Comprehensively advance the construction of a socialist rule of law culture with Chinese characteristics

　　Exploring the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics is a great historical process with difficult twists and turns. The "two combinations" are the regular understanding that the Chinese communists have drawn in this process, and the "second combination" is yet another emancipation of the mind. To inherit the excellent traditional Chinese legal culture, we must adhere to the guidance of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, deeply study and comprehend Xi Jinping Cultural Thought and Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, and consciously achieve the "two combinations".

　　Profoundly comprehend the principles, theories, and philosophies of integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific reality. Marx's whole worldview is not a doctrine, but a method. It does not provide ready-made dogmas, but rather a starting point for further research and a methodology for such research. Marxism is not a study in the study, but a study in practice, a theory that has been tested in the process of guiding practice and solving problems, and has been innovated in the process of promoting work and devoting itself to practice. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "If it were not for Chinese characteristics, how could we have such a successful path of socialism with Chinese characteristics today? "Only by integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific reality can the Communist Party of China continue to achieve theoretical and practical achievements in the Sinicization of Marxism and the modernization of the times. The history of the Communist Party of China has repeatedly proved that the "two combinations" are the fundamental way to promote the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism.

　　Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era has summarized the successful experience of the great practice of the new era, is a glorious example of the integration of the basic tenets of Marxism with China's specific reality, and is a contemporary Chinese Marxism and Marxism in the 21st century. Xi Jinping Cultural Thought is the cultural chapter of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, which is rich in connotation, profound in exposition, rigorous in logic, and complete in system, which is a theoretical summary of the practical experience of cultural construction in the new era, and a fundamental guide to the historic achievements of the mainland's propaganda, ideological and cultural undertakings. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law is the rule of law chapter of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, which profoundly answers a series of major questions such as why and how to implement comprehensive law-based governance in the new era.

　　The Communist Party of China (CPC) is a Marxist party with a high degree of cultural self-confidence. To thoroughly study and implement Xi Jinping Cultural Thought, it is necessary to uphold the Party's leadership over ideological work, adhere to the guiding position of Marxism in the ideological field, strengthen the Party's overall leadership over the inheritance of China's excellent traditional legal culture, strengthen the refutation of erroneous trends of thought, and ensure the correct political, academic and value orientation. Xi Jinping Cultural Thought is an ever-expanding and open ideological system, which has been enriched and developed with the deepening of practice. To strengthen the study, research and interpretation of Xi Jinping's cultural thought, it is necessary to work true learning, true understanding, true belief and real application, work deepening internalization and transformation, and work systematic research, academic and physical interpretation and academic expression.

　　The Communist Party of China (CPC) is a Marxist political party with a deep understanding of the rule of law in an all-round way. At the Central Work Conference on Comprehensive Law-based Governance, General Secretary Xi Jinping systematically expounded the thought of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics in the new era, and scientifically answered a series of major theoretical and practical questions on the construction of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics. Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law has rich connotations, and one of the important contents emphasized in it is to adhere to the "four-in-one", that is, to adhere to the path of socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics, the theory of the rule of law, the rule of law system, and the culture of the rule of law. This has laid a solid foundation for firmly establishing self-confidence in the socialist rule of law with Chinese characteristics.

　　To create a new situation in the publicity, ideological and cultural work in the new era, and to promote the comprehensive rule of law into a new realm, we need to deeply understand the practical guidance, theoretical innovation and practical openness of Xi Jinping Cultural Thought and Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, we need to study Xi Jinping Cultural Thought and Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law well, we need to deeply understand the truth, academic theory and philosophy contained therein, and we need to inherit the excellent traditional Chinese legal culture.

　　Deeply understand the great theoretical value and practical significance of the judgment that the "second combination" is another emancipation of the mind. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that after Marxism was introduced into China, the idea of scientific socialism was warmly welcomed by the Chinese people, and finally took root in the land of China and blossomed, which is by no means accidental, but is integrated with the excellent historical culture inherited by the mainland for thousands of years and the values that the broad masses of people use every day without realizing it. The Chinese civilization has continuity, constantly responding to challenges and creating new opportunities. Chinese civilization is innovative, upright but not old-fashioned, respectful of the ancient but not retro. The Chinese civilization is unified, and the sons and daughters of China have always firmly believed that the land is indivisible, the country cannot be chaotic, the nation cannot be dispersed, and the civilization cannot be broken. Chinese civilization is inclusive, diverse, and inclusive. Chinese civilization is peaceful, opposes isolation and isolation, and opposes the law of the jungle. The excellent traditional Chinese culture is the crystallization of the wisdom of the Chinese civilization, in which the cultural genes are infiltrated with the blood and soul of the Chinese nation, and the ideological content contained in it is that the world is for the public, the people are the foundation of the state, meritocracy, self-improvement, virtue, and faithfulness and harmony, which are compatible with Marxism.

　　The excellent traditional Chinese legal culture is an important part of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, and its origin can be traced back to the era of Gaotao, the "originator of justice". According to ancient legends, Emperor Shun was in power, and Gaotao was in charge of criminal law. "Creation of punishment" and "creation of prisons" have constructed the earliest legal system in China, that is, the "five punishments" and "five religions". During the Spring and Autumn Period and the Warring States Period, the achievements of ancient Chinese jurists, especially those of the Jin and Qin dynasties, were even more spectacular. Li Kui changed the law and made six articles of the "Book of Law"; Later, there were more Wu Qi, Shang Ying, Shen Dao, Shen Buxian, Han Fei, and Li Si, who were all masters of law who either devoted themselves to practice, changed the law and innovated, or clarified responsibilities and confirmed rights, fixed points and stopped disputes, or broke out of the shackles and put forward new theories. Therefore, it is of special significance to excavate, inherit and transform the excellent traditional Chinese legal culture.

　　After the Opium War, China gradually degenerated into a semi-colonial and semi-feudal society, and Chinese civilization faced unprecedented challenges. China began the process of learning the legal system and legal culture from the West. The Westernization Movement was its origin, and although the movements such as the Wuxu Reform Law of the Zhongjing and the Law Revision in the late Qing Dynasty were not effective, they were also a difficult process of exploration. After the founding of the People's Republic of China, we learned from the Soviet Union, and what we learned was also a foreign system and culture, a non-mainstream system and culture that fought against Western capitalism. In this process, people reflect on traditional Chinese culture. In the process of reflection, the psychology of cultural inferiority and self-abandonment emerged, and some people adopted a completely negative attitude towards traditional Chinese culture, and even shouted extreme slogans such as "total westernization", hoping to "re-evaluate all values". Reflecting on the whole process, we did learn a lot, but we also lost ourselves, and many of us became the "confused old woman" who threw the baby out of the dirty water after bathing the baby. This ideological fallacy of separating and opposing the excellent traditional Chinese culture from modernization has hindered the Chinese people's exploration of the road to modernization.

　　In the process of its formation and development, there are inevitably obsolete things in the excellent traditional Chinese culture. However, a nation that has abandoned its own history and culture is likely to stage one historical tragedy after another. Comrade Mao Zedong pointed out: "We are Marxist historians, and we should not cut off history. From Confucius to Sun Yat-sen, we should summarize and inherit this precious legacy." Comrade Deng Xiaoping stressed: "We must use history to educate young people and educate the people," and "we must understand some Chinese history, which is a spiritual driving force for China's development." For traditional Chinese culture, it is necessary to treat it differently and inherit it with praise and abandonment, so that it can gain new strength and radiate new light.

　　Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, and the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation has entered a critical period. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "The excellent traditional Chinese culture is the spiritual lifeblood of the Chinese nation, an important source for cultivating the core values of socialism, and a solid foundation for us to gain a firm foothold in the turmoil of world culture. "The 'second union' is yet another emancipation of the mind." To study and implement Xi Jinping Thought on Culture and Xi Jinping Thought on the Rule of Law, it is necessary to deeply understand the rich connotation of the "second combination" and the principles, theories and philosophies of the "second combination", so as to make full use of the precious resources of China's excellent traditional culture in a broader cultural space and in a longer-term time dimension, and promote future-oriented theoretical exploration and institutional innovation.

　　Contribute to the construction of a socialist rule of law culture with Chinese characteristics. Chinese modernization has endowed Chinese civilization with modern strength, and Chinese civilization has endowed Chinese modernization with profound foundations. We need to strive to do a good job in the "two combinations," so that Marxism can become Chinese, the excellent traditional Chinese culture can become modern, and the new culture formed through the "integration" will become a new cultural form of Chinese-style modernization. This is the premise, logic, and background for us to plan for future cultural development and build Chinese-style modernization, as well as the premise, logic, and background for us to devote ourselves to the practice of rule of law reform and build a socialist rule of law culture with Chinese characteristics.

　　As an important part of the advanced socialist culture, the socialist rule of law culture with Chinese characteristics embodies the four "unifications", that is, the unity of the will of all the people and the party's propositions, the unity of socialist ethics and morality and the spirit of socialist rule of law, the unity of socialist rule of law theory and the practice of comprehensively governing the country according to law, and the unity of rule of law publicity and education and the cultivation of rule of law behavior and habits. Guided by the core values of socialism, the socialist rule of law culture with Chinese characteristics covers the spirit of the socialist rule of law, legal awareness, concept of the rule of law, belief in the rule of law, knowledge of the rule of law, and habits of the rule of law.

　　To strengthen the establishment of a socialist rule of law culture with Chinese characteristics, it is necessary to persist in combining the rule of law with the rule of ethics, improve the legal system that carries forward the core socialist values, integrate the core socialist values into the entire process of building a country under the rule of law, a government under the rule of law, and a society under the rule of law, and into all aspects of scientific legislation, strict law enforcement, a fair judiciary, and the whole people's compliance with the law, so as to provide strong value guidance, cultural cohesion, and spiritual impetus for the comprehensive construction of a modern socialist country and the realization of the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.

　　To establish self-confidence in the socialist rule of law culture with Chinese characteristics, it is necessary to increase the force of efforts to popularize the law among the whole people, strengthen the concept of rule of law among the whole people, persist in combining the rule of law with the rule of ethics, integrate the core socialist values into the construction of the rule of law, absorb the essence of China's excellent traditional legal culture, absorb and learn from the beneficial achievements of human civilization under the rule of law, resolutely resist the influence of erroneous trends of thought and erroneous views in the West, and carry forward the spirit of socialist rule of law.

　　In short, the new era has a new mission. Devoting ourselves to Chinese modernization and dedicating ourselves to the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation is our mission in the new era. To build a new culture and complete a new mission, we must work hard and move forward bravely, consciously adhere to the "two combinations", strive to achieve greater achievements in the new era, and win greater victories in the new journey.

　　(The author is a professor and secretary of the Party Committee of Shanxi Normal University)

Source: China Social Sciences News, Issue 2891, May 12, 2024 Author: Zhang Xiaoyong