He Zhonghua: Promoting the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics through the "Two Combinations"
The construction of culture with Chinese characteristics is projects of immense significance; it concerns the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, the construction of the modern form of Chinese civilization, and the success or failure of the entire cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Superficially, culture appears "soft," while only matter is seen as the decisive force. However, under specific conditions, "soft power" can even determine "hard power." Soft power is, in fact, not "soft"—this is precisely the dialectics of soft power. To carry out the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics, we must clarify its important status, grasp its internal requirements, and reveal the true internal driving forces behind it.
The important status of the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics in the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation
In an era where the significance of culture has become exceptionally prominent, the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics appears increasingly urgent. In the historical process of achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the active construction of the modern form of Chinese civilization, the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics holds a pivotal strategic position and essential meaning.
On one hand, as some scholars have noted, "In fact, the difference between one nation and another lies less in racial factors than in factors of habit or environment." This means that national determinacy does not essentially derive from ethnology or geography, but from culturology. Because customs and habits in the cultural sense are expressed in national units, culture—as a human strategy for coping with the environment—is also largely determined by the unique environment a nation faces. This being the case, the historical goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation should be understood primarily from a cultural perspective.
On the other hand, neither the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation nor the modern form of Chinese civilization is an abstract goal or an abstract prescription; rather, they possess specific historical content and are therefore historical prescriptions. As historical prescriptions, they can only achieve themselves through specific cultural traditions and their construction, bearing distinct national characteristics and national forms. The civilization history of the Chinese nation spanning over 5,000 years, and the cultural traditions formed on this basis, constitute the historical foundation of cultural subjectivity and the important cultural genes for the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics.
The path of "rejuvenation" taken to achieve the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is a "return" to the starting point upon a new historical height and foundation; this is precisely the dialectics of history. This new historical height and foundation are, in the final analysis, prescribed and provided by the socialist system, path, and historical practice. If we depart from the choice of the socialist path, the establishment of the socialist system, and the practical exploration of socialism, it would be impossible for us to forge a path that is heterogeneous to Western modernization, and impossible to break the myth that "modernization equals Westernization." The construction of culture with Chinese characteristics is ultimately based on the socialist system, which historically sublated [1] capitalist civilization. This temporal coordinate opens up broad historical prospects for achieving the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
The "Two Combinations" are the internal requirement for the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics
The construction of culture with Chinese characteristics is an indispensable and organic component of the entire cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. As the practical form of the "Two Combinations" [2] at the cultural level, its internal determinacy must necessarily stem from the basic principles of Marxism, China’s specific national conditions, and the fine traditional Chinese culture inherent within them. Socialism, as a historical fact and a contemporary form, has never been an abstract existence; it can only be effectively represented and become a reality through the historical paths and practical constructions of specific nations and countries. The socialist cultural cause growing on Chinese soil inevitably bears distinct Chinese characteristics and national forms. When discussing the establishment of New Democratic culture [3], Comrade Mao Zedong once proposed "national, scientific, and mass culture" as its basic characteristics. Carrying out socialist cultural construction in contemporary China similarly requires a clear manifestation of national characteristics. If it deviates from the "Chinese characteristics" grounded in cultural nationality, socialist cultural construction will lose its cultural "self," failing to provide an adequate answer to "whose cultural construction" it is and "for whom the culture is being built." Therefore, the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics, at a new height of the era and in a new historical context, likewise needs to highlight national determinacy and consciously establish the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation. The so-called "Chinese characteristics" of the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics depend on the specific economic and political conditions of Chinese society, and in a deeper sense, on the cultural conditions of Chinese society.
At the same time, the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics inherently possesses a dimension of the era. This cause can only truly acquire the content of the era based on the context of Chinese-path modernization. Without the choice of the socialist path and system, China could not have become a state in the modern sense. Since the late Qing Dynasty, the road back was blocked, and the capitalist road could not be taken and was not desired; only socialism could save China, and only socialism could develop China. This is a conclusion already proven by historical facts. Fine traditional Chinese culture can only be transformed into a new form compatible with the requirements of modernization through "creative transformation and innovative development" [4]. The socialist path opened up a real possibility for late-developing Eastern nations and peoples to throw off the dominance and enslavement of the Western colonial system, thereby gaining independence, liberation, and dignity. Theoretically speaking, China’s socialist cause is grounded in the basic principles of Marxism as its guiding ideological foundation. For China, the practical necessity of socialism was determined by the specific historical context of modern China, while the theoretical legitimacy of socialism was provided by Marxism. In this sense, the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics cannot, in essence, depart from the basic principles of Marxism as its internal basis.
The "Two Combinations" provide the fundamental driving force for the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics
Regarding the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics, a pressing task we face is to transform today's China from a "culturally large country" into a "cultural powerhouse" as quickly as possible. A "culturally large country" is a quantitative concept, while a "cultural powerhouse" is a qualitative one. Today’s China is undoubtedly a culturally large country because we possess a history of civilization spanning over 5,000 years and ancient cultural traditions. However, we must also recognize that there is still a certain distance to reach the goal of a cultural powerhouse. This is precisely why the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics is so important.
Building a cultural powerhouse is by no means an empty slogan; it cannot be separated from the practical innovation and creation of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics based on the "Two Combinations." Historically, the reason the Chinese revolution, construction, and reform achieved success was by relying on the organic combination of the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with fine traditional Chinese culture. Historical experience also repeatedly tells us that whenever the combination is done well, our cause succeeds and triumphs; whenever the combination is poor, our cause suffers losses or even setbacks. Today, as we construct a culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, we similarly cannot do without the continuous deepening and expansion of the "Two Combinations" in the new historical context. In a certain sense, the actual process of advancing the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics is the process of continuously deepening the "Two Combinations" in practice. This is because the "Two Combinations" constitute the source of power for the construction of culture with Chinese characteristics.
The relationship between the basic principles of Marxism, China's specific realities, and fine traditional Chinese culture might superficially appear as a relationship of mutual externality. In fact, this view is shallow. Because the Marxist view of history is based on the correct revelation of the laws of human history and constructed based on the specific historical context of the "transformation of history into world history," the entire Eastern society, including China, is not in the "blind spot" of the materialist conception of history. It was by no means accidental that China's history and culture chose Marxism; it depended, in the final analysis, on the internal needs of the historical evolution of Chinese society. This historical choice itself once again confirms Marx's famous dictum: "The degree to which theory is realized in a nation is always determined by the degree to which theory satisfies the needs of that nation." Theoretically speaking, the historical practice of China’s revolution, construction, and reform, and the successful practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, are undoubtedly the results of Marxist guidance. Furthermore, the modern and contemporary history of China has actually participated in what Marx called the "world history" process and constitutes an indispensable and important part of it. In this sense, for China, Marxism is not an external "Other," but an actual constructor inherent in Chinese history itself, intervening and playing a role in a theoretical manner. The entire grand historical cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics was achieved in this way, and the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, as an important component of this grand historical cause, was achieved in the same way.
In short, the combination of the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with fine traditional Chinese culture merges into a new category through mutual compatibility. The construction of culture with Chinese characteristics is precisely the expression of this new category at the cultural level. This means that the "Two Combinations" fundamentally prescribe and drive the historical generation and active construction of the cause of culture with Chinese characteristics.
(The author is a specially invited researcher at the Shandong Provincial Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era)
Source: Chinese Social Sciences Net - Chinese Social Sciences Today, June 26, 2025. Web Editor: Tongxin