Feng Yanli and Zeng Yonghui: Guiding the Development of Families, Family Education, and Family Virtues with the Worldview and Methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era
The foundation of the world is the state, and the foundation of the state is the family. Family, family education, and family traditions constitute the first station for social civility, the cultivation of personal virtue, and the continuity of cultural inheritance. The Chinese nation has always attached great importance to the development of family, family education, and family traditions; excellent traditions in these areas are the cultural genes and family treasures that have allowed Chinese civilization to endure without interruption. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out on many occasions that "no matter how much the times change or how much social patterns change, we must value family building, and focus on the family, family education, and family traditions." The report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC explicitly proposed: "promote confidence and strength in our culture," "improve the level of civility across society," and "implement projects to improve civic morality, carry out the fine traditional Chinese virtues, and strengthen the development of family, family education, and family traditions..." Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the latest theoretical innovation in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. The "Six Must-Persists" [1] are the worldviews and methodologies that run through Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and they serve as the fundamental guidelines for the development of family, family education, and family traditions in the New Era. Applying these worldviews and methodologies to guide such development is of great significance for promoting high-quality development in this field.
I. We must persist in putting the people first, firmly grasping the fundamental value position of "for whom we cultivate people, what kind of people to cultivate, and how to cultivate them," and fostering new modernizing actors capable of shouldering the great task of national rejuvenation.
History and reality fully prove that the greatest power for China's development originates from the people. The objects of family, family education, and family traditions are the thoughts and behaviors of family members; the fundamental issue remains the education and cultivation of people. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during his inspection of Renmin University of China on April 25, 2022: "'For whom we cultivate people, what kind of people to cultivate, and how to cultivate them' is always the fundamental question of education." Strengthening the development of family, family education, and family traditions in the New Era requires firmly grasping this fundamental value position and integrating the fundamental task of "fostering virtue through education" (li de shu ren) [2] into every link of family development. We must "establish" (li) the character required for social development and "cultivate" (shu) the talents required for social development, vigorously fostering new modernizing actors for the era who can shoulder the great task of national rejuvenation.
(1) Cultivating individuals who "hold virtue in their hearts" and "value virtue in their words and deeds." The family is the primary site of moral education, and family education should take the cultivation of virtuous people as an important goal. In family education, parents and elders should guide children to abide by social ethics such as civility, politeness, helping others, caring for public property, protecting the environment, and being law-abiding, thereby maintaining public interests, public order, and social harmony. They should guide children to exemplarily abide by professional ethics—such as dedication to work, honesty, trustworthiness, impartiality, enthusiastic service, and contribution to society—to promote integrity in all industries. Within the family, moral virtues such as respecting the elderly and loving the young, equality between men and women, harmony between spouses, thrift in managing the household, and mutual assistance among neighbors should be promoted to collectively create a happy and beautiful life. Family members should consciously integrate correct moral cognition, conscious moral cultivation, and active moral practice, aspiring toward the daily habits of speaking of, respecting, and observing morality, ensuring they "hold virtue in their hearts" and "value virtue in their words and deeds."
(2) Cultivating individuals "needed by the country" and "needed by the people." Without virtue, a person cannot stand; without talent, a nation cannot flourish. A country's strength lies in its people. The report to the 18th National Congress of the CPC proposed: "We must ensure that education serves socialist modernization and the people, take fostering virtue through education as the fundamental task of education, and cultivate socialist builders and successors with an all-round development in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor education." The great achievements of the ten years of the New Era were, in the final analysis, forged through the united struggle of the whole Party and the people of all ethnic groups under the leadership of the CPC Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, and through the hard work of hundreds of millions of talents across all walks of life. To "comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through a Chinese path to modernization," people are the most critical factor; "talent is the primary resource." Family education can only provide a satisfactory answer if it responds to the needs of the times. To this end, family education in the New Era must work hard on strengthening ideals and convictions, cultivating patriotism, strengthening moral cultivation, increasing knowledge and insight, fostering a spirit of struggle, and enhancing comprehensive quality. It must cultivate people "needed by the country" and "needed by the people"—new modernizing actors for the era who are worthy of the people's trust, who continuously benefit the people, and who can shoulder the heavy responsibility of national rejuvenation.
II. We must persist in self-confidence and self-reliance, firmly grasping the ideological baseline of family members’ integrity and conduct—balancing both integrity and talent—while enhancing the integrity, courage, mettle, and ambition of being Chinese.
Self-confidence and self-reliance are typical characteristics of excellent family education and traditions. In September 2018, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Education Conference: "We must enhance students' confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and inspire them to resolve to shoulder the heavy tasks of the era for national rejuvenation." In the report to the 20th National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping again emphasized the need to strengthen the "Four Confidences" [3], providing the fundamental basis for implementing these confidences in the development of family, family education, and family traditions. The family is the soil for a child's growth; whether a child is self-confident and self-reliant or feels inferior and dependent depends largely on the parents' and elders' teaching by word and example. Parents and elders must persist in self-confidence and self-reliance, firm up the "Four Confidences," and focus on cultivating the child's integrity (zhengqi), courage (danqi), mettle (diqi), and ambition (zhiqi) as a Chinese person.
(1) Strengthening confidence in our path to enhance the integrity (zhengqi) of being Chinese. The self-confidence and self-reliance of the Chinese people are rooted in the "integrity" (zhengqi) [4] of the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, which is upright, bright, and sustainable. Parents and elders should take children during holidays to exhibition halls, theme parks, and civil practice centers focused on themes such as the 40th anniversary of Reform and Opening up, the 70th anniversary of the founding of the People's Republic of China, the centenary of the CPC, the decisive battle against poverty, and "Forging Ahead in the New Era." Combining these with the transformative changes around them, they should guide children to experience the great journey of New China from being poor, weak, and "blank" (yī qióng èr bái) [5] to becoming the world's second-largest economy. They should lead children into smart factories, observe grassroots democracy, and visit beautiful villages to feel China's great changes from multiple dimensions—political, economic, cultural, social, and ecological—thereby guiding children to realize that the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics has not failed China. It is a path of success and victory, the "right path for humanity" (renjian zhengdao), and the inevitable road to continuously creating a beautiful life for the people.
(2) Strengthening confidence in our theory to enhance the courage (danqi) of being Chinese. The self-confidence and self-reliance of the Chinese people are rooted in the "courage" (danqi) bestowed by the scientific truth of Marxism and the theoretical innovations of Sinicized and modernized Marxism. Zhao Yiman’s readiness to die, saying "I do not regret losing my head for my country, I am willing to water China with my blood"; Chen Yannian’s unyielding spirit, saying "revolutionaries only die standing, never kneeling"; Xia Minghan’s calm decisiveness, saying "it doesn't matter if I am beheaded, as long as the 'ism' is true"; Qian Xuesen’s persistent pursuit of "earning credit for the Chinese people"; and Tu Youyou’s resoluteness in saying "I am the group leader, I have the responsibility to be the first to test the medicine!"—all these originated from a firm belief in Marxist theory. While strengthening their own learning, parents and elders should guide children to deeply understand the historical process of combining Marxism with China's specific realities and with the fine traditional Chinese culture; guide them to understand how the scientific theoretical achievements of Sinicized and modernized Marxism helped the Chinese nation achieve the great leap from "standing up" and "growing rich" to "becoming strong"; and guide them to understand that the CPC's success and why socialism with Chinese characteristics works is, in the final analysis, because Marxism works, and especially because Sinicized and modernized Marxism works, thereby consciously establishing a scientific faith in Marxism.
(3) Strengthening confidence in our system to enhance the mettle (diqi) of being Chinese. The self-confidence and self-reliance of the Chinese people are rooted in the "mettle" (diqi) [6] forged by the powerful institutional advantages of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Since the founding of the Party over a century ago, the CPC has led the people in long-term practical exploration and established a systematic, complete, and scientific system of socialism with Chinese characteristics. "Practice has proven that the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the state governance system are systems and governance systems guided by Marxism, rooted in China, with deep Chinese cultural foundations, and deeply supported by the people. They are systems with great vitality and immense superiority, capable of continuously promoting the progress and development of a great country of nearly 1.4 billion people, and ensuring that the Chinese nation, with its more than 5,000-year history of civilization, achieves the 'Two Centenary Goals' and ultimately its great rejuvenation." Parents and elders should be adept at using comparative methods—horizontal international comparisons and vertical historical comparisons—to guide children to scientifically recognize the significant advantages and governance efficacy of the system of socialism with Chinese characteristics from dimensions such as its scientific nature, integrity, people-centeredness, practicality, and global significance. They should guide children not to be misled by the superficial prosperity of the contemporary capitalist world, not to be lured by the material bribes of hostile Western forces, and not to be confused by temporary difficulties in national development, but to remain loyal to the motherland and the people, and to love the Party, the country, and socialism.
(4) Strengthening confidence in our culture to enhance the ambition (zhiqi) of being Chinese. The self-confidence and self-reliance of the Chinese people are rooted in the "ambition" (zhiqi) nourished by the fine traditional Chinese culture. "Cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and deeper confidence; it is the most basic, most profound, and most lasting force in the development of a country and a nation. Without high cultural confidence and cultural prosperity, there will be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." Principles like "where there is a will, there is a way," "without a strong will, wisdom cannot be attained," "every man has a share of responsibility for the fate of his country," and "one can seize the commander of three armies, but one cannot seize the will of a common man"... These spiritual traits contained in the fine traditional Chinese culture are rooted in the depths of the Chinese heart and give rise to our ambition as Chinese people. Parents and elders should not only "open their eyes to see the world" and actively learn from the good experiences and practices of foreign family education, but also "look back at the past" and value drawing upon the great wisdom and intelligence of family education in traditional Chinese culture, guiding children to draw spiritual strength from it and set lofty aspirations.
III. We must persist in upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, firmly grasping the essential requirements for the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent ancient and modern family traditions, and telling the wonderful stories of family and family education across time.
"Only by upholding the fundamentals can we avoid losing our way or making catastrophic errors; only by breaking new ground can we grasp and lead the era." In July 2021, the Publicity Department of the CPC Central Committee, the Central Commission for Guiding Cultural and Ethical Progress, the Ministry of Education, and seven other departments jointly issued the "Implementation Opinions on Further Strengthening the Development of Family, Family Education, and Family Traditions," taking "upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground" (shǒu zhèng chuàng xīn) as one of the basic principles. Adhering to this principle in the New Era means grasping the internal connection between fine traditional Chinese culture and the new trends of family civility in the New Era across the boundaries of inheritance and development, tradition and creation, and continuity and leaps. It means firmly grasping the essential requirements for the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditions and telling the wonderful stories of ancient and modern family life well.
(1) Being adept at excavation and actively inheriting the excellent traditions of family, family education, and family traditions within fine traditional Chinese culture.
In excellent traditional Chinese culture, "passing down a legacy through farming and study, and prospering the family through industry and thrift" is a universal family precept. During the Western Han Dynasty, Zhu Maichen "carried firewood while studying," remaining steadfast in his poverty and never losing his lofty aspirations; the great scholar Ni Kuan "carried classics while hoeing," persisting in his studies despite a destitute life. The Tang Dynasty poet Chen Ziang and his descendants consistently followed family precepts such as "strive for simplicity and austerity in domestic life, educate children with the correct methods [7], treat others with peace and harmony, maintain integrity and rectitude as an official, always leave room for others in all matters, pity the poor and suffering villagers, respect the elderly and love the young, and be neither debauched by wealth nor driven to theft by poverty." These excellent traditional family precepts and classic stories embody the spiritual pursuits of the ancient sages, who were committed to both tilling the land and the professional dedication to scholarship. Alongside the development of "farming and study culture" (耕读文化), the sages emphasized cultivating qualities such as self-reliance, industry, thrift, and the ability to endure hardship while working hard in the fields; and during study, they emphasized self-cultivation and motivation—developing fine virtues such as honoring learning and rites, professional dedication to serving the country, loyalty, filial piety, fraternal love, high-reaching aspirations, kindness, and tolerance. The Northern Qi thinker Yan Zhitui cautioned his descendants in The Family Instructions of Master Yan: "Those with aspirations and noble character can hone themselves to complete their fundamental profession; those without conduct and standing will from then on become indolent and turn into ordinary people." Ouyang Xiu, a leader of the Northern Song literary world, taught his son in On Encouraging Learning: "Jade unattained is not a vessel; a person unlearned does not know the Way." At the turn of the Ming and Qing Dynasties, Zhu Bolu warned his children in the Maxims for Managing the Home: "When eating a bowl of congee or rice, one should remember that its origin was not easy; when using half a silk thread or a sliver of cotton, one must constantly consider the difficulty of producing material goods." Zuo Zongtang of the Qing Dynasty educated his descendants to "make first-rate aspirations, form middle-rate connections, and enjoy third-rate fortunes; stand on high ground, stay on level ground, and walk on spacious ground," and so on. It cannot be denied that traditional culture bears distinct historical imprints. However, the essence of family traditions contained therein—passing down farming and study, self-cultivation and motivation, self-reliance, moral education for children, industry and thrift in household management, upholding virtue and gravitating toward goodness, and professional dedication to serving the country—still possesses value for our times. These are highly instructive for family, family education, and family traditions construction in the New Era and are worthy of deep excavation and active inheritance.
(2) Be adept at transformation, promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine family, family education, and family traditions within excellent traditional Chinese culture
In the process of excavating and organizing elements of fine family traditions from historical documents such as traditional family precepts, rules, and letters, we must uphold the scientific attitude of "taking the essence and discarding the dregs." We must abandon the feudal superstitions and backward cultural concepts contained therein, while simultaneously integrating the practical needs of building "civilized families" in the New Era to achieve the creative transformation and innovative development of the traditional family virtues they contain. In the present age, the acceleration of urbanization and the development of the market economy have led to the replacement of agricultural society by commercial society; the continuous innovation of network information technology has driven the shift from a "society of acquaintances" to a "society of strangers"; and the process of building a socialist country under the rule of law with Chinese characteristics is constantly accelerating. Contents in traditional culture, such as emphasizing agriculture while disparaging commerce, favoring kin while distancing strangers, and prioritizing the rule of virtue over the rule of law, require creative transformation and innovative development. This will stimulate their vitality with the spirit of the times, thereby adapting to the practical needs of changes in human and social development under the new context of Chinese-path modernization.
(3) Be skillful in dissemination, telling the wonderful stories of ancient and modern family, family education, and family traditions in a deep, thorough, and vivid manner
Advanced figures and role models are like a mirror; their words, deeds, and stories contain spiritual power that tempers the human heart and illuminates the era. Regarding the wonderful stories of ancient and modern family, family education, and family traditions, we must be skillful in their dissemination, working hard to explain them deeply, thoroughly, and vividly. On one hand, we should focus on the family stories of typical figures. Examples include ancient stories such as "Receiving Instruction while Passing the Courtyard" [8], "Mencius's Mother Cutting the Web" [9], and "Mother Yue Tattooing Her Son" [10]; and in modern times, the ten family rules Zhou Enlai set for his relatives and juniors, such as "life must be simple and industrious; seek no private gain and engage in no special privileges," Xi Zhongxun’s "family heirloom" of industry and thrift in household management, and Yang Shanzhou’s nearly "harsh" family education. These should be the focus of dissemination. On the other hand, we must innovate dissemination methods, fully utilizing informational, digital, networked, and intelligent technologies. Through short videos, webcasting, animation, and other forms popular among contemporary youth, we can enhance the attraction, influence, reach, and guiding power of "good family traditions." Localities should be encouraged to adapt to local conditions by collecting and organizing well-preserved, far-reaching, and distinctive local family stories to build exhibition halls for family traditions and precepts. These should be linked with family education bases in different regions to serve as on-site teaching points for various schools, allowing excellent family culture to become a prevailing practice that transforms people and continuously radiates the light of the New Era.
IV. We must persist in a problem-oriented approach, firmly grasping the prominent problems in the construction of family, family education, and family traditions for Party members and leading cadres, and resolving the "intractable diseases" affecting the healthy development of their families
Sticking to a problem-oriented approach is a prominent feature of the CPC’s governance of the country and a distinct characteristic of the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. The "Implementation Opinions on Further Strengthening the Construction of Family, Family Education, and Family Traditions" issued in July 2021 explicitly proposed adhering to a problem-oriented approach, adopting precise measures against prominent problems, and effectively responding to the people’s new expectations for a better life. To strengthen these constructions in the New Era and persist in a problem-oriented approach, we must seize upon the "key group," firmly grasp the prominent problems among Party members and leading cadres, and actively resolve the "intractable diseases" affecting their family health.
(1) Attach great importance to the prominent problems in the construction of family, family education, and family traditions for Party members and leading cadres
Party members and leading cadres are the vanguard leading the people in various construction projects. If their family traditions are improper or lax, and if they are lenient in disciplining themselves, their relatives, and their families, it often leads to serious corruption. General Secretary Xi Jinping once pointed out: "From the corruption cases investigated in recent years, the ruin of family traditions is often an important reason for leading cadres to move toward serious violations of discipline and law." The 2023 Work Report of the Supreme People's Court during the "Two Sessions" showed that "119,000 cases of duty-related crimes involving 139,000 people, such as embezzlement and bribery, were concluded. In accordance with the law, 92 former officials managed by the central government [11], such as Sun Zhengcai, were severely punished; life imprisonment was applied according to law to Zhao Zhengyong, Sun Lijun, Wang Like, Fu Zhenghua, and Liu Yanping. Lai Xiaomin was sentenced to death and executed in accordance with the law. 12,000 cases of bribery crimes involving 13,000 people were concluded, severely punishing those who offered bribes multiple times, in huge amounts, or who 'hunted' [12] cadres over the long term." The 2023 Work Report of the Supreme People's Procuratorate showed: "88,000 cases of duty-related crimes transferred by supervisory commissions at all levels were accepted, and 78,000 people were prosecuted, including 104 former officials at or above the provincial and ministerial level. We persisted in investigating both those who take bribes and those who give them, issued guiding opinions, released typical cases in coordination with the National Supervisory Commission, and prosecuted 14,000 people for bribery crimes to deter the 'hunters'." According to reports from the website of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection and the National Supervisory Commission, looking at corruption cases investigated in recent years, most are related to improper family traditions and education. The cause of many corruption disasters "is not in Zhuanyu, but within the screen-walls of one’s own home" [13]. When Party members and leading cadres move toward corruption due to improper or lax family traditions, resulting in their own and their families' imprisonment, it not only harms themselves and their families but also seriously damages the glorious image of the Party in the hearts of the people.
(2) Resolving the "intractable diseases" affecting the healthy development of the families of Party members and leading cadres
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Family tradition is an important part of social atmosphere. A family is not just a place where people's bodies reside, but more importantly, a destination for the soul. If the family tradition is good, the family way will flourish and be harmonious and happy; if the family tradition is bad, it will inevitably bring disaster to descendants and harm society..." "'When the family is rectified, the world is at peace.' In ancient times, those prestigious families whose descendants were mostly virtuous and whose achievements were outstanding were all closely related to the inheritance of their good family traditions." Family traditions relate to the Party’s conduct, connect to political conduct, and influence public conduct. The construction of family, family education, and family traditions for Party members and leading cadres is by no means a minor personal matter or a private family affair, but a major issue concerning the improvement of the Party’s conduct, clean government, and social fairness and justice. To strengthen this construction in the New Era, we must persist in a problem-oriented approach and earnestly manage the "key group" of Party members and leading cadres. We must prevent them from reversing public and private interests, confusing right and wrong, blurring the line between righteousness and profit, indulging family members, having their minds muddled by the "pillow wind" [14], allowing their children to seek illegal profits in their name, or being "pulled into the water" [15] by those around them. We must guide Party members and leading cadres to take these cases as warnings, to remain content with a simple life, to endure loneliness, to resist temptation, and to withstand tests. They must consciously achieve "cultivating themselves through integrity, managing their families through integrity, nurturing good family traditions, and educating and supervising their relatives, children, and staff to stay on the right path." We must continuously build a family line of defense for anti-corruption and integrity, and continuously purify family traditions to nourish a clean Party conduct, political conduct, and social atmosphere.
V. We must persist in systemic thinking, firmly grasping the scientific mindset of construction, and building a "family-school-society" collaborative education community
"All things are interconnected and interdependent. Only by observing things with a viewpoint of universal connection, comprehensive systems, and developmental change can we grasp the laws of their development." The "Implementation Opinions on Further Strengthening the Construction of Family, Family Education, and Family Traditions" issued in July 2021 clearly emphasized the need to improve the collaborative education mechanism between families, schools, and society. Family traditions are highly correlated with, permeate, and influence the teaching and learning atmosphere in schools and the general social atmosphere. We must grasp the conditions and links that closely connect family, school, and society, establish a "family-school-society" collaborative education community, and promote the resonance and integration of family traditions, school atmosphere, and social conduct.
(1) Reaching a consensus on concepts to consolidate the systemic synergy of "family-school-society" collaborative education
Concepts are the precursors to action. The reasons for problems such as fragmented governance, poor communication, difficult cooperation, and disconnection between the construction of family traditions, school climate, and social conduct ultimately lie in the failure of the "family-school-society" triad to reach a consensus on educational concepts. The core of strengthening these constructions in the New Era lies in highlighting moral education and guiding children toward all-around development in moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor skills. However, in practice, it is not difficult to find that the educational concepts of "family-school-society" deviate to varying degrees: some families only pursue their children’s admission to good universities and finding good jobs; some schools only pursue high enrollment rates, especially in prestigious schools; some social education only pursues high profits and returns. In a certain sense and to a certain extent, "educating the person" has been alienated into "educating for scores," "educating for fame," and "educating for wealth." This fragmentation of concepts inevitably causes contradictions and conflicts in education among the triad, restricting the formation of social synergy. Therefore, the three parties must reach a consensus on concepts, consolidate systemic synergy, and examine a child's lifelong development with a holistic, dialectical, and long-term perspective—educating people for the Party and the country, and consolidating the talent support for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country.
(2) Clarifying functional positioning and strengthening the responsibility of "family-school-society" collaborative education
For a long time, there have been widespread problems of blurred boundaries, misplaced roles, and unclear responsibilities among family, school, and social education in China. In some cases, the absence of family education coexists with its "overstepping," while some schools unprincipledly "transfer" part of their teaching activities to parents and society. To strengthen collaborative education and build an educational community, we must clarify functional positioning: family education primarily assumes the responsibility of emotional education through companionship; school education primarily assumes the duty of knowledge education through the teaching of academic subjects; and social education primarily assumes the responsibility of practical education through the "grand stage of life." In the construction of family traditions, parents and elders should consciously place family education in an important position and shoulder the primary responsibility. They should adhere to the leadership of the socialist core values, integrating the value requirements of the national, social, and individual levels into the whole process. They should reasonably apply educational methods such as teaching as opportunities arise, subtle influence, balancing strictness with kindness, respecting differences, and equal communication. This will enhance their children’s capacity for change, innovation, and insight, helping them adapt to the future; and cultivate clear social awareness, positive social emotions, and good social skills, helping them better integrate into society. Schools should improve their family education guidance capabilities and play the roles of "guide" and "empowerer" by cultivating specialized teacher teams and developing courses for parents. Society should accelerate the improvement of a public service system for family education guidance covering both urban and rural areas and actively develop high-quality public resources for family education. Multi-party linkage and governance should be employed to attract support from communities, sub-district offices, women's federations, civil affairs departments, working committees for the care of the next generation, and education departments to provide support for high-quality family construction.
(3) Grasping key nodes to build a system of "family-school-society" collaborative education
Since entering the New Era of socialism with Chinese characteristics, in order to ensure the smooth progress of collaborative education between "home, school, and society," China has emphasized the improvement of collaborative education mechanisms in documents and laws such as the Outline of the 14th Five-Year Plan (2021-2025) for National Economic and Social Development and the Long-Range Objectives Through 2035, the Implementation Opinions on Further Strengthening the Construction of Family, Family Education, and Family Virtues, and the Family Education Promotion Law of the People's Republic of China. However, many of these regulations remain general and broad, lacking the instructive, targeted, and operable specific provisions required for implementation; consequently, "home-school-society" collaborative education often slides into mere formality. To this end, we must "continuously improve our capacity for strategic thinking, historical thinking, dialectical thinking, systems thinking, innovative thinking, rule-of-law thinking, and bottom-line thinking" [16]. Efforts must be focused on perfecting laws, regulations, and policy documents to provide specific and clear stipulations for the institutional, technical, training, and incentive safeguards of collaborative education. By clarifying the specific responsibilities of all parties and the concrete methods of collaboration, we can establish a sound institutional system for collaborative education, using perfected institutional norms to shape a new pattern of mutual cooperation and joint cultivation.
VI. We must maintain a global perspective, firmly grasping the universal significance of the construction of family, family education, and family virtues, and deeply cultivating a sense of home-country identity and a global vision that integrates the "small family" into the "big family."
General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "The Chinese nation has always called for 'the world as one family,' advocated that 'all people are my brothers and all things are my companions' [17], 'harmony among all nations,' and 'Great Harmony under Heaven' [18], and longed for a beautiful world where 'when the Great Way prevails, the world is shared by all' [19]." Strengthening the construction of family, family education, and family virtues in the New Era requires firmly grasping their universal significance and cultivating a sense of home-country identity (jiāguó qínghuái) that integrates the small family into the larger whole. We must guide family members to keep "the top priorities of the nation" [20] in mind, organically unifying love for the Party, the country, and socialism, and consciously acting as pioneers, builders, and strivers on the new journey of Chinese-path modernization. We must broaden the global vision that integrates the small family into the larger whole, guiding family members to actively pay attention to global changes and contribute to the peace and development of human society.
(1) Deeply cultivating a sense of home-country identity that integrates the small family into the larger whole
Chinese civilization has historically emphasized the structural isomorphism of family and state, and the symbiotic relationship between the people and the nation. The veneration of the great righteousness of home and country is a fine tradition of the Chinese nation. From ancient stories like Mother Tao teaching her son [21], Mother Yue tattooing her son's back [22], and Mother Yao testing her son, to revolutionary examples such as Xia Minghan [23] instructing his wife to "kindly nurture our young daughter to continue my legacy," Zhao Yiman writing an emotional farewell letter to her son before her execution saying "educate you with action," and the mother of Huang Xuhua [24] urging her grandchildren to forgive their father for remaining anonymous for thirty years for the sake of the country—behind every moving story of family education and family virtues is a profound sense of home-country identity. On June 8, 2022, during an inspection of the "San Su Shrine" [25] in Meishan, Sichuan, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "We must promote the entire society to focus on the construction of family, family education, and family virtues, encouraging future generations to enhance their home-country identity and strive to grow into talents useful to the country and society."
To deeply cultivate home-country identity in the New Era, first, parents and elders must play an exemplary role through word and deed, keeping "the top priorities of the nation" in mind and actively immersing themselves in the great practice of comprehensively building a modern socialist powerhouse. Second, we must educate and guide children to closely combine personal ideals with social ideals, and personal futures with the national future, aspiring to be the "new era youth" who "possess ideals, dare to take responsibility, can endure hardship, and are willing to struggle," letting their youth bloom brilliantly in the resonance between the personal dream and the Chinese Dream. Third, we must guide children to organically unify love for the Party, the country, and socialism, becoming idealistic strivers and dream-chasers in the New Era.
(2) Broadening the global vision that integrates the small family into the larger whole
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "In this world, the degree of interconnection and interdependence among countries has deepened to an unprecedented level. Humanity lives in the same global village, in the same time and space where history and reality meet, increasingly becoming a community with a shared future where we are part of one another." Cultivating modern talents who possess a global vision, are capable of struggling for national progress, and can contribute wisdom and strength to promoting global harmonious coexistence is an inherent requirement of educational development in the New Era. Family education cannot remain a "bystander" or an "outsider."
In the construction of family, family education, and family virtues in the New Era, we must cultivate children's solid linguistic foundations and strong capacities for critical and innovative thinking. We must guide children to uphold the concepts of "the whole world as one family" and "the world shared by all," actively understanding and integrating into the world. We must guide children to participate in international exchange and cooperation, learning from and borrowing the beneficial experiences and civilizations of all countries. We must guide children to pay attention to the intensifying global ecological crisis, correctly understanding and handling the relationship between man and nature, and consciously practicing green lifestyles. We must guide children to actively follow major global issues such as the digital divide, polarized development, governance failure, environmental pollution, food security, climate change, and viral threats. They should identify with the common values of humanity—peace, development, equity, justice, democracy, and freedom—and consciously shoulder the responsibility and mission of building a community with a shared future for humanity.