Promoting the Coordinated Development of Material Civilization and Cultural-Ethical Progress

In the recent period, whether it is DeepSeek’s explosive popularity and the frequent emergence of independent innovation highlights, or *Ne Zha: The Devil Child Stirs Up the Sea* creating a dual “myth” in market performance and word-of-mouth, all demonstrate the vigorous vitality of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out, “Both material abundance and spiritual enrichment are the lofty pursuits of Chinese-path modernization,” and “We must adhere to grasping both aspects and making both aspects hard, promoting the mutual coordination and mutual reinforcement of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress.” These important theses, connecting with millennia of thought and drawing lessons from the past, provide a clear orientation for Chinese-path modernization and constitute an important component of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. On the new journey, only by grasping the dialectical relationship of mutual reinforcement between material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, adhering to the mutual coordination of cultural confidence and openness and inclusiveness, and promoting the mutual integration of scientific and technological innovation and cultural creation, can we better embody the Chinese spirit, Chinese wisdom, and Chinese values, providing a more proactive and more powerful spiritual force for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.

最近一个时期以来，无论是DeepSeek火爆出圈、自主创新亮点频出，还是《哪吒之魔童闹海》创造市场与口碑双重“神话”，都彰显物质文明和精神文明建设的蓬勃生机。习近平总书记指出，“既要物质富足、也要精神富有，是中国式现代化的崇高追求”“要坚持两手抓、两手硬，促进物质文明和精神文明相互协调、相互促进”。这些重要论断思接千载、鉴往知来，给出了中国式现代化的清晰取向，成为习近平文化思想的重要内容。新征程上，把握好物质文明与精神文明相互促进的辩证关系，坚持文化自信与开放包容相互协调、推动科技创新与文化创造相互融合，才能更好体现中国精神、中国智慧、中国价值，为强国建设、民族复兴提供更为主动、更为强大的精神力量。

When the goal is set, the direction is clear; when the direction is clear, the steps are firm. Promoting the coordinated development of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, and correctly handling the relationship between material civilization and cultural-ethical progress from a dialectical, comprehensive, and balanced perspective, are principles and requirements that must always be adhered to and followed.

目标定则方向明，方向明则步履坚。推动物质文明和精神文明协调发展，以辩证的、全面的、平衡的观点正确处理物质文明和精神文明的关系，是必须始终坚持和遵循的原则与要求。

The dialectical perspective requires a profound understanding of the interactive relationship between material civilization and cultural-ethical progress; a profound grasp that material civilization is the foundation, providing material conditions and practical experience for the development of cultural-ethical progress; a profound grasp that cultural-ethical progress provides spiritual motivation and intellectual support for the development of material civilization; a profound grasp of the strategic position of cultural-ethical progress; a profound understanding of the extreme importance of spiritual and cultural forces to the rise or fall of the country, the nation, and socialism; a profound understanding of the urgency and long-term nature of strengthening cultural-ethical progress; and, while doing a better job of building material civilization, further opening up a new situation in cultural-ethical progress.

辩证的观点要求深刻认识物质文明和精神文明之间存在相互作用的关系，深刻把握物质文明是基础，物质文明为精神文明的发展提供物质条件和实践经验，深刻把握精神文明为物质文明的发展提供精神动力和智力支持，深刻把握精神文明建设的战略地位，深刻认识精神的力量、文化的力量攸关国家、民族和社会主义兴衰成败的极端重要性，深刻认识加强精神文明建设的紧迫性和长期性，在把物质文明建设搞得更好的同时，进一步开创精神文明建设新局面。

Adhering to the dialectical perspective and promoting the coordinated development of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, so that spiritual and cultural forces “moisten things silently” [1]1 “Moisten things silently” (润物细无声) is a classical Chinese poetic allusion from Du Fu’s poem “Delighting in Rain on a Spring Night,” describing the subtle and imperceptible influence of things. and integrate into economic and social development, requires better aligning the construction of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress with the process of comprehensively building a great modern socialist country.

坚持辩证的观点，推动物质文明和精神文明协调发展，使精神的力量、文化的力量“润物细无声”地融入经济社会发展之中，必须更好推进物质文明建设和精神文明建设同全面建成社会主义现代化强国进程相一致。

For example, building a high-level socialist market economy system requires not only a profound understanding that it is closely integrated with high-quality economic development, but also a profound understanding that it is closely integrated with the construction of socialist cultural-ethical progress. It is necessary to deeply consider, through strengthening cultural-ethical progress, guiding people to correctly handle relationships such as competition and cooperation, autonomy and supervision, efficiency and fairness, getting rich first and common prosperity, and economic benefits and social benefits, opposing the neglect of righteousness for profit and the pursuit of profit alone, and forming healthy and orderly economic and social life norms.

比如，构建高水平社会主义市场经济体制，不仅要深刻认识到其与经济高质量发展紧密结合在一起，也要深刻认识到其与社会主义精神文明建设紧密结合在一起。要深入考虑通过加强精神文明建设引导人们正确处理竞争和协作、自主和监督、效率和公平、先富和共富、经济效益和社会效益等关系，反对见利忘义、唯利是图，形成健康有序的经济和社会生活规范。

Another example: deepening the reform of the cultural system and further promoting cultural-ethical progress to stimulate cultural vitality and creativity inherently requires grasping the characteristics and laws of cultural-ethical progress under the conditions of a socialist market economy, correctly handling the relationship between the social benefits and economic benefits of the cultural industry, promoting a better combination of an effective market and a proactive government, both highlighting and strengthening mainstream values, mainstream public opinion, and mainstream culture, and organically combining the characteristics of Chinese civilization with new material carriers, enhancing people’s sense of gain, happiness, and security through high-quality cultural supply.

又如，深化文化体制改革，深入推进精神文明建设，激发文化生命力、创造力，内在要求把握社会主义市场经济条件下精神文明建设的特点和规律，正确处理文化产业的社会效益和经济效益之间的关系，推动有效市场和有为政府更好结合，既彰显和壮大主流价值、主流舆论、主流文化，也将中华文明特性同新的物质载体有机结合，以高质量文化供给增强人们的获得感、幸福感、安全感。

The comprehensive perspective opposes viewing the development of things in isolation, statically, or partially, and requires handling the relationship between material civilization and cultural-ethical progress with a connected, developmental, and comprehensive view. It requires a profound understanding that material civilization and cultural-ethical progress are mutually conditional and mutually purposeful, mutually reinforcing and cannot be neglected, and taking the realization of “both material civilization and cultural-ethical progress being well developed, both the country’s material strength and spiritual strength being enhanced, and both the material life and spiritual life of the people of all ethnic groups across the country being improved” as the goal and task of promoting the coordinated development of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, running through the entire process of reform and opening up and Chinese-path modernization, and integrating into all aspects of social life.

全面的观点反对孤立静止、以偏概全地看待事物发展，要求用联系的、发展的、全面的观点处理物质文明和精神文明的关系，深刻认识物质文明和精神文明互为条件互为目的、相互促进不可偏废的一面，把实现“物质文明建设和精神文明建设都搞好，国家物质力量和精神力量都增强，全国各族人民物质生活和精神生活都改善”，作为推动物质文明和精神文明协调发展的目标任务，贯穿改革开放和中国式现代化全过程、融入社会生活各方面。

To grasp the comprehensive perspective, we must adhere to the view that material production is the foundation of social life, and, in accordance with the laws of productive forces development, promote the unity of the enrichment of things and the comprehensive development of people. At the same time, we must effectively elevate cultural-ethical progress to a more prominent position, strengthen the guidance of core socialist values, enhance education in patriotism, collectivism, and socialism, strive to promote the formation of ideological concepts, spiritual outlooks, civilized customs, and behavioral norms that meet the requirements of the New Era, continuously enrich the people’s spiritual world, raise the cultural-ethical quality of the entire nation, and promote more obvious substantive progress in the comprehensive development of people and common prosperity for all people.

把握全面的观点，必须坚持物质生产是社会生活的基础的观点，按照生产力发展规律，推动实现物的不断丰富和人的全面发展的统一。同时，切实把精神文明建设提到更加突出的位置，强化社会主义核心价值观引领，加强爱国主义、集体主义、社会主义教育，努力推动形成适应新时代要求的思想观念、精神面貌、文明风尚、行为规范，不断丰富人民精神世界，提高全民族的精神文明素质，推动人的全面发展、全体人民共同富裕取得更为明显的实质性进展。

The balanced perspective is to prevent “one hand being hard, the other hand being soft” [2]2 “One hand being hard, the other hand being soft” (一手硬、一手软) is a Chinese political idiom referring to the imbalance where material development is prioritized while spiritual or cultural development is neglected., requiring a firm grasp of the problems of incomplete, unbalanced, and uncoordinated development, properly handling the relationships between the partial and the whole, the short-term and the long-term, the key and the non-key, adhering to “grasping both aspects and making both aspects hard,” both highlighting key points and making overall plans, delivering excellent results in both material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, and maintaining the dynamic balance, mutual coordination, and common development of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress.

平衡的观点是要防止“一手硬、一手软”，要求紧紧抓住发展不全面、不平衡、不协调问题，处理好局部和全局、当前和长远、重点和非重点的关系，坚持“两手抓、两手硬”，既突出重点，也统筹兼顾，在物质文明建设和精神文明建设上都交出优异答卷，保持物质文明和精神文明的动态平衡、相互协调、共同发展。

On the one hand, development remains the key to solving all of China’s problems. We must firmly grasp the primary task of high-quality development, adhere to making the market play the decisive role in resource allocation and better playing the role of the government, adhere to and implement the “two unswervinglys” [3]3 The “two unswervinglys” (两个毫不动摇) refer to the Party’s policy of unswervingly consolidating and developing the public sector of the economy, and unswervingly encouraging, supporting, and guiding the development of the non-public sector., deepen economic system reform, improve the macroeconomic governance system, perfect the systems and mechanisms conducive to promoting high-quality development, build systems and mechanisms to support comprehensive innovation, shape new drivers and new advantages for development, develop new quality productive forces according to local conditions, consolidate the material conditions for the people’s happy life, and continuously provide a solid foundation for the development of cultural-ethical progress.

一方面，发展仍是解决我国所有问题的关键，牢牢把握高质量发展这个首要任务，坚持使市场在资源配置中起决定性作用和更好发挥政府作用，坚持和落实“两个毫不动摇”，深化经济体制改革，健全宏观经济治理体系，完善有利于推动高质量发展的体制机制，构建支持全面创新体制机制，塑造发展新动能新优势，因地制宜发展新质生产力，夯实人民幸福生活的物质条件，不断为精神文明的发展提供坚实基础。

On the other hand, we must profoundly grasp culture as an important factor influencing economic development, enhance cultural confidence, place cultural development in a more prominent position, focus on building a socialist cultural power, build a socialist ideology with strong cohesion and leadership, ensure that all the people always have the ideological foundation for united struggle, the proactive spirit for pioneering and innovation, and the value pursuit of health and progress, adhere to the fundamental system of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological domain, perfect the systems and mechanisms for the development of cultural undertakings and cultural industries, strengthen the construction of public cultural facilities, promote the high-quality development of the cultural industry, promote cultural prosperity and flourishing, enrich the people’s spiritual and cultural life, continuously raise the people’s cultural literacy and the level of social civilization, continuously enhance the country’s cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture, and focus on empowering economic and social development through culture.

另一方面，深刻把握文化这一影响经济发展的重要因素，增强文化自信，把文化建设摆在更加突出位置，聚焦建设社会主义文化强国，建设具有强大凝聚力和引领力的社会主义意识形态，让全体人民始终拥有团结奋斗的思想基础、开拓进取的主动精神、健康向上的价值追求，坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位的根本制度，健全文化事业、文化产业发展体制机制，加强公共文化设施建设，推动文化产业高质量发展，推动文化繁荣兴盛，丰富人民精神文化生活，不断提升人民文明素养和社会文明程度，不断提升国家文化软实力和中华文化影响力，注重以文化赋能经济社会发展。

Consistently and correctly handling the relationship between material civilization and cultural-ethical progress from a dialectical, comprehensive, and balanced perspective, and promoting the coordinated development of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, will lead to the following conclusion: the socialism with Chinese characteristics we adhere to and develop is by no means a socialism of material poverty or spiritual impoverishment, but a socialism of balanced development and mutual reinforcement of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress; the Chinese-path modernization we comprehensively advance is by no means the so-called modernization of “on the one hand, the accumulation of wealth, on the other hand, the loss of faith and rampant materialism,” but a modernization of the great enrichment of material and spiritual wealth, and of self-confidence and self-reliance in ideology and culture. This conclusion inevitably means the continuous improvement of the level of material life and spiritual life, better sharing of development achievements in the economic, political, cultural, social, and ecological spheres, and a more substantial, more guaranteed, and more sustainable sense of gain, happiness, and security. Figuratively speaking, it means “every household has ample food and clothing” and “every person knows etiquette and honors shame.” [4]4 “Every household has ample food and clothing” and “every person knows etiquette and honors shame” (家家仓廪实衣食足，人人知礼节明荣辱) is an adaptation of a classical saying from the *Records of the Grand Historian* (Shiji), attributed to Guan Zhong, linking material sufficiency with moral cultivation.

一以贯之以辩证的、全面的、平衡的观点正确处理物质文明和精神文明的关系，推动物质文明和精神文明协调发展，将得出这样一个结论，即我们坚持和发展的中国特色社会主义，决不是物质贫困的社会主义或精神贫乏的社会主义，而是物质文明和精神文明均衡发展、相互促进的社会主义；我们全面推进的中国式现代化也决不是那种“一边是财富的积累，一边是信仰缺失、物欲横流”的所谓现代化，而是物质财富和精神财富极大丰富、在思想文化上自信自强的现代化。这一结论，必然意味着物质生活和精神生活水平的不断提高，更好共享经济、政治、文化、社会、生态等各方面发展成果，获得感、幸福感、安全感更加充实、更有保障、更可持续，形象地说，则是“家家仓廪实衣食足”“人人知礼节明荣辱”。

(The author is a researcher at the Research Center for Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, Chinese Academy of Social Sciences, and Deputy Director of the Institute of Philosophy.)

（作者系中国社会科学院习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想研究中心研究员、哲学研究所副所长）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心