Experts hail president’s call to enhance the rich culture, achieve spiritual independence

President Xi Jinping, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, inspects the China National Archives of Publications and Culture in Beijing on June 1. He underlined the importance of shouldering new cultural missions and building a modern Chinese civilization at a symposium on cultural inheritance and development at the Chinese Academy of History on June 2. (PHOTO / XINHUA)

President Xi Jinping underlined the importance of shouldering new cultural missions and building a modern Chinese civilization in a speech on June 2 that was widely hailed by experts for its significance and potential to empower the nation.

Xi, who is also general secretary of the Communist Party of China Central Committee and chairman of the Central Military Commission, made the remarks at a symposium on cultural inheritance and development at the Chinese Academy of History in Beijing.

He said it is important to firm up self-confidence in culture, adhere to China’s own path, use Chinese wisdom to summarize Chinese experience, and transform it into Chinese theory to achieve spiritual independence and autonomy.

Xi said China’s excellent traditional culture has many important elements that jointly shaped Chinese civilization with inherent continuity, unity, inclusiveness and peacefulness.

Noting that Chinese civilization is continuous, Xi said it is inevitable that the Chinese nation will follow its own path, be committed to preserving its traditions without sticking to the past, and be willing to undertake new challenges.

It is impossible to understand ancient China, let alone modern and future China, without an understanding of China’s long-standing historical continuity, he said.

The prominent unity of Chinese civilization determines that national unity will always be at the heart of China’s core interests and the fate of all ethnic groups depends on a strong and united country, he said.

Xi said different religious beliefs coexist in harmony in China and Chinese culture is open-minded to other civilizations in the world.

He also said that China opposes confrontation, refuses to engage in “small-clique” politics, and will never impose its own values and political system on others, adding that this is determined by the peaceful nature of the time-honored Chinese civilization.

The nation will always be a force for world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of international order, he said.

Xi also urged efforts to uphold openness and inclusiveness, adapt Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of our times, carry forward and develop excellent traditional Chinese culture, promote the localization of foreign cultures, and cultivate and build a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the new era.

According to Xi, combining Marxism with both China’s specific conditions and traditional Chinese culture is the most effective instrument for China’s success in exploring the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

Combining Marxism with traditional Chinese culture demonstrates that the Party has reached new heights in its understanding of the Chinese path, theory and system and that the Party’s confidence in history and culture has reached a new level, he said.

Xi’s vision to build a modern Chinese civilization will empower the nation on its own pathway to modernization and build up national unity in the face of various risks and challenges, according to observers.

Experts said the building of a modern Chinese civilization and carrying forward China’s fine traditional culture will help shore up Beijing’s narrative against dominance by Western countries in social sciences and translate the traditional culture into strengths for the nation’s future development.

He Yun’ao, a professor who researches history and traditional cultural heritage at Nanjing University, said that by emphasizing the building of a modern Chinese civilization, the Chinese president has reiterated the need to pool strength from China’s traditional culture, which spans 5,000 years.

“For China to attain its great rejuvenation, (it) will require advancement both at the material and cultural-ethical level. The president has made it clear that to build China into a cultural powerhouse, the priority must be to further explore the strength of its traditional culture,” he said.

Xi has characterized the key elements of fine Chinese traditional culture in five aspects, lauding Chinese civilization for its continuity, innovative nature, unity, inclusiveness and peaceful nature.

The peaceful nature of Chinese civilization determines that China will continue to build world peace, contribute to global development and safeguard the international order, and that it will continue to pursue exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations rather than cultural hegemony, he said.

Professor He said that by underscoring the inclusive and peaceful nature of Chinese civilization, Xi has conveyed the message to the international community that Beijing will remain committed to its national strategy of opening-up and championing global peace and development.

Meanwhile, by pointing out that Chinese civilization is characterized by its unity in nature, the Chinese president has reiterated the warning that since national unity will always be at the heart of China’s core interests, separatist activities will not be tolerated, the professor said.

Liu Qingzhu, former director of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences’ Institute of Archaeology, said that Xi has emphasized the importance for China, a nation with 56 ethnic groups, to pool the strength from history and its traditional culture in enhancing its unity and strengthening the sense of community for the nation.

“For China, a key source of its strength lies in its inexhaustible traditional culture, which can be applied on a daily basis,” he said.

Liu said that another highlight of the vision laid out by Xi at the June 2 symposium is his elaboration on integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s realities and its fine traditional culture.

Xi underscored during the meeting that integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s traditional culture has made it possible to make full use of the precious resources of traditional Chinese culture in a broader cultural space in exploring theoretical and institutional innovation for the future.

Liu said the integration of Marxism with China’s traditional culture will pave the way for the building of China’s own discourse system on civilization and help the nation firm up its confidence amid the complex international landscape.

Some experts have underlined the significance of Xi’s vision regarding civilization in powering Chinese modernization, which also requires material and cultural-ethical advancement.

Fan Di’an, chairman of the Chinese Artists Association and dean of the Central Academy of Fine Arts, said the Chinese path to modernization will be an opportunity to usher in another leap ahead for Chinese civilization.

Meanwhile, Chinese civilization will help propel the nation’s modernization from the cultural level, he said.

Prior to the June 2 symposium, the president made fact-finding trips to the China National Archives of Publications and Culture and the Chinese Academy of History, inspecting collections of historical documents and exhibitions of cultural relics.

Xi said the construction of the archives center is an infrastructure project for building China into a leading country in culture and also a landmark project that can benefit future generations.

Noting that China now enjoys prosperity, social peace and stability, Xi said the country is willing to and is capable of carrying forward Chinese civilization, the only uninterrupted civilization in the world, and it must do a good job in this regard.

When visiting the Chinese Academy of History on June 2, Xi emphasized the important role of archaeology in understanding the long history of Chinese civilization and appreciating the richness and profoundness of Chinese culture.

Work must be done to carry out comprehensive studies on the origin and early development of Chinese civilization, implement major archaeological projects and conduct research and interpretation of the origins of Chinese civilization, he said.

Xi also encouraged researchers at the academy to work with their counterparts across the country and contribute their wisdom and efforts to the advancement of Chinese modernization.

Professor He said that one of the reasons Xi has placed so much emphasis on the preservation and study of China’s cultural heritage in recent years is to explore resources from traditional culture to guide the nation’s paths, enrich the people’s spiritual world and empower innovation.

“Exploring the past will help explain where the Chinese characteristics come from and where they are headed,” the professor said. “Doing so will also provide the mental strength required to build a modern Chinese civilization.”

Contact the writers at mojingxi@chinadaily.com.cn