Luo Wendong and Li Longqiang: The Historical Status, Theoretical Contributions, and Guiding Significance of Xi Jinping’s Thinking on Culture
Culture serves as the ideological precursor to human development and civilizational progress, as well as the spiritual pillar for national prosperity and strength. General Secretary Xi Jinping, in his important speech at the Seminar on Cultural Inheritance and Development and his key instructions on public communication, ideological, and cultural work, profoundly expounded on major issues such as the prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization, the great significance of the "Two Combinations" [1], and the undertaking of a new cultural mission. He comprehensively summarized the historical experience and theoretical achievements of the Communist Party of China (CPC) in leading cultural construction, and made strategic arrangements for building a strong socialist cultural power and a modern Chinese civilization. In October 2023, the National Conference on Public Communication, Ideological, and Cultural Work explicitly proposed that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s new ideas, viewpoints, and assertions regarding cultural construction in the New Era have enriched and developed Marxist cultural theory. These constitute the "cultural chapter" of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, forming Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. This fully signifies that our Party’s understanding of the laws governing the development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics has reached a new height, and that our Party’s historical and cultural confidence has reached a new height. It provides a powerful ideological weapon and a scientific guide for action to improve public communication, ideological, and cultural work on the new journey in the New Era and to shoulder the new cultural mission. Only by profoundly grasping the historical status, theoretical contributions, and guiding significance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture—within the 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization and the 500-year grand surge of world socialism; within the 180-odd years of social change in modern China and the major achievements of the Party's century of struggle; and within the 70-odd years of arduous exploration in New China and the decade-plus of great changes in the New Era—can we correctly understand the historical necessity, theoretical logic, and practical requirements of Chinese cultural development, and earnestly enhance our consciousness and resolve in building a strong socialist cultural power and a modern Chinese civilization.
A Theoretical Summary of the Historical Experience and Great Achievements of the Party’s Leadership in Cultural Work
Marx and Engels pointed out in The German Ideology: "The real content of all epoch-making systems is formed by the needs of the period in which these systems were produced. All of them are based on the entire past development of a nation, on the historical form of class relations and their political, moral, philosophical and other consequences." According to this dialectical materialist conception of history, it is not difficult to discern that Xi Jinping Thought on Culture integrates the finest cultural achievements of ancient and modern times, both Chinese and foreign. It grasps the pulse of the intense global interplay of ideologies and cultures and the profound shifts in our domestic social thought, opening a new chapter in the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. It centrally embodies the essence of the Chinese culture and the Chinese spirit in the New Era, possessing deep historical roots and a broad practical foundation.
China is a vital birthplace of humanity and a fount of civilization. For a considerable period, the long-standing and magnificent Chinese culture stood at the forefront of global civilizational development, making immense contributions to human progress. General Secretary Xi Jinping has explicitly noted: "The Chinese nation possesses a million years of human history, ten thousand years of cultural history, and over five thousand years of civilizational history." "Traditional Chinese excellence is the cultural root and lifeline of the Chinese nation; the ideas, humanistic spirit, and moral norms it contains are not only the core of the thoughts and spirit of the Chinese people but also possess significant value for solving the problems of humanity." Our ancient scientific achievements, institutional systems, poetry, and classical literature reached the pinnacle of cultural development for their time. In particular, the global transmission of the "Four Great Inventions" (papermaking, gunpowder, printing, and the compass) and academic schools like Confucianism and Taoism propelled the European Renaissance, the Enlightenment, and other modern Western social transformations.
However, after the Opium War [2], due to the invasion of Western capitalist powers and the decay of feudal autocratic rule, China fell into the abyss of a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society. The Chinese nation encountered a "great change unseen in several millennia" [3] and a crisis of national survival. From the Taiping Heavenly Kingdom uprising to the Self-Strengthening Movement, and from the Hundred Days' Reform to the Revolution of 1911, these were exploratory attempts by the peasantry, the "Western Affairs" faction of the landlord class, the bourgeois reformists, and the bourgeois revolutionaries to rescue the nation from peril and cultural decline. Yet, whether advocating for a return to "national essence," "Chinese learning for substance, Western learning for utility" [4] to revitalize Chinese culture, or advocating for the imitation of the West and "total Westernization" to recreate Chinese civilization, all ended in failure. As Mao Zedong said:
"For over seventy years, the Chinese people had no ideological weapon to resist imperialism. The old, stubborn feudal ideological weapon suffered defeat, could not hold its ground, and was declared bankrupt. Out of necessity, the Chinese were forced to learn ideological weapons and political formulas from the ancestral home of imperialism—the Western bourgeois revolutionary era—such as the theory of evolution, the theory of natural rights, and the bourgeois republic. They organized political parties and held revolutions, believing they could resist foreign powers from without and build a republic within. But these things, like the feudal ideological weapons, were very weak; they too could not hold their ground, retreated, and were declared bankrupt."
The salvos of the October Revolution brought Marxism-Leninism to China, enabling us to find the sharp ideological weapon for cultural rebirth and civilizational recreation. From the day of its founding, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has held high the banner of Marxism. In the great struggle of leading the people through revolution, construction, and reform, it has progressively integrated the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and traditional Chinese excellence—advancing the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, forging new brilliance for Chinese culture, and creating a new form of human advancement.
In February 1940, the inaugural issue of Chinese Culture published in Yan'an featured Mao Zedong’s "On New Democracy" (originally titled New Democratic Politics and New Democratic Culture). This article proposed that the multi-year struggle of Chinese Communists aimed at establishing a New China, including the establishment of a new culture for the Chinese nation: "To change a China ruled by the old culture and hence ignorant and backward into a China ruled by the new culture and hence civilized and advanced." "A national, scientific, and mass culture—this is the anti-imperialist and anti-feudal culture of the masses, the new-democratic culture, the new culture of the Chinese nation." In May 1942, at the Yan'an Forum on Literature and Art, Mao Zedong emphasized that our literature and art are "all for the masses of the people, and in the first place for the workers, peasants, and soldiers"; "Literature and art are subordinate to politics, but in their turn exert a great influence on politics."
With the victories of the War of Resistance Against Japanese Aggression and the War of Liberation, the backward customs and pathological psychology caused by the "Three Great Mountains" [5] of imperialism, feudalism, and bureaucrat-capitalism were gradually eliminated. Under the leadership of the CPC, the people achieved liberation not only politically and economically but also culturally. Mao Zedong solemnly declared: "The era in which the Chinese were looked down upon and Chinese culture was looked down upon in modern world history should come to an end. The great, victorious Chinese People's War of Liberation and the great people's revolution have revived and are reviving the great culture of the Chinese people."
Following the founding of New China, the ideological concepts of loving the Party, the people, labor, science, and socialism took deep root in the hearts of the people; an ethical climate of unity, affection, equality, and mutual aid became the prevailing trend. With the basic completion of socialist transformation and the initial establishment of the socialist system, socialist culture began to take shape. In August 1956, Mao Zedong met with the leaders of the China Musicians Association and proposed the need to study foreign culture and art, "making the foreign serve China" (洋为中用) and "making the past serve the present" (古为今用), to create "socialist content" with "China’s own unique national style" in ideology and culture. In February 1957, in his speech "On the Correct Handling of Contradictions Among the People," Mao Zedong provided a comprehensive exposition of "letting a hundred flowers bloom" and "letting a hundred schools of thought contend" [6], establishing it as the "policy for promoting the prosperity of socialist culture in our country."
It must be stated plainly that due to a lack of experience in socialist construction, and influenced by international tensions and the interference of "Leftist" lines and policies, serious errors occurred in our cultural construction, such as the expansion of the Anti-Rightist Campaign and the "Cultural Revolution." Especially under the influence of erroneous concepts like "relentlessly criticizing feudalism, capitalism, and revisionism" and "breaking the Four Olds" [7], traditional Chinese culture and modern Western culture were at times indiscriminately negated and rejected, causing our cultural construction to take detours and suffer setbacks.
After the Third Plenary Session of the 11th CPC Central Committee, the Party decisively ended the "taking class struggle as the key link" approach and achieved a strategic shift in the focus of the Party and state's work. This initiated the new period of reform, opening up, and socialist modernization, realizing a great turn of far-reaching significance in the Party's history since the founding of New China. While opening and expanding the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, this period also pushed socialist culture into a new era of self-conscious development. In December 1980, Deng Xiaoping pointed out at a Central Work Conference: "The socialist country we want to build must have not only a high level of material civilization but also a high level of spiritual civilization." The "Resolution of the CPC Central Committee on the Guiding Principles for Building Socialist Spiritual Civilization," adopted at the Sixth Plenary Session of the 12th CPC Central Committee, stated: "Socialist spiritual civilization, guided by Marxism, is an important characteristic of socialist society"; "The fundamental task of building socialist spiritual civilization is to meet the needs of socialist modernization by cultivating socialist citizens with ideals, morality, culture, and discipline, and improving the ideological, moral, scientific, and cultural qualities of the entire Chinese nation."
After the Fourth Plenary Session of the 13th CPC Central Committee, Chinese Communists, with Comrade Jiang Zemin as their chief representative, defended and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics under the new historical conditions of deepening reform, expanding opening up, and developing a socialist market economy, as well as in the face of the severe test of the dramatic changes in Eastern Europe that led to serious setbacks for world socialism. The report of the 15th CPC National Congress clarified the connotation, goals, and policies of culture with Chinese characteristics and its relationship with socialist spiritual civilization, noting: "The culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics is, in its main content, consistent with the socialist spiritual civilization we have consistently advocated since the reform and opening up. 'Culture' is relative to economy and politics, while 'spiritual civilization' is relative to material civilization." Building socialist culture with Chinese characteristics means taking Marxism as the guide, aiming to cultivate citizens with ideals, morality, culture, and discipline, and developing a national, scientific, and mass socialist culture that faces modernization, the world, and the future. In February 1980, summarizing the Party's nearly 80-year history and combining the people's new demands for material and cultural life with the major changes in the ranks of Party members and cadres, Jiang Zemin emphasized that representing the developmental orientation of advanced culture under new historical conditions "requires always persisting in Marxism as the guide, striving to inherit and develop all fine cultural traditions of the Chinese nation, and striving to learn from and absorb all outstanding cultural achievements of foreign countries, thereby continuously creating and advancing socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, ensuring the coordinated development of socialist material and spiritual civilizations and the comprehensive progress of society."
After the 16th CPC National Congress, Chinese Communists, with Comrade Hu Jintao as their chief representative, persisted in the people-centered, comprehensive, coordinated, and sustainable development during the process of building a moderately prosperous society in all respects. They promoted the construction of the socialist core value system, fostered social harmony, and successfully persisted in and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics under new circumstances. In December 2005, the "Several Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Deepening the Reform of the Cultural System" was promulgated, clarifying the guiding ideology, principles, and target tasks for the reform. It emphasized putting social benefits first, striving to achieve the unification of social and economic benefits, and persisting in the coordinated development of cultural undertakings and cultural industries. In October 2011, the Sixth Plenary Session of the 17th CPC Central Committee adopted the "Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Major Issues Concerning Deepening the Reform of the Cultural System and Promoting the Great Development and Prosperity of Socialist Culture," which elucidated the path for developing socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, established the strategic goal of building a socialist cultural power, and formulated the guiding ideology, important principles, target tasks, and policy measures for promoting cultural reform and development.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has taken a holistic grasp of the overall strategy for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the world's once-in-a-century great changes. Persisting in the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and traditional Chinese excellence, they clarified the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan and the Four Comprehensives strategic layout, pushing socialism with Chinese characteristics into the New Era and opening a new situation for building a socialist cultural power and the modern civilization of the Chinese nation. In January 2013, at a seminar for new members and alternate members of the Central Committee on studying and implementing the spirit of the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping divided the 500-year history of world socialism into six periods and emphasized: "Faith in Marxism and belief in socialism and communism are the political soul of the Communist and the spiritual pillar that enables them to withstand any test." "Socialism with Chinese characteristics is the dialectical unity of the theoretical logic of scientific socialism and the historical logic of China's social development," and it "is the only way to finish building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, accelerate the promotion of socialist modernization, and realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." As long as we unswervingly persist in and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics, we will surely achieve the "Two Centenary Goals."
In August, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Conference on Public Communication and Ideological Work: "Whether we Chinese Communists can maintain the Party's leadership and persist in and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in an increasingly complex international and domestic environment is a question that requires generations of Communists to continue answering. Doing a good job in ideological work and public communication and ideological work must be understood within this large context." Centering on the goals of "holding high the banner, gathering the people's hearts, fostering new generations, flourishing culture, and presenting a positive image," the Party has twice convened National Conferences on Public Communication and Ideological Work. It has respectively held symposiums on literature and art, news and public opinion work, cybersecurity and informatization, and philosophy and social sciences, as well as a national conference on ideological and political work in higher education institutions. These efforts have promoted the use of the Party's innovative theories to arm the entire Party, educate the people, and guide practice, while encouraging the study of the histories of the Party, New China, reform and opening up, and socialist development. The upward and positive trend in the ideological and cultural spheres has continuously strengthened.
In particular, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the "Nine Persists" at the 2018 National Conference on Public Communication and Ideological Work, made five strategic deployments for cultural construction at the 20th CPC National Congress, proposed "Fourteen Emphases" at the Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development, and recently proposed "Seven Focuses" for public communication and ideological work. These comprehensively summarize the Party's historical experience in leading cultural work and the practical experience of cultural construction in the New Era, greatly deepening the understanding of the essential laws of socialist cultural construction. The National Conference on Public Communication and Ideological Work formally proposed and systematically expounded Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. It emphasized that we must focus closely on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and the strategic deployments of the 20th CPC National Congress regarding cultural construction. It called for a tangible increase in the sense of responsibility and mission for cultural work on the new journey in the New Era, demonstrating a new atmosphere and new accomplishments in the struggle and practice to build a socialist cultural power and the modern civilization of the Chinese nation. This is of milestone significance not only in the history of the Party’s propaganda and cultural development and the history of Chinese culture but also in the history of the development of Marxist cultural theory and even the history of human civilization.
The Adherence to and Development of Marxist Cultural Theory
In terms of its origin and development, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is a major achievement resulting from the advancement of the "Two Combinations." It is the product of combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture and contemporary Chinese cultural practice, thereby enriching and developing Marxist cultural theory. General Secretary Xi Jinping has profoundly pointed out: "To open up and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics on the deep foundation of more than 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, the combination of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s fine traditional culture is the path we must take. This is a regular understanding we have reached in exploring the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We have always emphasized combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities, and now we have explicitly proposed the 'Second Combination' [8]." "The experiences of history, both positive and negative, show that the 'Two Combinations' are our greatest magic weapon for achieving success." "In the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, an important reason why the cause of the Party and the country has achieved historical achievements and undergone historical changes is precisely the adherence to the 'Two Combinations'." In particular, although Marxism and China’s fine traditional culture emerged in different eras and regions, and their sources and influences differ, they are highly compatible in terms of social pursuits, political concepts, and philosophical methods. This compatibility constitutes the prerequisite for their combination and the result of their mutual reinforcement. It makes Marxism "Chinese," makes China’s fine traditional culture "modern," and allows the new culture formed through this "combination" to become the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization. The "Second Combination" has expanded the cultural foundation of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, opened up vast spaces for theoretical and practical innovation, and consolidated our cultural subjectivity. Consequently, "the Communist Party of China has a powerful cultural force to lead the times, the Chinese nation and the Chinese people have a solid cultural foundation for national identity, and Chinese civilization has distinct cultural characteristics for exchange and mutual learning with other civilizations in the world." Proposing the "Second Combination" is not only another liberation of the mind, allowing us to master ideological and cultural initiative, but it also marks the maturity of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, opening up a new realm for the development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "'Combination' is not a 'platter,' nor is it a simple 'physical reaction,' but a profound 'chemical reaction' that has created a new, organically unified cultural lifeform." On the one hand, Marxism brought advanced ideological and theoretical concepts to China, activating the genes of Chinese civilization with the light of truth, leading China into the modern world, and promoting the renewal and modern transformation of Chinese civilization. From "the people as the foundation" (minben) [9] to democracy, from "the unification of the nine provinces" (jiuzhou gongguan) [10] to the community for the Chinese nation, from "all things growing together" [11] to the harmonious coexistence between humanity and nature, and from "enriching the people and supporting their livelihood" (fumin housheng) [12] to common prosperity, Chinese civilization has opened up a new vista, realizing the leap from tradition to modernity and developing the modern form of Chinese civilization. On the other hand, China’s fine traditional culture has enriched the cultural life of Marxism, driving Marxism to continuously realize new leaps in its Sinicization and modernization, and displaying increasingly distinct Chinese style and Chinese spirit. Sinicized Marxism has become the essence of the times for Chinese culture and the Chinese spirit. This demonstrates that the CPC, acting both as a firm believer and practitioner of Marxism and as a faithful inheritor and promoter of China’s fine traditional culture, has reached a new height in grasping the laws of development of Chinese civilization and the historical experience of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. It has reached a new height in its understanding of the historical origins, cultural connotations, and unique advantages of the Chinese path, and a new height in its consciousness of inheriting fine traditional culture to promote cultural innovation and building a socialist cultural power within a broader cultural space and path.
Marxism not only provided humanity with a "complete world outlook which is irreconcilable with any form of superstition, any reaction, or any defense of bourgeois oppression," realizing a fundamental revolution in the history of human thought, but it also provided scientific expositions on basic issues such as the status and role of culture in social life and its laws of evolution, the essential characteristics of future social culture, and its critical relationship of inheritance with historical culture. This laid a solid theoretical foundation for us to build a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. For example, Marx and Engels elucidated the dialectical relationship between social existence and social consciousness, and between material production and spiritual production. They discovered the historical trend where local and national self-sufficiency and isolation are replaced by universal intercourse and interdependence among nations, forming a world culture. Lenin discussed the special laws for building socialism in backward countries, proposing that if the proletariat could seize state power, it could "create the prerequisites" (i.e., material foundations and cultural conditions) for the civilization required by socialism and then "start moving toward socialism." General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized adhering to the Marxist stance, viewpoint, and method, and combining them with the new changes in the environment, objects, scope, and methods of cultural work to promote cultural self-confidence and self-strengthening and to create new glories for socialist culture. He clearly proposed that we must deeply understand the decisive role of the economic base on the superstructure and the counter-reaction of the superstructure on the economic base. We must both perform well in the central task of economic construction to provide a solid material foundation for ideological work and perform well in ideological work to provide a strong guarantee for the central task. We must persist in not forgetting our origins, absorbing external influences, and facing the future; adhere to the principle of making the past serve the present and foreign things serve China; take Marxism as our guide, integrate all outstanding civilizational achievements of humanity, stimulate the cultural innovation and creativity of the entire nation, and continuously enhance the country’s cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture. We must persist in being people-centered, take socialist core values as our guide, develop advanced socialist culture, promote revolutionary culture, inherit fine traditional Chinese culture, promote the localization of foreign cultures, meet the people’s growing cultural needs, and strengthen the spiritual force for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. We must uphold the standpoint of Chinese culture, promote the common values of humanity, deepen civilization exchanges and mutual learning, implement the Global Civilization Initiative, develop a discourse power commensurate with our comprehensive national strength and international status, promote Chinese culture to better reach the world, and enrich the garden of world civilizations. This series of new concepts and thoughts on cultural construction are all creative applications and developments of Marxist cultural theory.
In terms of its content, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is rich in connotation and profound in its discourse. It contains both innovative breakthroughs in theoretical viewpoints and strategic deployments in work arrangements. It "clarifies the essence and reaches practical application" (mingti dayan) [13] and "integrates the essence and its application" (tiyong guantong), constituting a complete and systematic ideological system for cultural construction in the New Era. Regarding political guarantees, it emphasizes upholding the Party’s leadership over ideological work and focuses on strengthening the Party's overall leadership over publicity, ideological, and cultural work. Regarding its status and role, it emphasizes that culture concerns the foundation and destiny of the state: when culture flourishes, the country flourishes; when culture is strong, the nation is strong. Publicity, ideological, and cultural work concerns the future and destiny of the Party, the long-term stability of the state, and national cohesion and centripetal force; it is an extremely important task. Regarding the cultural mission, it emphasizes continuing to promote cultural prosperity, building a leading cultural power, and building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation at a new historical starting point. Regarding the "banner and soul," it emphasizes upholding the fundamental system of the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, advancing the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, adhering to the use of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to arm the whole Party and educate the people, focusing on building a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leadership, and continuously consolidating the shared ideological foundation for the united struggle of the entire Party and all ethnic groups. Regarding important tasks, it emphasizes adhering to the cultivation and practice of socialist core values, extensively carrying out publicity and education on socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Chinese Dream, so that all people are closely united in their ideals, beliefs, values, and moral concepts. Regarding basic principles, it emphasizes firming up cultural self-confidence, persisting in following our own path, using the Chinese path to summarize Chinese experience and elevating Chinese experience into Chinese theory to achieve spiritual independence and autonomy. It emphasizes maintaining openness and inclusiveness, actively learning from and drawing on all outstanding cultural achievements created by humanity. It emphasizes upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, ensuring that under the guidance of Marxism, the past serves the present, foreign things serve China, dialectical selection is practiced, and the new is brought forth from the old, realizing an organic connection between the traditional and the modern. Regarding work layout, it emphasizes adhering to the Marxist view of journalism, improving the power of news media to spread, guide, influence, and command public trust. It stresses accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics and building a Chinese independent knowledge system. it emphasizes firmly establishing the Marxist view of literature and art to help socialist literature and art flourish. It emphasizes maintaining a clean and upright cyberspace and fostering a positive, healthy, and upwardly mobile cyberculture. It emphasizes the persistence and strengthening of historical and cultural heritage protection, focusing on continuing the Chinese cultural lineage and promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of China’s fine traditional culture. It emphasizes forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation and building a shared spiritual home for the Chinese nation. It emphasizes telling China’s stories well and spreading China’s voice well, focusing on strengthening international communication capacity building, and promoting civilization exchanges and mutual learning. Regarding the fundamental purpose, it emphasizes being people-centered, putting social benefits first, focusing on promoting the prosperity and development of cultural undertakings and cultural industries, producing more excellent works that enhance the people’s spiritual strength, promoting the common prosperity of the spiritual life of all people, and promoting all-around human development.
In essence, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture systematically answers the central question of how to promote cultural prosperity, build a cultural power, and build the modern civilization of the Chinese nation under historical conditions characterized by the comprehensive deepening of reform and opening up, the critical period of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and the accelerating evolution of major changes unseen in a century. It has clarified the roadmap and task list for cultural construction in the New Era, enriched and developed Marxist cultural theory with a series of new concepts, thoughts, and strategies, and realized another leap in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist cultural theory. To correctly grasp the dialectical relationship between Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and Marxist cultural theory, one must comprehensively understand how the former inherits, innovates, adheres to, and develops the latter. First, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is primarily an inheritance of Marxist cultural theory—a comprehensive inheritance ranging from its "essence" (its stance, viewpoint, and method) to its basic principles. It is this inheritance that gives Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and Marxist cultural theory an internal connection and high degree of unity. Second, the relationship is not one of simple inheritance, but of development, and this development is the primary and dominant aspect. In terms of nature and significance, this development is not reflected in isolated or general issues, but in many basic issues; it is not a routine adjustment or mending of theory and practice, but an all-dimensional innovation and transformation; it is not a mere quantitative increase or extension of ideological viewpoints, but a qualitative leap in the theoretical system. Third, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is the adherence to and development of Marxist cultural theory under new historical conditions. It belongs to the general system of Marxism while possessing relative independence, enriching the treasure house of Marxist cultural theory. In explaining Leninism, Stalin said: "Lenin is a Marxist, and his world outlook is, of course, Marxism. But it does not follow from this that a description of Leninism should begin with a description of the foundations of Marxism. To describe Leninism is to describe the special and new contributions that Lenin added to the general treasure house of Marxism and which are naturally associated with his name." Similarly, it can be said that to describe Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is to describe the special and new contributions that the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their chief representative, have added to the general treasure house of Marxism and which are naturally inseparable from the name of General Secretary Xi Jinping.
The Scientific Guide and Fundamental Follow-Up for Cultural Construction in the New Era
The era is the mother of thought; practice is the source of theory. Great practice gives birth to scientific thought, which in turn guides great practice. In the long river of human history, the ten-plus years of the New Era are but a fleeting moment. Yet, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and the command of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, China's propaganda, ideological, and cultural work has achieved historical successes through the process of "clearing the source" [14] and upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground. A global and local fundamental shift has occurred in the ideological sphere. The cultural confidence of the entire Party and people of all ethnic groups has been markedly strengthened, and their mental outlook has become more vigorous and high-spirited, providing a strong ideological guarantee and powerful spiritual strength for opening a new chapter in the cause of the Party and the state. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture has demonstrated formidable power of truth and practical might in the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Marx said: "The weapon of criticism cannot, of course, replace criticism of the weapon, material force must be overthrown by material force; but theory also becomes a material force as soon as it has gripped the masses. Theory is capable of gripping the masses as soon as it demonstrates ad hominem, and it demonstrates ad hominem as soon as it becomes radical."
Addressing prominent problems that emerged after the Reform and Opening-up—such as the occasional appearance of money worship, hedonism, extreme individualism, and historical nihilism [15]; the chaotic phenomena of online public opinion; and the blurred political stance and lack of fighting spirit among some leading cadres, which seriously affected the ideological and social opinion environment—the Party, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, focused on resolving the weakening of Party leadership in the ideological field. By both "establishing the new and breaking the old" and "clearing the turbid and stimulating the clear" [16], the Party made deployments on many directional and strategic issues. It established and persisted in the fundamental system of the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, improved the responsibility system for ideological work, encouraged the entire Party to take action in propaganda, ideological, and cultural work, and took a clear-cut stand against and resisted various erroneous views.
The Party pushed for the use of the Party's innovative theories to arm the entire Party, educate the people, and guide practice. It deepened the research and construction of Marxist theory and improved the dissemination, guidance, influence, and credibility of news and public opinion. High importance was placed on the internet as the main position, main battlefield, and front line of the ideological struggle. The leadership and management systems for the internet were improved, persisting in managing and governing the web according to the law to create a "clean and righteous" [17] online space. The Party persisted in leading cultural construction with the Socialist Core Values, promoted the normalization and institutionalization of education on ideals and convictions, improved the system of ideological and political work, and established and perfected the Party and state merit and honor system. It established Martyrs' Day, deepened mass-based spiritual civilization creation activities, built New Era Civilization Practice Centers, and promoted the construction of a "learning power" [18].
The Party promoted the study of the history of the Party, the People's Republic of China, Reform and Opening-up, and the development of socialism. It completed the Museum of the Communist Party of China and the National Archives of Publications and Culture. It carried out activities celebrating the 100th anniversary of the founding of the CPC, the 70th anniversary of the PRC, the 90th anniversary of the founding of the People's Liberation Army, and the 40th anniversary of Reform and Opening-up. These activities powerfully demonstrated the heart of the Party and the people, and the prestige of the nation and the military, sounding the "main melody" [19] and promoting "positive energy" throughout society. It vigorously implemented projects for the inheritance and development of fine traditional Chinese culture and increased the protection of cultural heritage. It accelerated the construction of international communication capacity, telling the stories of China and the CPC well to the world, making China’s voice heard, and significantly enhancing the country’s cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture.
According to the "2022 Edelman Trust Barometer" released by the well-known PR consulting firm Edelman, Chinese citizens' trust in their government reached as high as 91% in 2021. In terms of the comprehensive national trust index, China reached 83%, ranking first in the world. Ten consecutive years of polling conducted by the Harvard Kennedy School in China show that Chinese citizens' satisfaction with the government has remained above 90% year after year. From one perspective, this reflects the Chinese people's trust in and support for the Party and the government, and the great enhancement of social cohesion and centripetal force.
Under the conditions of comprehensively deepening reform and opening up and developing a socialist market economy, how to prosper and develop cultural undertakings and cultural industries to better meet the growing cultural life needs of the people is a prominent problem calling for an urgent solution. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, the Party has persisted in the people-centered approach, prioritized social benefits while unifying social and economic benefits, deepened cultural system reform, and promoted the comprehensive development of cultural undertakings and industries. It has fostered prosperous literary and artistic creation, improved the public cultural service system, and provided more and better "spiritual food" for the broadest masses of the people. According to the National Bureau of Statistics bulletin, the total output value of China's cultural industry exceeded 4 trillion yuan in 2012; by 2021, cultural and related industrial enterprises above a designated size achieved an operating income of 11.91 trillion yuan. China's total movie box office grew from 17.313 billion yuan in 2012 to 64.266 billion yuan in 2019. Domestic tourists numbered 2.957 billion in 2012, increasing to 6.01 billion in 2019. During the "13th Five-Year Plan" period, China cumulatively built 1,274 TB of public digital cultural resources, covering areas such as rural benefits, film and television, culture and history, art appreciation, popular science education, government information, and Party building. By the end of 2021, there were 3,217 public libraries and 3,317 cultural centers nationwide. There were 201 million cable TV users, with 10.32 billion internet users, including 1.029 billion mobile internet users, reaching an internet penetration rate of 73.0%. Despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2021, museums nationwide still held 36,000 exhibitions and 323,000 educational activities, receiving 779 million visitors and launching over 3,000 online exhibitions, with total network views exceeding 4.1 billion. In 2021, China's total international cultural trade exceeded 200 billion USD for the first time. By the end of 2022, there were 314,000 cultural and tourism units of various types included in statistics, with national cultural and tourism undertaking expenses reaching 120.289 billion yuan. In 2022, the cultural industry achieved an operating income of 16.5502 trillion yuan. The vitality of the Chinese nation's cultural innovation and creation is constantly being stimulated, showing the world the new brilliance of Chinese culture and the new vista of Chinese civilization.
Culture, as a precursor to social progress and national development, needs to play a role in goal orientation and spiritual inspiration. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Every leap in human society and every sublimation of human civilization is accompanied by the historic progress of culture." "Without the active guidance of advanced culture, without the great enrichment of the people's spiritual world, and without the continuous strengthening of the nation's spiritual strength, a country or a nation cannot stand tall among the nations of the world." As "changes unseen in a century" [20] unfold in an unprecedented way, with increasing unstable and uncertain factors and a complex and volatile environment at home and abroad, how to navigate, build consensus, and achieve the "Two Centenary Goals" [21] and the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is a major risk and challenge we face. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, the Party has coordinated the "Great Struggle, Great Project, Great Cause, and Great Dream" [22]. Facing modernization, the world, and the future, the Party has taken a series of strategic measures, promoted a series of transformative practices, and achieved a series of landmark results. It has withstood risks and challenges from political, economic, ideological, and natural fronts, continuously advancing the process of building a cultural powerhouse and national rejuvenation.
In the report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping made a two-stage strategic arrangement for cultural construction. In the first stage, from 2020 to 2035, based on the comprehensive building of a moderately prosperous society, we will struggle for another 15 years to basically realize socialist modernization, where "the level of social civility reaches a new height, the country's cultural soft power is significantly enhanced, and the influence of Chinese culture becomes more extensive and profound." In the second stage, from 2035 to the middle of the 21st century, based on the basic realization of modernization, we will struggle for another 15 years to build China into a prosperous, strong, democratic, civilized, harmonious, and beautiful great modern socialist country. "By then... material, political, spiritual, social, and ecological civilizations will be comprehensively improved... and the Chinese nation will stand tall among the nations of the world with a more vigorous posture." In the report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping further defined the modernization of the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilizations as a characteristic of Chinese-path modernization, emphasizing "vigorously developing advanced socialist culture, strengthening education on ideals and convictions, inheriting Chinese civilization, and promoting the comprehensive abundance of things and the comprehensive development of people." The report also summarized the enrichment of the people's spiritual world as an essential requirement of Chinese-path modernization and included "building a leading country in education, science and technology, talent, culture, sports, and health, and significantly enhancing national cultural soft power" into the overall goals for China's development by 2035. It is precisely according to the decisions and deployments of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core that China has both completed the building of a moderately prosperous society on schedule and begun a new journey of comprehensively building a modern socialist country, marching toward the Second Centenary Goal. This will inevitably realize the grand blueprint for building a socialist cultural powerhouse and a modern civilization for the Chinese nation.
On the eve of the founding of New China, Mao Zedong predicted: "With the upsurge in economic construction, there will inevitably appear an upsurge in cultural construction. The era in which Chinese people were regarded as uncivilized has passed; we will emerge in the world as a nation with a high degree of culture." After more than 70 years of continuous struggle, and after the exploration and innovation in theory, practice, and systems since the 18th CPC National Congress, we have successfully advanced and expanded Chinese-path modernization. The cultural confidence of the entire Party and the national people has been markedly enhanced. We are better equipped than in any previous era to resolve the "contention between the ancient and the modern, the Chinese and the Western," and we feel a more urgent need than in any previous era for a body of cultural achievements that fuse the ancient and the modern and integrate China and the West. On the new journey of the New Era, we must deeply grasp the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, strengthen the "Four Consciousnesses," [23] firm up the "Four Confidences," [24] achieve the Two Upholds, deeply study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, and consciously shoulder the new cultural mission. We must continuously enhance national cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture, providing a strong ideological guarantee, powerful spiritual strength, and favorable cultural conditions for comprehensively building a modern socialist country and comprehensively promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.