Prosper and Develop the Culture of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era
Cultural prosperity and flourishing are important hallmarks of Chinese-path modernization. Promoting cultural prosperity and development, and building a leading country in socialist culture, serve as a vital underpinning for the basic realization of socialist modernization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "Continually develop a New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics that possesses a strong power of ideological guidance, spiritual cohesion, value appeal, and international influence." The "Proposals" of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee set forth a systematic deployment for this task, pointing the way forward and identifying key areas of focus for the prosperity and development of New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period [1]. We must gain a profound understanding of the epochal characteristics and rich connotations of New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, deeply grasp the innovative contributions of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, and take Xi Jinping Thought on Culture as our guide to prosper and develop a New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics with strong power for ideological guidance, spiritual cohesion, value appeal, and international influence.
The Enrichment and Development of Socialist Culture with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era
Culture is the accumulation of human spiritual activities and the crystallization of the spiritual world in a given era. Engels pointed out: "The theoretical thinking of every epoch, including that of our own, is a historical product, which at different times assumes very different forms and therewith very different contents." Every era has its own culture. For over a hundred years, the Chinese Communists have always united and led the Chinese people to develop new cultures that advance with the times according to the characteristics and needs of different periods. Since the 18th CPC National Congress, socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a New Era. "The two general situations" [2] have accelerated their evolution and deep interaction; global cultural ferment has displayed new trends; the development of Chinese civilization has raised new questions; the building of a leading country in culture has entered a new stage; and social thought and culture have exhibited new characteristics. These new changes in the development of the times and new situations in the cultural field call for new cultural creation. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "Make concerted efforts to create a new culture belonging to our era" and "continually cultivate and create New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics." This new culture is, in essence, a socialist culture guided by Marxism, oriented toward modernization, the world, and the future, and is national, scientific, and popular. It follows the same line as the socialist culture with Chinese characteristics formed since the founding of New China—especially since the beginning of reform and opening up—while adding new connotations that reflect the development of the times.
From the perspective of developmental purpose, New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics is a new culture that can better satisfy the people's ever-growing needs for a better spiritual and cultural life. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: "The people's demand for spiritual and cultural life is present at every moment." Socialist culture with Chinese characteristics is a culture that focuses on and culminates in the people. Entering the New Era, the principal contradiction in Chinese society has evolved into the contradiction between the people's ever-growing needs for a better life and unbalanced and inadequate development. The main contradiction facing China's cultural supply is no longer a question of "is there any?" or "is there enough?", but rather "is it good enough?" or "is it refined enough?". An important aspect of satisfying the people's ever-growing needs for a better life is satisfying their needs for a better spiritual and cultural life; an important aspect of solving the problem of unbalanced and inadequate development is solving the problem of unbalanced and inadequate cultural development. New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics is precisely a new culture cultivated and created with the era as its reference and the people at its center. It can adapt to new changes in the field of cultural construction, meet the people's new expectations for spiritual and cultural life, better safeguard the people's cultural rights and interests, and better satisfy their diverse, multi-level, and multi-faceted spiritual and cultural needs with new styles, high quality, and personalized cultural supply, thereby promoting common prosperity in the people's spiritual life.
From the perspective of substantive content, New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics is a new culture jointly forged by fine traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Socialist culture with Chinese characteristics is derived from the fine traditional Chinese culture nurtured by the Chinese nation's more than 5,000-year history of civilization; it is fused into the revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture created by the people under the Party's leadership during the periods of revolution, construction, and reform; and it is rooted in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics." New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics was formed during the great journey of the Communist Party of China leading the people to build a new culture for the Chinese nation over more than a century, and through the inheritance and development of fine traditional Chinese culture. Following the new characteristics and requirements of the New Era, it promotes the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture. Based on the new developments of the New Era, it carries forward many elements of revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture, forming a new culture that carries "red genes" [3] while expanding into the content of the New Era. Fine traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture follow a single lineage, connecting the past, present, and future of the Chinese nation. They achieve integration, forging, and innovative development within the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, together casting the socialist culture with Chinese characteristics of the New Era.
From the perspective of manifestation, New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics exists as the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization. Marxism holds that the form of civilization in a society is a unity of the economic base and the superstructure corresponding to a certain stage of development of the productive forces; it is the concrete, historical unity of the society's economic, political, and cultural forms. In modern times, through different paths of modernization, humanity has created different forms of social civilization, including various cultural forms. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "As we have upheld and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics and driven coordinated development of material, political, spiritual, social, and ecological civilizations, we have pioneered a new and uniquely Chinese path to modernization, and created a new form of human advancement." The Chinese-path modernization we promote and expand in the New Era is, in essence, socialist modernization under the leadership of the CPC. It possesses the common characteristics of modernization in all countries, but more importantly, it has Chinese characteristics based on our own national conditions. This determines that the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization must be an ideological superstructure compatible with our economic base, a cultural form reflecting our economic and political forms, and must embody a socialist nature with distinct Chinese characteristics. Such a cultural form is the New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics created by our Party as it unites and leads the people of all ethnic groups to uphold and develop socialism with Chinese characteristics and forge ahead along the broad road of Chinese-path modernization.
From the perspective of spiritual temperament, New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics is a new culture that upholds cultural confidence, maintains openness and inclusiveness, and adheres to upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground. Cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and deeper form of confidence. Upholding cultural confidence is, in essence, upholding confidence in socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics is a culture established by the CPC and the Chinese people on Chinese soil in the New Era. It is rooted in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the New Era and fully demonstrates the spiritual independence and subjectivity of the Chinese people in the New Era, allowing the Chinese nation to have full confidence and firm cultural self-assurance. Openness and inclusiveness are the sources of vitality for the development of civilization and a prominent hallmark of cultural confidence. Maintaining openness and inclusiveness means enriching and developing socialist culture with Chinese characteristics by actively learning from and drawing upon all the outstanding achievements of human civilization. New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics is a culture formed by being inclusive and drawing on the strengths of all, integrating China and the West, and connecting the ancient and the modern. It is a culture formed in the process of promoting the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism, inheriting and developing fine traditional Chinese culture, and promoting the localization of foreign cultures. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "For cultural construction, only by upholding the fundamentals can we avoid losing ourselves and our direction; only by breaking new ground can we grasp and lead the times." Adhering to the principle of upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground means promoting the innovative development of New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics while holding fast to the "soul-vein" [4] and "root-vein" [5] of our culture. While firmly maintaining the Party’s leadership over culture and the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation, New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics continually innovates its developmental ideas, communicative discourse, reform mechanisms, and forms of presentation.
Xi Jinping Thought on Culture Is the Scientific Guide for the Prosperity and Development of New Era Socialist Culture with Chinese Characteristics
The brightest hallmark of an era's culture is often the most leading and dominant thought of that era. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, formed in the practice of building socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, is a major result of adhering to the "Two Combinations" [6] and advancing the innovation of Marxist cultural theory. It is also the most creative and iconic content within the culture of the New Era. To prosper and develop New Era socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, we must take Xi Jinping Thought on Culture as our guide to cultivate and create a new culture for the New Era.
Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is the latest result of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist cultural theory. In terms of principles and stance, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture inherits Marxist theories on the essence of culture and the subjects of cultural creation—specifically its clear political principles and the people’s stance. It has creatively put forward major assertions such as: adhering to the Party's leadership over culture; adhering to the fundamental system of Marxism's guiding position in the field of ideology; adhering to a people-centered work orientation; and fully stimulating the cultural innovation and creativity of the whole nation. In terms of principles and methods, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture emphasizes the important role of culture for the state, the nation, and economic and social development. It proposes important discourses on building a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and guidance, promoting the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilizations, cultivating and practicing core socialist values, forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation, and promoting mutual learning between civilizations. These fully embody and creatively develop basic Marxist principles regarding the dialectical relationship between the economic base and superstructure, ideology, spiritual production, the well-rounded development of individuals, and spiritual social intercourse. It proposes important concepts such as the "Two Combinations," "creative transformation and innovative development," and "upholding cultural confidence, maintaining openness and inclusiveness, and adhering to upholding the fundamentals and breaking new ground," which fully embody and innovatively develop the fundamental methods of Marxist cultural construction. In terms of original content, Xi Jinping Thought on Culture integrates the new situations faced in the cultural field of the New Era, creatively putting forward new concepts and expressions such as: "the cultural mission of the New Era," "cultural subjectivity," "a new modern Chinese civilization" (literally: "new cultural life-form"), "an autonomous knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences," "governance capacity in the cultural field under informationized conditions," "digital empowerment and informationized transformation of cultural construction," "Chinese discourse and Chinese narrative systems," "the common values of all humanity," and "a new form of human advancement." These have greatly enriched the treasury of Marxist cultural theory.
Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is a brilliant example of promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture. For instance, regarding cultural function, fine traditional Chinese culture emphasizes "Writing is the vehicle for the Way" (文者，贯道之器也) [7] and "Observe the human arts to transform and perfect all under heaven" (观乎人文，化成天下) [8]. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture proposes "using culture to expand the cause, to nurture the fundamental, to establish the heart, and to cast the soul," pointing out that cultural and art workers and philosophy and social science workers all bear the important responsibility of enlightening thoughts, molding temperaments, and warming the heart. They shoulder the mission of transforming, educating, and nurturing people through culture, achieving the inheritance and development of the Chinese nation's wisdom regarding "carrying the Way through writing" and "transforming people through culture." Regarding cultural spirit, famous lines from fine traditional Chinese culture such as "Be the first to worry about the world's worries and the last to enjoy its pleasures" [9] and "Since ancient times, who has escaped death? Let my loyal heart shine in the annals of history" [10] have been passed down through the ages. Xi Jinping Thought on Culture emphasizes that "Patriotism is the deepest and most lasting emotion in the world; it is the source of a person’s virtue and the root of their achievements" and that we must "work hard to cultivate patriotic sentiments." This contains the inheritance and development of the national spirit with patriotism at its core. Regarding cultural cultivation, fine traditional Chinese culture emphasizes "Lead them by virtue and align them with rituals, and they will have a sense of shame and become upright." Xi Jinping Thought on Culture proposes implementing projects for citizen morality construction, carrying forward traditional Chinese virtues, strengthening the building of family, family education, and family traditions, and improving ideological and moral construction for minors. It promotes the clarification of "great virtue" (public/state loyalty), "public virtue" (social ethics), and "private virtue" (personal integrity), improving the moral level and civilized literacy of the people. This reflects the inheritance and development of the Chinese cultural tradition of emphasizing morality and humanistic cultivation. And so forth.
Xi Jinping Thought on Culture adheres to...
The "Two Combinations," grounded in the concrete realities and rich practices of cultural construction in the New Era, have both inherited and innovated upon Marxist cultural theory, while also carrying forward and developing the positive intellectual achievements concerning culture throughout the history of the Chinese nation. They have formed a series of major innovative perspectives on the status and significance of culture, its stances and principles, development paths, leadership forces, creative subjects, missions of the times, and international dissemination. With a broad historical depth and civilizational perspective, they have greatly deepened and expanded our understanding of the laws governing socialist cultural construction, the development of Chinese civilization, and the progress of human civilization. They have written a new chapter in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxist cultural theory, possessing pioneering and landmark significance in the history of Marxist cultural theory's development, and serving as an important milestone in the history of Chinese cultural thought. With a series of principled assertions, theoretical achievements, and original contributions, this thought has systematically answered the major questions of what kind of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics should be upheld and developed in the New Era, and how to uphold and develop it. It provides a scientific guide for the innovative development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, lays a new foundation for cultural self-confidence and self-strengthening, creates new splendors for socialist culture, and forms a new peak for Chinese culture.
Focusing on Enhancing the Intellectual Leadership, Spiritual Cohesion, Value Appeal, and International Influence of Socialist Culture with Chinese Characteristics in the New Era
General Secretary Xi Jinping has emphasized: "When culture prospers, the nation prospers; when culture is strong, the ethnic group is strong." The cultural power of a country or a nation is a concentrated expression of the centripetal force and vitality that the country and nation possess based on their culture, as well as the resulting attraction and outward radiation. The strength or weakness of cultural power is related to the rise and fall of national fortunes and the survival of the nation. The "Proposals" of the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th CPC Central Committee set out the main goals for economic and social development during the "15th Five-Year Plan" period [11], including: "The level of social civilization will be significantly improved. Cultural self-confidence will become firmer, mainstream ideological public opinion will be continuously consolidated and strengthened, and socialist core values will be widely practiced. The vitality of cultural innovation and creativity across the entire nation will be continuously stimulated, the people’s spiritual and cultural lives will become richer, and the cohesion of the Chinese nation and the influence of Chinese culture will be significantly enhanced, with national soft power continuing to rise." To anchor these goals, we must closely focus on enhancing intellectual leadership, spiritual cohesion, value appeal, and international influence to flourish and develop socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era.
Strengthen the Party's leadership over propaganda, ideological, and cultural work, continuously consolidate and expand mainstream ideological public opinion, and enhance the intellectual leadership of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Intellectual leadership refers to the power or ability to use thoughts and theories to guide people toward a certain direction. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "If a nation wants to stand at the forefront of the times, it cannot for a moment be without theoretical thinking, nor for a moment without the guidance of correct ideas." Thought is the most distilled essence of culture; the heights reached by thought represent the heights of cultural development. To enhance cultural power, we must first enhance its intellectual leadership. Only by focusing on enhancing the intellectual leadership of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era can we ensure that the Chinese nation always stands at the forefront of the times under the guidance of the new thoughts of the New Era, and ensure that all people, inspired by mainstream ideological public opinion, move steadily toward the grand goals of building a strong country and national rejuvenation. We must continuously advance the Party's theoretical innovation based on China's national conditions and a grasp of the general trends of world development, providing scientific answers to the questions of China, the world, the people, and the times. We must persist in using Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to solidify the soul and pool the mind, deepening the study, promotion, and education of the Party's innovative theories so they truly enter the minds and hearts of the people. We must innovatively implement the Project to Research and Build Marxist Theory [12], deepening systematic and academic research and interpretation of the latest theoretical achievements in the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism. We must accelerate the construction of an autonomous knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, providing disciplinary integration and academic interpretation of the Chinese path, Chinese governance, and Chinese logic. We must deepen the systemic transformation of mainstream media, promote the integrated management of news promotion and online public opinion, and improve the ability to guide mainstream public opinion. We must enhance governance capabilities in the cultural field under informationized conditions, promote the digital-intelligence empowerment and information-based transformation of cultural construction, and use advanced information technology to enhance the transmission and guidance of advanced ideology and culture.
Cultivate a high-spirited and vigorous spiritual temperament for the entire nation, further enrich the people's spiritual and cultural life, and enhance the spiritual cohesion of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Spiritual cohesion refers to the power or ability to use spiritual will to bind and aggregate people together. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "We must build a shared spiritual home for the Chinese nation, so that the hearts of all ethnic groups are gathered, their spirits depend on each other, and a powerful spiritual bond of cohesive hearts and united struggle is formed." Spirit is the fundamental and dominant content of culture. Once a common genetic code of spirit is formed within a nation's culture and spiritual cohesion is generated, it can promote the unified will and maintained unity of all members of the nation. Only by focusing on enhancing the spiritual cohesion of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era can we enable the entire Party, the entire army, and the people of all ethnic groups across the country to be of one heart and one mind, forming a cohesive force and gathering the majestic strength to advance on the new journey of building a strong country and national rejuvenation. We must promote the Chinese people's great spirit of creation, struggle, unity, and dreams, and promote the spiritual lineage of Chinese Communists with the Great Founding Spirit of the Party [13] as its source, forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. We must coordinately promote the construction of spiritual civilization [14] in both urban and rural areas, improve the people's level of civilization and the degree of social civilization, and jointly build and safeguard the shared spiritual home of the Chinese nation. We must improve the capacity for cultural originality, cultivate and form high-level cultural talent teams, and flourish new mass literature and art under internet conditions. We must vigorously flourish cultural undertakings, implement actions to improve the quality and efficiency of public cultural services, and extensively carry out mass cultural activities. We must accelerate the development of cultural industries, strengthen the "humanistic economy" [15], and promote the deep integration of culture and technology, and culture and tourism. We must accelerate the improvement of the cultural management system and the mechanisms for production and operation, stimulate the cultural innovation and creative vitality of the entire nation, and use high-quality works that move people's hearts to write the chapters of the times and gather the strength for progress.
Promote and practice the socialist core values, exert the role of culture in nourishing the mind and cultivating temperament, and enhance the value appeal of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Value appeal refers to the power or ability to use values to influence and summon people, causing them to accept and respond. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Both history and reality show that building core values with strong appeal is related to social harmony and stability, and to the long-term peace and stability of the country." Among the many values of a country, core values are the deepest elements determining the nature and direction of culture. The strength of a country's cultural soft power fundamentally depends on the strength of its core values' appeal. Only by focusing on enhancing the value appeal of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era and promoting socialist core values to enter hearts and minds can we effectively construct the core value support for building a strong country and national rejuvenation. We must focus on cultivating and practicing socialist core values, leading the direction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, persisting in using culture to cultivate and educate people, and using Chinese culture to nourish value pursuits and temper moral sentiments. Starting with improving institutional mechanisms, sound work systems, and innovative activity carriers, we must promote the organic integration of socialist core values into all fields of cultural construction, imperceptibly influencing the spiritual world of contemporary Chinese people. We should leverage the exemplary and leading roles of Party members, cadres, and advanced models, using their exemplary words, deeds, and noble character to lead the masses in practicing socialist core values, creating a cultural atmosphere of honoring virtue and pursuing goodness throughout society. We must deeply implement projects for the inheritance and development of fine traditional Chinese culture, vigorously promote revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture, and provide abundant cultural nourishment for the promotion and education of socialist core values. We must promote the culture of integrity and the culture of clean governance, using the Party's glorious traditions and fine conduct to inspire Party members. We must strengthen and improve ideological and political work, promote the construction of campus culture, make good use of "red culture" [16] resources, strengthen education in ideals and convictions, and guide young people to be conscious practitioners of socialist core values and qualified builders of the socialist cause.
Improve the bridge-building and influence of Chinese civilization, continuously increase national cultural soft power, and enhance the international influence of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. International influence in a cultural sense refers to the power or ability of culture to spread and radiate globally while attracting and persuading the people of other countries. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Focus on improving the influence of international communication, the appeal of Chinese culture, the affinity of the Chinese image, the persuasiveness of Chinese discourse, and the ability to guide international public opinion." In today's world, the pattern and evolutionary trend of cultural development are undergoing profound adjustment and reshaping; enhancing international cultural influence is an inevitable requirement for the flourishing and development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era. Only by focusing on enhancing the international influence of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era and better occupying the "commanding heights" in the global cultural landscape can we stand firm and take the initiative in fierce international cultural competition, creating a positive external public opinion environment for building a strong country and national rejuvenation. We must improve the systems and mechanisms for coordinating forces and resources from all sides to actively participate in international communication work, accelerating the construction of a multi-channel, three-dimensional external communication pattern. We must innovate communication carriers and methods, and innovatively carry out external propaganda both online and offline. We must promote the calculated cooperation of departments, localities, media, think tanks, enterprises, and universities to build a specialized talent team that meets the needs of international communication in the New Era. We must study international communication theory, master the laws of international communication, and enhance the international communication capabilities of mainstream media. We must accelerate the construction of a Chinese discourse and narrative system, so that the ideological theories, spiritual symbols, and value propositions of contemporary China can better go global. We must strengthen regional and country-specific research, promoting the globalization, regionalization, and targeted expression of Chinese stories and voices to enhance the affinity and effectiveness of international communication. We must deeply practice the Global Civilization Initiative, vigorously promote a view of civilization characterized by equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness, and actively advocate the common values of all humanity. We must extensively carry out international cultural exchanges and cooperation, deepen the dialogue between civilizations, and promote mutual understanding and affinity between peoples. We must increase the overseas promotion of high-quality cultural works and support for cultural trade services, encouraging cultural enterprises to expand their overseas business, so that the international community understands Chinese culture more broadly and deeply.
Building a strong socialist cultural power is a major strategic decision made by our Party, concerning the overall situation of Chinese-path modernization. The "15th Five-Year Plan" period is a crucial period for advancing the construction of a strong socialist cultural power. Building on the remarkable achievements of cultural construction during the "14th Five-Year Plan" period, we must anchor the strategic goal of becoming a cultural power by 2035. We must persist in the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, take root in the profound and extensive Chinese civilization, follow the trend of information technology development, and develop a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era with powerful intellectual leadership, spiritual cohesion, value appeal, and international influence. We must solidly advance the construction of a cultural power and fortify the cultural foundation for building a strong country and national rejuvenation.