Deeply Grasp the Important Significance of Consolidating Cultural Subjectivity

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development: “For any culture to stand firm, go far, and possess guiding power, cohesive power, shaping power, and radiating power, it must have its own subjectivity.” [1]1 The Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development was held in Beijing on June 2, 2023, where Xi Jinping delivered an important speech. Cultural subjectivity manifests as a clear cognition and high degree of identification with the historical origins, developmental process, status, and role of one’s own national culture, demonstrating a subjective consciousness and an attitude of confidence. Consolidating cultural subjectivity is a major task in building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation. We must deeply grasp the important significance of consolidating cultural subjectivity, strengthen historical confidence and cultural confidence, and continuously cultivate and create socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for the New Era.

习近平总书记在文化传承发展座谈会上强调：“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。”文化主体性表现为对本民族文化的历史渊源、发展进程、地位作用等有清醒认知与高度认同，彰显出主体意识与自信态度。巩固文化主体性，是建设中华民族现代文明的一个重大课题。我们要深刻把握巩固文化主体性的重要意义，坚定历史自信、文化自信，不断培育和创造新时代中国特色社会主义文化。

Providing a fundamental support for cultural confidence. The development of a country and the prosperity of a nation are inseparable from firm cultural confidence. With cultural subjectivity, there is a firm self in the cultural sense, and cultural confidence has a fundamental support. The cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation is rooted both in the fertile soil of the more than five thousand years of Chinese civilization and in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Consolidating cultural subjectivity requires not only an in-depth understanding of the historical origins, formation process, and developmental trends of Chinese civilization, a deep grasp of the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization, and a firm belief in the value and vitality of one’s own culture to enhance cultural confidence; it also requires a comprehensive grasp of the great achievements made by contemporary China in the fields of economy, politics, culture, society, and ecological civilization, an understanding of the positive contributions of Chinese-path modernization to human civilization, and a profound recognition that the vigorous development of the cause of the Party and the state in the New Era has laid a solid material foundation for consolidating cultural subjectivity, thereby better basing cultural prosperity and development on new practice.

为文化自信提供根本依托。国家的发展、民族的兴旺离不开坚定的文化自信。有了文化主体性，就有了文化意义上坚定的自我，文化自信就有了根本依托。中华民族的文化主体性，既植根于五千多年中华文明的深厚沃土，也立足于中国特色社会主义伟大实践。巩固文化主体性，既需要深入了解中华文明的历史渊源、形成过程、发展趋向等，深刻把握中华文明的突出特性，坚定对自身文化价值、文化生命力的信念，增强文化自信；也需要全面把握当代中国在经济、政治、文化、社会、生态文明等领域取得的巨大成就，把握中国式现代化对人类文明的积极贡献，深刻认识新时代党和国家事业蓬勃发展为巩固文化主体性奠定了坚实物质基础，从而更好立足新的实践推动文化繁荣发展。

Injecting cultural strength for our Party to lead the times. Our Party has always valued culture and focused on using advanced culture to lead and promote social progress. Our cultural subjectivity was established by the Party leading the Chinese people through the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and the fine traditional Chinese culture. [2]2 This refers to the “Two Integrations” (两个结合), a key theoretical formulation in Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era. In the New Era, solid steps have been taken in building a socialist cultural power, and our cultural subjectivity has been continuously consolidated. The creation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is the most powerful manifestation of this cultural subjectivity. Under the scientific guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, the Communist Party of China and the Chinese people have united and struggled, forged ahead with determination, and displayed a more confident, self-reliant, and self-strengthening spiritual outlook, greatly enhancing the ambition, backbone, and confidence of being Chinese. Consolidating cultural subjectivity requires adhering to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, unswervingly following the path of socialist cultural development with Chinese characteristics, and continuously strengthening the spiritual strength for achieving national rejuvenation.

为我们党引领时代注入文化力量。我们党历来重视文化，注重以先进文化引领和推动社会进步。我们的文化主体性，是党带领中国人民通过把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际、同中华优秀传统文化相结合建立起来的。新时代，社会主义文化强国建设迈出坚实步伐，我们的文化主体性不断巩固。创立习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想是这一文化主体性的最有力体现。在习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想科学指引下，中国共产党和中国人民团结奋斗、砥砺奋进，展现出更加自信、自立、自强的精神风貌，大大增强做中国人的志气、骨气、底气。巩固文化主体性，要坚持以习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想为指导，坚定不移走中国特色社会主义文化发展道路，不断增强实现民族复兴的精神力量。

Laying a cultural foundation for enhancing national identity. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Chinese civilization is the only great civilization in the world that has continued uninterrupted and developed in the form of a state to this day. This fully proves that Chinese civilization possesses cultural subjectivity and vigorous vitality for self-development, responding to challenges, and creating new prospects.” [3]3 Quoted from Xi Jinping’s speech at the Symposium on Cultural Heritage and Development. National identity constructed on the basis of cultural subjectivity is a solid cornerstone for the cohesion of the Chinese nation. The fine traditional Chinese culture, accumulated over thousands of years, contains governance principles such as “the world is for all” and “the people are the foundation of the state,” moral concepts such as “ceaseless self-improvement” and “virtue of carrying all things,” and methods of thinking such as “unity of knowledge and action” and “preparedness averts peril.” [4]4 These are classical Chinese philosophical concepts: “天下为公” (tian xia wei gong) from the Book of Rites, “民为邦本” (min wei bang ben) from the Book of Documents, “自强不息” (zi qiang bu xi) and “厚德载物” (hou de zai wu) from the Book of Changes, “知行合一” (zhi xing he yi) from Wang Yangming’s philosophy, and “未雨绸缪” (wei yu chou mou) from the Book of Songs. These cultural genes deeply influence the spiritual world of the Chinese people, forging profound feelings of family and country and a deep historical consciousness, becoming the cultural source of national identity and national pride. Consolidating cultural subjectivity requires inheriting and developing the fine traditional Chinese culture, adhering to the principle of making the past serve the present and weeding through the old to bring forth the new, promoting the creative transformation and innovative development of the fine traditional Chinese culture, and laying a solid cultural foundation for forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation and gathering the mighty force of united struggle.

为增强国家认同奠定文化基础。习近平总书记指出：“中华文明是世界上唯一绵延不断且以国家形态发展至今的伟大文明。这充分证明了中华文明具有自我发展、回应挑战、开创新局的文化主体性与旺盛生命力。”以文化主体性为基础建构起的国家认同，是中华民族凝心聚力的坚固基石。经过数千年积淀的中华优秀传统文化，蕴含着天下为公、民为邦本等治理之道，自强不息、厚德载物等道德理念，知行合一、未雨绸缪等思想方法。这些文化基因深深影响着中国人民的精神世界，铸就深厚的家国情怀和深沉的历史意识，成为国家认同感、民族自豪感的文化源泉。巩固文化主体性，就要传承好、发展好中华优秀传统文化，坚持古为今用、推陈出新，推动中华优秀传统文化创造性转化、创新性发展，为铸牢中华民族共同体意识、凝聚团结奋斗的磅礴力量打牢文化基础。

Providing solid support for exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. Chinese civilization is an open and inclusive civilization, always engaging in exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations with an inclusive mindset. Learning from other civilizations is aimed at becoming a better self on the basis of adhering to cultural subjectivity. Currently, as world changes unseen in a century accelerate and different ideologies and cultures interact and clash, it is even more necessary to consolidate cultural subjectivity. We must adhere to taking our own path, firmly uphold the soul of Marxism and the root of the fine traditional Chinese culture, and enhance the communication power and influence of Chinese civilization; uphold openness and inclusiveness, more actively learn from and draw upon all outstanding achievements of human civilization, insist on taking ourselves as the mainstay and using them for our own benefit, promote the localization of foreign cultures, produce more cultural achievements that integrate the ancient and the modern, and connect China and the West, and continuously enrich the garden of human civilizations together with other civilizations.

为文明交流互鉴提供坚实支撑。中华文明是开放包容的文明，始终以兼收并蓄的胸怀与其他文明进行交流互鉴。文明借鉴是为了在坚守文化主体性基础上成为更好的自己。当前，世界百年变局加速演进，不同思想文化相互激荡，更加需要巩固文化主体性。要坚持走自己的路，坚守好马克思主义这个魂脉和中华优秀传统文化这个根脉，增强中华文明的传播力影响力；秉持开放包容，更加积极主动地学习借鉴人类创造的一切优秀文明成果，坚持以我为主、为我所用，促进外来文化本土化，推出更多熔铸古今、汇通中西的文化成果，与其他文明一道不断丰富人类文明百花园。

Online editor: Zhang Fujun

网络编辑：张福军