Carrying on the burden of transcending the theories of "superiority of civilization" and "conflict of civilizations", continuing the historical context and composing contemporary Huazhang. Culture | The Chinese nation | Huazhang
"Firming cultural confidence, taking on the mission, striving to create a new culture belonging to our times, and building the modern civilization of the Chinese nation" is the basic principle to promote cultural prosperity and build a cultural power, and is an important guide to comprehensively promote the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation with Chinese path to modernization.
"Civilization forms are diverse"
According to Marx's basic judgment, human society generally goes through three different historical stages, namely "the stage in which human dependence dominates", "the stage in which human independence is based on material dependence", and "the stage in which human freedom and comprehensive development". The first two stages correspond to traditional civilization and modern civilization respectively, while the third stage belongs to the civilization form of future communist society.
Modern civilization is an inevitable product of modern development. In terms of origin, modernization began in 18th century Europe and soon became a global endeavor. Italian scholar Martinelli believes that "it directly refers to European society, but it is increasingly sweeping the world at different rhythms and orders, more or less forcing itself into a unique global system.". Many European and American countries that first carried out modernization construction adopted capitalist systems, so modern civilization is often referred to as capitalist civilization, or simply Western civilization or European and American civilization.
Modern civilization is not a homogeneous form of civilization. The modern civilization that originated in Western Europe has epoch-making historical significance, presenting some important "unity" characteristics, such as industrialization, democratization, and stratification. But in Marx's view, the "historical inevitability" of this capitalist civilization was firmly limited to the countries of Western Europe. Even within Western Europe, the modern civilization of the Anglo Saxon people is different from that of the Germanic people, let alone the modern civilization of the French people.
Since the old China was in a semi colonial and semi feudal society, the primary mission of the CPC was to overthrow imperialism, feudalism and bureaucratic capitalism, carry out the new democratic revolution, and provide the institutional foundation for modernization. Mao Zedong profoundly pointed out in the Analysis of All Classes in Chinese Society that "all warlords, bureaucrats, compradors, big landlords who collude with imperialism and part of their reactionary intelligentsia are our enemies." This also means that China started its modernization process under different historical circumstances, and Chinese path to modernization is not a simple copy of Western capitalist modernization.
Chinese culture has a long and rich history, and Chinese civilization is constantly evolving. An important reason why Chinese path to modernization is unique lies in China's "10000 year cultural history" and "5000 year civilization history". If there were no Chinese civilization, where would there be any Chinese characteristics? If we don't follow our own path, how could we have such a successful path of socialism with Chinese characteristics today? The new cultural life form formed by combining the basic principles of Marxism with excellent traditional Chinese culture is the modern civilization of the Chinese nation. It is the latest development form of Chinese civilization, expands the cultural foundation of the Chinese path to modernization road, and effectively responds to "China's question" and "the world's question".
"Indicating the direction of development"
The prominent characteristics of Chinese civilization shape the uniqueness of the Chinese nation that sets it apart from other civilizations. Continuity and innovation are the spiritual characteristics of Chinese civilization's adherence to integrity and innovation. Unity and inclusiveness shape the evolution pattern of the Chinese nation's diversity and unity, while peace embodies the values of peace and harmony among the Chinese people. The outstanding characteristics accumulated from the excellent traditional Chinese culture, which integrate and connect ancient and modern times, highlight the distinct temperament of Chinese civilization and indicate the development direction of modern Chinese civilization.
The modern civilization of the Chinese nation pursues shared development and common prosperity——
Common prosperity is a fundamental goal of Marxism and a fundamental ideal of the Chinese people since ancient times. Confucius said, "Do not suffer from poverty but inequality, and do not suffer from poverty but anxiety." Mencius said, "I am the old, and I am the old; I am the young, and I am the young." The Book of Rites, Li Yun, further describes the state of a "moderately prosperous" society and a "great harmony" society. In the exploration of the "way of heaven and earth", the Chinese people have developed a worldview and historical view of "selflessly overturning the heavens, selflessly carrying the earth, and selflessly shining the sun and moon", which has been accumulated into the values and civilization of China's excellent traditional culture of "imitating nature and benefiting fairly", indicating a modern path of shared development and common prosperity.
History, reality, and the future are interconnected. History is the reality of the past, and reality is the history of the future. The outstanding characteristics of Chinese civilization are a precise portrait of Chinese civilization and a vivid reflection of the people-centered approach to socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era. For the diverse and integrated family of the Chinese nation, common prosperity not only connects the "big dream" of the Chinese nation, but also concerns the "little days" of every family and every Chinese person.
The modern civilization of the Chinese nation pursues peaceful development and universal harmony——
The excellent traditional Chinese culture embodies the worldview of "harmony among nations" and "harmony but diversity", nurtures a national integration pattern of "diversity in parallel" and "diversity in unity", forms the value concept of "establishing a destiny for the people and creating peace for the world", constructs the grand goal of "the world is for the public and the world belongs to benevolence", and demonstrates a modernization path of peaceful development and world harmony.
British scholar Russell emphasized, "The goals that China aims to pursue are not only important to China, but also to the world. China now has a spirit of rejuvenation, and if it can prevent foreign countries from committing evil, it is possible to develop a new civilization that is superior to all civilizations that have existed in the world."
The modern civilization of the Chinese nation shoulders the historical burden of surpassing the theories of "civilization superiority" and "civilization conflict", showcasing the beautiful ideals of "each beauty has its own beauty, beautiful people's beauty, beauty and harmony, and universal harmony". This is not only a great cause of national rejuvenation in the sense of China, but also reflects the national and global sentiment of all humanity.
