General Secretary Xi Jinping stressed at the symposium on cultural inheritance and development: "If we do not understand China from the long-standing historical continuity, it is impossible to understand ancient China, nor modern China, let alone future China." "Outstanding continuity is the distinctive characteristic of Chinese civilization, and it is also the genetic code for the preservation, development and prosperity of Chinese civilization. At the new historical starting point, only by deeply questioning how the continuity of Chinese civilization is possible can we clearly understand how the modern civilization of the Chinese nation can be built.
The successive development of ancient and modern times is the key to the continuity of Chinese civilization
"He who wants to flow far will drown his fountains." Chinese civilization has been successive in ancient and modern times, and has endured for thousands of years, which is a miracle of human civilization and the confidence of our self-confidence. The research results of the Chinese Civilization Exploration Project and the "Archaeological China" Major Project have proved to the world that the Chinese nation has a history of millions of years of human history, 10,000 years of cultural history, and more than 5,000 years of civilization history, and has created a unique, broad and profound material, institutional, and spiritual civilization. Among them, agricultural and handicraft technology, the four major inventions, the education of etiquette and music, poetry and songs, the subset of classics and history, and the legal system have made great contributions to the progress of human civilization.
When General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected the Zhuxi Garden in Wuyi Mountain, Fujian, he sighed: "If there is no Chinese civilization of 5,000 years, where are there any Chinese characteristics? If it is not for Chinese characteristics, how can we have such a successful road of socialism with Chinese characteristics today?" To build the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, we must follow our own road, and this road is the road of socialist cultural development with Chinese characteristics. Only by insisting on moving from history to the future and forging ahead from the continuation of the national cultural bloodline can we undertake the new cultural mission of the new era. On the one hand, it is necessary to strengthen cultural self-confidence. Cultural self-confidence is a more basic, broader, and deeper self-confidence, and a more basic, deeper, and more enduring strength. The primary task of cultural self-confidence is to base ourselves on the great historical and contemporary practice of the Chinese nation, adhere to the position of Chinese culture, summarize China's experience with Chinese principles, and upgrade China's experience to Chinese theory, constantly promote the creative transformation and innovative development of China's excellent traditional culture, and promote the continuous prosperity of Chinese culture and the enduring renewal of Chinese civilization. On this basis, cultural self-confidence should be integrated into the spiritual temperament and cultural character of the Chinese nation, and a high-spirited style and rational and peaceful mentality should be shaped. On the other hand, we must adhere to integrity and innovation. Integrity and innovation are inherited from the excellent traditional culture of the Chinese nation to abide by the right path and reform the old and bring forth the new, and it is intertwined with the distinctive spiritual character of emancipating the mind, seeking truth from facts, advancing with the times, and seeking truth and pragmatism adhered to by the Communist Party of China, which embodies the dialectical unity of inheritance and development. To uphold integrity is to uphold the fundamental system of Marxism's guiding position in the ideological field, the fundamental requirement of the "two combinations," the cultural leadership of the Communist Party of China, and the cultural subjectivity of the Chinese nation. Innovation is to make dialectical trade-offs, bring forth the new, constantly innovate new ideas, new discourses, and new mechanisms under the guidance of Marxism, so as to truly realize the organic connection, organic combination, and organic integration of tradition and modernity.
The pattern of pluralism and integration is the structural guarantee for the continuity of Chinese civilization
"Six contract winds, Kyushu coherence". Engels noted: "The state is the generalization of civilized society. "The pluralistic and integrated pattern of the Chinese nation determines that the mainland is a unified multi-ethnic unitary country, which ensures the internal harmony of Chinese civilization and its transmission from generation to generation. A history of China is a history of the integration of various ethnic groups into a pluralistic and integrated Chinese nation, and a history of all ethnic groups jointly creating, developing, and consolidating a unified great motherland. In the development of ancient civilizations in the world, only the Chinese civilization has been growing endlessly and continuously, and has developed in the form of a state to this day, and the fundamental reason for this lies in the idea of great unification and the cohesive institutional construction of centralized power. Among them, the unified state form and structure have shaped the pattern of Chinese civilization in pluralism and integration, effectively promoted the integration and symbiosis of various ethnic cultures in China, and enhanced the cohesion and sense of identity of the Chinese nation; the centralized system has maintained national unity and social stability, effectively guaranteed the continuous rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through countless difficulties and dangers, and ensured the continuous development of Chinese civilization. The pursuit of unity of the Chinese civilization of "inward cohesion" has been condensed into the common belief that the territory is indivisible, the country cannot be chaotic, the nation cannot be dispersed, and the civilization is indisjunctible, which determines that national reunification will always be the core of China's core interests, and that a strong and unified country is the foundation and destiny of the people of all ethnic groups in China.
After thousands of years of development, the Chinese nation has formed a pluralistic and integrated national entity that is inseparable and linked by blood, that is, the community of the Chinese nation. The sense of community of the Chinese nation is the foundation of national unity, the foundation of national unity, and the soul of spiritual strength. To build the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, we must vigorously promote the building of the community of the Chinese nation with the sense of community of the Chinese nation as the main line. First, it is necessary to profoundly grasp the historical foundation of the "four commons." Our vast territory is jointly opened up by all ethnic groups, the long history is written by all ethnic groups, the splendid culture is jointly created by all ethnic groups, and the great spirit is cultivated by all ethnic groups. Second, fully comprehend the core concept of "four together". The concept of a community of solidarity, weal and woe, life and death, and destiny embodies the common value pursuit of interdependence in interests, emotional closeness, spiritual mutual support, and cultural compatibility among all ethnic groups in China, which is the ideological basis for the survival of the sense of community of the Chinese nation and provides value support for national unity and ethnic unity. Third, conscientiously implement the requirements of the times of the "five identities". It is necessary to promote all ethnic groups to establish a correct view of the country, history, nationality, culture, and religion, enhance the awareness of the country, citizenship, and the rule of law, and firmly identify with the great motherland, the Chinese nation, Chinese culture, the Communist Party of China, and socialism with Chinese characteristics.
Exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations are an important driving force for the continuity of Chinese civilization
"The sea is inclusive, and tolerance is great. "The Chinese civilization is not only a civilization born on the land of China, but also a civilization formed through continuous exchanges and mutual learning with other civilizations. Exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations are an important driving force for the continuous development of Chinese civilization for thousands of years, as well as an important driving force for the progress of human civilization and world peace and development. In ancient times, Zhang Qian sent an envoy to the Western Regions, Xuanzang traveled westward, Jianzhen crossed to the east, and Zheng He went to the West seven times, and now there are the joint construction of the "Belt and Road" initiative, the Global Development Initiative, the Global Security Initiative, and the Global Civilization Initiative.
In 2013, the concept of building a community with a shared future for mankind came into being. Building a community with a shared future for mankind is inevitable for the development of civilization and a requirement for the progress of the times. To build the modern civilization of the Chinese nation, we must build a community with a shared future for mankind on the premise of respecting the diversity of world civilizations, and transcend the estrangement of civilizations through exchanges among civilizations, the clash of civilizations through mutual learning among civilizations, and the coexistence of civilizations beyond the superiority of civilizations. The first is to advocate communication and integration. It is necessary to carry out more extensive cultural exchanges with other countries, understand the history and culture of different nations in the world, take the best from them and eliminate the dross, take the initiative to learn from Xi learn from all the outstanding achievements of civilization created by mankind, and jointly create more and better achievements of human civilization, so as to show the world the open-mindedness and broad-mindedness of the Chinese nation. The second is to advocate symbiosis and progress. Only by jointly promoting the common values of peace, development, fairness, justice, democracy and freedom for all mankind, learning from each other's strengths and making common progress, can we promote the creative transformation and innovative development of the excellent traditional cultures of all countries in the process of modernization. The third is to advocate the United States and the United States. Only by actively being a builder of world peace, a contributor to global development, and a defender of the international order, can we not only make our own civilization full of vitality, but also create conditions for the development of other countries' civilizations, and make the gardens of world civilizations flourish.
Scholars can't do without Hongyi, and there is a long way to go. Creating a new history is the best inheritance of history, and creating a new form of human civilization is the greatest tribute to human civilization. Standing at a new historical starting point, only by upholding the continuity of Chinese civilization and adhering to the succession of the past and the present, the integration of diversity and the integration of China and foreign countries, can we create a new situation in the development of Chinese civilization, write a new chapter in the construction of modern civilization, and let the great Chinese nation stand tall among the nations of the world with a more high-spirited attitude.
(Author: Ye Benqian, Professor and Doctoral Supervisor of the School of Marxism, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China, Special Researcher of the Sichuan Provincial Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics; Wang Sijie, Graduate Student of the School of Marxism, University of Electronic Science and Technology of China)
[This article is the phased achievement of the major project of Sichuan Provincial Philosophy and Social Science Planning of "Research on the Logical and Rational Path of the Mission and Task of the Communist Party of China in the New Era and New Journey" (SC22ZDYC28) of the major project of Sichuan Provincial Philosophy and Social Science Planning of "Research on the Spirit of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China"]
(Author: Ye Benqian, Wang Sijie)