Giving Play to the Value of the “Two Roads” Spirit in Forging a Strong Sense of Community for the Chinese Nation

Forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation in the New Era is a powerful ideological foundation for safeguarding national unity, promoting ethnic solidarity, sharing honor and disgrace with people of all ethnic groups, treating each other with all sincerity, maintaining close ties, and realizing the Chinese Dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. In the process of defying difficulties, striving courageously, and exerting every effort to build the roads into Tibet, the “Two Roads” spirit [1]1 The “Two Roads” spirit refers to the spirit formed during the construction and maintenance of the Sichuan-Tibet Highway and the Qinghai-Tibet Highway, officially summarized as “fearing neither hardship nor death, tenaciously striving and willingly serving as roadbed stones, and the unity of the military and the people and ethnic solidarity.” formed by the PLA officers and soldiers and people of all ethnic groups through their life-and-death interdependence and sharing of weal and woe is a high-quality spiritual resource that triggers emotional resonance among people of all ethnic groups, promotes ethnic solidarity, and makes the forging of a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation vivid, approachable, and close to the people.

新时代铸牢中华民族共同体意识是维护国家统一，促进民族团结，与各族群众荣辱与共、肝胆相照、密切联系，实现中华民族伟大复兴中国梦的强大思想基础。在不惧艰难、奋勇拼搏、全力修筑进藏公路的过程中，解放军将士与各族群众生死相依、休戚与共所形成的“两路”精神是引发各族群众情感共鸣、促进民族团结，让铸牢中华民族共同体意识生动形象、亲民近民的优质精神资源。

The “Two Roads” spirit is a historical testimony to the firm revolutionary convictions, the overcoming of harsh environments, and the development of revolutionary optimism by the Party, the people, and the military under the strong leadership of the Communist Party of China in the great practice of building and maintaining the Sichuan-Tibet and Qinghai-Tibet highways. Integrating it scientifically, reasonably, and appropriately into the practice of forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation helps to enhance ethnic identity, promote the national spirit, unite people of all ethnic groups, and strengthen the forging of a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. It can not only give play to the function of strengthening the red memory and collective consensus of people of all ethnic groups, but also consolidate the majestic spiritual strength of people of all ethnic groups in their united struggle, and cultivate the historical and cultural heritage and value origins of forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation.

“两路”精神是在中国共产党坚强领导下，在建设和养护川藏、青藏公路的伟大实践中，党、人民、军队坚定革命信念、克服艰苦环境、发扬革命乐观主义精神的历史见证。将其科学合理、恰如其分地融入铸牢中华民族共同体意识的实践中，有助于增强民族认同感、弘扬民族精神、团结各族群众、强化铸牢中华民族共同体意识。既能发挥强化各族群众红色记忆和集体共识的功能，又能凝聚各族群众团结奋进的磅礴精神力量，涵养铸牢中华民族共同体意识的历史文化底蕴及价值溯源。

Spiritual guidance. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “Over the past sixty years, in the process of building and maintaining the roads, the ‘Two Roads’ spirit has been formed and developed: fearing neither hardship nor death, tenaciously striving and willingly serving as roadbed stones, and the unity of the military and the people and ethnic solidarity.” [2]2 This is a quotation from General Secretary Xi Jinping’s speech at a symposium marking the 60th anniversary of the The 110,000-strong contingent of Tibetan and Han military and civilian road builders endured hardships, braved wind and snow, worked in unison, conquered numerous natural barriers, excavated and filled over 30 million cubic meters of earth and stone, and built more than 400 bridges. Over five years of arduous and extraordinary effort, three thousand dedicated soldiers made the ultimate sacrifice, and their generation’s achievements will forever be recorded in history, composing heroic hymns of taking the overall situation into consideration, sharing life and death with the people, and displaying bravery and tenacity. The important historical relics scattered along the “Two Roads” contain the great creative spirit, great struggle spirit, great unity spirit, and great dream spirit of the Party, the people, and the military. They not only played an important role in promoting the rapid economic and social development of Tibet, consolidating the southwestern border, and promoting ethnic solidarity and progress, but also have a cohesive effect that takes root and sprouts for our forging of a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation today. Drawing revolutionary nourishment—loyalty to the Party, dedication to struggle, living up to the people, tenacious struggle, adherence to ideals, and never forgetting the original aspiration—from the heroic deeds of countless road builders who, with the help of people of all ethnic groups, crossed turbulent rapids and dangerous shoals, weathered avalanches, conquered high mountains and deep valleys, and overcame earthquakes and landslides, can deepen the content of ethnic solidarity and progress, enable people of all ethnic groups to correctly understand the historical mission they bear, and write a new chapter in the glory of the Chinese nation. Combining the “Two Roads” spirit with forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation can better give play to the spiritual guidance role of the “Two Roads” spirit in forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. People of all ethnic groups will consciously experience the revolutionary struggle process, causing the flower of ethnic solidarity and progress to bloom all over the motherland and making spiritual guidance “trendy.”

精神引领。习近平总书记指出：“六十年来，在建设和养护公路的过程中，形成和发扬了一不怕苦、二不怕死，顽强拼搏、甘当路石，军民一家、民族团结的‘两路’精神。”十一万藏汉军民筑路队伍，含辛茹苦，餐风卧雪，齐心协力，征服重重天险，挖填土石三千多万立方，造桥四百余座。五易寒暑，艰苦卓绝，三千志士英勇捐躯，一代业绩永垂青史，谱写出一首首顾全大局、与人民群众生死相依、英勇顽强的英雄赞歌。遍布“两路”的重要历史遗迹，其间蕴含着党、人民、军队的伟大创造精神、伟大奋斗精神、伟大团结精神、伟大梦想精神，不仅对推动西藏经济社会快速发展、巩固西南边疆、促进民族团结进步起到了重要作用，而且对今天我们铸牢中华民族共同体意识也具有生根发芽的聚力效果。从无数筑路将士在各族群众的帮助下越激流险滩、跨雪崩、征服高山峡谷、克服地震滑坡的英勇事迹中汲取对党忠诚、矢志奋斗、不负人民、顽强斗争、坚守理想、不忘初心的革命营养，能够深化民族团结进步的内容，使各族群众正确认识自身所肩负的历史使命，续写中华民族辉煌的新篇章。将“两路”精神与铸牢中华民族共同体意识相结合，可以更好地发挥“两路”精神在铸牢中华民族共同体意识中的精神引领作用，各族群众自觉感受革命奋斗历程，使民族团结进步之花开遍祖国各地，让精神引领“潮”起来。

Case-based education. Along the routes of the construction and maintenance of the Sichuan-Tibet and Qinghai-Tibet highways, there are many “Two Roads” relics. Their lofty aspirations to open up roads through mountains and their sacrificial spirit of willingly serving as roadbed stones have erected countless monuments. Taking the Sichuan-Tibet line as an example, the 18th Army [3] left behind countless “Two Roads” relics along the road construction route, such as cave complexes, martyrs’ cemeteries, slogans, poems, and records of activities. These not only enrich case resources such as “The Laundry Song,” “Singing of Erlang Mountain,” “The Radiance of Chairman Mao,” “Strolling in the New City,” “Gesang La,” and “My Hometown Is Good,” which highlight the life-and-death interdependence, sharing of hardships, tenacious struggle, and adherence to ideals of the Party and PLA soldiers with the people, but also contain case materials such as “The Cotton Coat Once Spread Under the Wheels,” “The Tibetan Robe Worn While Holding the Line in Ice and Snow,” “The Erlang Mountain Road Construction Martyrs’ Cemetery Cluster,” “The Zhang Fulin Martyrs’ Cemetery at the Foot of Que’er Mountain,” and “Beside the Nujiang River Bridge in Basu, Tibet,” which reflect the powerful ideological and consciousness strength of the 18th Army officers and soldiers in taking the overall situation into consideration and sparing no sacrifice to achieve national unity and ethnic solidarity, and their “firm determination to follow the Party.” These “Two Roads” cases not only enrich the case materials for forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation among people of all ethnic groups in the New Era, but also, to a certain extent, help people of all ethnic groups experience the arduous years of the 18th Army’s entry into Tibet, guiding the masses to accept the nourishment of the “Two Roads” spirit.

案例育人。在川藏、青藏公路修筑和养护的沿途有着诸多“两路”遗迹，他们逢山开路的豪情壮志、甘当铺路石的牺牲精神铸成了一座座丰碑。以川藏线为例，当年十八军在筑路沿线留下的窑洞群、烈士墓、标语、诗歌、人物活动等“两路”遗迹数不胜数。既丰富了《洗衣歌》《歌唱二郎山》《毛主席的光辉》《逛新城》《格桑啦》《我的家乡好》等彰显着党和解放军战士同人民群众生死相依、同甘共苦、顽强斗争、坚守理想的案例资源，又蕴藏《曾铺在车轮下的棉衣》《在冰天雪地坚守时穿的藏袍》《二郎山筑路烈士墓群》《雀儿山下张福林烈士陵园》《在西藏八宿的怒江大桥旁》等反映十八军将士为实现国家统一、民族团结，顾全大局，不惜付出一切牺牲的强大思想觉悟力量，“铁心跟党走”的案例素材。这些“两路”案例不仅丰富了新时代各族群众铸牢中华民族共同体意识的案例素材，还在一定程度上帮助各族群众体验十八军进藏时期举步维艰的峥嵘岁月，引导人民群众接受“两路”精神的滋养。

Broadening carriers and channels. Through in-depth excavation, organization, and application of case materials from ethnic areas along the “Two Roads,” the carriers and channels for forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation can be broadened in many ways, manifesting a new atmosphere and achieving new accomplishments. All sectors of society can excavate and refine the “Two Roads” spirit and the lofty revolutionary beliefs and value orientations it contains, and establish a “Two Roads” spirit case library that can provide correct and scientific value guidance for forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. Through practical carrier forms such as “Two Roads” story performances, fine art and music works creation, “Two Roads” spirit cultural paper-cutting design, pottery making, song singing, and the development and design of cultural tourism products, case materials can be appropriately applied in the practice of forging a strong sense of community for the Chinese nation. All sectors of society can excavate case resources such as “Two Roads” spirit-themed pictures, videos, and written materials to stimulate the interest of people of all ethnic groups, revisit the firm original aspiration and founding mission of the Communists, and promote the “Two Roads” spirit to enter the mind and heart.

拓宽载体和渠道。通过对“两路”沿线民族地区案例素材的深入挖掘、整理运用，从多方面拓宽铸牢中华民族共同体意识的载体与渠道，彰显新气象、实现新作为。社会各界可通过挖掘、提炼“两路”精神及其所蕴含的崇高革命信仰和价值取向，建立能为铸牢中华民族共同体意识提供正确、科学价值导向的“两路”精神案例库。可以通过“两路”故事展演、美术音乐作品创作，“两路”精神文化剪纸设计、陶艺制作、歌曲传唱、文旅产品的开发设计等实践载体形式，将案例素材恰当地应用于铸牢中华民族共同体意识的实践中。社会各界可通过挖掘“两路”精神主题图片、视频、文字材料等案例资源，激发各族群众兴趣，重温共产党人的坚定初心使命，推动“两路”精神入脑入心。

[About the authors: Zhou Yulan, Associate Professor at Sichuan Minzu College; Chen Guangjun, Professor at Sichuan Film and Television University.]

【作者简介：周裕兰，四川民族学院副教授；陈光军，四川电影电视学院教授。】

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧