's world-class universities well, there must be Chinese characteristics. Without characteristics, following others' footsteps [2] and merely 'drawing a tiger following the model of a cat' [3], it is impossible to succeed." In 2016, at the National Conference on Ideological and Political Work in Universities, Xi Jinping further emphasized: "Our country has a unique history, a unique culture, and unique national conditions, which dictate that we must follow our own path of higher education development and solidly run socialist universities with Chinese characteristics. The direction of higher education development in our country must be closely linked to the realistic goals and future direction of our national development, serving the people, serving the Communist Party of China’s (CPC) governance of the country, serving the consolidation and development of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and serving reform, opening up, and socialist modernization."
In 2018, at the National Education Conference, Xi Jinping emphasized: "What we are running is socialist education. We must persist in education serving the people, serving the CPC’s governance, serving the consolidation and development of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and serving reform, opening up, and socialist modernization." In 2024, at the National Education Conference, Xi Jinping further underscored that the leading country in education we are to build is a socialist leading country in education with Chinese characteristics. From "having Chinese characteristics" to "socialist universities with Chinese characteristics," and finally to a "socialist leading country in education with Chinese characteristics," the relationship between Chinese education, building a leading country in education, and socialism with Chinese characteristics has been clarified.
Second, ideological-political leadership is the leadership of socialist ideology.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party and the state have attached great importance to socialist ideological work. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress noted: "Build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leadership." Enhancing the attractiveness of socialist ideology has become a national strategic measure. Ideological work in universities is an important component of socialist ideological work. "Ideological-political leadership" and "the attractiveness of university ideology" are different expressions of the same issue; they are essentially consistent. In the process of solidly advancing university ideological work, the integration of ideological work with higher education has accumulated valuable experience for building socialist universities with Chinese characteristics and for building a socialist leading country in education. These experiences are also applicable to ideological-political leadership.
II. Ideological-political leadership is the resultant force of ideological-political elements moving in the same direction
Generally, "ideological-political" (sizheng) is an abbreviation for ideological and political education or ideological and political work. As a practice of cultivating people, ideological-political education belongs to the education system, running parallel to intellectual education, cultural education, and labor education. As a part of the Party’s work, ideological and political work runs parallel to organizational work and united front work. In schools, "ideological-political education" and "ideological and political work" are used interchangeably. Ideological-political leadership refers to the leadership of "ideological-political" [elements] over practices such as teaching, management, and service. This leadership mainly includes ideological leadership, value leadership, and goal leadership.
First, the ideological leadership of Marxist thought.
The so-called ideological leadership refers to the leadership of scientific thought, specifically the leadership of Marxism and its Sinicized theoretical achievements. Marxism is a scientific theory that reveals the general laws of human social development and points out where we are going—it is the leadership of developmental direction. Marxism is a theory of the people; it not only views the people as the "actors" [4] in history but also insists that the people are the "authors" of historical development, clarifying for whom and upon whom social development depends—it is the leadership of practice. Marxism leads various social trends of thought to achieve the goal of ideological self-awareness among the broad masses.
Second, the value leadership of the core socialist values.
Under the conditions of a market economy, the coexistence of multiple forms of ownership of the means of production has produced diverse relations of production. The objective fact of "one globe, two systems" [5] also causes the dual influences of capitalism and socialism to overlap. Consequently, this leads to continuous value contradictions, value differentiation, and value conflicts. To form the "greatest common denominator" [6] in values, we must cultivate and practice the core socialist values. These values consolidate soul and energy to form a social consensus.
Third, the goal leadership of "fostering virtue through education" (lider shuren).
Regarding the value of education: at the primary and secondary levels, exam-oriented education aimed at the Gaokao (National College Entrance Examination) has a profound influence. In universities, the main functions are teaching, scientific research, social service, and cultural inheritance.
In 2018, Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Education Conference: "Currently, the most prominent problem in education is that primary and secondary students are too burdened and exhausted. Some practices in school operations are too short-sighted and utilitarian. More seriously, everyone knows this situation is wrong, yet they continue down this path, sinking deeper and deeper! Quality-oriented education has been proposed for over twenty years and has made some progress, but overall, the results across different regions are imbalanced. Ultimately, the requirement of 'fostering virtue through education' has not been fully implemented in systems and mechanisms. The 'conducting baton' [7] of education in primary and secondary schools is actually test scores and enrollment rates; in universities, it is mainly scientific research papers. The proper status and scientific evaluation system for moral and quality-oriented education have not been truly established. This is a chronic problem that must be solved. We must resolutely overcome the persistent ailments [8] of 'the five onlys'—only scores, only enrollment, only diplomas, only papers, and only titles [9]—to fundamentally solve the problem of the 'conducting baton' in education evaluation and reverse the utilitarian tendency in education. We must comprehensively implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education..." With fostering virtue as the goal leadership, we are committed to the all-round development of students in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor dimensions, integrating private morality, public morality, and "great morality" (dade) to form a consensus on educational development. Furthermore, there is the cultural leadership of advanced socialist culture.
Ideological leadership, value leadership, and goal leadership can only condense into a "resultant force" [10] when they function together, with a consistent direction and consistent strength, forming an effect of "moving in the same direction."
III. Practical paths to further enhance ideological-political leadership
Exerting ideological-political leadership is a fine tradition and political advantage of the CPC. From the dictum that "ideological and political work is the lifeblood of the Party" to the view that "ideological and political work is an important way of governing the Party and the country," all reflect the importance attached to ideological-political leadership. In a leading country in education, ideological-political leadership has already constructed pathways such as goal leadership, disciplinary leadership, curriculum leadership, and evaluation leadership. How to further improve these systems and mechanisms is a question worthy of study.
First, disciplinary leadership.
The focus of disciplinary leadership is to lead textbook construction through the construction of key materials of the "Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project" (Ma-Gong-Cheng), and to lead the development of philosophy and social science disciplines through the construction of the Marxist theory discipline.
Adhering to the guidance of Marxism is the fundamental hallmark distinguishing contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences from others. We must accelerate the construction of the disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics to form China's independent knowledge system. To this end, in 2004, the Central Committee launched the Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project. In 2018, Xi Jinping noted: "Textbooks are the main carriers for disseminating knowledge... They must adhere to the guiding position of Marxism and reflect the requirements of the Sinicization of Marxism... Textbooks that are incorrect or inadequate in political orientation must be vetoed with a 'one-vote veto' [11]. Textbooks that simply slap on political labels... and slice up political content to insert it out of context, resulting in something 'neither fish nor fowl' [12], are also unacceptable." The construction of the textbook system and the academic/disciplinary/discourse systems are complementary and represent the concentrated manifestation of the results of China’s independent knowledge system construction. Only by adhering to the guiding position of Marxism can textbook construction ensure the Chinese characteristics, the people's standpoint, and the socialist nature of education. At the same time, textbook construction must adhere to a problem-oriented approach, using Chinese discourse to explain Chinese practice, experience, and logic while scientifically answering the "Questions of China, the World, the People, and the Times." The key to textbook construction in the New Era lies in adhering to the principle of the "Two Combinations," further promoting the integration of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era into the curriculum and textbook system, and prompting the transformation from the textbook system to the teaching system and then to the students' conceptual system. Only by persisting in "soul-shaping and person-cultivation" (zhuhun yuren) through the Party’s innovative theories can we mold more "New Men of the Times" who are trusted by the Party, patriotic, and dedicated to the heavy responsibility of national rejuvenation.
In 2005, the first-level discipline of Marxist Theory was established. How to use this discipline to "pilot" (linghang) other philosophy and social science disciplines requires further exploration. Whether through the construction of Project textbooks or the discipline itself, the common goal is to uphold the fundamental system of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological sphere.
Second, curriculum leadership.
Classroom teaching is the main channel for fostering virtue through education, and the "Ideological and Political Theory Course" (Sizheng Ke) is the key course for implementing this fundamental task. All other courses should "guard their own section of the canal and tend their own field of responsibility" [13] in coordination with the Ideological and Political Theory Course, moving in the same direction to form a synergy in cultivating people. The current pattern of isomorphism between "Ideological and Political Theory Courses" and "Curriculum Ideological-Political" (Kecheng Sizheng) [14] is the embodiment of ideological-political leadership in curriculum construction.
Third, evaluation leadership.
In the process of "breaking the five onlys," we must establish an evaluation system oriented toward fostering virtue through education. In 2018, Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must strive to build an educational system for the comprehensive cultivation of moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor qualities... Practices that are conducive to this goal must be resolutely adopted, and those that are not must be changed." Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party and state have issued a series of policy documents to promote education evaluation reform. In 2020, the CPC Central Committee and the State Council issued the Overall Plan for Deepening the Reform of Education Evaluation in the New Era (the "Overall Plan"). As a programmatic document, it is of great significance for implementing the Party’s educational policy, improving the mechanisms for fostering virtue through education, and guiding the whole Party and society to establish scientific views on educational development and talent growth. Education evaluation is a systemic project that requires coordination within the broader social system. By improving the evaluation system for different subjects—Party committees, governments, schools, teachers, students, and society—we lay a solid conceptual foundation and clear goal orientation for building a leading country in education. The foundation of these three paths is the goal leadership of fostering virtue through education.
In conclusion, ideological-political leadership on one hand embodies the Chinese characteristics of a leading country in education, and on the other hand, through its enhancement, demonstrates the superiority of the theory and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. These two aspects are unified in the fundamental task of education: "What kind of people to cultivate, how to cultivate them, and for whom they are cultivated."