Yuan Hongying: Promoting Chinese Modernization Through the Coordinated Development of the "Two Civilizations"
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out in his important speech at the Seminar on Cultural Inheritance and Development: "Chinese-path modernization endows Chinese civilization with modern strengths, while Chinese civilization endows Chinese-path modernization with profound depth." This important discourse profoundly explicates the internal logic of advancing Chinese-path modernization and building Chinese civilization. Material civilization and spiritual civilization are the two key elements in advancing Chinese-path modernization. The two are like the two wheels of a cart or the two wings of a bird; they must drive forward in tandem and fly together [1]. On the new journey of the New Era, facing new situations and new tasks, we can only comprehensively advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization by effectively managing the coordinated development of these two civilizations—ensuring they move in the same direction, complement one another, and develop together.
1. The coordination of material and spiritual civilization is an essential requirement of socialist modernization
The coordination of material and spiritual civilization is one of the Chinese characteristics of Chinese-path modernization and is the key to continuously satisfying the people’s pursuit of a better life. Material and spiritual civilizations are interconnected and mutually reinforcing, together constituting the rich tapestry of human civilization. Socialist modernization is a modernization guided fundamentally by Marxism; its goal must necessarily be the realization of comprehensive social progress and the free and well-rounded development of individuals. Therefore, we must both strive to promote high-quality development to continuously enhance the country’s economic "hard power" and achieve great material abundance, while also actively promoting socialist cultural construction to continuously improve cultural "soft power" and achieve the full development of spiritual civilization, ultimately realizing the coordinated progress of both. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Chinese-path modernization is a modernization in which material and spiritual civilizations are coordinated. Material abundance and spiritual richness are fundamental requirements of socialist modernization." Material poverty is not socialism, nor is spiritual vacuity; rather, material abundance and spiritual richness are the two important dimensions for scientifically grasping the essential requirements of socialist modernization.
China’s unique national conditions and cultural traditions dictate that the capitalist road is a dead end in China. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "What kind of 'ism' a country implements depends on whether that 'ism' can solve the historical tasks facing that country. Both history and reality tell us that only socialism can save China, and only socialism with Chinese characteristics can develop China. This is the conclusion of history and the choice of the people." Advancing Chinese-path modernization under the premise of maintaining its socialist nature necessarily requires following the essential requirements of socialism—namely, committing to liberating and developing the productive forces, eliminating exploitation, eradicating polarization, and ultimately achieving common prosperity. To achieve common prosperity, we must ensure not only the material wealth of the masses but also the richness of their spiritual lives. Only when material and spiritual civilizations achieve coordinated development and mutual progress can the multi-dimensional and multi-level common needs of the people be continuously met.
The socialist modernization we seek to develop is a modernization that takes the realization of the free and well-rounded development of the individual as its ultimate pursuit. This is also the distinctive mark distinguishing socialist modernization from capitalist modernization. As General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The ultimate goal of modernization is to realize the free and well-rounded development of the individual." This development implies that the intellect, physical strength, abilities, and personalities of individuals achieve full, free, and well-rounded development. This must be built upon a foundation where both social material civilization and spiritual civilization are highly developed and coordinated. Enriching the individual’s spiritual world, as a core component of advancing free and well-rounded development, is both a significant advantage of Chinese-path modernization over capitalist modernization and its more lofty historical mission and value pursuit. Chinese-path modernization is a modernization of coordinated material and spiritual civilizations, meaning that the modernization of the individual must also pursue the coordinated development of material and spiritual life. Such development needs to better respond to the people's various demands and multi-level needs—pursuing not only material development but also spiritual fulfillment; not only the harmonious coexistence of man and nature, but also harmony between individuals.
2. The coordination of material and spiritual civilization is the consistent and unremitting pursuit of our Party
As early as the period of the New Democratic Revolution [2], Comrade Mao Zedong clearly stated: "We want to turn a China that is politically oppressed and economically exploited into a China that is politically free and economically prosperous; moreover, we want to turn a China that is ignorant and backward under the rule of the old culture into a China that is civilized and advanced under the rule of a new culture." After the founding of New China, Comrade Mao Zedong foresightedly proposed the heavy responsibility of the new government's "two great constructions": "It will lead the people of the whole country to overcome all difficulties and carry out large-scale economic and cultural construction, eliminate the poverty and ignorance left by the old China, and gradually improve the material life and raise the cultural life of the people." At the same time, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their primary representative, incorporated science and culture into the core content of socialist modernization when delineating the "Four Modernizations" [3]. They emphasized building our country as quickly as possible into a socialist state with modern industry, modern agriculture, and modern science and culture, thereby imbuing socialist modernization with the profound connotation of achieving coordinated material and spiritual development.
Since the beginning of Reform and Opening-up, our Party has consistently adhered to the concept of coordinated development for both civilizations. While leading the people to vigorously advance economic construction, the Party has always focused on using socialist spiritual civilization to provide sovereign guidance for material civilization. It creatively proposed the strategic task of building socialist spiritual civilization and established the strategic principle of "grasping with both hands, and both hands must be firm" [4]. Comrade Deng Xiaoping clearly pointed out: "While building a high level of material civilization, we must raise the scientific and cultural level of the entire nation, develop a noble and colorful cultural life, and build a high level of socialist spiritual civilization." Comrade Jiang Zemin emphasized: "Building socialism with Chinese characteristics includes the development of both material and spiritual civilization; we must achieve coordinated economic and social development and comprehensive progress." Comrade Hu Jintao proposed: "We must combine the development of social productive forces with the improvement of the civilized qualities of the entire nation, promote the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilizations, and more consciously and actively promote the great development and prosperity of culture." All these statements reflect, to varying degrees, our Party's profound understanding of advancing the synchronized and common development of material and spiritual civilizations.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era. The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has placed even greater importance on the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilization, emphasizing that "Chinese-path modernization is a modernization of coordinated material and spiritual civilization" and that "Only if both material and spiritual civilization are handled well, only if both national material strength and spiritual strength are enhanced, and only if the material and spiritual lives of the people of all ethnic groups are improved, can the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics move smoothly forward." It has been emphasized that to realize the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, material wealth must be greatly enriched, but spiritual wealth must also be greatly enriched. While vigorously advancing material civilization, we must perseveringly and consistently grasp the construction of socialist spiritual civilization. This requires that at every stage and in every link of "comprehensively advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization," we must focus on promoting the balanced development, mutual promotion, and joint enhancement of material and spiritual civilization to successfully complete the historical task of comprehensively building a great modern socialist country.
3. Persisting on the road of Chinese-path modernization with coordinated development of material and spiritual civilization
In his important speech at the Seminar on Cultural Inheritance and Development, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly emphasized: "Chinese-path modernization is the broad road to building a strong country and national rejuvenation." On the new journey of the New Era, if we are to travel steadily and far on this broad road and successfully realize the goals of building a great modern socialist country and advancing the rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we must unswervingly persist in promoting the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilization.
We must promote the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilization within the Party's comprehensive leadership. "The speed of the train depends entirely on the locomotive" [5]. The Communist Party of China is the leadership core for the construction of Chinese-path modernization. Whether we persist in and strengthen the Party's comprehensive leadership directly relates to the fundamental direction, future, and ultimate success or failure of Chinese-path modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Persisting in the Party's leadership is the pulse and foundation of the Party and the state, and where the interests and happiness of the people of all ethnic groups reside," and "The modernization we are advancing is a socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China." Continuously consolidating and strengthening the Party's leadership over national and social life is an inherent requirement born into our socialist modernization. This inherent requirement profoundly reflects the necessity of socialist modernization for its leading force. Only by unswervingly persisting in the Party’s leadership and implementing the Party's comprehensive leadership in every field, aspect, and link of material and spiritual civilization construction can we ensure that Chinese-path modernization has a bright and prosperous future, and ensure it does not deviate from its course or lose its soul. In promoting coordinated development under the Party's comprehensive leadership, the key is to integrate the Party's nature, purpose, original aspiration and founding mission, beliefs, and policies throughout the entire process of Chinese-path modernization, ensuring that our progress toward material abundance and spiritual richness always moves along the right track.
We must treat material and spiritual civilizations dialectically, comprehensively, and in a balanced manner. "Only when the granaries are full do people learn etiquette; only when food and clothing are sufficient do people know honor and shame" [6]. To treat material and spiritual civilizations dialectically, the key is to recognize that they are two complementary and inseparable aspects of Chinese-path modernization; they are interdependent, mutually fulfilling, and mutually constraining, unified dialectically throughout the entire process of modernization. To treat them comprehensively, the key is to handle both material and spiritual construction well so that both material and spiritual strength increase. We must both thicken the material foundation of modernization and consolidate the conditions for the people’s happy life, while also vigorously developing advanced socialist culture, strengthening education in ideals and beliefs, inheriting Chinese civilization, and promoting the comprehensive enrichment of spiritual life and the well-rounded development of the individual. To treat them in a balanced manner, the key is to recognize that they are interrelated and mutually influential; we cannot attend to one while losing the other or favor one over the other. We should neither pursuit material prosperity one-dimensionally nor engage in empty talk about spiritual civilization. Instead, we must take effective measures to correctly handle issues of imbalance and asynchrony, enabling the two civilizations to truly coordinate and jointly promote the sustainable, stable, and healthy development of society.
We must satisfy the people's pursuit of a better life in an all-around way. The people are the country, and the country is the people. To push Chinese-path modernization forward and comprehensively advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, we must dedicate ourselves to satisfying the people's pursuit of a better life and continuously promote both "comprehensive material abundance" and the "well-rounded development of the individual." This is both an inherent requirement of Chinese-path modernization and the common goal and value orientation of the coordinated development of the two civilizations. Regarding the current principal social contradiction, the principal contradiction in our society has been transformed into the contradiction between unbalanced and inadequate development and the people’s ever-growing needs for a better life. To resolve this principal contradiction through Chinese-path modernization, we must set our goal as satisfying the people’s needs for a better life across both material and spiritual dimensions. In the coordinated development of the "two civilizations," we must continuously resolve the pressing anxieties of the masses, satisfy their spiritual needs, and allow people to realize free and well-rounded development within the dialectical unity of material and spiritual life.