Feng Daojie and Cheng Enfu: An Exploration of the Cultivation of the Spirit of Scientists in the New Era
"Hand mills produce a society of feudal lords, while steam mills produce a society of industrial capitalists." Different levels of productive forces, primarily marked by progress in science and technology, have propelled humanity into different social formations and presented different forms of human civilization. The modernization of science and technology is the key to China's realization of the "Four Modernizations." On the new journey of modernization construction, and in the face of great changes unseen in a century, as we build a technological powerhouse and a modern economic system, promote high-quality development, and construct a new development pattern, our country needs a vast number of scientists and high-level talents more than at any time in the past to cultivate and carry forward the spirit of scientists throughout society.
Conforming to the needs of the times, the Party Central Committee issued a great call to the broad masses of scientists and scientific and technological workers to orient themselves toward the "Four Facings" [1] and to "continuously advance toward the breadth and depth of science and technology." The Opinions on Further Promoting the Spirit of Scientists and Strengthening the Construction of Work Style and Academic Style (hereinafter referred to as the "Opinions"), issued in 2019, emphasized "taking the shaping and soul-casting of the spirit of scientists as a starting point to earnestly strengthen the construction of work style and academic style, actively create a favorable scientific research ecosystem and public opinion atmosphere, and lead the society to pursue truth, goodness, and beauty." Taking the atmospheric shaping and soul-casting of the spirit of scientists as an entry point to promote the modernization of science and technology and build a technological powerhouse has become a major task of the New Era.
I. Literature Review
Academic circles have long focused on the enormous role of scientific and technological progress and the study of the scientific spirit. More often, they view the status and character of scientists from the perspective of the efficacy and role of science and technology, and interpret the connotation of the spirit of scientists from the perspective of their individual endowments and qualities of will. They emphasize the truth-seeking aspect of the scientific spirit more, while research on the social attributes and humanistic connotations of the spirit of scientists—namely "supreme goodness" and "attaining beauty"—is not deep enough. Bing Zhi, the founder of Chinese zoology, interpreted the spirit of Chinese scientists in the 1930s and 40s as "public-spiritedness and selflessness, loyalty to one's duties, honesty and trustworthiness, diligence and hard work, persistence, and benevolence." Ding Junping and others believe that the spirit of Chinese scientists in the 1950s and 60s took patriotism as its core, the scientific spirit as its foundation, dedication as its value orientation, and struggle, coordination, and personnel cultivation as its practical and methodological principles. Qian Wei believes that the spirit of scientists emphasizes the social attributes of science more, representing the personification, temporalization, and Sinicization of the scientific spirit. Peng Qinglong and others proposed that the connotation of human spirit consists of three parts: scientific spirit, humanistic spirit, and the spirit of faith, with questioning, care, and mission as their respective spiritual essences. Some scholars (such as Gu Jihuan, 2021; Qian Xuemin, 2020) have also interpreted the spirit manifested by individual exemplary scientists such as Qian Xuesen, Deng Jiaxian, and Guo Yonghuai.
In-depth research on the cultivation and promotion of the spirit of scientists in the New Era is relatively scarce. A search for the subject term "spirit of scientists" in the CNKI [2] database yielded 534 results, while a keyword search for "spirit of scientists" yielded 44 results. A simultaneous search for the subject terms "spirit of scientists" and "cultivation" (养成) yielded zero results. Many scholars have interpreted and reported on leadership speeches and Central Committee documents, while other scholars have elaborated on the relationship between the spirit of scientists and Party leadership, social systems, social education, moral constraints, and individual endowments. Hu Xiangming (2018) elaborated on the relationship between Socialist Core Values and the spirit of scientists, as well as its contemporary connotation and shaping methods. Yu Degang (2018) argued that the spirit of scientists demonstrates the superiority of the socialist system and possesses distinct "nationality and class character, integrity and collaborativeness, openness and independence, and innovativeness and progressiveness." Xu Xiangyun and Zhang Tongkuo (2018) emphasized rebuilding the social responsibility of scientists by strengthening humanistic education, moral constraints, and legal supervision. Li Bo (2019) and others studied the integration of the spirit of scientists into ideological and political education.
Overall, academic results that strive to construct a cultivation system for the spirit of scientists in the New Era—from the two levels of social cultivation and individual cultivation, integrating various factors such as national policy, institutional systems, ethical governance, economic support, cultural nourishment, spiritual inheritance, educational influence, team building, and practical tempering, while combining external incentives/constraints with internal ones—are very scarce. No relevant results were found through the CNKI search system.
II. The Contemporary Connotation of the Spirit of Scientists
In the current era, world technological development has entered the era of Industrial Revolution 4.0. Science and technology and their systematic application increasingly demonstrate powerful and diversified functions in the economic, social, political, cultural, and ecological spheres, becoming the primary means of competition between different interest groups and nations. The importance of scientists and technological workers has become more prominent, and talent has become the key to winning the competition.
The essence of the scientific spirit lies in seeking truth; the essence of the humanistic spirit lies in supreme goodness. The spirit of scientists integrates the scientific and humanistic spirits, achieving refined beauty through the dialectical unity of seeking truth and supreme goodness. Goodness is the soul of truth, truth is the core and essence of goodness, and beauty is the support and manifestation of the spiritual body. The true essence of the spirit of scientists in the New Era should be the integration and mutual advancement of the three dimensions of truth, goodness, and beauty. These three dimensions manifest the power, moral strength, and charm of science; they are an inseparable unity, and none can be missing. If scientists lose the "goodness" of serving the people and the motherland and head toward so-called "truth" and "beauty" that is anti-human and anti-people, it is not only distorted, alienated, and false, but even dangerous, ugly, and evil.
The spirit of scientists advances with the times along with time and practice. The spirit of scientists in the New Era specifically refers to the spiritual character and qualities of will that scientists and technological workers should possess since Chinese socialism entered the New Era. From "saving the country through science and technology" and "serving the country through science and technology," to "invigorating the country through science and education," the "strategy of strengthening the country through talent," the "technological powerhouse strategy," and the implementation of the "innovation-driven development strategy," the broad masses of technological workers have accumulated and formed the spirit of Chinese scientists in the New Era through successive generations. The "Opinions" explain the connotation of the spirit of Chinese scientists in the New Era in detail, emphasizing the realistic and innovative spirit of possessing facts, pursuing truth, daring to question, scaling the heights, rigorous scholarship, and grasping laws to achieve "seeking truth"; emphasizing the patriotic and dedicatory spirit of prioritizing the nation, being indifferent to fame and fortune, serving the people, concentrated research, and benefiting the world to achieve "supreme goodness"; and emphasizing the collaborative and nurturing spirit of collective tackling of key problems, seeking common ground in harmony, unity and cooperation, being a willing ladder for others, manifesting illustrious virtue [3], and encouraging the younger generation to achieve "attaining beauty." The "Opinions'" interpretation of the spirit of Chinese scientists in the New Era integrates seeking truth, supreme goodness, and attaining beauty, and blends scientific, humanistic, and social nature. it reflects the unity of history and reality, science and humanities, and the individual and society. It further highlights the innovativeness, realism, and people-centeredness that conform to the attributes of the Chinese social system and the needs of the times, advocating for the construction of a persistent pursuit by scientists and a social cultivation system.
Individuals exist within society, and society is composed of interacting individuals; the two are organically unified. As social beings, the cultivation of the spirit of scientists requires not only individual persistent pursuit but also social-level influence and impact. Shaping and soul-casting the spirit of scientists requires integrating various factors—national policy, social system, ethical governance, economic support, cultural nourishment, spiritual inheritance, educational influence, team building, and practical tempering—from both social and individual levels. It requires combining external incentives and constraints with internal ones to jointly promote the spirit of scientists to become a common practice across the Divine Land [4], striving to construct a cultivation system for the spirit of scientists in the New Era. The individual cultivation of the spirit of scientists refers to how a single individual cultivates fine qualities such as the spirit of scientists through training, education, influence, and shaping. The social cultivation of the spirit of scientists refers to how to promote the spirit of scientists at the social level so that it becomes a social value orientation pursued by people, forming a social atmosphere and trend that is continuously carried forward. How the relationship between the individual and society is handled marks the different natures of spiritual and cultural systems. Historical materialism holds that humans are gregarious animals and, moreover, social beings. As people in real life, the individual cultivation of the spirit of scientists requires the nourishment of historical inheritance, social environment, and social practice, and it must better fit real social conditions and the needs of the times. Conversely, the social cultivation of the spirit of scientists requires individual cultivation as support; individual cultivation is the cellular basis and the landing point of social cultivation. The social and individual cultivation of the spirit of scientists promote and depend on each other, jointly constructing the cultivation system for the spirit of scientists.
III. The Social Cultivation of the Spirit of Scientists in the New Era
Science is essentially a social activity, and the spirit of scientists is formed under specific social conditions. Society is an open, circulatory system formed by individuals relying on the material environment and interconnecting with each other; it reflects the relationships between people, between people and society, and between people and nature. The growth, maturation, and success of every person, including scientists and technological workers, are inevitably subject to the comprehensive influence of economic, political, cultural, and ecological factors, as well as historical, realistic, familial, educational, and natural factors, both domestic and international.
(1) Fully exerting the advantages of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and improving policies and institutional mechanisms for science, education, and talent—which are conducive to nurturing and promoting the spirit of scientists—serves a fundamental structural role and a direct stimulating role for the social cultivation of the spirit of scientists in the New Era.
Whether a scientist seeks private gain for a few, using any means regardless of consequences, or satisfies the needs of the majority and devotes themselves to the cause of human progress, determines the direction and nature of their work. Under conditions of private ownership, the means of production and technological development are used by a few as a means and capital to employ and deprive others. Technological development and the expansion of human desires push each other, leading to the alienation of science, technology, and scientists. Technological development can reset power relations; it can both expand the scope of original power and decompose disputed power to further create new power. Marx and Engels attached great importance to scientific and technological progress, but they opposed the social systems and policies of "man exploiting man" or "objects exploiting man" that used this progress as a means to enslave and exploit others. "Communism deprives no man of the power to appropriate the products of society; all that it does is to deprive him of the power to subjugate the labour of others by means of such appropriations." The socialist public ownership of the means of production fundamentally eliminates the material basis for the alienation and antagonism in the relationships between people, between people and society, and between people and nature. Thus, on the basis of substantive equality between people, it realizes the organic unity of individual, collective, and social interests, and realizes the harmonious coexistence of man and nature on the basis of selflessness.
Establishing the country through education and strengthening it through technology is the historical law of the rise of great powers in modern times. Whether a country can occupy the commanding heights of development stems from whether it attaches great importance to and fully exerts the systemic and policy advantages of technology, education, and talent. As the most populous Eastern power, starting from a state of being "poor and blank" [5] and extremely backward, China has fully demonstrated the advantages of its path, theory, system, and culture through just over seventy years of peaceful development. The socialist system under the leadership of the Communist Party of China has the soul of "seeking truth from facts," the purpose of "serving the people" as supreme goodness, and the dream of "attaining beauty" in Great Harmony [6]. The socialist system, built on the foundation of public ownership as the mainstay and the people as masters of the country, is inherently consistent and closely linked with the spirit of scientists in the New Era, providing the fundamental institutional guarantee and prerequisite for its social cultivation.
The advantages of the socialist system need to be manifested through specific institutional mechanisms and policy systems. Under the leadership of the CPC, with various levels of research institutes, higher education institutions, and R&D departments of large enterprises as the main body, and by fully absorbing social forces, we should construct a "New Type of Whole-of-Nation System" [7] for science and education that is compatible with the socialist market economy and international competition. We must strengthen national strategic technological forces, improve the overall efficiency of the innovation chain, build a platform for exchange and cooperation between government, industry, academia, research, and enterprise, and build a national technological innovation system and talent work system. This will produce a group of scientists, thinkers, and theorists who are armed with Marxism and are well-versed in both Chinese and Western learning; a group of high-level talents with solid foundations, high quality, and the courage to innovate; and a group of young theoretical backbones who are politically strong, professionally proficient, of good character, and enterprising, thereby comprehensively improving the quality of education and the quality of the citizenry. We must deepen the reform of the science and technology management system, changing the state of departmental fragmentation, lack of mutual subordination, multi-headed management, and being "small and scattered." We must vigorously solve prominent problems such as excessive forms, complicated reimbursement processes, chaotic labeling, repetitive "titles" (hats) [8], and frequent inspections. We must thoroughly reform the bureaucratic and formalist methods of fund use and management and optimize the allocation of technological resources. We must break away from the simple reliance on promotion rates, employment rates, citation rates, and the "Five Onlys" [9]. We must put an end to using the amount of wealth, the level of position, or the size of power as standards, and instead establish a technology evaluation system and talent selection mechanism oriented toward the quality of results, the degree of contribution, and the level of performance. We must create a favorable social environment that is democratic, just, encourages innovation, and is inclusive of all talents, so as to fully stimulate innovative wisdom and vitality.
(2) Constructing a technology ethics governance system with a clear orientation, and forming good scientific ethics, scientific conscience, and work styles among the group of scientists and technological workers, plays an exemplary and regulatory role in the social cultivation of the spirit of scientists in the New Era.
Science, technology, and ethics penetrate and interact with one another. Marx and Engels used the metaphor of a "double-edged sword" to describe science and technology; while transforming nature to benefit mankind, they also bring a series of negative impacts on natural ecology and human ethics, even posing serious threats to human survival and health. As computers occupy more and more work tasks, the degradation of human skills is accelerating. Artificial intelligence is reshaping human production, life, and social relations; while bringing convenience, it also causes humans to increasingly become "vassals" and "slaves" of an intelligent society. This forms new impacts on the man-machine relationship, the essence and subjective status of human beings, as well as on private citizenship, national security, social fairness, and social governance; the "digitally impoverished" are being increasingly marginalized. The system of science and technology ethics standardizes the mission and value orientation that researchers should possess when engaging in scientific and technological activities, clarifying what attitudes, thoughts, feelings, styles, and behaviors should be adopted in such work. Scientific morality and scientific conscience are the core components of science and technology ethics, delineating the necessary sense of conscience and moral bottom line for scientific workers as human beings, and forming soft constraints and soft incentives for social value cognition and orientation.
Traditional Chinese culture contains rich ethical thoughts on science and technology, such as "using the Way to govern artifice" (yǐ dào yù shù) [10], "using the Way to govern technique" (yǐ dào yù jì), and "taking the people as the foundation" (yǐ mín wéi běn). It possesses profound insights into the relationship between the Way and technique, righteousness and utility, the people-centered view, the theory of human nature, and the idea of "the unity of heaven and humanity" (tiān rén hé yī). In particular, it emphasizes that humans are the masters of implements, that technological development serves human production and life, and seeks to limit or prohibit "bizarre skills and meretricious trickery" (qí jì yín qiǎo) [11]. As stated in the Mozi: "Abound in virtuous conduct, be discerning in speech, and be broad in the Way and its arts" [12]; and "that which is clever and benefits people is called 'clever'; that which does not benefit people is called 'clumsy'" [13]. Wang Zhen's Book of Agriculture (Nóngshū) notes: "Humanity is the basis of objects; objects are used because of humans," and one must not let "objects enslave the person" [14].
In shaping and casting the soul of the spirit of scientists in the New Era, we should naturally strengthen education in science and technology ethics, ecological ethics, and the humanistic spirit. We must enhance the construction of the science and technology ethics governance system to prevent scientific workers from falling into the greedy traps of money, power, and lust. We must discard the interference of power, personal connections, interests, and "academic warlords" (xué fá) [15] on scientific innovation and development, and break such strange phenomena as "the higher the official rank, the greater the scholarship" or "the more money, the more knowledge." We must construct a social system where technological progress co-evolves and harmoniously coexists with human civilization and natural ecology, forming a favorable social fashion and atmosphere that reveres science, encourages innovation, respects knowledge, and cherishes talent. Therefore, in 2019, the ninth meeting of the Central Committee for Comprehensively Deepening Reform reviewed and approved the "Plan for the Establishment of the National Science and Technology Ethics Committee," proposing the formation of a National Science and Technology Ethics Committee to "promote the construction of a science and technology ethics governance system that is comprehensive, clearly oriented, standardized, orderly, and consistent."
(3) Continuously improving the treatment, working conditions, and environment of scientific and educational workers, enhancing the attractiveness of scientific and educational work under market economy conditions, and providing the material basis and financial, material, and human support for the social cultivation of the spirit of scientists in the New Era.
Spirit and matter are dialectically unified, interdependent, and mutually supporting. Whether solid material guarantees and support in terms of human, material, and financial resources can be provided for scientific research, education, and various talents is one of the main marks of whether the policy of giving priority to the development of science and education is truly implemented. For the community of scientists and scientific workers to devote themselves wholeheartedly to research without distraction, the premise must be to satisfy their reasonable material and spiritual needs, giving them a sense of superiority, sacredness, security, and belonging in their dedication to the cause of science and education.
"It is not consciousness that determines life, but life that determines consciousness." The basis of resource allocation through the market mechanism is interest and efficiency. Some local officials have a mistaken understanding of the socialist market economy and the "decisive role" of the market in general economic resource allocation; they prioritize short-term economic benefits and are keen on attracting investment that shows quick results for their political performance records (zhèng jì) [16] during their terms of office. Their "care" for "bosses" far exceeds their care for education, science, technology, and talent. For most researchers, we cannot demand that they produce many results while their necessary living conditions are not guaranteed; we cannot only "milk the cow" but "not give it grass." Compared to certain "stars" who easily earn vast fortunes daily, the compensation for scientific workers is indeed very low, and even some great scientists who have made outstanding contributions still live in poverty. One-sidedly requiring a scientist who has made major contributions to the country and the people to "exhaust themselves until their heart stops" (jū gōng jìn cuì) [17] and endure hardships, while those who manipulate power and engage in opportunistic speculation sit on billions in assets, is undoubtedly another form of social distributive injustice in a market economy environment. This lacks attraction for the general public, especially young people, to devote themselves to the cause of science and education, and even makes some flinch, which is detrimental to cultivating and promoting the spirit of scientists in society.
(4) Taking the socialist core value system as the guide, combining the spirit of scientists with the "craftsman spirit" and "model worker spirit," and increasing public opinion propaganda and social education of the spirit of scientists in the New Era, which plays a critical leading role in its social cultivation.
The spirit of scientists is closely related to the value standards and the overall environment under certain social conditions. In a market economy environment, considerations of interest factors penetrate every field of society, including scientific research and cultural development. The market mechanism is a means that can stimulate competition and accelerate technological progress and the transformation of results, but the market over-pursues private gain and profit, stimulating the expansion of human desires, which has a negative impact on the public good, righteousness, and the spirit of dedication. Under unfair institutional arrangements, digital technology leads to an intensified imbalance of power in the digital age, further marginalizing the "digitally impoverished." At the same time, with the influx of foreign culture, corrupt and decadent ideas such as individualism, liberalism, hedonism, consumerism, and money worship have swarmed in. Coupled with the plots of "peaceful evolution" [18] by Western forces, these have an impact that cannot be ignored on the cultivation of the scientist spirit in New Era China.
Concepts in traditional Chinese society such as "the scholar, having completed his learning, should apply himself to be an official" (xué ér yōu zé shì) [19] and "within books there are golden houses and faces as beautiful as jade" [20] led to "official-centrism" (guān běn wèi) [21] and the worship of authority. These pursue power and money excessively and discourage the questioning and criticizing of authority, which is unfavorable to the cultivation of the scientific spirit. People in a "sick society" attain material satisfaction and "false pleasure," losing the spiritual pursuit of truth, goodness, and beauty, and becoming alienated into manipulated and controlled "one-dimensional men." Scientific research needs a scientific spirit based on curiosity; industry needs a craftsman spirit; and to promote technological innovation and solve "bottleneck" (kǎ bò zi) [22] problems, one must establish the scientific spirit, the craftsman spirit, and cultural self-confidence. The construction of a strong, modern scientific and technological power in the New Era should take Marxism and advanced socialist culture as its guide. It should use the advantages of the socialist system and the forces of the rule of law, morality, and culture to weaken and resist the negative impacts of the market economy and "official-centrism" on the spirit of scientists. This prevents scientific workers from being alienated into academic warlords, administrative bureaucrats, or slaves to money. We must integrate the spirit of scientists into ideological and political education (sī zhèng) [23] in multiple fields and throughout the entire process, promote the "creative transformation and innovative development" of traditional culture, carry forward traditional virtues, and "sing the main melody" (chàng xiǎng zhǔ xuán lǜ) [24]. By combining social reality with the actual work of individuals, we must publicize the "Models of the Times" (shí dài kǎi mó) of the scientist spirit, model worker spirit, and craftsman spirit, creating a favorable social fashion and public opinion atmosphere for the shaping and soul-casting of the scientist spirit. To this end, various regions need to rely on science and technology museums, national key laboratories, and major scientific and technological project memorials (remains) to build a batch of "Scientist Spirit Education Bases."
(5) Building research teams and scientific communities with a good academic and research atmosphere, and constructing a platform for exchange and connection between the government, industry, universities, research institutes, and enterprises, is the micro-developmental ecology for the social cultivation of the spirit of scientists in the New Era.
Technological progress shows an integrated development trend of cross-field and multi-disciplinary fusion. Facing huge and complex scientific breakthroughs and research tasks, individual strength—whether in terms of knowledge, ability, vision, energy, or time—is weak. It is difficult for technological breakthroughs and innovation to rely on a single discipline or specialty, or on the power of one single scientist. It requires the integration of scientists and researchers from different specialties, fields, and knowledge backgrounds to form research teams and scientific communities. We must build a platform for exchange and connection between the government, industry, universities, research institutes, and enterprises to collaborate, promote mutual exchange, and progress together. Within the scientific community, relevant rules, regulations, and moral codes are established to constitute the micro-environment in which scientists and researchers work, subtly influencing the thoughts and behaviors of every member and internalizing them into scientific conscience and scientific moral consciousness.
At the same time, using the spirit of scientists to inspire and cultivate new academic talents and young teams, we can form research teams and "echelons" (tì duì) [25] where "teaching and learning benefit each other" (jiào xué xiāng zhǎng), exchanges promote mutual progress, and integration leads to common development. By building research teams characterized by hard struggle, solidarity, mutual assistance, and a "clean and upright" (fēng qīng qì zhèng) atmosphere, we can collectively resist the erosion of bad practices. This helps members with different professional backgrounds and specialties learn from each other's strengths to compensate for their own weaknesses, builds a stage for displaying talent, promotes the integration of science and technology with productive labor practice, and better drives technological progress and innovation. It makes it easier to connect with the major tasks and needs of the state and enterprises, prevents the risk of a "generation gap" in scientific endeavors, and uses the strength of groups and teams to drive the social cultivation of the spirit of scientists.
In addition, technological progress and innovation are not closed-loop self-cycles or "working behind closed doors" (bì mén zào chē); they involve constant metabolism within an open system. We must establish an independent innovation system in an open environment, continuously improving the capacity for "self-reliance and self-strengthening" on the basis of constantly absorbing external information and energy, and creating an external ecosystem for the social cultivation of the spirit of scientists in the New Era. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Key core technologies cannot be asked for, bought, or begged for." In constructing an open system for scientific and technological innovation, we must take autonomy, self-effort, and self-reliance as the base points, with openness and external assistance as conditions. We must build the strategic fulcrum on the improvement of independent innovation capabilities and independent intellectual property rights, perfecting a self-growing scientific and technological ecosystem in the process of continuously improving the level and quality of international exchange and cooperation.
IV. The Personal Cultivation of the Spirit of Scientists in the New Era
The individual person who makes up human society is a complete subject of spiritual ideas and socio-economic activities, reflected in the body and soul, thoughts, and behaviors. When specifically applied to the individual's cultivation of the scientist spirit, it is both the result of the nurturing of the social environment and research ecology, and more importantly, the self-cultivation, consideration, and tempering of the scientist's personal spiritual realm and willpower.
(1) Establishing lofty ideals and far-reaching goals, closely linking personal development with the prosperity of the country and nation, the well-being of the people, and the progress of humanity. This achieves the unification of science and technology with the humanities, belief with reality, and knowledge with value, elevating the personal realm and pattern of life.
Marxism is not only a belief on the lips but a pursuit in action. Under conditions of material scarcity and extreme difficulty, a group of scientists represented by Qian Xuesen and others took huge risks, abandoned the generous treatment abroad, and resolutely returned to China. They used their practical actions, and even their lives, to interpret the spirit of great love characterized by dedication to the country and the people. they are the models and best interpretations of the Chinese scientist spirit. If a person fights for an ideal and works for a mission, they will be sustainably filled with the power of struggle and continuously elevate their life realm. Scientific research is inseparable from humanistic literacy and the humanistic spirit. We must connect beliefs with scientific, technological, and humanistic education, and adhere to the unity of value and knowledge, technology and the humanities, history and reality, and theory and practice. Scientists in the New Era should have the motherland in their hearts, be people-centered, inherit and promote the fine qualities and noble morality of the older generation of scientists, have the courage to take responsibility, strive for strength, and compete for excellence, realizing their scientific dreams in the cause of human progress and the great undertaking of socialist modernization.
(2) Being indifferent to fame and wealth, adhering to the bottom line of science and technology ethics and morality, maintaining a scientific conscience, enhancing social responsibility, tempering personal willpower, and taking the reverence for science and the pursuit of truth as a lifelong quest.
In real society, scientists also have the weaknesses and deep-rooted stirrings of human nature and are inevitably governed by factors such as human needs, desires, interests, and emotions. The influence of the social environment and social factors on scientists varies; even within the same or similar social environments, educational backgrounds, or family influences, there can still be a world of difference between individuals. This mainly depends on factors such as personal temperament, moral level, values, spiritual beliefs, and willpower. Scientific truth is objective; scientists cannot manufacture scientific facts at will. Curiosity and the desire for knowledge are the original driving forces for exploring the truth. Excellent scientists must have firm beliefs, noble character, and tenacious willpower. They should always take loving science, exploring the unknown, and pursuing truth as their lifelong pursuit. They should not follow blindly or have superstitious beliefs. They should consciously adhere to scientific morality and conscience, cultivate the humanistic spirit and literacy, break through the interference of utility, desire, and personal connections, think independently, dare to think and act, and temper their personal willpower. They must continuously improve their powers of insight, thinking, reasoning, and judgment, and become more courageous and persevering in the face of setbacks and questioning.
(3) Continuously pursue the frontiers of science and technology, "touch the sky and root in the earth" [26], stay grounded in practice, follow the path of integrating industry, academia, and research, and closely combine scientific and technological work with the practice of productive labor and the reality of social development.
Engels stated: "If society has a technical need, that helps science forward more than ten universities." The value of an individual is realized in the process of serving society and others; a person who memorizes textbooks thoroughly but cannot apply them "cannot be considered a theorist." Scientists and technology workers in the New Era must proactively align with major national strategic needs and the people's aspirations for a better life. They should serve the "main battlefield" of economic and social development, go deep among the masses and into practice, and take root in Chinese soil. By linking theory with reality and academic achievements with actual society, and through persistent pursuit, they can break through closed internal environments and the shackles of cognitive inertia and traditional customs to obtain inexhaustible momentum and internal strength, as well as vast space and a broad stage. Scientists come from among the people; they are the outstanding talents who emerge from the masses. Furthermore, scientific and technological progress and innovation exist to serve the people. In the tempering of real-world practice, they should seize opportunities with a sense of "time-waits-for-no-man" urgency and crisis, maintain their scientific conscience, and continuously enhance their capacity to assume responsibility for the country and serve the people.
(4) Maintain an open vision and a broad mind, break down disciplinary barriers and sectarian worldly notions, enhance team spirit and cooperation, form excellent research teams and scientific communities, and integrate scientific research, social service, and talent cultivation.
Mutual concern and support among scientists from different fields and specialties represent a higher level of the spirit of scientists. Major scientific breakthroughs and innovations require breaking through disciplinary and professional limitations to achieve cross-sector and cross-field development. Scientists and researchers from multiple disciplines—such as the natural sciences, philosophy, social sciences, and life sciences—should form research teams and scientific communities with an excellent work style. Taking major science and technology projects, basic science projects, integrated research projects, projects concerning national security and people's livelihoods, and the construction of national laboratories as primary focal points, they should focus on major scientific projects, "chokepoint" [27] technologies, and key core technologies. They must integrate resources, collaborate on key problems, act as "human ladders" [28] to support others, and encourage the younger generation, thereby integrating scientific research, social service, team building, and the cultivation of successors. Simultaneously, they must break through inherent biases regarding sectarianism, background, academic credentials, and papers, integrating the roles of technology workers with those of skilled craftsmen and model workers to achieve the unity of the spirit of scientists, the spirit of craftsmanship, and the spirit of model workers.
(5) Establish a spirit of fearing no hardship, enduring toil, and arduous struggle; dare to scale the heights and innovate; strive for self-improvement; and realize the internal integration of the national spirit, the revolutionary spirit, and the spirit of the times with the spirit of scientists to shape an excellent research character.
In its continuous historical process, the Chinese nation has formed a great national spirit with patriotism at its core. In the great practice of promoting economic and social development, the Chinese people have formed unique and outstanding traditions and spiritual endowments such as hard work, industriousness, bravery, self-improvement, and a love for peace. In the process of leading the people through revolution, construction, and reform, the Communist Party of China has formed a great revolutionary spirit and a spirit of the times with reform and innovation at its core. Especially in the great cause of national salvation and national rejuvenation, the older generation of revolutionaries and countless people of ideals and integrity [29], generation after generation of Chinese Communists and Chinese people, have contributed their youth and blood. They did not fear hardships or sacrifice and engaged in arduous struggle; these provide precious spiritual wealth and exemplary models for the cultivation of the spirit of scientists in the New Era. Every technology worker aspiring to scientific development and the progress of human civilization should bravely shoulder their historical mission, using the glorious deeds and strong will of people of ideals and integrity, heroes, and models to inspire themselves to forge ahead. This will realize the internal integration of the national spirit, the revolutionary spirit, and the spirit of the times with the spirit of scientists, collectively shaping their own excellent research character and noble personality.
"Profit is the harmony of righteousness" and "Profiting all things is sufficient to harmonize with righteousness" (I Ching: Qian) [30]. When individuals pursue private gain, it produces desire; when they pursue public gain, it produces value. Only by making private desires consistent with the interests and needs of the majority can the unity of righteousness and profit be realized. Based on the advantages of the socialist system and advanced culture, we must "sing the main theme" [31] and adjust and regulate desires through institutions, laws, cultural customs, and moral education. We should guide people to correctly handle the relationships between righteousness and profit, the Dao (Way) and Shu (Technique), and the public and the private, as well as the relationships between the individual, the collective, and the state. This achieves harmony of body and mind, balance between righteousness and profit, and coordination between the material and the spiritual, collectively constructing a system for cultivating the spirit of scientists. In a market economy environment, we must both satisfy people's basic needs and guide them to pursue profit that conforms to righteousness, techniques that conform to the Dao, and power that conforms to the interests of the people. By integrating scientific development with the progress of human civilization, science and the humanities can synergistically promote sustainable social development. In the practice of serving the motherland, the people, and economic and social development, we realize the perfect fusion and dialectical unity of the spirit of scientists in its pursuit of truth, supreme goodness, and exquisite beauty, forming an ecosystem where scientific development and human civilization co-evolve and coexist in harmony.