Cultivating New Quality Productive Forces Requires a New Era Craftsmanship Spirit

Contemporary China’s craftsmanship spirit is underpinned by the people-centeredness of Marxism: while pursuing the upgrading of material production, it also pursues the universal sharing of the fruits of material development, the elevation of workers’ status, and the guarantee of their treatment. The organic integration of contemporary China’s craftsmanship spirit with new quality productive forces can significantly enhance the humanistic concern of new quality productive forces, enable new quality productive forces to gain stronger support from the masses, and promote the development of new quality productive forces by improving new-type relations of production. Therefore, to further cultivate new quality productive forces on the new journey, it is necessary to correctly grasp and apply this spiritual driving force.

当代中国的工匠精神以马克思主义的人民性为底色，追求物质生产水平提升的同时，更追求物质发展成果的全民共享，以及劳动者地位的提高和待遇的保障。当代中国工匠精神与新质生产力的有机结合能够显著增强新质生产力的人文关怀，让新质生产力获得更有力的群众支援，并从完善新型生产关系方面推动新质生产力的发展。因此，要在新征程上进一步壮大新质生产力，就要正确把握和运用这种精神动力。

Significantly enhancing the humanistic concern of new quality productive forces

显著增强新质生产力的人文关怀

Contemporary China’s craftsmanship spirit takes Marxism as its ideological guide and is underpinned by the people-centeredness of Marxism; it contains the value ideal of Marxism to realize the liberation of the proletariat, the liberation of all humanity, and the free and comprehensive development of each individual. The organic integration of craftsmanship spirit with new quality productive forces will powerfully promote the universal sharing of the fruits of development of new quality productive forces, thereby significantly enhancing their humanistic concern.

当代中国的工匠精神以马克思主义为思想引领，以马克思主义的人民性为底色，蕴藏着马克思主义实现无产阶级解放、全人类解放和每个人自由而全面发展的价值理想。工匠精神与新质生产力的有机结合，将有力推动新质生产力发展成果的全民共享，从而显著增强新质生产力的人文关怀。

The craftsmanship spirit originated in material production activities and primarily concerns the material production sphere. From ancient times to the present, craftsmen, relying on the craftsmanship spirit and their superb skills, have provided society with a steady stream of material products. The constantly improving craft products also satisfy people’s ever-growing needs, providing a practical foundation for the inheritance and development of the craftsmanship spirit and keeping it ever fresh. Thus, “the constant striving for perfection” is the deep impression the craftsmanship spirit leaves on people; on many occasions, exquisitely made products are the very embodiment of the craftsmanship spirit. Contemporary China’s craftsmanship spirit, however, sublates the typical forms of the craftsmanship spirit in the past. Taking “dedication and focus, constant striving for perfection, scrupulous attention to detail, and the pursuit of excellence” as its main content, it both retains the craftsmanship tradition of “constant striving for perfection” and creatively puts forward “the pursuit of excellence” as the ultimate value goal: while ensuring that products are refined in form and high in quality, it does everything possible to make products universally beneficial and practical, thereby improving people’s wellbeing more broadly. In the *Mozi*, Mo Di [2]2 Mo Di (Mozi, c. 470–391 BCE) was a Chinese philosopher who advocated universal love and practical utility. The passage cited criticizes Lu Ban’s elaborate wooden bird as useless compared to a practical axle pin, recorded in the *Mozi*. criticized Lu Ban’s bamboo-and-wood bird that could fly for three days without falling, saying: “Your work is not as good as the craftsman who makes axle pins. In a moment he trims a piece of wood three inches thick and it can bear a load of fifty piculs. Thus, a creation that is beneficial to people is called ingenious; one that is not beneficial to people is called clumsy.” This passage expresses a similar idea: technological invention must take into account the real life of the masses; bizarre inventions divorced from the masses are not truly useful [3]3 “Bizarre inventions divorced from the masses” translates 奇技淫巧, a four-character idiom meaning “strange techniques and excessive cleverness,” often used derogatorily for inventions lacking practical benefit for the people.. In axiological terms, the “excellence” in the craftsmanship spirit is analogous to Mo Di’s “ingenuity.” The more excellent a craft product, the more it should focus on satisfying the needs of the masses. In other words, only products that can truly meet the needs of the masses can be counted as excellent products. This value pursuit is especially important for the development of new quality productive forces.

工匠精神肇端于物质生产活动，也主要观照物质生产领域。从古至今，工匠们凭借工匠精神，运用精湛技艺为社会发展提供着源源不断的物质产品。精益求精的工匠产品也满足着人们不断增长的需求，为工匠精神的传承发展提供着实践基础，使其历久弥新。因此，“精益求精”是工匠精神给人们留下的深刻印象，在很多场合，精致的产品往往就是工匠精神的代言。而当代中国的工匠精神扬弃了以往的工匠精神典型形态，以“执着专注，精益求精，一丝不苟，追求卓越”为主要内容，既保留了工匠精神“精益求精”的造物传统，又创造性地提出“追求卓越”这一价值旨归，即在保证产品造型精致、质量上乘的同时，尽可能让产品普惠和实用，更广泛地提高人民福祉。在《墨子》中，墨翟对鲁班飞天三日而不落的竹木喜鹊批评道：“子之为也，不如匠之为车辖。须臾刘三寸之木，而任五十石之重。故所为功，利于人谓之巧，不利于人谓之拙。”这段话也表达了类似的意思。技术发明要观照人民群众的现实生活，脱离群众的奇技淫巧并不堪用。在价值论意义上，工匠精神中的“卓越”与墨翟讲的“巧”相类似，越是卓越的工匠产品，越是要关注对人民群众需求的满足。换言之，能够真正满足人民群众需求的产品，才算得上是卓越的产品。这一价值追求点对于新质生产力的发展尤其重要。

As General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out, new quality productive forces are an advanced form of productive forces characterized by innovation as the leading driver, breaking free from traditional modes of economic growth and development paths, and featuring high technology, high efficiency, and high quality, in keeping with the new development philosophy. People must pay attention not only to the progress of new quality productive forces in material aspects such as science and technology but also to their adherence to the new development philosophy, especially the implementation of “sharing” [4]4 “Sharing” here refers to the concept of shared development, one of the five components of the new development philosophy (innovation, coordination, greenness, openness, and sharing), which is emphasized as the essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics. – the essential requirement of socialism with Chinese characteristics – that is, development must be for the people, rely on the people, and the fruits of development must be shared by the people.

正如习近平总书记指出的那样，新质生产力是创新起主导作用，摆脱传统经济增长方式、生产力发展路径，具有高科技、高效能、高质量特征，符合新发展理念的先进生产力质态。人们既要关注新质生产力在科学技术等物质方面的进步，也要关注新质生产力对新发展理念的坚持，特别是对新发展理念中“共享”这一中国特色社会主义本质要求的践行，即必须坚持发展为了人民、发展依靠人民、发展成果由人民共享。

Enabling new quality productive forces to gain stronger support from the masses

使新质生产力获得更有力的群众支援

Once new quality productive forces manifest a deeper humanistic concern, the masses will inevitably give them even greater endorsement and support, making the continuous cultivation of new quality productive forces the theme of the workers’ movement in the New Era. The former is the premise of the latter, and the latter is the logical continuation of the former. In fact, this mode of development – demonstrating the benefits of developing productive forces to the masses, enabling them to tangibly share in the fruits of developing productive forces, and thereby gaining the powerful support of a broader mass base – has always been an effective measure of the CPC in leading the broad masses of the people in socialist construction.

在新质生产力体现出更深刻的人文关怀之后，人民群众势必对新质生产力的发展更加拥护和支持，让新质生产力的不断壮大成为新时代工人运动的主题。前者是后者的前提，后者是前者的逻辑延续。事实上，这种通过向群众展示发展生产力的好处、让群众切实分享发展生产力成果，而后获得更广泛群众有力支援的发展方式，也一直是中国共产党带领广大人民群众进行社会主义建设的有效举措。

In the early years of the founding of New China, Chinese society was in ruins; many production sectors, especially industrial ones, could be described as a blank sheet. How to win consensus from all sectors of society on developing industry, realize the country’s socialist industrialization, and turn China into a powerful industrial nation was a major issue confronting the Party Central Committee with Comrade Mao Zedong at its core. As early as 1944, Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out that the reason for China’s backwardness was primarily the lack of modern industry. Why did Japanese imperialism dare to bully China like this? Because China lacked powerful industry. But how should China, a large agricultural country, develop industry, especially heavy industry capable of consolidating China’s national independence? In April 1956, in *On the Ten Major Relationships* [5]5 *On the Ten Major Relationships* (《论十大关系》) is a speech by Mao Zedong in April 1956 analyzing ten major contradictions in socialist construction and advocating balanced development between heavy industry, light industry, and agriculture., he pointed out that there were two ways to develop heavy industry: one was to develop agriculture and light industry less, the other to develop agriculture and light industry more. In February 1957, in *On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People* [6]6 *On the Correct Handling of Contradictions among the People* (《关于正确处理人民内部矛盾的问题》) is a speech by Mao Zedong in February 1957 that distinguishes contradictions among the people from contradictions with enemies and discusses China’s industrialization path., he devoted a special chapter to the question of China’s path to industrialization. He said: Our country is a large agricultural country, with the rural population accounting for over 80 percent of the national population; developing industry must be carried out simultaneously with developing agriculture. As the supply of machinery, fertilizers, water conservancy projects, electrical power, transport, civilian fuel, and civilian building materials for agriculture increases, the fact that heavy industry uses agriculture as an important market will become easier for people to understand. With a market and capital, heavy industry will develop faster. Thus, the pace of industrialization may seem slower, but in fact it will not be slower, and may even be faster.

在新中国成立初期，中国社会百废待兴，许多生产部门尤其是工业生产部门可算得上是一穷二白。如何争取社会各界对发展工业的共识，实现国家的社会主义工业化，把中国建设成一个强大的工业化国家，是摆在以毛泽东同志为核心的党中央面前的重要问题。毛泽东同志在1944年就指出，中国落后的原因主要是没有新式工业。日本帝国主义为什么敢于这样地欺负中国？就是因为中国没有强大的工业。但作为农业大国的中国又应当怎样发展工业，特别是能够巩固中国民族独立的重工业呢？1956年4月，他在《论十大关系》中指出，我们现在发展重工业可以有两种办法，一种是少发展一些农业、轻工业，一种是多发展一些农业、轻工业。1957年2月，他又在《关于正确处理人民内部矛盾的问题》中专章论述了中国工业化道路的问题。他说，我国是一个农业大国，农村人口占全国人口的百分之八十以上，发展工业必须和发展农业同时并举。随着为农业服务的机械、肥料、水利建设、电力建设、运输建设、民用燃料、民用建筑材料等日益增多，重工业以农业为重要市场的情况将会易于为人们所理解。重工业有了市场，有了资金，就会更快地发展。这样，工业化的速度看起来似乎慢一些，但是实际上不会慢，或者反而可能快一些。

It can be said that the achievements of China’s industrialization today are largely due to this unique path of industrialization, which vividly practices the Marxist mode of thinking and working method of seeking truth from facts. Concern for and service to the masses ultimately won the broad support of the vast number of workers and peasants for China’s industrialization. Today, through the organic integration of craftsmanship spirit and new quality productive forces, the message will continue to be conveyed to the masses: if the masses jointly support the development of new quality productive forces, the fruits will certainly be enjoyed by the masses and will certainly serve the masses’ production and life. Only then will the masses burst forth with even greater enthusiasm for cultivating and strengthening new quality productive forces, and new quality productive forces can truly develop.

可以说，中国的工业化能够取得今天的成就，很大程度要归功于这种独特的工业化道路，它生动地实践了马克思主义者们实事求是的思想方法和工作方法。对人民群众的关心和服务，也最终赢得了广大工农对中国发展工业化的广泛支援。今天，通过工匠精神与新质生产力的有机结合，也将不断向人民群众传递这样的信息：人民群众共同支援新质生产力的发展，成果必然由人民群众享有，必然服务于人民群众的生产生活。只有这样，人民群众才会迸发出培育壮大新质生产力的更大热情，新质生产力才能真正地发展起来。

Improving new-type relations of production to promote the development of new quality productive forces

完善新型生产关系推动新质生产力发展

Historical materialism holds that relations of production must correspond to the developmental requirements of the productive forces. To develop new quality productive forces, we must further deepen reform comprehensively and form new-type relations of production that are compatible with them. Promoting the craftsmanship spirit in contemporary China is aimed not only at creating more high-quality products to serve the masses, but also at fostering a social environment that respects labor, respects knowledge, respects talent, and respects creation, improving the treatment of talent, forming new-type relations of production, and attracting and cultivating more high-quality personnel.

唯物史观认为，生产关系必须与生产力发展要求相适应。发展新质生产力，必须进一步全面深化改革，形成与之相适应的新型生产关系。在当代中国弘扬工匠精神，不仅是为了创造更多优质产品服务于人民群众，也是为了在全社会营造尊重劳动、尊重知识、尊重人才、尊重创造的环境，提高人才待遇，形成新型生产关系，吸引和培育更多高素质人才。

In ancient China, during the handicraft period described as “examining the curved and the straight, considering the situation, trimming the five materials, and differentiating them to make implements for the people” [7]7 This phrase, from the “Kaogongji” (Artificers’ Record) section of the *Rites of Zhou* (《周礼·考工记》), describes the craftsman’s tasks of examining materials and making useful implements., craftsmen formed a craftsman spirit in the struggle to transform the material world, a spirit that enhanced creative ability and labor efficiency. They created a host of world-renowned technical achievements and attained a leading technological position globally. However, owing to the irreconcilable contradictions between the ruling class and the ruled class, the important means of production were monopolized by the ruling class, the craftsman group was split into official craftsmen and folk craftsmen, and the vast majority of craftsmen were in an exploited position over the long term. Thus, on the whole, the ancient Chinese craftsman spirit concerned only material products, and the alienated craft labor could hardly serve the craftsmen’s own development.

在古代中国“审曲面势，以饬五材，以辩民器”的手工业时期，工匠们在改造物质世界的斗争活动中形成了具有提高创造能力和劳动效率的匠人精神，创造了一大批举世瞩目的技术成就，取得了领先世界的技术地位。但由于统治阶级和被统治阶级不可调和的矛盾关系，重要的生产资料被统治阶级垄断，工匠群体被分化为官匠、民匠，绝大部分工匠长期处于被剥削地位。所以，从整体上看，中国古代的匠人精神仅只观照物质产品，异化的工匠劳动难以服务工匠自身发展。

By contrast, contemporary China’s craftsmanship spirit holds that the overall development of productive forces must rely on the development of people, and it explicitly regards the development of things as a link in the development of people. As General Secretary Xi Jinping has stressed, we must not only strive to cultivate and produce outstanding engineers and great-country craftsmen and continuously improve the quality of all types of talent, but also improve the mechanism for the distribution of income according to factors of production, so as to better reflect the market value of knowledge, technology, and talent. Therefore, in this sense, the craftsmanship spirit can play an important role in promoting the reform of distribution relations and the improvement of interpersonal relations in production, becoming an important lever for developing and perfecting new-type relations of production. Further, the promotion of the craftsmanship spirit can drive the development of new quality productive forces through the medium of new-type relations of production, thereby promoting a positive interaction between new quality productive forces and new-type relations of production, and achieving high-quality development faster and better.

与之相反，当代中国的工匠精神认为生产力的整体发展必须依靠人的发展，也明确把物的发展作为人的发展的环节。正如习近平总书记强调，既要着力培养造就卓越工程师、大国工匠，不断提高各类人才素质，也要健全要素参与收入分配机制，更好体现知识、技术、人才的市场价值。因此，在这个意义上，工匠精神能够起到推动分配关系改革和生产中人与人关系改善的重要作用，成为发展完善新型生产关系的重要抓手。进一步地说，对工匠精神的弘扬，能以新型生产关系为媒介推动新质生产力发展，进而促进新质生产力和新型生产关系良性互动，更快更好实现高质量发展。

To further realize the important function of the craftsmanship spirit in promoting the development of new quality productive forces, in the labor policies and other policies that China will enact in the future to support the development of new quality productive forces, the status of the craftsmanship spirit must be fully highlighted; the economic treatment and social status of the vast number of workers should be raised; existing policies should be fully implemented; and the content of already promulgated policies that does not conform to the values of the craftsmanship spirit with Chinese characteristics should be promptly cleared and adjusted. In addition, the Marxist educational viewpoint of “combining labor with education” [8]8 “Combining labor with education” (劳教结合) refers to the Marxist principle of integrating education with productive labor, which was incorporated into CPC educational policy, especially during the Yan’an period and subsequent socialist construction. should be thoroughly implemented in the education system, combining cultural education, skills education, and moral education practice to forge workers’ cultural abilities, technical capacities, and moral sentiments, and to set off a new high tide of the workers’ movement aimed at cultivating and strengthening new quality productive forces and promoting high-quality development.

为了进一步发挥工匠精神推动新质生产力发展的重要功能，在我国今后颁布的劳动政策等支持新质生产力发展的政策中，要充分彰显工匠精神的地位，引导社会提高广大劳动者的经济待遇、社会地位，充分落实已有政策，及时清理和调整已颁布的政策中不符合中国特色工匠精神价值观念的内容。还要在教育体系中充分贯彻马克思主义“劳教结合”的教育观点，将文化教育、技能教育、道德教育实践结合起来，铸就劳动者的文化本领、技术能力和道德情操，掀起新一轮以培育壮大新质生产力、推动高质量发展为目的的工人运动高潮。

(The author is a research fellow at the Industrial Culture Research Center of Hubei University of Technology)

（作者系湖北工业大学工业文化研究中心研究员）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧