By studying history, we gain clarity, build confidence, cultivate virtue, and put knowledge into practice. Standing at the historical juncture of the “Two Centenaries,” we look back on our journey of struggle past and gaze forward toward the path of vigorous advancement ahead.

Tongfang Law Firm provides all its lawyers with learning opportunities in the form of micro-party classes, thereby enhancing their ideological and political awareness as well as their spirit of learning and inquiry. By establishing a long-term educational mechanism, the firm has created a new platform for self-education and self-improvement.

Only a nation with cultural confidence can stand firm, remain stable, and go far.

General Secretary Xi Jinping has issued important instructions on propaganda, ideological, and cultural work, emphasizing that we must “firmly uphold cultural confidence, embrace openness and inclusiveness, and adhere to upholding the correct principles while promoting innovation.” On this new journey in the new era, we must take Xi Jinping’s thought on culture as our guiding principle, advance cultural self-confidence and self-reliance, consolidate cultural subjectivity, and forge a new brilliance for socialist culture, thereby pooling tremendous spiritual strength for building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.

“Ultimately, it’s about firmly having cultural confidence.”

In October 2023, the National Conference on Propaganda, Ideology, and Cultural Work officially introduced Xi Jinping’s Thought on Culture, marking a new height in our Party’s understanding of the laws governing the development of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and demonstrating that our Party’s historical confidence and cultural confidence have reached a new level.

“To firmly uphold our confidence in the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics, our confidence in its theory, and our confidence in its system—ultimately, it all comes down to firmly upholding our cultural confidence. Cultural confidence is the most fundamental, deepest, and most enduring source of strength.”

Since the 18th National Congress of the Party, General Secretary Xi Jinping has attached great importance to cultural development, placing cultural confidence alongside confidence in our path, theoretical confidence, and institutional confidence as the “four confidences” of socialism with Chinese characteristics.

With firm cultural confidence, we have ample grounds and sufficient reasons.

Culture is the soul of a nation and a people. Both history and reality show that a nation that abandons or betrays its own history and culture not only cannot achieve development but is also highly likely to witness one tragic historical episode after another.

Looking back at history, Chinese civilization has endured for thousands of years without interruption, weathering countless trials and tribulations yet remaining resilient and enduring—this is a marvel of human civilization and the very foundation of our confidence.

Nourished by more than 5,000 years of cultural heritage and under the guidance and impetus of the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core, Chinese culture in the new era has blossomed into a magnificent spectacle, and the cultural confidence of all Party members, people across the country, and all ethnic groups has significantly strengthened.

Put on a “ma mian qun,” light up a bamboo desk lamp, and pick up some time-honored Chinese products... Traditional cultural elements that once seemed far removed from fashion are now emerging as a new national-style trend that’s wildly popular among young people.

Films such as “The Three-Body Problem in Chang’an” and “Battle on the Chosin Reservoir” have been deeply loved by audiences; the compilation and publication of “The Library of Rejuvenation” and “The Comprehensive Collection of Chinese Paintings Through the Ages”... all these efforts have brought vibrant life to China’s cultural heritage, naturally fostering a sense of confidence and pride among the Chinese people.

Relying on firm cultural confidence, the entire Party and all ethnic groups across the country have unleashed a more proactive spiritual strength.

From the spirit of poverty alleviation and the spirit of fighting the epidemic, to the Beidou spirit and the Silk Road spirit of the new era... Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, China’s outstanding traditional culture, revolutionary culture, and advanced socialist culture have been seamlessly integrated and brimming with vitality in the new era. The profound and time-honored Chinese civilization has demonstrated a robust capacity for self-development, responding effectively to challenges, and forging new paths ahead.

Chinese civilization surges forward, and the Chinese nation thrives endlessly. Grounded in firm cultural confidence, the Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and Chinese strength display a grand and majestic presence. The Chinese people’s ambition, integrity, and self-assurance continue to grow stronger, and the edifice of the Chinese national spirit stands tall and imposing in the new era.

“Cultural confidence stems from our cultural subjectivity.”

In June 2023, at the symposium on the inheritance and development of culture, General Secretary Xi Jinping clearly put forward the important proposition of “cultural subjectivity,” pointing out that “cultural confidence stems precisely from our cultural subjectivity.”

Cultural subjectivity is the fundamental foundation of cultural confidence. With cultural subjectivity, the Chinese nation can achieve spiritual independence and self-reliance.

The source is deep, and the stream flows long; the roots are deep, and the leaves flourish.

This subjectivity was established by the Communist Party of China, leading the Chinese people to build a new China on Chinese soil. It was forged on the basis of creatively transforming and innovatively developing China’s outstanding traditional culture, inheriting the revolutionary culture, and fostering the development of advanced socialist culture—while drawing upon and absorbing all the outstanding achievements of human civilization. Moreover, it was established through the integration of the fundamental principles of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s outstanding traditional culture.

Only by placing ourselves within the long river of time and deeply appreciating the spirit of independence and self-reliance—the very soul of the Chinese nation—can we truly grasp the origins of cultural subjectivity.

The millennium-old academy, Yuelu Academy. The plaque reading “Seek Truth from Facts,” prominently displayed above the academy’s lecture hall, bears witness to the enduring brilliance of China’s outstanding traditional culture—a light that has illuminated both past and present.

In September 2020, during his inspection here, General Secretary Xi Jinping gazed at this plaque for a long time, lost in thought: “How could the Communist Party possibly succeed? Back then, it started in Shikumen, on a single boat on Nanhu Lake, with just a dozen or so people—and look where it has come to today! We must get to the bottom of the path that led us here, and we must truly localize the truth.”

At the most critical moment in modern China, the Chinese Communists, drawing on their own historical traditions and cultural heritage and starting from China’s basic national conditions, independently and autonomously explored a path that suited their own needs. This path awakened a long-dormant nation and revitalized a great civilization that had once been overshadowed by obscurity.

Entering a new era, General Secretary Xi Jinping creatively put forward the important proposition of “the two combinations,” insisting on integrating the basic tenets of Marxism with China’s specific realities and with China’s outstanding traditional culture. This has given rise to the contemporary essence of Chinese culture and the Chinese spirit, marking a new leap in the sinicization and modernization of Marxism.

We firmly oppose transplanting a “suddenly arrived peak” into our political system, emphasizing that “only the wearer knows whether the shoes fit or not,” and warning emphatically against “imitating the gait of Handan—thus losing one’s original way of walking.” We profoundly pointed out that “there is neither a single, universally applicable model of modernization in the world, nor a one-size-fits-all standard for modernization”; and that “the modernization we are pursuing not only shares common features with modernization efforts in other countries, but also possesses distinctive Chinese characteristics rooted in our national conditions…”

The establishment of Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era is precisely the most powerful manifestation of cultural subjectivity.

With cultural subjectivity, we gain a firm sense of self in cultural terms; cultural confidence thus finds its fundamental foundation. The Communist Party of China acquires a powerful cultural force to lead the times. The Chinese nation and the Chinese people obtain a solid cultural basis for national identity. And Chinese civilization acquires distinct cultural characteristics that enable it to engage in mutual learning and exchange with other civilizations around the world.

“We must integrate cultural confidence into the spiritual ethos and cultural character of the entire nation.”

“Actively cultivate a financial culture with Chinese characteristics.” Recently, at the opening ceremony of the special seminar for leading officials at the provincial and ministerial levels on promoting high-quality financial development, General Secretary Xi Jinping put forward this important proposition. This will further strengthen the foundation of cultural confidence and help bring new vitality to China’s fine traditional cultural values such as “honesty and trustworthiness” and “pursuing profit through righteousness,” enabling them to shine anew in the contemporary era.

Upholding cultural confidence means sticking to our own path.

Traversing the mists and clouds of history, Chinese civilization has endured thousands of years of trials and tribulations, continuing unbroken to this day, ever vibrant and constantly renewed. General Secretary Xi Jinping profoundly pointed out: “Chinese civilization boasts an outstanding continuity, which fundamentally determines that the Chinese nation is bound to follow its own path.”

Taking our own path is the fundamental starting point of the Party’s entire theory and practice—and also the historical conclusion drawn from the Party’s century-long struggle.

On Lianhua Mountain in Shenzhen, towering and lush banyan trees stand tall against the wind, witnessing the vibrant panorama of reform and opening-up in the new era.

General Secretary Xi Jinping said, “Of course, we must uphold the banner of reform. However, our reform is one that continuously moves forward along the path of socialism with Chinese characteristics—neither retracing the old, closed and rigid path nor taking the wrong path of changing banners while retaining the same essence.”

It is precisely by sticking to our own path that reform and opening-up has become the key move determining the future and destiny of contemporary China, enabling China to make giant strides and catch up with the times.

It is precisely by sticking to its own path and firmly anchoring national and ethnic development on its own strengths that China has firmly grasped the destiny of its development and progress in its own hands.

To firmly uphold cultural confidence is to achieve spiritual independence and self-reliance.

A person cannot stand tall without spirit, and a nation cannot become strong without spirit. Without its own spiritual independence, the independence of politics, ideology, culture, and institutions will be undermined at the root.

On June 30, 2023, the Political Bureau of the CPC Central Committee held its sixth collective study session on opening up new horizons for the sinicization and modernization of Marxism. General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered a heartfelt address:

The very proposition of the Sinicization and modernization of Marxism dictates that we must never abandon Marxism—the soul and lifeline—and we must never abandon the fine traditional Chinese culture—the root and foundation. Upholding this soul and this root firmly is the foundation and prerequisite for theoretical innovation.

In the new era, Chinese Communists have opened up a new realm by integrating the fundamental principles of Marxism with China’s outstanding traditional culture, thereby strengthening cultural subjectivity.

General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the primary task in firmly upholding cultural confidence is to ground ourselves in the great historical and contemporary practices of the Chinese nation, to summarize Chinese experience using Chinese principles, and to elevate this Chinese experience into a Chinese theory. We must neither blindly follow various dogmas nor simply copy foreign theories, thereby achieving spiritual independence and self-reliance.

To firmly uphold cultural confidence is to view the world with an equal perspective.

Brand events such as “Perceive China,” “Happy Spring Festival,” and “Spring Across the Four Seas” are making their way around the world, sparking a surge of fascination with Chinese culture. The Beijing Winter Olympics, the Hangzhou Asian Games, and the Chengdu Universiade have dazzled audiences far and wide, showcasing the graceful magnanimity of Chinese culture—its ability to embrace diverse influences and inclusively welcome people from all corners of the globe. Through a series of home-field diplomatic initiatives—including the Forum on China-Africa Cooperation, the Shanghai International Import Expo, and the Conference on Dialogue of Asian Civilizations—China is telling its story and sharing its experiences with the world. With an open and inclusive spirit, China is presenting itself to the world in all its splendor.

As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out at the symposium on the inheritance and development of culture: “We must integrate cultural confidence into the spiritual ethos and cultural character of the entire nation, fostering a vigorous and uplifting demeanor as well as a rational and peaceful mindset.”

The people have faith, the nation has hope, and the country has strength.

Continuously strengthening the foundation of cultural confidence and steadily consolidating cultural subjectivity, hundreds of millions of Chinese sons and daughters are confidently self-reliant and brimming with ambition, striding forward with high spirits on the great journey of building a strong country and achieving national rejuvenation.