Throughout the ages, rising powers’ magnificent traditional cultures have not only been respected and eulogized domestically but have also enjoyed great appeal and influence internationally. 

Leaders of all great countries regard the preservation and promotion of their respective countries’ magnificent traditional cultures as one of the important tasks of governing the country because otherwise, it would be impossible to establish national consciousness, promote national unity, enhance national self-confidence, prevent foreign ideas from eroding their culture, formulate policies that are in line with national conditions and supported by the people, and strengthen their countries’ discourse power and soft power in the world. In this regard, rising China is certainly no exception.

President Xi Jinping has, repeatedly, explicated comprehensively the importance of magnificent traditional Chinese culture to the nation. He has also entrenched the essence of magnificent traditional Chinese culture in China’s domestic- and foreign-affairs strategies. Carrying forward China’s magnificent traditional culture has also become one of the core parts of Xi Jinping Thought on Culture. 

On Oct 8, at a national meeting on the work of public communication and culture, President Xi gave important instructions in this regard, emphasizing the need to “focus on continuing the Chinese cultural heritage and promote the creative transformation and innovative development of China’s magnificent traditional culture”, and “protect and carry forward China’s magnificent traditional culture”.

Earlier, on June 2, President Xi delivered a speech at a symposium on cultural inheritance and development, stating that “only by comprehensively and deeply understanding the history of Chinese civilization can we effectively promote the innovative development of China’s magnificent traditional culture and the construction of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics, and build the modern civilization of the Chinese nation”.

There is no doubt that in the journey of promoting the construction of socialism with Chinese characteristics and realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation through Chinese-style modernization, carrying forward China’s magnificent traditional culture is of great strategic significance.

First, it is closely related to the Sinicization of Marxism. In his report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC), General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed opening a new phase of Sinicization of Marxism in the current times and pointed out that “upholding and developing Marxism must be combined with China’s magnificent traditional culture. Only by being rooted in the fertile soil of the history and culture of our country and our nation could the tree of Marxist truth have deep roots and flourish”. The CPC has always emphasized the “first combination” of combining Marxism with China’s reality. 

President Xi underscored the importance of the “second combination” in his speech on June 2. “We have always emphasized the integration of the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities, and now we have proposed the ‘second combination’. I have said that without the 5,000 years of Chinese civilization, where are the Chinese characteristics? If it is not Chinese characteristics, how can we have such a successful road of socialism with Chinese characteristics today?” “The ‘second combination’ makes Marxism Chinese, China’s magnificent traditional culture become modern, and the new culture formed through the ‘(second) combination’ become the cultural form of Chinese-style modernization.” “The road of socialism with Chinese characteristics is developed under the guidance of Marxism and emerges from the history of Chinese civilization of more than 5,000 years. 

“The ‘second combination’ gives the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics a grand and far-reaching historical depth and has expanded the cultural foundation of the road of socialism with Chinese characteristics.” In other words, the “second combination” is the inevitable and necessary development of the Sinicization of Marxism. Carrying forward China’s magnificent traditional culture also allows Marxism to have more ideological vitality and practical effect in China.

Second, carrying forward China’s magnificent traditional culture is a prerequisite for promoting Chinese-style modernization, which is a unique modernization path that takes place in China and is pioneered by China. 

It has distinctive Chinese characteristics, and these characteristics are related to China’s long history and culture. General Secretary Xi stated in his report to the 20th National Congress of the CPC: “Chinese-style modernization is socialist modernization led by the CPC. It has the common characteristics of the modernization of all countries and has Chinese characteristics grounded in its national conditions.” 

He also pointed out in his speech on June 2 that the Chinese civilization has outstanding continuity. “The continuity of Chinese civilization fundamentally determines that the Chinese nation must follow its own path. If we don’t understand China from its long-standing historical continuity, it is impossible to understand ancient China, it is impossible to understand modern China, and it is impossible to understand future China.”

Third, cultural confidence must be based on confidence in China’s magnificent traditional culture. In Xi Jinping Thought on Culture, cultural self-confidence is the self-confidence in the advanced nature of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. Adhering to cultural self-confidence is to inspire the Party and the people to have pride in China’s magnificent traditional culture, and to form a consensus on and identification with the socialist core values in the whole society; and the socialist core values have many similarities with China’s magnificent traditional culture. 

The National Conference on Propaganda, Ideology and Cultural Work pointed out that Xi Jinping Thought on Culture “testifies that our Party’s understanding of the laws of socialist cultural construction with Chinese characteristics has reached a new height and that our Party’s historical confidence and cultural confidence have reached a new height”.

Fourth, the concept of “a global community with a shared future” was reared by China’s magnificent traditional culture. Last month, the State Council Information Office released a white paper titled “A Global Community of Shared Future: China’s Proposals and Actions”, emphasizing that the concept of a global community with a shared future is rooted in China’s profound historical and cultural heritage and carries forward China’s magnificent traditional culture. 

“Chinese magnificent traditional culture is the crystallization and essence of the wisdom of Chinese civilization. It provides useful enlightenment for people to understand and transform the world, contains important revelations for solving the problems faced by contemporary mankind, and contains rich genes of a global community with a shared future.” The white paper further emphasizes that the concept of “a global community with a shared future” is in harmony with the concepts of “harmony” and “harmony within diversity” in traditional Chinese culture, the Chinese nation’s belief in “all nations together are one community”, the Chinese nation’s values of “universal benevolence, virtue and love”, the Chinese nation’s values of “establishing oneself and helping others to establish themselves”, and the Chinese nation’s belief in the harmony between humanity and nature. Promoting the initiative of “a global community of a shared future” is also a promotion of China’s magnificent traditional culture in a modern sense.

Fifth, carrying forward China’s magnificent traditional culture also has important connotations for patriotic education. Article 2 of the Patriotic Education Law of the People’s Republic of China (Draft) stipulates that “the national spirit must be inherited”; and Article 6 stipulates that one of the main contents of patriotic education is “China’s magnificent traditional culture”. 

Promoting China’s magnificent traditional culture is critical to “cultivating and enhancing emotions for the Chinese nation and the great motherland, inheriting the national spirit, strengthening national consciousness, strengthening and uniting all patriotic forces, and making patriotism become the firm belief, spiritual strength and conscious action of all people”.

Finally, promoting China’s magnificent traditional culture will help boost China’s global ideological and cultural appeal and influence. General Secretary Xi proposed at the 20th National Congress of the CPC to enhance the dissemination and influence of Chinese civilization, underlining the need to “adhere to the position of Chinese culture, refine and display the spiritual symbols and cultural essence of Chinese civilization, and accelerate the construction of China’s discourse power and China’s narrative system”. 

In his Oct 8 speech, he called for “strengthening the construction of international communication capabilities (of China)”, “continuously improving the country’s cultural soft power and the influence of Chinese culture”, and “strengthening and improving external publicity work to enhance the influence and communicative power of the Chinese civilization”.

Xi Jinping Thought on Culture is also of great strategic significance to Hong Kong, especially in promoting patriotic education. Article 22 of the Patriotism Education Law (Draft) stipulates: “The State takes measures to carry out historical, cultural education and national conditions education to enhance the identification of the compatriots in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region ... with the country and China’s magnificent traditional culture.” 

Strengthening the promotion of China’s magnificent traditional culture in Hong Kong’s schools and society must be the common and priority mission of the HKSAR government and all sectors of society.

Even though Hong Kong was under British rule for more than one and a half centuries, thanks to the efforts of many academics, cultural and art circles, and other thoughtful and enthusiastic people, Chinese traditional culture in Hong Kong has not only been preserved but also developed, making the city a capital of cultural exchanges between China and the West. 

Therefore, Hong Kong already has the advantages to promote China’s magnificent traditional culture and can also use them to help the country promote China’s magnificent traditional culture around the world, especially in promoting the modernization of China’s magnificent traditional culture and making it easier for overseas people to understand and appreciate Chinese culture. This is certainly one of the unique contributions that Hong Kong can make under “one country, two systems” to advance the country’s discourse power in the international arena.

The author is a professor emeritus of sociology, the Chinese University of Hong Kong, and a consultant of the Chinese Association of Hong Kong and Macao Studies.

The views do not necessarily reflect those of China Daily.