Cultivating an Innovation Culture and Inheriting the Innovative Genes of Fine Traditional Chinese Culture

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized in his speech at the National Science and Technology Conference, the National Science and Technology Awards Conference, and the Joint Conference of the Two Academies of Sciences: “Persist in cultivating an innovation culture, inheriting the innovative genes of fine traditional Chinese culture, creating a favorable environment that encourages exploration and tolerates failure, so that advocating science and pursuing innovation becomes a common practice throughout society.” Cultivating an innovation culture is neither a break with tradition to start anew, nor a simple restoration of the past through blind adherence to old ways. Rather, guided by the thought of the Two Integrations [1]1 A quotation from the Book of Songs, used by Confucius in the Analects to praise the Zhou dynasty’s capacity for renewal., it activates the spirit of renewal and the innovative genes contained within fine traditional Chinese culture, organically combining them with the scientific and revolutionary nature of Marxism to create a socialist innovation culture with Chinese characteristics that possesses profound historical depth and distinct contemporary traits. Cultivating an innovation culture in the New Era has a threefold value implication: from the perspective of national strategy, it is an inevitable requirement for achieving high-level scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening and building a world-leading scientific and technological power; from the perspective of social ecology, it is an inherent requirement for stimulating the innovative and creative vitality of the entire society and shaping an innovation environment with Chinese characteristics; from the perspective of talent development, it is an important support for advancing the integrated development of education, science and technology, and talent, and for constructing a competitive advantage in human resources.

习近平总书记在全国科技大会、国家科学技术奖励大会、两院院士大会上讲话时强调：“坚持培育创新文化，传承中华优秀传统文化的创新基因，营造鼓励探索、宽容失败的良好环境，使崇尚科学、追求创新在全社会蔚然成风。” 培育创新文化，既不是断裂传统的另起炉灶，也不是简单复古的因循守旧，而是在“两个结合”思想的指引下，激活中华优秀传统文化中蕴含的革新精神和创新基因，使其与马克思主义的科学性和革命性有机结合，创造出具有深厚历史底蕴和鲜明时代特质的中国特色社会主义创新文化。新时代培育创新文化具有三重价值意蕴：从国家战略层面看，它是实现高水平科技自立自强、建设世界科技强国的必然要求；从社会生态层面看，它是激发全社会创新创造活力、塑造中国特色创新环境的内在要求；从人才发展层面看，它是推进教育科技人才一体发展、构筑人才竞争优势的重要支撑。

The Innovative Genes Contained within Fine Traditional Chinese Culture

中华优秀传统文化中蕴含的创新基因

Cultivating an innovation culture is often placed within a narrative framework of destroying the old to establish the new, of no construction without destruction, as if an insurmountable chasm lies between tradition and modernity. However, Chinese civilization has continued for thousands of years without interruption, which necessarily implies it possesses an internal mechanism for self-renewal.

培育创新文化经常被置于破旧立新、不破不立的叙事框架中，仿佛传统与现代之间横亘着不可逾越的鸿沟。然而，中华文明绵延数千年而未曾中断，必然有其自我更新的内在机制。习近平总书记在文化传承发展座谈会上鲜明指出，中华文明具有突出的创新性，“从根本上决定了中华民族守正不守旧、尊古不复古的进取精神，决定了中华民族不惧新挑战、勇于接受新事物的无畏品格。中华优秀传统文化绝非一潭死水，其中蕴含着创新基因的活化因子—“生生”“日新”的动力本源、“和同”“通变”的发展逻辑、“知行”“格致”的实践基因，这与新时代创新文化之间存在着本体论层面的契合性。

(I) “Endless Generation” and “Daily Renewal”: The Inner Identity of the Source of Dynamism

（一）“生生”“日新”：动力本源的内在同一

To cultivate an innovation culture, the first issue to be resolved is the source of the dynamism for innovation. If a cultural form regards stability and preservation as the highest value, it will find it difficult to generate an inner impulse for sustained innovation. The genes of “endless generation” (shengsheng) and “daily renewal” (rixin) in fine traditional Chinese culture provide an inexhaustible source of dynamism for the innovation culture of the New Era. Confucius said, “Though Zhou was an old state, it received a new mandate” [1]1 A quotation from the Book of Songs, used by Confucius in the Analects to praise the Zhou dynasty’s capacity for renewal.; the Great Learning quotes, “If you can one day renew yourself, go on and renew yourself daily, and then every day” [2]2 A saying attributed to the Shang dynasty founder Tang, recorded in the Great Learning, emphasizing continuous self-renewal.. These classic discourses shaped a cultural value orientation that takes “daily renewal” as a virtue and “endless generation” as the Way of Heaven. In a cultural context that prizes constant change, “change” is not a threat to order but a necessary condition for order to endure; innovation is not “departing from the classics and rebelling against the Way” but a legitimate act that follows Heaven and responds to humanity. The innovation culture of the New Era is highly compatible with the genes of “endless generation and daily renewal.” It requires society to form a spiritual temperament that is dissatisfied with the status quo and continuously transcends itself, encouraging collectives and individuals to regard exploring the unknown and changing the status quo as a responsibility and mission. Inheriting the genes of “endless generation” and “daily renewal” injects an endogenous and sustainable dynamic mechanism into the innovation culture of the New Era, making innovation a conscious pursuit of the cultural subject.

培育创新文化，首先要解决的是创新动力的来源问题。如果一种文化形态将稳定守成视为最高价值，便难以产生持续创新的内在冲动。中华优秀传统文化中的“生生”与“日新”基因，为新时代创新文化提供了源源不断的动力本源。孔子言“周虽旧邦，其命维新”，《大学》引“苟日新，日日新，又日新”，这些经典论述塑造了一种以“日新”为美德、以“生生”为天道的文化价值取向。在以变动不居为尚的文化语境中，“变”不是对秩序的威胁，而是秩序得以长存的必要条件，创新不是“离经叛道”，而是顺乎天、应乎人的正当行为。新时代创新文化和“生生·日新”基因高度契合，它要求社会形成不满足于现状、持续自我超越的精神气质，鼓励集体和个人将探索未知、改变现状视为责任与使命。传承“生生”“日新”基因，为新时代创新文化注入内生、可持续的动力机制，让创新成为文化主体的自觉追求。

(II) “Harmony and Difference” and “Penetration and Change”: The Organic Unity of the Logic of Development

（二）“和同”“通变”：发展逻辑的有机统一

Cultivating an innovation culture depends on the positive interaction of multiple subjects. A closed, homogeneous, and rigidly compartmentalized cultural form will inevitably suppress the vitality of innovation. The genes of “harmony and difference” (hetong) and “penetration and change” (tongbian) in fine traditional Chinese culture provide resource support for constructing an open and collaborative ecological relationship for the innovation culture of the New Era. The fine tradition of “harmony in diversity” [3]3 A Confucian principle from the Analects, meaning harmony is achieved through the coexistence of differences, not uniformity. reveals that the organic interaction of diverse and heterogeneous elements is the prerequisite and foundation for a cultural system to possess vitality and creativity. The Book of Changes takes “penetration and change” as its entry point, clarifying that the continued existence and development of a system cannot be separated from the interpenetration of elements and the integration of resources. The innovation culture of the New Era emphasizes cross-border integration, collaborative openness, and ecological symbiosis; its underlying logic is the modern echo of the genes of “harmony and difference and penetration and change.” Cultivating an innovation culture is a process of generating new-quality cultural elements within heterogeneous cultural elements. The vitality of an innovation culture comes from seeking “change” within “penetration,” realizing the renewal and reconstruction of the cultural organism while respecting objective connections and original structures. The traditional innovation genes of “harmony and difference” and “penetration and change” effectively relieve the structural tensions between identity and struggle, openness and subjectivity, and stability and change encountered in the process of cultivating an innovation culture, supplying a mature and self-consistent logic of development for the collaborative development of an innovation culture.

培育创新文化，有赖于多元主体的良性互动。封闭同质、壁垒固化的文化形态必然会抑制创新活力。中华优秀传统文化中的“和同”“通变”等基因为新时代创新文化构建开放协同的生态关系提供了资源支撑。“和而不同”的优良传统揭示了多元异质要素的有机互动是文化系统拥有生命力和创造力的前提与基础。《周易》以“通变”为切入点，阐明系统的存续发展离不开要素互通和资源整合。新时代创新文化强调跨界融合、协同开放和生态共生，其底层逻辑是“和同·通变”基因的现代回响。培育创新文化是在异质性文化要素中生成新质文化要素的过程，创新文化的活力来源于“通”中求“变”，在尊重客观联系和原生结构的前提下，实现文化有机体的更新和再造。“和同”与“通变”这一传统创新基因有效纾解了培育创新文化过程中遭遇的同一性和斗争性、开放性和主体性、稳定性和变动性之间的结构张力，为创新文化的协同发展供给了成熟而自洽的发展逻辑。

(III) “Knowledge and Action” and “Investigation and Extension”: The Unity of Substance and Function in the Practical Approach

（三）“知行”“格致”：实践进路的体用如一

The ultimate goal of an innovation culture is to shape behavioral norms and value identification that take practice as the fundamental orientation. The genes of “knowledge and action” (zhixing) and “investigation and extension” (gezhi) in fine traditional Chinese culture provide a profound philosophical foundation for cultivating a practice-based innovation culture. Wang Yangming proposed, “Knowledge is the beginning of action; action is the completion of knowledge” [4]4 A key doctrine of the Ming dynasty philosopher Wang Yangming, asserting the inseparability of moral knowledge and action.; the Book of Documents states, “It is not knowing that is difficult, but acting” [5]5 A classical saying from the Book of Documents, stressing the difficulty of putting knowledge into practice.. These thoughts shaped for the Chinese nation a cultural tradition of the unity of substance and function. True knowledge inherently contains the dimension of action; true action also deepens the level of knowledge. The tradition of “investigation and extension” emphasizes obtaining true knowledge through approaching things and exhausting their principles, rejecting speculation and abstract thought divorced from practice. The innovation culture of the New Era is deeply compatible with the innovation genes of the simple view of practice permeating fine traditional Chinese culture. The genes of “knowledge and action and investigation and extension” endow the innovation culture with a value orientation of the unity of substance and function. That substance and function cannot be separated means that the rationality of an innovation culture lies not in the completeness of its system but in the actual effectiveness of solving problems and the practical efficacy of improving the human condition. In inheriting innovation genes, an innovation culture must avoid two tendencies: the hollowing out of “knowing without acting” and the blindness of “acting without knowing.” An innovation culture is not a speculative culture suspended above the secular life-world but a living cultural form that is always rooted in the fertile soil of practice and continuously self-determines itself in the process of solving problems. Only in the unity of knowledge and action and the penetration of substance and function can an innovation culture display a vigorous and upward vitality.

创新文化的落脚点是塑造以实践为根本导向的行为规范和价值认同。中华优秀传统文化中的“知行”与“格致”基因，为培育实践本位的创新文化提供了深厚的哲学根基。王阳明提出“知者行之始，行者知之成”，《尚书》道“非知之艰，行之惟艰”等，上述思想为中华民族塑造了体用如一的文化传统。真正的知内含着行的向度，真正的行亦深化着知的层次。“格致”传统强调在即物穷理中获得真知，拒斥脱离实践的玄想和思辨。新时代创新文化与中华优秀传统文化中浸透的朴素实践观的创新基因深度契合，“知行·格致”基因赋予创新文化体用如一的价值取向。体用不可二分，意味着创新文化的合理性不在于其体系的完备程度，而在于解决问题的实际效力和改善人类处境的现实效能。创新文化在传承创新基因中必须避免“知而不行”的空转化和“行而无知”的盲目化两种倾向。创新文化不是悬浮于世俗的生活世界之上的思辨文化，而是始终扎根于实践沃土、在解决问题中不断自我确定的活的文化形态。只有在知行合一、体用贯通中，创新文化才能展现出蓬勃向上的生命力。

The Basic Connotations of the Innovation Culture of the New Era

新时代创新文化的基本内涵

The innovation culture of the New Era is not only deeply rooted in the developmental process of the long-standing fine traditional Chinese culture but also acquires new-era connotations under the guidance of the Marxist scientific worldview. The basic connotations of the innovation culture of the New Era are embodied in three aspects: “revering science and pursuing innovation” establishes the value cornerstone of the innovation culture at the cognitive and volitional levels; “encouraging exploration and tolerating failure” provides institutional guarantees for the sustained development of the innovation culture at the level of the social environment; and “daring to venture and try, daring to be the first” is the practical character of the innovation culture at the practical level. These three, from the inner to the outer, from the static to the dynamic, and from knowledge to action, jointly construct a logically rigorous set of connotations for the innovation culture.

新时代创新文化既深植于悠久的中华优秀传统文化的发展历程，又在马克思主义科学世界观的指引下获得新的时代内涵。新时代创新文化的基本内涵体现在三个方面：“崇尚科学、追求创新”在认知和意志方面确立创新文化的价值基石，“鼓励探索、宽容失败”在社会环境方面为创新文化的持续发展提供制度保障，“敢闯敢试、敢为人先”在实践层面是创新文化的实践品格。三者从内而外、从静到动、从知到行，共同构筑起逻辑严密的创新文化内涵。

(I) “Revering Science and Pursuing Innovation” Is the Value Cornerstone of the Innovation Culture

（一）“崇尚科学、追求创新”是创新文化的价值基石

Tracing history, from the cognitive tradition of “Observing the patterns of heaven to discern the changes of the seasons” in the *Book of Changes* to the mode of thinking of “Reaching the broad and great while exhausting the subtle and minute” in the *Doctrine of the Mean*, and from the meticulous recording of traditional craft standards in the *Artificers’ Record* to the extensive investigation of natural phenomena in the *Dream Pool Essays*, fine traditional Chinese culture had already formed an independent and rich tradition of scientific exploration before the modern scientific revolution. “Esteeming science” points to a cognitive attitude, emphasizing facing the world with a scientific spirit, testing knowledge with empirical methods, and scrutinizing established views with critical thinking, opposing subjective conjecture and blind superstition; “pursuing innovation” points to a volitional orientation, requiring not being satisfied with existing cognitive boundaries, not clinging to current answers, and not stopping at the predecessors’ endpoint, advocating the value orientation that “only innovators advance, only innovators are strong, only innovators prevail.” Practice has proven that scientific achievements cannot be sustained without spiritual support; it is necessary to form a value pursuit across society of speaking about science, loving science, learning science, and using science. Esteeming science and pursuing innovation are a dialectical unity of cognition and volition: esteeming science provides rational regulation for pursuing innovation, while pursuing innovation endows esteeming science with intrinsic motivation. Within the perspective of the Second Integration, the basic principles of Marxism concerning the primacy of matter and the verification of truth through practice deeply align with the traditions of seeking truth from facts and investigating things to acquire knowledge in fine traditional Chinese culture. Thus, “esteeming science, pursuing innovation” not only possesses the philosophical foundation of dialectical materialism and historical materialism but also continues the spiritual lineage of fine traditional Chinese culture, laying the value foundation of an innovation culture at the intersection of tradition and modernity.

追溯历史，从《周易》“观乎天文，以察时变”的认知传统到《中庸》“致广大而尽精微”的运思范式，从《考工记》对传统工艺规范的精密记述到《梦溪笔谈》对自然现象的广泛考察，中华优秀传统文化在近代科学革命之前已然形成独立而丰厚的科学探索传统。“崇尚科学”指向认知态度，强调以科学精神面对世界、以实证方法检验认识、以批判思维审视成说，反对主观臆断和盲从迷信；“追求创新”指向意志取向，要求不满足既有认知界限、不固守现有答案、不止步于前人终点，推崇“惟创新者进、惟创新者强、惟创新者胜”的价值导向。实践证明，科学成就离不开精神支撑，必须在全社会形成讲科学、爱科学、学科学、用科学的价值追求。崇尚科学和追求创新是认知与意志的辩证统一，崇尚科学为追求创新提供理性规约，追求创新为崇尚科学赋予内在动力。在“第二个结合”的视域下，马克思主义关于物质第一性、实践检验真理的基本原理同中华优秀传统文化中实事求是、格物致知的传统深相契合，由此“崇尚科学、追求创新”既具有辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义的哲学底蕴，又赓续了中华优秀传统文化的精神血脉，在传统和现代的交汇中奠定了创新文化的价值根基。

(2) “Encouraging exploration, tolerating failure” is the institutional guarantee of an innovation culture

（二）“鼓励探索、宽容失败”是创新文化的制度保障

The essence of innovation is exploration into the unknown. The unknown implies uncertainty, and the existence of contingency indicates that failure is inevitable. The key meaning of “encouraging exploration” lies in the institutional protection of curiosity and non-utilitarian inquiry; it requires breaking through superficial performance evaluations that focus solely on papers, titles, and short-term output, providing resource supply and strategic resolve for basic research that cannot yet see application prospects and for future industries requiring long-term investment. Major breakthroughs in the history of human cognition often originate from inquiries into the uselessness of the useful; Zu Chongzhi’s calculation of pi and Xu Xiake’s investigation of landforms were driven by the intellectual satisfaction brought by exploration itself. “Tolerating failure” is the inevitable extension of encouraging exploration. The two are interdependent at the practical level: if exploration is encouraged but the occasional failures encountered in exploration cannot be tolerated, then the encouragement is false and incomplete. Marxist epistemology profoundly reveals the dialectical laws of truth’s development. Truth exists and develops in comparison and struggle with error; failure itself contains elements that lead to truth. Combining this basic principle with the resilient spirit of becoming more determined after repeated setbacks in fine traditional Chinese culture, “encouraging exploration, tolerating failure” embodies a cultural self-awareness based on dialectical materialist epistemology. It takes acknowledging the tortuous and infinite nature of the human cognitive process as its premise, respecting the objectivity of the laws of exploration as its hallmark, and believing that cognitive boundaries will ultimately be expanded through countless trials and errors as its conviction, forming a psychological consensus across society of calmly facing setbacks, making the cultivation of an innovation culture a sustainable and dignified collective undertaking.

创新的本质是面向未知的探索。未知意味着不确定，偶然性的存在说明失败具有必然性。“鼓励探索”的要义在于对好奇心和非功利性追问的制度性保护，它要求突破唯论文、唯头衔、唯短期产出的景观性绩效评价，为暂时看不到应用前景的基础研究、需要长周期投入的未来产业提供资源供给和战略定力。人类认知史中的重大突破往往肇始于对无用之用的追问，祖冲之推算圆周率、徐霞客考察地貌，驱动他们的是探索本身带来的智识满足。“宽容失败”是鼓励探索的必然延伸。两者在实践层面相互依赖，如果只鼓励探索而不能宽容探索中偶然出现的失败，那么鼓励就是虚假的、不彻底的。马克思主义认识论深刻揭示了真理发展的辩证规律。真理同谬误相比较而存在、相斗争而发展，失败本身就包含着通向真理的要素。将这一基本原理与中华优秀传统文化中愈挫愈勇的坚韧精神相结合，“鼓励探索、宽容失败”便蕴含着基于辩证唯物主义认识论的文化自觉。它以承认人类认识过程的曲折性和无限性为前提，以尊重探索规律的客观性为标志，以相信在无数次试错中认知边界终将被拓展为信念，在全社会形成坦然面对挫败的心理共识，让培育创新文化成为一项可持续、有尊严的集体事业。

(3) “Daring to venture, daring to try, daring to be the first” is the practical character of an innovation culture

（三）“敢闯敢试、敢为人先”是创新文化的实践品格

“Daring to venture, daring to try, daring to be the first” is the practical character through which an innovation culture transforms from a conceptual form into a driving force for action. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: “We must promote the national spirit centered on patriotism and the spirit of the times centered on reform and innovation, and continue to carry forward the special economic zone spirit of daring to venture, daring to try, daring to be the first, and working hard in obscurity.” [6]6 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Celebration of the 40th Anniversary of the Establishment of the Shenzhen Special Economic Zone,” October 14, 2020. The “special economic zone spirit” refers to the pioneering, experimental, and hardworking ethos cultivated in China’s first special economic zones, such as Shenzhen, since the reform and opening up. The important exposition on “daring to venture, daring to try, daring to be the first” is not only a high-level summary of the special economic zone spirit but also possesses universal methodological significance. “Daring to venture” means daring to make choices and bear risks under conditions of incomplete information and insufficient preparation; “daring to try” emphasizes daring to experiment and iterate in practice, not pursuing a perfect solution in one step, but constantly probing, adjusting, and correcting in practice, accumulating each partial breakthrough as a step toward systemic leaps. “Daring to be the first” further deepens “daring to venture and daring to try” into the historical initiative of a leader, using ideological breakthroughs to lead reform breakthroughs, not being satisfied with the posture of following and running alongside, but aspiring to become the pioneer of new tracks, new standards, and new paradigms. To cultivate an innovation culture in the New Era, it is urgent to take “daring to venture, daring to try, daring to be the first” as the practical orientation, to disenchant the “Western-centrism” that has lingered in the hearts of the Chinese people since modern times, to bravely move from structural imitation to original innovation, to dare to propose original scientific ideas, to independently construct key core technology systems, and to contribute Chinese solutions and Chinese wisdom to global science and technology governance. History shows that truly disruptive innovations often appear in a non-consensus form in their embryonic stage; if consensus is used as the screening criterion, it is highly likely to strangle all revolutionary innovations in the cradle. Therefore, the key to cultivating an innovation culture of “daring to venture, daring to try, daring to be the first” lies in reserving channels and resource space for minority explorations that have undergone rigorous argumentation. The revolutionary power of Marxist practical philosophy is organically combined with the vigorous spirit deeply embedded in fine traditional Chinese culture of “As Heaven’s movement is ever vigorous, so must a gentleman ceaselessly strive for self-improvement,” endowing “daring to venture, daring to try, daring to be the first” with a scientific practical character. When this practical character is integrated into the deep psychology of the Chinese nation and silently becomes the cultural mode of production for millions of innovators, the practical subject of an innovation culture will truly transform from a minority into the broad masses of the people.

“敢闯敢试、敢为人先”是创新文化从观念形态转变为行动力量的实践品格。习近平总书记深刻指出：“要弘扬以爱国主义为核心的民族精神和以改革创新为核心的时代精神，继续发扬敢闯敢试、敢为人先、埋头苦干的特区精神。”“敢闯敢试、敢为人先”的重要论述，不仅是对特区精神的高度概括，更具有普遍的方法论意义。“敢闯”意味着在信息不完备、条件不充分的情况下敢于作出抉择、承担风险；“敢试”侧重敢于试验和迭代实践，不追求一步到位的完美方案，而是在实践中不断试探、调整和修正，将每一次局部突破都积累为系统性跃升的阶梯。“敢为人先”将“敢闯敢试”进一步深化为引领者的历史主动，以思想破冰引领改革突围，不满足跟跑、并跑的追赶姿态，立志成为新赛道、新标准、新范式的开创者。培育新时代创新文化，亟须以“敢闯敢试、敢为人先”为实践取向，祛魅近代以来萦绕在中国人心中的“西方中心论”，从结构性模仿勇敢迈向源头性创新，敢于提出原创性科学思想、自主建构关键核心技术体系，在全球科技治理中贡献中国方案和中国智慧。历史表明，真正具有颠覆性的创新在其萌芽阶段往往以非共识的形态呈现，如果以共识性作为筛选标准，极有可能将一切革命性创新扼杀于摇篮。因此，培育“敢闯敢试、敢为人先”的创新文化，关键在于为经过严肃论证的少数派探索预留通道和资源空间。马克思主义实践哲学的革命性力量与中华优秀传统文化中深蕴的“天行健，君子以自强不息”的刚健精神有机结合，赋予“敢闯敢试，敢为人先”科学的实践品格。当这一实践品格融入中华民族的深层心理，润物无声地成为千千万万创新者的文化生产方式时，创新文化的实践主体就会由少数人真正转变为广大人民群众。

Practical Pathways for Inheriting the Innovative Genes of Fine Traditional Chinese Culture in the Process of Cultivating an Innovation Culture

培育创新文化过程中传承中华优秀传统文化创新基因的实践理路

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that “the Second Integration is another ideological emancipation,” [7]7 Xi Jinping, “Speech at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development,” June 2, 2023. The “Second Integration” 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. allowing us to draw on the precious resources of fine traditional Chinese culture in a broader cultural space and explore practical and theoretical innovations oriented toward modernization, the world, and the future. General Secretary Xi Jinping’s original thesis on the Second Integration provides the fundamental guidance for cultivating an innovation culture. The key to cultivating an innovation culture lies in inheriting and activating the innovative genes deeply rooted in fine traditional Chinese culture. Innovative genes are the spiritual code for the endless continuity and enduring vitality of the Chinese nation, accumulating the value pursuit of our ancestors in responding to changes and creating new situations. Only by actively inheriting the innovative genes from the depths of history and endowing them with modern forms, achieving creative transformation and innovative development, can they become an important force in cultivating an innovation culture. Overall, in the process of actively cultivating an innovation culture, inheriting the innovative genes of fine traditional Chinese culture needs to unfold around four practical dimensions: “root,” “foundation,” “environment,” and “force.” First, we must inherit the innovative spirit, drawing nourishment from the ideological source; second, we must integrate innovative genes throughout the entire process of talent education and cultivation; third, we need institutional innovation to provide a favorable social environment for innovative activities; and finally, we must engage in open exchange to endow the innovation culture with lasting vitality. These four dimensions mutually support, promote, and interpenetrate each other, constituting the overall framework of the practical pathway.

习近平总书记指出，“‘第二个结合’是又一次的思想解放”，它让我们能够在更广阔的文化空间中汲取中华优秀传统文化的宝贵资源，探索面向现代化、面向世界、面向未来的实践创新和理论创新。习近平总书记关于“第二个结合”的原创性论断为培育创新文化提供了根本遵循。培育创新文化关键在于传承和激活深植于中华优秀传统文化中的创新基因。创新基因是中华民族生生不息、经久不衰的精神密码，积淀着先民应对变局、开创新局的价值追求。只有积极传承历史深处的创新基因并赋予其现代形态，实现创造性转化和创新性发展，方能使之成为培育创新文化的重要力量。总体而言，在积极培育创新文化过程中，传承中华优秀传统文化的创新基因需要围绕“根”“基”“境”“力”四个实践层面展开。首先要传承创新精神，从思想源头汲取养分；其次要将创新基因贯穿人才教育和培养全过程；再次要制度创新，为创新活动提供良好的社会环境；最后要开放交流，赋予创新文化持久的生命力。四个层面相互支撑、相互促进、相互贯通，构成实践理路的总体架构。

(1) Drawing on Genes in the Inheritance of the Innovative Spirit, Consolidating the “Root” of an Innovation Culture

（一）在创新精神传承中汲取基因，筑牢创新文化之“根”

The deep-seated reason why Chinese civilization is the only ancient civilization in the world that has never been interrupted and has continued to the present day lies in the innovative spirit and creative vitality surging within the cultural genes of the Chinese nation, as expressed in the maxim “If you can renew yourself for one day, then do so each day, and continue doing so day after day.” [8]8 “苟日新，日日新，又日新” (If you can renew yourself for one day, then do so each day, and continue doing so day after day) is a maxim from the *Great Learning*, a classic Confucian text, often cited to emphasize continuous self-renewal and progress. To cultivate an innovation culture in the New Era, we must be adept at drawing innovation genes from the fertile ideological soil of fine traditional Chinese culture, forging the “root” of an innovation culture through historical consciousness, historical initiative, and historical confidence. Looking back over the millennia of cultural lineage, the *Book of Changes* [9]9 The *Book of Changes* (*Yijing* or *I Ching*) is an ancient Chinese divination text and one of the oldest classics, foundational to Chinese philosophy, particularly its concepts of change and transformation. reveals with the phrase “When extremes are reached, change occurs; through change, continuity is achieved; through continuity, endurance is secured” that the way of change is the constant law of the cosmos. The *Book of Songs* [10]10 The *Book of Songs* (*Shijing*) is the oldest existing collection of Chinese poetry, comprising 305 works dating from the 11th to 7th centuries BCE, and is a Confucian classic. declares with “Though Zhou was an ancient state, its mandate was renewed” that the transformation of governance and education is what the fate of a nation depends upon. The *Great Learning* [11]11 The *Great Learning* (*Daxue*) is a short Confucian text originally a chapter in the *Book of Rites*, later elevated to one of the “Four Books” in Neo-Confucianism, outlining the path from personal cultivation to world peace. lists “renewing the people” as one of its three guiding principles, regarding “daily renewal of one’s virtue” as the fundamental practice for cultivating the self, regulating the family, governing the state, and bringing peace to the world. These ideological resources demonstrate that the innovation genes of the Chinese nation are a survival wisdom and value pursuit that align with the virtue of heaven and earth and keep pace with the times. It is precisely for this reason that General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: “Fine traditional Chinese culture is the spiritual lifeline of the Chinese nation, an important source for nurturing core socialist values, and also a solid foundation for us to stand firm amidst the cultural currents of the world.” [12]12 This quotation is from Xi Jinping’s speech at the Symposium on Literature and Art Work on October 15, 2014. Cultivating an innovation culture must never sever cultural genes or cut the umbilical cord of history; otherwise, the innovation culture will become rootless duckweed. Absorbing innovation genes through spiritual inheritance urgently requires doing a good job on two fronts: creative transformation and innovative development. On the one hand, we must systematically sort through the discourses in traditional classics that contain meanings of change, innovation, and enterprise, transforming the national character of discarding the old and establishing the new into the basic connotation of an innovation culture in the New Era. On the other hand, we must, based on the innovative practices of the New Era, reinterpret and theoretically elevate the core concepts of fine traditional Chinese culture, allowing the innovative wisdom infused through the Second Integration to radiate new ideological vitality. Only by establishing a coherent understanding from tradition to modernity within the national spirit, making innovation genes a collective consciousness deeply rooted in the cultural bloodline, can we truly consolidate the “root” of an innovation culture and provide an inexhaustible spiritual driving force for the innovative practices of the entire nation.

中华文明之所以成为世界上唯一没有中断、延续至今的古老文明，其深层密码是中华文化基因中涌动着“苟日新，日日新，又日新”的革新精神和创造活力。新时代培育创新文化，必须善于从中华优秀传统文化的思想沃土中汲取创新基因，以历史自觉、历史主动和历史自信铸就创新文化之“根”。回望千年文脉，《周易》以“穷则变，变则通，通则久”揭示变易之道是宇宙恒常的规律，《诗经》以“周虽旧邦，其命维新”昭示政教更化方为国运所系，《大学》把“新民”列为三纲之一，将“日新其德”视为修齐治平的根本功夫。上述思想资源表明，中华民族的创新基因是与天地合德、与时代偕行的生存智慧和价值追求。正因如此，习近平总书记深刻指出：“中华优秀传统文化是中华民族的精神命脉，是涵养社会主义核心价值观的重要源泉，也是我们在世界文化激荡中站稳脚跟的坚实根基。”培育创新文化，绝不能割裂文化基因、割断历史脐带，否则创新文化就会沦为无根浮萍。在精神传承中汲取创新基因亟须做好创造性转化和创新性发展两篇文章。一方面，要系统梳理传统典籍中蕴含的变革、创新、进取等意蕴的论述，将革故鼎新的民族品格转化为新时代创新文化的基本内涵；另一方面，要立足新时代的创新实践，对中华优秀传统文化的核心理念进行重新阐释和理论升华，让经由“第二个结合”浸润的创新智慧焕发新的思想生命力。唯有在民族精神中建立从传统到现代的贯通性理解，使创新基因成为深植文化血脉的集体自觉，才能真正筑牢创新文化之“根”，为全民族的创新实践提供源源不断的精神动力。

(II) Integrating Innovation Genes into Talent Education and Training, Consolidating the “Foundation” of an Innovation Culture

（二）在人才教育培养中融入创新基因，夯实创新文化之“基”

The emergence of innovative talents is never an accidental phenomenon but the result of the long-term cultivation of a country’s or a nation’s educational philosophy, content, and methods. At the National Education Conference, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly stated the need to cultivate innovative thinking, “to integrate innovation education throughout the entire process of educational activities,” and “to use creative education to cultivate creative talents, and to use creative talents to build an innovative country.” [13]13 This refers to Xi Jinping’s speech at the National Education Conference held in Beijing on September 10, 2018. In inheriting the innovation genes of fine traditional Chinese culture, education is the main battlefield and main channel, bearing the historical mission of transforming historical accumulation into future creativity. Examining traditional Chinese educational thought from the perspective of historical materialism reveals a wealth of innovative spiritual elements that resonate with the educational philosophy of the New Era. Confucius’ heuristic teaching method of “I do not enlighten those who are not eager to learn, nor stimulate those who are not anxious to speak” [14]14 This is a famous teaching principle from Confucius, recorded in the *Analects* (Book VII, Chapter 8), emphasizing the importance of student readiness and active inquiry in the learning process. emphasizes providing guidance precisely when students are mentally seeking understanding but have not yet grasped it, or verbally wish to express but cannot yet articulate it. The *Doctrine of the Mean* [15]15 The *Doctrine of the Mean* (*Zhongyong*) is another of the “Four Books” in Neo-Confucianism, traditionally attributed to Zisi, Confucius’ grandson, focusing on the concept of centrality and harmony. proposes the learning sequence of “Learn extensively, inquire carefully, ponder prudently, discern clearly, and practice earnestly,” integrating broad exploration, careful questioning, independent thinking, clear judgment, and active practice into a coherent whole, constructing a complete chain of research-based learning. This sowed the innovative seeds of seeking breakthroughs within rigorous investigation and extension of knowledge for Chinese civilization. To transform the innovation genes deeply embedded in the cultural bloodline into real educational productive forces, the key lies in emphasizing science and technology education and strengthening the independent cultivation of top-notch innovative talents. Science and technology education in primary and secondary schools must reshape its value orientation, taking the integration of learning and thinking, and the unity of substance and application as value goals, cultivating students’ ability to enhance critical thinking and iterative trial-and-error capabilities while solving practical scientific and technological problems. The cultivation of innovative talents requires constructing an evaluation ecosystem that tolerates failure, encouraging interdisciplinary dialogue and unconventional exploration, allowing young top-notch talents who dare to challenge existing research paradigms to gain room for growth. School education should treat the cultivation of students’ innovative qualities as a cultural consciousness, actively create an atmosphere of innovation culture, encourage teachers and students to dare to question, dare to explore, and delight in innovation, and cultivate more outstanding engineers, master craftsmen, and highly skilled personnel with innovative literacy for building a strong nation in science and technology.

创新人才的涌现从来不是偶然现象，而是一个国家、一个民族教育理念、内容和方法长期涵养的结果。习近平总书记在全国教育大会上明确提出，要培育创新思维，“要把创新教育贯穿教育活动全过程”“以创造之教育培养创造之人才，以创造之人才造就创新之国家”。传承中华优秀传统文化的创新基因，教育是主阵地、主渠道，肩负着将历史积淀转化为未来创造力的历史使命。以唯物史观审视中国传统教育思想，其中深蕴着大量与新时代教育理念相通的创新精神要素。孔子“不愤不启，不悱不发”的启发式教学，强调在学生心求通而未得、口欲言而未能之时予以点拨；《中庸》提出“博学之，审问之，慎思之，明辨之，笃行之”的为学次第，将广博涉猎、审慎质疑、独立思考、清晰判断和积极实践贯通一体，构建了完整的研究性学习链条，为中华文明播下在严谨格致中寻求突破的创新因子。要将深植于文化血脉中的创新基因转化为现实的教育生产力，关键还在于重视科技教育，加强拔尖创新人才自主培养。中小学科技教育要重塑价值取向，以学思结合、体用贯通为价值目标，培养学生在解决现实的科技问题中提升批判思维和迭代试错的能力。创新人才培养要构建宽容失败的评价生态，鼓励跨学科对话和打破常规式的探索，让敢于挑战既有研究范式的青年拔尖人才获得成长空间。学校教育要将学生创新品质的培养作为文化自觉，积极营造创新文化氛围，鼓励师生敢于质疑、勇于探索、乐于创新，为科技强国建设培育更多具备创新素养的卓越工程师、大国工匠、高技能人才。

(III) Nurturing Innovation Genes in Institutional Construction, Optimizing the “Environment” of an Innovation Culture

（三）在制度建设中涵养创新基因，优化创新文化之“境”

The continuation and expression of innovation genes have never been separable from the shaping and support of the social environment. If inheriting the innovative spirit addresses the issue of value identification for an innovation culture, and the education system addresses the issue of cultivating the subjects of an innovation culture, then institutional innovation addresses the issue of the ecological environment for an innovation culture. The socialist system with Chinese characteristics in the New Era provides the necessary soil, sunlight, and water for inheriting the innovation genes of fine traditional Chinese culture. If institutional arrangements simply transplant models from other countries and are severed from the roots of the local culture, they will find it difficult to gain broad social recognition and may even become formalized due to being unsuited to local conditions. The ancients said, “The rise of governance lies in conforming to the people’s hearts.” [16]16 This is a classical Chinese political maxim, often associated with the *Guanzi* text, emphasizing that the success of governance depends on popular support. If institutional innovation aligns with the socio-cultural psychology, it can achieve the governance effect of “guiding them with virtue, regulating them with ritual, so that they have a sense of shame and correct themselves.” [17]17 This phrase is from the *Analects* (Book II, Chapter 3), where Confucius contrasts governance by law and punishment with governance by virtue and ritual, arguing the latter leads to genuine moral reform. In cultivating an innovation culture in the New Era, the essence of institutional construction lies in conforming to the inherent laws of innovative cultural practice. Through the guidance and incentives of rules, it promotes the value orientation of “encouraging exploration and tolerating failure” from advocacy to consensus. The absorption of innovation genes by institutional construction should be reflected in three dimensions: institutional flexibility, the limits of fault tolerance, and evaluation benchmarks. First, the innovation gene of “daily renewal and brilliance” should be developed into the dynamic adjustment capability of institutions, promoting the iterative updating of the institutions themselves as cultural practices evolve. Second, the innovation gene of “daring to be the first” should be transformed into reasonable clauses for fault tolerance and exemption of responsibility, providing institutional guarantees for scientific explorers. Third, the innovation gene of “harmony in diversity” should be integrated into a classified evaluation system, enabling diverse paths of cultural innovation to each find their proper place. In summary, institutional construction requires the foresight of “acting before things arise, and governing before disorder sets in.” [18]18 This phrase is from the *Laozi* (Dao De Jing, Chapter 64), advocating for proactive governance and prevention before problems arise. It must not only safeguard current cultural innovation activities but also reserve space for the innovative development of culture. When rigid institutional norms and flexible cultural cultivation form a historical synergy, an innovation culture will gain a favorable ecology for sustained growth.

创新基因的延续和表达从来都离不开社会环境的塑造和支撑。如果说传承创新精神解决的是创新文化的价值认同问题，教育体系解决的是创新文化的主体培养问题，那么制度创新则是解决创新文化的生态环境问题。新时代中国特色社会主义制度为传承中华优秀传统文化创新基因提供了必要的土壤、阳光和水分。倘若制度安排简单移植他国模式而与本国文化根脉相断裂，便难以获得广泛的社会认同，甚至可能因水土不服走向形式化。古人讲“政之所兴，在顺民心”，制度创新如果与社会文化心理相互契合，就能起到“导之以德，齐之以礼，有耻且格”的治理效果。新时代培育创新文化，制度建设的要义在于顺应创新文化实践的内在规律，通过规则的引导和激励，促成“鼓励探索、宽容失败”的价值取向从倡导变为共识。制度建设对创新基因的汲取应体现在制度弹性、容错限度和评价标尺三个维度。一是将辉光日新的创新基因发展为制度的动态调整能力，推动制度本身能够随着文化实践的发展而迭代更新；二是将敢为人先的创新基因转化为合理的容错免责条款，为科学探索者提供制度保障；三是将和而不同的创新基因融入分类评价体系，促使多元文化创新路径各得其所。总而言之，制度建设要有“为之于未有，治之于未乱”的前瞻意识，既要为当下的文化创新活动保驾护航，又要为文化创新性发展预留空间。当刚性的制度规范与柔性的文化涵养形成历史合力，创新文化便会获得持续生长的优良生态。

(IV) Activating Innovation Genes through Open Exchange, Unleashing the “Power” of an Innovation Culture

（四）在开放交流中激活创新基因，焕发创新文化之“力”

The vitality of innovative genes is not maintained in isolation, but is continuously activated and strengthened through contact, collision, and exchange with heterogeneous cultures. Looking back on the development of Chinese civilization, every major ideological breakthrough and cultural flourishing has been closely related to an era of openness and inclusiveness. The absorption of Western Regions culture during the golden ages of the Han and Tang dynasties, the flourishing of the Maritime Silk Road during the Song and Yuan periods, and the impact of the eastward transmission of Western learning in modern times have all injected new innovative vitality into Chinese culture. [19]19 The “Western Regions” (西域) refers to the regions west of China’s ancient borders, primarily Central Asia, which were a major conduit for cultural and trade exchanges along the Silk Road. The “eastward transmission of Western learning” (西学东渐) refers to the influx of Western science, technology, and ideas into China from the late Ming dynasty onward, intensifying in the 19th and early 20th centuries. General Secretary Xi Jinping, with profound insight into the laws of civilizational evolution, put forward the important thesis that “civilizations communicate because of diversity, learn from each other through communication, and develop through mutual learning.” [20]20 Xi Inheriting the innovative genes of fine traditional Chinese culture by no means implies clinging to tradition and rejecting the foreign; rather, it requires a cultural confidence that seeks harmony without uniformity and embraces diversity with magnanimity, activating one’s own creativity through opening up at a higher level. At present, a new round of scientific and technological revolution and industrial transformation is accelerating, and the global innovation landscape is being profoundly reshaped. Facing this trend of the times, we must possess both the cultural composure to appreciate our own beauty and the open-mindedness to appreciate the beauty of others. On the one hand, we should actively promote the unique worldview, view of nature, and ethics contained in fine traditional Chinese culture to the world, contribute Chinese wisdom to addressing global issues such as climate change and public health, and activate our own innovative genes through international dialogue. On the other hand, we should be adept at learning from the advanced experiences of other countries in areas such as the organization of basic research, the integration of industry, academia, and research, and the cultivation of innovation ecosystems, organically integrating the stones from other hills with the genes of local innovation culture to form a national innovation system with Chinese characteristics. [21] As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Independent innovation is innovation in an open environment; we must absolutely not close our doors to do it, but rather gather the spirit of the four seas and borrow the strength of the eight directions.” [22] Within the grand vision of mutual learning among civilizations, we must both make foreign things serve China and make the past serve the present, while also deepening reform and stimulating potential in international competition. Only in this way can the innovative genes of fine traditional Chinese culture continuously generate new vitality amidst the surging currents of world civilizations, coalescing the “force” of an innovation culture that promotes scientific and technological self-reliance and self-strengthening and realizes national rejuvenation.

创新基因的活力不会在封闭中保持，而是在与异质文化的接触、碰撞、交流中被不断激活和强化。回溯中华文明的发展历程，每一次重大的思想突破和文化繁荣，无不与开放包容的时代背景密切相关。汉唐盛世对西域文化的吸纳、宋元之际海上丝绸之路的兴盛、近代以来西学东渐的激荡，都曾为中华文化注入新的创新活力。习近平总书记深刻洞察文明演进规律，提出“文明因多样而交流，因交流而互鉴，因互鉴而发展”的重要论断。传承中华优秀传统文化的创新基因，绝非意味着固守传统、拒斥外来，而是要以和而不同、有容乃大的文化自信，在更高水平的对外开放中激活自身创造力。当前，新一轮科技革命和产业变革加速演进，全球创新版图深刻重构。面对这一时代大势，我们既要有各美其美的文化定力，又要有美人之美的开放胸襟。一方面，积极推动中华优秀传统文化中蕴含的独特宇宙观、自然观和伦理观走向世界，在参与解决气候变化、公共卫生等全球性议题中贡献中国智慧，在国际对话中激活自身的创新基因；另一方面，善于学习借鉴各国在基础研究组织、产学研一体协同、创新生态培育等方面的先进经验，将他山之石与本土创新文化基因有机融合，形成具有中国特色的国家创新体系。正如习近平总书记指出：“自主创新是开放环境下的创新，绝不能关起门来搞，而是要聚四海之气、借八方之力。”在文明互鉴的宏大视野中，我们既要坚持洋为中用、古为今用，又要在国际竞争中深化改革、激发潜能。唯有如此，中华优秀传统文化的创新基因才能在世界文明的激荡中不断生发新的生命力，凝聚推动科技自立自强、实现民族复兴的创新文化之“力”。

(Author Zhang Xiaoping is a researcher at the Institute of Marxism, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and a professor and doctoral supervisor at the School of Marxism, University of Chinese Academy of Social Sciences; Cui Yi is a doctoral student at the School of Marxism, Renmin University of China.)

(作者张小平系中国社会科学院马克思主义研究院研究员，中国社会科学院大学马克思主义学院教授、博士生导师；崔翼系中国人民大学马克思主义学院博士生）