Steadfastly Strengthening the Spiritual Cohesion of Socialist Culture with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era

The Proposal of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the 15th Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development, reviewed and approved at the Fourth Plenary Session of the 20th Central Committee of the CPC, emphasizes the need to “develop a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for a New Era that possesses strong ideological guiding power, spiritual cohesion, value appeal, and international influence.” Culture is the foundation of a nation’s spirit, the root of its values, and the source of its strength; it shapes the spiritual world of a country and its nation, and also profoundly influences the course of civilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out: “Why has the Chinese nation been able to survive tenaciously and develop continuously over the millennia-long river of history? A very important reason is that our nation possesses a consistent spiritual pursuit, spiritual character, and spiritual lineage.” To further consolidate the cultural foundation of a great modern socialist country and gather the spiritual strength for realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, it is essential to unswervingly use Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era to consolidate minds and forge souls, and to steadfastly strengthen the spiritual cohesion of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for a New Era.

党的二十届四中全会审议通过的《中共中央关于制定国民经济和社会发展第十五个五年规划的建议》强调，要“发展具有强大思想引领力、精神凝聚力、价值感召力、国际影响力的新时代中国特色社会主义文化”。文化是一个民族的精神之基、价值之本、力量之源，塑造着国家和民族的精神世界，也深刻影响着文明进程。习近平总书记指出：“为什么中华民族能够在几千年的历史长河中顽强生存和不断发展呢？很重要的一个原因，是我们民族有一脉相承的精神追求、精神特质、精神脉络。”进一步夯实社会主义现代化强国的文化根基、凝聚实现中华民族伟大复兴的精神力量，必须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，不断增强新时代中国特色社会主义文化的精神凝聚力。

To strengthen spiritual cohesion, it is necessary to adhere to the “soul vein” of Marxism and the “root vein” of fine traditional Chinese culture. The major proposition of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times inherently contains the theoretical logic of adhering to the “soul vein” of Marxism and the “root vein” of fine traditional Chinese culture. On the one hand, Marxism is the fundamental guiding ideology for building the Party and the country, and for rejuvenating the Party and the country; it is the soul and banner of our Party. For over a hundred years, the Communist Party of China has always held high the great banner of Marxism, based itself on China’s concrete realities, continuously responded to the needs of the times, promptly summarized new experiences and new understandings from practical creation, promoted theoretical innovation in Marxism, and persistently built consensus and gathered strength for Chinese-path modernization. On the other hand, fine traditional Chinese culture is the spiritual lifeline of the Chinese nation and also the foundation for contemporary China to stand firm amidst the cultural currents of the world. To adhere to the root vein of fine traditional Chinese culture, it is necessary to take root in the extensive and profound Chinese civilization and deeply grasp its prominent continuity, innovativeness, unity, inclusiveness, and peacefulness. We must thoroughly implement the project for the inheritance and development of fine traditional Chinese culture, excavate its ideological essence, continuously inherit and develop it in light of the requirements of the times, activate the vitality of traditional culture, and use culture to nourish the soul, consolidate the foundation, and gather strength. To this end, efforts should be made to promote the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with fine traditional Chinese culture, adhere to the path of cultural innovation opened up by the Second Integration, use Marxism to activate the excellent factors of fine traditional Chinese culture and endow them with new contemporary connotations, link the essence of Marxist thought with the essence of fine traditional Chinese culture, and promote the cultural identity, convergence of hearts, and spiritual interdependence of all ethnic groups.

增强精神凝聚力，必须坚守马克思主义“魂脉”和中华优秀传统文化“根脉”。马克思主义中国化时代化这一重大命题本身，就内蕴着坚守马克思主义“魂脉”和中华优秀传统文化“根脉”的理论逻辑。一方面，马克思主义是我们立党立国、兴党兴国的根本指导思想，是我们党的灵魂和旗帜。一百多年来，中国共产党始终高举马克思主义伟大旗帜，立足中国具体实际，不断回应时代需求，及时总结实践创造中的新经验、新认识，推进马克思主义理论创新，持续为中国式现代化凝聚共识、汇聚力量。另一方面，中华优秀传统文化是中华民族的精神命脉，也是当代中国在世界文化激荡中站稳脚跟的根基。坚守中华优秀传统文化根脉，必须植根博大精深的中华文明，深入把握中华文明突出的连续性、创新性、统一性、包容性、和平性。深入实施中华优秀传统文化传承发展工程，挖掘中华优秀传统文化的思想精华，结合时代要求不断继承发展，激活传统文化生命力，以文化滋养心灵、固本培元、凝神聚力。为此，应着力推动马克思主义基本原理同中华优秀传统文化相结合，坚持“第二个结合”开辟的文化创新道路，用马克思主义激活中华优秀传统文化的优秀因子并赋予新的时代内涵，把马克思主义思想精髓同中华优秀传统文化精华贯通起来，推动各民族文化认同、人心归聚、精神相依。

To strengthen spiritual cohesion, it is necessary to carry forward the spiritual lineage of Chinese Communists, with the great founding spirit of the Party as its source. To develop socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for a New Era, efforts must be made to use the Chinese spirit to consolidate social consensus, shape social ethos, enhance cultural centripetal force and national identity, and cultivate the entire nation’s uplifting and enterprising spiritual temperament. In his important speech at the ceremony marking the centenary of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: “A hundred years ago, the pioneers of the Communist Party of China founded the Communist Party of China and forged the great founding spirit of the Party—upholding truth and ideals, staying true to our original aspiration and founding mission, fighting bravely without fear of sacrifice, and remaining loyal to the Party and faithful to the people. This is the source of the spirit of the Communist Party of China.” The spiritual lineage of Chinese Communists, with the great founding spirit of the Party as its source, contains the theoretical core of adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times and the spiritual endowments of fine traditional Chinese culture. It has become a powerful spiritual driving force inspiring the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups in the country to advance the building of a great modern socialist country and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. Facing the more complex environment and more severe challenges during the period of the 15th Five-Year Plan, the important role of the spiritual lineage of Chinese Communists in pooling social synergy should be fully leveraged. We must consciously inherit red resources, carry forward the red lineage, and continuously strengthen the spiritual cohesion of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for a New Era. To this end, we must consciously become firm believers and loyal practitioners of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, and consciously use the Party’s innovative theories to arm our minds, guide our practice, and advance our work; we must be loyal, clean, and responsible, strengthen historical responsibility, and always maintain the spirit of forging ahead with determination, pioneering and innovating, and the driving force of working hard and doing solid work; we must continuously strengthen our will and ability to wage great struggles, enhance the ambition, backbone, and confidence of the entire Party and the people of all ethnic groups in the country, and effectively respond to the various risks and challenges on the path forward; we must promote the digital dissemination and concrete presentation of red culture, use digital and intelligent technologies to strengthen the educational effect of the spiritual lineage of Chinese Communists, and make the red gene a spiritual bond that unites people’s hearts.

增强精神凝聚力，必须赓续以伟大建党精神为源头的中国共产党人精神谱系。发展新时代中国特色社会主义文化，就要着力用中国精神凝聚社会共识、塑造社会风貌，增强文化向心力和民族认同感，涵养全民族昂扬奋发的精神气质。习近平总书记在庆祝中国共产党成立100周年大会上的重要讲话中指出：“一百年前，中国共产党的先驱们创建了中国共产党，形成了坚持真理、坚守理想，践行初心、担当使命，不怕牺牲、英勇斗争，对党忠诚、不负人民的伟大建党精神，这是中国共产党的精神之源。”以伟大建党精神为源头的中国共产党人精神谱系，蕴含着马克思主义中国化时代化的理论内核和中华优秀传统文化的精神禀赋，已经成为激励全党全国各族人民推进强国建设和民族复兴的强大精神动力。面对“十五五”时期更加复杂的环境和更加严峻的挑战，应充分发挥中国共产党人精神谱系在汇聚社会合力中的重要作用，自觉传承红色资源、赓续红色血脉，不断强化新时代中国特色社会主义文化的精神凝聚力。为此，要自觉做习近平新时代中国特色社会主义思想的坚定信仰者和忠实践行者，自觉用党的创新理论武装头脑、指导实践、推动工作；忠诚干净担当，强化历史责任，始终保有锐意进取、开拓创新的精气神和埋头苦干、真抓实干的原动力；不断增强进行伟大斗争的意志和本领，增强全党全国各族人民的志气、骨气、底气，有效应对前进道路上面临的各种风险与挑战；推动红色文化的数字化传播和具象化呈现，以数智技术强化中国共产党人精神谱系的育人效应，让红色基因成为凝聚人心的精神纽带。

To strengthen spiritual cohesion, it is necessary to strive to cultivate and practice the core socialist values. The core socialist values are a powerful force for uniting people’s hearts and pooling people’s strength. The core socialist values contained in socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for a New Era, as a cultural identity system that manifests the essential requirements of socialist ideology, not only inherit national endowments and carry forward the red gene, but also grasp the pulse of the times and highlight Chinese characteristics. They are the common ideological foundation and shared spiritual home for the people of the whole country to unite and strive together. To enable socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for a New Era to undergo a profound chemical reaction with Chinese-path modernization and to fully exert its powerful value appeal in uniting people’s hearts and pooling people’s strength, it is necessary to transform the core socialist values into common values and behavioral norms that the people use daily without conscious awareness, making them as ubiquitous and ever-present as air. We must fully leverage the role of culture in nurturing aspirations and cultivating sentiments, make the core socialist values artistic and concrete, and guide people’s ideological identification and conscious practice in ways that are close to life, visible, and tangible. We must integrate the requirements of the core socialist values into various activities for promoting cultural-ethical progress, attract broad public participation, and encourage people to enhance their spiritual realm and cultivate civilized social practices in the process of seeking happiness for their families, bringing warmth to others, and contributing to society. We must pay attention to reflecting value orientation in daily management, so that behaviors conforming to the core values are encouraged and those violating them are constrained. Through education and guidance, public opinion and propaganda, cultural edification, practical cultivation, and institutional guarantees, we must internalize the core socialist values as people’s spiritual pursuits and externalize them as their conscious actions, gathering powerful spiritual momentum to overcome difficulties and create miracles.

增强精神凝聚力，必须着力培育和践行社会主义核心价值观。社会主义核心价值观是凝聚人心、汇聚民力的强大力量。新时代中国特色社会主义文化包含的社会主义核心价值观，作为一种彰显社会主义意识形态本质要求的文化认同体系，既传承民族禀赋、赓续红色基因，又把握时代脉搏、彰显中国特色，是全国人民团结奋斗的共同思想基础和共有精神家园。为使新时代中国特色社会主义文化同中国式现代化发生深刻的化学反应，充分发挥凝聚人心、汇聚民力的强大价值感召力，要把社会主义核心价值观转化为人民群众日用而不觉的共同价值理念和行为规范，使之像空气一样无处不在、无时不有。充分发挥文化养心志、育情操的作用，将社会主义核心价值观艺术化、具象化，用贴近生活、可见可感的方式引导人们思想认同、自觉践行。把社会主义核心价值观的要求融入各种精神文明创建活动之中，吸引群众广泛参与，推动人们在为家庭谋幸福、为他人送温暖、为社会作贡献的过程中提高精神境界、培育文明风尚。注重在日常管理中体现价值导向，使符合核心价值观的行为得到鼓励、违背核心价值观的行为受到制约。通过教育引导、舆论宣传、文化熏陶、实践养成、制度保障等，使社会主义核心价值观内化为人们的精神追求，外化为人们的自觉行动，凝聚起攻坚克难、创造奇迹的强大精神动力。

To strengthen spiritual cohesion, it is necessary to elevate the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation. General Secretary Xi Jinping has pointed out that “for any culture to stand firm, go far, and have guiding power, cohesive power, shaping power, and radiating power, it must have its own subjectivity,” and that “with cultural subjectivity, there is a firm self in the cultural sense, cultural confidence has a fundamental foundation, the Communist Party of China has a powerful cultural force to lead the times, the Chinese nation and the Chinese people have a solid cultural foundation for national identity, and Chinese civilization has distinctive cultural characteristics for exchange and mutual learning with other civilizations in the world.” The cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation provides the spiritual core, identity, and development direction for developing socialist culture with Chinese characteristics for a New Era. To consolidate the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation, it is necessary to always uphold the guiding role of Marxism in the ideological domain, fully implement Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, firmly grasp the Party’s cultural leadership, adhere to the path of developing socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, and continuously strengthen mainstream values, mainstream public opinion, and mainstream culture; better shoulder the cultural mission of the New Era to promote cultural prosperity and build a culturally strong country, open up new horizons for adapting Marxism to the Chinese context and the needs of the times, continue the Chinese cultural lineage, strengthen cultural confidence, achieve spiritual independence and self-reliance, and continuously construct Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and Chinese strength; uphold a cultural stance of self-confidence, self-reliance, openness, and inclusiveness, absorb the outstanding achievements of world civilizations, innovatively implement the Marxist Theory Research and Construction Project, accelerate the construction of an independent knowledge system for Chinese philosophy and social sciences, effectively enhance the communication power and influence of Chinese civilization, profoundly reveal the ideological and cultural power of China’s path, China’s governance, and China’s principles, shape a credible, lovable, and respectable image of China, and present a more authentic, three-dimensional, and comprehensive China.

增强精神凝聚力，必须高扬中华民族文化主体性。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”，“有了文化主体性，就有了文化意义上坚定的自我，文化自信就有了根本依托，中国共产党就有了引领时代的强大文化力量，中华民族和中国人民就有了国家认同的坚实文化基础，中华文明就有了和世界其他文明交流互鉴的鲜明文化特性”。中华民族文化主体性为发展新时代中国特色社会主义文化提供了精神内核、身份认同和发展方向。巩固中华民族文化主体性，要始终坚持马克思主义在意识形态领域的指导地位，全面贯彻习近平文化思想，牢牢掌握党的文化领导权，坚持中国特色社会主义文化发展道路，不断壮大主流价值、主流舆论、主流文化；更好担负推动文化繁荣、建设文化强国的新时代文化使命，开辟马克思主义中国化时代化新境界，赓续中华文脉、坚定文化自信、实现精神上的独立自主，不断构筑中国精神、中国价值、中国力量；秉持自信自立、开放包容的文化立场，吸收世界优秀文明成果，创新实施马克思主义理论研究和建设工程，加快构建中国哲学社会科学自主知识体系，切实增强中华文明传播力影响力，深刻揭示中国之路、中国之治、中国之理的思想文化力量，塑造可信、可爱、可敬的中国形象，展示更加真实、立体、全面的中国。

(Author: Zhao Yong, Vice Chairman of the Henan Provincial Federation of Social Sciences)

（作者：赵勇，系河南省社会科学界联合会副主席）

Online Editor: Huihui

网络编辑：慧慧