Wang Heyan: Profoundly Understanding the Connotation of Practical Subjectivity in Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought
For any culture to stand firm and progress steadily, it must possess cultural subjectivity. With cultural subjectivity, cultural self-confidence gains a fundamental rertoire of support. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture takes the soul of Marxism and the roots of fine traditional Chinese culture as its internal support; it is a theoretical summation of the practical experience of cultural construction led by the Party in the New Era. It enriches and develops Marxist cultural theory, demonstrating immense power in the construction of New Era socialist culture, and will surely continue to be enriched and developed as practice deepens. The practical subjectivity inherent in Xi Jinping Thought on Culture presents a logical progression of "who am I," "whom to rely on," and "for whom," reflecting the role of the Communist Party of China (CPC), the Chinese nation, and the Chinese people in undertaking new cultural missions and exerting their roles as practical subjects, thereby consolidating the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation.
First, the CPC is the era-defining leader of the practice of culture with Chinese characteristics. Consolidating the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation requires upholding the Party’s cultural leadership, viewing Chinese cultural development through the lens of Marxist historical materialism, and understanding the role of Chinese culture from a standpoint of practice. The elevation of Chinese culture’s status is complementary to the history of the CPC leading the Chinese people through revolution, construction, and reform. The CPC’s undertaking of a new cultural mission in the New Era is primarily reflected in its movement from theoretical guidance to value leadership, and from methodological consciousness to practical implementation. The CPC is both an active leader and practitioner of advanced Chinese culture, as well as a faithful inheritor and promoter of fine traditional Chinese culture. The CPC treats the development of Chinese culture with a scientific attitude and continuously improves itself through a critical spirit and a practical standpoint. This is specifically manifested in its rational cognition of Chinese culture, its value identification with revolutionary culture, its scientific grasp of advanced socialist culture, and its comprehensive deployment of cultural construction in the New Era. This represents both a rational self-cognition and a gradual behavioral consciousness and firm adherence to convictions.
The Party’s cultural self-confidence is manifested in its adherence to the guiding position of Marxism. The CPC is an advanced organization armed with scientific theory. When the Chinese nation faced grave perils and its status of cultural subjectivity encountered challenges, the CPC raised the ideological banner of Marxism. This feat not only provided theoretical guidance for the Chinese revolution but also offered worldview and methodological guidance for the inheritance and development of fine traditional Chinese culture. The criticality of Marxist culture provided important insights for the inheritance and development of fine traditional Chinese culture, and Marxist dialectics provided essential guidance for the Chinese people to correctly approach Chinese culture.
Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has continuously advanced theoretical and practical innovation, moving from the proposal of "creative transformation and innovative development" to the "Two Combinations," particularly the "Second Combination" [1], and from strengthening cultural self-confidence to elevating the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The path of socialism with Chinese characteristics was carved out under the guidance of Marxism, and it also emerged from the more than 5,000-year history of Chinese civilization; the 'Second Combination' allows the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics to possess a broader and more profound historical depth, expanding the cultural foundations of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics." With an attitude of seeking truth from facts, the CPC deeply excavates the essence of fine traditional Chinese culture, continuing the Chinese cultural lineage through creative transformation and innovative development, forming cultural consciousness, strengthening cultural self-confidence, and continuously enhancing the identification with Chinese culture among the masses of all ethnic groups. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to clearly explain the historical origins, developmental trajectory, and basic trends of fine traditional Chinese culture, as well as its unique creations, value concepts, and distinctive features, so as to enhance confidence in our culture and values. From this, it is evident that Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and the Marxist view of culture are of the same lineage regarding cultural subjectivity, taking the historical materialist principle that social existence determines social consciousness as their theoretical basis and ideological core.
The Party’s cultural self-confidence is further manifested in its role as a practical subject. The CPC continuously deepens its understanding of the laws governing the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, defining the direction of cultural development and proposing a series of principles, policies, and major measures based on the new requirements of the times. The consolidation of cultural status and the establishment of cultural discourse power both demonstrate the CPC's role as a practical subject. At the same time, the CPC has pointed out the correct forward direction for the new cultural mission in the New Era to firm up cultural self-confidence and strengthen cultural construction, leading the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era toward steady and long-term progress.
Second, the Chinese nation is the historical creator of the practice of culture with Chinese characteristics. As the subjective existence of cultural self-confidence, the Chinese nation is a national community where "you are in me and I am in you" [2]. The Chinese nation is a great nation with a history of civilization spanning more than 5,000 years. All ethnic groups jointly opened up the vast territory of the motherland; they are inclusive in culture, interdependent in economy, and close in emotion. From the cohesive Huaxia [3] people to the formation of a pluralistic and integrated Chinese nation, they have jointly created a brilliant Chinese culture. The mutual learning and integration of various ethnic cultures have, in the process of continuous fusion, formed a Chinese culture with strong cohesion and attraction; this shared culture constitutes the cultural gene for the Chinese nation to forge a pluralistic and integrated pattern of civilization. The long-standing Chinese culture was created jointly by all ethnic groups. To create new brilliance for socialist culture, we must continuously enhance the identification with Chinese culture and promote mutual learning and integration among ethnic cultures.
Cultural subjectivity encompasses two aspects: individual subjectivity and collective subjectivity. Individual subjectivity emphasizes the relationship between cultural development and individual development, while collective subjectivity emphasizes the relationship between cultural development and social development, as well as the future and destiny of the nation. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the Chinese nation possesses a strong capacity for cultural creativity. At every major historical juncture, culture can sense the changes in the nation’s fate, stand at the forefront of the tides of the times, speak the first words of the era, and cheer for the hundreds of millions of people and the great motherland. Chinese civilization possesses the cultural subjectivity and vigorous vitality to develop itself, respond to challenges, and open new frontiers; thus, the Chinese nation has been able to multiply incessantly and stand tall among the forest of the world's nations. The Chinese nation created the only brilliant civilization in human history that has lasted for more than 5,000 years without interruption. Fine traditional Chinese culture has become the gene of the Chinese nation, subtly influencing the way Chinese people think and behave. We must make good use of the rich ideological and moral resources contained within fine traditional Chinese culture. The ideas contained therein—such as the supremacy of collective interests, dedication, self-improvement [4], advocating virtue and goodness, and harmony—are conducive to guiding people to establish and adhere to correct views of history, nationality, the state, and culture. They help guide people to speak of, respect, and abide by morality, to be proactive and benevolent, and to build a harmonious social order. We must inherit and promote fine traditional Chinese culture dialectically, carrying out creative transformation and innovative development. We should remain inclusive, supplementing, expanding, and improving the connotations of fine traditional Chinese culture according to the new progress of the era to enhance its influence and appeal. By continuously absorbing nourishment from various civilizations to enrich and develop Chinese culture, we will strengthen the cohesion of the Chinese nation and the influence of Chinese culture, making new and greater contributions to the comprehensive building of a modern socialist country and the realization of the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Third, the Chinese people are the promoters of the practice of culture with Chinese characteristics. Cultural subjectivity includes the "human-made" nature (renweixing) and "for-human" nature (weirenxing) of culture; these two aspects together determine that the Chinese people are the practical subjects who firm up cultural self-confidence. The "human-made" nature of culture emphasizes that the Chinese people recognize and transform the world through the thinking modes and value standpoints of their own culture, forming unique ethical demands and value observances. Chinese culture originates from the daily interactions and production practices of the people and is inherited and transformed by the people. The "for-human" nature of culture is manifested in the standpoint of individual subjectivity, emphasizing the role of cultural development for the individual, shown through culture’s functions of uniting hearts, providing spiritual guidance, and leading values.
The people-centered subjectivity presented by Chinese culture takes historical materialism as its theoretical logic. Marx believed that humans are in the stage of "personal independence based on objective dependence," emphasizing the exertion of their own agency. This kind of subjectivity is neither individualism nor egoism, but a form of existence that "seeks common ground while reserving differences." In the practice of social production, this form of existence requires that individuals treat others and objects not for the purpose of possession, but starting from the actual needs of the people—that is, practice for the purpose of productivity rather than for the purpose of possessiveness, which is to say, a culture of productive subjectivity.
Productive subjectivity requires that the logical starting point and destination of practical production activities be the actual needs of people in real life. The correct attitude toward labor is not to view it merely as a means of making a living, but as a fundamental requirement for the subject’s realization of self-worth. The existence of objects is to satisfy the needs of human survival and development, rather than serving as tools for enslaving humans. Between humans and objects, humans are the subject and objects are the predicate. The process of human objectification is the process of realizing self-worth; human subjectivity is manifested in the awakening of self-consciousness and the realization of the value of self-existence.
The subjective role of the Chinese people regarding Chinese culture is manifested in their excavation and interpretation of fine traditional Chinese culture. Through the inheritance and promotion by the Chinese people, the essence of fine traditional Chinese culture is advanced, and the people receive cultural nourishment from it. When Chinese culture faced a crisis, the Chinese people, under the leadership of the CPC and using the Marxist worldview and methodology, saved Chinese culture. In the New Era, our Party adheres to the "Two Combinations," carrying out the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture and effectively managing our own cultural construction. In cultural practice, the people, as the subjects of cultural inheritance and development, fully exert their creative roles. General Secretary Xi Jinping has enriched and developed the Marxist mass viewpoint, emphasizing that "the country is its people and the people are the country" [5], and proposing whole-process people's democracy, which develops the theory of the people's subjectivity. He emphasizes that "the people are the greatest source of confidence for the Party’s governance and its deepest foundation," that we must "rely on the people to create new great historical undertakings," and that "the times are the paper-setter, we are the examinees, and the people are the markers." These ideas develop the view that the people are the creators of history. Some scholars have suggested that General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important expositions on adhering to the supremacy of the people fully demonstrate that the masses in the New Era are not only creators of history in a general sense but also hold a supreme position in all aspects, representing true mastery by the people of their own affairs.