Meng Xianli: The Scientific Nature and Multi-dimensional Perspectives of Xi Jinping's Cultural Thought

Xi Jinping Thought on Culture possesses a distinct scientific character. This scientificity lies in its revelation of the essence and laws of cultural construction and development in the New Era, and its response to and resolution of the major epochal questions concerning cultural development. The scientific nature of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is manifested in its multidimensional orientations—scientific thinking, scientific methods, scientific standpoint, scientific attitude, and scientific structure. It has deepened our Party's understanding and mastery of the laws governing the development of socialist cultural construction, particularly the development of culture with Chinese characteristics, providing a scientific guide for promoting cultural progress in the New Era. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, a series of new progress, achievements, and breakthroughs have been made in the development of culture with Chinese characteristics. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is a scientific system of thought proven by practice.

I. The scientificity of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture lies in revealing the essence and laws of cultural construction and development in the New Era

The scientificity of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture lies in its thorough revelation of the essence of cultural development in the New Era, its grasp of its laws, and its addressing of epochal challenges.

Firstly, this scientificity lies in its revelation of the essence of cultural construction in the New Era: that it is a form of spiritual production rooted in and serving the New Era. This activity is determined by the practice of the New Era, driven by the people of the New Era, and in turn serves the practice of the New Era.

Marx believed that: "The dissolution of a given form of consciousness is enough to cause a whole era to perish." Although economic conditions are the base, the decisive role of the economic base does not exclude the superstructure from exerting a counter-reaction. The factors that influence the course of history and, in many cases, determine the form of historical struggle also include "various factors of the superstructure." It can be said that while cultural development is determined by the economic base, it also exerts a powerful counter-reaction upon it. The "culture" emphasized in Xi Jinping Thought on Culture focuses on the spiritual wealth created by the people. It refers to various spiritual phenomena, activities, and products relative to economy and politics, falling within the category of the superstructure. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "Once advanced ideology and culture are mastered by the masses, they will turn into a powerful material force; conversely, if backward and erroneous concepts are not eliminated, they will become shackles on social development and progress."

Entering the New Era, the principal contradiction in Chinese society has evolved ^[1]. We must base ourselves on the objective reality of this transformation to develop a culture with Chinese characteristics that adapts to the New Era, thereby meeting the people's growing needs for a better spiritual life. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Culture with Chinese characteristics is derived from the fine traditional Chinese culture nurtured by the Chinese nation's more than 5,000-year history of civilization; it is fused in the revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture created by the people under the Party's leadership during the periods of revolution, construction, and reform; and it is rooted in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics." Undoubtedly, cultural development in the New Era requires inheritance, innovation, transformative development, and continuous sublimation within the dialectical relationship between fine traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture, providing a powerful spiritual impetus for the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Simultaneously, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture emphasizes that cultural development must be based on the foundation of practice, stimulating the cultural creative vitality of the people to forge new glories for culture and secure new victories for the Great Cause ^[2].

The scientificity of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture also lies in its grasp of the laws governing cultural development in the New Era.

These laws are multi-layered and multifaceted, but the most important one is to persist in the path of development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. Cultural construction must be rooted in the New Era and follow this specific path—this profoundly answers the questions of what banner to hold and what path to follow, ensuring that development moves steadily and reaches far along a scientifically correct track. Specifically, this law is manifested in the guiding ideology, leadership, fundamental driving force, and evaluation criteria.

First, cultural development in the New Era takes Marxism as its fundamental guiding ideology. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and country are founded." Only by adhering to this foundation, rooting ourselves in the great practice of the New Era, and continuously promoting the "creative transformation and innovative development" ^[3] of fine traditional Chinese culture, while focusing on the inheritance of revolutionary culture and the sustained development of advanced socialist culture, can we truly advance cultural construction.

Second, the core leadership force is the Communist Party of China. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The Party's leadership must be comprehensive, systematic, and holistic," and must be implemented in all aspects of the cause of the Party and the state. Cultural development is a key link; if the Party's leadership is missing or weakened, development will deviate from the socialist direction and the orientation of serving the people, thereby damaging the cause of the Party and the country. The key to maintaining this direction lies in the Party's role as the fundamental leadership force, ensuring the Party firmly grasps the leadership over cultural work and strengthens its leadership over publicity, ideological, and cultural work.

Finally, the people are the main driving force, the primary beneficiaries, and the ultimate evaluators of cultural development. "The people are the creators of history and the creators of the era." As the creators of the New Era, they are the builders of its culture. Throughout this process, the people remain the subjects of development; without them, cultural construction would lose its fundamental momentum. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture adheres to the people-centered standpoint, emphasizing that the people are the subjective force of cultural development. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The people are the highest arbitrators and final judges of our Party's work." Whether cultural construction is successful depends on whether the people are satisfied and happy, and whether it meets their rich spiritual needs.

Xi Jinping Thought on Culture answers and resolves the epochal question of "what kind of culture with Chinese characteristics should be built in the New Era, and how to build it."

Around this question, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture provides answers from all aspects, offering a scientific guide. Rooted in the New Era and standing at a new historical starting point, continuing to promote cultural prosperity, building a leading cultural power, and developing a modern Chinese civilization—these are the tasks and goals. Firming up cultural confidence, upholding openness and inclusiveness, and persisting in upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground—these are the principles. The concept of "understanding the essence to apply it effectively, and integrating the essence with its application" ^[4] (míngtǐ dáyòng, tǐyòng guàntōng) demonstrates a new way of thinking. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture also makes deployments for specific fields, such as new plans for the development of philosophy and social sciences, new layouts for news and public opinion work, and new orientations for cultural undertakings and industries.

II. The multidimensional orientations of the scientificity of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture

The scientificity of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is manifested across multiple dimensions: it contains profound scientific thinking, adopts the scientific method of seeking truth from facts, adheres to the scientific standpoint of Putting People First, upholds a scientific attitude of openness and inclusiveness, and possesses a rigorous and complete scientific structure.

1. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture contains rich and profound scientific thinking

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must be adept at using the Marxist standpoint, viewpoints, and methods to discern the direction of research and master scientific thinking." Xi Jinping Thought on Culture contains extremely rich scientific thinking—encompassing strategic, historical, and dialectical thinking, as well as systems thinking, innovative thinking, rule-of-law thinking, and bottom-line thinking.

The strategic thinking contained in Xi Jinping Thought on Culture refers to the method of making strategic decisions and deployments based on a grasp of the essence and laws of cultural development, focusing on the overall situation and long-term goals. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Strategic issues are fundamental issues for a political party and a country." We must "advance all work while grasping the overall strategic situation." This thought plans the top-level design of cultural development with strategic thinking, clarifying strategic goals, seizing strategic priorities, and maintaining strategic resolve.

The historical thinking refers to summarizing and analyzing historical experience, laws, and lessons from a historical dimension to build the culture of the New Era by tapping into past achievements. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "History, reality, and the future are interconnected," and "we must use history to reflect on reality and look into the distant future." In the practice of cultural construction, we must analyze problems with a historical perspective, follow historical logic, respect the fine traditional culture deposited over long history, and promote the "Two Combinations"—particularly the combination of the basic tenets of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture—to open a brand new future.

The dialectical thinking refers to the use of materialist dialectics to analyze and grasp cultural development. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The further our cause develops, the more we must enhance our capacity for dialectical thinking." This thought uses dialectics to correctly handle the relationship between economic and cultural development, and major relationships such as focus vs. non-focus, the part vs. the whole, and short-term vs. long-term interests, as well as the relationship between cultural exchange and cultural security.

Systems thinking refers to viewing cultural development as a system, focusing on the interconnections between the system and its elements, and between the system and its environment. The CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core uses systems thinking to handle relations between various elements, such as the coordinated development of cultural industries and cultural undertakings, and urban and rural cultures.

Innovative thinking refers to discovering, analyzing, and solving problems from unique perspectives and with new ideas. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out:

"Innovation is the primary driving force leading development." Only by placing innovation in a primary position and implementing it throughout the entire process of cultural construction and development in the New Era can we seize the "ox's nose" ^[5] of the overall situation of cultural construction. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has continuously promoted cultural innovation, proposing a series of new thoughts, new perspectives, and new measures for cultural construction and development. These include incorporating cultural confidence into the "Four Confidences," putting forward the important judgment of the "Second Integration" ^[6], and building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture utilizes innovative thinking to promote all aspects of innovation required for cultural prosperity, bringing cultural construction in the New Era to a new level. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture also contains rule-of-law thinking, emphasizing the use of such thinking to promote cultural legislation, law enforcement, and compliance, thereby forming a favorable legal environment for cultural development. Bottom-line thinking is another scientific mode of thought within Xi Jinping Thought on Culture; it emphasizes the need to prevent problems before they occur by forecasting the worst possible outcomes in cultural development while remaining proactive and striving for the best possible results. Since the 18th National Congress, China's work in publicity, ideology, and culture has achieved breakthrough progress. However, we must clearly recognize that many risks and challenges remain, especially regarding ideological security. Therefore, the bottom-line thinking inherent in Xi Jinping Thought on Culture requires us to strengthen our awareness of risks and potential hardships to effectively prevent and defuse various possible threats.

2. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture Adopts the Scientific Method of Seeking Truth from Facts

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that seeking truth from facts is both the "magic weapon" ^[7] for the CPC to lead the people to victory and "our Party's basic ideological, working, and leadership method." As a scientific theory, seeking truth from facts is the soul of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and the magic weapon for cultural development in the New Era.

In the view of General Secretary Xi Jinping, one cannot approach problems or make decisions based solely on "book-learning" (books) and dogma; one must start from reality. Relying only on books and dogma leads to abstract metaphysics; in reality, cultural development in the New Era is a continuous process of concrete, changing practice. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is grounded in the changing facts of the New Era. It starts from the cultural needs and practices of the masses, taking their maximum reality as the starting point for cultural construction. The thought closely links itself to the reality that socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era and that the principal contradiction in society has undergone a major shift ^[8]. It clarifies the "Two Centenary Goals" and the "New Three-Step" strategic goals, summarizes the practical experience of cultural development, and provides scientific guidance for its further advancement. Thus, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is not a rigid dogma or a lifeless metaphysics, but a rich, vivid, and practical science.

Xi Jinping Thought on Culture accurately and scientifically grasps China's basic national conditions. Since the Reform and Opening-up, China has made significant progress in economic development, but the construction of spiritual culture ^[9] remains somewhat insufficient. First, China has a large population base of over 1.4 billion people; we must clearly recognize the reality of being a demographic giant and grasp the fact that per capita cultural resources remain at a relatively low level. Second, the foundation for cultural development is thin, the management systems and mechanisms are not yet fully sound, there are loopholes in the development of the cultural market, and cultural infrastructure needs improvement. Finally, cultural development is unbalanced. Currently, the phenomenon of unbalanced and inadequate cultural development remains obvious; rural areas lag behind cities, and the central and western regions lag behind the eastern coastal regions.

The scarcity of per capita resources, the thin foundation, and the unbalanced development constitute the "greatest reality" facing cultural construction in the New Era. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is the "truth-seeking" result of being grounded in this reality. It is a scientific theory formed through the continuous exploration of the CPC and the people in the practice of the New Era, revealing the essence and internal laws of cultural development. Simultaneously, as a scientific theoretical system, it further provides a guide for action.

3. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture Upholds the Scientific Stance of Putting the People First

Xi Jinping Thought on Culture clearly points out that the people are the subjects who build, enjoy, and judge culture in the New Era. It scientifically answers the fundamental questions of what kind of culture to build, how to build it, and for whom. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "The masses of the people are the subject force of historical development and social progress." This development cannot be separated from the people as the subject. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture adheres to the scientific stance of putting the people first, regarding them as the subjects of construction, enjoyment, and judgment.

First, the people are the subjects of cultural construction in the New Era. The people are the main force, and cultural prosperity is inseparable from them. From a genetic ^[10] perspective, most forms of art such as song, dance, and traditional opera originate from the folk and the creativity of the masses. Even Peking Opera, hailed as a "national treasure," is essentially a cultural fruit created by the people. The cultural activities of the people can be divided into two categories: repetitive and creative. In the former, subjectivity is manifested as repetitive; in the latter, it is manifested as creative. Repetitive activity is a form of simple reproduction, reproducing existing cultural products in their original forms. It is a prerequisite for people to maintain unity and relative stability with society. Creativeness in activity is the unique subjectivity humans display; as Engels argued, animals merely collect, "while man produces." This is the essential difference between humans and animals. The "production" Engels refers to here undoubtedly refers more to creative production. Cultural activities in this context highlight human productivity—not just the ability to use external forces, but the ability to realize the potential of those forces to create material and spiritual wealth. To sublate ^[11] repetitive production in favor of creative production and to move from repetitive subjectivity to creative subjectivity is the basic criterion and primary task of cultural development in the New Era—namely, to "stimulate the cultural innovation and creativity of the whole nation."

Second, the people are the subjects who enjoy culture in the New Era. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that socialist culture must "meet the people's growing spiritual and cultural needs." Xi Jinping Thought on Culture maintains that cultural development must rely on the people and be for the people, and its fruits must be shared by them. Public cultural services are the basic means to realize and protect the people's cultural rights. Since the New Era began, laws such as the Public Cultural Services Guarantee Law and the Public Library Law have been implemented, and national standards for basic public services have been established. Government at all levels has further formulated service catalogs to safeguard basic cultural rights. Cultural centers, libraries, and comprehensive stations now reach every county and township, forming a service network. Citizens can enjoy high-quality services in "city study rooms" or "cultural stations" in their communities. Initiatives like "sending opera to the countryside," rural film screenings, and grassroots service centers have made the lives of farmers more diverse. National public cultural cloud platforms allow the masses to share digital products, making significant progress in the standardization and equalization of public services and vigorously promoting the process of "common prosperity" in people's spiritual lives.

Third, the people are the subjects who judge culture in the New Era. Since its founding, the CPC has always insisted on taking the people as the subject to "test the effectiveness of all our work." That socialist culture is built by the people, for the people, shared by the people, and judged by the people has always been the fundamental principle of our cultural development. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that the creative activities of literary and art workers must be people-centered, and that "whether the people are satisfied or not is the highest standard for testing art." The purpose of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is to satisfy the people's yearning for a rich spiritual life. The level of cultural development is judged by the people, who are the most qualified to do so. In short, this thought scientifically resolves the issues of the source of power and the evaluation mechanism for cultural development, highlighting the scientific charm of Marxism inherent in the thought.

4. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture Adheres to a Scientific Attitude of Openness and Inclusivity

A key indicator of whether an ideological system is scientific is whether it is open and inclusive. "Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is a constantly unfolding, open-ended system of thought." It is grounded in the developing practices of the New Era, enriching and perfecting itself with an "open" posture that advances with the times. Simultaneously, it embraces and absorbs all advanced ideas of cultural development from human society throughout history with an "inclusive" heart.

Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is an open ideological system. It is not a closed or rigid theoretical dogma but a scientific system that develops alongside the times. Maintaining an open attitude is the prerequisite for a theoretical system to stay at the forefront of the era. Currently, the world faces many challenges and uncertainties, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is at a critical juncture. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture scientifically grasps the basic laws of cultural development and has creatively proposed a series of important propositions, such as the "Nine Points of Persistence," "Fourteen Emphases," "Two Integrations," and "Seven Efforts" ^[12]. These provide a scientific guide for action. As practice deepens, the thought will continue to be enriched. Furthermore, openness means contact with the outside world and mutual learning. Cultural exchange is a vital way to spread knowledge and values. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Civilizations become colorful through exchange and rich through mutual learning." By adhering to an open attitude and advocating for exchange with advanced foreign cultures, the thought improves itself, which is a key reason for its continued scientific nature.

Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is also an inclusive scientific system. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized:

“Civilization is inclusive; it is because of inclusiveness that human civilizations possess the internal drive for exchange and mutual learning.” Inclusiveness is a distinctive feature that differentiates Chinese civilization from others. Inheriting the inclusive values of “vastness through capacity” ^[13] and “harmony without uniformity” ^[14] found in fine traditional Chinese culture, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is likewise an inclusive and scientific system of thought. It advocates for mutual respect among all ethnic groups and the accommodation of diverse cultural customs, religious beliefs, and lifestyles, in a joint effort to build a flourishing global garden of civilizations. Since the dawn of the New Era, this inclusiveness has been vividly manifested in the exchanges, integration, and mutual learning between Chinese culture and other cultures. In these interactions, General Secretary Xi Jinping has consistently emphasized respecting the cultural differences of all countries while fully drawing upon and absorbing the outstanding cultural achievements of others, practicing eclectic assimilation and drawing on the strengths of all. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The reason Chinese culture is so colorful and profound lies in its inclusive characteristic of eclectic assimilation.” In his view, the various ethnic groups living on Chinese soil collectively created Chinese culture; its profundity and its diverse external expressions are rooted, in the final analysis, in its inherent attribute of inclusiveness. Currently, with the advancement of economic globalization and the deepening of modernization, Chinese culture has been situated within the grand tableau of world history. As a new cultural ideology formed by the continuation of Chinese culture in the New Era, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture necessarily inherits this inclusive attribute of eclectic assimilation. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is the vivid expression of Chinese culture in the New Era; inclusiveness is both a key attribute of this thought and a vivid manifestation of its scientific nature.

5. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture possesses a rigorous and complete scientific structure

The scientific nature of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is also clearly reflected in its rigorous and complete scientific structure. From the overarching guidance of its main theme and thread to the leading norms of its goals and principles, and down to the practical deployment in specific fields, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture demonstrates a rigorous and complete scientific structural system.

First, the overarching guidance of the main theme and thread.

The main theme and thread of “what kind of socialism with Chinese characteristics culture should be built and developed in the New Era, and how to build and develop it” runs through and governs the entire content of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “During the 14th Five-Year Plan period, we must place cultural development in a prominent position within our overall work and effectively grasp it well.” He emphasized that cultural development is undoubtedly a key task of the new period—from the Five-Sphere Integrated Plan to the Four Comprehensives, and from high-quality development to meeting the people's needs for a better life, culture is one of the most important factors and a source of strength for the successful achievement of a series of goals and tasks. On the basis of fully recognizing the importance of cultural development, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core conducted the top-level design for “what kind of socialism with Chinese characteristics culture should be built and developed in the New Era,” emphasizing that such development must “promote the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture, inherit revolutionary culture, and develop advanced socialist culture.” Based on a full grasp of the various aspects and elements of the development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core planned the layout of “how to build and develop socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era.” Since entering the New Era, the Party convened National Conferences on Propaganda and Ideological Work in 2013 and 2018, and specifically convened the National Conference on Propaganda, Ideological, and Cultural Work in 2023. The addition of the word “Cultural” to the conference title highlights that the development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics has been placed in an even more prominent and important position. At the 2013 National Conference on Propaganda and Ideological Work, the extreme importance of ideological work was highlighted, and the fundamental tasks, basic requirements, basic compliance, work orientation, and talent pool construction for propaganda and ideological work in the New Era were clarified. Subsequently, at meetings such as the Symposium on Literature and Art, the Symposium on the Party’s News and Public Opinion Work, and the Symposium on Cybersecurity and Informatization, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core made a series of deployments for specific fields of cultural development. At the 2018 National Conference on Propaganda and Ideological Work, General Secretary Xi Jinping again made major deployments for the Party’s propaganda and ideological work, proposing the “Nine Perseverances” as principles to serve as the basic compliance for further improving such work. At the 2023 National Conference on Propaganda, Ideological, and Cultural Work, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture was formally proposed and systematically expounded, clearly identifying the primary political task, the new cultural mission, basic compliance principles, and the requirements of the “Seven Focuses.” ^[15] This series of contents, ranging from epistemology to methodology, and from macro-level general guidance to micro-level practical paths, both demonstrates the theoretical innovation and breakthroughs of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and highlights its distinctive feature of “clarifying the substance to attain the practical” and the “integration of substance and function.” ^[16] In short, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture has deepened our understanding of the laws governing cultural development in the New Era. The new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments it contains all revolve around the main theme of what kind of culture to build and how to build it.

Second, the leading norms of goals and principles.

“To continue promoting cultural prosperity, building a leading cultural power, and developing a modern Chinese civilization at a new starting point is our new cultural mission in the New Era.” This points out the goals and tasks for China’s cultural development in the New Era and leads the development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture also puts forward the main principles for cultural development. First, cultural confidence provides the foundation and confidence for cultural development. There can be no cultural prosperity without cultural confidence, and the advancement of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation cannot be separated from it. Cultural confidence is the fundamental principle and the source of confidence for building and developing culture in the New Era. Second, cultural development must uphold openness and inclusiveness. Chinese civilization has always persisted in maintaining a global vision, treating different civilizations with an open and inclusive attitude, and learning from all the outstanding civilizational achievements of humanity. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has led the people in actively spreading China’s voice, telling China’s stories, and explaining China’s concepts. It has profoundly expounded on building a community with a shared future for humanity, proposed the Global Civilization Initiative, promoted the common values of all humanity, and advocated for a new pattern of civilizational development characterized by mutual respect and exchange, thereby promoting the integration and progress of world civilizations. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is itself an open and inclusive system that remains open and eclectically assimilates; it will inevitably be enriched and improved alongside the development of the times and practice. Third, cultural development must adhere to upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground. “Upholding the fundamentals” means adhering to the truth and the right path: “upholding the fundamental system of the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, upholding the fundamental requirement of the ‘Two Combinations,’ and upholding the Party’s leadership over culture and the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation.” “Breaking new ground” means based on the needs and problems of new practices in the New Era, continuously liberating the mind, seeking truth from facts, and proactively innovating ideas, content, mechanisms, and forms. It involves stimulating the cultural innovation and creative vitality of the entire nation in practice, truly achieving the goals of making the past serve the present, making foreign things serve China, and weeding through the old to bring forth the new. “Upholding the fundamentals” ensures that cultural development stays on the right track without taking detours, while “breaking new ground” brings inexhaustible momentum. The two are dialectically unified and complementary.

Finally, the practical deployment in specific fields.

Cultural development in the New Era is a vast and complex systemic project. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture has also provided specific planning and practical deployment for specific fields. First, it has provided important instructions and deployments for ideological work. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “Ideological work is an extremely important task for the Party.” Standing at the historical coordinates of the New Era, he emphasized the need to build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leadership, further consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, deeply implement the Project to Study and Build Marxist Theory, improve the theoretical study center group system for Party committees (Party leadership groups) at all levels, and implement the responsibility system for ideological work. It is necessary to promote the “main melody” and positive energy, shape a new pattern of mainstream public opinion, and consolidate and strengthen mainstream thought and public opinion in the New Era. We must grasp the profound historical heritage, focus on current realities, look toward a bright future, accelerate the construction of a Chinese discourse system, tell China’s stories well, and spread China’s voice effectively. Second, new requirements have been put forward for the Party’s news and public opinion work. At the 2016 Symposium on the Party’s News and Public Opinion Work, General Secretary Xi Jinping made new deployments, the most critical point of which was to “firmly adhere to the Marxist view of news.” He pointed out that the Marxist view of news is the soul of news and public opinion work; if it is lost, such work cannot play a correct guiding role in society. Third, a new direction has been pointed out for cybersecurity and informatization work. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “We must keenly seize the historical opportunity of informatization development... and give play to its leading role in economic and social development.” On one hand, this requires strengthening the centralized and unified leadership of the CPC Central Committee over cybersecurity and informatization, improving comprehensive governance capabilities, forming a new pattern of integrated governance through multiple means, establishing a concept of cybersecurity, and strengthening construction and regulation in related fields. On the other hand, it requires accelerating breakthroughs in core and key technologies. If core technologies are controlled by others, we will lose the initiative and fall into a passive and trapped situation. Therefore, we must adhere to self-reliance, independent innovation, and collaborative efforts to tackle key core technologies, driving the vigorous development of China’s cybersecurity and informatization through innovation. Finally, new expectations have been raised for the development of philosophy and social sciences. The fundamental sign distinguishing contemporary Chinese philosophy and social sciences from others is the “adherence to the guidance of Marxism.” Philosophy and social sciences must possess a critical spirit, which is an important manifestation of adhering to Marxism. As tools for people to understand and transform the world, these disciplines should be grounded in reality and serve as a system for explaining social problems. “A country without prosperous philosophy and social sciences cannot stand at the forefront of the world.” Therefore, General Secretary Xi Jinping expects scholars in these fields to be rooted in China while learning from abroad, to excavate history while grasping the present and facing the future, and to accelerate the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics. Furthermore, he has put forward new requirements and expectations for the development of literature and art in the New Era, clarified new pursuits for cultural undertakings and industries, and provided important instructions on enhancing international communication capacity, opening a new horizon for mutual learning among civilizations. This series of deployments provides a scientific guide for the development of specific cultural fields in the New Era.

III. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture Is a Scientific Theoretical System Proven by Practice

Practice is the sole criterion for testing truth. Under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, socialist culture with Chinese characteristics has further flourished in the New Era. New breakthroughs and progress have been made in building a leading cultural power, the people’s sense of cultural gain and the level of civilization in the whole society have significantly improved, and China’s cultural soft power and the international influence of Chinese culture have been remarkably enhanced, writing a new chapter in cultural development. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is a scientific theoretical system proven by practice.

1. The people’s sense of cultural gain has been enhanced, and common prosperity in spiritual life is steadily progressing

Since the New Era began, guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has firmly maintained a scientific people-centered stance. Through multiple measures, it has addressed the imbalance and inadequacy of cultural development and continuously met the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the people. This has greatly enhanced the people's sense of cultural gain and happiness, while common prosperity in spiritual life has steadily progressed.

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out:

"Material abundance and spiritual richness are fundamental requirements of socialist modernization." The better life pursued and longed for by the masses includes not only a beautiful and prosperous material life, but also a rich and colorful spiritual life. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "The people’s demand for spiritual and cultural life exists at all moments." We must devise every possible means to resolve the problems of inadequacy and imbalance in cultural development, create high-quality spiritual and cultural products, and continuously meet the people's ever-growing spiritual and cultural needs. Entering the New Era, the imbalanced and inadequate supply of high-quality spiritual and cultural products became the primary factor constraining the people's growing spiritual and cultural needs. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The principal contradiction in our country's cultural supply is no longer a question of whether there is a shortage or whether there is enough, but a question of whether it is good or refined." Clearly, high-quality and balanced cultural development is an inevitable requirement for resolving the contradiction between the supply and demand of spiritual and cultural products and for better satisfying the people's growing spiritual and cultural needs. Therefore, since the New Era began, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has emphasized the need to continuously deepen supply-side structural reform in the cultural field. It has stressed integrating high-quality cultural development closely with meeting the people's increasing spiritual and cultural needs. Efforts are being made to cultivate new types of cultural business formats during the process of achieving high-quality cultural development, constructing a high-quality, efficient, and structurally optimized supply system for spiritual and cultural products to continuously meet the multi-level and diversified spiritual and cultural needs of the masses. Meanwhile, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has emphasized promoting the standardization and equalization of public cultural services. By constructing a batch of major cultural facilities and centers, as well as basic cultural units such as rural cultural auditoriums, public libraries, and cultural stations, the diverse spiritual and cultural needs of the masses have been met in a targeted and layered manner. Particular attention has been paid to the spiritual and cultural needs of specific groups; for instance, organizing series of cultural activities for children, promoting the operation of women’s cultural workshops, building community cultural activity zones for the elderly, and constructing rural cultural auditoriums. These initiatives provide richer and more diverse spiritual and cultural services for specific groups such as children, women, the elderly, and farmers.

Since the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has not only continuously advanced common prosperity in the material life of all people but has also placed the implementation of spiritual common prosperity in a more prominent position. By guiding advantaged regions and groups to explore more diverse cultural products and further improving drive mechanisms, the effect of the "spiritually first-wealthy" leading the "later-wealthy" ^[18] has been enhanced. This has vigorously promoted cultural synergy and cooperation between the eastern and western regions, facilitated the docking of cultural resources between more developed and less developed areas, and promoted the sharing of achievements in cultural construction, further advancing the common prosperity of the spiritual life of all people.

2. Socialist core values have taken root in the hearts of the people, and the level of civilization throughout society has improved

In the report to the 20th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping explicitly required: "Extensively practice socialist core values." Since the New Era began, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, the Party Central Committee has attached great importance to cultivating and carrying forward socialist core values. These values have gradually taken root in the hearts of the people, the moral character and standards of citizens have continuously risen, and the level of civilization of the entire society has been further improved.

Core values constitute the deep inner core of a culture. Socialist core values are the heart and soul of Chinese-path socialist culture, determining the direction and height of cultural construction and development in the New Era. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly and explicitly required that efforts be focused on cultivating and practicing socialist core values; to this end, the General Office of the CPC Central Committee specifically issued the Opinions on Cultivating and Practicing Socialist Core Values. These effective deployments by the Party Central Committee pointed out the direction and provided the template for extensively cultivating and practicing socialist core values. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must effectively integrate socialist core values into all aspects of social life." Through paths and measures such as educational guidance, public opinion propaganda, cultural nurturing, and institutional guarantees, socialist core values have gradually entered the hearts of the people, becoming internalized in mind and externalized in action by the masses. First, red resources ^[19] have been fully utilized to deeply carry out education on socialist core values. National red resources have been deeply excavated and utilized in the cultural construction of the New Era. Red resources have been combined with tourism, leisure, and entertainment, utilizing various forms such as art, competitions, and participation to make red resources "come alive." Utilizing red cultural resources has provided vivid patriotic and revolutionary tradition education for Party members and cadres, especially for the youth, fully carrying forward the spiritual pedigree of Chinese Communists with the Great Founding Spirit of the Party ^[20] as its source. Second, education in ideals and convictions has been maintained without letup. General Secretary Xi Jinping made important instructions on "Four Histories" ^[21] education and study, continuously promoting the propaganda and education of Party history, the history of New China, the history of reform and opening up, and the history of socialist development. This guides Party members, cadres, and the masses to understand history to love the Party and the country, so that the Marxist faith, the communist ideal, and the common ideal of Chinese-path socialism among Party members, cadres, and the masses are continuously consolidated. Third, emphasis is placed on the role of socialist core values in "soul-casting and person-cultivating" (zhùhún yùrén) ^[22]. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has continuously improved the ideological and political education system, promoting the integrated construction of ideological and political education across primary, secondary, and tertiary schools. A batch of key Marxist colleges have been established in universities nationwide to promote the education and training of ideological and political talent, strengthening the implementation of socialist core values in their soul-casting and person-cultivating role. Finally, the Party has persisted in combining the law-based governance of the country with virtue-based governance, continuously integrating socialist core values into China’s rule of law, social development, and the daily lives of the people.

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must improve the people's ideological awareness, moral standards, and level of civilization, and raise the level of civilization of the entire society." Since the New Era, the citizen morality construction project has made new progress. Traditional Chinese virtues have been further promoted, and the masses not only identify with but also actively practice these virtues. The construction of family, family education, and family traditions ^[23] has achieved new results, with fine family traditions and education constantly forming and expanding their influence in society. The ideological and moral construction of minors has been continuously strengthened and improved, with a series of relevant laws and regulations promulgated to further consolidate and advance this work. Meanwhile, the Party has actively promoted the work of cultural cultivation, practice, and creation in a coordinated manner across urban and rural areas, making up for the shortcomings in rural spiritual civilization construction and promoting the integrated development of urban and rural spiritual civilization, shaping a new look for urban and rural areas in the New Era. Since the New Era, the Party Central Committee has established and improved the system of merits and honors of the Party and the state, playing the role of role models in spiritual guidance and typical demonstration, promoting a good atmosphere throughout society of "looking to the virtuous for emulation" ^[24] and striving to be pioneers, further raising the level of civilization of the entire society.

3. Cultural programs and cultural industries thrive, and cultural soft power is significantly enhanced

Since the New Era, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to the development of cultural programs and cultural industries, successively formulating a series of outlines and plans. From the Ministry of Culture's 12th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Reform and Development and the Ministry of Culture's 12th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Industry Doubling, to the National Outline of the 13th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Development and Reform and the Implementation Scheme for the 13th Five-Year Plan Cultural Tourism Enhancement Project, and then to the 14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Development, the 14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural Industry Development, and the 14th Five-Year Plan for Cultural and Tourism Development, all have scientifically planned and deployed the development of cultural programs and cultural industries in the New Era. The prosperous development of cultural programs and cultural industries in the New Era has greatly enhanced our country's cultural soft power.

Cultural programs possess the broadest reach and greatest inclusivity; their prosperity and development are of extraordinary significance for the enhancement of national cultural soft power. "Developing cultural programs is the basic way to satisfy the people’s spiritual and cultural needs and guarantee their cultural rights and interests." Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has led the people in continuing to promote the prosperous development of cultural programs. First, it has further strengthened support for public cultural programs. Support for important news media and social science research institutions has been increased, with expanded budget allocations and various types of supporting assistance provided. A series of high-level major cultural projects have been approved and implemented, and the protection of excellent folk arts and important cultural heritage has been smoothly carried out under vigorous support. The project for the general survey of Chinese cultural resources has been implemented in an orderly manner, a management system for cultural relic resources and a national cultural resource mega-database have been established, and archaeological excavation and the protection and utilization of cultural relics have been further strengthened, raising the level of protection and inheritance of intangible cultural heritage. Second, the modern public cultural service system has been further improved. The Party has actively promoted the system of central and branch libraries/cultural stations at the county level, strengthened the management of integrated cultural stations in townships, and improved the network of grassroots public cultural facilities. The level of free access to public cultural facilities has been raised, and the innovative development of national public cultural service system demonstration zones has been promoted, facilitating enhanced quality and efficiency in public cultural services. Attention has been paid to leveraging the exemplary role of the "Qunxing Award" (Galaxy Award), and mass cultural activities have been extensively carried out utilizing traditional festivals such as the Spring Festival. Meanwhile, the "Internet + Public Culture" model has been promoted, with coordinated advancement of the construction of smart libraries and public culture cloud service systems, accelerating the construction of public digital culture. Third, the legal and regulatory guarantees for cultural programs have been further perfected. Since entering the New Era, the Party and the state have strengthened legislation and regulations related to cultural programs. In 2016, the Public Cultural Service Guarantee Law of the People's Republic of China was successfully passed, effectively safeguarding the basic public cultural rights and interests of urban and rural residents. In 2021, the Opinions on Further Strengthening the Protection of Intangible Cultural Heritage were issued. The introduction of these guidelines further standardized the protection of intangible cultural heritage and strengthened the intensity of such work. In 2023, the Opinions on Strengthening Coordination and Cooperation in Prosecutorial Public Interest Litigation to Legally Protect and Inherit Urban and Rural Historical Culture were issued, further advancing the protection and inheritance of historical culture in urban and rural areas. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, our country's cultural programs have further flourished, better satisfying the multi-level, differentiated, and diverse spiritual and cultural needs of the masses, while notably improving their cultural literacy and creative abilities. This has powerfully boosted the enhancement of our country's cultural soft power.

The cultural industry is hailed as...

As a "sunrise industry" ^[25] of the 21st century, the status of the cultural industry as a core element in enhancing our country’s cultural soft power has become increasingly prominent since the beginning of the New Era. It has become an important engine for driving the transformation and upgrading of China’s economic structure and achieving high-quality development; it has also served as a vital mechanism for guaranteeing the people’s cultural rights and interests and satisfying their rich spiritual and cultural needs. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, China's cultural industry has achieved high-quality development and significant accomplishments.

First, the modern cultural industry system has been further established and perfected. Since the New Era began, the structure of China's cultural industry has been optimized and upgraded. The digital cultural industry has accelerated its development, and new digital business formats have continuously emerged, promoting the diversification of the supply of digital cultural products. Regional, urban, and rural cultural industries have achieved more coordinated development, forming cultural industry clusters such as the Beijing-Tianjin-Hebei region, the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area, the Yangtze River Delta, and the Chengdu-Chongqing twin-city economic circle. The planning and construction of National Cultural Industry Innovation Experimental Zones have been advanced. Rural characteristic cultural industries have also been vigorously developed, and the forms of inter-regional cultural industry cooperation have become more diverse. Meanwhile, cultural consumption has reached a new leap. On one hand, the consumption environment has been improved, consumption facilities have been perfected, and the rights and interests of consumers have been safeguarded. On the other hand, the construction of demonstration cities and regional cultural and tourism cities has been promoted, embedding cultural consumption into various consumption venues and fostering new growth points for consumption by organizing activities such as "consumption months."

Second, the modern cultural and tourism market system has been further improved, promoting the integrated development of culture and tourism. We must "persist in shaping tourism with culture and highlighting culture through tourism ^[26], promoting the integrated development of culture and tourism." Since the 18th National Congress, the modern cultural and tourism market system has been further refined, stimulating the vitality of various market entities and continuously expanding their scale. A new type of regulatory system has been constructed, industry management and services have been strengthened, and the "Administrative Measures for Comprehensive Law Enforcement in the Cultural Market" has been issued. This has deepened the reform of comprehensive law enforcement in the cultural market and advanced the construction of a "Peaceful Cultural Market." At the same time, the substance of tourism has been continuously enhanced. By deeply tapping into cultural and relic resources, tourism products have been cultivated and tourism tastes have been elevated, forming a uniquely charming Chinese cultural tourism experience. Relying on tourism as a carrier, culture has been effectively disseminated. Especially by leveraging the advantage of tourism’s broad coverage and making full use of various tourism-related media, the fine traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture have been widely disseminated and promoted. The Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has made strategic deployments and formulated scientific development paths for the development of the cultural industry, guiding it toward high-quality development in the New Era and greatly enhancing the nation’s cultural soft power.

4. New breakthroughs in cultural exchange and the enhancement of the international influence of Chinese culture

Diverse cultures begin with exchange. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Culture becomes colorful through exchange." The process of cultural exchange is one of mutual influence and progress between cultures; it promotes the development of our own culture and the common progress of world cultures. Since the New Era, under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, China has consistently upheld a scientific attitude of openness and inclusiveness, strengthening China-foreign cultural exchanges and multi-level dialogues between civilizations. Cultural exchange and development have achieved new breakthroughs, and the international influence of Chinese culture has been greatly enhanced.

Since the New Era, the forms and paths of China’s cultural exchanges have become increasingly diverse and rich, retaining traditional paths while pioneering new ones. First, cultural diplomacy has been vigorously promoted. Since the 18th National Congress, major-country diplomacy with Chinese characteristics has written a brilliant new chapter, and the unique charm of Chinese culture has been powerfully demonstrated. In the New Era, cultural exchange and cooperation between China and other countries, governments, and various international organizations have continued to deepen. Specifically, by relying on multilateral cooperation mechanisms such as BRICS, the G20, and the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), China has actively initiated and participated in the "World Great Rivers Civilizations Forum" and the "Forum on Ancient Civilizations," strengthening the exchange and mutual learning between Chinese civilization and other world civilizations and enhancing the international influence of Chinese culture. Meanwhile, relying on the "Belt and Road Initiative," China has promoted high-quality tourism and cultural exchange cooperation with countries along the route—the Belt and Road international alliances for theaters, arts festivals, libraries, museums, and art galleries have been continuously established. Large-scale themed festivals such as the Silk Road International Arts Festival, the Maritime Silk Road International Arts Festival, and the "Journey through Dunhuang" Silk Road International Tourism Festival have been held. Entering the New Era, China has not only strengthened cultural exchange and cooperation with the vast number of developing countries but has also strengthened cooperation with international organizations such as UNESCO and the UN Tourism Organization, deeply participating in the formulation of international cultural rules.

Second, multi-level people-to-people cultural exchanges have been promoted. When attending the BRICS Leaders' Xiamen Summit, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Amity between people holds the key to sound state-to-state relations" ^[27], and all countries should "commit to promoting people-to-people and cultural exchanges." Since the start of the New Era, non-governmental cultural exchange activities between China and other countries have flourished, with various entities such as foundations, enterprises, and trade associations playing active roles. For example, the China Huaxia Cultural Heritage Foundation has actively acted as an ambassador for non-governmental diplomacy, holding international cultural exchange activities that showcase intangible cultural heritage with "Eastern charm," such as Chinese painting, kites, and paper-cutting, allowing Chinese culture to reach the world. The vast number of international students have also taken up the mission of being a "new force" in non-governmental diplomacy. The non-governmental diplomatic activities they organized and planned, such as the Sino-French Cultural Forum, International Think Tank Forums, and the 21st Century China Forum, have made important contributions to cultural exchange and mutual learning between China and the world. Undoubtedly, the series of cultural exchange activities led by the Chinese government still play a mainstay role in the mutual learning between civilizations. In the New Era, we continue to hold "Years of China," Chinese Culture Festivals, and Chinese Art Festivals in various countries, as well as cultural activities like the "Meet in Beijing" International Arts Festival and the China Shanghai International Arts Festival. We have vigorously promoted cultural brand activities such as "Happy Chinese New Year" and "Cultural China," attracting the participation of large numbers of foreign citizens and further enhancing the international influence of Chinese culture. At the same time, many Chinese cities have conducted extensive and in-depth cultural exchange and cooperation with cities in other countries through activities such as the "East Asian Cultural Capital" and "Sister Cities."

Third, the international communication capacity of Chinese culture has been improved. "Strengthening the construction of international communication capacity" will undoubtedly help improve the reach and influence of Chinese culture, thereby forming an international discourse power ^[28] commensurate with China's comprehensive national strength and international status. In the New Era, China focuses on telling China’s stories well and making China’s voice heard, accelerating the construction of a Chinese discourse and narrative system. China continues to improve the global layout of overseas China Cultural Centers, giving full play to the role of Chinese cultural institutions abroad in promoting Chinese culture. Meanwhile, Chinese media organizations such as the China Media Group (CMG) and Xinhua News Agency have gradually registered, authenticated, and operated accounts on overseas social media platforms and websites like Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube. They continuously create "hot spots" for Chinese culture, strengthen the promotion of Chinese culture to the outside world, and effectively enhance its international influence.

The most important and critical standard for verifying whether an ideological theory is scientific is the test of practice. The series of new breakthroughs and achievements in China's cultural construction and development in the New Era powerfully prove that Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is a scientific theoretical system that has been tested by practice.