The Original Contributions of Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought to Historical Materialism

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC [1]1 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development” (2023). listed “focusing on building a socialist cultural power” as one of the “seven focal points” for further deepening reform comprehensively, charting the course for China’s cultural development in the New Era. [2]2 “Universal light” (普照光) is a metaphor used by Marx in the *Grundrisse* to describe how a dominant mode of production casts its light over all other forms, shaping their appearance. Xi Jinping pointed out at the National Conference on Propaganda, Ideology and Cultural Work: “Propaganda, ideology and cultural work bear on the future and destiny of the Party, on the long-term stability and security of the country, and on the cohesion and centripetal force of the nation; it is an extremely important task.” [3]3 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The German Ideology* (1845–1846). As the latest achievement of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times in the cultural sphere, Xi Jinping’s cultural thought creatively puts forward important theses such as “the Second Integration,” [4]4 Mao Zedong, “On New Democracy” (1940). “consolidating cultural subjectivity,” and “creating a new form of human civilization,” profoundly answering key questions such as “for whom to build, how to build, and the direction of development” in building a socialist cultural power, and making original theoretical contributions to Marxist thought. Xi Jinping’s cultural thought not only advances the Marxist theoretical system at the levels of cultural stance, cultural subjectivity, and cultural mission, but also further proposes “accelerating the construction of Chinese discourse and Chinese narrative systems” in the process of Chinese-path modernization, promoting China’s achievement of spiritual independence and self-reliance as well as cultural confidence and strength. Accurately understanding and grasping the original contributions of Xi Jinping’s cultural thought helps to truly unleash its irreplaceable role as an ideological guide in building a socialist cultural power and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

党的二十届三中全会将“聚焦建设社会主义文化强国”列为进一步全面深化改革的“七个聚焦”之一，为新时代我国文化建设指明了前进方向。习近平在全国宣传思想文化工作会议上指出:“宣传思想文化工作事关党的前途命运，事关国家长治久安，事关民族凝聚力和向心力，是一项极端重要的工作。”作为马克思主义中国化时代化在文化领域的最新成果，习近平文化思想创造性提出了“第二个结合”“巩固文化主体性”“创造人类文明新形态”等重要论断，深刻回答了建设社会主义文化强国中“为谁建设、如何建设和发展方向”等关键性问题，对马克思主义思想作出了具有原创性的理论贡献。习近平文化思想不仅在文化立场、文化主体性以及文化使命层面推进了马克思主义理论体系，而且在中国式现代化进程中进一步提出“加快构建中国话语和中国叙事体系”，推动我国实现精神独立自主和文化自信自强。准确理解和把握习近平文化思想的原创性贡献，有助于真正发挥其在建设社会主义文化强国、实现中华民族伟大复兴中所具有的无可替代的思想引领作用。

I. Clearly Marking the People-Centered Nature of Socialist Culture

一、鲜明地标识出社会主义文化的人民性

The question of stance concerns the essence and core of culture. Marx, starting from “real individuals,” demonstrated that culture is the historical condensation of human practical activity at a certain stage; from its very inception, culture possesses the characteristic of “human

立场问题关乎文化的本质与核心。马克思从“现实的人”出发论证了文化是人类实践活动在一定阶段的历史凝结，文化自产生之初便具有“人化”的特征。习近平文化思想作为马克思主义中国化时代化在文化领域的新飞跃，将马克思关于文化是“人类实践活动的对象化”的理解置于新时代中国特色社会主义文化建设中，鲜明地标识出社会主义文化的人民性，强调文化必须反映人民愿望、满足人民需求，“以人民为中心”回答了社会主义文化强国“为谁建设”的问题。

(I) “Developing advanced socialist culture” highlights the people-centered stance

(一)“发展社会主义先进文化”突显了以人民为中心的鲜明立场

Culture is the concrete manifestation of the historical mode of human existence. Marx revealed the “human character” of culture in the practical activities of human material production, i.e., culture is the product of the practical activities of “real individuals.” While upholding this theoretical quality, Xi Jinping’s cultural thought does not stop at the broad claim that culture is “the historical condensation of human practical activities.” Rather, in the context of Chinese-path modernization, it endows culture with a people-oriented character, advocates developing advanced socialist culture that meets the spiritual and cultural needs of the people, and thereby highlights the people-centered fundamental stance.

文化是人类历史性存在方式的具体呈现。马克思在人的物质生产实践活动中揭示了文化的“属人性”，即文化是“现实的个人”实践活动的产物。习近平文化思想在秉持这一理论特质的前提下，并未停留于宽泛意义上的主张———文化是“人类实践活动的历史凝结”，是在中国式现代化语境下，赋予文化以人民性，主张发展满足人民精神文化需求的社会主义先进文化，突显的就是以人民为中心的根本立场。

Marx’s thesis on the relationship between culture and humanity laid the theoretical foundation for Xi Jinping’s cultural thought to propose the advocacy of “developing advanced socialist culture.” Marx emphasized that, with the improvement of the level of productive forces and the emergence of the social division of labor, “people who produce social relations in accordance with their own material production level also produce various ideas and categories,” where various ideas and categories refer to culture. Following Marx’s view, humans are naturally natural beings, subject to the laws of nature yet capable of understanding and utilizing these laws to serve themselves. At the same time, humans also manifest as social beings, who, after satisfying material and spiritual needs, seek respect in social interaction. Therefore, culture, in its mode of presentation, appears as all spiritual activities and their products—including various material products, spiritual products, and social institutions—produced by humans at specific stages. It should be said that Marx’s view of culture as “humanization” transcended the speculative philosophical notion that reduces culture to “God” or “absolute spirit,” endowing culture with a force of reality. Xi Jinping’s cultural thought further places this reality within the construction of a socialist cultural power, emphasizing the need to “firmly stand with the people, grasp their aspirations, respect their creativity, and concentrate their wisdom, to form a theory that is loved, recognized, and possessed by the people.” Thus, the “cultural” subject in Xi Jinping’s cultural thought is not all “real individuals” but specifically the broad masses of the people. Consequently, meeting the growing spiritual and cultural needs of the people constitutes the premise and driving force for “developing advanced socialist culture.”

马克思关于文化与人的关系论断，为习近平文化思想提出“发展社会主义先进文化”的主张奠定了理论基础。马克思强调伴随着生产力水平的提高和社会分工的出现，“适应自己的物质生产水平而生产出社会关系的人，也生产出各种观念、范畴”，其中各种观念、范畴就是指文化。依循马克思的观点，人天然地表现为自然存在物，既受自然规律的支配，又可以认识和利用自然规律为自己服务。同时，人还表现为社会存在物，满足物质和精神需求后会追求在社会交往中被尊重。因此，文化从其呈现方式而言，展现为人类在特定阶段生产的各种物质产品、精神产品、社会制度等全部精神活动及其产物。应当说，马克思关于文化的“人化”观超越了思辨哲学将文化归结为“上帝”或“绝对精神”的理念，赋予了文化以现实性的力量。而习近平文化思想进一步将这种现实性置于社会主义文化强国建设中，强调必须“站稳人民立场、把握人民愿望、尊重人民创造、集中人民智慧，形成为人民所喜爱、所认同、所拥有的理论”。由此可见，习近平文化思想中的“文化”主体，并非一切“现实的个人”，而是特指广大人民群众，因此，满足人民群众日益增长的精神文化需求构成了“发展社会主义先进文化”前提和动力。

From the “human character” of culture to “developing advanced socialist culture” reveals the clear value orientation of Xi Jinping’s cultural thought. Marx uncovered the reality and power of culture from the productive practice of “real people,” providing a historical materialist stance for cultural development in a general sense. On the eve of the founding of the People’s Republic of China, Mao Zedong solemnly declared to the world: “The era when the Chinese people were considered uncivilized has passed; we will appear in the world as a nation with a high level of culture.” At a new historical starting point, Xi Jinping emphasizes “focusing on building a socialist cultural power and upholding the fundamental system of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological domain,” while continuously enriching the material foundation of modernization and consolidating the material conditions for the people’s happy life, “vigorously developing advanced socialist culture” and promoting the coordinated development of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress. It can be said that the emphasis on developing advanced socialist culture means that, in guiding the construction of a socialist cultural power, Xi Jinping’s cultural thought consistently adheres to a people-centered cultural development concept, continuously strengthens the spiritual foundation for the people’s pursuit of a better life, and advances the “humanizing” attribute of culture in terms of fundamental stance.

从文化的“属人性”到“发展社会主义先进文化”，彰显了习近平文化思想明确的价值指向。马克思从“现实的人”的生产实践中揭示了文化的现实性和力量，为一般意义上的文化发展提供了唯物史观立场。中华人民共和国成立前夕，毛泽东就向全世界庄严宣告:“中国人被人认为不文明的时代已经过去了，我们将以一个具有高度文化的民族出现于世界。”在新的历史起点上，习近平强调“聚焦建设社会主义文化强国，坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位的根本制度”，在不断厚植现代化的物质基础、夯实人民幸福生活的物质条件的同时，“大力发展社会主义先进文化”，推动物质文明和精神文明协调发展。可以说，对发展社会主义先进文化的强调，意味着习近平文化思想在指导社会主义文化强国的建设中，始终秉持以人民为中心的文化发展理念，不断筑牢人民追求美好生活的精神基础，在根本立场上推进了文化的“人化”属性。

(II) “Upholding the primacy of the people” stimulates the cultural innovation and creativity of the entire nation

(二)“坚持人民至上”激发了全民族文化创新创造活力

Humans are the subject and value measure of social history, as well as the decisive force driving cultural progress. Marx regarded culture as “the objectification of the essential forces of humanity,” and through analyzing the “species-essence” of humans, he revealed the common goal of culture and society: the free and comprehensive development of humans. Because of different historical periods, Marx did not live in an era where the people were the masters of their own affairs, so the subject of the free and comprehensive development he envisioned was all of humanity. However, different subjects have different pursuits of “freedom”; especially in class societies with class antagonism, the freedom pursued by the proletariat and the bourgeoisie is fundamentally conflicting. On the new journey of the New Era, Xi Jinping’s cultural thought advocates the necessity of “upholding the primacy of the people,” aiming to achieve the comprehensive development of the broadest masses of the people as the goal to promote China’s cultural construction, and to innovate Marx’s questions of “for whom” and “relying on whom” in cultural development with the historical initiative of “stimulating the cultural innovation and creativity of the entire nation.”

人是社会历史的主体和价值尺度，也是推动文化进步的决定力量。马克思将文化视为“人的本质力量的对象化”，并通过分析人的“类本质”揭示出文化与社会共同的目标———人的自由全面发展。由于历史时期的不同，马克思并没有生活在人民当家作主的时代，所以他所设想的自由全面发展的主体是全人类。然而，不同主体对“自由”的追求是有差异的，尤其存在阶级对立的阶级社会中，无产阶级与资产阶级追求的自由就是根本冲突的。新时代新征程，习近平文化思想主张必须“坚持人民至上”，以实现最广大人民的全面发展为目标推动我国文化建设，以“激发全民族文化创新创造活力”的历史主动性创新了马克思关于文化发展“为了谁”和“依靠谁”的问题。

Regarding the essence of culture, there have been different views in the history of human thought: the German philosopher Hegel regarded culture as the movement of self-consciousness with absolute spirit as its ultimate destination, while Feuerbach intuitively saw culture as the product of isolated individual activities. Marx creatively introduced humans as the subjective factor, arguing that “man is not merely a natural being, but a human natural being; that is, a being existing for itself, and therefore a species-being.” In Marx’s view, free conscious activity, as the species-characteristic of humans, confirms and expresses itself in object-oriented activity; thus, the development of culture must aim at realizing humans’ free conscious activity. Engels also clearly stated: “Every advance in culture is a step toward freedom.” However, due to differences in fundamental interests and value positions among different classes, different social subjects have essentially different understandings of culture. For example, bourgeois culture serves the need for the infinite multiplication and expansion of capital, and such culture is not what Marx tirelessly sought. Therefore, although Marx provided a theoretical foundation for Xi Jinping’s cultural thought in the “freedom” dimension of culture, what kind of freedom China’s cultural development in the New Era should achieve, and by whose power this freedom should be realized, still need further clarification.

关于文化的本质，在人类思想发展史上有过不同的观点:德国哲学家黑格尔将文化看作自我意识的运动过程并以绝对精神为最终归宿，费尔巴哈则将文化直观地视为一个个孤立的个人活动的产物。马克思创造性地将人作为主体因素引入其中，认为“人不仅仅是自然存在物，而且是人的自然存在物，就是说，是自为地存在着的存在物，因而是类存在物”。在马克思看来，自由的有意识的活动作为人的类特性，在对象性活动中确证并表现着自身，因而文化的发展必然以实现人的自由自觉的活动为目的。恩格斯也明确指出:“文化上的每一个进步，都是迈向自由的一步。”然而，由于不同阶级根本利益与价值立场的不同，不同社会主体对于文化的理解具有本质差别，一如资产阶级的文化是服务于资本无限增殖和扩张的需要，如此这般的文化并非马克思所孜孜以求的。因此，尽管马克思在文化的“自由”维度为习近平文化思想提供了理论基础，但是，新时代中国的文化发展应当实现何种自由，以及依靠谁的力量来实现这种自由，则需进一步澄清。

Xi Jinping’s cultural thought upholds “people-centeredness,” taking the comprehensive development of the broad masses of the people as the goal of cultural construction. Marx revealed the freedom-oriented direction of cultural development, and Xi Jinping further integrated this with China’s concrete realities, linking the development of advanced socialist culture with the aspirations of the broadest masses of the people. On the one hand, shifting from a standpoint of “all humanity” to a focus on “people-centeredness,” the goal of cultural development is for the people, pursuing the spiritual quest of realizing the people’s comprehensive development as its mission, thereby ideologically ensuring that China’s cultural construction does not change its character or lose its direction in the process of exploring “taking its own path.” On the other hand, Xi Jinping points out: “Fully stimulate the creative vitality of the entire nation’s culture, and continuously consolidate the common ideological foundation for the united struggle of the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country.” [1]1 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development” (2023). From meeting the people’s needs to stimulating the creative vitality of the entire nation’s culture, what Xi Jinping’s cultural thought reveals is a development concept: the vitality of culture comes from the people, and a culture “for the people” must also be built by the people. Therefore, the people are both enjoyers of cultural achievements and the inexhaustible source and driving force of cultural innovation.

习近平文化思想坚持“人民至上”，是以广大人民的全面发展作为文化建设目标。马克思揭示出文化发展的自由导向，而习近平进一步结合中国具体实际，将发展社会主义先进文化与最广大人民群众的追求联系起来。一方面，从立足“全人类”到聚焦“人民至上”，文化的发展目标是为了人民，以实现人民全面发展的精神追求作为使命追寻，从思想上保证我国文化建设在探索“走自己的路”的过程中不变色、不迷失方向。另一方面，习近平指出:“充分激发全民族文化创新创造活力，不断巩固全党全国各族人民团结奋斗的共同思想基础。”从满足人民需要到激发全民族文化创新创造活力，习近平文化思想展现的是这样的发展理念，即文化的生命力来自人民，“为了人民”的文化又需要人民来建设。因此，人民既在享受文化成果，也是文化创新的不竭源泉和动力。

(3) “Practicing the core socialist values” has strengthened the cohesion of socialist ideology

(三)“践行社会主义核心价值观”增强了社会主义意识形态的凝聚力

Ideology determines the direction and path of cultural development. What is ideology? Marx, through a philosophical transformation, closely linked philosophy with social reality, advancing the transformation of social reality through the critique of philosophical thought, thereby unveiling the mystery of bourgeois ideology. Constrained by the revolutionary situation of the time—capitalist civilization, as a beam of “universal light,” [2]2 “Universal light” (普照光) is a metaphor used by Marx in the *Grundrisse* to describe how a dominant mode of production casts its light over all other forms, shaping their appearance. dominated all civilizations—Marx’s theory of ideology focused on critiquing various erroneous bourgeois ideas. In contrast, Xi Jinping’s cultural thought concerns how the proletariat, after establishing state power, can achieve ideological consciousness, value identification, and cultural confidence—that is, how to cultivate and practice the core socialist values. Its specific content makes an original contribution to the Marxist theoretical system in terms of the value orientation of “for whom to build” socialist culture.

意识形态决定文化的前进方向和发展道路。何为意识形态?马克思通过哲学变革将哲学与社会现实密切联系起来，以哲学思想的批判推进社会现实的变革，由此揭示出资产阶级意识形态的神秘面纱。受制于当时的革命形势———资本主义文明作为一束“普照光”凌驾于一切文明之上，马克思的意识形态理论侧重于对资产阶级各种错误思想的批判。而习近平文化思想关注的则是无产阶级在建立国家政权之后如何实现意识形态自觉、价值观的认同和文化自信，即如何培育和践行社会主义核心价值观的问题，其具体内涵在社会主义文化“为谁建设”这个价值导向上对马克思主义理论体系作出了原创性贡献。

Marx’s essential definition of ideology not only provides a value orientation but also philosophically establishes the methodological foundation for Xi Jinping to elucidate ideological issues. In *The German Ideology*, Marx creatively introduced the category of practice into the realm of ideas and concepts, asserting that “it is not consciousness that determines life, but life that determines consciousness.” [3]3 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The German Ideology* (1845–1846). Only by returning to the real social relations from which ideology arises can one truly grasp the essence of ideology. Mao Zedong once pointed out: “A certain culture (as an ideological form) is a reflection of the politics and economy of a given society, and it in turn exerts a great influence and effect upon that society’s politics and economy.” [4]4 Mao Zedong, “On New Democracy” (1940). This further clarifies the active role of ideology from the perspective of the dialectical relationship between social existence and social consciousness. Building on this, Xi Jinping timely proposed to “strive to build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leading power.” [5]5 Xi Jinping, “Report to the 19th National Congress of the CPC” (2017). This both upholds Marx’s social-historical determination of ideology and clarifies the mode of operation of ideology within the state power of a socialist country.

马克思关于意识形态的本质性规定不但在价值导向上，而且在哲学上奠定了习近平阐明意识形态问题的方法论基础。在《德意志意识形态》中，马克思创造性地将实践范畴引入思想观念领域，主张“不是从观念出发来解释实践，而是从物质实践出发来解释各种观念形态”，只有回到意识形态产生的现实的社会关系中，方可实现对意识形态本质的真正把握。毛泽东曾指出:“一定的文化(当作观念形态的文化)是一定社会的政治和经济的反映，又给予伟大影响和作用于一定社会的政治和经济。”进一步从社会存在与社会意识的辩证关系角度阐明了意识形态的能动作用。在此基础上，习近平适时提出要“着力建设具有强大凝聚力和引领力的社会主义意识形态”。既秉持了马克思关于意识形态的社会历史规定性，又明确了意识形态在社会主义国家政权中的展开方式。

The shift from “destruction”—Marx’s critique of bourgeois ideology—to “construction”—the process of building socialist ideology in the New Era—constitutes the original contribution of Xi Jinping’s cultural thought to Marxist ideological theory. Constrained by the social-historical conditions of the proletariat at the time, Marx’s theory of ideology was primarily unfolded through the critique of various erroneous social trends. For instance, in the *Communist Manifesto*, Marx enumerated types including reactionary socialism, conservative or bourgeois socialism, and critical-utopian socialism and communism, [6]6 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The Communist Manifesto* (1848), Section III. thereby dispelling these false ideologies and elucidating the future vision that “the free development of each is the condition for the free development of all.” [7]7 Ibid., Section II. Although Marx had already clarified the basic principle that social existence determines social consciousness, the term “ideology” was at one time labeled pejoratively, referring specifically to ideologies distorted by the bourgeoisie; the construction of a proletarian ideology had not yet been placed on the historical agenda as a task. Clearly, Marx’s critique of various erroneous trends provided the prerequisite theoretical preparation for China’s ideological construction. On this basis, Xi Jinping’s cultural thought put forward a new thesis—to build a socialist ideology serving the people with strong cohesion and leading power. At the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, Xi Jinping emphasized “promoting the normalization and institutionalization of ideal and belief education” and advocated “improving the institutional mechanisms for cultivating and practicing the core socialist values,” [8]8 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC” (2024). profoundly answering the question of how ideology can “establish the mind for the nation and set the soul for the people” under the conditions where socialist state power has already been established. This not only elevates Marx’s critique of ideology to the theoretical height of constructing a mainstream socialist ideology but also creatively achieves a leap in the spirit and value concepts of the Chinese nation.

由“破”———马克思批判资产阶级的意识形态，到“立”———新时代建设社会主义意识形态的过程，构成了习近平文化思想对马克思主义意识形态理论的原创性贡献。受制于当时无产阶级所处的社会历史条件，马克思的意识形态理论主要通过批判各种错误社会思潮的方式来展开。如在《共产党宣言》中，马克思罗列了包括反动的社会主义、保守的或资产阶级的社会主义、批判的空想的社会主义和共产主义，以破除这些虚假意识形态的方式，阐明了“每个人的自由发展是一切人的自由发展的条件”的未来图景。尽管马克思已阐明社会存在决定社会意识这个基本原理，但是意识形态一词在当时一度被贴上了贬义的标签，特指被资产阶级歪曲了的意识形态，建构无产阶级的意识形态还没有被当作历史任务提上日程。显然，马克思对各种错误思潮的批判为我国意识形态建设提供了前提性的理论准备，习近平文化思想在此基础之上提出了新的论断———要建设具有强大凝聚力和引领力的服务于人民的社会主义意识形态。习近平在党的二十届三中全会上强调“推动理想信念教育常态化制度化”，并主张“完善培育和践行社会主义核心价值观制度机制”，深刻回答了在社会主义国家政权已经建立的条件下，意识形态如何“为国家立心、为民族立魂”的问题，既将马克思的意识形态批判提升到建设社会主义主流意识形态的理论高度，也创造性地实现了中华民族精神和价值理念的跃升。

II. Developing the worldliness of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics by consolidating cultural subjectivity

二、以巩固文化主体性发展了中国特色社会主义文化的世界性

Cultural subjectivity concerns a nation’s sense of identity and cohesion. Along with the globalization of production, division of labor, and exchange, as well as the opening of world history, Marx elucidated the worldliness of culture from the perspective of universal civilizational interaction, standing on the position of the international communist movement and calling on the proletariat to unite and “break most radically with all traditional ideas.” [9]9 *The Communist Manifesto*, Section II. After the victory of the proletarian revolution, the problem domain shifted from transforming the capitalist cultural form to shaping the cultural subjectivity of socialism. Xi Jinping creatively proposed the “Second Integration,” [10]10 The “Second Integration” (第二个结合) refers to Xi Jinping’s thesis that Marxism must be integrated not only with China’s concrete realities (the first integration) but also with its excellent traditional culture. answering the question of “how to build” a socialist cultural power. In absorbing excellent traditional culture, it places the civilizational achievements of contemporary China within the context of the Chinese nation’s five-thousand-year civilization, making them compatible with the enduring value concepts and emotional pursuits of the Chinese people. In drawing on the achievements of modern civilization, it timely proposes “consolidating the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation,” [11]11 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development” (2023). and in the mutual learning and exchange with world cultures, it manifests a “firm self in the cultural sense,” [12]12 Ibid. opening a new chapter in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

文化主体性事关民族的认同感和凝聚力。伴随着生产、分工和交往的全球化以及世界历史的开辟，马克思从文明的普遍交往中阐明文化的世界性，站在国际共产主义运动的立场上，号召无产阶级联合起来与一切传统观念“实行最彻底的决裂”。而在无产阶级革命取得胜利之后，问题域便由变革资本主义文化形态向塑造社会主义文化主体性的方向转变。习近平创造性地提出“第二个结合”，解答了“如何建设”社会主义文化强国的问题。在吸收优秀传统文化方面，将当代中国的文明成果置于中华民族五千多年文明的背景中去理解，使其与中国人一以贯之的价值理念、情感追求相融通;在借鉴现代文明成果方面，适时提出“巩固中华民族的文化主体性”，在与世界文化交流互鉴中，彰显出“文化意义上坚定的自我”，开启了马克思主义中国化时代化的新篇章。

(1) From universal civilizational interaction to consolidating the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation

(一)从文明的普遍交往到巩固中华民族的文化主体性

The relationship between nationality and worldliness constitutes the “China-West” debate in cultural development. Marx, taking the development of productive forces as an objective premise, elucidated the issue of the worldliness of culture within the context of world history and revealed “universal cultural interaction” and its causes. In the New Era, how to adhere to one’s own cultural stance amidst the cultural expansion of Western countries has become a key issue in China’s ideological and cultural construction. Xi Jinping has emphasized “consolidating cultural subjectivity” in multiple speeches, using the development of the “national self” of culture to break free from the ideological shackles of the Western model.

民族性与世界性的关系构成了文化发展的“中西”之争。马克思以生产力的发展为客观前提，在世界历史语境中阐明了文化发展的世界性问题，并揭示出“普遍的文化交往”及其成因。在新时代，如何在西方国家的文化扩张中坚守自身的文化立场成为我国思想文化建设的关键所在，习近平在多次讲话中强调“巩固文化主体性”，以发展文化的“民族自我”跳出了西方模式的思想禁锢。

Marx revealed that the natural attribute of capital’s pursuit of profit and expansion brought about the universal intercourse of civilizations, providing the background of the history of human civilization’s development for today’s “consolidation of cultural subjectivity.” In modern times, the exchange and integration of the political, economic, and social life of peoples around the world seem to herald the arrival of an era of integrated human cultural development. The integration of various nationalities into the wave of globalization through universal cultural intercourse is both a realistic path for humanity to jointly move toward modern civilization and an important component of Marx’s theory of world history. As Marx put it: “The bourgeoisie, by the rapid improvement of all instruments of production, by the immensely facilitated means of communication, draws all, even the most barbarian, nations into civilization.” [13]13 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The Communist Manifesto* (1848), in *Marx & Engels Collected Works*, vol. 6 (London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1976), p. 488. In terms of its form of expression, the developmental process of world history appears merely to be the expansion of capital and large-scale industry in the economic sphere; however, this expansion in fact forms a global impact on the “cultural self” of nation-states. Capital causes “nations in a state of nature to be subordinated to civilized nations, peasant peoples to be subordinated to bourgeois peoples, the East to be subordinated to the West.” [14]14 Ibid. The complex situation facing the development of socialist advanced culture in contemporary China is: on the one hand, socialist culture cannot completely detach itself from Western modern civilization; on the other hand, it is impossible to fully enter into Western modern civilization. If China’s cultural development is to escape the ideological entrapment of Western expansionist “cultural intercourse” and not lose its cultural self, then it must, starting from historical premises completely different from those of the West, inaugurate a type of civilization suited to its own particularity. At this point, the importance of cultural subjectivity becomes prominent.

马克思揭示了资本逐利和扩张的自然属性带来了文明的普遍交往，为当今“巩固文化主体性”提供了人类文明发展史的背景。近代以来，世界各国人民政治、经济、社会生活的交流与融合，似乎也预示着人类文化融合发展的时代即将到来，各个民族通过普遍的文化交往融入全球化浪潮中，既是人类共同走向现代文明的现实道路，也是马克思主义世界历史理论的重要内容。正如马克思所提出的:“资产阶级，由于一切生产工具的迅速改进，由于交通的极其便利，把一切民族甚至最野蛮的民族都卷到文明中来了。”从表现形式上看，世界历史的发展进程似乎仅仅是资本与大工业在经济领域的扩张，然而，这种扩张事实上在全球范围内形成了对民族国家“文化自我”的冲击。资本使得“未开化和半开化的国家从属于文明的国家，使农民的民族从属于资产阶级的民族，使东方从属于西方”。当代中国发展社会主义先进文化面对的复杂现状是:一方面，社会主义文化无法完全脱离西方现代文明;另一方面，则是不可能完全进入西方现代文明。如果说，中国的文化发展要摆脱西方扩张型“文化交往”的思想裹挟，不迷失文化自我，那么，就需要从与西方完全不同的历史前提中开启出适应自身特殊性的文明类型，此时，文化主体性的重要性就突显出来了。

Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought takes consolidating the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation as its basic stance, and through the “Second Integration” [15]15 The “Second Integration” (第二个结合) refers to the combination of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s fine traditional culture, as distinct from the first integration of Marxism with China’s concrete realities. It was formally proposed by Xi Jinping in 2021. successfully resolves the “China-West” debate in culture. Cultural subjectivity is the external manifestation of a national culture’s particularity. Xi Jinping emphasizes: “For any culture to stand firm and go far, to have leading power, cohesive power, shaping power, and radiating power, it must have its own subjectivity.” [16]16 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development” (2023), in *Qiushi* 2023, no. 14. Facing the impact of Western culture, Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought defends the subjectivity of Chinese civilization from both historical and theoretical dimensions. Historically, Chinese civilization is the only civilizational form in the world that has continued without interruption to the present day, and it has held fast to its own roots and soul even under the cultural impact of internal and external troubles in modern times. Theoretically, cultural subjectivity is concentratedly expressed as the subjectivity of theoretical discourse. In response to the long-term infiltration and oppression of Western cultural hegemony, Chinese scholarship and discourse for a period either resolutely rejected Western culture or accepted it wholesale without analysis, leading to a situation of weakness in resisting various erroneous trends of thought. Based on this cultural situation of the Chinese nation, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasizes using the “Second Integration” to “consolidate cultural subjectivity.” This not only breaks the Western fantasy of establishing a capitalist discourse “experimental field” in China but also provides ideological guidance for constructing an independent Chinese knowledge system and achieving “spiritual independence and autonomy.”

习近平文化思想以巩固中华民族的文化主体性为基本立场，在“第二个结合”中成功破解文化的“中西”之争。文化主体性是民族文化特殊性的外在表征。习近平强调:“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。”面对西方文化的冲击，习近平文化思想从历史性和理论性双重维度捍卫了中华文明的主体性。就其历史性而言，中华文明是世界上唯一延续至今、从未中断的文明形态，在近代内忧外患的文化冲击下仍然坚守住了自身的根和魂。就其理论性而言，文化主体性集中表现为理论话语的主体性，对于长期以来西方文化霸权的渗透和压迫，中国的学术和话语在一段时间内或是坚决排斥，或是不加分析地全盘接纳西方文化，导致出现了抵制各种错误思潮乏力的状况。基于中华民族的这种文化现状，习近平总书记强调以“第二个结合”“巩固文化主体性”，不仅打破了西方在中国建立资本主义话语“试验田”的幻想，更为建构中国自主知识体系和实现“精神上的独立自主”提供了思想引领。

(II) From Culture as “Spiritual Productive Forces” to Firm Cultural Confidence

(二)从作为“精神生产力”的文化到坚定文化自信

When Marx distinguished between spiritual productive forces and material productive forces based on the division of labor, the role of culture as a spiritual productive force became apparent. At this time, Marx focused on the production of all achievements of human civilization and had not yet deeply considered the question of “for whom” spiritual productive forces serve. Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought examines “spiritual productive forces” from the perspective of Chinese-path modernization, [17]17 Chinese-path modernization (中国式现代化) is the official term for China’s distinctive model of modernization, characterized by features such as a huge population, common prosperity, material and cultural-ethical advancement, harmony between humanity and nature, and peaceful development. consolidating the national attributes and value foundation of spiritual production through the development of socialist advanced culture, and achieving a deeper theoretical breakthrough in the dimension of cultural subjectivity on the basis of cultural consciousness and cultural confidence.

当马克思以劳动分工对精神生产力和物质生产力作出区分时，文化作为一种精神生产力的作用便得以显现。此时的马克思着眼于人类一切文明成果的生产，尚未深入思考精神生产力“为谁服务”的问题。习近平文化思想以中国式现代化的视角透视“精神生产力”，通过发展社会主义先进文化夯实精神生产的民族属性和价值根基，在文化自觉、文化自信的基础上实现了文化主体性维度更深层次的理论突破。

Marx’s thesis on “spiritual productive forces” provides the theoretical premise for Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought. In *The German Ideology*, Marx discovered that besides the practical relations of material production, humans also have intercourse at the level of ideas, thought, and spirit, and that this “production of ideas, of conceptions, of consciousness, is at first directly interwoven with the material activity and the material intercourse of men, the language of real life.” [18]18 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The German Ideology* (1845–46), in *Marx & Engels Collected Works*, vol. 5 (London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1976), p. 36. In *Capital* and its manuscripts, Marx further analyzed spiritual productive forces. He regarded the contradiction between human intellectual and physical strength as an important driving force for the development of productive forces. As “large-scale industry” separated science as an independent productive capacity from labor, spiritual productive forces gained their own independent development. Thus, spiritual productive forces as a self-contained system of productive factors were revealed. However, under the domination of such spiritual productive forces, culture could only exist as a part of production and served only production in a general sense, lacking national cohesive power and a guiding dimension. Chinese-path modernization is not only a process of greatly increasing material productive forces; as it deepens, it must also be a process of凝聚ating the spiritual strength of the Chinese nation and promoting the common values of all humanity. Viewed in this light, how to construct spiritual productive forces compatible with material productive forces, and how to enhance the confidence and sense of belonging of the Chinese nation while developing spiritual productive forces, constitute the core essence of Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought in answering the question of cultural subjectivity.

马克思关于“精神生产力”的论断为习近平文化思想提供了理论前提。在《德意志意识形态》中，马克思发现人除了具有物质生产实践关系外，还存在观念、思维、精神层面的交往，而这种“思想、观念、意识的生产最初是直接与人们的物质活动，与人们的物质交往，与现实生活的语言交织在一起的”。马克思在《资本论》及其手稿中则进一步剖析了精神生产力，他将人的智力与体力之间的矛盾作为生产力发展的一个重要动力，随着“大工业”把科学作为一种独立的生产能力与劳动分离开来，精神生产力便获得了自身的独立性发展。这样，精神生产力作为一个自成体系的生产要素便被揭示出来。然而，在这种精神生产力的统摄下，文化只能作为生产的一部分而存在，且只服务于一般意义上的生产，缺乏民族的凝聚力和导向性的维度。而中国式现代化不仅是一个物质生产力极大提高的过程，伴随着其深入展开必然也是一个凝聚中华民族精神力量、弘扬全人类共同价值的过程。以此观之，如何在物质生产力中构建与之相适应的精神生产力，以及如何在发展精神生产力的同时提升中华民族的自信心和归属感，便构成了习近平文化思想关于解答文化主体性问题的核心要义。

On the basis of Marxist spiritual and cultural theory, Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought further deepens the development of spiritual productive forces into firm cultural confidence, emphasizing the need to proceed from the particularity of the Chinese nation to carry out a deeper production of spiritual productive forces. Against the backdrop of the “two overall situations,” [19]19 The “two overall situations” (两个大局) refers to the overall situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the overall situation of changes unseen in a century in the world. the convergence and collision between different civilizations intensify, urgently requiring China to establish a value coordinate with strong cohesive power. When it comes to the question of contemporary China’s cultural development, some propose that Western modern civilization is the model of human civilization and that the development path of Western civilization must be followed. However, the culture of each nation is born from the social soil of its specific material production activities. The confidence of cultural confidence absolutely does not lie in copying or imitating the culture of other countries, but in “endowing excellent traditional Chinese culture with contemporary connotations and new forms of expression.” [20]20 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Conference Celebrating the 95th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China” (2016). Abstractly applying the development path of Western capitalist culture to China is in fact “premised on erasing and castrating the substantive content and essential differences of the social entity,” [21]21 This phrasing echoes a critique of abstract universalism common in Chinese Marxist discourse, drawing on Hegelian and Marxian concepts of concrete totality. and is a typical manifestation of cultural lack of confidence and lack of autonomy. In response, Xi Jinping clearly states: “Persist in developing Marxism without stopping, rooted in the historical and cultural soil of one’s own country and nation, and strengthen historical confidence and cultural confidence,” [22]22 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Symposium on the Centenary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China” (2021). regarding cultural confidence as “a more fundamental, broader, and deeper confidence.” [23]23 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Conference Celebrating the 95th Anniversary of the Founding of the Communist Party of China” (2016). Viewed in this light, Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought fundamentally rejects treating so-called “modern civilization” with an externally reflective mode of thinking, laying the theoretical foundation for the Chinese nation to adhere to cultural confidence and self-strengthening amid the turbulent dynamics of globalization and to maintain cultural subjectivity in the coexistence of world cultures.

在马克思主义精神文化理论的基础上，习近平文化思想将发展精神生产力进一步深化为坚定文化自信，强调要立足于中华民族的特殊性展开更深层次的精神生产力的生产。在“两个大局”的时代背景下，不同文明之间的交汇碰撞加剧，迫切要求我国建立起具有强大凝聚力的价值坐标。涉及当代中国的文化发展问题时，有人提出西方的现代化文明是人类文明的典范，必须走西方文明的发展道路。然而，每个民族的文化均诞生于其特定物质生产活动的社会土壤，文化自信的底气绝不是对他国文化的照抄照搬，而是要“赋予中华优秀传统文化以时代内涵和新的表现形式”。把西方资本主义文化的发展道路抽象地运用到我国，这其实“是以抹杀和阉割社会的实体性内容与本质差别为前提的”，也是文化不自信和不自主的典型表现。对此，习近平明确指出:“坚持植根本国、本民族历史文化沃土发展马克思主义不停步，坚定历史自信、文化自信”，将文化自信视为“是更基础、更广泛、更深厚的自信”。以此观之，习近平文化思想从根本上拒斥以外部反思的思维方式对待所谓“现代文明”，为中华民族在全球化的激荡态势中坚持文化的自信自强、在世界文化的共存中保持文化主体性奠定了理论基础。

(III) From “the Most Radical Rupture with Traditional Ideas” to Promoting the “Creative Transformation and Innovative Development” of Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture

(三)从“同传统的观念实行最彻底的决裂”到推动中华优秀传统文化的“双创”

The relationship between tradition and modernity is a key issue concerning the cultural survival and development of a nation. In the *Communist Manifesto*, Marx clearly states: “The Communist revolution… in the course of its development, must effect the most radical rupture with traditional ideas.” [24]24 Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels, *The Communist Manifesto* (1848), in *Marx & Engels Collected Works*, vol. 6 (London: Lawrence & Wishart, 1976), p. 519. Here Marx profoundly indicates the essential difference between proletarian ideology and bourgeois ideology. If, before the proletariat establishes political power, it must dismantle the cultural concepts that uphold the dictatorship of the bourgeoisie, then after establishing political power, the proletariat must absorb all positive achievements conducive to its own development. Facing new changes in the conditions of the world, the country, and the Party, Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought, with a distinct consciousness of cultural subjectivity, proposes the “Second Integration,” pointing out the necessity of integrating the “root vein” of excellent traditional Chinese culture with the “soul vein” of Marxism. At the same time, through the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture, it transcends the view of the “tradition-modernity” opposition, demonstrating the contemporary value of excellent traditional Chinese culture.

传统与现代的关系问题是关乎一个民族文化生存和发展的关键所在。马克思在《共产党宣言》中明确提出:“共产主义革命……它在自己的发展进程中要同传统的观念实行最彻底的决裂。”马克思在这里深刻指明了无产阶级意识形态与资产阶级意识形态在本质上的差异。如果说，在无产阶级建立政权之前，要破解维护资产阶级专政的文化观念，那么在建立政权之后，无产阶级就必须吸收一切有利于自身发展的积极成果。面对世情国情党情的新变化，习近平文化思想以鲜明的文化主体性意识提出了“第二个结合”，指明结合中华优秀传统文化“根脉”与马克思主义“魂脉”的必要性。同时，通过对中华优秀传统文化的创造性转化和创新性发展超越了“传统-现代”对立的观点，展现了中华优秀传统文化的当代价值。

From “rupture” to “inheritance,” this reveals the characteristic of Xi Jinping’s cultural thought in continuing the root lineage and encompassing both the ancient and the modern. In Marx’s view, the proletariat in the process of revolution must not only transform the traditional ownership of the means of production—abolish private ownership—but also eliminate the traditional concepts adapted to private ownership, establishing new ideas and concepts adapted to public ownership of the means of production. Regarding those concepts that defend bourgeois private ownership, Marx pointed out: “Your very ideas are but the outgrowth of the conditions of your bourgeois production and bourgeois property… This egotistic idea is common to you and all other ruling classes that have perished.” [25]25 “Grasping the two ends and using the middle” (执两用中) is a classical Chinese idiom from the *Doctrine of the Mean* (《中庸》), referring to a method of moderation that avoids extremes by taking the middle path. However, behind the ideological form lies a complex cultural structure; when a revolutionary transformation of ownership occurs, not all cultural structures are unable to adapt to the new social formation. The excellent traditional Chinese culture is rich in content that discards the old and fosters the new, keeping pace with the times, which precisely illustrates that the Chinese nation has always opposed sticking to old ways and clinging to outdated

从“决裂”到“传承”，彰显出习近平文化思想赓续根脉、涵盖古今的特点。在马克思看来，无产阶级在革命过程中，不仅要变革传统的生产资料所有制———消灭私有制，还要消灭与私有制相适应的传统观念，建立起与生产资料公有制相适应的新思想和新观念。针对那些为资产阶级私有制辩护的观念，马克思指出:“你们的观念本身是资产阶级的生产关系和所有制关系的产物……这种利己观念是你们和一切灭亡了的统治阶级所共有的。”然而，观念形态背后隐藏着复杂的文化结构，在所有制发生革命性转变时，并非所有文化结构都不能适应新的社会形态。中华优秀传统文化中具有丰富的革故鼎新、与时俱进的内容，恰恰说明中华民族历来就反对因循守旧、抱残守缺。习近平不止一次强调源远流长的中华文明蕴含着丰厚的思想资源，“抛弃传统、丢掉根本，就等于割断了自己的精神命脉”。由此可见，习近平文化思想之所以成为符合中国国情的理论成果，其原因恰恰在于揭示了中华优秀传统文化中“尊古而不复古”等辩证法思想的方法论意义，正是这种精神共识构成了中华民族固有的文化基因，为持守中国文化“走自己的路”的文化主体性提供了宽广的历史视野和深厚的价值认同。

The creative transformation and innovative development of fine traditional Chinese culture manifest the broad and profound historical vision of Xi Jinping’s cultural thought. Xi Jinping points out: “Only by

对中华优秀传统文化的创造性转化和创新性发展彰显出习近平文化思想宏阔深远的历史视野。习近平指出:“溯历史的源头才能理解现实的世界，循文化的根基才能辨识当今的中国。”中华优秀传统文化作为习近平文化思想的重要思想资源，其意义绝不是纯粹的过往，而是依然能够活在当下的精神共识。依循马克思，对旧事物的批判“并不限于以自己的自传来证实它所特有的无所不能的本领，证实它能够‘像破天荒地首创新事物那样首创旧事物’”，而是“给第三者、其余的世俗界提出了一项绝对的‘任务’”。由此观之，中华优秀传统文化作为中华文明的历史呈现，在整个中华民族薪火相传的流变中始终保持着一脉相承的连续性和统一性，必须在坚持文化主体性的前提下实现自身的创造性转化和创新性发展。简而言之，习近平文化思想对中华文脉的赓续内在地包含着三个层次:一是分辨，即明辨文化传统的精华和糟粕。二是激活，通过与中国特色社会主义现实相结合，推动中华优秀传统文化调整自身以适应时代的发展。三是创新，以中国式现代化所展现出的文化使命为导向，阐明中国道路的文化底蕴，展现中国特色社会主义独特的文化优势。

III. Providing a Chinese Path That Transcends the Logic of Capital by Creating a New Form of Human Civilization

三、以创造人类文明新形态提供了超越资本逻辑的中国道路

Culture concerns the foundation and destiny of a nation; when culture flourishes, the nation’s destiny flourishes, and when culture is strong, the nation is strong. Marx revealed the logic of capital hidden behind “capitalist civilization” and pointed out that only by transforming the logic of capital can the “paradox of civilization” be reversed. However, Marx did not delve deeply into questions such as how to transform the logic of capital or whether specific measures for transforming the logic of capital should be integrated with a nation’s own cultural traditions. Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought creatively puts forward a new cultural mission: “The best way to inherit history is to create new history, and the greatest respect for human civilization is to create a new form of human civilization.” It emphasizes achieving the “unity of root and soul” in returning to tradition and promoting the common values of all humanity in looking toward the future. From this perspective, Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought embodies a profound cultural sentiment and a strong sense of responsibility for civilization. In the two-way interaction between China and the West, and between the ancient and the modern, it profoundly answers the question of the direction for building a socialist cultural power.

文化关乎国本、国运，文化兴则国运兴，文化强则民族强。马克思揭示了“资本主义文明”背后隐藏的资本逻辑，指出只有变革资本逻辑才可能扭转“文明悖论”。然而，关于如何变革资本逻辑、变革资本逻辑的具体措施是否应该结合本民族文化传统等问题，马克思并未深入阐发。习近平文化思想创造性地提出“对历史最好的继承就是创造新的历史，对人类文明最大的礼敬就是创造人类文明新形态”这一新的文化使命，强调在回归传统中达到“根魂统一”，在展望未来中弘扬全人类共同价值。由此观之，习近平文化思想蕴含着深沉的文化情怀和强烈的文明担当，在中西与古今的双向互动中，深刻回答了社会主义文化强国建设方向的问题。

(i) Cultivating the Foundation through Culture: Achieving Chinese Culture’s Self-Assertion in the “Unity of Root and Soul”

(一)以文培元:在“根魂统一”中实现中国文化之自我主张

The prerequisite for the integration of “root” and “soul” is their mutual compatibility. The inherent compatibility between the basic principles of Marxism and the fine traditional Chinese culture provides the ideological guidance for Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought in developing advanced socialist culture. For example, the *Analects* emphasizes that “the people are the foundation of the state; when the foundation is secure, the state is at peace.” “The public” refers to “the people”; “the people” refers to “the public.” This “people-oriented” thought coincides with Marx’s view in *Capital* of establishing “a social form based on the all-round and free development of each individual,” providing an ideological foundation for Xi Jinping’s cultural development concept that “the people’s creative practice is the inexhaustible source of theoretical innovation.” Moreover, the fine traditional Chinese culture speaks of “the unity of heaven and humanity,” which is reflected both in human practical activities following objective laws and “not acting recklessly,” and in human ethics and morality. These ideas provide an ideological source for Marxism’s judgment on communism—namely, “as completed naturalism, it equals humanism, and as completed humanism, it equals naturalism”—to gain broader recognition in China. It can be said that the inherent compatibility of the “root vein” and the “soul vein” enables the essence of Marxist thought to closely integrate with the common concepts that the Chinese nation uses daily without conscious awareness, thereby consolidating the theoretical foundation and practical basis for Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought.

“根”与“魂”结合的前提是彼此契合，马克思主义基本原理同中华优秀传统文化的内在契合性，为习近平文化思想发展社会主义先进文化提供了思想遵循。例如，《论语》中强调“民为邦本，本固邦宁”，“公”者，“民”也;“民”者，“公”也。这一“民本”思想与马克思在《资本论》中提倡建立“以每个人的全面而自由的发展为基本原则的社会形式”的观点不谋而合，为习近平提出“人民的创造性实践是理论创新的不竭源泉”的文化发展理念提供了思想基础。并且，中华优秀传统文化讲“天人合一”，既体现在人的实践活动要依循客观规律“不妄为”中，也体现在人伦道德中。这些思想为马克思主义关于共产主义的判断，即“作为完成了的自然主义，等于人道主义，而作为完成了的人道主义，等于自然主义”，在中国获得更广泛的认同提供了思想渊源。可以说，“根脉”与“魂脉”的内在契合使马克思主义思想精髓与中华民族日用而不觉的共同观念紧密融合，为习近平文化思想夯实了理论根基和现实基础。

As the cultural form of Chinese-path modernization, Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought runs through the ancient and the modern, integrates substance and function, and achieves Chinese culture’s self-assertion in the “unity of root and soul.” Since modern times, with the intensification of large-scale globalization opened up by modernization, China has also been forcibly drawn into it, experiencing a long period of learning from the outside and once being in a state of “apprenticeship” in the realm of ideology and culture. However, the true maturity of any culture always means that at a certain stage it must break free from this dependent, imitative, and conventional “apprenticeship” and realize the “self-assertion” of its own national culture. With the deepening development of Chinese-path modernization, the Chinese nation has already ushered in a critical period of cultural development. As Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must unswervingly adhere to Marxism as the foundation of our Party and country, the foundation for rejuvenating the Party and the country, and we must unswervingly develop Marxism by rooting it in the fertile soil of our own country’s and nation’s history and culture.” It is not difficult to see that Xi Jinping’s Cultural Thought integrates the universal experience of modern civilization with China’s specific realities, consciously activates the ideological resources of the fine traditional Chinese culture, supports the rooting of Marxist theory in China, and transcends the mode of thinking of bipolar opposition by “grasping the two ends and using the middle,” thereby forming a cultural grand pattern and atmosphere that is inclusive and eclectic.

作为中国式现代化的文化形态，习近平文化思想贯古通今、体用贯通，在“根魂统一”中获得中国文化的自我主张。近代以来，随着现代化开辟出的大规模全球化进程不断加剧，中国也被迫裹挟其中，经历了一个很长时期的向外学习阶段，在思想文化领域一度处于“学徒状态”。然而，任何一种文化的真正成熟，总是意味着其要在特定阶段摆脱这种依赖的、模仿的、因循的“学徒状态”，实现本民族文化的“自我主张”。随着中国式现代化进程的深入发展，中华民族已经迎来了文化发展的关键时期，正如习近平所指出的:“我们必须坚持马克思主义这个立党立国、兴党兴国之本不动摇，坚持植根本国、本民族历史文化沃土发展马克思主义不停步。”不难发现，习近平文化思想将现代化文明的普遍经验与中国的具体实际相结合，自觉激活中华优秀传统文化的思想资源，支撑马克思主义理论在中国落地生根，以“执两用中”超越两极对立的思维方式，形成了兼容并蓄的文化大格局大气象。

(ii) Expanding the Undertaking through Culture: Promoting Chinese-Path Modernization by Building a Cultural Power

(二)以文宏业:以文化强国建设推进中国式现代化

Xi Jinping’s cultural thought opens up a space of possibility for building a culturally strong nation amid the Eastern and Western paths of modernization. In the unfolding process of world history, modernization presents two distinct developmental trajectories: capitalist modernization led by the West and Chinese-path modernization. As a concept of spatiotemporal sequence in the course of human history, modernization is often taken for granted as a product of Western capitalist society, and some Western capitalist countries exploit this to vigorously propagate and hype the “clash of civilizations” and “superiority of civilizations” theses. Faced with this ideological encirclement, how to fortify the ideological阵地 [26]26 The Chinese term “阵地” (zhèndì, literally “battlefield” or “position”) is used here in a metaphorical sense common in CPC discourse, referring to the ideological sphere as a site of struggle that must be defended and consolidated. and set the course under the new conditions of the times has become a key issue in China’s ideological and cultural sphere. In elucidating the connotations of Chinese-path modernization, Xi Jinping pointed out: “Chinese-path modernization is socialist modernization led by the Communist Party of China. It contains elements that are common to the modernizations of all countries, but it is more characterized by features that are unique to the Chinese context.” [27]27 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Ceremony Marking the Centenary of the Communist Party of China,” July 1, 2021. As an organic component of Chinese-path modernization, the development of advanced socialist culture discards “the inherent defects of capitalist culture, such as hegemonism, class division, and racial discrimination,” and, while absorbing and drawing on the positive achievements of Western civilization, undergoes a stage of selective cultural integration, thereby opening up a Chinese path for building a culturally strong nation.

习近平文化思想在东方与西方的现代化路径中开辟出文化强国建设的可能性空间。在世界历史的展开过程中，现代化呈现两种不同的发展路向:西方主导下的资本主义现代化和中国式现代化。作为人类历史进程中的时空序列概念，现代化通常被先入为主地看作西方资本主义社会的产物，一些西方资本主义国家借此大肆鼓吹和炒作“文明冲突论”“文明优越论”。面对这种思想围裹，如何筑牢意识形态阵地、在新的时代背景下举旗定向，已经成为我国思想文化领域面临的关键问题。习近平在阐明中国式现代化的内涵时指出:“中国式现代化，是中国共产党领导的社会主义现代化，既有各国现代化的共同特征，更有基于自己国情的中国特色。”作为中国式现代化的有机组成部分，发展社会主义先进文化摒弃了“资本主义文化固有的霸权主义、阶级分化、种族歧视等缺陷”，在吸收、借鉴西方文明积极成果的同时，经历了一个选择性的文化融合阶段，从而开辟出文化强国建设的中国路径。

The interwoven interaction between building a culturally strong nation and Xi Jinping’s cultural thought constitutes the spiritual driving force of Chinese-path modernization. As a socialized and nationalized演绎 [28]28 The Chinese term “演绎” (yǎnyì) means “deduction” or “interpretation/performance”; here it refers to the social and national enactment or expression of value systems and norms. of value systems and behavioral norms, the culture of a given period is necessarily linked to a specific political and economic situation, and bears the responsibility of confirming members’ sense of belonging to the nation and enhancing the country’s cultural soft power. Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must anchor ourselves to the strategic goal of building China into a culturally strong nation by 2035, adhere to Marxism as the fundamental guiding ideology, and take root in the profound and extensive Chinese civilization… to consolidate the cultural foundation for building a strong nation and achieving national rejuvenation.” [29]29 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development,” June 2, 2023. It should be said that Xi Jinping’s cultural thought, based on the present and looking to the long term, consistently applies systematic thinking, placing the building of a culturally strong nation within the overall strategic context of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, and clarifying the fundamental direction and key areas of cultural development. Under the guidance of Xi Jinping’s cultural thought, the construction of a culturally strong socialist nation with Chinese characteristics, through critical inheritance of the past and selective borrowing from others, transcends both traditional Chinese culture and capitalist modern civilization; through the dialectical unity of self-assertion and learning from others, the unity of mainstream culture and the diversity of cultural means, it forges historical cultural achievements with Chinese characteristics, Chinese style, and Chinese manner, providing valuable resources and ideological impetus for comprehensively advancing Chinese-path modernization.

文化强国建设与习近平文化思想的交织互动，构成了中国式现代化的精神动力。作为价值体系与行为规范的社会化、民族化演绎，一个时期的文化必然与一定的政治、经济态势相连接，并承担起确证民族成员的归属自觉和提升国家文化软实力的重任。习近平指出:“要锚定2035年建成文化强国的战略目标，坚持马克思主义这一根本指导思想，植根博大精深的中华文明……筑牢强国建设、民族复兴的文化根基。”应当说，习近平文化思想立足当前，放眼长远，坚持运用系统思维，将文化强国建设置于实现中华民族伟大复兴的战略全局中考量，明确了文化建设的根本方向和重点领域。在习近平文化思想的指引下，中国特色社会主义文化强国建设以对既往的批判性继承和对他者的选择性借鉴，超越了中国传统文化和资本主义现代文明;通过自我主张与对外学习、主流文化一元性与文化手段多样性的辩证统一，锻造出具有中国特色、中国风格和中国气派的历史性文化成果，为全面推进中国式现代化提供了宝贵资源和思想动力。

(III) Conveying the Way through Culture: Creating a New Form of Human Civilization in the Process of Transforming the Logic of Capital

(三)以文载道:在变革资本逻辑中创造人类文明新形态

From the logic of the emergence of modernization in China, the new form of human civilization is the theoretical expression of Chinese-path modernization, opening a new path for transcending capitalist civilization. In the unfolding process of world history dominated by capitalist civilization, values and value judgments are polarized into only “right” and “wrong,” and the “law of the jungle” established by the logic of capital becomes the basis of value rationality. Consequently, Western modern civilization becomes the only legitimate “universal consensus.” However, Xi Jinping pointed out: “Different histories and national conditions, different ethnicities and customs, give birth to different civilizations, making the world more colorful and diverse.” [30]30 Xi Jinping, “Jointly Uphold the Common Values of All Humanity,” speech at the United Nations, September 28, 2015. The new form of human civilization created by Chinese-path modernization replaces Western “universal values” with the common values of all humanity, encompassing and integrating the value appeals and value goals of every country, nation, and even individual, thereby allowing human civilization to manifest itself in the most universal and broadest sense.

从现代化在中国的生成逻辑看，人类文明新形态是中国式现代化的理论表达，为超越资本主义文明开辟了一条新道路。在以资本主义文明主导下的世界历史的展开过程中，价值观念和价值判断只有“对”和“错”的两极，资本逻辑所确立的“丛林法则”成为价值理性的基础。于是，西方的现代性文明便成为唯一正当的“普遍共识”。然而，习近平指出:“不同历史和国情，不同民族和习俗，孕育了不同文明，使世界更加丰富多彩。”中国式现代化创造的人类文明新形态，以全人类共同价值取代西方“普世价值”，将每一个国家、民族甚至个体的价值诉求和价值目标囊括其中并进行整合，从而使人类文明在最普遍和最广泛的意义上得到展现。

From the perspective of the driving factors of cultural development, the new form of human civilization is a unique exploration by the Chinese nation for the construction of modern civilization, providing a new choice for the social development and civilizational progress of other countries. In the new historical orientation, the world humanity faces increasingly becomes a “cultural” world, where the “contradiction between man and nature” gradually gives way to the “contradiction between man and civilization.” If Western civilization is driven internally by the logic of capital, then the new form of civilization created by Chinese-path modernization takes the comprehensive development of the human person and the realization of free and conscious labor as its endogenous driving force, pointing toward the vision of creating a new form of human civilization. The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC states: “We stand firmly on the right side of history and on the side of human civilization and progress.” [31]31 Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, October 16, 2022. Therefore, the new form of human civilization breaks through the ideological limitations of the Western “clash of civilizations” and “superiority of civilizations” theses. It not only aligns with the civilizational achievements of Chinese-path modernization but is also a scientific response, based on the position of a community with a shared future for mankind, to the common problems of all humanity, containing within it the concrete pathways for realizing the common values of all humanity. In short, the new form of human civilization consolidates global civilizational consensus and explores a completely new path for realizing the common values of all humanity.

从文化发展的动力因素看，人类文明新形态是中华民族对于现代文明建设的独特探索，对于其他国家的社会发展和文明进步提供了一种新的选择。在新的历史方位，人类所面对的世界越来越成为一个“文化”世界，“人与自然的矛盾”逐渐让位于“人与文明的矛盾”。如果说西方文明以资本逻辑为内驱力，那么中国式现代化创造的新的文明形态则是以人的全面发展和实现自由自觉的劳动为内生动力，指向创造人类文明新形态的愿景。党的二十大报告指出:“我们坚定站在历史正确的一边、站在人类文明进步的一边。”所以，人类文明新形态冲破了西方“文明冲突论”“文明优越论”的思想局限，不仅契合了中国式现代化的文明成果，也是基于人类命运共同体的立场对全人类共同性问题的科学回答，内蕴着实现全人类共同价值的具体途径。简言之，人类文明新形态凝聚了全球文明共识，为实现全人类共同价值探索出一条全新的路径。

Conclusion

结语

The Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC emphasized that “Chinese-path modernization is the modernization of material and cultural-ethical progress in tandem.” [32]32 Communiqué of the Third Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, July 18, 2024. Xi Jinping’s cultural thought aligns with the inherent needs of Chinese-path modernization, focusing the “humanizing” attribute of culture on the socialist characteristic of being people-centered, developing the worldliness of culture by consolidating the subjectivity of Chinese culture, creating a new form of human civilization within Chinese-path modernization, and providing a brand-new development path for Marx’s transcendence of the “civilizational paradox” under the domination of the logic of capital. Therefore, adhering to the guidance of Xi Jinping’s cultural thought, and consolidating the ideological resolve to “walk our own path” from the historical depth of past and present and the broad perspective of China and the West, is not only an inevitable requirement of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times but also a powerful ideological weapon and scientific guide for building a culturally strong socialist nation. It not only establishes spiritual support for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation but also provides Chinese wisdom for resolving the civilizational dilemmas in the course of human history.

党的二十届三中全会强调，“中国式现代化是物质文明和精神文明相协调的现代化”。习近平文化思想契合中国式现代化的内在需要，将文化的“人化”属性聚焦为社会主义的人民性特质，以巩固中华文化的主体性发展了文化的世界性，在中国式现代化中创造了人类文明新形态，为马克思超越资本逻辑支配下的“文明悖论”提供了一条崭新的发展道路。因此，坚持以习近平文化思想为指导，从古今的历史纵深和中西的宏阔视野中夯实“走自己的路”的思想定力，既是马克思主义中国化时代化的必然要求，也是建设社会主义文化强国的强大思想武器和科学行动指南，不仅为实现中华民族伟大复兴确立了精神支撑，更为解决人类历史进程中的文明困境提供了中国智慧。