Zhong Xuanyan: Building a Culturally Powerful Country Must Adhere to a "People-Oriented" Approach
Cultural production is a form of creative labor whose core lies in the human element; only when talent is abundant and eminent figures emerge in succession can culture flourish and prosper. The uninterrupted continuity of Chinese civilization relies on the transmission of the cultural lineage [1] through successive classical works, and remains inseparable from the creative leadership of generations of renowned masters and great scholars. Throughout the course of our Party’s leadership of revolution, construction, and reform, a crucial reason we have been able to continuously achieve new ideological and cultural awakenings, new results in theoretical innovation, and new accomplishments in cultural construction lies in our ability to unite and cultivate generations of outstanding cultural talent.
Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping, with a view toward promoting cultural prosperity and building a cultural powerhouse, has profoundly elucidated the significant meaning, objective requirements, and key tasks of cultural talent work in the New Era, providing us with a fundamental compliance for conducting such work. At present, there are fewer than ten years remaining until the goal of building a cultural powerhouse is reached. Compared with the earnest expectations of the Party Central Committee and the practical needs of the development of our cause, there remain many shortfalls and weaknesses in the construction of our cultural talent ranks. We must persist in "keeping people in one's sights" [2], firmly grasping "the person" as the key element, and applying systemic force to improve and upgrade work concepts, policy systems, and institutional mechanisms to cultivate a high-level cultural talent force that is massive in scale, rational in structure, and determined to innovate.
To promote cultural prosperity, it is vital to have cultural leaders who can shoulder the burden and serve as pillars. Currently, problems in the cultural field—such as having quantity but lacking quality, having "plateaus" but lacking "peaks" [3], and having experts but lacking masters—remain prominent, urgently requiring solutions. We must fully leverage the driving role of various talent projects and programs, persist in combining selection with utilization, establish a results-oriented approach, and discover and cultivate a group of literati and artists of both professional ability and moral integrity [4]. We need a cohort of philosophical and social science leaders who are adept at researching Chinese issues and possess genuine capacities for academic and theoretical innovation; we also need news and communication talent who are knowledgeable about both domestic and foreign affairs and are capable of exerting influence in the international public opinion arena. Greater support must be given to outstanding talent in fields such as paleography, Dunhuang studies [5], frontier studies, and classical studies, ensuring that "neglected schools of profound learning" [6] have successors and are passed down through generations. For young talent with solid foundations and strong innovative capacities, we should tilt more resources toward them and consciously involve them in major events and key tasks, cultivating talent through usage and tempering talent through practice.
It is often said that "the masters are among the people" and "there are capable individuals within the masses." Promoting cultural prosperity and development requires both leading figures and diverse talent with specialized skills. Many cultural leaders at the urban and rural grassroots are familiar with local culture and understand the needs of the masses around them. We must fully utilize the unique cultural resources at the grassroots level to cultivate more homegrown cultural talent rooted in their locales, providing them with stages to display their artistry, fully mobilizing their initiative and creativity, and leading more local talent to devote themselves to grassroots cultural construction. To enrich cultural life in urban and rural areas, we must not only stimulate the initiative of local cultural talent but also organize and guide high-level cultural talent to step out of their studies and theaters to conduct activities and provide paired assistance at the grassroots frontline, pushing more high-quality cultural resources directly to the grassroots. In recent years, many literary and art workers have entered the grassroots and public squares to perform for the masses at close range, receiving widespread acclaim. In this process, cultural talent can also draw nourishment and spark inspiration from the rich soil of social practice, ensuring their persons possess a scholarly air while their works retain the "smell of cooking smoke" [7].
Currently, new "mass literature and art" and "mass scholarship" are developing vigorously. The works of some worker-poets, delivery-rider singers, grassroots writers, and intellectual bloggers are permeated with the breath of life. They possess authentic life experiences, a certain degree of talent, and a sharp perception of fiery social practices and rapid epochal changes, with a strong desire for expression and creation. Regarding these talents, we need to increase attention and research, guiding and promoting them to improve the quality of their works so they grow into a new force for cultural prosperity and development. Simultaneously, we must promote the gathering of professional talent toward the "main battlefield" of the internet, creating and launching more high-quality cultural works welcomed by the masses, thereby warming the hearts of society and nurturing moral character.
Science and technology are the thrusters of cultural innovation and creation; the integration of culture and technology is constantly giving rise to new business formats, applications, and carriers. Whether we can seize the opportunity of this round of technological revolution represented by artificial intelligence is a key factor in determining whether our country’s culture can burst with vitality and emerge victorious in international competition. We must strategically emphasize the cultivation of cultural-technological talent, increase the intensity of resource coordination, innovate talent cultivation models, and produce more compound talent capable of combining cultural content with modern technological means. It must also be recognized that the integration of culture and technology is not "building a tower on sand" or a "castle in the air." Further importance must be placed on the cultivation of talent in basic liberal arts such as literature, history, and philosophy. We must increase stable support for cultural talent in their early careers through basic research projects and fundamental research operating expenses, guiding them to consolidate their cultural foundations and academic roots, so that cultural innovation and creation possess greater depth and meaning.
The growth of cultural talent has its own laws. Only with an environment that respects talent and creativity, and mechanisms that encourage concentrated research and creation, can outstanding talent stand out. We must improve talent work mechanisms that fit the characteristics of the cultural field, tailored to local conditions and the specific aptitudes of individuals based on the resource endowments of various regions and departments, promoting a cultural landscape where "talent emerges in succession and masterpieces are produced one after another." Leading cadres in the propaganda and cultural systems must value, recognize, cherish, and assist talent, frequently engaging in heart-to-heart communication with them and carefully protecting their creativity. We must innovate talent management and utilization mechanisms, establishing positive incentive mechanisms that advocate practical work and encourage taking responsibility, so that capable and high-performing talent are respected and rewarded, continuously enhancing their sense of professional gain and honor. Evaluation and incentive mechanisms should be improved, oriented toward innovation capacity, quality of results, actual impact, and social contribution, promoting the establishment of classified evaluation standards and improving the "representative works" evaluation system, rather than simply "judging heroes" by the quantity of papers or monographs. As "cultural people" [8] engaged in cultural work, individuals themselves should also possess more sentiment and less utilitarianism, more patience and less impetuousness, creating with a quiet mind and researching with devotion.
"The wide sea allows the fish to leap; the vast sky lets the birds fly" [9]. In the next five to ten years, the construction of a cultural powerhouse calls for more cultural talent to come to the fore. Only by stimulating the vitality of cultural talent through more effective work, broader stages, and a superior environment can we produce more renowned masters and masterpieces, promoting a vivid scene of cultural prosperity and the continuous extension of our cultural lineage.