The Basic Functions and Practical Foundations of Cultural Inheritance and Innovation in Ideological and Political Education

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Only by not forgetting the past can we open up the future; only by being good at inheriting can we better innovate. With regard to historical culture, especially the value concepts and moral norms passed down by our predecessors, we must make the past serve the present, weed through the old to bring forth the new, treat them with discrimination, inherit them with a critical eye, and strive to use all the spiritual wealth created by the Chinese nation to educate people through culture and nurture people through culture.” [1]1 The citation refers to Xi Jinping’s speech at a symposium on cultural work, later compiled in his published works. (P164) [1]1 The citation refers to Xi Jinping’s speech at a symposium on cultural work, later compiled in his published works. As an educational activity that propagates and advances Marxist theory and the Party’s basic theory, basic line, basic program, and basic experience, and as a historical educational activity that carries out the great practice of the Chinese revolution, construction, and reform, ideological and political education not only bears the heavy responsibility of helping people establish a correct worldview, outlook on life, and value system, enhancing political theoretical understanding, and cultivating a scientific mode of thinking, but also shoulders the mission of cultural inheritance and innovation, playing an irreplaceable role in cultural inheritance and innovation. In particular, “the disciplinary construction of ideological and political education, as a carrier for cultivating talent in ideological and political education, has also made unique contributions to cultural inheritance and innovation.” [2]2 The “40-year history” refers to the period since the establishment of ideological and political education as a formal academic discipline in China, generally dated to the early 1980s. [2]2 The “40-year history” refers to the period since the establishment of ideological and political education as a formal academic discipline in China, generally dated to the early 1980s. Looking back over the 40-year history of disciplinary construction in ideological and political education, “this discipline has inherited our country’s cultural tradition of emphasizing ethics and moral education, inherited the Party’s fine tradition of always attaching importance to ideological and political work, and formed obvious cultural and political advantages in our society.” [3]3 The citation refers to Xi Jinping’s proposal at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in 2023. In the innovative development of theory and practice, ideological and political education and cultural inheritance and innovation have always been integrated as one. Ideological and political education undertakes the important task of cultural inheritance and innovation, effectively promoting cultural inheritance and innovation; cultural inheritance and innovation also add new content to ideological and political education, endowing it with a profound cultural foundation, and fully manifesting the characteristics and advantages of China’s ideological and political education.

习近平总书记指出：“不忘本来才能开辟未来，善于继承才能更好创新。对历史文化特别是先人传承下来的价值理念和道德规范，要坚持古为今用、推陈出新，有鉴别地加以对待，有扬弃地予以继承，努力用中华民族创造的一切精神财富来以文化人、以文育人。”[1]（P164）思想政治教育作为宣传和推进马克思主义理论和党的基本理论、基本路线、基本纲领、基本经验的育人活动，作为开展中国革命、建设和改革伟大实践的历史教育活动，不仅承担着帮助人们树立正确世界观、人生观和价值观，提升政治理论认识和培养科学思维方式的重任，也肩负着文化传承创新的使命，对文化传承创新发挥着无可替代的功能，尤其是作为思想政治教育人才培养载体的“思想政治教育学科专业建设也为文化传承创新作出了独特贡献”[2]。纵览40年来思想政治教育学科建设历程，“这一学科继承了我国注重伦理、注重德教的文化传统，继承了党一向重视思想政治工作的优良传统，形成了我国社会明显的文化与政治优势”[3]。在理论与实践创新发展中，思想政治教育与文化传承创新始终融为一体。思想政治教育承担着文化传承创新的重要任务，有力促进了文化传承创新；文化传承创新也为思想政治教育增添了新内容，促使思想政治教育有了深厚的文化根基，充分彰显了我国思想政治教育的特色和优势。

I. Scientifically Grasping the Contemporary Connotation of Cultural Inheritance and Innovation

一、科学把握文化传承创新的时代内涵

Culture is the soul of human society and the latent driving force that leads and promotes the progress of human civilization. The power of culture, as a spiritual force, is forged into the vitality, creativity, and cohesion of society as a whole, determining people’s value judgments, constraining their modes of thinking, guiding their behavioral orientations, and transforming into material force through people’s practical activities of understanding and changing the world. Cultural inheritance and innovation, as an eternal concept, represents humanity’s attitude toward its own cultural development, answering the question of how humans treat the past and how they face the future. Inheritance is the necessary prerequisite for innovation, and innovation is the inevitable requirement of inheritance; together, inheritance and innovation promote the long-standing, continuous development and progress of culture. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “We must jointly advocate the importance of civilizational inheritance and innovation, fully tap the contemporary value of the history and culture of various countries, and promote the creative transformation and innovative development of the excellent traditional cultures of various countries in the process of modernization.” [4]4 “Confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, and confidence in the system” refers to three of the Four Confidences (四个自信), the fourth being cultural confidence, which Xi Jinping added in 2016. [3]3 The citation refers to Xi Jinping’s proposal at the CPC in Dialogue with World Political Parties High-Level Meeting in 2023. Culture should be approached with a more inclusive and open attitude; on the basis of inheritance and reference, innovation and development that meet the requirements of the times should be realized, continuously enriching humanity’s intellectual wealth and spiritual treasury.

文化是人类社会的灵魂，是引领和推动人类社会文明进步的潜在动力。文化的力量作为一种精神力量，熔铸在社会整体的生命力、创造力和凝聚力之中，决定着人们的价值判断，制约着人们的思维方式，指引着人们的行为取向，并且通过人们认识世界、改造世界的实践活动转化为物质力量。文化传承创新作为一个永恒的概念，是人类对于自身文化发展的一种态度，回答的是人类怎么对待过去，以及如何面向未来的问题。传承是创新的必要前提，创新是传承的必然要求，传承创新共同促进文化源远流长、发展进步。习近平总书记指出：“我们要共同倡导重视文明传承和创新，充分挖掘各国历史文化的时代价值，推动各国优秀传统文化在现代化进程中实现创造性转化、创新性发展。”[4]对于文化应该以一种更包容开放的态度，在继承借鉴的基础上，实现符合时代要求的创新与发展，不断丰富人类的思想财富和精神宝库。

The more civilized and advanced a society is, the deeper humanity’s understanding and grasp of culture become, and the more importance is attached to cultural inheritance and innovation. How can a country’s unceasing historical lineage be inherited and continued? How can a nation’s long-lasting, continuous civilization be carried forward and developed? General Secretary Xi Jinping creatively pointed out: “For cultural construction, upholding fundamental principles is necessary to avoid losing oneself and losing direction, while innovation is necessary to grasp the times and lead the times. Upholding fundamental principles means upholding the fundamental system of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological domain, upholding the fundamental requirements of the ‘Two Integrations,’ and upholding the cultural leadership of the Communist Party of China and the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation. Innovation means creating new ideas, new discourses, new mechanisms, and new forms; under the guidance of Marxism, we must truly make the past serve the present, draw on foreign things for Chinese use, adopt what is useful and discard what is not, weed through the old to bring forth the new, and achieve an organic connection between tradition and modernity.” [5]5 “A hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend” (百花齐放，百家争鸣) is a Chinese policy formulated in the 1950s to encourage diversity in arts and intellectual discourse, later reaffirmed as a principle for cultural development. This summary of the connotation of cultural inheritance and innovation means that, under the guidance of correct thought, generation after generation transmits the excellent components of culture, discards the dross, and creates and develops new knowledge needed by the times, thereby realizing the relay transmission of culture between generations. On the one hand, this requires people to exert their subjective initiative to screen and excavate culture; on the other hand, it is also a natural state and inevitable process of the development of human society. This requires us to critically inherit and carry forward the excellent cultural achievements of the Chinese nation, passing them down from generation to generation; to absorb the essence and discard the dross of foreign cultures, drawing on their beneficial components; and at the same time, to realize innovation on the basis of understanding and analyzing traditional culture, reinterpreting and carrying forward the essence and vitality of traditional culture.

社会越文明越进步，人类对文化的认识和理解就越深刻，对于文化传承创新就越重视。一个国家生生不息的历史文脉，如何传承赓续？一个民族绵延不绝的悠久文明，如何发扬光大？习近平总书记创造性地指出：“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，守的是马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位的根本制度，守的是‘两个结合’的根本要求，守的是中国共产党的文化领导权和中华民族的文化主体性。创新，创的是新思路、新话语、新机制、新形式，要在马克思主义指导下真正做到古为今用、洋为中用、辩证取舍、推陈出新，实现传统与现代的有机衔接。”[5]对于文化传承创新内涵的这一概括，就是指在正确思想的指导下，一代又一代人传递文化中的优秀成分，扬弃糟粕，创立和发展时代需要的新知识，进而实现文化在代际之间的接力传递。这一方面需要人们发挥主观能动性对文化进行筛选和挖掘，另一方面也是人类社会发展的自然状态和必然过程。这就要求我们对于中华民族的优秀文化成果要批判地继承和发扬，薪火相传；对于外来文化要取其精华、弃其糟粕，吸收借鉴其有益成分；同时，要在理解分析传统文化的基础上实现创新，重新阐释和发扬传统文化的精髓和生命力。

At the opening ceremony of the International Symposium Commemorating the 2565th Anniversary of Confucius’ Birth and the Fifth Congress of the International Confucian Association, General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized the need to scientifically treat cultural traditions, “to be good at organically unifying and closely integrating the promotion of excellent traditional culture with the development of contemporary culture, developing through inheritance and inheriting through development,” and “to insist on making the past serve the present and using the past to illuminate the present, insist on treating with discrimination and inheriting with a critical eye, and not engage in exalting the past over the present or using the past to negate the present, and strive to realize the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional culture.” [6]6 Xi Jinping, *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China* (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2014), p. 405. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly elaborated on the relationship between the inheritance and development of traditional culture, pointing out that our attitude toward traditional culture is to unify inheritance and development, inherit the excellent traditional culture, and realize creative transformation and innovative development in the process of inheritance. He stated with foresight and sagacity: “Without the inheritance and development of civilization, without the promotion and flourishing of culture, there will be no realization of the Chinese Dream.” [7]7 “Oriented toward modernization, the world, and the future” (面向现代化、面向世界、面向未来) is a directive from Deng Xiaoping in 1983 for educational reform, later incorporated into the Party’s educational guidelines. As the cultural foundation for realizing the Chinese Dream, excellent traditional Chinese culture needs to realize new value through continuous inheritance and innovation. In his speech at the celebration of the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and deeper confidence.” [8]8 A classical Chinese expression (取其精华，去其糟粕) advocating selective adoption of foreign cultural elements. This is not only a profound grasp of the status of cultural confidence, fully illustrating the fundamental nature of cultural confidence and the great significance of cultural construction, but also an innovative development of the theory of socialism with Chinese characteristics, following confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, and confidence in the system. [4]4 “Confidence in the path, confidence in the theory, and confidence in the system” refers to three of the Four Confidences (四个自信), the fourth being cultural confidence, which Xi Jinping added in 2016. Confidence requires a strong cultural foundation; the cultural foundation of the Chinese people is excellent traditional Chinese culture, which is the inheritance and innovation of excellent traditional culture that is constantly renewed and keeps pace with the times. “Excellent traditional Chinese culture is the spiritual lifeline of the Chinese nation, its prominent advantage, and an important source of our cultural confidence.” [9]9 Xi Jinping, speech at the UNESCO Headquarters, March 27, 2014.

习近平总书记在纪念孔子诞辰2565周年国际学术研讨会暨国际儒学联合会第五届会员大会开幕会上强调要科学对待文化传统，“善于把弘扬优秀传统文化和发展现实文化有机统一起来，紧密结合起来，在继承中发展，在发展中继承”，“要坚持古为今用、以古鉴今，坚持有鉴别的对待、有扬弃的继承，而不能搞厚古薄今、以古非今，努力实现传统文化的创造性转化、创新性发展”。[6]习近平总书记深刻阐述了传统文化继承和发展之间的关系，指明我们对待传统文化的态度，就是要把继承和发展统一起来，将优秀的传统文化继承下来，并在继承的过程中实现创造性转化和创新性发展。他高瞻远瞩、高屋建瓴地指出：“没有文明的继承和发展，没有文化的弘扬和繁荣，就没有中国梦的实现。”[7]中华优秀传统文化作为实现中国梦的文化根基，需要在不断的传承创新中实现新的价值。习近平总书记在庆祝中国共产党成立95周年大会的讲话中指出：“文化自信，是更基础、更广泛、更深厚的自信。”[8]这既是对文化自信地位的深刻把握，充分说明了文化自信的根本性和文化建设的重大意义，也是继道路自信、理论自信和制度自信之后，对中国特色社会主义理论的创新发展。自信需要强大的文化根基，中国人的文化根基就是中华优秀传统文化，就是对优秀传统文化与日俱新、与时俱进的传承与创新，“中华优秀传统文化是中华民族的精神命脉，是中华民族的突出优势，是我们的文化自信的重要来源”[9]。

Cultural inheritance and innovation is an eternal theme with a very rich connotation. The two parts it contains, cultural inheritance and cultural innovation, are closely related, each serving as the prerequisite and result of the other, providing each other with a foundation and driving force. That is, cultural inheritance is the prerequisite and foundation of cultural innovation, providing nourishment and energy for innovation; cultural innovation is the driving force and result of cultural inheritance, capable of promoting the development and progress of cultural inheritance. Together, they constitute the dynamic mechanism of cultural development.

文化传承创新是一个永恒的主题，有着十分丰富的内涵。其所包含的文化传承和文化创新两部分关系密切，二者互为前提和结果，互相提供基础和动力，即文化传承是文化创新的前提和基础，为创新提供养料和能量；文化创新是文化传承的动力和结果，能够促进文化传承的发展和进步，二者共同构成了文化发展的动力机制。

II. Clarifying the Basic Functions of Cultural Inheritance and Innovation in Ideological and Political Education

二、厘清思想政治教育文化传承创新的基本功能

Ideological and political education plays a crucial role in all walks of life and also bears the heavy responsibility of inheriting and innovating excellent traditional Chinese culture. Indeed, ideological and political education must take cultural inheritance and innovation as its goal, give full play to its unique advantages in cultural inheritance and innovation, and shoulder the tasks and missions of cultural inheritance and innovation. Practice has proven that it is precisely due to the inherent essential attributes of ideological and political education that it demonstrates irreplaceable functions in guiding and promoting cultural inheritance and innovation.

思想政治教育在各行各业中都起着至关重要的作用，也承担着中华优秀传统文化传承创新的重任。诚然，思想政治教育必须以文化传承创新为目的，发挥特有的文化传承创新优势，肩负起文化传承创新的任务和使命。实践证明，正是由于思想政治教育固有的本质属性，使其在指导和推进文化传承创新中表现出无可替代的功能。

1. Guiding Function: Ideological and political education points the direction for cultural inheritance and innovation. Mainstream culture is the culture that holds a dominant or leading position in a society; it often commands and guides the developmental direction of other cultures and serves as a crucial cultural foundation for the healthy development of a society. The mainstream culture of Chinese society is an advanced socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, guided by Marxism as its ideological direction, oriented by core socialist values, and absorbing and drawing upon all outstanding cultural achievements of humanity. This mainstream culture provides important content for ideological and political education and also sets forth important tasks for the conduct of ideological and political education work. Ideological and political education strengthens the dominant position of Marxism in the process of expanding mainstream culture, making mainstream culture clearly and distinctly become people’s mainstream consciousness, thereby influencing people’s behavior and inspiring and encouraging them to strive for the realization of the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Admittedly, a society cannot exist as a single cultural form; it is accompanied by diverse subcultural forms. Subculture mainly refers to non-mainstream or localized cultural phenomena that rely on mainstream culture, such as the values, lifestyles, and behavioral characteristics unique to a particular region or group. Subculture contains positive elements consistent with mainstream culture, but it also includes factors that differ in tone from mainstream culture or are even counter-mainstream. Therefore, guiding subculture is particularly important. Ideological and political education must correctly guide the development of subculture, not only providing direction but also influencing and adjusting its content, reducing friction and conflict between subculture and mainstream culture, prompting subculture to actively align with mainstream culture, and promoting the formation of a joint force between the two for the construction of socialist culture and the development of social civilization.

1. 指引功能：思想政治教育为文化传承创新指明方向。主流文化是一个社会中占统治或主导地位的文化，往往能够统领和指引其他各种文化的发展方向，是一个社会健康发展至关重要的文化根基。中国社会的主流文化是以马克思主义为思想指导，以社会主义核心价值观为价值导向，吸收和借鉴了人类一切优秀文化成果的中国特色社会主义先进文化。这种主流文化为思想政治教育提供了重要的内容，也为思想政治教育工作的开展提出了重要的任务。思想政治教育就是在壮大主流文化的过程中强化马克思主义的主导地位，使主流文化旗帜鲜明地成为人们的主流意识，进而影响人们的行为，激励和鼓舞人们为实现中华民族伟大复兴的中国梦而努力奋斗。诚然，一个社会不可能是单一的文化存在形式，而是伴随着丰富多彩的亚文化形态。亚文化主要是指在主流文化的依托下，与主流文化相对应的非主流的或局部的文化现象，属于某一区域或某个群体所特有的价值观念、生活方式以及行为特征。亚文化包含着与主流文化一致的积极因素，其中也存在着与主流文化不同基调的甚至是反主流文化的因素，因而，对于亚文化的引导显得尤为重要。思想政治教育必须正确引导亚文化的发展，不仅要从方向上引领，而且要从内容上进行影响和调节，减少亚文化与主流文化的摩擦和冲突，使亚文化积极地向主流文化看齐，促使二者形成社会主义文化建设和社会文明发展的合力。

2. Integrating Function: Ideological and political education provides methods for cultural inheritance and innovation. In the process of cultural inheritance and innovation, collisions between different cultures are inevitable. If conflicts between different cultures are not effectively regulated and integrated, they will directly affect social harmony and may even endanger social stability. This requires giving full play to the integrating function of ideological and political education, regulating differences between various cultures, balancing the values of various cultures, achieving mutual exchange and integration among cultures, and ultimately, under the guidance of mainstream cultural values, learning from each other’s strengths to compensate for weaknesses and advancing in harmony. Cultural integration refers to the process in which, during the blended development of cultures, different cultures absorb, dissolve, and reconcile with each other to form a common ideological trend and value orientation. Ideological and political education must exert its integrating function over different cultures, enabling members of society to establish a common Marxist ideological belief and value system in the process of cultural inheritance and innovation, to identify with the developmental direction of advanced socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, and to enhance social cohesion and orderliness. China is a multi-ethnic country where mainstream culture and various subcultures coexist, intermingle, and interact. Coupled with the influx of various cultural trends during economic globalization, these influences affect people’s ideological concepts and ideologies. Ideological and political education must purposefully and systematically integrate complex cultural forms through various channels and means, enhancing people’s ability to distinguish between different cultures, improving their resistance to undesirable cultures, and enabling people, through critical inheritance, to enjoy a vibrant cultural development situation where “a hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend,”[5]5 “A hundred flowers bloom and a hundred schools of thought contend” (百花齐放，百家争鸣) is a Chinese policy formulated in the 1950s to encourage diversity in arts and intellectual discourse, later reaffirmed as a principle for cultural development. thereby creating a favorable atmosphere for cultural inheritance and innovation and promoting the flourishing development of mainstream culture. Traditional Chinese culture plays an irreplaceable and important role in constructing socialist mainstream culture. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized its historical influence and significance, calling for endowing it with new contemporary connotations. He pointed out, “Traditional Chinese culture is broad and profound; learning and mastering its various ideological essences is very beneficial for establishing a correct worldview, outlook on life, and value system.”[6]6 Xi Jinping, *Xi Jinping: The Governance of China* (Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2014), p. 405. (P405) Excellent traditional Chinese culture is an ideological resource for governing the country and bringing peace and order to the world. It requires ideological and political education to exert its cultural integrating function, to grasp the correct direction in the process of inheritance and innovation, to take its essence and discard its dross, and to form mainstream cultural values.

2. 整合功能：思想政治教育为文化传承创新提供方法。在文化传承创新的过程中，难免会出现各种文化彼此碰撞的情况，如果不同文化之间的冲突得不到有效的调节和整合，就会直接影响社会和谐甚至会危及社会稳定。这就需要充分发挥思想政治教育的整合功能，调节各种文化之间的差异，平衡各种文化之间的价值，实现文化彼此之间的相互交流和相互融合，最终在主流文化价值的引领下取长补短、和谐共进。文化整合是指在文化交融发展过程中，不同文化相互吸收、融化、调和而形成共同的思想潮流和价值导向的过程。思想政治教育要发挥对不同文化的整合功能，在文化传承创新过程中使社会成员确立马克思主义的共同思想信仰和价值观念，能够认同中国特色社会主义先进文化的发展方向，增强社会的凝聚力和有序性。中国是一个多民族国家，主流文化和各种亚文化同处一体，相互交融、相互激荡，加之在经济全球化过程中各种文化思潮涌入，影响着人们的思想观念和意识形态。思想政治教育必须有目的、有计划地通过各种途径和手段对复杂的文化形态进行整合，增强人们对于不同文化的鉴别能力，提高人们对不良文化的抵抗能力，使人们在扬弃的继承中，享受各种文化“百花齐放、百家争鸣”、生机勃勃的文化发展态势，为文化传承创新营造一个良好的氛围，促进主流文化的蓬勃发展。中国传统文化对于构建社会主义主流文化发挥着不可替代的重要作用，习近平总书记多次强调其历史影响和重要意义，要求赋予其新的时代内涵，他指出“中国传统文化博大精深，学习和掌握其中的各种思想精华，对树立正确的世界观、人生观、价值观很有益处”[10]（P405）。中华优秀传统文化是治国理政、安邦济世的思想资源，需要思想政治教育发挥文化整合功能，在传承创新的过程中把握正确的方向，取其精华、弃其糟粕，形成主流文化价值观。

3. Innovative Function: Ideological and political education provides impetus for cultural inheritance and innovation. Innovation is the driving force for the continuous development and progress of culture. Only through continuous innovation can culture have vitality and develop. Ideological and political education is the process of correctly guiding, integrating, and disseminating culture, continuously forging new contemporary souls and national spirits. This is a manifestation of the innovative spirit and also a need and guarantee for cultural innovation. Ideological and political education is a practical activity that keeps pace with the times. It follows the trends of the times, discerns advanced value concepts in the development of the era, and imparts to the educated the latest values, ideological consciousness, and mainstream social culture that best meet the developmental requirements of the era. This is the key to maintaining the vitality of ideological and political education and also the guarantee that ideological and political education can cultivate talents who meet the needs of the development of the times and society. The practical nature of ideological and political education determines that its cultural innovation function is realized through continuous and diverse practices. The completion of ideological and political education activities is essentially a direct manifestation of cultural innovation. At the same time, the conduct of ideological and political education activities is also an innovative project. In the specific process of ideological and political education, more novel educational goals are often needed, educational content endowed with more new meaning and characteristics according to actual circumstances is required, and then scientific, precise, and creative educational methods are used to transmit the cultural connotations carried by ideological and political education, ultimately internalized into the ideological consciousness and conscious behavior of the educated. Therefore, the implementation process of ideological and political education practice activities is also a process of cultural inheritance and innovation, and it provides fresh blood and dynamic support for cultural inheritance and innovation. Workers in ideological and political education must establish an open mindset “oriented toward modernization, the world, and the future,”[7]7 “Oriented toward modernization, the world, and the future” (面向现代化、面向世界、面向未来) is a directive from Deng Xiaoping in 1983 for educational reform, later incorporated into the Party’s educational guidelines. actively and proactively learn all outstanding cultural achievements created by humanity, absorb their beneficial components, enrich the content and methods of ideological and political education, continuously update the connotations of culture, and promote cultural inheritance and innovation.

3. 创新功能：思想政治教育为文化传承创新提供动力。创新是文化不断发展前进的动力，文化只有通过不断创新才能有活力和发展。思想政治教育就是对文化进行正确引导、整合、传播，不断铸造新的时代灵魂和民族精神的过程，这都是创新精神的体现，也是文化创新的需要和保证。思想政治教育是一项与时俱进的实践活动，它紧跟时代潮流，洞悉时代发展的先进价值理念，将最新最符合时代发展要求的价值观念、思想意识和社会主流文化传授给受教育者。这是思想政治教育保持生命力的关键，也是思想政治教育能够培养出符合时代发展需要和社会发展需要的人才的保证。思想政治教育的实践性，决定了思想政治教育的文化创新功能是通过不断的丰富多彩的实践来实现的，思想政治教育活动的完成实质上是文化创新的直接体现。同时，思想政治教育活动的开展也是一项创新工程，在具体的思想政治教育过程中，往往需要更加新颖的教育目标，需要根据实际情况赋予更多新意和特色的教育内容，进而运用科学精当、富有创意的教育方法传递思想政治教育承载的文化内涵，并最终内化为受教育者的思想意识和自觉行为。因此，思想政治教育实践活动的实施过程也是文化传承创新的过程，更为文化传承创新提供了新鲜血液和动力支持。思想政治教育工作者要树立“面向现代化、面向世界、面向未来”的开放思维，积极主动地学习人类创造的一切优秀文化成果，汲取其有益成分，丰富思想政治教育的内容和方法，不断更新文化的内涵，推进文化传承创新。

4. Dissemination Function: Ideological and political education provides a carrier for cultural inheritance and innovation. The advancement of ideological and political education work has built a new dissemination platform for cultural inheritance and innovation. As an educational activity that exerts influence using correct political viewpoints, ideological concepts, and moral norms, ideological and political education can not only effectively realize the requirements of cultural inheritance and innovation and enhance its efficiency but, more importantly, it can ensure the correct direction of cultural inheritance and innovation, making it “both high-quality and high-quantity.” At the same time, cultural inheritance and innovation also enrich the thickness and breadth of ideological and political education, injecting fresh blood and a source of vitality into it, making it an inexhaustible force for the innovative development of ideological and political education. This efficient dissemination carrier built by ideological and political education in cultural inheritance and innovation is a requirement of the essence of ideological and political education and a call of the times. In the process of purposeful, planned, and organized dissemination and propaganda, ideological and political education transmits mainstream culture and excellent traditional culture into the hearts of every individual, uniting people in the cause of socialist cultural construction and enhancing the national cohesion and self-confidence of the Chinese nation. Currently and for a period to come, ideological and political education must clearly and distinctly disseminate core socialist values, cultivate people’s desire for and support of the goal of building a modern socialist country, their yearning for and pursuit of the blueprint for a better human society, and their recognition and maintenance of basic civic moral norms. At the same time, ideological and political education must shoulder the mission of disseminating excellent traditional Chinese culture, be adept at excavating the essence of traditional Chinese culture and the ideological connotations that meet the requirements of the times, so that ideological and political education and cultural inheritance and innovation complement and promote each other, achieving the in-depth development of ideological and political education and the practical effectiveness of cultural inheritance and innovation.

4. 传播功能：思想政治教育为文化传承创新提供载体。思想政治教育工作的推进为文化传承创新搭建了新的传播平台。思想政治教育作为运用正确的政治观点、思想观念、道德规范施加影响的教育活动，不仅可以有效实现文化传承创新的要求，提升文化传承创新的效率，而且更为重要的是，它可以保证文化传承创新的正确方向，使得文化传承创新“保质保量”。同时，文化传承创新也丰富了思想政治教育的厚度和宽度，为思想政治教育注入了新鲜血液和源头活水，是思想政治教育创新发展的不竭力量。思想政治教育在文化传承创新中搭建起的这种高效传播载体，是思想政治教育本质的要求，也是时代的呼唤。思想政治教育在进行有目的、有计划、有组织的传播和宣传过程中，是将主流文化和优秀的传统文化传播到每一个人的内心，使人们凝聚到社会主义文化建设事业当中来，提升了中华民族的民族凝聚力和自信心。当前和今后一段时间内，思想政治教育要旗帜鲜明地传播社会主义核心价值观，要培育人们对实现社会主义现代化国家建设目标的渴望和拥护，对实现人类美好社会蓝图的向往和追求，对实现公民基本道德规范的认同和维护。同时，思想政治教育要肩负起传播中华优秀传统文化的使命，要善于挖掘中国传统文化的精髓和符合时代要求的思想内涵，使思想政治教育与文化传承创新相得益彰、相互促进，实现思想政治教育的纵深发展和文化传承创新的传播实效。

III. Consolidating the Practical Foundation for Cultural Inheritance and Innovation in Ideological and Political Education

三、筑牢思想政治教育文化传承创新的现实根基

The function of cultural inheritance and innovation in ideological and political education is an important support for China’s cultural inheritance and innovation, providing a crucial ideological guarantee for cultural inheritance and also serving as an important pathway to achieving cultural confidence. To fully bring out the function of cultural inheritance and innovation in ideological and political education, it is necessary to proceed from China’s actual conditions, adopt scientific measures in light of new circumstances and new problems, and explore concrete and effective approaches.

思想政治教育文化传承创新功能是我国文化传承创新的重要支撑，为文化传承提供了重要的思想保障，也是实现文化自信的重要途径。要使思想政治教育的文化传承创新功能充分发挥出来，还需要从我国的现实情况出发，结合新形势和新问题采取科学的措施，探索具体而有效的途径。

1. Guiding the direction of cultural inheritance and innovation with Marxist thought. Adhering to the guidance of Marxist thought and upholding the Marxist orientation of ideological and political education are necessary prerequisites for cultural inheritance and innovation. Marxism has been proven by practice to be correct and scientific objective truth; it provides us with a complete set of correct worldviews and methodologies, and its role in China’s revolution, construction, and reform is irreplaceable. China’s cultural inheritance and innovation must adhere to the correct direction and continuously build consensus. This requires upholding the mainstream ideology dominated by Marxism and implementing this mainstream ideology through ideological and political education into the practice of cultural inheritance and innovation. At the same time, only by adhering to the guiding ideology of Marxism can we overcome the various difficulties encountered in the reality of cultural inheritance and innovation, maintain the correct direction in the harsh environment of cultural confrontations and the intrusion of various foreign trends of thought, and form a powerful force to resist various forms of cultural erosion. It must be particularly pointed out that in China’s ideological and political education work, we must always adhere to the guidance of the latest achievements in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, persist in arming the entire Party and educating the people with Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and especially, in the cultural inheritance and innovation of ideological and political education, consistently implement and apply Xi Jinping’s cultural thought, thereby guiding and promoting the continuous development of cultural inheritance and innovation. This requires, first, incorporating Xi Jinping’s cultural thought as the core content of current ideological and political education work, integrating it into all aspects of ideological and political education, so that ideological and political education in the New Era has a clear direction and a targeted focus. Second, through carrying out ideological and political education work, Xi Jinping’s cultural thought should comprehensively guide and lead the correct direction of cultural inheritance and innovation, making people’s thoughts on the nation, society, and the individual more steadfast and their value choices clearer. In short, it is necessary to take firming up Marxist ideals and convictions, and strengthening confidence in the path, theory, system, and culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics as the basic starting point and goal, in order to fully bring out the guiding function of ideological and political education for cultural inheritance and innovation, and to ensure that cultural inheritance and innovation advance along the correct path.

1. 以马克思主义思想指导文化传承创新的方向。坚持马克思主义思想指导，坚持思想政治教育的马克思主义方向，是文化传承创新的必要前提。马克思主义是已经被实践证明了的正确的、科学的客观真理，它为我们提供了一整套正确的世界观和方法论，在中国革命、建设和改革过程中的作用无可替代。我国的文化传承创新必须坚持正确的方向，不断凝聚共识，这就必须坚持以马克思主义为主导的主流意识形态，并且将这种主流意识形态通过思想政治教育贯彻到文化传承创新的实践中。同时，只有坚持马克思主义指导思想，才能克服文化传承创新在现实中遇到的各种困难，才能在各种文化争锋和国外各种思潮侵入的严峻环境中保持正确的方向，形成抵御各种文化侵蚀的强大力量。需要特别指出的是，在我国思想政治教育工作中，必须始终坚持以马克思主义中国化时代化最新成果为指导，坚持用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想武装全党、教育人民，尤其是在思想政治教育文化传承创新中始终贯彻落实好习近平文化思想，以此指引和推动文化传承创新的不断发展。这就要求，第一，要把习近平文化思想作为当前思想政治教育工作的核心内容，融入思想政治教育的方方面面，从而使新时代的思想政治教育方向明确、有的放矢。第二，通过开展思想政治教育工作，使习近平文化思想全面指导和引领文化传承创新的正确方向，使人们对于国家、社会和个人的思想更加坚定、价值选择更加清晰。总之，必须以坚定马克思主义理想信念，坚定中国特色社会主义道路自信、理论自信、制度自信、文化自信为基本出发点和目标，才能充分发挥思想政治教育对于文化传承创新的引导功能，才能保证文化传承创新沿着正确的方向前进。

2. Integrating the forces of cultural inheritance and innovation from a comprehensive and objective perspective. Ideological and political education and cultural inheritance and innovation have an inherent consistency. On the one hand, ideological and political education is an activity of fostering virtue through education that cultivates and enhances people’s ideological and political qualities and moral behavioral qualities; on the other hand, inheriting and innovating culture also benefits the improvement and elevation of people’s inner cultivation and moral sentiments. Indeed, ideological and political education itself, as a special culture with a clear political nature, should integrate political and cultural attributes, fully exert its integrating function in cultural inheritance and innovation, and continuously enhance the cultural depth and cultural connotation of the content of ideological and political education, laying the foundation for it to play a better role in cultural inheritance and innovation. On the one hand, it is necessary to firmly uphold the dominant position of mainstream culture, bring into play the political advantages of mainstream culture at the national level, exert the guiding role of mainstream culture in the thinking of social members, bring into play the forward-looking consciousness of mainstream culture in cultural inheritance and innovation, and cultivate people who are more adapted to China’s actual needs and the development of the times. On the other hand, it is necessary to draw nourishment from China’s traditional culture. Chinese traditional culture is an important component of current Chinese culture, an important source of the core socialist values, and a powerful spiritual driving force and cultural gene rooted in the hearts of the Chinese people. It is essential to integrate the nourishment of fine traditional Chinese culture into ideological and political education, thereby influencing and educating generations of young people, enabling them to profoundly understand the moral qualities and spiritual realms that modern people should possess, and also allowing fine traditional Chinese culture to be continued in them. Furthermore, foreign cultures must be carefully screened, “taking the essence and discarding the dross,” [8]8 A classical Chinese expression (取其精华，去其糟粕) advocating selective adoption of foreign cultural elements. making them beneficial components of cultural inheritance and innovation.

2. 以全面客观的视角整合文化传承创新的力量。思想政治教育和文化传承创新具有内在的一致性。一方面，思想政治教育是培养和提升人的思想政治素养和道德行为素质的立德树人活动，另一方面，传承创新文化也有益于人的内在修养和道德情操的提高和升华。实然，思想政治教育本身作为一种具有明确政治性的特殊文化，应该融政治性和文化性为一体，充分发挥其在文化传承创新中的整合功能，不断增强思想政治教育内容的文化底蕴和文化内涵，为其在文化传承创新中更好地发挥作用奠定基础。一方面，必须坚定地坚持主流文化的主导地位，发挥主流文化在国家层面上的政治优势，发挥主流文化在社会成员思想上的引导作用，发挥主流文化在文化传承创新中的超前意识，培养更适应中国现实需要和时代发展的人。另一方面，必须从中国的传统文化中汲取营养。中国传统文化是当前中国文化的重要组成部分，也是社会主义核心价值观的重要来源，更是根植于中国人民内心的强大精神动力和文化基因，必须在思想政治教育中融入中华优秀传统文化的营养，从而影响和教育一代又一代的青年人，使他们深刻领悟现代人应具有的道德品质和精神境界，也使中华优秀传统文化在他们身上得到延续。再之，对于外来文化一定要把好关，“取其精华、去其糟粕”，使其成为文化传承创新的有益成分。

3. Promoting the implementation of cultural inheritance and innovation with effective methods. Ideological and political education should continuously innovate its methods to adapt to and meet the challenges of the development of the times. Only by adapting to the requirements and challenges of the development of the times can the goals of ideological and political education be achieved. Only when methods are novel and interesting, and tailored to the characteristics of the educated, can the enthusiasm and initiative of the educated be stimulated, and the appeal of cultural inheritance and innovation in ideological and political education be enhanced. First, emphasize the practicality of ideological and political education. Ideological and political education has a practical character; people gain more true insights through practice, enabling them to discover and create more cultural products. Only in practice can problems arising in cultural inheritance and innovation be discovered and promptly corrected and improved. Practice can stimulate people’s enthusiasm for participation, avoid the monotony and dullness of ideological and political education, and mobilize more people to devote themselves to the cause of cultural inheritance and innovation. Second, cultivate a healthy and civilized lifestyle. Lifestyles carry cultural connotations and are an important manifestation of culture. Through ideological and political education, correct unhealthy lifestyles that harm health and the environment, thereby enabling people to experience the joy brought by advanced culture, increase the positive energy of cultural inheritance and innovation, and form a benign mechanism for cultural inheritance and innovation. Third, leverage the role of libraries in cultural inheritance and innovation. Libraries are important fronts for cultural inheritance and innovation; they gather humanity’s intellectual wealth and cultural resources and are direct carriers for people to engage in cultural inheritance and innovation. It is necessary to leverage the advantages of libraries in various regions, conduct regular publicity, provide services to people in a more humanized and convenient manner, and promote the vigorous development of cultural inheritance and innovation. Finally, strengthen cultural exchange and mutual learning. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Civilizations become colorful through exchange and become rich through mutual learning. Civilizational exchange and mutual learning are an important driving force for the progress of human civilization and the peaceful development of the world.” [9]9 Xi Jinping, speech at the UNESCO Headquarters, March 27, 2014. This not only elucidates the characteristics and charm of cultural exchange but also sets forth a beautiful vision for cultural exchange. Only through continuous cultural exchange can we learn from each other’s strengths, stimulate vitality and innovation, create cultural products that truly meet the needs of the people, and enhance the dissemination power, innovation power, and influence of fine traditional Chinese culture.

3. 以行之有效的方法推动文化传承创新的实施。思想政治教育应该不断革新方法，适应和迎接时代发展的挑战。适应时代发展的要求和挑战，才能实现思想政治教育的目标。只有方法新颖有趣，切合受教育者的特点，才能激发受教育者的积极性和主动性，增强思想政治教育文化传承创新的感召力。首先，注重思想政治教育的实践性。思想政治教育具有实践的品质，人们通过实践获得更多的真知灼见，才能发现和创造出更多的文化产品；只有在实践中才能发现文化传承创新中出现的问题，及时进行纠正和改进；实践能够激发人们的参与热情，避免思想政治教育的单调和枯燥，调动更多的人投身文化传承创新事业。其次，培养健康文明的生活方式。生活方式承载着文化的内涵，是文化的一种重要表现方式。通过思想政治教育纠正危害健康和环境的不良生活方式，进而使人们感受先进文化带来的快乐，增加文化传承创新的正能量，形成良性的文化传承创新机制。再次，发挥图书馆的文化传承创新作用。图书馆是文化传承创新的重要阵地，图书馆内汇集着人类的思想财富和文化资源，是人们直接进行文化传承创新的载体。必须发挥各地图书馆的优势，定期做好宣传，以更人性化更便捷的方式为人们提供服务，促进文化传承创新的蓬勃发展。最后，加强文化交流互鉴。习近平总书记指出：“文明因交流而多彩，文明因互鉴而丰富。文明交流互鉴，是推动人类文明进步和世界和平发展的重要动力。”[11]这不仅阐明了文化交流的特性和魅力，也提出了文化交流的美好憧憬。只有在不断的文化交流中，才能取长补短、激发活力和创新力，才能创造出真正适应人民需要的文化产品，才能增强中华优秀传统文化的传播力、创新力和影响力。

4. Enriching the carriers of cultural inheritance and innovation with advanced and efficient modes of dissemination. For ideological and political education to be implemented effectively, it must have sound modes of dissemination; for cultural inheritance and innovation to be realized, it must also have advanced carriers of dissemination. With the development of the times, modes and carriers of dissemination have developed rapidly, and some mainstream modern media have been exploited by lawbreakers, and even eroded and occupied by certain subcultures. We must start from the basic modes of dissemination, fully utilize and master advanced channels of dissemination, and build a bridge to success for cultural inheritance and innovation under the guidance of ideological and political education. First, the quality of ideological and political educators must be improved. Educators are the initiators who promote the implementation of ideological and political education, and the level of educators’ quality is the primary factor affecting the effectiveness of ideological and political education. It is necessary to strengthen training and create conditions to improve the quality of ideological and political educators according to the specific circumstances of different age groups and different industries, so as to ensure the effectiveness of ideological and political education in cultural inheritance and innovation. Second, advanced new media dissemination technologies must be adopted. New media are powerful, widely applied, and rapidly developing, profoundly influencing people’s lifestyles and their understanding of the concepts of time and space; the ways in which people receive information and exchange ideas have undergone major transformations. New media platforms such as forums, microblogs, WeChat, and specialized websites should be used to free cultural inheritance and innovation from the constraints of time and space, making cultural forms more vivid and diverse, and making cultural exchanges more convenient. At the same time, people should be guided to use new media correctly and effectively, to improve their ability to judge and discern the various kinds of information, and to strengthen their resistance to unhealthy information and culture. Finally, a healthy and beneficial atmosphere for cultural inheritance and innovation must be created. Not only must a good living environment be created, but also a healthy ideological environment must be fostered, and even more so, a civilized online environment must be built. These environments are the main battlefields for cultural inheritance and innovation, as well as important carriers of dissemination for cultural inheritance and innovation; they are the cultural platforms that people care about most and that have the most direct impact. All factors must be actively mobilized to create a healthy and harmonious environment, thereby fostering a good atmosphere for the functioning of cultural inheritance and innovation in ideological and political education.

4. 以先进快捷的传播方式丰富文化传承创新的载体。思想政治教育要落到实处，必须要有良好的传播方式；文化传承创新要得到实现，也必须要有先进的传播载体。随着时代的发展，传播方式和载体发展迅速，一些主流的现代传播媒介已经被一些不法分子所利用，甚至被一些亚文化所侵蚀和占领。我们必须从基础的传播方式做起，充分利用和掌握先进的传播途径，为思想政治教育引领下的文化传承创新搭建通往成功的桥梁。首先，必须提高思想政治教育者的素质。教育者是推动思想政治教育实施的发起者，教育者素质的高低是影响思想政治教育效果的首要因素。要针对不同年龄阶段、不同行业的思想政治教育者的具体情况，加强培训，创造条件提升他们的素质，以保证思想政治教育在文化传承创新中的有效性。其次，要采用先进的新媒体传播技术。新媒体功能强大、应用广泛、发展迅速，深刻影响着人们的生活方式和人们对时空概念的理解，人们接受信息及交流思想的方式发生了重大变革。要利用论坛、微博、微信和专业网站等新媒体平台使文化传承创新摆脱时间和空间的限制，使文化形式更加生动多样，使文化交流更加便捷。同时，要引导人们正确有效地利用新媒体，提高人们对形形色色的信息的判断和鉴别能力，增强对不健康信息和文化的抵抗力。最后，要营造健康有益的文化传承创新氛围。不仅要创造良好的生活环境，也要营造健康的思想环境，更要建设文明的网络环境。这些环境是文化传承创新的主阵地，也是文化传承创新的重要传播载体，是人们最关心的、影响最直接的文化平台，必须积极调动各方因素创造一个健康和谐的环境，为思想政治教育文化传承创新功能的发挥营造一个良好的氛围。

(Author profiles: Wang Xuejian, Gong Changrui, professors and doctoral supervisors at the School of Marxism, Lanzhou University)

（作者简介：王学俭，宫长瑞，兰州大学马克思主义学院教授、博士生导师）

(Fund project: This article is a phased outcome of the Ministry of Education’s major research project for ideological and political theory teachers in higher education institutions, “Research on the Strategy for Improving the Quality of Ideological and Political Courses in Western Region Universities” (project number 20JDSZKZ07), and the Central University Basic Scientific Research Business Expenses Special Fund project “Research on the Innovation of Ideological and Political Education Mechanisms in the Digital and Intelligent Era” (project number 21lzujbkyjh005))

（基金项目：本文系教育部高校思想政治理论课教师研究重大攻关项目“西部地区高校思政课质量提升战略研究”（项目编号20JDSZKZ07）、中央高校基本科研业务费专项资金项目“数智化时代思想政治教育机制创新研究”（项目编号21lzujbkyjh005）的阶段性成果）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心