The Practical Thread of the Party’s Advancement of the Building of a Modern Civilization of the Chinese Nation

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development: “Continuing to promote cultural prosperity, build a strong cultural country, and build a modern civilization of the Chinese nation from a new starting point is our new cultural mission in the New Era.” This is a resounding clarion call for cultural construction in the New Era and a scientific guide for building a modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

习近平总书记在文化传承发展座谈会上指出：“在新的起点上继续推动文化繁荣、建设文化强国、建设中华民族现代文明，是我们在新时代新的文化使命。”这是新时代文化建设的嘹亮号角，是建设中华民族现代文明的科学指南。

Developing socialist culture is an important cultural mission of Chinese Communists

发展社会主义文化是中国共产党人的重要文化使命

The Communist Party of China is the vanguard of the Chinese working class, and at the same time the vanguard of the Chinese people and the Chinese nation. From the day of its founding, our Party has been both an active leader and practitioner of China’s advanced culture and a faithful inheritor and promoter of China’s fine traditional culture. Over more than 100 years, our Party has consistently taken seeking happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation as its original aspiration and founding mission, has consistently adhered to the communist ideal and socialist conviction, and has united and led the people of all ethnic groups across the country in unremitting struggle for national independence, people’s liberation, national prosperity, and people’s happiness.

中国共产党是中国工人阶级的先锋队，同时也是中国人民和中华民族的先锋队。我们党从成立之日起，既是中国先进文化的积极引领者和践行者，又是中华优秀传统文化的忠实传承者和弘扬者。100多年来，我们党始终把为中国人民谋幸福、为中华民族谋复兴作为自己的初心使命，始终坚持共产主义理想和社会主义信念，团结带领全国各族人民为争取民族独立、人民解放和实现国家富强、人民幸福而不懈奋斗。

After the founding of New China, the Party established Marxism’s guiding position in the cultural sphere, clarified the strategic position of cultural construction in the overall layout of socialist construction, put forward the basic principles of “making the past serve the present” and “making foreign things serve China,” formulated the guiding policy of “letting a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend” for cultural development, emphasized and actively brought into play the principal role of the masses in cultural construction. Education, science, culture, health, and sports undertakings developed considerably, presenting a vigorous and thriving scene of socialist culture and creating a brand-new popular culture of the masses never before seen in Chinese history.

新中国成立后，党确立马克思主义在文化领域的指导地位，明确文化建设在社会主义建设总体布局中的战略地位，提出了“古为今用”和“洋为中用”的基本原则，制定了“百花齐放、百家争鸣”的文化发展指导方针，强调并积极发挥人民群众在文化建设中的主体作用，教育、科学、文化、卫生、体育事业有很大发展，展现出社会主义文化蓬勃向上的热烈景象，创造了中国历史上从来没有过的崭新的人民大众文化。

Solid steps have been taken toward building a strong socialist culture country

社会主义文化强国建设迈出坚实步伐

Culture is the soul of a country and a nation. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, in the practice of leading the Party and the people in advancing national governance, has adhered to integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of China’s traditional culture, promoting historic achievements and historic transformations in various undertakings including our country’s cultural construction.

文化是一个国家、一个民族的灵魂。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央在领导党和人民推进治国理政的实践中，坚持把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合，推动我国包括文化建设在内的各项事业取得历史性成就，发生历史性变革。

On July 1, 2021, at the ceremony marking the centenary of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We have upheld and developed socialism with Chinese characteristics, promoted coordinated development of material, political, cultural-ethical, social, and ecological civilization, and created a new path of Chinese-path modernization and a new form of human civilization.” On the new journey, we must “adhere to integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of China’s traditional culture.” The report of the 20th National Congress of the CPC further pointed out: “Only by integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of China’s traditional culture, and by adhering to the application of dialectical materialism and historical materialism, can we correctly answer the major questions raised by the times and practice, and can we always maintain the vigorous vitality and exuberant energy of Marxism.” On June 2, 2023, General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important speech at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development concentratedly summarized the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization, profoundly elucidated the great significance of the Two Integrations, especially the Second Integration, and made a comprehensive strategic deployment for building a modern civilization of the Chinese nation. It is a scientific summary of the Party’s practical experience in leading cultural construction in the New Era and provides the fundamental guidance and action guide for building a modern civilization of the Chinese nation and a strong socialist culture country.

2021年7月1日，习近平总书记在庆祝中国共产党成立100周年大会上指出：“我们坚持和发展中国特色社会主义，推动物质文明、政治文明、精神文明、社会文明、生态文明协调发展，创造了中国式现代化新道路，创造了人类文明新形态。”新征程上，我们必须“坚持把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合”。党的二十大报告进一步指出：“只有把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合，坚持运用辩证唯物主义和历史唯物主义，才能正确回答时代和实践提出的重大问题，才能始终保持马克思主义的蓬勃生机和旺盛活力。”2023年6月2日，习近平总书记在文化传承发展座谈会上的重要讲话，集中概括了中华文明的突出特性，深刻阐明了“两个结合”特别是“第二个结合”的重大意义，对建设中华民族现代文明进行了全面战略部署，是新时代党领导文化建设实践经验的科学总结，为建设中华民族现代文明和社会主义文化强国提供了根本遵循和行动指南。

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has adhered to integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of China’s traditional culture, deeply pondered the major issue of advancing the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and building a modern civilization of the Chinese nation, and put forward a series of new ideas, new viewpoints, and new judgments. For example: strengthening the Party’s overall leadership over propaganda, ideology, and cultural work; shouldering the new cultural mission; building a strong socialist culture country; forging new brilliance in socialist culture; upholding the fundamental system of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological sphere; adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times; building a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leading power; upholding cultural confidence; promoting the prosperity and flourishing of socialist culture; building a modern civilization of the Chinese nation; guiding cultural construction with core socialist values; extensively carrying out propaganda and education on socialism with Chinese characteristics and the Chinese Dream; uniting the entire people closely together in ideals, values, and moral concepts; accelerating the construction of philosophy and social sciences with Chinese characteristics; taking China’s actual conditions as the starting point for research; interpreting Chinese practice and constructing Chinese theory; promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of China’s fine traditional culture; enabling Chinese culture to display its enduring charm and contemporary style; enhancing the communication power, guiding power, influence, and credibility of news and public opinion; promoting the main theme and spreading positive energy; consolidating and strengthening the mainstream thought and public opinion advancing courageously in the New Era; emphasizing adherence to a people-centered creative orientation; giving priority to social benefits; producing more excellent works that enhance the people’s spiritual strength; strengthening the protection and utilization of cultural relics and the preservation and inheritance of cultural heritage; safeguarding the Chinese cultural lineage; forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation; building a shared spiritual home for the Chinese nation; cultivating a positive, healthy, uplifting, and benevolent online culture; building a cyber civilization; enhancing national cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture; strengthening international communication capacity building; telling China’s stories well; promoting Chinese culture to better reach the world; promoting the common values of all humanity; implementing the Global Civilization Initiative; promoting inter-civilization exchanges and mutual learning; enriching the garden of world civilizations, and so on.

党的十八大以来，习近平总书记坚持把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合，深入思考推进中国特色社会主义文化建设、建设中华民族现代文明这一重大问题，提出一系列新思想新观点新论断。例如，加强党对宣传思想文化工作的全面领导，担负起新的文化使命，建设社会主义文化强国，铸就社会主义文化新辉煌；坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位的根本制度，推进马克思主义中国化时代化，建设具有强大凝聚力和引领力的社会主义意识形态；坚持文化自信，推动社会主义文化繁荣兴盛，建设中华民族现代文明；以社会主义核心价值观引领文化建设，广泛开展中国特色社会主义和中国梦宣传教育，使全体人民在理想信念、价值理念、道德观念上紧紧团结在一起；加快构建中国特色哲学社会科学，以我国实际为研究起点，解读中国实践、构建中国理论；推动中华优秀传统文化创造性转化、创新性发展，让中华文化展现出永久魅力和时代风采；提高新闻舆论传播力、引导力、影响力、公信力，弘扬主旋律、传播正能量，巩固壮大奋进新时代的主流思想舆论；强调坚持以人民为中心的创作导向，把社会效益放在首位，推出更多增强人民精神力量的优秀作品；加强文物保护利用和文化遗产保护传承，守护好中华文脉；铸牢中华民族共同体意识，建设中华民族共有精神家园；培育积极健康向上向善的网络文化，建设网络文明；提升国家文化软实力和中华文化影响力，加强国际传播能力建设，讲好中国故事，推动中华文化更好走向世界；弘扬全人类共同价值，落实全球文明倡议，推动文明交流互鉴，丰富世界文明百花园等。

Building a modern civilization of the Chinese nation on the new journey of the New Era

新时代新征程建设中华民族现代文明

A person without spirit cannot stand; a country without spirit cannot be strong. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has coordinated the strategic overall plan for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation and the changes unseen in a century, achieved the great transformations of the first decade of the New Era, which have milestone significance in the history of the Party, the history of New China, the history of reform and opening up, the history of socialist development, and the history of the development of the Chinese nation, providing more complete institutional guarantees, a more solid material foundation, and a more proactive spiritual force for building a strong socialist culture country and a modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

人无精神则不立，国无精神则不强。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央统筹中华民族伟大复兴战略全局和世界百年未有之大变局，实现了新时代十年的伟大变革，在党史、新中国史、改革开放史、社会主义发展史、中华民族发展史上具有里程碑意义，为建设社会主义文化强国、建设中华民族现代文明提供更为完善的制度保证、更为坚实的物质基础、更为主动的精神力量。

To continue promoting cultural prosperity, building a strong cultural country, and building a modern civilization of the Chinese nation from a new starting point, we must strengthen cultural confidence. Cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and deeper confidence, a more basic, deeper, and more enduring force. Only a nation with cultural confidence can stand firm, stand steady, and go far. Looking around the world today, the Communist Party of China, the People’s Republic of China, and the Chinese nation have the most reason to be confident. Our confidence comes from the great achievements that the Party and the people have fought for, worked for, and striven for together; from the revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture nurtured in the great struggles of the Party and the people; and also from the Chinese civilization that has continued for thousands of years without interruption and has never declined despite countless hardships. Only a civilization full of confidence can, while maintaining its own national characteristics, tolerate, learn from, and absorb various different civilizations, and can always adhere to its own path. The primary task of strengthening cultural confidence is to base ourselves on the great historical and contemporary practice of the Chinese nation, use Chinese principles to summarize Chinese experience well, elevate Chinese experience into Chinese theory, and achieve spiritual independence and self-reliance. We must adhere unswervingly to the basic tenets of Marxism, adhere unswervingly to the Party’s overall leadership, and adhere unswervingly to socialism with Chinese characteristics; integrate cultural confidence into the spiritual temperament and cultural character of the entire nation; cultivate an upward-looking style and a rational and calm mindset; adhere to the path of socialist cultural development with Chinese characteristics; and forge new brilliance in socialist culture.

在新的起点上继续推动文化繁荣、建设文化强国、建设中华民族现代文明，要坚定文化自信。文化自信，是更基础、更广泛、更深厚的自信，是更基本、更深沉、更持久的力量。有文化自信的民族，才能立得住、站得稳、行得远。环顾当今世界，中国共产党、中华人民共和国、中华民族是最有理由自信的。我们的自信，来自党和人民一道拼出来、干出来、奋斗出来的伟大成就，来自党和人民伟大斗争中孕育的革命文化和社会主义先进文化，也来自历经数千年延续而不绝、经历无数忧患而不衰的中华文明。只有充满自信的文明，才会在保持自己民族特色的同时包容、借鉴、吸收各种不同文明，才能始终坚持走自己的路。坚定文化自信的首要任务，就是立足中华民族伟大历史实践和当代实践，用中国道理总结好中国经验，把中国经验提升为中国理论，实现精神上的独立自主。要坚持马克思主义基本原理不动摇，坚持党的全面领导不动摇，坚持中国特色社会主义不动摇，把文化自信融入全民族的精神气质与文化品格中，养成昂扬向上的风貌和理性平和的心态，坚持中国特色社会主义文化发展道路，铸就社会主义文化新辉煌。

To continue promoting cultural prosperity, building a strong cultural country, and constructing the modern civilization of the Chinese nation from a new starting point, we must uphold openness and inclusiveness. Openness and inclusiveness have always been a source of vitality for the development of civilization and a notable hallmark of cultural confidence. Chinese civilization is a civilization born on Chinese soil, and it is also an open system formed through continuous exchange and mutual learning with other civilizations. Upholding openness and inclusiveness means learning from and drawing on all the outstanding achievements of human civilization more proactively, achieving integration between China and the outside world and coherence between the past and the present, so that the excellent cultural genes from all human civilizations are adapted to contemporary culture and coordinated with modern society, and the excellent cultural spirit that transcends time and space, surpasses national boundaries, possesses enduring charm, and carries contemporary value is carried forward.

在新的起点上继续推动文化繁荣、建设文化强国、建设中华民族现代文明，要秉持开放包容。开放包容始终是文明发展的活力来源，也是文化自信的显著标志。中华文明是在中国大地上产生的文明，也是同其他文明不断交流互鉴而形成的开放体系。秉持开放包容，就是要更加积极主动地学习借鉴人类创造的一切优秀文明成果，做到融通中外、贯通古今，使人类创造的一切文明中的优秀文化基因与当代文化相适应、与现代社会相协调，把跨越时空、超越国度、富有永恒魅力、具有当代价值的优秀文化精神弘扬起来。

The Communist Party of China possesses a high degree of historical consciousness and cultural confidence in building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation. Especially since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has adhered to integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese culture, fully utilizing the valuable resources of fine traditional Chinese culture, promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations, and implementing the Global Civilization Initiative, taking solid steps toward building a strong socialist cultural country. Possessing the guidance of Marxist scientific theory is the fundamental basis for our Party to firmly believe in its faith and grasp the historical initiative. We must persist in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, inherit and develop the best of traditional Chinese culture, promote the localization of foreign cultures, and continuously cultivate and create socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for a New Era.

中国共产党具有建设中华民族现代文明的高度历史自觉和文化自信。特别是党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央坚持把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合，充分运用中华优秀传统文化的宝贵资源，推动文明交流互鉴，践行全球文明倡议，社会主义文化强国建设迈出坚实步伐。拥有马克思主义科学理论指导是我们党坚定信仰信念、把握历史主动的根本所在。我们必须坚持马克思主义中国化时代化，传承发展中华优秀传统文化，促进外来文化本土化，不断培育和创造新时代中国特色社会主义文化。

To continue promoting cultural prosperity, building a strong cultural country, and constructing the modern civilization of the Chinese nation from a new starting point, we must uphold integrity and innovation. For cultural construction, upholding integrity ensures that we do not lose ourselves or our direction, while innovation enables us to grasp the times and lead the times. Upholding integrity means adhering to the fundamental system of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological domain, adhering to the fundamental requirement of integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese culture, adhering to the Communist Party of China’s cultural leadership and the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation, and never discarding the soul of Marxism or the roots of the best of traditional Chinese culture. Innovation means creating new ideas, new discourses, new mechanisms, and new forms. First and foremost, it requires grasping the worldview and methodology of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, adhering to and applying the positions, viewpoints, and methods that run through it, truly making the past serve the present, making foreign things serve China, making dialectical choices, and discarding the old in favor of the new, so as to achieve an organic connection between tradition and modernity.

在新的起点上继续推动文化繁荣、建设文化强国、建设中华民族现代文明，要坚持守正创新。对文化建设来说，守正才能不迷失自我、不迷失方向，创新才能把握时代、引领时代。守正，就是要坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位的根本制度，坚持把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合的根本要求，坚持中国共产党的文化领导权和中华民族的文化主体性，决不能抛弃马克思主义这个魂脉，决不能抛弃中华优秀传统文化这个根脉。创新，创的是新思路、新话语、新机制、新形式，首先要把握好习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的世界观和方法论，坚持好、运用好贯穿其中的立场观点方法，真正做到古为今用、洋为中用、辩证取舍、推陈出新，实现传统与现代的有机衔接。

The best inheritance of history is to create new history, and the greatest respect for human civilization is to create new forms of human civilization. The new form of human civilization created by Chinese-path modernization belongs to China and to the world; it belongs to the present and to the future. On the new journey of the New Era, we must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply understand the decisive significance of the Two Establishments [3]3 The Two Establishments (两个确立) refer to establishing Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and establishing the guiding role of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era., strengthen the Four Consciousnesses [4]4 The Four Consciousnesses (四个意识) refer to the consciousness of the need to maintain political integrity, think in big-picture terms, follow the leadership core, and keep in alignment with the central Party leadership., fortify the Four Confidences [5]5 The Four Confidences (四个自信) refer to confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics., and achieve the Two Upholds [6]6 The Two Upholds (两个维护) refer to upholding Comrade Xi Jinping’s core position on the Party Central Committee and in the Party as a whole, and upholding the authority and centralized, unified leadership of the Party Central Committee., firmly follow the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, promote cultural prosperity, build a strong cultural country, and contribute an exemplary modern civilization of the Chinese nation to the world today.

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。中国式现代化创造的人类文明新形态，是中国的，也是世界的；是现在的，也是未来的。新时代新征程，我们必须坚持以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导，深刻领会“两个确立”的决定性意义，增强“四个意识”、坚定“四个自信”、做到“两个维护”，坚定走中国特色社会主义道路，推动文化繁荣、建设文化强国，为当今世界贡献典范性的中华民族现代文明。

Online editor: Paul

网络编辑：保罗