Firmly Grasp the Cultural Discourse Power of School Ideological-Political Course Construction in the New Era

General Secretary Xi Jinping, in his important instructions on the construction of ideological-political courses in schools, emphasized that on the new journey of the New Era, the construction of ideological-political courses must always adhere to the guiding role of Marxism, take the excellent traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture as the foundation of strength, explain principles thoroughly, clearly, and vividly, and continuously enhance the pertinence and appeal of ideological-political courses. This points the way forward for us to orderly promote the high-quality development of ideological-political courses in schools in the New Era. As an important link in the Party’s ideological and political education work, the construction of ideological-political courses in schools is not only an important experience in the continuous victories of the Chinese revolution, socialist construction, and the cause of reform and opening up, as well as a fine tradition and style of our Party, but also a manifestation of the prominent advantages of the development path of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Looking at the development history of ideological and political education in our country, whether it is ideological education, moral education, or political ideology education, all are conducted within a certain cultural context and must take a certain cultural discourse as their carrier; the construction of school ideological-political courses is no exception. At present, to thoroughly implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions on the construction of school ideological-political courses, we need to make efforts in effectively constructing and continuously consolidating the cultural discourse power of school ideological-political course construction, creating a good cultural ecology, and solidifying the foundation of strength for the practice of school ideological-political course construction.

习近平总书记对学校思政课建设作出重要指示强调，新时代新征程上，思政课建设要始终坚持马克思主义指导地位，以中华优秀传统文化、革命文化和社会主义先进文化为力量根基，把道理讲深讲透讲活，不断提高思政课的针对性和吸引力。由此，为我们有序推动新时代学校思政课高质量发展指明了前进方向。作为党的思想政治教育工作的重要环节，学校思政课建设既是中国革命、社会主义建设和改革开放事业不断取得胜利的重要经验，我们党的优良传统和作风，也是中国特色社会主义发展道路突出优势的体现。就我国思想政治教育的发展历程来看，无论思想教育、道德教育，还是政治意识形态教育，都是在一定的文化语境中进行的，都要以一定的文化话语为载体，学校思政课建设也不例外。在当下，深入贯彻习近平总书记关于学校思政课建设的重要指示精神，需要我们在有效建构和不断巩固学校思政课建设文化话语权上下功夫，营造良好文化生态，夯实学校思政课建设实践的力量之基。

Focus on Drawing Wisdom from the Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture

注重汲取中华优秀传统文化智慧

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Literature conveys the Way, and culture transforms people. Contemporary China is the continuation and development of historical China, and contemporary Chinese thought and culture are also the inheritance and sublimation of traditional Chinese thought and culture.” The Chinese civilization, stretching over more than five thousand years of history, especially its excellent traditional culture, inherently possesses ethical attributes and encompasses the function of educating people. Based on this, ideological-political education and cultural transformation are dialectically unified. Harmonious and effective construction of school ideological-political courses requires a good cultural discourse as a foundation, which necessitates drawing wisdom from the long cultural lineage of the Chinese nation spanning over five thousand years.

习近平总书记指出：“文以载道，文以化人。当代中国是历史中国的延续和发展，当代中国思想文化也是中国传统思想文化的传承和升华。”绵延于五千多年历史长河中的中华文明，尤其是其中的中华优秀传统文化本身具有伦理的属性，涵摄着育人的功效。基于此，思政育德与文化化人是辩证统一的。和谐而有效的学校思政课建设，需要以良好的文化话语为基础，这就需要我们从中华民族五千多年悠久的文化血脉中汲取智慧。

In the long years of the Chinese nation’s practice of ideological education and political indoctrination, whether it was the evolution from the concept of “mandate of heaven” culture [1]1 “Mandate of heaven” culture (天命文化观) refers to the ancient Chinese belief that heaven (Tian) grants authority to rulers, originating in the Zhou dynasty (c. 1046–256 BCE). to the natural cultural view of “heaven and earth, containing qi, are nature” [2]2 “Heaven and earth, containing qi, are nature” (天地，含气之自然) is a phrase from the Eastern Han dynasty philosopher Wang Chong (c. 27–97 CE), reflecting a naturalistic critique of supernatural views of heaven., or the integration of the “splendid and refined” ritual and music culture [3]3 “Splendid and refined” ritual and music culture (郁郁乎文哉) is a phrase from the Analects of Confucius (3:14), praising the cultural richness of the Zhou dynasty’s ritual and music system. with the legalist culture of “taking law as teaching” and “clarifying law to set expectations” [4]4 “Taking law as teaching” (以法为教) and “clarifying law to set expectations” (明法以期) are principles associated with the Legalist school, especially Shang Yang (c. 390–338 BCE) and Han Fei (c. 280–233 BCE), emphasizing law as the sole basis for education and governance.; whether it was the construction of human nature culture centered on inquiries into “good nature,” “evil nature,” or the presence or absence of good and evil in nature, or the exploration of mind-nature culture with the purpose of “transmitting mind to mind” and “preserving the mind, nurturing the mind, and seeking the lost mind” [5]5 “Transmitting mind to mind” (以心传心) is a Chan (Zen) Buddhist concept; “preserving the mind, nurturing the mind, and seeking the lost mind” (存心、养心、求放心) derives from Mencius (c. 4th century BCE), focusing on self-cultivation of the moral mind. — it is clearly visible that teachers in different periods, in their practice of ideological education, moral edification, and political indoctrination, exercised control over cultural discourse power.

在中华民族敦行思想教育和政治教化的悠长岁月中，无论是由“昊天有成命”的天命文化观向“天地，含气之自然”的自然文化观的演化，还是“郁郁乎文哉”的礼乐文化同“以法为教”“明法以期”的法治文化的交融；无论是对以“性善”“性恶”，抑或以性有无善恶的追问为内涵的人性文化的建构，还是对以“以心传心”“存心、养心、求放心”为宗旨的心性文化的探求，均可清晰地看到不同时期的为人师者，在思想教育、道德熏陶和政治教化实践中，对于文化话语权的把控。

It was precisely the tireless shaping and adherence to the cultural discourse power of ideological construction in different eras, from the rulers of successive dynasties at the top to the practitioners of ideological and moral education among commoners at the bottom, that achieved the remarkable effectiveness of the traditional Chinese school ideological and moral education paradigm, endowed Chinese culture with its unique moral attributes and ethical tendencies, and endowed Chinese culture with strong vitality. The excellent traditional Chinese culture is a cultural form distinct from other cultural types in the world, one that has never been interrupted to this day, providing endless ideological nourishment and cultural wisdom for the Chinese people to cultivate themselves and others, and to cultivate the self, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world. [6]6 “Cultivate the self, regulate the family, govern the state, and bring peace to the world” (修齐治平) is a Confucian ideal from the Great Learning, outlining the progressive stages of moral and political cultivation.

正是上至历朝历代的王朝统治者，下至市井布衣的思想道德教育的践行者们，对于不同时代意识形态建设文化话语权不倦的塑造和坚守，成就了中国传统学校思想道德教育范式的卓越成效，成就了中华文化独特的道德属性和伦理倾向，并使中华文化具有了强大的生命力。中华优秀传统文化是有别于世界上其他文化类型的、迄今从未中断过的文化形态，为华夏儿女成己成人、为炎黄子孙修齐治平提供了绵延不绝的思想营养和文化智慧。

Focus on Learning from the CPC’s Experience of Cultivating Virtue through Culture

注重学习中国共产党文化育德经验

In modern times, facing the invasion of Western powers, while lamenting the great misfortune of the nation and the people, we also developed a certain confusion about our own culture. When the entire nation was immersed in this distress and hesitation, it was the spread of Marxism in China, especially the birth of the Communist Party of China, that enabled us to find the path forward and gradually clarify the direction of cultural development.

近代以降，面对西方列强的入侵，我们在哀叹国家和民族之大不幸的同时，对于自己的文化也产生了一定的困惑。当全民族都沉浸在这种苦闷和彷徨之中时，是马克思主义在中国的传播，尤其是中国共产党的诞生，使我们找到了前行的道路，逐渐明晰了文化发展的方向。

General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized: “The excellent traditional culture formed by the Chinese nation over thousands of years, and the revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture forged by our Party leading the people in the process of revolution, construction, and reform, provide a profound strength for the construction of ideological-political courses.” The Chinese Communists, with Comrade Mao Zedong as their main representative, established the policy of critically inheriting traditional Chinese culture and the “Double Hundred” policy [7]7 The “Double Hundred” policy (双百方针), formally “Let a hundred flowers bloom, let a hundred schools of thought contend,” was proclaimed by Mao Zedong in 1956 to encourage intellectual and artistic diversity within socialist parameters., setting the direction and laying the cultural foundation for the Party’s ideological and political work and the construction of school ideological-political courses. In different periods, the Chinese Communists established strategies for the construction of socialist cultural-ethical progress, gradually forming a paradigm for the development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, providing cultural impetus for the Party’s ideological and political work and the construction of school ideological-political courses to set sail and voyage far.

习近平总书记强调：“中华民族几千年来形成了博大精深的优秀传统文化，我们党带领人民在革命、建设、改革过程中锻造的革命文化和社会主义先进文化，为思政课建设提供了深厚力量。”以毛泽东同志为主要代表的中国共产党人确立了批判继承中国传统文化的政策和“双百”方针，为党的思想政治工作和学校思政课建设举旗定向，奠定了文化基础。在不同时期，中国共产党人确立了社会主义精神文明建设的方略，逐步形成了中国特色社会主义文化发展的范式，为党的思想政治工作和学校思政课建设扬帆远航，提供了文化动力。

Entering the New Era, the Chinese Communists, with Comrade Xi Jinping as their main representative, have highly raised the banner of “integrating the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with the excellent traditional Chinese culture,” [8]8 This phrase refers to the “Two Integrations” (两个结合), a key theoretical formulation in Xi Jinping Thought, first formally articulated at the 20th National Congress of the CPC in 2022. adhered to using Xi Jinping Thought on Culture to lead the high-quality development of school ideological-political courses in the New Era, forged the cultural “roots” and “soul” for the Party’s ideological and political work and the construction of school ideological-political courses, written a new chapter in the cultural discourse of school ideological-political course construction, and drawn a new blueprint for the development of the cultural discourse power of school ideological-political course construction. This has enhanced the cultural depth and humanistic atmosphere of school ideological-political course construction in our country in the New Era, and improved the pertinence, appeal, and effectiveness of ideological-political courses.

进入新时代，以习近平同志为主要代表的中国共产党人高高举起了“把马克思主义基本原理同中国具体实际相结合、同中华优秀传统文化相结合”的旗帜，坚持以习近平文化思想引领新时代学校思政课高质量发展，为党的思想政治工作和学校思政课建设熔铸了文化的“根”与“魂”，书写了学校思政课建设文化话语新篇章，擘画了学校思政课建设文化话语权发展的新图景。这增强了我国新时代学校思政课建设的文化底蕴和人文气息，提升了思政课的针对性、吸引力和有效性。

Looking back over the Party’s history of more than a century, it is evident that for the construction of school ideological-political courses, the issue of cultural discourse power is of paramount importance. Whether we can grasp the cultural discourse power in the practice of school ideological-political course construction is a key element related to the success or failure of the grand cause of educating people for the Party and cultivating talent for the country.

纵观党的百余年历史可见，对于学校思政课建设工作而言，文化话语权问题可谓至关重要。能否把握学校思政课建设实践中的文化话语权，是关乎为党育人、为国育才宏伟事业成败的关键要素。

Focus on Rooting in the Practice of Ideological-Political Course Construction in the New Era

注重扎根新时代思政课建设实践

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “The soul of a nation is transformed by culture and cast by culture.” Since entering the New Era, facing changes unseen in a century, changes in the international political and economic landscape, the objective situation of ideological and cultural diversification, and the profound impact of the social ecology of information popularization in the internet age on people’s daily lives, the cultural environment for the construction of school ideological-political courses in our country has undergone significant changes, and the cultural discourse power of ideological-political course construction is also facing unprecedented major challenges. Therefore, relevant functional departments need to take concrete actions to deepen the cultural discourse practice of ideological-political course construction, in order to safeguard ideological and cultural security in the New Era.

习近平总书记指出：“国家之魂，文以化之，文以铸之。”进入新时代以来，面对世界百年未有之大变局，国际政治经济格局的变化、思想文化多元化的客观情势，以及网络时代信息大众化的社会生态对于人们日常生活的深刻影响，我国学校思政课建设的文化环境已然发生较大变化，思政课建设的文化话语权也面临前所未有的巨大挑战。因此，需要相关职能部门采取切实行动，深化思政课建设文化话语实践，以捍卫新时代思想文化和意识形态安全。

First, enhance the awareness of potential dangers and examine the internal and external cultural environment of school ideological-political course construction. We must not only see the basic trend of worldwide peace consensus and cultural integration under the background of peace and development, but also be clearly aware of the objective existence of cultural infiltration by some Western countries into our country. Starting from this, we must take vigorously enhancing the cohesion and centripetal force of Chinese culture and effectively strengthening the penetration and appeal of Chinese culture as the central work for optimizing the cultural context of school ideological-political course construction in the New Era, grasping it firmly, finely, and effectively.

一是增强忧患意识，审视学校思政课建设内外文化环境。我们既要看到在和平与发展时代背景下，世界范围和平共识和文化融合的基本趋势，也要清醒意识到部分西方国家对于我国文化渗透的客观存在。由此出发，我们要把大力提升中华文化凝聚力、向心力和切实增强中华文化渗透力、感染力，作为新时代优化学校思政课建设文化语境的中心工作，抓紧抓细抓实抓好。

Second, build mainstream culture and firmly hold the main cultural position of school ideological-political course construction. For any country or nation, mainstream culture is not only the soil that nurtures core values and shapes national character, but also the carrier that interprets governance concepts and outlines social ideals and development goals; its importance is self-evident. Facing the current situation of global cultural governance, we must not only confidently and justifiably insist on using Marxist political discourse to interpret the cultural attributes of socialism with Chinese characteristics, in order to enhance the ideological awareness of the educated, but also, with the purpose of highlighting the Party’s leadership, safeguarding the national image, demonstrating the people’s stance, and promoting patriotic sentiments, orderly promote the enrichment and improvement of the cultural discourse of school ideological-political course construction in the New Era, serving the fundamental task of ideological-political courses in schools to cultivate virtue and nurture people.

二是打造主流文化，固守学校思政课建设文化主阵地。对于任何国家和民族而言，主流文化既是孕育核心价值理念和形塑国民性格的土壤，也是诠释治国理念、擘画社会理想和发展目标的载体，其重要性显而易见。面对当前全球文化治理现状，我们不仅要理直气壮地坚持用马克思主义政治话语来解读中国特色社会主义的文化属性，以提高受教育者的思想觉悟，还要以突出党的领导、维护国家形象、彰显人民立场和弘扬爱国情怀为旨趣，有序推动新时代学校思政课建设文化话语的丰富和完善，服务于学校思政课立德树人的根本任务。

Third, guide mass culture and optimize the cultural ecology of school ideological-political course construction. In the cultural spectrum of China’s school ideological-political course construction, mass culture—a fast-food, entertainment-oriented cultural form rooted in the common people and mediated by modern communication technologies—has become a unique presence. Objectively speaking, as a form of civic culture aligned with the market economy and commodity-value concepts, the life-oriented content and entertaining modes of expression of mass culture undoubtedly have positive significance for enriching the spiritual and cultural life of urban and rural people. However, mass culture’s purely profit-driven, typically commercialized operational model and its secular tendency to indulge in sensory desires undoubtedly affect people’s cognition and identification with the mainstream ideology and core values of society. Based on this, school ideological-political course construction in the New Era must both “keep its feet on the ground”—that is, use cultural discourse that the educational targets delight in to interpret the mainstream ideology and value concepts of society, and thereby use this “cultural benchmark” to guide social trends and shape the spiritual world of young people—and “maintain a high posture”—that is, use the civilized consciousness and scientific concepts required for social progress to optimize the discourse system and modes of presentation of mass culture, combining education with entertainment, and subtly elevating the ideological realm of the educational targets of school ideological-political courses.

三是引领大众文化，优化学校思政课建设的文化生态。在我国学校思政课建设的文化谱系中，作为一种借助现代传媒，植根普罗大众的，快餐式、娱乐化文化形态，大众文化已成为一种独特的存在。客观地说，作为一种与市场经济和商品价值理念相契合的市民文化形态，大众文化的生活化内容和趣味化表达方式，对于丰富城乡民众精神文化生活无疑具有积极意义。然而，大众文化那种以单纯谋利为目的、典型商业化的运作模式及其耽于感官欲望的世俗化倾向，又无疑影响了人们对于社会主流意识形态以及核心价值理念的认知与认同。基于此，新时代学校思政课建设，既要做到“接地气”，即用教育对象喜闻乐见的文化话语解读社会主流意识形态和价值理念，进而用这种“文化标杆”引领社会风气，形塑青少年的精神世界；又要做到“高姿态”，即用社会进步所需的文明意识和科学理念优化大众文化话语体系及其呈现方式，寓教于乐，潜移默化地提升学校思政课教育对象的思想境界。

In summary, the issue of cultural discourse power not only concerns whom and how China’s school ideological-political course construction serves in the New Era, but also relates to the century-long inheritance and development of the Party’s fine tradition of ideological and political work. Against the backdrop of increasingly complex cultural environments both domestically and internationally, actively exploring effective paths to firmly grasp the cultural discourse power of school ideological-political course construction in the New Era is not only necessary for implementing General Secretary Xi Jinping’s latest important directives and promoting the construction of school ideological-political courses, but also an inevitable choice for consciously cultivating confidence in the culture of socialism with Chinese characteristics under the new circumstances, safeguarding the ideological and cultural security of the nation and ethnicity, and thereby demonstrating Chinese wisdom for global cultural governance.

概而言之，文化话语权问题不仅关涉新时代我国学校思政课建设为谁服务和如何服务，而且关乎党的思想政治工作优良传统的世纪传承与发展。在当前国内外文化环境日趋复杂的背景下，积极探索有效路径，以牢牢把握新时代学校思政课建设的文化话语权，不仅是我们贯彻习近平总书记最新重要指示精神、推动学校思政课建设的需要，也是我们在新形势下自觉培育中国特色社会主义文化自信，维护国家民族思想文化和意识形态安全，进而为全球文化治理展示中国智慧的必然选择。

(This article is a phased result of the National Social Science Fund project “Research on the Cultural Ecology of Ideological and Political Education in the New Era” (22BKS133))

（本文系国家社科基金项目“新时代思想政治教育文化生态学研究”（22BKS133）阶段性成果）

(Authors: Professor at the School of Marxism, Anhui University; Associate Professor at the Ideological and Political Department, Anhui College of Traditional Chinese Medicine)

（作者系安徽大学马克思主义学院教授；安徽中医药高等专科学校思政部副教授）

Online editor: Tongxin

网络编辑：同心