Let's talk about the innovation of Chinese civilization in this way
The Chinese nation has always advocated innovation, constantly creating material civilization, spiritual civilization, and political civilization with an innovative spirit, demonstrating magnificent achievements in civilization
The innovation of Chinese civilization lies in proactive transformation and innovation, dialectical adherence to integrity and innovation, and open integration and innovation. It upholds the enterprising spirit of upholding integrity but not conservatism, respecting the past but not restoring it, and has strong vitality
On the new journey, China is developing and advancing together with more civilizations through exchanges and mutual learning, constantly achieving new breakthroughs in theory and practice, and constantly enriching and developing new forms of human civilization
Chinese culture has a long and rich history, and Chinese civilization is vast and profound. The Chinese nation has a human history of millions of years, a cultural history of ten thousand years, and a civilization history of over five thousand years. It is the only great civilization in the world that has continuously developed in the form of a nation to this day. In the long river of time, Chinese civilization has shown eternal vitality, intertwined with deep still waters and magnificent waves, surging endlessly. This is due to the fact that the Chinese nation has always been supported by innovation, constantly innovating and innovating.
Innovation is concentrated in the crystallization of the wisdom of the Chinese nation
The Chinese nation has always advocated innovation, constantly creating material civilization, spiritual civilization, and political civilization with the spirit of innovation. For a long period of history, it has stood tall as the most prosperous and powerful civilization, demonstrating magnificent achievements in civilization.
From the perspective of material civilization achievements, the Chinese nation has always focused on accumulating material civilization through innovation. As early as the Neolithic Age, Chinese ancestors began cultivating millet and millet, researching the production of pottery for storing and steaming food. During the Warring States period, the large percussion instrument - Zeng Houyi Bianzhong, was hailed as a "rare treasure". During the Liangzhu Culture period, superb jade carving techniques amazed the world. During the Shang and Zhou dynasties, Chinese ancestors borrowed the method of copper casting and invented the Fan casting method for casting iron, laying the foundation for the widespread application of iron. The technology of stir frying and pouring steel, which emerged during the Han Dynasty, was at the forefront of the world for a considerable period of time. The papermaking technology of the Han Dynasty, as well as the woodblock printing technology of the Tang Dynasty, the mud movable type technology of the Song Dynasty, the wood movable type technology of the Yuan Dynasty, and the metal movable type technology of the Ming Dynasty, greatly promoted the dissemination of knowledge.
The "Zhou Bi Suan Jing" of the Han Dynasty indicates that the Chinese people had already mastered the basic principle of the Pythagorean theorem during the Western Zhou Dynasty. The "Nine Chapters of Arithmetic" first mentioned the rules of fractions, negatives, and addition and subtraction operations. The Yuan Dynasty mathematician Zu Chongzhi accurately calculated pi to the seventh decimal place... In the process of more than 5000 years of civilization development, the Chinese people have always worked hard, innovated, and created. In astronomy, mathematics, medicine, agriculture Silk weaving and other fields have achieved fruitful results, contributing countless technological innovations to the world and having a profound impact on the progress of world civilization.
From the perspective of spiritual civilization, the Chinese nation has always focused on enhancing spiritual civilization through innovation. In Chinese history, various dynasties have attached great importance to spiritual construction, continuously consolidating excellent cultural achievements, and forming a unique system of traditional Chinese philosophical thought.
During the Spring and Autumn period and the Warring States period, a hundred schools of thought were in dispute, and various schools of thought were stirred and collided, giving rise to Confucian culture, Mohist culture, Taoist culture, and Legalist culture. Among them, Confucianism, with "benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trustworthiness" as its core, has been continuously developed and disseminated, providing important ideological resources for the Enlightenment movement in Europe.
During the Han Dynasty, Confucian scholars represented by Dong Zhongshu incorporated the theories of Yin Yang and Five Elements on the basis of Confucianism. During the Wei and Jin dynasties, Confucianism merged with Taoism, giving rise to metaphysics. In the Song Dynasty, Buddhism, Confucianism, and Taoism merged. Confucian scholars such as Zhou Dunyi and Zhang Zai elaborated on the principles of righteousness, and Neo Confucianism and Neo Confucianism became special forms of the development of Confucian philosophy. From the Yuan Dynasty to the end of the Qing Dynasty, Neo Confucianism, represented by Neo Confucianism and Neo Confucianism, was the mainstream academic ideology that influenced the lives of generations of Chinese people. In the development process of over 3000 years of traditional Chinese philosophy, various schools of thought such as Confucianism, Buddhism, Taoism, Mohism, Ming, Law, Yin Yang, Agriculture, Miscellaneous, and Military have merged and influenced the behavior of the Chinese people, forming many daily but unconscious values.
For example, the criteria for judging the right and wrong of "filial piety, loyalty, trustworthiness, propriety, righteousness, integrity, and shame"; The political wisdom of "the people are the foundation of the country, the foundation is solid, and the country is peaceful"; The spiritual pursuit of "self-improvement and carrying things with virtue"; The patriotic sentiment of "the rise and fall of the world, the responsibility of every individual"; The thinking method of "adhering to the principle of using both sides while maintaining harmony"; The way of communication that emphasizes honesty, harmony, and kindness towards neighbors... These achievements in spiritual civilization have always shone brightly in the history of world spiritual civilization, demonstrating the cultural literacy of ancient Chinese ancestors and playing a positive role in today's spiritual civilization construction.
From the perspective of institutional civilization, the Chinese nation has always emphasized the development of institutional civilization through innovation. At the level of national system, the Xia Dynasty, as the first country recorded in Chinese history, established the transfer of power according to the hereditary system. After the Western Zhou Dynasty conquered the Shang Dynasty, the implementation of the enfeoffment system opened up an exploration of the relationship model between the central and local governments. The Qin Dynasty established a centralized and unified multi-ethnic country, laying the basic framework for the later development of the national system. In terms of national administrative system, the Qin Dynasty established the system of three dukes and nine ministers, the Sui and Tang Dynasties evolved into the system of three provinces and six ministries, and the Ming Dynasty abolished the prime minister system. These continuous explorations of national governance reflect the governance wisdom of ancient Chinese ancestors.
In terms of personnel selection and appointment, there were hereditary system, military merit system, imperial examination system, ninth grade official system, and imperial examination system. The ancient system of personnel selection and appointment gradually improved, with widespread mobility among social classes and increased opportunities for the public to participate in national governance.
In addition, the supervisory system that matches the administrative system, the civil service system and grade system closely related to personnel selection and appointment, etc., were at least a thousand years earlier than those in the West. Some legal system books even transcend national borders and have become models for many countries to learn from. China's political civilization is constantly undergoing changes and explorations in social development, closely related to the material and spiritual civilization of ancient China, and has unique Chinese characteristics in the world's political civilization.
Innovation has its unique inherent characteristics
In the history of world civilization development, ancient Egyptian, Babylonian, and Indian civilizations have not been able to continue, but only the Chinese civilization has been thriving, which is closely related to the innovative spirit of the Chinese nation. The innovative spirit of the Chinese nation is the most distinctive endowment of the Chinese nation, and it is a manifestation of the inherent quality and spiritual charm of the Chinese nation, with unique inherent characteristics.
The innovation of Chinese civilization is proactive change and innovation. The innovation of Chinese civilization fundamentally determines the fearless character of the Chinese nation, which is not afraid of new challenges and dares to accept new things. The Chinese nation has never been conservative or bound by tradition. Since ancient times, it has dared to take the initiative to seek change and is good at seeking change.
During the Shang and Tang dynasties, the Chinese ancestors proposed the concept of "striving for daily innovation, daily innovation, and daily innovation"; The Kanggao says: "Be a new citizen", inspiring people to abandon the old and seek new; In the Book of Songs, it is pointed out that although Zhou was an old state, its destiny was renewed; In the Book of Changes, it is pointed out that "the way of benefiting all things goes hand in hand with the times." These innovative and innovative ideas reflect that the innovative thinking of changing and advancing with the times has long been rooted in the spiritual world of the Chinese ancestors. In the more than 5000 years of civilization of the Chinese nation, our ancestors have always maintained the spirit of initiative and innovation, constantly taking the initiative to change and create a brilliant Chinese civilization.
For example, as far as the development track of ancient Chinese farming civilization is concerned, from the use of stone tools to the production and invention of iron tools, from the replacement of stone plows, iron plows, and curved shaft plows to the construction of Dujiangyan Irrigation Project and Karez, these agricultural appliances and water conservancy projects have witnessed the progress of agricultural technology and the improvement of productivity, and ultimately benefited from the initiative and innovation spirit of the Chinese ancestors. For example, the Chinese ancestors went from tying ropes to recording events, to using imagination to create oracle bone script based on pictures. Later, through the evolution of inscriptions on gold, Warring States script, small seal script, Hanli script, and regular script, Chinese characters eventually became an important carrier for recording history, inheriting culture, and spreading civilization.
The innovation of Chinese civilization is a dialectical adherence to righteousness and innovation. The innovation of Chinese civilization fundamentally determines the enterprising spirit of the Chinese nation, which upholds righteousness without conservatism and respects the past without restoring it. In the spiritual and cultural context of ancient China, innovation was achieved through inheritance and inheritance.
The "Miscellaneous Trigrams" in the "Book of Changes" points out: "To transform, remove the past; to use a tripod, take a new one." The "Huainanzi" proposes: "Each person should use their knowledge to eliminate their harm, and focus on their benefits. If the past cannot be followed, and the instruments cannot be used, then there will be a change in the teachings of the previous king.". In the "Salt and Iron Treatise" of the Han Dynasty, Hengkuan wrote, "Confucius said: 'Ma Mian, Li Ye, today is also pure, frugal, I follow the crowd.' Therefore, sages do not depart from ancient times, follow customs but not be biased." These all reflect the important ideas of the Chinese ancestors to innovate.
The enterprising spirit of upholding integrity without retro, respecting the past without retro, reflects the dialectical unity of inheritance and innovation, change and immutability, principle and creativity. The Chinese nation has formed a characteristic of interaction between inheritance and innovation in the inheritance and development of Chinese civilization, always ensuring that Chinese civilization has strong vitality to create new situations.
For example, from the evolution of the administrative division system in ancient China, after the Qin Dynasty established a unified multi-ethnic country, it implemented a county system and strengthened centralization. With the influence of factors such as war and population migration, prefectures and counties underwent changes. During the Northern and Southern Dynasties, states were established on the basis of prefectures and counties, implementing a three-level management system of prefectures and counties. During the Yuan Dynasty, due to changes in territorial area and the need to further strengthen centralization, a provincial system was implemented, with provinces including Luzhou (prefecture) and counties extended to the Ming and Qing dynasties. The administrative division system of Chinese dynasties, based on the experience of the previous dynasties, implemented a territorial system that was in line with the actual situation, reflecting the significant characteristics of China's ancient governance system in seeking innovation through reference and development through inheritance.
The innovation of Chinese civilization is open fusion innovation. The Chinese nation is a unified multi-ethnic country with vast territory, diverse regional cultures, and diverse ethnic characteristics. Different ethnic groups and regions have contributed unique cultural elements to the development of Chinese civilization. Various ethnic groups influence, promote, and blend with each other, forming a diverse and integrated pattern of Chinese civilization, maintaining a diverse and rich appearance, and demonstrating the resilient characteristics of "assimilation and differentiation".
In history, Emperor Xiaowen of Northern Wei reformed and accelerated ethnic integration; Princess Wencheng of the Tang Dynasty entered Tibet and actively engaged in cultural exchanges with ethnic minorities; During the Yuan Dynasty, a large number of ethnic groups from the border areas migrated to the Central Plains and Jiangnan regions, intermarried with each other, and promoted cultural dissemination... The Chinese nation gave birth to Central Plains culture, Qilu culture, Jingchu culture, Wu Yue culture, Bashu culture, and so on through integration and exchange. These are all examples of cultural integration and innovation.
At the same time, Chinese civilization is also adept at exchanging and learning from other civilizations around the world, forming an innovative and open cultural pattern. More than 2100 years ago, Zhang Qian went on an envoy to the Western Regions, opening up cultural and trade exchanges between China and Central Asia and West Asia; At the beginning of the 15th century, Zheng He made seven voyages to the West to strengthen friendly political, economic, and cultural relations with Asian countries.
In the face of foreign civilizations, the Chinese nation adopts an attitude of learning from each other's strengths and weaknesses, adding new content to Chinese civilization. In the late Western Han Dynasty, Buddhist culture was introduced to China. The Chinese civilization combines Confucianism and various philosophical ideas, processes and transforms them, and forms a Buddhist culture with Chinese characteristics. The "Yi Ru Hui Tong" from the late Ming and early Qing dynasties to the Republic of China period, as well as the later "Western Learning Eastward" and the New Culture Movement, are all important aspects in the history of Chinese civilization exchange and mutual learning that cannot be ignored. Especially after the introduction of Marxism into China, the CPC has constantly promoted the sinicization and modernization of Marxism, combined the basic principles of Marxism with China's specific reality and excellent traditional Chinese culture, and provided an inexhaustible source of thought for the Chinese nation's growth and development.
Vigorously promote the innovation of Chinese civilization
The Chinese civilization continues the spiritual bloodline of our country and nation, requiring both inheritance and protection from generation to generation, as well as keeping up with the times and innovating. As socialism with Chinese characteristics enters a new era, we must shoulder a new cultural mission, strengthen the exploration and elucidation of China's excellent traditional culture, make the most basic cultural genes of the Chinese nation adapt to contemporary culture and coordinate with modern society, vigorously promote the outstanding innovation of Chinese civilization, and inject strong spiritual strength into the comprehensive construction of a socialist modernized country and the comprehensive promotion of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Continuously promote the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture. Excellent traditional Chinese culture is the spiritual lifeline of the Chinese nation.
At a new historical starting point, we must continue to explore the connotation of excellent traditional Chinese culture, endow it with new carriers and channels of dissemination, and promote the vigorous vitality of excellent traditional Chinese culture in the new era. In accordance with the new characteristics and progress of the new era, we will supplement and expand the connotation and form of excellent traditional Chinese culture, and promote its adaptation to contemporary society and the modernization process of socialism with Chinese characteristics. Deepen the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations, integrate and accept in the exchange between countries, promote the localization of foreign cultures, and continuously cultivate and create socialist culture with Chinese characteristics in the new era.
Persist in combining the basic principles of Marxism with the excellent traditional Chinese culture.
Marxism is highly compatible with the excellent traditional Chinese culture. The CPC is a firm believer and practitioner of Marxism, as well as a faithful successor and promoter of the excellent traditional Chinese culture. Marxism has activated the genes of Chinese civilization with the light of truth, and the excellent traditional Chinese culture has enriched the cultural life of Marxism. To carry forward the outstanding innovation of Chinese civilization, we should adhere to the combination of the basic principles of Marxism with the excellent traditional Chinese culture, constantly open up a new realm of Marxism in China, promote the new development of contemporary Chinese Marxism and Marxism in the 21st century, and let the new culture formed through "combination" become the cultural form of Chinese path to modernization.
Continuously enriching and developing new forms of human civilization.
The new form of human civilization is based on the reality of the Chinese path to modernization road, a great creation of the CPC and the Chinese people, and a new form with unique characteristics in the world. Compared with ancient Chinese civilization, the new form of human civilization is an internal transcendence of ancient Chinese civilization, bringing traditional Chinese civilization into a modern state. In the new era and new journey, China is developing and progressing together with more civilizations through exchanges and mutual learning, constantly achieving new breakthroughs in theory and practice. We must constantly enrich and develop new forms of human civilization, and contribute to the development process of human civilization
