Huxiang culture vividly demonstrates the outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization

Zhu Shanying

Huxiang culture is an important part of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and its unique value system, cultural connotation and spiritual characteristics embody the outstanding continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness and peace of Chinese civilization, representing the Chinese's cosmology, worldview, social outlook and moral outlook, and is an important cultural treasure house, historical context and genetic bloodline of the Chinese nation.

The long history of Huxiang culture shows the outstanding continuity of Chinese civilization from one aspect. Like the Central Plains culture, Qilu culture, Wuyue culture, etc., Huxiang culture is a regional culture born and developed in the land of China. Huxiang culture has a long history, pluralistic integration, after the pre-Qin period of Chu culture, the Chu and Han civilizations, the influence of Qu Jia, the baptism of the Song and Ming Dynasty Central Plains culture, etc., with Zhou Dunyi's science, through the continuous evolution, absorption, integration, convergence of the historical process. Especially in modern times, in the face of the humiliation of the country, the suffering of the people, and the dust of civilization, Huxiang culture has been combined with the salvation of the nation and the wave of the Chinese revolution, participating in, witnessing and influencing the historical process of Chinese civilization, and has had a decisive impact on the transformation of modern society. From integration to synchronization, from mainstream to trend-leading, Huxiang culture has not only had a decisive impact on Chinese culture, but also strongly proved the long history and continuous inheritance of Chinese civilization.

The unique innovation and creation of Huxiang culture shows the outstanding innovation of Chinese civilization from one aspect. "Dare to be the first" is an important characteristic of Huxiang culture. In "New Hunan", Yang Yulin, a revolutionary aspirant, called this pioneering spirit of "daring to be the first in the world" the "independent roots" of Hunan people. In the long history of thousands of years, Huxiang culture has cultivated the enterprising spirit of keeping the right and not the old, respecting the ancient and not retro, and has left a mark of creation and progress at the source of civilization of the Chinese nation. For example, there are the world's earliest cultivated rice specimens and the earliest pottery products unearthed in Daoxian Yuchanyan site, known as "China's earliest city" in Lixian Chengtoushan site, Lixian County Jiqicheng site showing the process of prehistoric civilization in the middle reaches of the Yangtze River, the world cultural heritage Yongshun Laosicheng site, the world's only women-only text Jiang Yongnushu, and the Mawangdui Han Tomb where many archaeological relics have been unearthed, creating one civilization peak after another. Huxiang culture shows the outstanding characteristics of the Chinese nation from different aspects: the courage to innovate, keep pace with the times, and unremitting pursuit.

The strong feelings of family and country in Huxiang culture show the outstanding unity of Chinese civilization from one aspect. On the afternoon of March 18, General Secretary Xi Jinping said with emotion during his inspection of Hunan First Normal University that in the era of poverty and weakness in our country, a group of patriots at that time felt that China needed education if it was to be strong. The purpose of the school is not only to improve the cultural quality of students, but also to guide students to aspire to serve the country. There is a fine tradition of patriotism in Huxiang culture. The concept of unification, which worries about the world and pursues unification, has flowed in the blood of the sons and daughters of Huxiang since ancient times, and is the core and soul of Huxiang culture. During the period of the New Democratic Revolution, a large number of proletarian revolutionaries in Hunan raised the patriotic tradition of "worrying about the world" to a new height. Huxiang culture, which occupies the "land of four stops" and "has the world in mind", saves the country and the people, and sacrifices the spirit of self-sacrifice has had a profound impact on enhancing the overall identity of the Chinese nation.

The consistent openness and inclusiveness of Huxiang culture shows the outstanding inclusiveness of Chinese civilization from one aspist. The spirit of inclusiveness, openness and inclusiveness, and learning from others' strengths is the source of vitality and spiritual characteristics of Huxiang culture. Wei Yuan is known as the first person in modern China to open his eyes to the world, and he proposed that "mastering the skills of the master to control the world", looking at the world with an open mind and absorbing foreign culture with an enlightened attitude. Mao Zedong even combined Marxism with Huxiang culture, used Marxist standpoints, viewpoints and methods to critically inherit and creatively transform Huxiang traditional culture, transformed and transformed some important contents of Huxiang traditional culture into important ideological contents of Marxism in China, and created a new realm of Huxiang culture. Based on the new era, Huxiang culture draws nourishment in the historical process of realizing the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, keeps pace with the times in the fiery practice of focusing on Hunan's reform and development, and constantly radiates new vitality and vitality, and also vividly demonstrates the open and inclusive Chinese civilization from one aspect.

The firm self-confidence and self-improvement of Huxiang culture have demonstrated the outstanding peacefulness of Chinese civilization from one aspect. On the one hand, as a branch of traditional Confucian culture, Huxiang culture is the traditional Confucian idea of "the unity of heaven and man", which contains a rich spirit of harmony. Whether it is in terms of historical inheritance, philosophical thinking, or the style of learning that has been applied to the world, it reflects the harmonious core of Huxiang culture following traditional culture. On the other hand, the humanistic spirit of Huxiang culture of "applying it to the world and practicing it" also contains the revolutionary spirit of daring to break with the old and establish the new. When General Secretary Xi Jinping inspected Hunan, he mentioned that Hunan is a red hot land, and a large number of communists have composed heroic songs that move the heavens and the earth in this hot land. Huxiang culture has provided rich spiritual nourishment for the struggle during the period of the New Democratic Revolution, and the harmonious culture and the revolutionary culture share the same traditional cultural substrate and ideological heritage of Huxiang.

As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out during his inspection of Hunan, the long history and culture, the heavy revolutionary culture, and the active modern culture are the rich resources and solid foundation for Hunan to enhance its cultural soft power. On the new journey, we must keep in mind the entrustment, be grateful and forge ahead, inherit and develop Huxiang culture, better undertake new cultural missions, and show new achievements in the construction of modern civilization of the Chinese nation.

[The author is a special researcher at Hunan University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Hunan Provincial Research Center for the Theoretical System of Socialism with Chinese Characteristics.] This article is the interim result of the 2023 Hunan Social Science Fund Key Commissioned Project "Research on Promoting the Development of Cultural Inheritance" (23WTB08)]

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