Author: Cao Dongbo (director of the Propaganda Department of the Party Committee of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics, professor of Marxist College, distinguished researcher of Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought Research Center of Shanghai Supreme Leader New Era) Lv Xiaoning (assistant researcher of Chinese Modernization Research Institute of Shanghai University of Finance and Economics)
Propaganda and ideological and cultural work is related to the future and destiny of the party, the long-term stability of the country, the national cohesion and centripetal force, and it is an extremely important work. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core has attached great importance to the propaganda of ideological and cultural work. The new ideas, new viewpoints and new conclusions of the General Secretary of the Supreme Leader in the cultural construction of the new era are very rich in connotation and profound in exposition, which constitute the cultural chapter of Socialism with Chinese characteristics Thought of the Supreme Leader in the new era and form the cultural thought of the Supreme Leader. This important thought profoundly answers fundamental questions such as what flag to raise, what road to take, what principles to adhere to and what goals to achieve in China’s cultural construction in the new era, provides a scientific action guide for doing a good job in propaganda and ideological and cultural work in the new era and new journey and shouldering a new cultural mission, and contributes China’s wisdom to creating a new form of human civilization and leading the development and progress of world civilization. In the new era and new journey, it is an inevitable requirement to deeply understand and grasp the practical principles, practical experience and practical direction of the supreme leader’s cultural thought, and it is also an important prerequisite for opening up a new situation and new atmosphere in cultural construction in the new era.
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As an important part of Marxism, Marxist cultural theory is formed by classical writers on the basis of in-depth investigation of the practical process of social material production. Marxist cultural theory holds that social and cultural relations exist in the dialectical movement of productive forces and production relations, economic base and superstructure, and are created by the people in material production and life practice. At the same time, once social culture is formed, it will have a profound impact on people’s practical activities. Advanced social culture promotes the progress and development of productive forces, while backward social culture hinders the progress and development of productive forces, that is, social culture reacts on social material production practice, thus showing the powerful material power of social culture. In addition, Marxist cultural theory profoundly explains that in capitalist society, the material production process led by the bourgeoisie determines the cultural development direction of capitalist society. The exploitation and oppression of the proletariat by the bourgeoisie not only stays at the material level such as forced labor and grabbing surplus value, but also rises to the spiritual level such as cultural control and capital logic output, thus consolidating the bourgeois dominance. Marxist cultural theory is of great practical significance for us to analyze the internal contradictions and new forms of capitalist culture, grasp the development law of contemporary socialist culture, and understand the rich connotation and practical orientation of the supreme leader’s cultural thought.
Practicality, as one of the basic characteristics of Marxism, is the source of power for Marxism to maintain its vitality and vitality forever. Since its establishment, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has persisted in applying the Marxist concept of practice, promoted the modernization of Marxism in China, and continuously promoted theoretical innovation and practical innovation. After the Opium War, under the impact of the western powers, the country was humiliated, the people were in trouble and civilization was dusty. In the years of tenacious struggle, China’s excellent traditional culture has given the whole nation strong spiritual encouragement and ideological nourishment, and its firm belief in Chinese civilization has forged the firm confidence of Chinese sons and daughters that "China will not die". Under the strong leadership of the Party, we persisted in combining the basic principles of Marxism with the concrete reality of China revolution, explored the road of China revolution, established People’s Republic of China (PRC), established the socialist system, and embarked on the road of Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s development, and Chinese civilization ushered in the dawn of vigorous rejuvenation. Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era. The CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core insists on implementing and developing Marxist cultural theory in practice. Starting from the domestic economic and social development situation, it puts cultural construction in the key position of governing the country, respects the people’s initiative, unites and leads the broad masses of the people to prosper the advanced socialist culture in the great practice of building a powerful socialist country, and effectively attacks the wrong argument of "clash of civilizations" in the West with the practical action of "learning from each other".
The proposal and practice of "two combinations" is a major innovation in the methodology of Marxist cultural theory, and its fundamental purpose is to enhance the practical application of the basic principles of Marxism in China. The historical practice of China’s revolution and construction has fully proved that "the first combination" is an important choice that meets the needs of China’s development and the common interests of all the people. The "second combination" inherits and develops the value core of the "first combination", insists on the concrete analysis of specific problems, and looks at problems from the perspective of development and practice, while ensuring the fundamental guiding position of Marxism in China, it creatively puts forward that "the basic principles of Marxism" and "Chinese excellent traditional culture" should be included in the scope of combination, which greatly expands the cultural interpretation space of the modernization of Marxism and greatly promotes the creative transformation of Chinese excellent traditional culture.
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Culture is the product of historical development, and historical practice makes cultural accumulation. Since its founding, the Communist Party of China (CPC) has always taken the promotion of advanced culture as its responsibility, insisted on being a firm disseminator of Marxist cultural theory and a faithful inheritor of Chinese excellent traditional culture in the great historical process of leading the broad masses of people to carry out revolution, construction and reform, and formed a series of original cultural work methods and ideas that meet the needs of social and cultural development in China and are rich in distinctive China characteristics. During the period of the new-democratic revolution, our party deeply realized how important the revolutionary cultural movement is to the revolutionary practical movement, and proposed to develop a national, scientific and popular new-democratic culture, making it a powerful ideological weapon to meet the needs of the Chinese nation’s own revolution and highlight the fundamental interests of the people. During the period of socialist revolution and construction, our party insisted on the perspective of historical materialism, made an accurate judgment that "with the arrival of the climax of economic construction, there will inevitably be a climax of cultural construction", and put forward the socialist cultural construction policy of "letting a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend" and "making the past serve the present and making foreign things serve China" according to the urgent requirements of the country’s rapid economic and cultural development. In the new era of reform, opening up and socialist modernization, China’s cultural construction is facing "going out" and "With the double opportunity of "introduction", our party has made overall plans for the construction of material civilization and spiritual civilization, further promoted the reform of the cultural system, established a coordinated public cultural service system between urban and rural areas, and built a vigorous and orderly consumer market for cultural products.
Socialism with Chinese characteristics entered a new era. The CPC Central Committee with the Supreme Leader as the core anchored the grand goal of realizing the Chinese nation’s great rejuvenation of the Chinese dream, deeply summed up and learned the practical experience of the Communist Party of China (CPC)’s leadership in carrying out propaganda and ideological and cultural work over the past century, and in the great practice of promoting China’s economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction and ecological civilization construction as a whole, sought for the starting point and breakthrough of cultural construction in the new era, and constantly improved the support and contribution of cultural construction to economic construction, political construction, social construction and ecological civilization construction. Culture is the soul of a country and a nation. Without a high degree of cultural self-confidence and cultural prosperity, there will be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Facing the increasingly severe struggle situation in the ideological field, the Supreme Leader General Secretary stressed that ideological work should not be relaxed or weakened for a moment. Under the guidance of the supreme leader’s cultural thought, we adhere to the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, adhere to the Party’s leadership over ideological work, carry forward the spiritual pedigree of the Communist Party of China (CPC) people with the great spirit of party building as the source, cultivate and practice socialist core values, and carry out cyberspace governance according to law. Facing the people’s growing cultural needs, the Supreme Leader General Secretary emphasized that material wealth and spiritual wealth are the fundamental requirements of socialist modernization. Socialism with Chinese characteristics is a great cause of all-round development and all-round progress. Without the prosperity and development of socialist culture, there will be no socialist modernization. Unde that guidance of the supreme leader’s cultural thought,We fully grasp the dialectical relationship between material civilization and spiritual civilization, raise cultural construction to a new historical height, rank cultural self-confidence with road self-confidence, theoretical self-confidence and institutional self-confidence as Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s "four self-confidences", regard the prosperity and development of socialist cultural undertakings and cultural industries as the basic ways to meet people’s spiritual and cultural needs and safeguard people’s cultural rights and interests, promote the creative transformation and innovative development of Chinese excellent traditional culture, inherit revolutionary culture, develop advanced socialist culture, and constantly meet people’s spiritual and cultural needs. In the face of the complicated international situation, the Supreme Leader General Secretary stressed that we must persist in thinking of the world. Under the guidance of the supreme leader’s cultural thought, we will vigorously promote the common values of all mankind, launch a global civilization initiative, actively build an international cooperation platform to promote equal exchanges between civilizations of all countries, pay attention to promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, inject ideological and cultural strength into the prosperity of the world’s civilized gardens, seek wisdom and draw nutrition from different civilizations, and contribute to the world China wisdom and China’s plan to meet the common challenges of mankind.
The supreme leader’s cultural thought not only has the innovation and breakthrough in cultural theory, but also has the deployment requirements of cultural work layout, which is the theoretical condensation and sublimation expression of the concrete practice of socialist cultural construction in the new era. Practice shows that the cultural thought of the supreme leader advances in the logic of historical progress and develops in the trend of the times, which is an open, scientific and systematic ideological system. This important thought is based on the times and leads the times, comes from practice and guides practice, and will be enriched and developed with the development of the times and the deepening of practice, guiding us to create culture in practice, realizing cultural progress in historical progress, continuing the historical context and writing contemporary Chinese chapters with the righteousness and spirit of keeping integrity and innovation.
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The supreme leader’s cultural thought is clear and practical. On the basis of scientifically judging the new situation and new tasks faced by China’s propaganda and ideological and cultural work in the new era and new journey, he puts forward the requirements of "seven efforts", clarifies the road map and task book of cultural construction in the new era, and provides a powerful ideological weapon and scientific action guide for doing a good job in propaganda and ideological and cultural work in the new era and new journey and shouldering new cultural missions. In the new era and new journey, we must consciously adhere to the cultural thought of the supreme leader, promote cultural self-confidence and self-improvement, and create new glory of socialist culture.
First, we should focus on the primary political task of arming the whole party and educating the people with the party’s innovative theory, and earnestly enhance our sense of responsibility and mission to do a good job in propaganda and ideological and cultural work in the new era and new journey. "Once the theory has mastered the masses, it will also become a material force." The cultural thought of the supreme leader enriches and develops Marxist cultural theory, which not only has profound viewpoints, strategic plans and scientific arrangements, but also teaches us correct positions and useful methods. It is necessary to comprehensively study and understand, not only accurately understand the important concepts and formulations, but also strengthen the systematic and holistic grasp, thoroughly understand the basic spirit, understand the core essence, clarify the practical requirements, achieve some understanding and mastery, and effectively implement this important idea in all aspects and the whole process of propaganda and ideological and cultural work.
Second, we should promote the prosperity and development of cultural undertakings and cultural industries, and solidly promote the cultural construction in Socialism with Chinese characteristics. To study and implement the cultural thought of the Supreme Leader, we should adhere to the historical materialism, carry forward the historical consciousness and initiative spirit, constantly inspire the people’s enthusiasm for unity and struggle, apply the cultural thought of the Supreme Leader to the implementation of the strategic deployment of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China on cultural construction, and accurately implement all the task requirements with the spirit of nailing nails. Be good at using this important thought to solve various contradictions in the field of propaganda, ideological and cultural work, and consolidate and expand the mainstream ideological public opinion in the new era of forging ahead. Taking efforts to promote the prosperity and development of cultural undertakings and cultural industries as an opportunity, we will continue to provide high-quality cultural products for the people, cultivate economic growth points of cultural industries, promote economic development with cultural construction, and unite powerful practical forces to transform the objective world. Promote the creative transformation and innovative development of Chinese excellent traditional culture, vigorously carry forward revolutionary culture, develop advanced socialist culture, better promote cultural prosperity and build a cultural power.
Third, we should tell the story of China well and enhance the influence of Chinese civilization. The General Secretary of the Supreme Leader pointed out: "Chinese civilization has been famous for its openness and tolerance since ancient times, and it has constantly renewed its vitality in exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations." To study and implement the supreme leader’s cultural thought, we must persist in promoting the concept of civilization of equality, mutual learning, dialogue and tolerance, unblock the international communication channels of Chinese civilization, make good use of the multilateral cooperation platform represented by the "Belt and Road" construction, fully demonstrate the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization, such as continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness and peace, to all countries in the world in international economic and trade cooperation, and constantly optimize the international communication discourse so that the people of the world can "understand China". At the same time, we should draw on the valuable achievements of the evolution of civilizations in various countries in the world, actively launch a global civilization initiative, take the initiative to respond to the common problems in the development of human civilization, persist in transcending the gap between civilizations, the conflict of civilizations, and the coexistence of civilizations, so as to show China’s image as a great power in practical actions.
Thought keeps pace with the times, and culture is passed down from generation to generation. The cultural thought of the supreme leader was generated in the concrete practice of Socialism with Chinese characteristics’s cultural construction in the new era, and will be further enriched and developed in the great practice of building a socialist modern power in an all-round way. In the new era and new journey, the construction of socialist culture has a long way to go. We must always adhere to the guidance of the cultural thought of the supreme leader, do a good job in propaganda and ideological work, actively respond to strategic opportunities and risk challenges from the social and cultural fields, and consciously shoulder new cultural missions, so as to provide strong ideological guarantee, strong spiritual strength and favorable cultural conditions for building a socialist modern country in an all-round way and promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in an all-round way.
Guangming Daily (January 10, 2024, 06 edition)