Deeply Understand and Grasp “Upholding the Party’s Cultural Leadership”

Upholding the Party’s cultural leadership is one of the core tenets of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, from the strategic height of the future and destiny of the Party and the state, has profoundly understood and grasped the extreme importance of upholding the Party’s cultural leadership, systematically answered major questions such as what the Party’s cultural leadership is, why it must be upheld, and how to uphold and consolidate it, and provided the fundamental guidance for firmly grasping the Party’s leadership over ideological work and building a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leading power.

坚持党的文化领导权是习近平文化思想的核心要义之一。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央从事关党和国家前途命运的战略高度，深刻认识和把握坚持党的文化领导权的极端重要性，系统回答了什么是党的文化领导权、为什么要坚持党的文化领导权、怎样坚持和巩固党的文化领导权等重大问题，为牢牢掌握党对意识形态工作领导权、建设具有强大凝聚力和引领力的社会主义意识形态提供了根本遵循。

Understanding the Rich Connotation of Upholding the Party’s Cultural Leadership

理解坚持党的文化领导权的丰富内涵

A certain culture is the conceptual reflection of a certain society’s economy and politics, and possesses distinct ideological attributes. In essence, cultural leadership is the leadership of ideological work, determining the direction of cultural progress and the path of development. As the embodiment of the Party’s leading position in the field of propaganda, ideology, and culture, the Party’s cultural leadership is mainly manifested in the leadership, management, and discursive power over ideological work, forming a strong cultural force by stimulating culture’s cohesion, appeal, and attraction. On the one hand, it enhances the cohesion and leading power of the mainstream ideology through cultural production and dissemination, as well as the use of cultural resources; on the other hand, it deepens the public’s cultural cognition through cultural media such as artifacts, symbols, and performances. Emphasizing upholding the Party’s cultural leadership means both emphasizing that our Party must firmly grasp the leadership, management, and discursive power over ideological work in its own hands, and emphasizing the Party’s leading role in building a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, requiring the implementation of Party leadership in all aspects and the entire process of cultural construction.

一定的文化是一定社会的经济和政治在观念形态上的反映，具有鲜明的意识形态属性。就其实质而言，文化领导权即为意识形态工作领导权，决定着文化前进方向和发展道路。作为党的领导地位在宣传思想文化领域的体现，党的文化领导权主要体现为对意识形态工作的领导权、管理权、话语权，通过激发文化的凝聚力、感召力、吸引力形成强大文化力量。一方面，通过文化生产及传播、运用文化资源等方式增强主流意识形态的凝聚力和引领力；另一方面，通过器物、符号、表演等文化媒介深化公众的文化认知。强调坚持党的文化领导权，既是强调我们党要把意识形态工作的领导权、管理权、话语权牢牢掌握在手中，也是强调党在建设中国特色社会主义文化中的主导作用，要求把党的领导贯彻落实到文化建设的各方面、全过程。

Mastering ideological leadership is the foundation for mastering all leadership. The Party’s leadership is comprehensive, systematic, and holistic. In terms of content, it means effectively implementing Party leadership in all aspects, including economic construction, political construction, cultural construction, social construction, ecological civilization construction, national defense and the military, national reunification, diplomatic work, and Party building. In terms of form, there are political leadership, ideological leadership, and organizational leadership, among which ideological leadership is the foundation of all leadership. Thought is the precursor of action, and theory is the guide to practice. Whether the Party’s ideological leadership is strong directly determines the success or failure of practice. History and reality have repeatedly proven that only the attraction and cohesion of thought are intrinsic, strong, and enduring. Looking at the course of human social development, only by mastering cultural leadership can an emerging class establish its dominant position in the cultural field, and thereby grasp the initiative in creating history. Conversely, once cultural leadership is lost, the spiritual banner cannot be raised high or firmly planted, leading to losing the direction of progress and the driving force for struggle. Therefore, it is necessary to profoundly understand the foundational role of ideological leadership in strengthening Party leadership, persistently place ideological leadership in a more prominent position, and continuously gather spiritual strength for the Party’s comprehensive leadership.

掌握思想领导是掌握一切领导的基础。党的领导是全面的、系统的、整体的。在内容上就是要切实把党的领导落实到经济建设、政治建设、文化建设、社会建设、生态文明建设和国防军队、祖国统一、外交工作、党的建设等各方面。在形式上有政治领导、思想领导、组织领导，其中思想领导是一切领导的基础。思想是行动的先导，理论是实践的指南。党的思想领导是否有力，直接决定着实践的成败。历史和现实反复证明，只有思想上的吸引力和凝聚力，才是内在的、强大的且持久的。纵观人类社会发展历程，新兴的阶级唯有掌握文化领导权，方可确立起在文化领域的主导地位，进而掌握创造历史的主动权。反之，一旦丧失了文化领导权，精神旗帜举不高、树不牢，就会迷失前进方向、失去奋斗动力。因此，必须深刻认识思想领导对加强党的领导的基础性作用，坚持把思想领导摆在更加突出位置，不断为党的全面领导凝聚精神力量。

Exerting a leading role is the key method for mastering leadership. The Party plays a leading role in the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the New Era, mainly manifested in strong ideological leading power, spiritual cohesion, value appeal, and discursive influence. Exerting the Party’s ideological leading power means firmly grasping the leadership of ideological work, upholding the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological domain, using Marxism and its theoretical achievements in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times to guide the direction of cultural progress and the path of development, and providing a strong ideological guarantee for vigorously developing advanced socialist culture. Core values determine the nature and direction of culture; core socialist values are the essence of advanced socialist culture. It is necessary to exert the Party’s role in building core values with strong appeal, and unremittingly use core socialist values to lead cultural construction. Discursive power determines the initiative; the key to upholding the Party’s cultural leadership lies in mastering discursive power, continuously exploring the construction of international discursive power commensurate with China’s comprehensive national strength and international status, and constantly enhancing the influence and appeal of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. In addition, deepening the reform of the cultural system and mechanism is an important pathway for developing advanced socialist culture. It is necessary to give full play to the Party’s core leadership role in overall planning and coordinating all parties, and unswervingly deepen the reform of the cultural system and mechanism.

发挥主导作用是掌握领导权的关键方式。党在新时代中国特色社会主义文化建设中起主导作用，主要表现为强大思想引领力、精神凝聚力、价值感召力、话语影响力。发挥党的思想引领力，就是要牢牢掌握意识形态工作领导权，坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位，以马克思主义及其中国化时代化的理论成果引领文化前进方向和发展道路，为大力发展社会主义先进文化提供坚强有力的思想保障。核心价值观决定着文化的性质和方向，社会主义核心价值观是社会主义先进文化的精髓，必须发挥党在构建具有强大感召力的核心价值观中的作用，坚持不懈用社会主义核心价值观引领文化建设。话语权决定主动权，坚持党的文化领导权关键在于掌握话语权，持续探索构建同我国综合国力和国际地位相匹配的国际话语权，不断增强中国特色社会主义文化的影响力和感召力。此外，深化文化体制机制改革是发展社会主义先进文化的重要途径，必须充分发挥党总揽全局、协调各方的领导核心作用，坚定不移将文化体制机制改革引向深入。

Enhancing a High Degree of Consciousness in Consolidating Cultural Subjectivity

增强巩固文化主体性的高度自觉

Upholding the Party’s cultural leadership is a theoretical summary by the Party Central Committee of its profound insight into the trend of the times, its accurate grasp of the laws of economic and social development, and its refinement of the practical experience of cultural construction in the New Era, reflecting our Party’s high degree of consciousness in consolidating cultural subjectivity.

坚持党的文化领导权，是党中央深刻洞察时代发展大势、准确把握经济社会发展规律、提炼新时代文化建设实践经验的理论总结，体现了我们党对巩固文化主体性的高度自觉。

Upholding the Party’s cultural leadership concerns the future and destiny of the Party and the state. Realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation requires cultural prosperity and development as its marker and support. The great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered an irreversible historical process, and the risks and challenges it faces are becoming increasingly complex and severe. With the rapid development of China’s economy and technology and the profound adjustment of social interest patterns, people’s ideological concepts are becoming increasingly active and diverse. In particular, the new round of technological revolution and industrial transformation is in the ascendant; modern information technologies such as mobile internet and artificial intelligence are changing the modes of information production and dissemination as well as people’s production and lifestyles, profoundly reshaping media forms, public opinion ecology, and cultural formats, creating new challenges for consolidating and strengthening the mainstream ideology and public opinion. At the same time, the struggle in the ideological domain is complex and acute; the infiltration of various hostile forces in the ideological domain still exists, seriously affecting people’s thinking and the social public opinion environment. In response, it is necessary to unswervingly uphold the Party’s cultural leadership, firmly guard the ideological and public opinion front, draw ideological wisdom and striving strength from cultural inheritance and development, build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leading power, and provide a strong ideological guarantee for comprehensively advancing the building of a strong country and the great cause of national rejuvenation.

坚持党的文化领导权事关党和国家前途命运。实现中华民族伟大复兴，需以文化上的繁荣发展为标识和支撑。中华民族伟大复兴进入不可逆转的历史进程，面临的风险挑战也愈发复杂严峻。随着我国经济和科技快速发展、社会利益格局深刻调整，人们的思想观念日趋活跃、多元。尤其是新一轮科技革命和产业变革方兴未艾，移动互联网、人工智能等现代信息技术改变着信息生产传播方式和人们的生产生活方式，深刻重塑媒体形态、舆论生态和文化业态，对巩固壮大主流思想舆论形成新的挑战。同时，意识形态领域的斗争复杂尖锐，各种敌对势力在意识形态领域的渗透依然存在，严重影响人们思想和社会舆论环境。对此，必须坚定不移坚持党的文化领导权，牢牢守住思想舆论阵地，从文化传承发展中汲取思想智慧与奋进力量，建设具有强大凝聚力和引领力的社会主义意识形态，为全面推进强国建设、民族复兴伟业提供坚强思想保证。

Upholding the Party’s cultural leadership is an inevitable requirement for consolidating cultural subjectivity and mastering the initiative in thought and culture. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized, “For any culture to stand firm and go far, to have leading power, cohesion, shaping power, and radiating power, it must have its own subjectivity” and “With cultural subjectivity, there is a firm self in the cultural sense, and cultural confidence has a fundamental foundation.” Cultural subjectivity not only reflects a country’s and a nation’s conscious awareness of its own culture but also embodies the proactive spirit of cultural innovation and creation, and is an important basis for establishing cultural leadership. China is in a critical period where the overall strategic situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the changes unseen in a century in the world are intertwined and mutually agitated. Various ideological cultures around the world exchange, blend, and clash, and human civilization stands at a crossroads of where to go. The Communist Party of China is both an active advocate and developer of advanced socialist culture and a guardian of cultural subjectivity. To consolidate cultural subjectivity, it is necessary to uphold the Party’s cultural leadership. Once the Party masters cultural leadership, it will have a strong cultural force to lead the times, providing solid cultural support for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and contributing wisdom to promoting the progress of human civilization.

坚持党的文化领导权是巩固文化主体性、掌握思想和文化主动的必然要求。习近平总书记强调，“任何文化要立得住、行得远，要有引领力、凝聚力、塑造力、辐射力，就必须有自己的主体性”“有了文化主体性，就有了文化意义上坚定的自我，文化自信就有了根本依托”。文化主体性不仅反映了一个国家和民族对自身文化的自觉意识，而且体现着进行文化创新创造的主动精神，是确立文化领导权的重要基础。我国处于中华民族伟大复兴战略全局和世界百年未有之大变局相互交织、相互激荡的关键时期，世界范围内各种思想文化交流交融交锋，人类文明站在何去何从的十字路口。中国共产党既是社会主义先进文化的积极倡导者和发展者，也是文化主体性的坚守者。巩固文化主体性，必须坚持党的文化领导权。党掌握了文化领导权，就有了引领时代的强大文化力量，为实现中华民族伟大复兴提供坚实的文化支撑，为促进人类文明进步贡献智慧。

Grasping the Practical Requirements for Upholding the Party’s Cultural Leadership

把握坚持党的文化领导权的实践要求

Possessing the guidance of Marxist scientific theory is our Party’s distinct political character and strong political advantage. To uphold the Party’s cultural leadership, it is necessary to uphold the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological domain, and unremittingly use the Party’s innovative theory to consolidate souls and build spirit. As the latest achievement of the Party’s innovative theory, Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is contemporary Chinese Marxism, 21st-century Marxism, the essence of the times of Chinese culture and the Chinese spirit, and the guiding ideology that the Party and the state must adhere to for a long time. It is necessary to firmly grasp the primary political task of arming the entire Party and educating the people with the Party’s innovative theory, and give play to the foundational role of theoretical construction in upholding the Party’s cultural leadership. Improve the relevant work system, enhance the quality of theoretical propaganda, strengthen leading power and appeal, continuously enhance the political, ideological, theoretical, and emotional identification of the broad masses of cadres and the people with the Party’s innovative theory, and better transform the Party’s innovative theory into a powerful force for understanding and transforming the world.

拥有马克思主义科学理论指导是我们党鲜明的政治品格和强大的政治优势。坚持党的文化领导权，就必须坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位，坚持不懈用党的创新理论凝心铸魂。作为党的创新理论的最新成果，习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想是当代中国马克思主义、21世纪马克思主义，是中华文化和中国精神的时代精华，是党和国家必须长期坚持的指导思想。要牢牢把握用党的创新理论武装全党、教育人民这个首要政治任务，发挥理论建设对坚持党的文化领导权的基础作用。健全相关工作体系，提高理论宣传质量，强化引领力和感召力，不断增进广大干部群众对党的创新理论的政治认同、思想认同、理论认同、情感认同，更好把党的创新理论转化为认识和改造世界的强大力量。

Culture is the domain most in need of innovation; the powerful driving force for cultural flourishing and development lies in keeping pace with the times. To uphold the Party’s cultural leadership, it is necessary to persist in carrying out cultural creation amid practical creation and in achieving cultural progress amid historical progress. Based on the great historical practice and contemporary practice of the Chinese nation, we must be adept at drawing wisdom and strength from them, always maintain resonance with the people and synchronization with the times, continuously advance cultural innovation on the basis of practical innovation, use innovation to enhance the driving force for cultural development and activate the source of civilizational progress, and constantly create cultural achievements that transcend time and space, surpass national boundaries, possess eternal charm, and have contemporary value. While promoting innovation, it is also necessary to uphold integrity [4]4 “Upholding integrity” (守正, shǒuzhèng) is a term in contemporary Chinese political discourse that means adhering to fundamental principles, especially the core tenets of socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Party’s leadership, while allowing for innovation. and grasp the correct direction of socialist cultural development. Only by upholding integrity can we avoid losing ourselves and losing our direction; only by innovating can we grasp the era and lead the era.

文化是最需要创新的领域，文化繁荣发展的强大动力在于与时俱进。坚持党的文化领导权，必须坚持在实践创造中进行文化创造、在历史进步中实现文化进步。立足中华民族伟大历史实践和当代实践，善于从中汲取智慧和力量，始终保持与人民同频、与时代共振，持续推进实践创新基础上的文化创新，以创新增强文化发展动力、激活文明进步源泉，不断创造出跨越时空、超越国度、富有永恒魅力、具有当代价值的文化成果。在推动创新的同时，还需坚持守正，把握好社会主义文化发展的正确方向。守正才能不迷失自我、不迷失方向，创新才能把握时代、引领时代。

The Party’s cultural leadership is not abstract but concrete; it is necessary to implement the comprehensive leadership of the Party over propaganda, ideology, and cultural work in practice. On the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen the centralized and unified leadership of the Party Central Committee over propaganda, ideology, and cultural work, improve the leadership and management systems and mechanisms for cultural construction, adhere to the Party’s management of propaganda, the Party’s management of ideology, the Party’s management of media, and the Party’s management of the internet, and strive to do a good job in propaganda, ideology, and cultural work. On the other hand, adhere to the unity of Party spirit and people’s nature, adhere to the people-centered development thought, unify the expression of the Party’s propositions with the reflection of the people’s voices, mobilize the initiative, creativity, and enthusiasm of all parties, and gather a powerful joint force for building a culturally strong country.

党的文化领导权不是抽象的而是具体的，必须把坚持和加强党对宣传思想文化工作的全面领导落到实处。一方面，要加强党中央对宣传思想文化工作的集中统一领导，完善文化建设领导管理体制机制，坚持党管宣传、党管意识形态、党管媒体、党管互联网，努力做好宣传思想文化工作。另一方面，坚持党性和人民性相统一，坚持以人民为中心的发展思想，把体现党的主张和反映人民心声统一起来，调动各方面积极性、主动性、创造性，汇聚起文化强国建设的强大合力。

(The author is a researcher at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and a researcher at the Institute of Philosophy, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences)

（作者系中国社会科学院习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心研究员、哲学研究所研究员）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心