Cultivating a New Generation of the Era Better Able to Shoulder the New Cultural Mission

A flourishing culture brings prosperity to a nation’s fortunes; a strong culture makes a nation strong. Xi Jinping’s cultural thought has clarified the new cultural mission for the New Era: to continue promoting cultural prosperity, building a strong cultural nation, and constructing the modern civilization of the Chinese nation from a new starting point. The grand blueprint is inspiring, and the mission and tasks urge people forward. To better shoulder the new cultural mission requires the strength of youth and the full mobilization of young people’s initiative, creativity, and proactivity. On the new journey of the New Era, institutions of higher learning must thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping’s cultural thought, focus on upholding cultural independence, strengthening cultural confidence, and realizing cultural self-strengthening, and cultivate contemporary university students into a new generation of the era better able to shoulder the new cultural mission, striving to make them pillars of talent capable of undertaking the great task of building a strong nation and rejuvenating the Chinese nation.

文化兴国运兴，文化强民族强。习近平文化思想明确了新时代新的文化使命：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。宏伟蓝图鼓舞人心，使命任务催人奋进。更好担负起新的文化使命，需要青春力量，需要充分发挥青年人的积极性、主动性、创造性。新时代新征程，高校要深入学习贯彻习近平文化思想，在坚持文化自立、坚定文化自信、实现文化自强上下功夫，将当代大学生培养成为更好担负起新的文化使命的时代新人，努力成为堪当强国建设、民族复兴大任的栋梁之材。

Upholding cultural independence. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “For any culture to stand firm, go far, and have guiding power, cohesive power, shaping power, and radiating power, it must possess its own subjectivity.” [1]1 Xi Jinping, speech at a symposium on cultural inheritance and development, June 2, 2023. Upholding cultural independence requires constantly consolidating cultural subjectivity. Since its founding, the Communist Party of China has adhered to integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the best of traditional Chinese culture, leading the Chinese people in creatively transforming and innovatively developing the best of traditional Chinese culture, inheriting revolutionary culture, developing advanced socialist culture, and drawing on and absorbing all outstanding achievements of human civilization, thereby establishing our cultural subjectivity. Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, [2]2 The 18th National Congress of the CPC was held in November 2012, marking the beginning of the New Era under Xi Jinping’s leadership. the creation of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era by the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their chief representative, is the most powerful embodiment of this cultural subjectivity. The contemporary youth’s adherence to cultural subjectivity manifests the spiritual outlook of the younger generation and is a matter of the confidence and foundation for shouldering the new cultural mission. On the new journey of building a strong nation and rejuvenating the Chinese nation, to cultivate a new generation of the era better able to shoulder the new cultural mission, we must guide young students to persistently use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to forge their souls and build their spirit, to work hard at truly studying, truly understanding, truly believing, and truly applying it, deepening, internalizing, and transforming it, and guide young students to deeply understand the historical consciousness of Xi Jinping’s cultural thought in upholding cultural independence, fully recognize their own historical mission and contemporary responsibility in cultural inheritance and development, constantly consolidate cultural subjectivity, achieve spiritual independence and self-reliance, and contribute youthful wisdom and strength to promoting cultural prosperity, building a strong cultural nation, and constructing the modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

坚持文化自立。习近平总书记指出：“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。”坚持文化自立，必须不断巩固文化主体性。中国共产党自成立以来，坚持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，带领中国人民创造性转化和创新性发展中华优秀传统文化、继承革命文化、发展社会主义先进文化，借鉴吸收人类一切优秀文明成果，建立起了我们的文化主体性。党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为主要代表的中国共产党人创立习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想，就是这一文化主体性的最有力体现。当代青年对文化主体性的坚守展现着青年一代的精神风貌，事关担负起新的文化使命的信心和底气。在强国建设、民族复兴的新征程上，培养更好担负起新的文化使命的时代新人，就要引导青年学生坚持不懈用习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想凝心铸魂，在真学真懂真信真用、深化内化转化上下功夫，引导青年学生深刻认识习近平文化思想坚持文化自立的历史自觉，充分认识自身在文化传承发展中的历史使命和时代责任，不断巩固文化主体性，实现精神上的独立自主，为推动文化繁荣、建设文化强国、建设中华民族现代文明贡献青春智慧和力量。

Strengthening cultural confidence. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Cultural confidence is a more fundamental, broader, and deeper confidence, and a more basic, deeper, and more enduring force.” [3]3 Xi Jinping, speech at a forum on literature and art, October 15, 2014. Strengthening cultural confidence is a major issue concerning the rise and fall of a nation’s fortunes, cultural security, and the independence of the national spirit. Strengthening confidence in the path, theory, and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics ultimately comes down to strengthening cultural confidence. Since the New Era, on the basis of profoundly summarizing the historical experience of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times and deeply grasping the laws of the development of Chinese civilization, General Secretary Xi Jinping has put forward the major thesis of the Second Integration, [4]4 The Second Integration refers to integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with the best of traditional Chinese culture, as distinct from the First Integration with China’s specific realities. indicating that our Party’s historical confidence and cultural confidence have reached a new height, and that our Party’s consciousness of promoting cultural innovation while inheriting the best of traditional Chinese culture has reached a new height. Both history and reality show that adhering to integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with the best of traditional Chinese culture is conducive to stimulating the driving force of cultural construction, firming up the direction of cultural development, and promoting cultural prosperity and development. In the current era, young students are in the big-data age of rapid information turnover and face a realistic environment of greater cultural diversity. This requires institutions of higher learning to pay more attention to playing the main role of the school and guiding students to strengthen cultural confidence. On the new journey of building a strong nation and rejuvenating the Chinese nation, institutions of higher learning must continuously improve the cultural curriculum system, enhance the quality of teaching by teachers, innovate teaching content, and stimulate students’ enthusiasm for learning. In particular, ideological and political theory courses in higher education must play their key role in fostering virtue and nurturing people, [5]5 “Fostering virtue and nurturing people” (立德树人) is a standard phrase for the fundamental task of education in the CPC’s policy discourse. clearly explain the latest achievements of the Party’s theoretical innovation, clearly explain 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 Chinese nation’s development, profoundly reflect the historical foundation and practical role of the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics, achieve the goals of forging souls, educating people, enlightening wisdom, and increasing intelligence, continuously strengthen university students’ cultural confidence, and urge them to better shoulder the new cultural mission.

坚定文化自信。习近平总书记指出：“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。”坚定文化自信，是事关国运兴衰、事关文化安全、事关民族精神独立性的大问题。坚定中国特色社会主义道路自信、理论自信、制度自信，说到底是要坚定文化自信。新时代以来，习近平总书记在深刻总结马克思主义中国化时代化历史经验、深刻把握中华文明发展规律的基础上，提出了“第二个结合”的重大论断，表明我们党的历史自信、文化自信达到了新高度，表明我们党在传承中华优秀传统文化中推进文化创新的自觉性达到了新高度。历史和现实都表明，坚持把马克思主义基本原理同中华优秀传统文化相结合，有利于激发文化建设动力、坚定文化发展方向、促进文化繁荣发展。当今时代，青年学生处于信息快速更迭的大数据时代，面临着文化更加多元的现实环境。这就要求高校更加注重发挥学校的主体作用，引导学生坚定文化自信。在强国建设、民族复兴的新征程上，高校要不断完善文化课程体系，提高教师的教学质量，创新教学内容，激发学生的学习热情。尤其是高校思政课要发挥好立德树人关键课程作用，讲好党的理论创新的最新成果，讲好党史、新中国史、改革开放史、社会主义发展史、中华民族发展史，深刻反映中国特色社会主义文化的历史底蕴和现实作用，做到铸魂育人、启智增慧，持续增强大学生的文化自信，促使其更好担负起新的文化使命。

Realizing cultural self-strengthening. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Chinese-path modernization requires both immense material wealth and immense spiritual wealth, as well as confidence and self-strengthening in ideology and culture.” [6]6 Xi Jinping, speech at a symposium on cultural inheritance and development, June 2, 2023. Cultural self-strengthening is an inherent requirement of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. On the new journey of building a strong nation and rejuvenating the Chinese nation, while we constantly thicken the material foundation of modernization and constantly consolidate the material conditions for the people’s happy life, we must also vigorously promote cultural prosperity, inherit Chinese civilization, promote the comprehensive enrichment of things and the comprehensive development of people, constantly stir up the momentum of cultural self-strengthening, rejuvenate the contemporary brilliance of Chinese culture through consolidating the foundation and cultivating the root, upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground, [7]7 “Upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground” (守正创新) is a standard four-character idiom in CPC discourse, meaning to maintain core principles while innovating. meet the people’s spiritual and cultural needs through reform, innovation, and invigoration, and constantly strengthen the spiritual force for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Looking to the future, institutions of higher learning must implement the fundamental task of fostering virtue and nurturing people, adhere to the fundamental system of Marxism’s guiding position in the ideological domain, take core socialist values as the guide, run Xi Jinping’s cultural thought through the entire process and all aspects of cultivating young students, guide them to base themselves on the great historical practice and contemporary practice of the Chinese nation, and inject youthful vitality into promoting the progress and development of human civilization through the prosperity and flourishing of Chinese culture in the New Era. Teachers in higher education must vigorously promote the spirit of educators, [8]8 “The spirit of educators” (教育家精神) refers to a set of professional ideals for teachers promoted by the CPC, including dedication, moral integrity, and commitment to nurturing talent. adhere to using culture to transform people and using culture to educate people, and cultivate a new generation of the era capable of undertaking the great task of national rejuvenation through focusing on cultural immersion, infection, and edification. The broad masses of teachers must consciously integrate the Marxist worldview, outlook on life, and values into their knowledge instruction, and through knowledge dissemination, ability transmission, and cultural inheritance, educate and guide young students to more actively and proactively learn from and draw on all outstanding achievements of human civilization, continuously enhance their ability to realize cultural self-strengthening in their respective fields, and make positive contributions to advancing the construction of a strong socialist cultural nation.

实现文化自强。习近平总书记指出：“中国式现代化既要物质财富极大丰富，也要精神财富极大丰富、在思想文化上自信自强。”文化自强是实现中华民族伟大复兴的题中之义。在强国建设、民族复兴的新征程上，我们在不断厚植现代化的物质基础、不断夯实人民幸福生活的物质条件的同时，也要大力推动文化繁荣，传承中华文明，促进物的全面丰富和人的全面发展，不断激扬文化自强之势，以固本培元、守正创新焕发中华文化时代光彩，以改革创新、激发活力满足人民精神文化需求，不断增强实现中华民族伟大复兴的精神力量。面向未来，高校要落实好立德树人根本任务，坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域指导地位的根本制度，以社会主义核心价值观为引领，将习近平文化思想贯穿青年学生培养全过程和各方面，引导他们立足中华民族伟大历史实践和当代实践，为以新时代中华文化的繁荣兴盛推动人类文明的发展进步注入青春活力。高校教师要大力弘扬教育家精神，坚持以文化人、以文育人，在注重文化浸润、感染、熏陶中培养担当民族复兴大任的时代新人。广大教师要自觉将马克思主义世界观、人生观、价值观融入知识讲授中，通过知识传播、能力传授、文化传承，教育引导青年学生更加积极主动地学习借鉴人类创造的一切优秀文明成果，不断提升在各自领域实现文化自强的本领，为推进社会主义文化强国建设作出积极贡献。

(The author is the Party Secretary of Central University of Finance and Economics)

（作者系中央财经大学党委书记）

Online editor: Zhang Jian

网络编辑：张剑