LIU Rong and AI Lian: Deeply Understanding the Practical Logic of Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought
Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is a theoretical synthesis of the practical experience gained under the Party’s leadership of cultural development in the New Era. It constitutes a scientific worldview and methodology for guiding our country's socialist cultural development. This thought holds profound significance for inheriting and developing the Marxist view of culture, interpreting and promoting fine traditional Chinese culture, and propelling the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture features both innovations in cultural theory and breakthroughs in cultural practice. It is permeated by a practical logic of "clarifying the Substance and attaining its Function; integrating Substance and Function" [1], realizing a dialectical unity of theory and practice, and of epistemology and methodology. It stands as the fundamental guide for leading cultural development in the New Era.
The principle of "clarifying the Substance and attaining its Function; integrating Substance and Function" requires using theory to guide practice and using practice to enrich theory. "Substance" (ti) refers to the correct theoretical system, while "Function" (yong) refers to practice. "Clarifying the Substance" means identifying the correct direction of theory, and "attaining its Function" means guiding practice with that correct theoretical system. Marxist dialectical materialism holds that matter and consciousness are a unity of opposites; their opposition arises from practice and is ultimately unified within practice. "Material productive labor" is the most fundamental form of practice, which determines that theoretical thinking cannot transcend the practice of life—it both guides practice and exists in mutual dependence with it. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "To open up and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics on the profound foundation of more than five thousand years of Chinese civilization, the 'Two Combinations'—combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with fine traditional Chinese culture—is the path we must take." The combination of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities profoundly reveals the radiant truth of the dialectical unity and mutual reinforcement of matter and consciousness, practice and theory. "Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and country are founded; it is the soul and the banner of our Party." The salvos of the October Revolution brought Marxism-Leninism to us. Marxism not only changed the theoretical orientation of modern China’s quest for national salvation [2] and prompted Chinese revolutionaries to find a revolutionary path suited to national conditions, but also propelled the process of modernization in the construction of New China. History and reality tell us that "the success of the Communist Party of China and socialism with Chinese characteristics is attributable to the fact that Marxism works, particularly Marxism that has been Sinicized and adapted to our times." The reason Marxism works lies in the fact that Sinicized and modernized Marxism provides Marxism with a practical foundation and theoretical annotation. In the New Era, to persist in promoting Marxism, we must ground ourselves in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era and further advance the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the Marxism of contemporary China and the twenty-first century. We must firmly grasp this fundamental, clarify the "Great Substance," understand the overall situation, and achieve new successes. We must use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to guide the practice of construction and use practical actions to enrich its theoretical annotations. Specifically in the field of cultural development, this means using Xi Jinping Thought on Culture to guide the practice of cultural construction, firmly grasping the correct direction of socialist cultural development, performing great deeds in the cultural sphere, and realizing the grand blueprint of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture.
"Clarifying the Substance and attaining its Function; integrating Substance and Function" requires both upholding the Party’s comprehensive leadership over cultural development and adhering to the fundamental tenet of being people-centered. "Substance" is the radical foundation, while "Function" is the objective. "Clarifying the Substance" means grasping the foundation; "attaining its Function" means achieving the objective. The core of grasping the foundation is to uphold the fundamentals (shouzheng). General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Upholding the fundamentals means upholding the fundamental system of the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, upholding the fundamental requirements of the 'Two Combinations,' and upholding the CPC's cultural leadership and the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation." Cultural development, in particular, is a key link in achieving Chinese-path modernization and building Chinese civilization. For cultural development, only by upholding the fundamentals can we avoid losing our selfhood and our direction. The primary prerequisite for cultural development is to "raise the flag and determine the direction," and the CPC is that flag-bearer. The CPC has always attached great importance to culture; it is both an active leader and practitioner of China’s advanced culture and a faithful inheritor and promoter of fine traditional Chinese culture. The CPC has always stood at the forefront of the times, taking the "development of a new Chinese national culture that is national, scientific, and popular" [3] as its mission. It consciously shoulders the political and leadership responsibilities for public communication, ideology, and cultural work, leading the people to promote cultural innovation while upholding fundamentals through practical creation, continuously creating new glories for Chinese culture. To persist in the Party’s comprehensive leadership over cultural development is to persist in the forward direction of China’s advanced culture. At the same time, "raising the banner" is specifically for the purpose of "rallying the people’s support and nurturing successive generations of new talent." The fundamental purpose of the CPC is to serve the people heart and soul. The goal of the Party’s leadership in cultural development is to be "people-centered," promoting the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilizations and realizing the people’s aspiration for a better life. By actively publicizing socialist core values, we achieve the goals of "cultivating people through culture" (yi wen hua ren) and "educating people through culture" (yi wen yu ren), comprehensively enhancing the spiritual literacy of the people. At the same time, we must stimulate the creativity of the masses, "seek the people’s needs and seek the people’s wisdom" [4], and rely fully on the people to jointly create the new glories of socialist culture in the New Era.
"Clarifying the Substance and attaining its Function; integrating Substance and Function" requires remaining steadfast in fine traditional Chinese culture and promoting the "upholding of fundamentals and breaking new ground" in socialist cultural development. "Substance" is the origin, while "Function" is the manifestation. "Clarifying the Substance" means having a clear understanding of the origin upon which one stands; "attaining its Function" means carrying it forward and magnifying it. General Secretary Xi Jinping noted: "The major proposition of Sinicizing and modernizing Marxism itself determines that we must never abandon the soul-vein (hunmai) of Marxism, nor the root-vein (genmai) of fine traditional Chinese culture." For socialist cultural development, staying steadfast in fine traditional Chinese culture is the origin we rely upon and the basis for fully realizing the "Second Combination." Promoting the inheritance and development of fine traditional Chinese culture has always been a major goal of socialist cultural development in the New Era. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has accurately grasped the global trends of mutual agitation between thoughts and cultures, as well as the profound changes in domestic social ideas and concepts. Centered on socialist cultural development in the New Era, he has proposed a series of new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments, which constitute the cultural chapter of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era and form Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture centers on major questions such as "what is socialist cultural development in the New Era," "why must we strengthen it," and "how to strengthen it." It focuses on: strengthening the Party’s leadership over public communication, ideology, and cultural work; developing a socialist ideology with strong powers to unite and lead; cultivating and practicing socialist core values; improving the reach, guidance, influence, and credibility of the press and public opinion; continuing the Chinese cultural context and promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture; promoting the prosperity of cultural programs and cultural industries; and strengthening international communication capacity and promoting mutual learning between civilizations. It has drawn a grand blueprint for inheriting and promoting fine traditional Chinese culture and advancing socialist cultural development. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture will surely further stimulate the cultural innovation and creative vitality of the entire nation, consolidate the common ideological foundation for united struggle, enhance the country's cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture, and provide a strong ideological guarantee and powerful spiritual strength for building a leading cultural nation [5] and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts.
We must profoundly understand the practical logic of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture—namely, "clarifying the Substance and attaining its Function; integrating Substance and Function"—and grasp that this thought originates from the practice of socialist culture in the New Era, thereby better guiding the value orientation of cultural practice. We must clarify the role of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture as the "Substance" or foundation. On the basis of fully studying and applying this thought, we must commit ourselves wholeheartedly to the practice of socialist culture and strive to realize the grand goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.