The article emphasizes that determining what kind of people to cultivate is the primary issue in education. As China is a socialist country led by the Communist Party of China, our education must regard cultivating builders and successors of socialism as its fundamental task—nurturing generation after generation of talented individuals who uphold the leadership of the Communist Party of China and our socialist system, and who are committed to devoting their entire lives to the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We must improve the institutional mechanisms for educating all members of society, throughout the entire educational process, and from all angles, continuously fostering generations of socialist builders and successors. This is both the fundamental task of educational work and the guiding goal for the modernization of education.

The article points out that we must cultivate socialist builders and successors who possess certain fundamental qualities and a positive mental attitude, and outlines the key areas of work necessary to achieve this goal. First, we must put great effort into strengthening students’ firm belief in their ideals and convictions. The individuals we nurture must embrace the lofty ideal of communism as well as the common ideal of socialism with Chinese characteristics. We need to enhance students’ confidence in the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, in its theoretical framework, in its institutional arrangements, and in its cultural heritage, and inspire them to shoulder the historic mission of national rejuvenation. Second, we must focus on fostering a deep sense of patriotism. Patriotism is the soul and heart of the Chinese nation. To cultivate socialist builders and successors, we must first nurture students’ patriotic sentiments. We should educate and guide students to love and uphold the Communist Party of China, resolve to heed the Party’s words and follow its lead, and commit themselves to taking root among the people and dedicating themselves to the country. Third, we must make concerted efforts to strengthen moral cultivation. Virtue comes first; self-cultivation is the foundation—this is the basic logic underlying the growth of talented individuals. We must consistently educate and guide students to foster and practice the core socialist values, ensuring that their moral character enriches their inner selves, their public morality cultivates kindness and compassion, and their great morality shapes their souls. They must diligently cultivate good moral qualities and become individuals endowed with great love, great virtue, and profound humanistic情怀. Fourth, we must devote ourselves to expanding knowledge and broadening horizons. Acquiring knowledge is the primary duty of students. We must educate and guide students to cherish their learning years, concentrate wholeheartedly on seeking knowledge and learning, and through study, broaden their horizons, enrich their erudition, and move steadily forward along the path of pursuing truth, understanding principles, and discerning right from wrong. Fifth, we must strive to foster a spirit of hard work and perseverance. We must educate and guide students to set high aspirations, develop a spirit of courage to take responsibility and relentless striving, adopt an optimistic and upward-looking outlook on life, and truly integrate knowledge with practice, demonstrating resilience and tireless self-improvement. Sixth, we must intensify efforts to enhance overall competence. Socialist builders and successors must undergo well-rounded development. We must educate and guide students to cultivate comprehensive abilities and foster innovative thinking. We should uphold the educational philosophy that health comes first, and ensure that physical education classes are fully offered and adequately scheduled. We must comprehensively strengthen and improve aesthetic education in schools, enhancing students’ aesthetic appreciation and humanistic literacy. Among students, we should promote the spirit of labor, educating and guiding them to value and respect work.

The article points out that we must strive to build an education system that comprehensively cultivates moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor qualities, thereby establishing a higher-level talent-development framework. We need to integrate the principle of fostering virtue and cultivating people into every aspect of ideological and moral education, cultural and knowledge education, and social practice education, and ensure that this principle permeates all areas of basic education, vocational education, and higher education. The disciplinary system, teaching system, textbook system, and management system should all be designed with this goal in mind. Teachers should teach with this goal in mind, and students should learn with this goal in mind. Any practices that are detrimental to achieving this goal must be resolutely corrected.

The article emphasizes the importance of focusing on textbook development. Textbooks are the primary medium for disseminating knowledge; they embody a nation’s and a people’s value system, and serve as crucial tools for teachers’ instruction and students’ learning. Textbooks must uphold the guiding role of Marxism, reflect the requirements of the Sinicization of Marxism, showcase the distinctive style of China and the Chinese nation, embody the fundamental educational demands of the Party and the state, reflect the core values of the nation and the ethnic group, and incorporate the accumulated knowledge and innovative achievements of human culture.