Wang Jianmin: Current Situation, Problems, and Path Analysis of Youth Moral Construction in the New Era

The Party and the state have always attached great importance to the development of civic morality, particularly that of the youth. The report to the 20th CPC National Congress explicitly proposed: "Implement the program for improving civic morality, promote traditional Chinese virtues, strengthen the development of family, family education, and family values, and strengthen and improve... ideological and moral development. We will encourage people to cultivate great virtue, practice public virtue, and maintain strict personal virtue, so as to improve the moral standard and civilized literacy of the people." To implement the civic morality development program necessitates the joint efforts of every citizen, including the youth. The moral development of the youth is the top priority of socialist civic morality construction. Its key tasks include solidifying the foundation of ideals and convictions, cultivating and practicing the core socialist values, inheriting traditional Chinese virtues, and promoting the national spirit and the spirit of the times. The fulfillment of these tasks is of great significance for inheriting and carrying forward excellent traditional Chinese culture and traditional virtues, leading positive social moral trends, pushing forward civic morality construction—especially among the youth—and promoting the healthy and well-rounded development of young people.

I. Analysis of the Status Quo of Youth Moral Development

This article defines youth according to the age limits in the Middle- and Long-Term Youth Development Plan (2016–2025), i.e., 14–35 years old, roughly encompassing the "post-90s" and "post-00s" generations. They can be divided into two categories: students and those in the workforce. Youth students include high school students, vocational students, and undergraduates, while workforce youth include teachers, civil servants, military personnel, and migrant workers. Socialist morality is a multi-level and multi-domain system of moral norms. It takes serving the people as its core, collectivism as its principle, and is guided by the core socialist values. Its basic requirements are love for the motherland, the people, labor, science, and socialism. Its focus lies in advancing social public ethics, professional ethics, family virtues, and personal integrity. It includes both the overarching themes that run through its history and the content that is constantly enriched and expanded as times change, representing a unity of advanced requirements ^[1] and broad requirements ^[2]. Youth are the hope for the flourishing development of the cause of the Party and the people, and an important force promoting China's social development and progress. Youth moral development refers to a set of behaviors where societal moral regulation and moral education for youth are primary, while the youth's own moral cultivation serves as the root. It aims to shape the positive moral character and values of young people and improve their moral quality and sense of social public duty. The moral development of youth is an important foundation for the progress of social civilization and harmonious development; it is specifically manifested in the youth's moral cognition, emotion, will, and behavior regarding socialist morality. Strengthening youth moral development helps young people achieve the unity of knowledge and action (zhi xing he yi) ^[3], promoting their well-rounded development. It also helps improve the overall moral state of society and promotes the development of civic morality in the New Era.

The overall trend of contemporary youth moral development is positive. "The ideological and political outlook of the youth is generally healthy and upwardly mobile; they support the leadership of the Communist Party of China and are full of confidence in the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics... The level of civilization among the youth group is constantly improving... They are realizing their own growth and development in the process of serving the country, serving the people, and contributing to society." "Looking back over a hundred years, no matter how the winds and clouds changed or how the world was transformed (cang hai sang tian) ^[4], the sincere pursuit of Chinese youth to love the Party, the country, and the people has remained unchanged. Their loyal original aspiration to firmly listen to the Party and follow the Party has never wavered." Not only do they struggle and contribute in ordinary positions, but they "are always able to step forward when the country and the people are in need, consciously taking up responsibility, sacrificing selflessly, and moving forward fearlessly, demonstrating the drive, vigor, and sense of responsibility that the younger generation should have." "Whether in towns or villages, enterprises or schools, youth consciously and closely integrate correct moral cognition, conscious moral cultivation, and active moral practice. They take the lead in advocating for upward and outward social trends and shaping a new civilization outlook," becoming practitioners and promoters of the core socialist values. In the New Era, a large number of youth role models have emerged, such as the heroes who sacrificed their young lives in flood relief, Huang Wenxiu ^[5] who dedicated her youth and life to the grassroots, and Zhou Chengyu, the highly skilled commander at the Wenchang Spacecraft Launch Site. They have made significant contributions to the country. This is specifically reflected in four aspects of youth socialist morality: moral cognition, moral emotion, moral will, and moral behavior.

1. Moral Cognition The cognition and recognition by youth of the principle of collectivism, core socialist values, and social public ethics within socialist morality are generally in good condition. Although contemporary youth are more pursuit-oriented regarding equality and individuality, they still follow and recognize the principle of collectivism. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, the active advocacy and cultivation of core socialist values throughout society have resulted in a significantly higher level of cognition of these values among youth groups—particularly civil servants and students—compared to other social groups. Furthermore, the student group's cognition of social public ethics, such as finding joy in helping others, protecting the environment, and acting bravely for a just cause (jian yi yong wei) ^[6], is also generally good.

2. Moral Emotion The socialist moral emotions of youth are rich and generally positive. With the continuous development and improvement of socialist construction, the advantages of the socialist system have become increasingly prominent. China's achievements have caused the socialist moral emotions of the youth to continuously sublimate, with collectivism taking root in people's hearts, patriotic sentiment running high, and a stronger sense of mutual aid, unity, and dedication. Particularly, the rise of "patriotic youth" in the New Era has become a striking phenomenon, "constantly demonstrating a clear patriotic spiritual disposition," which has greatly improved the youth's emotional identification with socialist morality. The expression of patriotic emotion among youth has become more normalized; in cyberspace, they often spontaneously launch patriotic actions. Terms such as "motherland," "China," "respect," and "pride" have become high-frequency words in "bullet chats" (danmu) ^[7], expressing the pride and praise youth feel for the country's strength, as well as the resulting sense of peace and trust.

3. Moral Will The socialist moral will of youth shows a trend of gradual improvement. In real life, most young people maintain a positive attitude toward their future moral life. Faced with immoral social phenomena such as "scams" (peng ci) ^[8], dishonesty, and corruption, they still maintain a firm socialist moral will, consciously, decisively, and kindly caring for others. From the young doctor who knelt to save a person in a subway station, to the "post-00s" university student who donated bone marrow, to the delivery rider who saved someone during his rounds, to the "post-90s" worker who climbed six floors with bare hands to save a child from a fire—all these show that young people are not influenced by certain negative moral trends in society. They help others and sacrifice themselves without hesitation to achieve their moral goals.

4. Moral Behavior Youth demonstrate their moral strength through practical actions. Most young people abide by moral norms, hold fast to moral bottom lines, understand the value and significance of their moral behavior, and actively participate in moral practice. Currently, a large number of young people have responded to the call of the Party and the state to take root in poverty-stricken mountainous areas to boost agricultural and rural development; they have rushed to youth-oriented development cities to be more productive in urban construction; and they have thrown themselves into key fields, struggling hard in sectors such as aerospace and healthcare. Even in ordinary positions, young people participate in volunteer services and online/offline public welfare activities, helping vulnerable groups, speaking out for those in need, pursuing fairness and justice, and using what they have learned to give back to society and contribute to others. "By the end of 2021, the number of registered volunteers aged 14 to 35 in the national volunteer service information system exceeded 90 million... The Graduate School Volunteer Teaching Group of the China Youth Volunteer Poverty Alleviation Relay Program and the 'Western Program' for university student volunteer service have dispatched more than 410,000 graduate and undergraduate students over 18 consecutive years to more than 2,100 counties (cities, districts, and banners) in central and western China to carry out volunteer services such as poverty alleviation, teaching, and medical care."

II. Current Problems in Youth Moral Development

While the overall status of youth moral development is good, many problems still exist when compared with the higher moral requirements and expectations for youth in the New Era.

1. Some youth lack profound rational cognition of socialist morality Some young people's understanding of the content of socialist morality remains insufficiently deep; it stays at a superficial level of concepts, making it difficult for them to truly identify with socialist morality. Some are unclear about the value of socialist morality. Seeing the inflation of private desires and the frequent occurrence of immoral incidents under the conditions of a socialist market economy, they have begun to identify with the "theory of moral uselessness" or "economic determinism." They deny the regulatory role of socialist morality on social conditions, believing it is not too late to build socialist morality once the economy is highly developed, ignoring the significance of socialist morality for the healthy development of the socialist market economy and the moral achievements already gained. In socialist morality, advanced requirements and broad requirements coexist. Advanced requirements are higher standards for advanced individuals and groups such as leading officials and Party members, while broad requirements apply to everyone. Some young people blindly use advanced requirements to measure every individual; when these requirements do not match reality, they doubt the practical significance of socialist morality. Some youth's understanding of the value of socialist morality remains at the stage of perceptual rather than rational cognition.

2. Insufficient sublimation of socialist moral emotions among some youth First, the development of socialist moral emotions among youth is unbalanced. Currently, differences exist in these emotions across different emotional factors and social groups, which is unfavorable for the sublimation of these emotions. For example, regarding the sense of fairness, youth have the lowest sense of fairness regarding wealth and income distribution, but the highest regarding the National College Entrance Examination (Gaokao) system. Regarding the sense of security, they have the highest sense of security regarding personal and family property, but the lowest regarding food safety. Regarding the sense of family responsibility, personnel in administrative or public institutions generally perform better than freelancers, corporate employees, or migrant workers. This emotional imbalance makes it difficult for some young people's socialist moral emotions to be sublimated and fully developed.

Second, there are negative factors in youth's socialist moral emotions. For one, some young people ignore historical facts and use subjective moral emotions to deconstruct the authority and value of socialist morality. Some are keen on anecdotes about figures from the Republican Era (1912–1949), praising the elite culture of that period while ignoring the plight of the people at the time. To "chase stars" (celebrity worship), some use national suffering and national humiliation as "memes" (gen) ^[9], trampling on moral bottom lines. Patriotism is the greatest morality; history must not be desecrated. National heroes are the embodiment of national moral ideals and the national spirit, serving as moral role models for the whole of society. The slandering of national heroes dissolves the socialist moral emotions of the public. Additionally, some blindly worship Western moral culture. Liberalism, individualism, and egoism promoted in Western moral culture clash with socialist moral concepts. Under the influence of pluralistic moral values—and particularly the promotion of Western cultural hegemony—some youth lack rationality when dealing with Western moral culture. They fail to adopt a dialectical learning attitude, instead copying Western standards blindly. For example, under the erosion of cultural products like Hollywood blockbusters, Japanese anime, and Korean dramas, some believe Chinese moral culture is inferior to Western moral culture, or even maliciously disparage Chinese culture to elevate the West. Any behavior that deviates from the socialist moral position or belittles one's own moral culture is a violation of socialist moral emotion.

3. Wavering and unstable socialist moral will among some youth First, the consciousness of socialist moral will is insufficient. A firm socialist moral will requires youth to consciously take the realization of socialist moral goals as the motivation for their moral behavior. However, the moral motivation of some youth has become utilitarian—seeking to maximize personal interest, gain honors, or perfect their personal moral image. For instance, some youth participate in volunteer activities for utilitarian purposes rather than out of a conscious practice of socialist morality. Some set finding a good job and a high income as their sole goals while ignoring their social responsibilities. Some civil servants enter the system only because of stable income, high social status, or bright prospects, rather than truly serving the people. Among new-generation migrant workers, the majority take "earning enough money for a better life for themselves and their families" as their life goal. Consequently, the consciousness of youth in firming up their socialist moral will still needs improvement.

Second, there is a lack of decisiveness in socialist moral will. One issue is hesitation in moral choices. Influenced by negative factors such as "scams" and "extortion," some youth fear that their moral actions will damage their own interests. They are unwilling to take risks and thus hesitate on the "to help or not to help" ^[10] dilemma. Another issue is making rash decisions on moral positions. Some social events are hyped up online, and their right or wrong often cannot be judged based on fragmentary information, with reversals often occurring later. Yet, some youth blindly follow public opinion, echoing others without questioning the facts and changing their positions at will. This reflects a lack of willpower to make and stick to moral choices based on socialist moral principles.

Third, the tenacity of socialist moral will is insufficient. Some youths lack the steadfast tenacity of socialist moral will; when making moral choices or engaging in conduct, they are influenced by subjective and objective factors—such as personal interests, social realities, or obstacles encountered in moral practice—leading to a vacillating psychology that prioritizes personal gains and losses. Some youths employ "double standards" in moral judgment: on the one hand, they detest corruption and the abuse of private power, yet on the other, they hope that they, their relatives, or their friends might benefit from such practices. The moral choices of some youths are easily swayed by others, and their socialist moral behavior lacks consistency.

Fourth, the self-control of socialist moral will is inadequate. Some individuals have allowed patriotic sentiments to develop into extreme nationalism; some youths abuse the internet to spread rumors or publish improper remarks. Without understanding the full context of incidents appearing online—such as child abuse, rape, or domestic violence—some youths react excessively and carry out cyber-violence. Certain youths are overly sensitive and impulsive, lacking the self-control to regulate their own moral emotions and behaviors using socialist moral norms, making it difficult for them to maintain a stable psychological and behavioral state.

4. Ineffective practice of socialist moral behavior among some youths

First, there is a lack of self-awareness in practicing socialist morality. This manifests as some youths blindly and erroneously believing their moral conduct conforms to socialist morality during the process of practice, with some even neglecting moral boundaries and bottom lines. This reflects a lack of self-awareness in using socialist morality to reflect upon one's own conduct. In specific moral situations, some youths do not know whether their behavior meets socialist moral standards, falling into a perplexed state of not knowing what to do. In real life, an overemphasis on competition leads to the neglect of mutual assistance and common progress in study and work. Under extreme competitive pressure, some youths merely wish to be "Buddhist-style youth" ^[11] and live a life of "lying flat" ^[12], which demonstrates insufficient self-awareness regarding their own socialist moral behavior.

Second, there is a lack of autonomy in practicing socialist morality. Adopting the attitude that "if it doesn't concern me, I’ll leave it alone," they turn a blind eye to moral anomie, resulting in moral apathy. Some students have a weak awareness of resource waste, ignoring phenomena like "lights left on all day and water running constantly." Highly individualized moral psychology and behavior lead some young people to focus only on their own morality; as long as their own behavior is moral, the morality of others is irrelevant to them. They believe that even if they stop immoral behavior, the perpetrator will not change their ideological concepts or behavioral habits. Consequently, when they see someone cutting in line or damaging public property, they choose not to speak up or intervene. This lack of moral action, manifesting as "civilized indifference," deeply reflects a lack of autonomy in practicing socialist morality among some youths.

Third, there is a lack of self-discipline in practicing socialist morality. Youths should abide by socialist moral norms and, even when unsupervised, remain capable of excluding interference from subjective and objective factors to exercise self-restraint and self-management over their moral conduct. Some young people lack moral self-discipline in cyberspace, becoming addicted to online games, browsing harmful information, or posting uncivilized remarks. There are even instances of online infringement, excessive "tipping" ^[13] on livestreams, and cyber-violence. These phenomena of online anomie violate the social public ethics of the internet within socialist morality.

III. Analysis of Paths for Strengthening Youth Moral Construction

The problems existing in the process of youth moral construction—namely insufficient rational moral understanding, inadequate emotional sublimation, weak and vacillating will, and ineffective behavioral practice—are primarily rooted in fragile ideals and convictions, deficiencies in school moral education, the absence of family education, the influence of negative factors in the social environment, and the need to improve the moral literacy of youths themselves. To achieve the unity of "knowledge, emotion, will, and practice" ^[14] in youth moral construction, the following paths must be steadfastly followed.

1. Taking Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era as the guide

As contemporary Chinese Marxism and 21st-century Marxism, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the inheritance and development of Marxism-Leninism, Mao Zedong Thought, Deng Xiaoping Theory, the Theory of Three Represents, and the Scientific Outlook on Development. It is the latest achievement in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, the crystallization of the practical experience and collective wisdom of the Party and the people, and the guiding ideology that the Party and the state must adhere to over the long term. Naturally, it is the guiding ideology that must be upheld in youth moral construction in the New Era.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: "Chinese youth in the New Era must consciously establish and practice the socialist core values, be adept at drawing moral nourishment from the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation, feel the moral style of heroes and role models of the times, and improve moral cultivation through self-reflection. They should clarify 'great virtue' (political morality), observe 'public virtue' (social ethics), and strictly maintain 'private virtue' (personal character), and consciously resist erroneous ideas such as money worship, hedonism, extreme individualism, and historical nihilism." He further noted: "They must take national prosperity and the people's happiness as their own responsibility, cherish ideals, aim high, devote themselves to the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and struggle for it throughout their lives"; "They must strengthen their ideological and moral cultivation, consciously carry forward the spirit of patriotism and collectivism, and consciously abide by social public ethics, professional ethics, and family virtues"; "They must closely integrate correct moral cognition with conscious moral cultivation and active moral practice... taking the lead in advocating for a positive social atmosphere"; "Traditional Chinese family virtues—such as honoring the elderly and caring for the young, virtuous wives and peaceful husbands, maternal kindness and filial children, fraternal affection, passing down the tradition of farming and study, managing the household with diligence and thrift, being well-read and well-mannered, and being law-abiding—along with the idea that 'a harmonious family brings prosperity to all,' are inscribed in the hearts of the Chinese people and integrated into their blood. They are the important spiritual force supporting the continuous growth and heritage of the Chinese nation and are valuable spiritual assets for the construction of family civilization." These important expositions have pointed the way for youth moral construction. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, formally proposed at the National Conference on Public Communication and Cultural Work in October 2023, emphasizes not only "cultivating people through culture" but also "fostering virtue through education" (lider shuren). This includes cultivating and practicing socialist core values and leading the younger generation to correctly understand, inherit, and develop culture. This has a stronger, more direct, and more targeted relevance to youth moral construction. It advocates regarding core values as the soul of cultural soft power and the focus of cultural soft power construction. It maintains that we should base ourselves on fine traditional Chinese culture and integrate the cultivation and promotion of socialist core values into all aspects of social life. This further clarifies the orientation of youth moral construction in the New Era; it must be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era.

2. Taking the adherence to Party leadership as the prerequisite

Only by adhering to the leadership of the Party can the moral construction of citizens, including youth, ensure the correct direction and promote the comprehensive development of various undertakings of socialism with Chinese characteristics. History has proved that only the Communist Party of China (CPC) can lead the people of the whole country to achieve national independence, people's liberation, national unity, social stability, and the people's happiness. From a broad perspective, citizen moral construction belongs to ideological work. Ideological work is an extremely important task for the Party; the Party must firmly grasp the leadership of ideological work and consolidate the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field. In the New Era, as the CPC faces a more complex domestic and international situation, it needs all the more to strengthen its dominance over ideology and proactively improve its leadership and dominant capacity in ideological work. Youth moral construction in the New Era aims to mobilize and lead young people to resolutely uphold and realize the Party's leadership in their thinking, including the Party's leadership over ideological work such as citizen moral construction. This is a specific requirement of the Party's leadership in the ideological and socio-political education fields. Through ideological guidance and value orientation for youth, they are encouraged to read Marxist classics closely, master the core of the scientific theoretical system of Marxism, and consciously maintain a high degree of consistency with the Party Central Committee in thought, politics, and action, thereby fulfilling the new missions and tasks of youth moral construction in the context of the New Era.

Only by adhering to the leadership of the Party can we establish the core concept of citizen moral construction—serving the people. The Party's fundamental political stance is the people-centered stance, and serving the people is the core of moral construction. Putting the people first is a moral belief and an important force promoting social progress and human civilization. Only by adhering to the leadership of the Party can we stand firm on the people-centered position and uphold the moral belief of putting the people first. Serving the people is not only the great practice of the CPC in combining the basic principles of Marxism with the specific reality of China's revolution, construction, and reform, but also the fundamental purpose of the CPC and the concentrated expression of socialist morality. It is the moral requirement followed by all citizens. The mission of Chinese youth in the New Era is to stay under the leadership of the CPC, work with the people, hone their moral cultivation, actively embrace the New Era, and strive within the New Era. This allows their youth to shine more brilliantly through serving the people and dedicating themselves to the motherland, the nation, and humanity.

3. Taking family education as the support

Moral education is the top priority of family education. "Family education involves many aspects, but the most important is character education—education on how to be a person." "Only when families are harmonious, family education is good, and the family style is upright can children grow up healthily and society develop healthily." "All families should emphasize teaching by word and by example, teaching knowledge while cultivating character," guiding "family members, especially the next generation, to love the Party, the motherland, the people, and the Chinese nation." Importance must be attached to the construction of "family style" (jiafeng). "Family style is the spiritual core of a family and a microcosm of a society's values; a good family style and family virtues are the direct manifestation of socialist core values in real life." "If the family style is good, the family line will flourish and be harmonious." "If the family style of tens of millions of families is good and children are well-educated, there will be a foundation for a good social atmosphere." "The family style of leading officials concerns not only their own families but also the style of the Party and the government." "We must guide women to lead family members in carrying forward traditional Chinese virtues such as honoring the elderly and caring for the young, equality between men and women, marital harmony, diligence and thrift in managing the household, and neighborhood unity, while resisting unhealthy tendencies and promoting integrity." "We should educate women to carry forward the fine traditions of the Chinese nation—hard work and self-improvement—and to establish a correct world outlook, outlook on life, and values. They must never pursue luxurious enjoyment or ill-gotten wealth. They should consciously resist decadent lifestyles and resolutely oppose money worship, hedonism, extreme individualism, and social evils like feudal superstition, pornography, gambling, and drugs. They should pursue an active, civilized, and noble life and promote a good social atmosphere." Adolescents must be educated and guided to "consciously assume family responsibilities and establish a good family style." "In cultivating a good family style, the older generation of revolutionaries set an example for us. Every leading official must place family style construction in an important position, cultivate themselves with integrity, manage their families with integrity, and, while managing themselves well, set strict demands for their spouses, children, and the staff around them." Through family education and the construction of family style, we can nurture the moral character of adolescents, advocate modern concepts of family civilization, and promote a new socialist trend of family civilization characterized by love for the country and family, mutual affection, upward progress and kindness, and joint construction and sharing.

4. Taking school education as the main channel

First, we must enrich and expand the content of education, integrating the fundamental task of "fostering virtue through education" (lider shuren) throughout the entire process of school education. The work of strengthening students' ideological and moral construction should be placed on an equal or even more important footing than academic performance.

One aspect is to take ideals and convictions as the core educational content to guide students toward "great virtue" (ming dade). Schools must take the establishment of a Marxist world outlook and methodology, the mastery of the scientific and truthful nature of Marxist theory, the pursuit of the lofty ideal of communism as a lifelong goal, the realization of the Chinese Dream through the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the strengthening of confidence in reform and opening up and socialist modernization, and the adherence to the leadership of the CPC as the main content of education in ideals and convictions. Students should be educated to understand and master basic Marxist theory, especially Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. They should learn the stands, viewpoints, and methods of Marxism. Schools should guide students to strive and help them overcome difficulties to ensure the socialist direction of youth moral construction. Meanwhile, they should systematically critique Western moral culture to strengthen the socialist moral position of the youth.

Second, social morality [公德] should be cultivated by using content such as civil etiquette, helping others, caring for public property, protecting the environment, and observing the law as educational materials. Social morality is the hallmark of a nation’s progress. Through education in social morality, schools guide students to affirm, maintain, and promote all thoughts and behaviors that benefit or assist the survival, development, and improvement of society and the individual. Conversely, they should guide students to negate, restrain, and block all thoughts and behaviors that hinder or harm such development. This educates and encourages students to abandon evil for good, to uphold righteousness and dispel corruption [扶正祛邪], to strengthen their awareness of social morality, and to maintain the order of public life.

Third, private morality [私德] should be strictly cultivated by using content such as filial piety, fraternal duty, loyalty, and trustworthiness; a sense of ritual, righteousness, integrity, and shame; the benevolence of "the man of humanity loves others" [仁者爱人]; being kind to others; tireless self-improvement; and patriotism and honesty. Students should be educated to draw moral nourishment from these sources, ensuring they "make the past serve the present" [古为今用] and "weed through the old to bring forth the new" [推陈出新] ^[15]. They should inherit these traditions selectively, shedding the dross and keeping the essence, to achieve the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional Chinese virtues. Students should be guided to integrate moral discourse, respect, and observance into their daily lives, transforming these into patterns of behavior and habits. Through this, they can sense the affinity, cohesion, and regulatory power of morality, thereby enhancing their capacity for value judgment and their sense of moral responsibility.

Fourth, efforts must be focused on strengthening education regarding the Comprehensive National Security Outlook. Relevant "National Security Education" courses should be incorporated into the teaching system of ideological and political theory courses. This will enhance students' ability to consciously resist any acts that endanger national security—such as conspiratorial subversion of the government, splitting the state, or overthrowing the socialist system—thereby ensuring the protection of the achievements of our modernization construction and the long-term peace and stability of the country.

Second, we must "innovate the methods and means of ideological and political work" ^[16] and give full play to the subjective initiative of young students. In the ideological and moral development of youth, besides mobilizing methods such as active study, exemplary role models, and practical cultivation, the following points should be emphasized. First, education should be carried out in the form of specific themes. Different themes can be established to provide focused education. Education themed on promoting the spirit of patriotism can guide students to closely integrate the realization of their personal ideals with the future of the country and the destiny of the nation. It fosters an awareness of potential crises regarding the nation's future, a sense of dedication to national progress, and a commitment to defending national interests and security, leading them to view all duties and responsibilities to the state as their natural vocation. Education themed on traditional culture allows students to rationally understand traditional culture, affirm its core ideas and values, and maintain a proactive emotional connection to fine traditional culture. Finally, education themed on Red culture and Red family traditions ^[17] allows students to draw wisdom and strength from excellent Red resources. This comprehensively enhances their ability to resist the historical nihilism trend of thought ^[18] and to devote themselves to practice, ensuring that the Red territory [红色江山] has successors. Second, we must discover moral resources and stimulate the positive influence of role models. The thoughts and actions of moral models can inspire people to continuously strive for upward and outward goodness; they serve as examples to be revered and imitated. Moral role models are advanced figures who are visible and tangible to students—benchmarks who can be studied and emulated. They interpret the connotation of morality and demonstrate its power through their selfless actions. Young students should start from their immediate surroundings and small matters, learning from and aligning themselves with these figures.

Third, the overall development of the educator workforce must be strengthened. First, teachers of professional courses must solidify their theoretical foundation and strengthen their capacity for social practice. While strengthening theoretical study, schools should gradually increase the weight of social practice in the evaluation of ideological and political theory teachers. Schools should actively provide these teachers with opportunities to gain a deep understanding of national and local conditions [国情民情] and to participate in temporary social postings [挂职锻炼] ^[19]. This will enhance their social practice capabilities. On the basis of combining theory with practice, they should be rigorous in scholarship, dedicated to their posts, and serve as models for their students. They should guide students to properly handle the relationship between the individual and the collective, and between the part and the whole, enhancing team awareness and the ability to consider the big picture. Additionally, attention should be paid to optimizing the structure of the teaching staff by selecting ideological and political teachers from those with social work experience, ensuring that "the educators are themselves first educated." Second, the subjective responsibility of school Party committees in the realm of ideology must be strengthened. Relevant school assessment mechanisms should be improved, and the allocation of personnel with backgrounds in Marxist theory within Party and government leadership teams should be increased. This ensures that a certain proportion of members who truly understand Marxist theory can exert influence within the leadership. Third, investment in funding for moral construction should be increased to ensure that basic funds for research projects, discipline development, and team building are not misappropriated. This ensures that schools can attract and retain talent to strengthen ideological and moral development work. Furthermore, every effort must be made to improve the status of ideological and political teachers. Provided that their basic compensation is not lower than that of other teachers, those who make outstanding contributions to teaching and research should be rewarded to better leverage their guiding and exemplary roles in the moral development of youth.

5. Taking a Good Social Environment as the Soil

First, the online ecological environment must be further purified. Adolescents are still in a period where their mental development is incomplete and are easily guided or swayed by various opinions. Illegal and non-compliant behaviors that harm youth, such as cybervialence, online fraud, and the dissemination of pornography, must be dealt with severely. We must approach this from multiple levels—moral, legal, regulatory, and technological—while involving multiple subjects including the government, organizations, platforms, enterprises, and individuals in collaborative governance. The primary responsibility for network security must be strictly implemented. Extreme opinions in overseas media must be reported selectively, and public opinion should be guided toward promoting patriotic propaganda and social development. This will create a warm, harmonious, positive, and orderly online environment that transmits socialist positive energy to the youth. Additionally, importance should be attached to strengthening community education. The community is essential soil for the mental health education of youth. The communities where young people live should provide comprehensive care for their healthy physical and mental growth. They should not only provide a sound environment and sufficient activity facilities but also serve as a beneficial extension of family and school education.

Second, good moral behavior should be demonstrated through social practice. "The Dao cannot be discussed sitting down; virtue cannot be talked about in a vacuum." For youth, the key to understanding, knowing, and establishing virtue lies in practicing virtue. Guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, youth must follow the requirements of moral norms such as social morality, professional ethics, family virtues, and personal character. In social practice, they should stimulate moral awareness, cultivate moral sentiments, establish moral ideals, learn moral norms, form moral habits, and improve moral evaluation. They should do their work solidly and be upright people. Only by consciously transforming fine moral qualities into practical actions in social practice—demonstrating good moral behavior in concrete and subtle ways—can the moral quality of youth be effectively elevated.

Third, the construction of "fortress" platforms [阵地平台] ^[20] must be strengthened. Focus should be placed on building educational bases such as Party-building theme parks, various libraries, science and technology museums, and Party history museums, continuously increasing the elements of ideological and moral education for youth. Volunteer service activities should be carried out in depth, and the construction of Red education fortresses should be continuously strengthened. Using major holidays and various forms, we should publicize major events, important battles, and key figures in Party history. This allows youth to receive education in revolutionary traditions through subtle influence [潜移默化], inheriting the Red gene and continuing the Red bloodline. Full use should be made of WeChat public platforms and other media to solidy the study and use of newspapers and periodicals, continuously expanding awareness and participation. Extensive publicity should be conducted to strive for a strong atmosphere where the whole of society cares for and loves youth, and all citizens participate in and support the strengthening of ideological and moral development.

6. Taking an Improved Moral Construction Mechanism as the Guarantee

First, the mechanism for the integration of the rule of law and the rule of virtue [法治与德治] ^[21] must be perfected. Both law and morality are normative systems with a degree of binding force. The rule of law emphasizes external restraint [他律] and is characterized by its compulsory and deterrent nature, which can stabilize the world [安天下]. The rule of virtue emphasizes self-discipline [自律] and is characterized by its regulatory and persuasive nature, which can nourish people's hearts [润人心]. The implementation of law cannot do without moral support, and the practice of morality depends on legal constraints. In the process of promoting the moral development of youth, it is far from enough to rely solely on the infusion of moral content; we must also leverage the protective role of the rule of law to solve prominent problems in the moral sphere. During the legislative process, certain moral norms can be elevated to legal norms, and the implementation of law can then reflect moral concepts and requirements. Simultaneously, the supporting role of morality for the rule of law must be utilized to achieve "good law and good governance." Morality is a significant basis for formulating laws, providing the evaluative criteria for legal legitimacy and moral support for legal implementation. Therefore, the moral development of youth must highlight the connotations of the rule of law, molding the legal faith, legal concepts, and rule-consciousness of youth. It should guide them to distinguish right from wrong and understand honor and shame, nourishing the spirit of the rule of law with moral ethics. This will create a cultural atmosphere throughout society conducive to the implementation of law, eventually achieving the goal of the rule of law and the rule of virtue complementing and enhancing one another.

Second, the moral reward and punishment mechanism should be improved. the optimization of youth moral development and the perfection of national policy systems are dialectically unified. The country's routes, principles, and policies are interconnected with social moral trends. This requires us to continuously deepen the reform and improvement of relevant systems, fully reflecting the superiority of China's national political system in the field of youth moral development. This will optimize the environment for moral construction and ensure social harmony and stability. For example, social mechanisms for moral role models—such as those who act bravely for a just cause [见义勇为]—should be perfected, including regulations for rewards, punishments, and official recognition. This lays a solid institutional foundation for a noble moral atmosphere. Regarding the prominent issue of the lack of integrity, in addition to establishing a social credit system covering the entire society, relevant state departments must improve reward mechanisms for law-abiding integrity and punishment mechanisms for illegal acts of dishonesty. This will forcefully punish behaviors that lack or degrade morality or break the "bottom line," forming a social atmosphere that upholds righteousness and punishes evil. This ensures that people "dare not and cannot" lose their integrity, promoting a good atmosphere of honesty and trustworthiness throughout society.

Third, the supervision mechanism must be strengthened. To strengthen the moral development of youth, we must leverage the roles of public opinion supervision, social supervision, and institutional supervision. Supervision by public opinion involves praise or criticism of youth's words and deeds by all sectors of society and the masses, as well as discussions and evaluations among youth themselves. Social supervision is characterized by its breadth, mass nature, and objectivity; we should establish restrictive mechanisms such as complaint systems for moral failings to complement social supervision. Various moral rules, regulations, and codes of conduct are formulated based on moral principles; reflecting moral requirements in institutional forms makes it easier for youth to accept supervision. Self-supervision is a vital aspect of moral supervision and an important way for youth to engage in self-discipline and self-reflection, exercising their subjective initiative to strengthen their self-cultivation. These supervision methods must exert a real supervisory role in the moral development of youth, avoiding the phenomenon of supervision becoming merely slogans or words on paper that are difficult to implement. Moral issues that concern youth and thoughts or behaviors detrimental to socialist morality must be resolved promptly through legal and institutional means. Advanced models should be encouraged, and defenders of civilized trends should be publicized. Only in this way can the harmonious and orderly development of citizen moral construction, including that of youth, be realized.

7. Taking the Moral Self-Cultivation of Youth as the Fundamental

First, youth must understand Great Virtue [明大德] and achieve the unity of virtue and action. First, they must work hard on "understanding the principles" [明理]. Youth should arm their minds with Marxist theory and Xi Jinping's culture thought. They should deeply recognize the institutional advantages of the national "chessboard" [一盘棋] ^[22] and the principle of the "people centeredness" [人民至上]. They must improve their ability to distinguish right from wrong and understand "why the CPC can, why socialism with Chinese characteristics is good, and why Marxism works" ^[23]. They should persist in the unity of knowledge and action, promoting action through knowledge, to improve their moral quality and scientific and cultural levels. They should grasp the meaning of morality through consciously striving to serve the motherland and the people. Second, they must work hard on "studying history." Promoting traditional Chinese virtues is a crucial strategic task at present. Excellent traditional Chinese culture is the cultural foundation and important source for citizen moral construction in the New Era. Youth moral development must absorb the rich ideological resources of traditional culture and promote its creative transformation and innovative development. By studying the history of the Party, the history of New China, the history of reform and opening up, and the history of socialist development, youth will solidify their "Four Confidences" ^[24], inherit and carry forward the "May Fourth Spirit," and become the youth of the New Era capable of shouldering the heavy responsibility of national rejuvenation. Third, they must work hard on "focusing on an international perspective." Youth should perceive morality through mutual assistance and win-win cooperation. Amidst the agitation of different thoughts and cultures and the mutual learning between civilizations, they should continuously enhance moral qualities such as being a good neighbor and caring for the "family-under-heaven" [家国天下]. They should establish a world vision, enhance awareness of cooperation, and persist in combining patriotism, the spirit of innovation, and a global outlook. By achieving the unity of knowledge, feeling, will, and action, they can advance with the world's progress and develop with the world's trends, jointly creating a beautiful future for human society.

Second, youth must serve as role models in upholding public morality (gongde). They must firmly maintain the baseline of "public morality," think from the perspective of the masses, address the urgent needs of the masses, and elevate their political standing and work capabilities through wholehearted service to the people. In social public life, they should practice civility and politeness, and consciously eliminate bad habits such as using profanity, groundless suspicion, or deceiving others. When someone requires assistance or relief, they should proactively extend a helping hand. They must care for public property, pay attention to public hygiene, and protect the living environment. They should consciously improve their legal awareness, strengthen their sense of discipline, and use the law and regulations to guide and restrain their behavior, performing their legal obligations voluntarily and daring to use legal weapons to struggle against various violations of law and discipline. Furthermore, youth should take moral role models as their examples, learning from their fearless spirit of acting bravely for a just cause ^[25] and taking up responsibilities, their noble sentiment of being happy to help others and caring for people, their lofty character of treating people with sincerity and keeping promises, their professional ethics of loving their work and acting with diligence, and the exquisite true emotion of loving and honoring the elderly and showing filial piety to elders. They should strive to be moral practitioners of the New Era who "emulate those of superior character and aspire toward goodness" ^[26].

Third, youth must be models of strict personal morality (side). First, they must be filial to their parents. Since "filial piety is the first among a hundred virtues" ^[27], it represents the most basic, profound, and enduring cultural core of the Chinese nation, as well as an individual’s most natural, simple, and direct emotion. This involves doing one’s best to satisfy parents' material needs, ensuring their spiritual happiness and joy, striving to realize the expectations parents have for us, and doing everything possible to help them escape the suffering of illness when they are sick. Second, they must practice self-discipline. Kant believed that self-discipline is "man legislating for himself"—that is, exercising self-restraint and self-control even when no one is supervising. One must eliminate selfish and distracting thoughts from the heart and redirect primary energy toward the investigation of relevant knowledge and toward corrected humanistic concern. One must achieve "caution in solitude" (shendu), caution in the beginning, caution in the minute, and caution in desires ^[28], thereby cultivating and improving the awareness and ability for self-restraint and self-control. Third, they must cultivate their character (xiushen). They must persist in strengthening their cultivation through small matters and minor details, perfecting themselves bit by bit. Starting with valuing their own character, they should always refrain from indulgence, from straying off track, and from overstepping boundaries ^[29], establishing a correct worldview, outlook on life, and system of values. They should deeply reflect on the relationship between humanity and nature, and between the individual and society; properly manage their social circles, circles of acquaintances, and entertainment circles; balance character cultivation with "heart cultivation" (xiuxin); and seek happiness for their families while sending warmth to others.

Fourth, youth must act as the main force in propagating and promoting civic morality, becoming active inheritors of the traditional virtues of the Chinese nation and active disseminators of positive social energy. "Whether in the past, present, or future, Chinese youth have always been the vanguard force for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." As the broad masses of youth are closely connected with the general public, they can utilize their affinity and cohesive power in the implementation of civic morality construction projects. Targeting different groups, they can categorize and stratify their approach, innovate new forms of propaganda and education, and carry out civic moral services and promotion with specific focus points to actively foster civic moral consciousness. Specifically, this involves launching activities to bring moral culture to the grassroots, leading the way in learning and promoting excellent virtues; leveraging the intellectual advantages of youth and the role of youth volunteers to focus on social hotspots and moral issues of general concern to the people; telling the stories of civic morality construction well to increase public participation and enthusiasm; and adopting easily understood forms to ensure that online media carries information, newspapers and television have dedicated columns, streets and communities have slogans, and villages and residential complexes have broadcasts, effectively extending the promotion of civic morality construction projects to every corner of society. They should make good use of the advantages of the internet, opening special columns on news websites and clients, and actively using the "Three Micros and One Client" ^[30] platforms as well as public mobile TV screens and electronic displays in public places to vigorously promote and popularize civic morality, making its basic content a household name.

In summary, the implementation of civic morality construction projects is a long-term process that cannot be accomplished overnight. For the broad masses of youth, this is an even more weighty task and responsibility. The youth of the New Era are the fresh force for the development of the Party and the country’s cause; born at the right time and bearing an unavoidable responsibility, they must consciously take the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation as their own mission. They must strengthen their ideals and convictions, stand firmly on the side of the people, develop excellent skills, and resolutely practice the youthful pledge of "Rest assured, the Party; the powerful nation has me" ^[31]. The youth must not only be clear about major virtues (ming dade), uphold public morality, and be strict with personal morality, but also go deep into the grassroots and among the masses to publicize and promote traditional virtues. They should inspire people to strive upward and toward goodness, to be filial to the elderly and love their kin, and to be loyal to the motherland and the people, thereby contributing to the promotion of civic morality construction and the improvement of the level of civilization of the entire society.

(About the Author: Wang Jianmin is the Director of the China Youth Information and Data Center at the Central School of the Communist Youth League and a Professor at the Archive of Youth Movement History of the Communist Youth League Central Committee.)

Online Editor: Tong Xin Source: Qiushi, Issue No. 12, 2023