Zhang Wu: The Function of Humanistic Spirit in the Process of Chinese-Style Modernization

Chinese-path modernization possesses profound cultural significance. This is because it is not only a modernization in which material and spiritual civilizations are coordinated, but one that elevates "development" to the level of "civilization"; it is a modernization possessing a height of principle. Chinese-path modernization does not merely create a new model for economic and social development; it creates a new form of human civilization. In other words, Chinese-path modernization must reconstruct the developmental model of modernization while simultaneously redefining modern civilization itself. Xi Jinping proposed the important concept of the "cultural form of Chinese-path modernization" and emphasized that "the 'Second Combination' ^[1] allows Marxism to become Chinese and fine traditional Chinese culture to become modern, allowing the new culture formed through this 'combination' to become the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization."

Building the "cultural form of Chinese-path modernization" inevitably requires the important role of the humanistic spirit. The humanistic spirit is a cultural concept that respects human value, focuses on human needs, and pursues the free and well-rounded development of individuals. It emphasizes the subjective status of the person and the vital role of the cultural spirit in social development, aiming to promote a "two-way journey" between human development and social progress. Promoting the humanistic spirit can exercise subjective agency for Chinese-path modernization and inject it with a powerful spiritual force.

I. The Value-Guiding Function of the Humanistic Spirit for Chinese-Path Modernization

As China enters a new stage of building a modern socialist power, the status and function of the humanistic spirit have undergone a major shift from passive adaptation to active guidance. In the previous process of China's modernization, following the establishment of the socialist market economy system, China constructed a humanistic spirit based on the inherent needs of the market economy and modern society, making it adapt to and promote market economic development. During that stage, the humanistic spirit possessed a passive adaptability. Since entering the New Era, along with the continuous progress of China's social development, cultural construction has acquired the solid material foundation necessary for prosperity. Under these circumstances, the mode by which the humanistic spirit functions is no longer one of passive adaptation to a transitioning society; rather, in this new stage where the economic, political, social, and cultural spheres are increasingly integrated, it actively exerts a cultural guiding function.

Since the establishment of China's socialist market economy system, the development of the humanistic spirit has passed through three stages: passive adaptation, profound reflection, and active guidance. In the first stage, the humanistic spirit passively adapted to the profound adjustments of the market economy. Since the Reform and Opening-up, China's modernization has developed rapidly under the systemic power of the socialist market economy. The establishment of this system was not only a market-oriented transition in the economic sphere but also a modernization transition in the social sphere. China's social structure underwent profound changes, shifting from a traditional society under the planned economy system to a modern society under market economy conditions. The continuous growth of the social sphere, the gradual expansion of the middle class, the increasing flexibility of the danwei ^[2] (unit) system, and the continuous awakening of subjective consciousness constituted the vast landscape of China's social transformation. In this context, China needed to construct a humanistic spirit based on the inherent needs of social transformation and the market economy.

In short, the value orientation of China's humanistic spirit achieved a general conversion from idealism to rationalism. Before the establishment of the socialist market economy, the humanistic spirit manifested primarily as the pursuit of sublime values, the promotion of collectivism, and a focus on spiritual liberation, possessing an idealistic temperament. With the establishment of the socialist market economy, the principle of material interest became increasingly prominent in social life. The humanistic spirit gradually shifted toward the pursuit of practical interests, an emphasis on individual status, and a focus on material life, taking on a rationalistic temperament. The 1994 "Great Discussion on the Humanistic Spirit" in Chinese cultural circles was precisely the hallmark of this shift in value orientation. Facing the deepening market reforms, secular values began to take the stage, economic rationality became dominant, and interest mechanisms became the main axis. While the market economy deconstructed traditional social values, it also called for new values to adapt to it.

With the in-depth development of the market economy, the thematic focus of the era for the humanistic spirit underwent a profound transformation—from unconditionally embracing modernization to consciously exploring modernization. The construction of China's humanistic spirit moved from passive adaptation into a second stage: profound reflection. In the 1980s, before the socialist market economy system was fully established, the prevailing "culture fever" ^[3] generally embraced modernization unconditionally. People's understanding of modernization was still relatively shallow, even to the point of equating modernization with Westernization. However, by the 1990s, with the further development of the market economy, people gradually recognized the negative effects brought about by capital modernity. While maintaining the goal of modernization, they began to reflect on its drawbacks. The theme of the humanistic spirit shifted toward a profound inquiry into modernization. Some scholars have suggested that "after 1992, a market society began to emerge in China, and the goals of modernization were partially realized—yet in a distorted manner. This caused anxiety among some intellectuals, who began to reflect on the goal of modernization itself. After 1994, the introduction of the problem of 'modernity' provided a theoretical focal point for the Chinese intellectual community to reflect on the Enlightenment and the path and model of China's modernization since the late Qing Dynasty." Consequently, "modernity" became a popular discourse in Chinese intellectual circles, and people gradually recognized the "discontents of modernity."

It is worth noting that this reflection on modernity did not mean a rejection of modernization; on the contrary, to a certain extent, it represented a deeper pursuit and understanding of modernization. People began to search for a more desirable model. In other words, this was not a flat negation or total abandonment of modernization, but rather a view of the modernization project as an "unfinished project" ^[4] that must be continuously perfected. Consequently, there was a profound realization that the so-called "discontents of modernity" are rooted in the logic of capital within Western modernity. While reflecting on Western-style modernization "driven by the logic of capital," China also began to construct a "people-centered" Chinese-path modernization.

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, with the high degree of self-awareness regarding Chinese-path modernization, China has entered a new stage of building a modern socialist power. It is important to note that Chinese-path modernization is not only a modernization of social development but one aimed at creating a new form of human civilization. A Chinese-path modernization that possesses a "height of principle" inevitably requires a cultural form of modernization as its value foundation. In this situation, the status and function of the humanistic spirit have shifted from passive adaptation to active guidance. The humanistic spirit has increasingly become the spiritual driving force actively guiding Chinese-path modernization.

In economic construction, the humanistic spirit provides "cultural feedback" for the rational construction of high-quality development. We note that, taking the "Two Centenary Goals" ^[5] as a boundary, the relationship between human development and social development has undergone a fundamental change. In the process of achieving the First Centenary Goal of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, China’s economic and social development provided external conditions for the free and well-rounded development of individuals. This emphasized the priority of economic and social development relative to human development—that is, economic and social development served as the material foundation and social prerequisite, while human development served primarily as the ideal goal and value destination. In the new journey of socialist modernization oriented toward the Second Centenary Goal, Chinese-path modernization requires that human development becomes an inherent requirement and driving force of economic and social development. The in-depth development of Chinese-path modernization must rely on technological innovation and "investing in people." In this sense, deeply rooting the humanistic spirit helps to continuously cultivate a high-quality workforce and release a high-level "talent dividend," allowing the creative essential powers of the human being to surge across society, thereby boosting high-quality development and Chinese-path modernization.

In political construction, the humanistic spirit provides a value consensus for the modernization of national governance. The modernization of national governance is an inherent part of the construction of China's political civilization. According to the elaborations in Marx’s texts such as The Civil War in France and the Critique of the Gotha Programme, the rational form of national governance is the comprehensive reconciliation and cooperative co-governance between the state and society. In a future society, state power becomes the true representative of the whole society, transforming from a "parasite" on the social sphere into a "propellant" for the healthy development of modern society. In the view of Marx and Engels, the modernization of national governance is necessarily accompanied by the subjective self-awareness of individuals; this is precisely the inherent requirement that such modernization places upon cultural construction. At the same time, China's modernization of national governance calls for cultural construction to provide a "spiritual order" for the system of national governance. The modernization of the governance system requires the rational construction of a national political order, which cannot succeed without the internal resonance of a spiritual order. In other words, the order of national governance needs to be grounded in internal identification. If cultural construction cannot provide the necessary spiritual order, national governance will fall into the trap of value conflicts or even social fragmentation, ultimately hindering its smooth progress. In this process, only by linking national governance with human development and basing national identity on the value of the free and well-rounded development of every individual can we fundamentally win the people's identification, transcend various ideologies and interest disputes, and maximize the consensus of the entire society.

In social construction, the humanistic spirit must promote the healthy development of the social community. The ultimate goal of China's social construction is to build a "true community." In The German Ideology, Marx and Engels divided the community forms of human history into natural communities, illusory communities, and the true community. Among these, the "illusory community"—the bourgeois state—is the object of critique in the community theory of The German Ideology. It was precisely through a profound critique of the "illusory community" that Marx and Engels moved toward the "true community," the ideal society of the future. The principled difference between these two types of community is mainly reflected in the status of the individual. Whether an individual participates in the community as a member of a class or as an independent individual is the vital distinction. In an illusory community, people belong as class members rather than as truly independent individuals. In the true community, individuals cast off their class identity and participate as true individuals. Therefore, Marx's "true community" aims to achieve the coordinated development of the individual and the collective. On the whole, the ideal future community is a shared home for the free and well-rounded development of the person, the ultimate realization of social public and universal interests, a harmonious situation of "harmony without uniformity" ^[6] and "seeking common ground while shelving differences," and a social organism characterized by common prosperity, fairness, and justice. This cannot be achieved without the humanistic spirit providing a "cultural adhesive" for social solidarity and organic connection, rationally regulating interpersonal interactions, and thereby assisting the rational construction of the social community.

In summary, cultural construction can provide cultural support for high-quality economic development, the modernization of national governance, and the building of a social community, offering a cultural guiding function for Chinese-path modernization. This is precisely the important role of the humanistic spirit in the New Era. Conversely, advancing Chinese-path modernization also presents new topics and tasks for the humanistic spirit of the New Era.

II. The Cultural Enculturation Function of the Humanistic Spirit for Chinese-Path Modernization

For Chinese-path modernization, the guiding function of the humanistic spirit is not abstract, but concrete. This function is realized through a process of enculturation (濡化, rúhuà), characterized as "moistening things silently" ^[7] and being "used daily without conscious awareness" ^[8]. By "enculturation," we mean that the humanistic spirit exists in a diffusive manner within every link of Chinese-path modernization and across all scenes of people’s work and lives, thereby constituting the cultural ecosystem and social mindset required for modernization. On the surface, the humanistic spirit may seem insignificant or optional for social development. In reality, being diffused through social life, it is like the air, sunlight, and water that people need in their natural environment; only when it becomes polluted do people realize its scarcity and value. In this sense, the humanistic spirit directly constitutes the political ecosystem. Without the healthy development of the humanistic spirit, cultural chaos will eventually emerge in endless succession. The rational advancement of Chinese-path modernization requires the full enculturation and comprehensive nourishment provided by the humanistic spirit.

As the advancement of Chinese-path modernization deepens, a profound differentiation of cultural forms will inevitably emerge in the cultural sphere. Therefore, the "moistening" ^[9] function of the humanistic spirit must be emphasized. Upon entering modern society, cultural development, driven by rational principles, formed a monistic cultural configuration dominated by metaphysics, with elite culture becoming the mainstream form of cultural development. However, along with the excessive expansion of rational principles and the hostility toward and exclusion of the sensuous ^[10] foundation, the metaphysical culture based on rational principles disintegrated. Cultural development shifted toward the "life-world" ^[11] based on sensuous practice, reconfirming the sensuous foundation of modern culture. With the rise of mass culture, the decisive separation between elite culture and mass culture meant that the cultural structure of the life-world began to exhibit pluralistic characteristics: culture gradually differentiated into three forms—daily psychology, mass culture, and public values. This cultural stratification is determined by the structural characteristics of the life-world. Generally speaking, culture is essentially a human mode of existence; thus, from the perspective of practice, culture in human practical activities inevitably manifests itself from the inside out, moving from daily psychology to mass culture and then to public values. It gradually rises from the sensuous level to the rational level, and from the spontaneous to the self-aware. The more profound the differentiation of cultural forms becomes, the more we must focus on the moistening function of the humanistic spirit.

First, the humanistic spirit cultivates daily psychology, laying the psychological foundation for Chinese-path modernization. Daily psychology is an important foundation of modern culture. Culture is reflected not only in mature cultural products but also deeply within daily psychology. In previous cultural studies, daily psychology occupied a marginal position, regarded as a low-level form of social consciousness and neglected in theory. However, with the emergence of various problems in the life-world, cultural issues concerning daily psychology have begun to stand out. It is an obvious fact that with the rapid changes in lifestyles, a rupture and disconnection have occurred between daily psychology and relatively mature cultural products. In traditional society, due to the stability of lifestyles, people’s daily psychology was relatively solidified, even resulting in a "psychological sedimentation" ^[12] of culture, where the relationship between classical culture and daily psychology was highly congruent. However, in modern life, lifestyles are no longer static but are constantly undergoing revolution. Especially in a transitional society like China, major transformations in lifestyles have occurred. Changes in all aspects of social life not only impact traditional cultural concepts and ethics but the accumulation of rapid lifestyle changes over a short period is bound to touch upon daily psychological issues. These issues have exceeded original cultural boundaries and exhibit characteristics of "anomie." It is in this sense that the full cultivation of the humanistic spirit helps in the rational regulation of daily psychology and the nurturing of the social mindset. As people fully realize: “The fierce competition, drastic changes, and increased work intensity in modern urban life will all bring psychological problems to individuals. Psychological disorders such as anxiety and depression will increase. Only by relying on powerful spiritual and cultural forces and a rich spiritual and cultural life can one achieve self-healing. In this sense, developing culture is also a special kind of humanism.” The reason why cultivating the humanistic spirit is a "special kind of humanism" is precisely because the humanistic spirit can soothe the heart and provide a home for the spirit.

Second, the humanistic spirit guides mass culture, providing cultural products for Chinese-path modernization. Based precisely on the daily psychology of the masses, culture begins to externalize from internal daily psychology into the behavioral modes and value orientations of the masses, thereby constituting the second level of cultural forms, namely, mass culture. According to traditional cultural studies, culture is divided into elite culture and mass culture, with elite culture in the dominant position and mass culture in a subordinate one. However, the tremendous transformation in media methods has led to the flourishing of mass culture in the modern life-world, making it a highly influential mainstream cultural form. It is worth noting that the attitude of cultural theory toward mass culture is highly complex, involving both critique and defense. Previous cultural theories, based on an elitist stance, criticized mass culture, arguing that it is a product of the capitalist culture industry, a manifestation of the commodification, vulgarization, and "bubble-ization" of culture, and a cultural form that pleases the masses while mocking the sublime and pandering to the kitsch and the ugly. The Frankfurt School’s critique of the culture industry was a resistance to this kind of mass culture. However, from the perspective of British cultural materialism, mass culture does not only have negative functions but also possesses positive significance and should be affirmed and valued. So how exactly should we view mass culture? The rise of mass culture has a certain necessity, determined by the trends of democratization and the flattening of cultural development. In traditional society, cultural elites monopolized the right to cultural discourse; the masses either passively accepted elite culture or were simply excluded from cultural development altogether. In modern society, highly developed cultural media technology has broken through the monopoly of the cultural elite. The socio-economic structure is continuously flattening, the "mass society" has taken shape, and the center of gravity of culture has inevitably shifted down to every individual. Since socially necessary labor time is continuously compressed with technological development, the leisure time of ordinary laborers has increased significantly. This has created the two necessary conditions—time and demand—for the collective consumption of mass culture, all of which contributed to its rise. In other words, the booming of mass culture is itself an inevitable manifestation of the transformation of the modern life-world. Although the rise of mass culture possesses profound necessity, people must also face its various "bubbles," especially problems such as commodification, vulgarization, sensationalism, fragmentation, and nihilism. This objectively requires the humanistic spirit to provide guidance, steering mass culture to enrich the people's spiritual world and enhance their spiritual strength, rather than blindly succumbing to commercial logic.

Finally, the humanistic spirit guards public values, injecting spiritual impetus into Chinese-path modernization. Cultural forms manifest not only as daily psychology and mass culture but also form highly conscious public values on the basis of the former two, constituting another important level of cultural forms. Compared with the spontaneous characteristics of daily psychology and mass culture, public values as a cultural form possess a high degree of consciousness; they are the "self-consciousness" of the spirit of the age and social development, manifesting as the "cultural consensus" of the entire society. With the continuous deepening of China's reform and opening up, social ideas and concepts have become more diverse, and the exchange and collision between different cultures have become more intense. China has proposed a cultural integration plan to resolve the "controversy between the ancient and the modern, and between the East and the West" through the "Second Combination," ^[13] laying the foundation for public values in the New Era. The cultural integration that shapes public values requires the "soul-vein" ^[14] of Marxism. Chinese-path modernization cannot be separated from adhering to the basic theories of Marxism, because Marxism possesses the distinct characteristic of originating from modernity while being superior to it. Precisely because Marxism criticizes Western capitalist modernity, China’s choice of Marxism as a theoretical weapon simultaneously activated the subjectivity of Chinese civilization. The journey of Marxism from the West to the East means that the transcendence of Western modernity is no longer limited to internal reflections within Western civilization, but seeks a path to transcend Western modernity through the "other" of Western civilization. At the same time, the cultural integration that shapes public values requires the "root-vein" ^[15] of fine traditional Chinese culture. From the perspective of transcending Western capitalist modernity, Marxism is a civilizational form that transcends capitalist modernity, while Chinese civilization is an independent non-capitalist civilizational system. The deep integration of the two helps form the cultural mode of Chinese-path modernization, thereby transcending capitalist modernity. It is worth noting that the key point of convergence between Marxism and fine traditional Chinese culture is precisely the "humanistic spirit," which is also the crucial node for the "Second Combination" to transcend Western capitalist modernity. One of the flaws of Western capitalist modernity lies in the fact that dependence on things has overwhelmed the independence of the individual. The appreciation of things and the devaluation of humans coexist, while the reification ^[16] of capital and the alienation of humans are two sides of the same coin; this is centrally manifested as the dismissal of the humanistic spirit. In contrast, Marxism and fine traditional Chinese culture—the former taking the free and comprehensive development of the person as its tenet, and the latter always persisting in being people-oriented—offer a different path. More importantly, Marxism endows ancient Chinese civilization with the principled height of modern civilization, promoting the creative transformation of traditional culture in modern China. This elevates Chinese civilization from "human dependence" to the modern level of "personal independence based on objective dependence" (dependence on things), and further to "true personal independence," rejuvenating the contemporary brilliance of the humanistic spirit. In this sense, guarding the public values of the New Era through the "Second Combination" means resolving the "controversy between the ancient and the modern, and between the East and the West" at the principled height of the humanistic spirit, shaping values with a public dimension.

III. The psychological adjustment function of the humanistic spirit for Chinese-path modernization

Advancing Chinese-path modernization requires the cultural sphere to provide continuous and stable spiritual support, and even more so requires the active role of the humanistic spirit to be brought into play. In the process of advancing Chinese-path modernization, the emergence of negative cultural effects in the consumer society, risk society, trust society, and competitive society objectively demands that the humanistic spirit exert its corresponding adjustment functions to deal with them.

First, as China enters a consumer society, there is a need to construct a rational ethics of desire. The emergence of a consumer society is not only a transformation of the mode of economic development but also signifies a change in social psychology, mainly reflected in the profound shift in the ethics of desire across the whole of society. In a production-oriented society characterized by material scarcity, people advocated frugality and suppressed desire to meet the needs of rapid material wealth accumulation; this is the essential connotation of what Weber called the "Protestant Ethic." After entering a consumer society, the ethic of frugality is no longer revered, and the release of desire becomes a new driving force for production. If the expansion of desire in a consumer society is left unchecked, it will cause a series of negative effects in social psychology. Erich Fromm argued: "The individual does not experience himself as the active bearer of his own powers and inner richness, but as an impoverished 'thing', dependent on powers outside of himself, unto whom he has projected his living substance. Man kneels down before the leaders he has himself chosen... For him, his own acts are an alien power which stands over and against him, instead of being ruled by him... The products we create unite more and more into an objective power over us, which we cannot control, which breaks our expectations and destroys our plans, becoming a major factor determining human development." What Fromm describes is precisely how humans become "abstract existences" in a consumer society, leading to the continuous loss of the value of human existence. Although the ethics of desire in a consumer society has brought various impacts to cultural construction, the key to correcting the unbridled expansion of desire in such a society does not lie in suppressing desire, but in using the humanistic spirit to rationally regulate human desire, thereby shaping an ethics of desire for the New Era.

Second, the high mobility of modern Chinese society has brought about both the independence of the individual and the arrival of a risk society. Since the beginning of reform and opening up, the mobility of Chinese society has been greatly enhanced. From the work unit ^[17] to society, from the countryside to the city, and from within the system ^[18] to outside the system, large-scale social mobility has triggered a loss of a sense of spiritual belonging. On the one hand, individuals have become independent from traditional society; a mobile society marks a certain historical peak of individual autonomy. On the other hand, the mobility of individuals has also brought a loss of spiritual belonging, plunging modern Chinese people into a cultural confusion of emotional loss. When people become completely isolated individuals in a mobile society, they are detached from their original life networks and the spiritual support those networks provided. The more highly mobile a society is, the stronger the impulse people have to seek a sense of spiritual belonging. Driven by this intense impulse, contemporary Chinese people have discovered the precious value of a "spiritual home," embarking on a journey of "spiritual homecoming" and the relentless pursuit of rebuilding life networks and a world of meaning. The risk society is also an inevitable product of the construction of modern Chinese society. In a risk society, a necessary sense of anxiety is a normal reaction to pressure in one's existential situation, but if it develops into a widespread "excessive anxiety," it will trigger new social risks. People always seek reliable solace and spiritual support within a certain life-world to obtain peace and tranquility of mind and stay away from anxiety. Therefore, to deal with the risk society and the resulting "excessive anxiety," we must promote the humanistic spirit to rebuild and protect the life-world. This is the important focal point for the humanistic spirit to adjust to the risk society.

Furthermore, reconstructing the lifeworld necessitates the construction of a society of trust. A society of trust can minimize the operating costs of society, effectively promote the rationalization of interpersonal social relations, and greatly enhance people’s sense of security in social life. In contemporary China, constructing a society of trust is a vital subject in the development of the humanistic spirit. Chinese society is currently undergoing a critical transition from a "society of acquaintances" to a "society of strangers" ^[19], and the mechanism of trust is likewise transforming from a reliance on "interpersonal trust" to a dependence on the overall social mechanism. Engels once pointed out: "One of the laws of modern political economy (though the received textbooks do not say so) is that the more capitalist production is developed, the less it can afford the small deceits and frauds that characterize its earlier stages. The petty tricks of the Polish Jew, the representative in Europe of commerce in its lowest stage, those tricks that serve him so well in his own country, and are generally practised there, he finds to be out of date and out of place when he comes to Hamburg or Berlin." Early stages of capitalist development witnessed a vast number of breaches of trust, the root of which lay in the drive for profit. Similarly, the key to resolving the phenomenon of dishonesty lies in the rational adjustment of interest mechanisms; this is precisely the profound insight of Engels' perspective on integrity (chengxin). To construct a social trust system compatible with a society of strangers, China must not only strengthen education on the concept of integrity and the cultivation of a culture of integrity, but also establish an interest-regulation mechanism where "the honest benefit and the dishonest lose out." This is the key to building a "Trustworthy China" (Chengxin Zhongguo).

Finally, modern society is simultaneously a competitive society. On one hand, the rise of the competitive mechanism is an objective phenomenon that inevitably appears in modern society, independent of human will; it is an inherent requirement of socio-economic development. Contemporary Chinese society has universally fostered a proactive consciousness of competition. Under the immense pressure of a competitive society, in order to avoid being eliminated, individuals can only continuously strive for progress. On the other hand, a competitive society also brings negative effects to the contemporary Chinese humanistic spirit. "Universal competition forces all individuals to strain their energies to the utmost." Once competition becomes the central axis of the social functioning mechanism, the full realization of individual self-value will inevitably be accompanied by existential anxiety and doubled pressure. It is worth further analyzing that people do not blindly reject the competitive mechanism; rather, they reject "meaningless competition." In other words, the crux of the problem is not whether there should be competition, but what kind of competition is desired. Rational competition should be competition imbued with a sense of value, capable of fully realizing and proving one's self-value and essential powers. Reshaping the mechanism of value-realization within a competitive society is a major issue that the contemporary Chinese humanistic spirit must resolve.

On the new journey of advancing Chinese-path modernization, the adaptive function of the humanistic spirit holds significant value for the construction of our country’s new cultural form. Within the social contexts of the consumer society, risk society, trust society, and competitive society, the tasks of improving the psychological quality of the citizenry, perfecting people's spiritual lives, constructing a stable order of the soul, and providing a rational value orientation all ultimately focus on the healthy development of the humanistic spirit. When the humanistic spirit exerts a powerful psychological adaptive function, it signifies that the coordination between social progress and human development, and between material and spiritual civilization, has been put into practice. It means that the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization is rooted in the lifeworld and the depths of the souls of the Chinese people, shining with the perceptual radiance of humanism.