Zhao Yiliang: Xi Jinping's Cultural Thought Enriches and Develops Marxist Cultural Theory
When culture prospers, the national destiny prospers; when culture is strong, the nation is strong. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has maintained a foothold in the overall development of the Party and national undertakings. By persisting in placing cultural construction in a prominent position within the governance of the state, the Central Committee has made a series of major deployments, creatively proposed a series of new ideas, new viewpoints, and new assertions, and formed Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. As an original theory guiding the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture contains both innovations and breakthroughs in cultural theoretical viewpoints and deployment requirements for the layout of cultural work. It "clarifies the substance and attains its practical application" (míngtǐ dáyòng [1]), achieving a thorough integration of substance and application (tǐyòng guàntōng). This marks a new height in our Party's understanding of the laws governing socialist cultural construction and demonstrates that our Party's historical confidence and cultural confidence have reached new heights.
Culture is the product of the era and social practice; it is the spiritual expression of the material mode of production of a specific era. Cultural thought, in turn, is the theoretical crystallization of cultural practical experience; it originates from practice and, in turn, acts back upon practice. Marxist cultural theory is a scientific theory derived from the summary and refinement of vivid and lived cultural practices, based on Marxist positions, viewpoints, and methods. Different eras possess different material modes of production and different cultural practical activities; consequently, the cultural theories refined from them also differ. Engels once stated, "The theoretical thought of every era, including our own, is a historical product, which at different times assumes very different forms and, therewith, very different contents." Marxism is a constantly developing and open theory. The secret to its eternal vitality lies in the unification of adhering to Marxism and developing Marxism, combined with continuous new theoretical creations in light of new practices. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is the theoretical summary of the practical experience of socialist cultural construction with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. It is a major achievement in persisting in the "Two Combinations" [2] and advancing the innovation of Marxist cultural theory, containing profound contributions of fundamental principle.
I
Cultural ontology is a theory that studies the essence and core functions of culture from an ontological perspective. It answers a series of fundamental questions such as "what is culture?" and "where does culture come from and where is it going?" In the study of cultural ontology, there have historically existed two paths: the idealist conception of history and the historical materialist conception of history. When Marx and Engels expounded the basic principles of historical materialism, they pointed out: "This conception of history, unlike the idealist one, does not look for a category in every period, but remains constantly on the real ground of history; it does not explain practice from the idea but explains the formation of ideas from material practice." This reveals the fundamental difference in the paths of the idealist and historical materialist conceptions of history: one is an idealist path that explains practice starting from ideas, while the other is a materialist path that explains ideas starting from material practice. Applied specifically to the question of cultural ontology, this manifests as two paths of explaining culture: starting from ideas or starting from material practice. Marxist cultural theory marches flagrantly along the path of historical materialism—that is, explaining history and culture starting from material practice—and has proposed a series of major scientific expositions, solving the mystery of history and culture. For example: culture is a socio-historical phenomenon and a special field of human society; its emergence and development are necessarily constrained by specific historical conditions and, in the final analysis, depend on the development of the material mode of production. "The mode of production of material life conditions the general process of social, political, and intellectual life." A given culture is the concentrated reflection and manifestation of the politics and economy of a given society; whatever economy and politics exist, such a culture will follow. At the same time, once a culture is formed, it possesses relative independence and its own laws of development, and it exerts a counter-reaction (fǎnzuòyòng) upon the economy and politics. "The development of politics, law, philosophy, religion, literature, art, etc., is based on economic development. But all these react upon one another and also upon the economic base." These expositions reveal the important position of culture in socio-historical development, indicating that the study and grasping of human culture cannot be detached from specific socio-historical contexts, nor can one conduct purely abstract conceptual research apart from material practical activities; to do so would inevitably lead into the quagmire of the idealist conception of history.
Xi Jinping Thought on Culture stands at the height of world history, situating cultural construction within the torrent of the historical development of human society. It examines culture specifically within the overall framework of the strategic global situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the world’s profound changes unseen in a century [3]. On the one hand, it emphasizes the foundational status of material civilization within the system of human social civilization, which constrains and determines spiritual civilization; on the other hand, it emphasizes the counter-reaction of spiritual civilization upon material civilization. The two are mutually conditional, mutually purposeful, and mutually reinforcing; neither can be neglected. In building socialism with Chinese characteristics, we require both material abundance and spiritual richness: "Material poverty is not socialism, and spiritual vacuity is not socialism either." Chinese-path modernization is a modernization in which material civilization and spiritual civilization are coordinated; this is an important aspect that distinguishes our modernization from Western modernization. On the basis of persisting in the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilization, General Secretary Xi Jinping especially emphasizes the important role of culture in the development of the state and the nation: "The prosperity of a country and a nation is always supported by the flourishing of culture," and "A nation without spiritual strength finds it difficult to stand on its own and strengthen itself, and an undertaking without cultural support finds it difficult to endure for long." These important expositions further demonstrate the major role of culture in advancing socio-historical development and open up a new realm of Marxist cultural ontology.
II
Cultural axiology is a theory that examines the value position and value orientation of culture from the perspective of value theory. It answers the question of "for whom is culture intended?" From a theoretical perspective, any culture has its own values. The value-laden nature of culture is embedded within the material mode of production and class interests. Every culture is a product of the economic relations (the economic base) of its era, and therefore "must be explained, in the last resort, by that base." This constitutes the theoretical foundation of Marxist cultural axiology. Historical materialism holds that the people are the creators of history. The masses of the people are both the creators of material wealth and the creators of spiritual wealth; in the final analysis, they are also the creators of human culture. Persisting in the principal status of the people is the core of Marxist cultural axiology.
Xi Jinping Thought on Culture unwaveringly adheres to the position of the people and consolidates their principal status. It emphasizes that to promote cultural prosperity, we must adhere to the people-centered work orientation, taking the satisfaction of the people’s spiritual and cultural needs as the starting point and end goal, ensuring that cultural development is for the people, relies on the people, and its fruits are shared by the people. Being "people-centered" is the fundamental position for adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, and it is also a distinct main thread running through Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, manifesting in every aspect of cultural construction. Regarding literary and artistic work, he emphasizes: "The people are both the creators and the witnesses of history; they are both the 'characters' in the play and the 'playwrights' of history. For literature and art to reflect the voice of the people, they must adhere to the fundamental direction of serving the people and serving socialism." Furthermore, "Being people-centered means taking the satisfaction of the people’s spiritual and cultural needs as the starting point and end goal of literature, art, and artistic work, taking the people as the main subjects of artistic expression, and taking the people as the connoisseurs and judges of artistic aesthetics." Regarding propaganda, ideological, and cultural work, he emphasizes the need to continuously resolve the fundamental question of "for whom, relying on whom, and who am I." Regarding philosophy and social science work, he emphasizes: "In adhering to the guidance of Marxism, the core is to properly solve the question of for whom. The question of for whom is a fundamental and principled issue in philosophy and social science research." This series of important expositions fully demonstrates the people-centered position of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, achieving an enrichment and development of Marxist cultural axiology.
III
Cultural leadership [4] is a theory that studies the orientation and path of cultural construction and development from the perspective of leadership (lǐngdǎoquán). It answers the questions of who leads cultural construction and how to strengthen the initiative and discourse power in ideological work. Culture possesses distinct ideological attributes; cultural leadership is, in essence, leadership over ideological work. Ideology determines the forward direction and development path of culture. Marx and Engels pointed out: "The ideas of the ruling class are in every epoch the ruling ideas, i.e., the class which is the ruling material force of society is at the same time its ruling intellectual force." Once a proletarian party seizes political power, it must firmly maintain its own cultural leadership and lead cultural construction along a broad and righteous path (kāngzhuāng dàdào). History has repeatedly proven that the disintegration of a regime often begins in the ideological and cultural spheres; once the ideological and cultural line of defense is breached, other lines of defense are difficult to hold. If the Party’s cultural leadership were to fall into the hands of others, propaganda, ideological, and cultural work would deviate from the correct direction, the Party’s leadership would suffer a severe blow, and irreversible historical mistakes would be made.
Based on a scientific summary of historical experience and a profound insight into the general trend of the era’s development, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed the major proposition of the "cultural leadership of the Communist Party of China." This major proposition emphasizes that to persist in the Party’s cultural leadership, we must: adhere to the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field; firmly grasp the leadership, management, and discourse power of ideological work; clearly oppose and resist various erroneous viewpoints; and strive to build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leadership. We must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era; in contemporary China, adhering to and developing Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is to truly adhere to and develop Marxism. We must persist in advancing with the times and breaking new ground; only by continuously engaging in cultural creation and achieving cultural progress can we always maintain cultural leadership and guide social development and progress. We must implement the Party’s comprehensive leadership over propaganda, ideological, and cultural work; the Party’s cultural leadership is concrete, not abstract. "The requirement to strengthen the Party’s leadership over all work is not hollow or abstract; it must be implemented and manifested in all aspects and links." Once detached from specific fields and realistic carriers, the Party’s cultural leadership may become hollowed out or weakened. This series of major judgments reflects the contributions of fundamental principle within Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, developing Marxist ideological theory to a new height.