A New View of Civilization: Opening Up a Triple Transcendence in Global Civilizational Development

The publication of the *Outline for the Study of Xi Jinping’s Thought on Culture* provides us with an authoritative auxiliary reading for comprehensively grasping the essence of Xi Jinping’s Thought on Culture. The *Outline* clearly states: “What view of civilization one adopts toward different civilizations bears on the progress of human society and on world peace and development. General Secretary Xi Jinping has distinctly put forward a view of civilization that promotes equality, mutual learning, dialogue, and inclusiveness, emphasizing the transcendence of civilizational estrangement through civilizational exchange, the transcendence of civilizational conflict through civilizational mutual learning, and the transcendence of civilizational superiority through civilizational inclusiveness, thereby clarifying the correct attitude and principles for civilizational exchange and mutual learning.” [1]1 This is a direct quotation from the *Outline for the Study of Xi Jinping’s Thought on Culture*, an official study guide published by the Central Party Literature Press in 2024. This important exposition profoundly elucidates the true meaning of civilizational exchange and mutual learning. It closely integrates theoretical reflection with practical pathways, effectively resolves the problems of civilizational estrangement and conflict, eliminates the prejudice of civilizational superiority, and manifests the fundamental spirit of equal dialogue and mutual respect. By “transcending estrangement,” we break down misunderstandings and exclusion between cultures; by “transcending conflict,” we discard narrow nationalism and cultural antagonism; by “transcending superiority,” we resolutely oppose cultural hegemonism and promote the equal coexistence of civilizations. These three “transcendences” complement and interlock with each other, constituting a comprehensive, multi-dimensional new view of civilization. This view of civilization not only responds to the widespread expectations of countries around the world for diverse paths to modernization but also provides theoretical support for China to play a more active role in the global civilizational landscape, and further points a clear direction and path for the harmonious development of human civilization.

《习近平文化思想学习纲要》出版发行，为我们全面掌握习近平文化思想的精髓提供了权威辅助读物。《纲要》明确指出：“以什么样的文明观对待不同文明，事关人类社会进步，事关世界和平发展。习近平总书记鲜明提出弘扬平等、互鉴、对话、包容的文明观，强调以文明交流超越文明隔阂、文明互鉴超越文明冲突、文明包容超越文明优越，明确了文明交流互鉴的正确态度和原则。”这一重要论述，深刻阐明了文明交流互鉴的真谛，既将理论思考与实践路径紧密结合，又有力破解了文明隔阂与冲突的难题，消除了文明优越的偏见，彰显了平等对话、相互尊重的根本精神。通过“超越隔阂”，我们打破了文化之间的误解与排斥；通过“超越冲突”，我们摒弃了狭隘的民族主义和文化对立；通过“超越优越”，我们坚决抵制文化霸权主义，推动文明平等共生。这三重“超越”，相辅相成、环环相扣，构成了一个全方位、多维度的新文明观。这一文明观，不仅回应了世界各国对多元现代化道路的广泛期待，也为中国在全球文明格局中发挥更加积极的作用提供了理论支撑，更为人类文明的和谐发展指明了清晰的方向与路径。

Transcending Civilizational Estrangement through Civilizational Exchange

以文明交流超越文明隔阂

Throughout human history, what has separated people has never been thousands of mountains and rivers, nor vast oceans and deep ravines, but rather profound cognitive barriers. Civilizational exchange and mutual learning should be established on a foundation of reciprocity, equality, diversity, and multidirectionality, rather than on coercion and unidirectionality. If, before the opening of new sea routes, civilizational estrangement stemmed more from geographical limitations, then with the advent of the Age of Exploration, civilizational estrangement increasingly resulted from human factors. In modern times, the West used its gunboats to force open the doors of various countries, establishing a world system centered on the West. This process shattered the balance among civilizations, tore apart the spontaneous developmental trajectories of non-Western civilizations, and brought profound disasters. The West not only destroyed certain primitive civilizations, such as the Indigenous civilizations of the Americas and ancient West African civilizations, but also occupied the core regions of other ancient civilizations, such as West Asia, North Africa, India, and China, and remade them according to its own civilizational standards. This coercive remaking not only ravaged the diversity of civilizations, turning civilizational exchange into a unidirectional, coercive process, but also sowed the seeds of problems such as racism, nationalism, and terrorism, exacerbating the civilizational estrangement between the West and non-Western regions, which remains a root cause of global conflicts and crises to this day. In recent years, as emerging market countries and developing countries represented by China have gradually embarked on their own paths to modernization and achieved remarkable successes, non-Western civilizations are being revitalized and regaining confidence. The unequal civilizational relations once distorted by Western hegemony are gradually being rectified. However, some Western leaders still cling to a Western-centric mindset, viewing non-Western countries as objects in need of “civilizing,” meddling in their affairs, and even resorting to trade wars, technology wars, information wars, and other means to obstruct and interfere with the legitimate development of non-Western countries, artificially creating barriers to civilizational exchange. To change this situation, the primary task is to respect the right of each country to independently choose its social system and development path, eliminate doubts and estrangement, and through equal civilizational exchange, transform the world’s diversity and the differences among countries into developmental vitality and momentum, thereby opening up new horizons for the common progress of global civilization.

纵观人类历史，隔离人与人的，从来不是千山万水，也不是大海深壑，而是深刻的认知隔膜，文明交流互鉴应建立在对等、平等、多元、多向的基础上，而非强制和单向。如果说在新航路开辟之前，文明的隔阂更多源自地理的局限，那么随着大航海时代的到来，文明隔阂则愈加由人为因素所致。近代以来，西方凭借坚船利炮打开各国大门，建立起以西方为中心的世界体系，这一过程打破了文明间的平衡，撕裂了非西方文明自发发展的轨迹，带来了深重的灾难。西方不仅摧毁了某些原始文明，如印第安文明、西非古文明，还占领了其他古老文明的核心地区，如西亚、北非、印度和中国，并按其文明标准加以改造。这种强制性改造不仅摧残了文明的多样性，使得文明交流变为单向的、强制的过程，而且也埋下了种族主义、民族主义、恐怖主义等问题的种子，加剧了西方与非西方之间的文明隔阂，至今成为全球冲突与危机的根源。近年来，随着以中国为代表的新兴市场国家和发展中国家逐渐走上属于自己的现代化道路并取得显著成就，非西方文明正在焕发新生、恢复自信。曾经被西方霸权所扭曲的不平等文明关系，正逐渐被重新修正。然而，仍有一些西方领导人固守西方中心主义的思维，视非西方国家为需要“教化”的对象，指手画脚，甚至通过贸易战、科技战、信息战等手段，阻挠和干涉非西方国家的正当发展，人为制造文明交流的隔阂。要改变这一局面，首要之务是尊重各国自主选择社会制度和发展道路的权利，消除疑虑和隔阂，通过平等的文明交流，把世界多样性和各国差异性转化为发展活力和动力，进而为全球文明的共同进步开辟新天地。

Transcending Civilizational Conflict through Civilizational Mutual Learning

以文明互鉴超越文明冲突

Various civilizations are inherently without conflict; the key lies in possessing the vision to appreciate each other’s beauty. As long as we uphold a spirit of tolerance and inclusiveness, so-called “clash of civilizations” will cease to exist, and the harmony of civilizations can be realized. However, some Western scholars, particularly the American scholar Samuel Huntington, who proposed the “clash of civilizations” theory in the 1990s, loudly propagated the irreconcilable antagonism between civilizations, exaggerating civilizational conflicts and differences. They argued that after the end of the Cold War, ideological opposition would be replaced by ethnic and religious conflicts, that civilization would become the fundamental criterion for dividing the world, and that the dominant force in international relations would be the collision of civilizations. This theory is steeped in Western-centrism and represents a misreading and distortion of world history. It treats civilizational diversity as antagonism, simplifies human progress into a zero-sum game, and confuses conflicts of interest with civilizational differences. The hidden motive behind it is precisely the attempt by Western powers to maintain global hegemony and perpetuate their dominant position. Using this as a banner, Western countries fabricate imaginary enemies in regions such as Asia, Africa, and Latin America, provoke incidents, launch wars, manipulate color revolutions, forcibly promote so-called “universal values,” and even incite a “new Cold War,” creating civilizational antagonism, exacerbating civilizational conflict, and threatening world peace and stability. Looking back at history, it is not difficult to see that the root of human conflict is often the struggle for interests, not civilizational differences. Although each civilization has its own unique characteristics, they also share many commonalities, and the foundation for peaceful coexistence is deep and solid. As long as we maintain rationality and patience, discard narrow-mindedness and prejudice, replace confrontation with dialogue, and overcome differences through cooperation, we can peacefully resolve contradictions and conflicts in the tide of globalization, pushing the world toward a more harmonious and progressive future.

各种文明本无冲突，关键在于拥有欣赏各自美好的眼光；只要秉持包容与宽容精神，所谓“文明冲突”便不复存在，文明的和谐便可得以实现。然而，西方一些学者，尤其是美国学者亨廷顿，于20世纪90年代提出的“文明冲突论”，大肆宣扬文明之间不可调和的对立，夸大文明冲突与分歧，认为冷战结束后，意识形态对立将被民族与宗教冲突取代，文明将成为划分世界的根本标尺，国际关系的主导力量将是文明的碰撞。这一理论充满西方中心主义，是对世界历史的误读与扭曲。它将文明多样性视为对立，把人类进步简化为零和博弈，混淆利益冲突与文明差异。其背后隐含的，正是西方大国为维护全球霸权、延续主导地位而掩饰的真实动机。以此为旗帜，西方国家在亚洲、非洲、拉丁美洲等地区编织假想敌，挑起事端，发动战争，操控颜色革命，强推所谓“普世价值”，甚至煽动“新冷战”，制造文明对立，加剧文明冲突，威胁世界的和平与稳定。回望历史，我们不难发现，人类的冲突根源，往往是利益博弈，而非文明差异。尽管各文明各具特色，但它们之间也有诸多共通之处，和平共处的基础深厚且牢固。只要我们保持理性与耐心，摒弃狭隘与偏见，以对话代替对抗，以合作克服分歧，就能够在全球化的浪潮中和平解决矛盾，化解冲突，推动世界走向更加和谐、更加进步的未来。

Transcending Civilizational Superiority through Civilizational Inclusiveness

以文明包容超越文明优越

The “theory of civilizational superiority” is a colonialist doctrine meticulously constructed by the modern West during its colonial expansion. Its essence is to reduce civilizational differences to a comparison of superiority and inferiority, attempting to attribute the achievements and advantages of Western civilization in the process of modernization to the “superiority” of its race, institutions, and culture. This theory places Western civilization in an absolutely superior position, denigrates non-Western civilizations as “backward,” and on this basis, promotes colonial expansion and global hegemonism. By fabricating a “hierarchy of civilizations,” it touts the Western historical path as the ultimate stage of human civilizational development, assuming that other “inferior” civilizations will inevitably evolve toward the “higher” Western civilization, thereby providing a hypocritical “justification” for Western colonial behavior and external interference, even glorifying these violent acts as “liberation” and “salvation.” For centuries, this mindset has permeated the globe, becoming the cornerstone of Western-centrism and giving rise to a series of absurd theories such as the “end of history,” “universal values,” the “clash of civilizations,” and “American exceptionalism.” The “theory of civilizational superiority” not only deprives non-Western civilizations of the right to equal interaction but also denies their equal status and value of existence, erodes the civilizational foundations of other nations and countries, intensifies civilizational conflicts and estrangement in international society, and brings far-reaching harm. However, while the West boasts of its “superiority,” it has forgotten that the brilliance of its modernization was built precisely on the rich foundation of exchange and mutual learning among the world’s civilizations. The writing systems and religions of Mesopotamia, the ideas and technologies of China, and the achievements of the Arab world in astronomy, medicine, mathematics, etc., through civilizational exchange and dissemination, nourished the West and helped it move toward modernization. The facts are irrefutable: without the integration and inclusiveness of civilizations, there would be no brilliance of modernization. If the West, therefore, considers itself superior and acts in isolation, it will inevitably fall into self-enclosure and isolation, ultimately facing severe punishment from history. As General Secretary Xi Jinping warned: “To think that one’s race and civilization are superior and to insist on remaking or even replacing other civilizations is foolish in understanding and disastrous in practice.” [2]2 This is a direct quotation from Xi Jinping’s speech at the opening ceremony of the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations, held in Beijing on May 15, 2019.

“文明优越论”是近代西方在殖民扩张过程中精心构建的殖民主义学说，实质上是将文明差异简化为优劣对比，试图将西方文明在现代化进程中的成就与优势，归结为种族、制度、文化的“优越性”。这一理论把西方文明置于绝对的优越地位，将非西方文明贬为“落后”，并以此为基础，推动殖民扩张与全球霸权主义。它通过捏造“文明等级”，将西方的历史路径标榜为人类文明的终极发展阶段，假定其他“劣等”文明必将向西方“高等”文明进化，从而为西方的殖民行为与对外干涉提供虚伪的“正义”依据，甚至将这些暴力行为美化为“解放”和“拯救”。数百年来，这一思维渗透全球，成为西方中心主义的基石，并催生了“历史终结论”“普世价值论”“文明冲突论”“美国例外论”等一系列荒谬理论。“文明优越论”不仅剥夺了非西方文明平等交往的权利，还否定了非西方文明的平等地位与存在价值，侵蚀了其他民族与国家的文明根基，激化了国际社会中的文明冲突和隔阂，带来了深远的危害。然而，西方在自诩“优越”之时，竟忘记了其现代化的辉煌，正是建立在世界各文明交流与互鉴的丰厚基础之上。两河流域的文字与宗教，中国的思想与技术，阿拉伯的天文、医学、数学等成就，经过文明的交流与传播，滋养了西方，助其走向现代化。事实不容辩驳：没有文明的融合与包容，便没有现代化的辉煌。如果西方因此自视为高人一等，孤行独立，必将陷入自我封闭与孤立，最终遭到历史的严厉惩罚。正如习近平总书记警示的那样：“认为自己的人种和文明高人一等，执意改造甚至取代其他文明，在认识上是愚蠢的，在做法上是灾难性的！”

The exchange, mutual learning, and inclusiveness of civilizations, transcending estrangement, conflict, and superiority, is the necessary path for contemporary human society to move toward prosperity, peace, and development. It will surely lead us toward a new brilliance of human civilization and open up a brighter and more splendid future. In today’s world, where globalization and diversification are deepening day by day, civilizational exchange and interaction have become a powerful force driving human progress and world peace. Standing at a new historical starting point, the power of civilization becomes ever more prominent. It is not only the key to solving global problems but also the source that drives human society toward prosperity, progress, and harmony. Only by upholding an attitude of equality, inclusiveness, mutual learning, and dialogue, and by respecting cultural diversity, can we break down civilizational estrangement, resolve misunderstandings and conflicts, and push the world toward a better tomorrow.

文明的交流、互鉴与包容，超越隔阂、冲突与优越，是当代人类社会走向繁荣、和平与发展的必由之路，必将引领我们迈向人类文明的新辉煌，开启更加光明灿烂的未来。在全球化与多元化日益深入的当今世界，文明交流与互动已成为推动人类进步与世界和平的强大力量。站在新的历史起点上，文明的力量愈加凸显，它不仅是破解全球性难题的钥匙，更是推动人类社会走向繁荣、进步、和谐的源泉。唯有秉持平等、包容、互鉴、对话的态度，尊重文化多样性，才能打破文明隔阂、化解误解与冲突，推动世界走向更加美好的明天。

[The author is Deputy Director of the World History Teaching and Research Office of the Literature, History and Philosophy Teaching and Research Department, and Deputy Secretary-General of the International Communication Research Center, at the Central Party School (National Academy of Governance).] [3]3 The Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) is the highest training institution for leading cadres of the Chinese Communist Party, responsible for theoretical education and research on Party and state policy.

[作者为中央党校（国家行政学院）文史教研部世界史教研室副主任、国际传播研究中心副秘书长]

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧