The Theoretical Characteristics of the Party’s Propaganda, Ideology, and Cultural Work

Since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached great importance to the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work, systematically elucidating its status and role, its objectives and tasks, the division of responsibilities, and the practical requirements for its implementation. He has scientifically answered the fundamental questions of why the CPC must do this work well, in what direction it should be done, who should do it and on whom to rely, and how to do it well. Propaganda, ideology, and cultural work bears on the long-term stability and security of the country and on the cohesion and centripetal force of the nation; it is an extremely important task. We must continuously explore the working methods and characteristics of the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work in both theory and practice, thereby providing a powerful ideological weapon and a scientific guide to action for doing this work well on the new journey of the New Era.

党的十八大以来，习近平总书记高度重视党的宣传思想文化工作，系统阐明了宣传思想文化工作的地位作用、目标任务、责任分工和实践要求，科学回答了中国共产党为什么要做好宣传思想文化工作、朝着什么方向做好宣传思想文化工作、谁来做以及依靠谁做好宣传思想文化工作、如何做好宣传思想文化工作等基本问题。宣传思想文化工作事关国家长治久安、事关民族凝聚力和向心力，是一项极端重要的工作。我们应不断在理论和实践中探寻党的宣传思想文化工作的工作方法和特质，从而为做好新时代新征程宣传思想文化工作提供强大思想武器和科学行动指南。

The unity of Party spirit and people-centeredness. In discussing the division of responsibilities for propaganda, ideology, and cultural work, General Secretary Xi Jinping has prominently emphasized the issue of the Party’s leadership in the ideological and cultural sphere, calling for strengthened Party leadership over this work. All propaganda, ideology, and cultural departments and units, as well as all Party members and cadres on the propaganda, ideology, and cultural front, must clearly and unequivocally uphold the principle of Party spirit, firmly propagate the Party’s theories, line, principles, and policies, the Central Committee’s major work deployments, and the Central Committee’s major analytical judgments on the situation, resolutely maintain a high degree of unity with the Party Central Committee and uphold the Central Committee’s authority. He has also stressed that propaganda, ideology, and cultural work is the work of the entire Party, and that Party committees and governments at all levels must shoulder this major political responsibility.

党性和人民性的统一。在论述宣传思想文化工作的责任分工时，习近平总书记突出强调党在思想文化领域的领导权问题，提出着力加强党对宣传思想文化工作的领导。宣传思想部门和单位以及所有宣传思想战线上的党员、干部都要旗帜鲜明坚持党性原则，坚定宣传党的理论和路线方针政策、中央重大工作部署、中央关于形势的重大分析判断，坚决同党中央保持高度一致、维护中央权威，并且强调宣传思想文化工作是全党的工作，各级党委和政府都要扛起这一重大政治责任。

Propaganda, ideology, and cultural work bears on the future and destiny of the Party, on the long-term stability and security of the country, and on the cohesion and centripetal force of the nation. From the perspective of the objectives and tasks of this work, consolidating the common ideological foundation for the united struggle of the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country is equally important as consolidating the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological sphere. In answering how to do the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work well, General Secretary Xi Jinping has always emphasized establishing a people-centered work orientation, requiring that serving the masses be combined with educating and guiding them, and that meeting their needs be combined with raising their level of cultivation. He calls for more reporting on the great struggles and vibrant lives of the masses, more reporting on the advanced models and moving stories that emerge from among the masses, enriching the people’s spiritual world, strengthening their spiritual strength, and satisfying their spiritual needs.

宣传思想文化工作事关党的前途命运、事关国家长治久安、事关民族凝聚力和向心力。从宣传思想文化工作的目标任务看，巩固全党全国各族人民团结奋斗的共同思想基础与巩固马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位同样重要。在回答如何做好党的宣传思想文化工作时，习近平总书记始终强调树立以人民为中心的工作导向，要求把服务群众同教育引导群众结合起来，把满足需求同提高素养结合起来，多宣传报道人民群众的伟大奋斗和火热生活，多宣传报道人民群众中涌现出来的先进典型和感人事迹，丰富人民精神世界，增强人民精神力量，满足人民精神需求。

The original aspiration and founding mission of Chinese Communists is to seek happiness for the Chinese people and rejuvenation for the Chinese nation. All the Party’s propositions and its goals at different stages are unified with the fundamental interests of the broad masses of the people. The Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work adheres to and realizes a high degree of unity between Party spirit and people-centeredness. This theoretical characteristic can guide the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups across the country to unite and rally under the great banner of socialism with Chinese characteristics, ensuring the Party’s unity and solidarity ideologically and consolidating the Party’s governing foundation and mass base, thereby gathering the mighty force to comprehensively advance the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-path modernization under the new circumstances.

中国共产党人的初心使命是为中国人民谋幸福、为中华民族谋复兴，党的一切主张与不同阶段的奋斗目标都与广大人民群众的根本利益相统一。党的宣传思想文化工作坚持并实现了党性和人民性的高度统一，这一理论特质能够引导全党全国各族人民团结和凝聚在中国特色社会主义伟大旗帜下，从思想上保证党的团结一致和巩固党的执政基础、群众基础，在新的形势下汇聚以中国式现代化全面推进中华民族伟大复兴的磅礴力量。

The unity of principledness and innovativeness. The distinct principledness embodied in the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work can be understood from two aspects. On the one hand, it is necessary to always maintain strong political and theoretical resolve, to always adhere to the Party’s overall leadership over ideological work, to uphold the basic principles of the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work, such as the leading position of Marxism in the ideological sphere, without wavering, and to place ideological security alongside state power security and institutional security at the forefront of national political security, making firmly grasping the initiative in ideological work an important task for strengthening the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work in the New Era. On the other hand, since the 18th National Congress of the CPC, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has systematically summarized the positive and negative experiences accumulated since the Party’s founding in strengthening propaganda, ideology, and cultural work, elevating them into basic principles that must be followed in the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work in the New Era.

原则性和创新性的统一。党的宣传思想文化工作体现的鲜明原则性，可以从两个方面理解。一方面，要始终保持强大的政治定力和理论定力，要始终坚持党对意识形态工作的全面领导，坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域的领导地位等党的宣传思想文化工作的基本原则不动摇，并把意识形态安全与国家政权安全、制度安全一并放在国家政治安全的首位，将牢牢掌握意识形态工作主动权作为新时代加强党的宣传思想文化工作的重要任务。另一方面，党的十八大以来，以习近平同志为核心的党中央系统总结了党成立以来加强宣传思想文化工作所积累的正反两方面经验，将其上升为新时代党的宣传思想文化工作必须遵循的基本原则。

The distinct innovativeness embodied in the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work can be understood from three dimensions. First, it involves grasping innovation in concepts, means, and grassroots work, actively exploring new measures and new methods conducive to solving work difficulties, and placing the focus of innovation at the grassroots level. Second, it contains new ways of thinking, such as establishing a broad concept of propaganda work, mobilizing all fronts and departments to work together, and insisting on using systems thinking, rule-of-law thinking, and bottom-line thinking to innovate the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work. Third, it has put forward new theses and viewpoints, such as “cultural identity is the deepest form of identity.”

党的宣传思想文化工作体现的鲜明创新性，可以从三个维度理解。一是抓好理念创新、手段创新、基层工作创新，积极探索有利于破解工作难题的新举措新办法，把创新的重心放在基层一线。二是蕴含新的思维方式，比如要求树立大宣传的工作理念，动员各条线各个部门一起来做，坚持用系统观念、法治思维、底线思维来创新党的宣传思想文化工作。三是提出了新的论断观点，比如“文化认同是最深层次的认同”等。

The Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work adheres to the unity of principledness and innovativeness, which means upholding fundamental principles and breaking new ground in the field of propaganda, ideology, and cultural work. This theoretical characteristic enables it to guide the entire Party in carrying out this work so that it neither loses its direction nor keeps pace with the times, and it continuously refines the latest practical experiences, especially beneficial explorations at the grassroots level, into working principles to be followed, thereby providing ongoing scientific guidance for the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work.

党的宣传思想文化工作坚持原则性和创新性的统一，就是在宣传思想文化工作领域坚持守正创新。这一理论特质使其能够引导全党在开展党的宣传思想文化工作时既避免迷失方向，又做到与时俱进，并且不断将最新的实践经验特别是基层的有益探索凝练为需要遵循的工作原则，持续为党的宣传思想文化工作提供科学指引。

The unity of timeliness and practicality. Marxism is a product of answering the questions of the era; timeliness is a distinctive feature of Marxist theory. The Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work possesses a distinct characteristic of timeliness. For example, after making the judgment that the CPC in the New Era must lead the people across the country in a great struggle with many new historical features, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the challenges and difficulties faced are unprecedented, and it is necessary to persist in consolidating and strengthening the mainstream ideology and public opinion, promoting the main theme, spreading positive energy, and stimulating the powerful force of the whole society to unite and strive. For another example, after recognizing the development trend of new media, General Secretary Xi Jinping called for strengthening the construction of an all-media communication system, shaping a new pattern of mainstream public opinion, emphasizing accelerating the integrated development of traditional and new media, fully utilizing new technologies and new applications to innovate media communication methods, and seizing the commanding heights of information dissemination.

时代性和实践性的统一。马克思主义是解答时代课题的产物，时代性是马克思主义理论的显著特征。而党的宣传思想文化工作具有鲜明的时代性特质。比如，在作出新时代中国共产党要带领全国人民进行具有许多新的历史特点的伟大斗争的判断后，习近平总书记指出，面临的挑战和困难前所未有，必须坚持巩固壮大主流思想舆论，弘扬主旋律，传播正能量，激发全社会团结奋进的强大力量。再如，在意识到新媒体的发展趋势后，习近平总书记要求加强全媒体传播体系建设，塑造主流舆论新格局，强调加快传统媒体和新兴媒体融合发展，充分运用新技术新应用创新媒体传播方式，占领信息传播制高点。

The practical viewpoint is a basic viewpoint of Marxist epistemology. The Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work possesses a distinct characteristic of practicality. From history and reality, we can see that the practical character of this work was not formed in a study but was formed in the practice of leading and advancing the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work in the New Era, and it has pertinently answered the practical difficulties faced by this work under the new circumstances. For example, in response to the erroneous trend of historical nihilism, which distorts the Party’s history, vilifies the image of the Party and the state, and defames heroic figures, General

实践的观点是马克思主义认识论的基本观点。党的宣传思想文化工作具有鲜明的实践性特征。从历史和现实我们可以看到，党的宣传思想文化工作实践特质不是在书斋里形成的，而是在领导推进新时代党的宣传思想文化工作实践中形成的，并且有针对性地回答了新形势下党的宣传思想文化工作面临的实践难题。比如，针对歪曲党的历史、丑化党和国家形象、诋毁英雄人物等历史虚无主义错误，习近平总书记指出，要推进党史学习教育常态化长效化，准确把握党的历史发展的主题主线、主流本质，旗帜鲜明反对和抵制历史虚无主义，还要加强新中国史、改革开放史、社会主义发展史的教育；针对一些主流媒体在错误思潮面前不敢亮剑的问题，党报党刊一定要无条件地宣传党的主张，要求巩固壮大奋进新时代的主流思想舆论，以强信心为重点加强正面宣传，提高舆论引导能力，等等。

Any theory is a product of its era, and the issues of the era are an important driving force for theoretical innovation. At the same time, any issue of the era has its specific practical form; a major issue of the era is often manifested in several practical difficulties. The Party's propaganda, ideological, and cultural work has always adhered to a problem-oriented approach, not only actively responding to the major issues of the era that the Party's propaganda, ideological, and cultural work in the New Era must address, but also effectively tackling the practical difficulties that constrain the effectiveness of the Party's propaganda, ideological, and cultural work, thereby truly achieving the unity of timeliness and practicality.

任何理论都是时代的产物，时代课题是理论创新的重要驱动力。同时，任何时代课题都有其具体的实践形态，一个重大的时代课题往往体现为若干实践难题。党的宣传思想文化工作始终坚持问题导向，不仅主动回答新时代党的宣传思想文化工作所要回答的重大时代课题，而且积极应对制约党的宣传思想文化工作效果的实践难题，真正做到了时代性和实践性的统一。

The unity of national character and global character. The distinct national character embodied in the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work can be understood from two aspects. On the one hand, under conditions of comprehensive opening up, carrying out the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work requires making clear that Chinese culture embodies the deepest spiritual pursuits of the Chinese nation and is the rich nourishment for the Chinese nation’s continuous vitality, growth, and strength; making clear that fine traditional Chinese culture is the outstanding advantage of the Chinese nation and our deepest cultural soft power; and making clear that socialism with Chinese characteristics is rooted in the fertile soil of Chinese culture, reflects the will of the Chinese people, and meets the requirements of China’s development and the progress of the times, possessing profound historical origins and a broad practical foundation. On the other hand, it is necessary to emphasize China’s subjectivity: “To be born a Chinese person, the most fundamental thing is that we have the unique spiritual world of the Chinese people.” [1]1 A quotation from Xi Jinping, emphasizing the unique spiritual identity of the Chinese people as distinct from other cultures. We must break free from the constraints of Western philosophical and social science paradigms, and, more importantly, construct a philosophical and social science disciplinary system, academic system, and discourse system with Chinese characteristics. This should take China as the reference point and the times as the reference point, be grounded in China’s actual conditions, solve China’s problems, construct China’s independent knowledge system, and write a new chapter in adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times.

民族性和世界性的统一。党的宣传思想文化工作体现的鲜明民族性，可以从两个方面理解。一方面，在全面对外开放的条件下做党的宣传思想文化工作，要讲清楚中华文化积淀着中华民族最深沉的精神追求，是中华民族生生不息、发展壮大的丰厚滋养；要讲清楚中华优秀传统文化是中华民族的突出优势，是我们最深厚的文化软实力；要讲清楚中国特色社会主义植根于中华文化沃土、反映中国人民意愿、适应中国和时代发展进步要求，有着深厚历史渊源和广泛现实基础。另一方面，应强调中国主体性，“生而为中国人，最根本的是我们有中国人的独特精神世界”。我们要摆脱西方哲学社会科学范式的束缚，而且更为重要的是构建具有中国特色的哲学社会科学学科体系、学术体系、话语体系，应以中国为观照、以时代为观照，立足中国实际，解决中国问题，建构中国自主的知识体系，续写马克思主义中国化时代化的新篇章。

Under the demands of the New Era, the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work needs to possess a global character, which is concretely manifested in four levels. First, actively absorb and learn from all beneficial achievements created by human civilization, strengthen the publicity and reporting on the development and changes in the world situation, on new things and new situations emerging in the world, and on new ideas, new viewpoints, and new knowledge emerging in various countries, and promote exchanges and mutual learning among Chinese and foreign civilizations. Second, actively learn from the development lessons of other countries in the world, promote the coordinated development of material civilization and cultural-ethical progress, and make this a distinctive feature of Chinese-path modernization. Third, actively enhance international communication capabilities to win international discourse power commensurate with China’s comprehensive national strength and international status, tell China’s story well, spread China’s voice well, and present China’s image on a global scale. Fourth, actively advocate for building a community with a shared future for mankind.

在新时代要求下，党的宣传思想文化工作需要具有世界性，具体体现在四个层面。一是主动吸收积极借鉴人类文明创造的一切有益成果，要加强对世界形势发展变化、对世界上出现的新事物新情况和对各国出现的新思想新观点新知识的宣传报道，推动中外文明交流互鉴。二是主动吸取世界其他国家的发展教训，推动物质文明和精神文明的协调发展，将其作为中国式现代化的鲜明特色。三是主动提升国际传播能力以赢得同我国综合国力和国际地位相匹配的国际话语权，讲好中国故事，传播好中国声音，在世界范围展现中国形象。四是主动倡导构建人类命运共同体。

The Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work not only possesses profound national sentiments and an independent national spirit but also demonstrates the excellent character of looking to the world, being open and inclusive, achieving the unity of national character and global character. This theoretical characteristic can not only guide the Party’s propaganda, ideology, and cultural work to play a crucial role in consolidating the ideological and cultural foundation of the Chinese nation’s confidence but also lead China to withstand the challenges of the mutual agitation of ideas and cultures, thereby establishing China’s independent image as a great civilized nation.

党的宣传思想文化工作既具有深厚的民族情怀和独立的民族精神，又展现了放眼世界、开放包容的优秀品格，实现了民族性和世界性的统一。这一理论特质不仅能够指导党的宣传思想文化工作在筑牢中华民族自信的思想基础和文化基础方面发挥至关重要的作用，还能引领中国经受住思想文化相互激荡的挑战，从而树立起中国自主的文明大国形象。

(The authors are, respectively, a professor at the School of CPC History and Party Building, Renmin University of China; and a researcher at the Institute of CPC History and Party Building, Renmin University of China.)

（作者系中国人民大学中共党史党建学院教授；中国人民大学中共党史党建研究院研究员）

Online editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧