Yang Hongyuan: The Methodological Significance of Xi Jinping's Thought on Culture
Culture is the soul of a country and a nation; it is a powerful ideological force for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, General Secretary Xi Jinping has placed propaganda, ideological, and cultural work in an important position within the governance of the state. He has clarified principled positions, cleared up ideological misunderstandings, and defined the path forward regarding numerous fundamental issues of cultural construction. He has proposed a series of original new ideas, viewpoints, and judgments, which are rich and systematic in connotation and profound in discourse, forming Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. As the cultural component of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture provides the fundamental ideological compliance and scientific methodological guidance for us to continue promoting cultural prosperity, building a culturally strong country, and developing a modern civilization for the Chinese nation on the new journey of the New Era, as we earnestly shoulder our new cultural mission.
1. Adhering to the Close Integration of Correct Guiding Ideology and the Primary Political Task
According to the basic principles of dialectical materialism, cognition exerts a counter-action on practice: correct cognition promotes the development of practice, while erroneous cognition hinders it. In the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, whether it be economic, political, cultural, social, or ecological construction, none can proceed without the guidance of correct thought. Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology upon which our Party and country are founded and through which they thrive. History and practice have fully demonstrated to the world why the Communist Party of China "can," and why socialism with Chinese characteristics is "good"; ultimately, it is because Marxism "works," and specifically, because Sinicized and modernized Marxism works. Having the guidance of scientific Marxist theory is the fundamental basis for enhancing our historical consciousness and strengthening our cultural confidence. Since socialism with Chinese characteristics entered the New Era, Chinese Communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their chief representative, have persisted in integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with fine traditional Chinese culture [1]. Starting from new realities and persisting in the application of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, they have provided profound and correct answers to major questions of the times—such as how to adhere to and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, how to build a modern socialist country, and how to build a long-term governing Marxist party—thereby creating Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. Establishing the guiding status of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is of decisive significance for the development of all undertakings of the Party and the state in the New Era, including the cause of propaganda, ideology, and culture.
For a nation to stand at the forefront of the times, it cannot for a moment be without theoretical thinking and ideological guidance. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and particularly Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, China's propaganda, ideological, and cultural undertakings have achieved historic achievements through the processes of "returning to the source and clearing the flow" [2] and upholding the fundamentals and break new ground. The situation in the ideological sphere has undergone an exhaustive and fundamental transformation. In the New Era, the Party's innovative theories have taken deep root in the hearts of the people, socialist core values are widely disseminated, fine traditional Chinese culture has undergone creative transformation and innovative development, cultural undertakings are increasingly prosperous, the internet ecosystem continues to improve, and the cultural confidence of the entire Party and people of all ethnic groups has been markedly strengthened. Their mental outlook is more vigorous and spirited, providing powerful positive energy for adhering to and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics and advancing the building of a strong country and national rejuvenation. On the new journey of the New Era, the accelerating evolution of once-in-a-century changes and the irreversibility of national rejuvenation are intertwined, with strategic opportunities and risks/challenges coexisting. For propaganda, ideological, and cultural work to demonstrate a new look under new circumstances and achieve new accomplishments in new tasks, we must persist in taking Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as our guide and Xi Jinping Thought on Culture as our compliance.
Culture, as the spiritual production activity of humanity and its product, is closely linked with people's economic and political lives. Culture is a reflection of economy and politics, while simultaneously influencing and exerting a counter-action upon them. Persisting in the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to continuously promote the development of our country's propaganda, ideological, and cultural undertakings must be closely integrated with the primary political task of arming the entire Party and educating the people with the Party's innovative theories. Practice is the basis and source of knowledge; as there is no end to the development of practice, there is no end to theoretical innovation. As the theoretical summation of the practical experience of cultural construction led by the Party in the New Era, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is a continuously unfolding and open ideological system that will surely be enriched and developed as practice deepens. We must profoundly grasp the decisive significance of the Two Establishments, strengthen the Four Consciousnesses, firm up the Four Confidences, and achieve the Two Upholds. We must continuously strengthen the study, research, and interpretation of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, profoundly grasp its great significance, rich connotations, and practical requirements, and consciously implement it in all aspects and throughout the entire process of propaganda, ideological, and cultural work, thereby continuously advancing the great process of building a culturally strong country.
2. Clarifying the Basic Principles for Earnestly Shouldering the New Cultural Mission of the New Era
A strong sense of history, a sense of the times, and a commitment to mission are the spiritual qualities of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. On the new journey of the New Era, the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical process and a critical historical juncture. The closer we get to our goal, the more we need to put in more arduous and difficult efforts, the more we need to strengthen the power of the people and invigorate the national spirit, and the more we need to continuously promote cultural confidence and self-strengthening, so as to better grasp historical initiative. Standing at a new historical coordinate, General Secretary Xi Jinping has not only explicitly proposed the new cultural mission of the New Era from the overall and strategic height of the development of the Party and state undertakings, but has also emphasized the methodological principles that should be followed in building a culturally strong country and a modern civilization for the Chinese nation—namely, firming up cultural confidence, upholding openness and inclusiveness, and persisting in upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground—from the perspectives of theory and practice, history and reality, and international and domestic contexts.
Cultural confidence and self-strengthening are related to the rise and fall of national fortunes, cultural security, and the independence of the national spirit. This is because cultural confidence is a more fundamental, extensive, and profound confidence; only with cultural confidence can cultural self-strengthening be achieved. To firm up cultural confidence, in short, means to persist in following one's own path. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The fact that Chinese civilization has lasted for thousands of years without interruption and thrived despite repeated hardships is a miracle of human civilization and the source of our confidence." Therefore, based on the great historical and contemporary practice of the Chinese nation, we must use Chinese logic to summarize Chinese experience and elevate it into Chinese theory. We must resolutely avoid blindly following various dogmas or mechanically copying foreign theories, thereby achieving spiritual independence and autonomy—this constitutes the primary task of firming up cultural confidence. In the process of completing this task, we must also integrate cultural confidence into the spiritual temperament and cultural character of the Chinese nation, comprehensively cultivating an upward-striving national appearance and a rational, peaceful national mentality.
Openness and inclusiveness are both the source of vitality for the development of civilization and a prominent hallmark of cultural confidence. Only by adopting an open posture and an inclusive mind to absorb all that is useful and learn from the strengths of others can a civilization maintain its vigorous vitality. Chinese civilization has been world-renowned for its openness and inclusiveness since ancient times, constantly radiating new vitality through exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations. Civilizations are not superior or inferior; every civilization has its unique value for existence. To uphold openness and inclusiveness means to more actively and proactively absorb and learn from all the outstanding achievements of human civilization. The dual requirements of building a culturally strong country and a modern civilization for the Chinese nation—namely, enhancing the cohesion and appeal of advanced culture internally, and strengthening the dissemination and influence of Chinese civilization externally—dictate that we must resolve the "dispute between the ancient and the modern, the Chinese and the West" [3] that has long troubled us, and form a batch of civilizational achievements that bridge the past and present while integrating China and the West. In this regard, we must persist in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, inherit and develop fine traditional Chinese culture, promote the localization of foreign cultures, and continuously nurture and create socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for the New Era.
For cultural construction, upholding the fundamentals ensures that we do not lose ourselves or our direction and do not make "subversive errors," while breaking new ground is intended to grasp and lead the times. The "fundamentals" (正, zhèng) in "upholding the fundamentals" refers to the inherent stipulations and essential requirements of a thing; the "new" (新, xīn) in "breaking new ground" means the new content and forms of a thing's development. Upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground complement each other in a dialectical unity; the premise and foundation of innovation lie in upholding fundamentals, while the purpose and path of upholding fundamentals lie in innovation. To persist in upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground in cultural inheritance and development means to firmly uphold the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological sphere, uphold the fundamental requirements of the "Two Integrations," and firmly guard the CPC's cultural leadership and the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation. On this basis, under the guidance of Marxism, we must truly "make the past serve the present and foreign things serve China," dialectically selecting what to keep, and weeding through the old to bring forth the new, striving to achieve an organic connection between the traditional and the modern. This requires cultural workers in the New Era to possess the integrity and vigor of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground, continuing the historical cultural lineage while writing the magnificent chapters of the contemporary era.
3. Realizing the Organic Unity of Cultural Theoretical Innovation and the Layout of Cultural Work
The theoretical character of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture lies in the principle of "clarifying the Substance and attaining the Utility" (明体达用, míng tǐ dá yòng) and "integrating the Substance and the Utility" (体用贯通, tǐ yòng guàn tōng). Here, "Substance" (tǐ) refers to the ontological basis or ideological theory, while "Utility" (yòng) means practice and method. The relationship between "Substance" and "Utility" thus elucidated is one of theoretical innovation based on practice and the use of theory to guide practice. Persisting in the Marxist theoretical character of integrating theory with practice, and inheriting the "Substance-Utility" theory [4] which has a long history and profound influence in fine traditional Chinese culture, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture includes both innovative breakthroughs in cultural theoretical viewpoints and deployment requirements in the layout of cultural work. It has a distinct theme, a complete system, rigorous logic, and rich content, realizing the organic unity of cultural theoretical innovation and the layout of cultural work.
Looking at the roadmap and task list for cultural construction in the New Era defined by General Secretary Xi Jinping, the distinct characteristics of clarifying Substance and Utility are fully demonstrated. These include: the creative practice of incorporating cultural confidence into the Four Confidences; the "Nine Persistences" [5] summarizing the internal laws of the Party's propaganda and ideological work; the proposal to persist in the Party's cultural leadership; the elaboration of the "Fourteen Emphases" in cultural construction; the summary of the prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization; the revelation of the great significance of the Two Integrations; the clarification of the new cultural mission and its guiding principles for the New Era; and the definition of the "Seven Focuses" as goal requirements for propaganda, ideological, and cultural work. Furthermore, this is seen in the series of goals and tasks proposed while presiding over work meetings in major fields of cultural construction; the many central meetings held to review and adopt plans and programs for the reform and development of propaganda, ideological, and cultural work; the series of requirements put forward during inspections of various cultural inheritance and development projects across the country; and the series of Chinese positions and solutions regarding global cultural development and civilizational exchange and mutual learning clarified on multiple major international occasions.
Xi Jinping Thought on Culture profoundly answers the major question of what kind of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics to adhere to and develop in the New Era, and how to do so. It enriches and develops Marxist cultural theory and holds landmark significance in the history of the development of the Party's propaganda, ideological, and cultural undertakings. Looking back at the important thoughts, policies, events, and activities in the century-long development of the Party's propaganda, ideological, and cultural cause, the formal proposal and systematic elaboration of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture signify that our Party's understanding of the laws of building socialist culture with Chinese characteristics has reached a new height, and our Party's historical and cultural confidence has reached a new height. It has demonstrated great power in our country's socialist cultural construction, providing a powerful ideological weapon and a scientific guide for action to do a good job in propaganda, ideological, and cultural work on the new journey of the New Era and to shoulder the new cultural mission.
The 20th CPC National Congress drew a grand blueprint for building a modern socialist powerhouse in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts through a Chinese path to modernization. It proposed the goal and task of building China into a culturally strong country and significantly enhancing the country's cultural soft power by 2035. Centering on promoting cultural confidence and self-strengthening and creating new brilliance for socialist culture, the Congress made strategic deployments for: building a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leadership; extensively practicing socialist core values; improving the level of civilization across society; prospering and developing cultural undertakings and industries; and enhancing the dissemination and influence of Chinese civilization. We must center our efforts on studying and implementing Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and the strategic deployments of the 20th CPC National Congress regarding cultural construction. We must earnestly enhance our sense of responsibility and mission for doing a good job in propaganda, ideological, and cultural work on the new journey of the New Era, ensuring that all tasks are effectively implemented. This will better satisfy the people's growing spiritual and cultural needs, provide a strong ideological guarantee, powerful spiritual strength, and favorable cultural conditions for building a modern socialist country in all respects and advancing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation on all fronts, thereby making new and greater contributions to the progress of human civilization.