Gu Chao and Wang Xuejian: Distinct Themes, Intrinsic Characteristics, and Key Construction Priorities of the Ideological and Political Education Discourse System in the New Era
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Symposium on Philosophy and Social Sciences the need to "construct a disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system with Chinese characteristics." As the direct carrier and mode of communication for ideological theory, the discourse system both carries the disciplinary system and manifests the academic system, highlighting its foundational and practical role. As an educational practice endowed with Chinese characteristics and ideological attributes, the discourse system of Ideological and Political Education (IPE) manifests distinct themes of the times influenced by overall developmental trends, while also exhibiting intrinsic qualities defined by the nature of IPE itself.
I. Distinct Themes of the Discourse System of Ideological and Political Education in the New Era
(1) The thematic discourse of rejuvenation centered on achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation The IPE discourse system in the New Era must closely revolve around the historical and epochal theme of rejuvenation. First, the subject of rejuvenation must be clarified; the application of the IPE discourse system must shape and strengthen the shared role perception and identity recognition among different social members within the multi-ethnic state. Second, it must answer the significance of rejuvenation. IPE discourse must clearly explain that achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is the greatest dream since modern times and the most consensual developmental goal for the Chinese nation facing the future, exerting appeal and cohesive force with "realizing the dream" as the core signifier. Finally, it must promote the externalization of rejuvenation—that is, presenting and expressing the theme of rejuvenation through more specific images, scenes, symbols, and physical objects. The IPE discourse system should be adept at explaining rejuvenation starting from changes in people's real lives, continuously enriching the discursive forms of rejuvenation to further promote the "root-taking" of the rejuvenation theme.
(2) The thematic discourse of nurturing talent centered on enhancing ideological guidance and resolving doubts Fundamentally, IPE is about helping to solve the fundamental question of what kind of people to cultivate, how to cultivate them, and for whom. Under the conditions of the New Era, the environment, content, and methods of nurturing talent have undergone constant shifts, all of which require the IPE discourse system to adjust and develop while focusing on the theme of talent cultivation. On one hand, the ideological guidance of the IPE discourse system must be enhanced. The building of a leading power in education in the New Era is the building of a socialist leading power in education with Chinese characteristics; the priority is to have strong ideological and political leadership to ensure the socialist direction of schooling and the cultivation of "young people of the times" who can shoulder the heavy responsibility of national rejuvenation. On the other hand, the role of the IPE discourse system in resolving doubts and providing explanations must be strengthened. It must be able to provide powerful answers and explanations to the confusion of the recipients of discourse—including questions regarding their own development, understanding of theory and systems, and practical issues of social development. The focus should be on persuading, educating, and guiding people on the basis of explaining the logic clearly, striving to achieve "intellectual clarification, spiritual solace, cultural enrichment, and psychological decompression."
(3) The thematic discourse of contention centered on competing for discourse power in international communication In the face of increasingly expanding and complex international exchanges, there is an urgent need to consider the epochal proposition of "what can be done" by the IPE discourse system under the theme of discursive contention. On one hand, the IPE discourse system must serve the Chinese discourse and Chinese narrative system. As an important component thereof, the IPE discourse system should exert its advantages in interpreting Chinese practice, telling China’s stories well, making China’s voice heard, and presenting China’s image, applying the successful experiences and methods from IPE discourse practice to international communication. On the other hand, the IPE discourse system must help break Western discourse hegemony. The IPE discourse system itself must form a logically rigorous closed loop, stand firm on the people’s standpoint of discourse, and occupy the moral high ground, leaving no opening for Western discourse hegemony. Simultaneously, in the face of social public opinion crises caused by Western discourse hegemony, IPE discourse must provide timely responses and effective guidance, resolutely defending the security of the mainstream ideology and firmly grasping the initiative in social public opinion.
(4) The thematic discourse of digital intelligence centered on adapting to the new round of information technology revolution Algorithmic processing and intelligent language models based on big data platforms have shaped a brand-new discourse environment and birthed a brand-new discourse system, driving a digital-intelligent transformation of discourse as a whole. On one hand, we must grasp the basic patterns of the digital-intelligent transformation of IPE discourse. This includes spatial extension from physical scenes to the embedding of real and virtual fields, discursive expression moving from single-subject dominance to multi-subject interaction, discourse delivery moving from passive reception to personalized and precise targeting, and discourse presentation moving from a primary reliance on text to more multi-dimensional and image-based forms. Only by grasping these patterns of transformation can we better achieve technological empowerment, methodological innovation, and narrative optimization. On the other hand, we must remain vigilant against the practical risks of the digital-intelligent transformation of IPE discourse. These include the risk to the dominance of IPE discourse posed by the expansion of "digital colonialism," the risk to the value-orientation of IPE discourse caused by the instrumental rationality of digital technology, and the risk of limited dissemination of IPE discourse brought about by algorithmic "selective feeding" and "echo chambers" [1].
II. Intrinsic Qualities of the Discourse System of Ideological and Political Education in the New Era
(1) Generative qualities based on reality, subjecthood, and knowledge First, grounding in reality. The reality of contemporary China is both the direct source of IPE discourse and the most important practical support affecting its explanatory power, reach, and influence. Divorced from the reality of contemporary China, IPE discourse becomes "water without a source, a tree without roots." Contemporary China is undergoing the most extensive and profound social transformation in our history and is conducting the most grand and unique practical innovation in human history. The shift of time and space, the needs of reality, and the development of practice all provide rich soil and vast space for the construction of the discourse system. In particular, the construction of the IPE discourse system must be placed within the vivid practice of Chinese-path modernization, presenting the strong practical concern and unique developmental logic of the IPE discourse system within the context and field of Chinese-path modernization.
Second, manifesting subjecthood. Subjecthood is a philosophical category, referring to the characteristics possessed by a subject as opposed to an object. Discourse must also have its own subjecthood. On one hand, subjecthood is grasped through the national character of discourse. Generally speaking, language and discourse are always related to a specific nation, reflecting its history, culture, and spirit; there is no language or discourse system that represents itself arbitrarily divorced from a specific national subject. Thus, the construction of the IPE discourse system in the New Era must be built upon the foundation of our nation’s own language, history, and culture, and upon the prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization. On the other hand, subjecthood is reflected in the dominance of discourse. In discourse construction, whether dealing with traditional or foreign content, we must adhere to the principle of "centering ourselves and making the foreign serve China" [2].
Third, enhancing knowledge-based attributes. First, we must enhance the knowledge-based nature of practical discourse. In the practice of carrying out IPE, our Party has formed a wealth of empirical discourse; on the basis of summarizing experience, we must further strengthen the study of experience itself to elevate it into a systematic body of knowledge. Second, we must enhance the knowledge-based nature of theoretical discourse. Grounded in scientific Marxist theory, we must fully tap into the knowledge-based achievements within the Party's innovative theories, while absorbing and drawing on useful parts of other theories to continuously inject sufficient scientific character and truth-attributes into IPE discourse. Third, we must grasp the dialectical unity between the knowledge-based and value-based nature of discourse. IPE discourse naturally carries a political standpoint and value orientation. Emphasizing the knowledge-based nature of the discourse system does not mean reducing or discarding its value-based nature, but rather exploring the organic integration of the two—incorporating value guidance into the imparting of knowledge, making the value orientation more grounded in reason, evidence, and effectiveness.
(2) Elemental qualities based on political, academic, and everyday life discourse First, political discourse occupies the core layer, reflecting class standpoints and social requirements. For IPE, which embodies specific class and social requirements, political discourse holds the core position, determining the nature, direction, and mission of IPE. In constructing the discourse system, we must continuously strengthen political discourse construction. On one hand, we must adhere to the proletarian standpoint of political discourse, fully embodying the thoughts and will of the proletariat and the broad masses of the people, and firmly defending leadership over discourse. On the other hand, we must highlight the epochal characteristics of political discourse. The connotation, style, and characteristics of political discourse differ across different eras; we must ground ourselves in the New Era and promptly integrate the latest achievements of the Party's innovative theories into political discourse to enhance its timeliness and guiding power.
Second, academic discourse occupies the middle layer, providing theoretical support and explanatory frameworks. Academic discourse is the theoretical presentation and discursive expression of the understanding of the essence of things and objective laws, capable of endowing IPE discourse with the power of truth and scientific explanation. For the construction of IPE academic discourse, the most important task is to reveal and strike at the social reality of China in the New Era, proposing explanatory frameworks based on the basic theories of Marxism. In the context of the New Era, this means dedicating ourselves to creating a discourse system capable of reflecting the core connotations, concepts, and categories of Chinese-path modernization. Simultaneously, specific to the IPE process, we must condense the empirical discourse of IPE into theoretical discourse through scientific research, forming a series of landmark achievements, original concepts, and academic expressions, which then serve as the middle layer effectively supporting both political and everyday life discourse.
Third, everyday life discourse occupies the manifest layer, representing discursive expressions connected to daily life. Everyday life discourse is the vivid manifestation of people's expression in their daily routines and "life-world" [3]. Its entire meaning derives from a rich and colorful daily life, and it uses specific discursive forms to promote the construction of a life-world that allows for more effective communication, standardization, and meaning. For IPE, the richness of people's daily lives in the New Era determines its discursive richness. Paying attention to everyday life discourse is itself paying attention to daily life—using colloquial and localized language to conduct values education and presenting political and academic discourse more vividly, thereby realizing the return of educational language to the life-world. At the same time, we must be adept at integrating specific IPE content into people's daily lives, achieving the effect of values education "moistening things silently" [4] and being "used daily without conscious awareness" [5].
(3) Transformational qualities based on academicization, popularization, and interest-enhancement First, the academicization of political discourse. This is concentrated in "using scholarship to talk about politics"—articulating the logic, facts, academic principles, emotional resonance, and philosophical depth behind political discourse, and explaining "the Chinese path, Chinese governance, and Chinese logic" through academic forms and knowledge-based methods. To effectively promote the academicization of political discourse, we must use the universal truths of Marxism and the Sinicized and modernized Marxism to profoundly explain and answer the "questions of China, the world, the people, and the times." We should strive to achieve a benign interaction between political and academic discourse, presenting political discourse to the people through "talking about logic" and "laying out the facts," thus enhancing the theoretical power, explanatory power, and persuasiveness of political discourse.
Second, the popularization of academic discourse. Academic discourse has a natural advantage in terms of reasoning, but it must avoid becoming completely suspended above practice or manifesting as purely speculative discourse. Therefore, we must promote the popularization of academic discourse, particularly by converting the profound and obscure parts into simple and clear language. This transformation takes two forms: partial transformation, which involves providing popular explanations for difficult or specialized vocabulary within academic discourse; and comprehensive transformation, which involves directly converting academic discourse as a whole into popular discourse expressed in a way that people can understand and easily accept. It must be pointed out that whichever method of popularization is used, it must be built upon a profound understanding and skillful application of theory.
Third, the interest-enhancement of everyday life discourse. As the discursive expression closest to daily life, everyday life discourse plays an important role in "implicit IPE," but it may also suffer from a lack of appeal, interest, or attention due to being too mundane. Therefore, a degree of "interest-enhancement" transformation is required. This focus can rely on three methods. First, the storytelling method: enhancing interest and vividness through storytelling is a basic method of IPE discourse. Second, the analogical method: using clever rhetoric to enhance the visualization and infectiousness of discourse. Third, the "hot word" method: after screening and selecting trending terms, organically integrating them into everyday life discourse to enhance its freshness, appeal, and humor.
III. Key Priorities for Constructing the Discourse System of Ideological and Political Education in the New Era
(1) Strengthening the value orientation of the discourse system by adhering to the mainstream ideology. First, it is necessary to consolidate the guiding position of Marxism within the discourse system. Both history and practice have proven that the guidance of the scientific theory of Marxism is the fundamental basis for our Party to innovate discourse theory, advance discourse practice, and achieve discourse effectiveness. Only by adhering to Marxism can we guarantee the direction of ideological construction and the support of the power of truth for the discourse system. Second, the basic orientation of the discourse system must adhere to a people-centered approach. The construction of all discourse and its systems always represents the positions, concepts, and values of a specific class. We must firmly adhere to the people-centered approach, speaking from the standpoint of the masses, speaking on behalf of the masses, and using the language of the masses, continuously allowing "theory to grip the masses" [6] through discourse. Third, we must promote the construction of a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leading power. In the practice of speech, ideological discourse shapes the ideas and behavioral habits of social members, forming an understanding, acceptance, and identification with a certain value system, and subsequently confirming subjective identity under specific social conditions. The ultimate goal of constructing the discourse system of ideological and political education in the New Era is to ensure that more and more people recognize and identify with socialist ideology, further strengthening mainstream values, mainstream public opinion, and mainstream culture, and extensively mobilizing people to plunge into the great practice of the New Era.
(2) Consolidating the theoretical foundation of the discourse system by constructing an independent knowledge system. First, we must enhance the originality of the discourse system through endogenous knowledge production. The production of endogenous knowledge for ideological and political education must answer important realistic questions in the process of theory and practice. This includes both political education and ideological construction at the national level, as well as moral education and value guidance at the individual level, subjecting these issues to specialized and systematic theoretical research to form endogenous knowledge production. Second, we must enhance the explanatory power of the discourse system through identifying knowledge achievements. The goal of endogenous knowledge production is to form identifying knowledge achievements. For example, regarding the major proposition of Chinese-path modernization, we need to conduct academic inquiries within the discipline of ideological and political education concerning its connotations, characteristics, and advantages, forming a set of identifying and explanatory knowledge achievements that better explain, promote, and facilitate Chinese-path modernization. Third, we must enhance the dialogic power of the discourse system through pluralistic knowledge exchange. The construction of the ideological and political education discourse system in the New Era should fully mine the knowledge resources of Marxist theory and fine traditional Chinese culture, while rationally drawing upon beneficial resources from Western theory. We must continuously consolidate our own knowledge base and enhance the dialogic capacity of the discourse system to escape the dominant Western knowledge and discourse systems built upon Eurocentrism.
(3) Strengthening the content support of the discourse system through world-renowned achievements. First, we must use discourse to clearly explain the objective facts of development. Since the beginning of reform and opening up, and especially since the 18th CPC National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has achieved world-renowned success. These objective facts of development must be clearly presented in ideological and political education discourse, transforming the content of development into the content of discourse. Second, we must use discourse to clearly explain the underlying logic of development. Ideological and political education discourse must organically combine "presenting facts" with "reasoning" (jiang daoli) [7], supporting reasoning with facts and interpreting facts through reasoning. Specifically, it must clarify the logic behind these world-renowned achievements: that "Marxism works" and that "Sinicized and modernized Marxism works." Third, we must transform developmental advantages into discourse advantages. The ideological and political education discourse system in the New Era urgently needs to be supported by world-renowned achievements, further elevating China's development and experience into a universal conceptual system and knowledge paradigm. On a well-reasoned and evidence-based foundation, this will both powerfully counter Western "discourse invasion" and expand the influence and reach of our own discourse.
(4) Drawing cultural nourishment for the discourse system by inheriting Chinese civilization. First, we must excavate nourishment for discourse from civilizational elements. Chinese civilization concentrates many important elements of fine traditional Chinese culture, many aspects of which can be applied to ideological and political education discourse. For example, the emphasis on "cultivating virtue and self-cultivation" (chongde xiushen) [8] in ancient China highly aligns with the goal of "fostering virtue through education" (lide shuren) [9] in ideological and political education. The concept of "All-under-Heaven" (tianxia) [10] and the "unity of family and state" in Confucian ethics are in the same lineage as the spirit of patriotism. Furthermore, the "harmony-oriented" (he-he) [11] way of thinking differs essentially from the Western atomistic, oppositional way of thinking. Second, we must enhance discourse confidence through civilizational confidence. Civilizational confidence includes two important dimensions: first, confidence in Chinese civilization, which is confidence in its historical status and contemporary value; second, confidence in the "new form of human civilization" [12], which is confidence in the modern human civilization created by Chinese-path modernization as it faces the future. Thus, whether in the past, present, or future, the civilization should and has reason to be confident. Third, we must promote the mutual construction of civilization and discourse in the same direction. Chinese civilization provides cultural nourishment and civilizational confidence for the discourse system of ideological and political education, while the discourse system can release the power of discourse, knowledge, and spirit through the dissemination of concepts, paradigms, and values. This further enhances identification, builds consensus, and drives development, helping to open up new horizons for Chinese-path modernization and the modern development of Chinese civilization.