Standing at the overall and strategic height of realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and upholding and developing socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, cultural self-confidence is a major innovation of Xi Jinping's cultural thought. Cultural self-confidence is the starting point of Xi Jinping's cultural thought, which fully demonstrates the cultural subjectivity of the Communist Party of China and raises our party's understanding of socialism with Chinese characteristics, the role of cultural status and the law of development to a new level.
Cultural self-confidence is an inevitable requirement for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation
General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Without a high degree of cultural self-confidence and cultural prosperity, there will be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation." This is because the rejuvenation of a nation requires strong material strength as well as strong spiritual strength. Without the active guidance of advanced culture, without the great enrichment of the people's spiritual world, and without the continuous enhancement of the nation's spiritual strength, it would be impossible for a country and a nation to stand tall among the nations of the world.
In the history of the mainland's development, cultural development has been closely linked to the Chinese nation's endless growth and development. In the course of thousands of years of historical development, China has created a cultural scene such as the contention of a hundred schools of thought, the meteorology of the Han and Tang dynasties, and the charm of the Song and Ming dynasties. After the Opium War, China, which had long been ahead of the world, lagged behind the general trend of the development of the times, and gradually degenerated into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, in which the country was humiliated, the people were suffering, and the civilization was covered with dust. China's decline has led to the spread of inferiority complex among some Chinese people, from the belief that Chinese artifacts are inferior to people, to systems that are inferior to people, to culture that are inferior to people, and finally to everything that is inferior to people, the national self-esteem and self-confidence of the Chinese people have been greatly damaged, and Chinese civilization has gone from being radiant to eclipsed. Where is China headed? Where is Chinese culture heading? "China urgently needs new ideas to lead the salvation movement, and it urgently needs new organizations to unite revolutionary forces." The October Revolution brought Marxism-Leninism to China with the sound of a cannon. In the great awakening of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation, and in the close integration of Marxism-Leninism with the Chinese workers' movement, the Communist Party of China came into being. "Since the Chinese learned Marxism-Leninism, the Chinese have mentally shifted from passive to active." Comrade Mao Zedong's appraisal profoundly shows the cultural awakening of the Chinese nation and the theoretical consciousness of the Communist Party of China. The Chinese Communists, armed with scientific theories, have persistently integrated the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific realities and with China's fine traditional culture, activated and rejuvenated the spirit of the Chinese nation, and embarked on a sonorous march toward the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Since the founding of the People's Republic of China, especially since the beginning of reform and opening up, the mainland's economy and society have continued to develop rapidly, and it has taken several decades to go through the industrialization process that the developed countries of the West have gone through for hundreds of years, and the Chinese nation has ushered in a great leap from standing up, getting rich, to becoming strong, and socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. In the new era, we are closer to the goal of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation than at any other time in history, and we are more confident and capable of achieving this goal than at any other time in history. The new era has demonstrated the strong vitality of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and provided a more perfect institutional guarantee, a more solid material foundation, and a more active spiritual force for the realization of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. This confidence and ability, this more active spiritual strength, is in itself a full confirmation of cultural self-confidence.
In the final analysis, it is necessary to strengthen cultural self-confidence
Cultural self-confidence, road self-confidence, theoretical self-confidence, and institutional self-confidence are listed as the "four self-confidences", and firm road self-confidence, theoretical self-confidence, and institutional self-confidence are, in the final analysis, to strengthen cultural self-confidence. This is because "cultural self-confidence is a more basic, broader and deeper self-confidence, and the most basic, deepest and most enduring force in the development of a country and a nation". In order to understand this, we must scientifically grasp the profound connotation of culture. Culture refers to the relatively stable and deep-seated spiritual existence condensed by human beings through social changes and historical precipitation in the creation of civilization achievements. Once culture is formed and developed, it will have extensive penetration and lasting influence, it will not only shape the life world and spiritual world of individuals and nations in it, but also support the construction of economic, political, cultural, social and ecological civilization from a deep level, so there will be material civilization, political civilization, spiritual civilization, social civilization and ecological civilization "five civilizations" said. Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, and General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Culture is an important part of the overall planning and promotion of the 'five-in-one' and the 'four comprehensive' strategic layout, culture is an important fulcrum for promoting high-quality development, culture is an important factor in meeting the people's growing needs for a better life, and culture is an important source of strength to overcome various risks and challenges on the way forward." These important expositions reflect the scientific grasp of the profound connotation of culture, the scientific grasp of the important position of cultural self-confidence in the "four self-confidences", and deepen the understanding of the laws of the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In the final analysis, cultural self-confidence is a major issue related to the rise and fall of national fortunes, cultural security, and national spiritual independence. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that "the primary task of strengthening cultural self-confidence is to base ourselves on the great historical practice and contemporary practice of the Chinese nation, summarize China's experience with Chinese principles, and upgrade China's experience to Chinese theory, neither blindly following various dogmas nor copying foreign theories, so as to achieve spiritual independence." ”
Cultural self-confidence is a full manifestation of the cultural subjectivity of the Communist Party of China
In essence, cultural self-confidence is self-confidence in one's own cultural values and cultural ideals, as well as self-confidence in national vitality and creativity. It is precisely with self-confidence in one's own cultural values and ideals that the vitality and creativity of the nation can be sustained and prolonged. "Both history and reality have proved that the Chinese nation has strong cultural creativity. At every major historical juncture, culture can feel the changes in the fortunes of the country, establish the tide of the times, and send the voice of the times, and cheer for hundreds of millions of people and the great motherland. The Chinese culture has not only adhered to its roots but also kept pace with the times, so that the Chinese nation has maintained firm national self-confidence and strong repair ability, and cultivated common emotions and values, common ideals and spirit. "The common values and ideals of Chinese culture are embodied in contemporary socialism with Chinese characteristics." The socialist culture with Chinese characteristics originates from the excellent traditional Chinese culture nurtured by the Chinese nation's more than 5,000 years of civilization history, is fused with the revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture created by the people under the leadership of the Party in revolution, construction and reform, and is rooted in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics. "What we call cultural self-confidence is self-confidence in socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, and this self-confidence comes from the cultural subjectivity of the Communist Party of China." This subjectivity was established by the Communist Party of China under the leadership of the Chinese people on the land of China; It is established on the basis of creative transformation and innovative development of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, the inheritance of the revolutionary culture, and the development of the advanced socialist culture, and on the basis of learning from and absorbing all the outstanding achievements of human civilization. It was established by integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific reality and with China's fine traditional culture. "The cultural subjectivity of the Communist Party of China is the consciousness of developing socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, and the core of this is to answer the question of where China came from and where it is going." A nation and a country must know who they are, where they come from, and where they are going. The cultural subjectivity of the Communist Party of China has been sublimated in Xi Jinping's cultural thought, which is fundamentally a high degree of consciousness of who China is, where it comes from, and where it is going, and it is also a cultural answer to the fundamental question of "what is the Communist Party of China and what it wants to do".
(The author is a professor and vice dean of the School of Marxism, Renmin University of Chinese)
Author: Song Youwen
Source: China Social Science Network