Xi Jinping: A leader in cultural inheritance and innovation
Xi Jinping: A leader in cultural inheritance and innovation
On the morning of October 18, 2023, Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the 3rd Belt and Road Forum for International Cooperation at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing and delivered a keynote speech entitled "Building an Open, Inclusive, Interconnected and Common Development World". Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Wang Ye
In Hangzhou, in order to welcome more tourists to explore the lives of the ancestors here 8,000 years ago, the Cross-Lake Bridge Ruins Museum launched augmented reality technology services on the eve of the Spring Festival. In Xi'an, the Shaanxi Cuisine Culture Experience Museum is trying to restore the ancient dishes described in the poems of the Han Fu and Tang Dynasties, so that guests can appreciate the "literary rhyme" of traditional cuisine. In Beijing, members of the newly formed Science Fiction Film Working Committee of the China Film Association are busy selecting locations for new science fiction films after "The Wandering Earth," offering audiences an alternative to Hollywood.
China, which has a history of 5,000 years of civilization, has seen a new "cultural fever" everywhere. The National Conference of Propaganda Ministers held in January this year proposed to thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping's cultural thought to "provide a strong ideological guarantee, strong spiritual strength, and favorable cultural conditions for comprehensively promoting the construction of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation."
This means that the Communist Party of China, which was born more than 100 years ago with the arrival of the New Culture Movement and the spread of Marxism, is once again applying culture to consolidate its ruling position and promote the modernization of the country under the leadership of Xi Jinping.
Profound cultural feelings
Xi Jinping was born in 1953 into a red family with a rich cultural atmosphere. Like Chinese families for thousands of years, parents pay great attention to family traditions.
When Xi Jinping was five or six years old, his mother told him the "mother-in-law's tattoo". Xi Jinping said, how painful it is to tattoo the words! Xi Jinping later said that since then, "serving the country with loyalty" has become his lifelong goal.
The picture is Xi Jinping walking with his mother. Xinhua News Agency
Mr. Xi said his "greatest hobby is reading." Tian Luying, Xi's primary school Chinese teacher, once recalled that Xi Jinping, who often wore patched clothes, "studied very well and liked to read classics." Some junior high school teachers remember that Xi Jinping took the initiative to come to the teacher after class, saying that he liked Du Fu very much and hoped to read more of his poems.
In the sixties of the last century, Xi Jinping came from Beijing to Liangjiahe, Shaanxi Province as an educated youth. He brought a box full of books and set himself the motto of "self-cultivation", "I am deeply ashamed of not knowing anything". When Xi Jinping was young, he read books such as "Three Kingdoms", "Ancient Poems", and "Historical Records", as well as famous works such as "War and Peace", "Faust", and "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea", as well as classics such as "Capital", "Communist Manifesto", and "Serving the People".
Some 40 years later, the man who once spent half a night reading a book under a kerosene lamp in a cave and carrying a book in his hands as president of China stood on the podium at UNESCO headquarters to share his views on culture and civilization. Agence France-Presse reported on the same day that Xi Jinping "quoted famous poets and writers in his speech to emphasize the importance of his country's long history and cultural diversity."
Xi Jinping refers to Liangjiahe as his "university." At that time, he lived in great poverty, and for seven years, he and his fellow villagers worked together to cut grass, carry dung, pull coal, build dams, and eat at the same table. He recalled that the generous and simple villagers had selflessly helped and protected him, "taught me to live and teach me to work", "they gave me a little bit of anything to eat, and whoever gave me a bowl of sauerkraut, I said that my life has improved again today."
Xi Jinping has treated his fellow villagers in the same way. When someone is in a hurry, Xi Jinping will take out his own rations to make up for it; if a young person has no shoes to wear, Xi Jinping will give him more shoes; if someone is bareheaded on a cold day, Xi Jinping will take off his hat and put it on him; and whoever likes to read and study, Xi Jinping will give him books and notebooks. The people in the village said: "Jinping is benevolent and righteous in this future!"
Liang Yujin, a 70-year-old farmer, said that he went to Fujian three times and Zhejiang once to visit his old friend Xi Jinping, without telling him in advance, that Xi Jinping came to see him at the hotel and invited him to his home to eat food cooked by his wife, Peng Liyuan. He brought Xi Jinping millet, pumpkin and sweet potatoes in a snakeskin bag, and Xi Jinping gave him tea and snacks in return. At that time, he asked every family in the village about the situation. Liang Yujin said.
Industriousness and kindness, generosity and integrity, upholding righteousness and promoting kindness, filial piety and love for relatives, these common virtues formed by the Chinese nation over thousands of years were later required by Xi Jinping to carry forward. Liang Jiahe's arduous struggle also gave him a deep understanding of the quality of perseverance and facing difficulties in the national spirit.
The place where he lived and worked in his early years was rich in beautiful mountains and rivers. In 1982, 29-year-old Xi Jinping came to Zhengding, an ancient city with a history of more than 1,600 years, to serve as deputy secretary of the county party committee. He saw that there were two lush ancient locust trees in the compound of the county party committee, so he asked someone to verify the age of the trees and protect them with a fence. He also called for the county's cultural relics to be surveyed and protected. Today, it is one of the cities with the best protection of cultural relics in the north.
He loved history and culture so much that he was ready to study archaeology. But it's not just a hobby. Later, he said to cadres and international friends: "The ancient Chinese said: 'The past is the past, the future is tested, and the participation is ordinary, but it can be decided.'" "Studying history can help make good decisions in domestic and foreign affairs.
Jiang Weidong, deputy director of the management committee of the Liangzhu site, a world heritage site, said that the vicinity of the site was once a mining area, "the sound of artillery rumbling like a battlefield" and "the coffee table was a layer of ash". In July 2003, when Xi Jinping, then secretary of the Zhejiang Provincial Party Committee, came to Liangzhu to find out, he found local leading cadres the next day, and soon shut down the mine completely. After he arrived at the central government, he has always been concerned about Liangzhu, and when the archaeologists reported that the Liangzhu site was a witness of 5,000 years of civilization, he gave detailed instructions. He later reminded: "The protection of Liangzhu is sacrificed." In 2023, Xi Jinping sent a congratulatory letter to the first "Liangzhu Forum" - "The Liangzhu site is the empirical evidence of the history of Chinese civilization for 5,000 years and the treasure of world civilization."
On the morning of August 20, 2019, Xi Jinping came to Jiayuguan Guancheng, climbed the tower to inspect the overall appearance of Guancheng, and listened to the introduction of the history and culture of the Great Wall and Pass in the Hexi Corridor. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi
After serving as the general secretary of the CPC Central Committee, Xi Jinping made more than 170 important instructions on cultural relics, archaeology and intangible cultural heritage, and visited more than 100 historical and cultural heritage sites. From the Sansu Temple to the Grand Canal, from Yuelu Academy to the Great Wall of Jiayuguan, from Anyang Yinxu to Jiaohe Ancient City, he has left his footprints.
Xi Jinping loves red culture. When he was working in Fujian, part of the former residence of the revolutionary pioneer Lin Juemin was almost demolished in the renovation of the old city.
He frequently visited the "holy places" of the revolution, such as Jiaxing Nanhu, Jinggangshan, Gutian, Zunyi, Yan'an, Xibaipo, and Xiangshan Revolutionary Memorial Sites...... He said, "The main thing has basically come to the end," and "if you take a good road, you must not forget the way you came."
He has a heavy hero complex. "A promising nation cannot be without heroes, and a promising country cannot be without pioneers. He said. Under his care, the remains of the first batch of 437 Chinese People's Volunteer Army martyrs returned to China in 2014. By November 2023, the remains of the 10th batch of volunteer martyrs will return to the motherland without interruption for ten years. It is escorted by advanced fighters of the People's Liberation Army every year.
He has a strong interest in human culture, saying, "I have visited many places in the world, and one of my favorite things to do is to learn about the different civilizations of the five continents," and "to learn from all the outstanding achievements of human society with an open mind that embraces all rivers."
Since becoming president, Xi Jinping has visited more than 70 countries. In the Acropolis, he discussed with the Greek president the ancient Chinese motto of "stop fighting for martial arts" and Athena's thoughts on war and peace; in Belgium, he talked about the fact that Chinese like tea, while Belgians like beer, tea and beer are different, but both are worth savoring; in Mexico, he was interested in the similarities between some elements of the Mayan civilization and Chinese elements such as dragons; in Egypt, he talked about the ins and outs of ancient civilizations at the Temple of Luxor, Egypt.
He once said, "I was impressed by the depictions of the wind and the rain, the waves and the boats, the old man and the shark in Hemingway's 'The Old Man and the Sea'. The first time I went to Cuba, I made a special trip to the pier where Hemingway wrote "The Old Man and the Sea". The second time I went to Cuba, I went to a bar that Hemingway frequented and ordered Hemingway's favorite rum with mint leaves and ice. I wanted to experience the spiritual world and the atmosphere of the field when Hemingway wrote those stories. ”
In the eyes of the public, he is one of China's most well-cited leaders. He combined ancient epigrams with contemporary folk language to create a new style of writing.
People who know him well say that Mr. Xi has a strong idealism and down-to-earth style of doing things, which has to do with the cultural influence he has received. He repeatedly mentioned Wang Yangming's "unity of knowledge and action", pointing out that Yangming Mind is the essence of traditional Chinese culture and one of the entry points to enhance Chinese cultural self-confidence.
Wonderful and great combination
In 2012, Xi Jinping served as the head of the drafting team for the report of the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, and for the first time included "cultural self-confidence" in the report of the Party Congress. He then incorporated this concept into the "four self-confidences" of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and called cultural self-confidence "a more basic, deeper, and more lasting force."
"Without a high degree of cultural self-confidence and cultural prosperity, there will be no great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Xi Jinping said.
Xi Jinping announced that socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, and at the same time, the world is undergoing major changes unseen in a century. Authoritative theoretical experts interviewed by Xinhua News Agency believe that the severe challenges of the new era require the CPC to take the new culture as the national spiritual identity and lay a solid historical and cultural foundation for socialism with Chinese characteristics, so that it can win the initiative of development in the agitated symbiosis with various civilizations and value systems in the world. Since the Renaissance, culture has played a role behind the rise and fall of great powers.
Xi Jinping is faced with the idea that "China cannot be made a cultural wanderer and a spiritual beggar," Xiong Jue, a professor of political science at New York University, wrote, "and it is necessary to awaken the excellent traditional cultural genes in Chinese culture, and at the same time give it the soul of modernization."
Julio Ríos, a Spanish expert on China, believes that Xi Jinping has promoted the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation by strengthening cultural self-confidence and building an impregnable cultural embankment, and has also resisted the erosion and impact of Western cultural dross.
PhotoOn July 1, 2021, a meeting to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China was held in Tiananmen Square in Beijing. Xi Jinping delivered an important speech. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Peng
On July 1, 2021, the Communist Party of China celebrated the centenary of its founding. In his speech at the Tiananmen Tower, Xi Jinping proposed for the first time "two combinations", that is, "combining the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific reality and China's excellent traditional culture". This is of "historical significance" in the process of Sinicizing Marxism and modernizing it.
He later said that the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with the fine traditional Chinese culture is a profound "chemical reaction" and another emancipation of the mind.
"After Marxism was introduced into China, the idea of scientific socialism was warmly welcomed by the Chinese people, and finally took root in the land of China and blossomed and bore fruit. He explained.
At the 2023 Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development, Xi Jinping summarized and refined that Chinese civilization has outstanding continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness, and peace. More than a month after the symposium, Xi Jinping visited the new Sanxingdui Museum in Sichuan Province. He sometimes looks at the front and walks slowly around the display case, inspecting the different side details of the artifact.
"Where do they come from?" he asked.
It was born from the matrix of civilization in the Yangtze River and Yellow River basins, and it is the result of the innovation and creation of the ancient Shu ancestors. The narrator replied.
At the end of the year, when Xi Jinping delivered his New Year's message on television and the Internet, hundreds of millions of viewers saw that photos of him engrossed in Sanxingdui's cultural relics were placed on the bookshelf behind him.
Picture: On the afternoon of July 26, 2023, Xi Jinping visited the new Sanxingdui Museum in Guanghan City, Deyang City, Sichuan Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Peng
"The outstanding continuity of the Chinese civilization fundamentally determines that the Chinese nation will inevitably follow its own path. Xi Jinping said.
Xi Jinping Cultural Thought was first put forward at the National Conference on Propaganda, Ideological and Cultural Work in October 2023, which is regarded as the culmination of the CPC's "more than 100 years of theoretical innovation achievements in cultural construction", including "focusing on strengthening the party's leadership over propaganda, ideological and cultural work", "focusing on improving the power of news and public opinion, guidance, influence, and credibility", as well as "promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of China's excellent traditional culture" and "promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations".
Xi Jinping Thought on Culture enriches and develops Marxist cultural theory, constituting the cultural chapter of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. "This strongly reflects the 'cultural subjectivity' of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and shows that the party's historical and cultural self-confidence has reached a new height. Said an authoritative theoretical expert in the party.
Theoretical experts told reporters: "Xi Jinping has opened up a new realm of systematic use of culture to govern the country. The new round of ideological emancipation runs through the 'five-in-one' and 'four comprehensives', further stimulates the creativity of the whole society, and makes the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation enter an irreversible historical process. ”
A new realm of governance
In March 2021, Xi Jinping came to Zhu Xi Garden on the bank of Jiuqu River in Wuyi Mountain, and paid attention for a long time in front of the quotations of Zhu Xi, a physicist of the Southern Song Dynasty more than 800 years ago. Here he said: "If there is no Chinese civilization of 5,000 years, where would there be any Chinese characteristics? If it were not for Chinese characteristics, how could we have such a successful road of socialism with Chinese characteristics today?" He believes that culture is the soul of the country and the nation, and that the beautiful world that the Chinese nation has longed for since ancient times is "the journey of the great road, and the world is for the common good" is organically in line with the communist society imagined by Marx, so as to endow the road system with the blood of the nation, ideals and beliefs, and the foundation of civilization.
Picture: On March 22, 2021, Xi Jinping learned about Zhu Xi's life and physical research in Zhu Xi's Garden in Wuyi Mountain, Nanping, Fujian Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Peng
At the celebration of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping proposed to "not forget the original intention" and give a new meaning to the ancient saying "original intention" - to seek happiness for the people and rejuvenation for the nation. Xi Jinping firmly believes in the Marxist materialist view of history that the people are the creators of history, and sublimates the ancient "the people are the foundation of the state, and the country is solid" to "the people are supreme". On the occasion of the centenary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping announced that China would achieve a moderately prosperous society in all respects – the vision of an ideal society of the ancient sages became a reality under the leadership of this generation of Communists. He proposed whole-process people's democracy, blending the governing concept of "the country is the people, and the people are the country" with the traditional idea of "the prosperity of the government is in accordance with the will of the people, and the abolition of the government is against the will of the people", and comprehensively implemented it in the practice of governing the country.
While still working in Zhengding, Xi Jinping carried forward the ancient political wisdom of "asking the people", he took to the streets, handed out the "poll form" to the people who rushed to the market, and invited everyone to sit down and chat, solicit opinions on the spot, and answer questions. The doors of the county party committee offices are always open, and old farmers with dung baskets come straight in to talk to Xi Jinping. More than 30 years later, before the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Xi Jinping posted the "public opinion poll form" on the Internet, which was the first time in the history of the Communist Party of China that the work related to the Party Congress was openly solicited from the whole country.
Xi Jinping has led the world's most populous country out of millennial absolute poverty and anchored the goal of "common prosperity". "Common prosperity is a basic goal of Marxism and a basic ideal of the Chinese people since ancient times. Confucius said: 'Do not suffer from widowhood but suffer from inequality, do not suffer from poverty but suffer from anxiety. Mencius said, 'The old and the old, the young and the young.' In 2016, he said at a seminar for leading cadres at the provincial and ministerial levels. During his visit to the United States last year, he talked about the expectations of the farmers in Liangjiahe and announced to the world that "let the fruits of modernization benefit all the people." "Our goal is ambitious and simple, and it boils down to making life better for ordinary people. He said in his 2024 New Year's message.
He praised the grand occasion of the centenary celebration of the founding of the party, which was "ceremonial and orderly" and "happy and harmonious". He integrated the excellent traditional Chinese culture of "orderly programming" and "integration of etiquette and music" into the modernization of the national governance system and governance capacity, and promoted the improvement of the system. He admonished that the CPC was established in accordance with the Marxist principle of party building, has a strict organizational system, and that China is such a big country, and that the CPC Central Committee must have the authority to defend one and the last word, so that it can "be like an arm of the body and a finger of the arm, and make changes without leaving any difficulties." He also used the analogy of Chinese chess: "The Party Central Committee is the 'handsome' who sits in the military tent of the Chinese army, and the chariots, horses, and artillery show their strengths, and the overall situation of a game of chess is clear. ”
On November 15, 2012, Xi Jinping, who had just been elected general secretary of the CPC Central Committee at the First Plenary Session of the 18th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, met with Chinese and foreign journalists covering the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China at the Great Hall of the People in Beijing. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi
On the first day of his election as general secretary of the CPC Central Committee in 2012, Xi Jinping proposed that "striking iron requires its own strength", and issued an order to start a strategic action to comprehensively and strictly govern the party. On the basis of Mao Zedong's first answer of "let the people supervise the government", he put forward the second answer to jump out of the historical cyclical rate - "self-revolution". He told the cadres, "Cultivate their minds and govern their bodies, and then they can serve the government in the world." He asked them to learn from the spirit of unswerving loyalty and fearless dedication of the revolutionary martyrs, as well as the feelings of serving the country and the heroic and righteous spirit of the ancients. Once, Xi Jinping talked about Feng Menglong, a native of the Ming Dynasty, who took office as the magistrate of the county and walked for half a year. "At that time, I was filled with emotion, how can a county magistrate in the feudal era who is only eight years old go to the county in a difficult way, are we communists not as good as an official in the feudal era?" He incorporated the Marxist requirements for vanguard members and the principle of "appointing people on the basis of merit" into the cadre evaluation criteria.
He launched the largest anti-corruption struggle in the history of the Communist Party of China, and warned the whole party that "the beetles are broken and the walls are broken." Yang Zhen refused money, Lu Zhen was honest and honest, and Zhang Boxing refused gifts from all parties...... He often told cadres stories about the integrity of the ancients and asked them to exercise self-discipline. Under the leadership of Xi Jinping, there have been 23 rounds of central inspections since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China. The inspection work draws on the ancient "patrol press" and has become a strategic institutional arrangement that plays a deterrent role. "Our inspection is not the inspection of the eight governments, but it must be authoritative and become a sharp weapon of the country and the party. "He hated the dross of ancient political culture. "We communists must not engage in the corrupt way of feudal society of 'sealing the shadow of a wife' and 'one person attaining the Tao and a chicken and dog ascending to heaven'! Otherwise, the masses will poke their backbones!"
In March 2018, Xi Jinping became the first Chinese president to take the oath before the Constitution. He preached the ancient adage that "those who follow the law are strong, the country is strong, and those who follow the law are weak, the country is weak", and called for promoting reform under the rule of law and improving the rule of law in the course of reform. "The issue of the rule of law and the rule of man is a fundamental issue in the history of human political civilization, and it is also a major issue that all countries must face and solve in the process of realizing modernization. At a central political and legal work conference, he quoted the words in "Zhenguan Political Leaders" that "the key to governing the country lies in fairness and integrity", and praised a police station director by name for strictly enforcing the law and not favoritism, and arresting his friends who have been suspected of committing crimes for many years.
Once Xi Jinping returned to his alma mater, Tsinghua University, and told teachers and students that he had never forgotten the school motto and school spirit, and took "self-improvement, virtue" and "deeds speak louder than words" as his life motto. Later, he said on many occasions that "unremitting self-improvement and virtue are carried out" is still a powerful spiritual force for promoting reform, opening up, and socialist modernization. On one occasion, he came to Peking University to have a discussion with teachers and students, and talked about the relationship between "learning from things", "sincerity and righteousness", and "self-cultivation and unity to govern the country and level the world" with the core values of socialism, saying that the latter "embodies the essential requirements of socialism, inherits the excellent traditional Chinese culture, absorbs the beneficial achievements of world civilization, and embodies the spirit of the times." The core socialist values put forward by the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China have been written into the Constitution.
Photo: On October 27, 2022, Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the end of his visit to the "Great Journey - The Thirteen-Year History Exhibition of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China in Yan'an" at the Yan'an Revolution Memorial Hall. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yan Yan
In 2021, he put forward the "Great Spirit of Party Building", and built and improved the "spiritual pedigree of the Chinese Communists", including the spirit of Jinggangshan, the spirit of the Long March, the spirit of Yan'an, the spirit of resisting US aggression and aiding Korea, the spirit of "two bombs and one satellite", the spirit of the Special Economic Zone, the spirit of flood fighting, and the spirit of fighting the epidemic. He advocated and promoted the national spirit with patriotism as the core and the spirit of the times with reform and innovation as the core. Xi Jinping said that "these precious spiritual wealth transcends time and space and lasts for a long time". He is a staunch opponent of "historical nihilism". Some people blasphemed Qiu Shaoyun and other revolutionary martyrs on the Internet, and hundreds of thousands of youth league members posted refuting them. Xi Jinping said: "Righteousness overwhelms unhealthy winds, well done!"
He proposed "the great changes in the world unseen in a century", which included the research experience of the Marxist view of history and the ancient Chinese philosophy of "change". He wrote the "Revolution and Innovation" from "Zhou Yi" into the report of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China to promote reforms in key areas. He himself is a practitioner of "taking the initiative to change" and "opening up a new situation", which can be traced back to his construction of the first biogas digester in Shaanxi in Liangjiahe, despite the doubts of many people. In 2000, when many people did not know much about the information superhighway and the Internet, Xi Jinping, then governor of Fujian Province, proposed the construction of a "digital Fujian", calling it "one of the most important scientific and technological commanding heights in the world today". Later, he proposed to build a "digital Zhejiang". In 2017, "Digital China" was written into the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China.
He called for carrying forward the "enterprising spirit of the Chinese nation of uprightness and not old-fashionedness, respecting the past and not going back to the past" and "the fearless character of not being afraid of new challenges and having the courage to accept new things" to promote China to become a big and powerful country in innovation. He asked scientists and engineers to learn the lessons of antiquity. He told the academicians of the Chinese Academy of Sciences and the Chinese Academy of Sciences that the Qing government organized missionaries to draw up the "Imperial Public Opinion Panorama Map" with an unprecedented scientific level in ten years, but it was long collected as a secret document in the Inner Palace, but it was the Western missionaries who participated in the surveying and mapping who brought the materials back to the West to sort out and publish them, so that the West had a better understanding of Chinese geography than the Chinese for a considerable period of time. In this way, he explained that science and technology must be integrated with social development, and that the reform of the scientific and technological system must be deepened so that all sources of innovation can fully flow.
He put forward the "new development concept", which is innovative, coordinated, green, open and shared, which not only embodies the Marxist development theory, but also has the characteristics of traditional Chinese dialectics. He developed Marxist political economy and applied Chinese philosophical ideas such as "breaking and establishing", "stability and progress", "quality and quantity", and "unification and liberalization" to the work of economic centers. At the 2023 Central Economic Work Conference, he proposed to "persist in seeking progress while maintaining stability, promoting stability through progress, establishing first and then breaking down", "coordinating the expansion of domestic demand and deepening supply-side structural reform", "coordinating new urbanization and comprehensive rural revitalization", "coordinating high-quality development and high-level security", etc. Xi Jinping also proposed the changes in the main contradictions in society in the new era. He has led China's economy to maintain stable growth for more than a decade, and its average annual contribution to world economic growth has remained at about 30%. The humanistic economics proposed by him in the new era has attracted wide attention, and is considered by the theoretical circles to reflect the ultimate goal of modernization to realize the free and all-round development of people, and also to rejuvenate the excellent traditional Chinese culture in the socialist market economy.
On the afternoon of June 1, 2023, Xi Jinping inspected the National Editions Museum of China in Beijing, and learned about the preservation of the fine editions in the Lantai Cave Library. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Peng
This "iron fan" of literature and art has devoted himself to promoting the prosperity of Chinese culture. In 2014, after a lapse of 72 years, Xi Jinping presided over the second symposium on literary and artistic work in the history of the Communist Party of China, proposing "literature to carry the Tao" and "cultural people". The participants recalled that he "talked like friends and relatives" and shook hands with everyone one by one after the three-hour forum. Seeing Li Xuejian, who played Jiao Yulu and Yang Shanzhou, he said, "You portrayed these two characters very well, I think you are in the play, life is like a play, and the play is like life." From planning the future of the China Academy of Art when he was serving in the local government, to approving the construction of the National Editions Museum after serving as general secretary, from caring for the project of exploring the origin of Chinese civilization, to promoting the construction of the "Fuxing Library", "Confucian Collection" and "The Great Collection of Chinese Paintings of the Past Dynasties...... He called for "continuing the historical context" in the process of upholding integrity and innovation. He advocated the construction of a clean cyberspace, promoted media integration, and practiced the transformation of international communication discourse. He has devoted great enthusiasm to folk culture and art such as mythology, epic, rap literature, storytelling, mountain songs, and local operas, encouraging contemporary young novelists, poets, painters, and other innovations, and supporting breakthroughs in domestic science fiction films. He also proposed to "let the city retain its memory and let people remember nostalgia", turning the "industrial rust belt" into a "life show belt", so that the idyllic scenery and poetic landscape coexist.
During Xi Jinping's visit to Xinjiang, a Uyghur villager told him that all ethnic groups should unite and should "hug each other like pomegranate seeds." Xi Jinping has since brought up the analogy several times. "The 56 ethnic groups are pomegranate seeds, and the Chinese nation is the pomegranate as a whole. We are a community of the Chinese nation, and we must work together to achieve the second centenary goal. He said that a history of China is a history of the integration and convergence of various nationalities into a pluralistic and integrated Chinese nation, and a history of the great motherland that all nationalities have jointly created, developed, and consolidated a unified motherland, "the land cannot be divided, the country cannot be chaotic, the nation cannot be dispersed, and the civilization cannot be broken", and "the motherland must be unified and will be unified."
He often talked about "harmony", "tolerance", and "unity between man and nature", which are familiar words in Chinese culture, and regarded them as ideological resources for solving common problems of mankind, and believed that this was in line with Marx's idea of "the real solution of the contradictions between man and nature and between man and man". The concepts of "stressing faith and cultivating harmony," "being kind to neighbors," and "valuing peace" can all be used in modern social governance, and the Chinese's way of doing things lies in "having something to discuss." He demanded to learn from the "Fengqiao experience" praised by Mao Zedong as "relying on the masses to resolve contradictions on the spot." He initiated unprecedented ecological restoration and protection actions, including a "major physical examination" of the Yangtze River and a "10-year fishing ban". He said, "To cure the disease of the Yangtze River, we still use the methods of old Chinese medicine", "dispel wind and drive away cold, relax tendons and invigorate blood, and channel meridians, so that the mother river can always maintain its vitality." Under his leadership, China's ecological and environmental protection has undergone historic, turning and overall changes, with bluer skies, greener mountains and clearer water.
Picture: On the afternoon of September 20, 2023, Xi Jinping inspected the Zhedong Canal Cultural Park in Shaoxing City, Zhejiang Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi
Xi Jinping has integrated the ancient ideals of Huairou Yuanren and Concord into the diplomatic thinking of the new era, and put forward the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind. In 2016, at the invitation of Xi Jinping, the leaders of the G20 went to the West Lake to watch the performance of "The Most Memorable is Hangzhou", and at that time he proposed that China "does not want to sing a one-man show" and "not to build its own back garden", but to build a hundred gardens shared by all countries. In his congratulatory letter to the 2023 World Conference on Chinese Studies Shanghai Forum, he pointed out that "we will promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and inject ideological and cultural strength into the prosperity of the garden of world civilizations."
A new path to civilization
A research institute in the United States wrote that Xi Jinping is not only the "inheritor and protector" of civilization, but also the "creator" of civilization.
China's cultural traditions and current national conditions have determined that the new form of human civilization led by Xi Jinping will take a different path from the West. This new form of civilization is Chinese modernization, which covers nearly 20% of the world's population, narrows the gap between the rich and the poor, achieves material and spiritual harmony, does not sacrifice the environment in exchange for development, and never expands and dominates the world.
When Xi Jinping was young, he read Marcuse's "One-Dimensional Man" and saw the drawbacks of "one-dimensionality" in the state of human existence caused by the erosion of capital in Western modernization, and always hoped to promote the solution of the imbalance between material and spiritual, man and nature. Striving for the coordinated development of material, political, spiritual, social and ecological civilization is the distinctive feature of Xi Jinping's "new culture of our time" and "the modern civilization of the Chinese nation".
Photo: On June 2, 2023, Xi Jinping attended a symposium on cultural inheritance and development in Beijing and delivered an important speech. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Ju Peng
Xi Jinping has used physics to compare the difference between Chinese modernization and the developed countries of the West as a "tandem" development process. If China wants to recover the "lost 200 years", it is determined that its development will inevitably be a "parallel" process of superimposed development of industrialization, informatization, urbanization, and agricultural modernization.
In 2019, he defined Shenzhen as a pilot demonstration area of socialism with Chinese characteristics, from which you can get a glimpse of what future modernization will look like. Shenzhen, adjacent to Hong Kong, is a special economic zone (SEZ) that Deng Xiaoping promoted more than 40 years ago. The city, twice the size of New York and known as the "Capital of Innovation," is the first thing guests can see from the airport welcome wall the famous phrase of Verne: "What can be imagined by mortals, someone will be able to make it happen." On the streets, there are placards with the words "Empty talk will ruin the country, but hard work will prosper the country". From electric vehicles to new drones, from low-carbon pilots to smart cities, innovations are emerging. There is an average of one park and library every few hundred metres, and theatres are scattered throughout the city. The public service system is complete and convenient, there are many social welfare organizations, and officials serve the people and enterprises with due diligence.
In the north, the Xiong'an New Area, which is under construction, is another new socialist modern city planned by Xi Jinping. In May last year, Xi Jinping came to inspect and paid special attention to the ecology of Baiyangdian. In 1985, Xi Jinping came here to take a look at Baiyangdian, but the people's sentence "Don't look at it, the water is dry" made him discouraged. This time he saw Baiyangdian, the water and the sky are the same, and hundreds of birds are gathering. He demanded that Baiyangdian should not be destroyed because of the construction of the Xiong'an New Area, and that the two should complement each other, rather than fight each other. Xiong'an's concept of "conserving water sources" and "green development" fully embodies the ancient ecological wisdom of "taking it in moderation and using it sparingly".
Xi Jinping has identified Zhejiang as a demonstration zone for common prosperity. He visited Lizu Village in Yiwu last year and saw that this once dirty, messy and poor village has become a neat and beautiful model village for common prosperity, and the villagers' income exceeds the national rural average. Xi Jinping walked into the "Gongfu Market" in the village, asked about the sales of hand-woven bamboo baskets of returning college students, observed the works of students in tie-dye shops, and chatted with entrepreneurial young people who opened coffee shops about the coffee they had drunk. He praised the market for its good performance, not only rich in products but also rich in traditional culture.
Picture: On the morning of September 20, 2023, Xi Jinping inspected Li Zu Village, Houzhai Street, Yiwu City, Jinhua City, Zhejiang Province. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi
In an interview with Xinhua News Agency, authoritative theoretical experts in the party believed that the Chinese-style modernization led by Xi Jinping has integrated 5,000 years of Chinese civilization with Marxism, gathered a more basic, deeper and more lasting force for national rejuvenation, made China increasingly close to the center of the world stage, and Chinese civilization has increasingly had a profound impact on the world.
"Xi Jinping interprets the path, theory and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics from historical origins, national feelings and humanistic thoughts, shows the world China's image as a civilized power, the image of an oriental power, the image of a responsible power and the image of a socialist power, enhances the international community's awareness and understanding of China's road and Chinese civilization, reflects the firm confidence of the Chinese communists and the Chinese people in providing Chinese solutions for mankind's exploration of a better social system, and provides Chinese wisdom for solving the problems of the world and the times. The unremitting pursuit of making greater contributions. Wang Xuebin, director of the Chinese History Teaching and Research Department of the Party School of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China (National Academy of Administration), said.
Xi Jinping's leadership in building a new type of modern socialist country has broken the one-line view of history that all countries should take the Western system model as their destination. Not only that, Xi Jinping has also put forward a series of new concepts on exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations and international relations, indicating that China will always be a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order.
This is fully reflected in Xi Jinping's 2013 proposal to build a "community with a shared future for mankind", which is unified with the ancient Chinese concept of "one family under heaven", depicts the vision of "world harmony", shows a new direction for the development of world civilization, and opens up a new process for the ultimate realization of human liberation and the all-round development of human freedom.
There are fears that a strong China will challenge the existing world order. Xi Jinping believes that Chinese civilization has the characteristics of inclusiveness, and China can form a "harmonious but different" way of getting along with other countries in the world. Chinese culture advocates that "the use of etiquette, harmony is precious", "all things are nurtured without harming each other, and the Tao is parallel but not contradictory", which has great value in today's world.
He introduced "The Art of War" to foreign friends, saying that the essence of this famous military book is to fight cautiously and not to fight. The concept of "harmony is precious" has been integrated into the bloodline of the Chinese nation and engraved into the genes of the Chinese people. He put forward a global security initiative called "Peace for All Generations" and called for "jointly maintaining world peace and tranquility".
Since October last year, the escalation of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict has caused a humanitarian catastrophe. When meeting with foreign heads of state and attending multilateral events, Xi Jinping repeatedly called for a ceasefire and an end to hostilities between the two sides, stressing that the implementation of the "two-state solution" is the fundamental way out. China presided over a high-level meeting of the UN Security Council on Israeli-Palestinian issues, pushed for the adoption of the first resolution of the Security Council since the outbreak of the conflict, sent a special envoy to promote peace talks, stepped up humanitarian assistance, and extended a helping hand to the people of Gaza in need.
Also in the turbulent Middle East, Saudi Arabia and Iran achieved a historic resumption of diplomatic relations last year brokered by China. "This is an inspiring example. "Influential powers can be peacemakers, bringing warring parties to the negotiating table." ”
Photo: On March 27, 2014, Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at UNESCO headquarters in Paris. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Yao Dawei
"The friendship between countries lies in the people-to-people relationship", Xi Jinping often mentions this ancient Chinese saying during his foreign visits. In the face of the American people, he said that "whether China and the United States are adversaries or partners" is the first question to be answered, and this is a fundamental and general question, and "China is willing to be partners and friends with the United States." He said that China and Russia will always be friends, and China is a reliable friend of Africa. He pushed China to deepen and expand its global partnership of equality, openness and cooperation.
He put forward the Global Civilization Initiative, which is called "Building the Heart of Heaven and Earth", promoting the common values of all mankind, calling for "jointly advocating respect for the diversity of world civilizations" and "fully tapping the historical and cultural values of all countries", and making a strong response to the "theory of civilization estrangement", "the theory of clash of civilizations", and the "theory of superiority of civilizations".
Xi Jinping's Global Development Initiative (GDI) has been called "Livelihood for the People", calling for "prioritizing development", "putting the people at the center", and "leaving no country behind in the process of world modernization". His Belt and Road Initiative is known as the modern version of the Silk Road. More than 150 countries have signed cooperation documents with China, attracting nearly a trillion dollars in investment. Xi Jinping quoted "calculating profits should be calculated for the benefit of the world" and "establishing oneself and helping others" to explain the value choices and feelings of righteousness and benefit for win-win cooperation.
When Xi Jinping was young, he talked about his understanding of the Confucian creed of "self-cultivation and unity to govern the country and level the world", saying: "'Peaceful world' is not to fight the world, not to rule the world, but to let the people get rid of poverty, live and work in peace and contentment, and have enough food and clothing." The whole world will take you as an example to develop peacefully, use your ideas to harmonize all nations, and achieve great harmony, which is not far from 'peaceful world'. ”
In December last year, Xi Jinping paid tribute to Mao Zedong's remains, saying that the best commemoration of Mao Zedong is to continue to push forward the cause he started. He quoted Mao Zedong as saying: "We must always work hard! We must always move forward desperately! Our golden world, the glorious world, is just ahead!"
"The best inheritance of history is to create a new history, and the greatest respect for human civilization is to create a new form of human civilization. Xi Jinping said.
