Path of Chinese cultural revitalization

Under the guidance of Chinese tailored Marxism, China will develop and follow an innovative path to revitalize cultural traditions while absorbing the fine cultural achievements of other countries. The plan is to revive Chinese culture in regards to living and production material, politics, mindset, society and ecology. This is the true essence of the road to China's peaceful development. China will create a new civilization, a harmonious, socialist society with Chinese characteristics. This new civilization focuses on self-improvement in people's standard of living and the relationship between humans and nature.

Lee Kuan Yew, a senior minister of Singapore once said, "China's peaceful rise will not pose a threat to any country. Instead, China will use its dynamic and magnificent national culture to kindle the light of human civilization!" His remarks show a true understanding of the road to peaceful development that China follows. China should use civilized conception, means, methods and images to revive its culture.

What is "civilized conception"? Mao Zedong envisioned in the 1950s that China would become a big power that would be easy to get along with. In 1992, Deng Xiaoping, chief architect of the reform and opening up policy, argued that "socialist China should show the world through its actions that it is opposed to hegemonism and power politics and wishes to be part of neither. China is a steadfast force in safeguarding world peace." It is obvious that China's peaceful development is guided by a form of Marxism that has been developed by modern Chinese. This improved version of Marxism is the civilized conception.

"Civil methods" are those methods that comply with social codes of conduct in modern civilized society. They are what China will always use to settle problems and challenges on the road to modernization. In the process of peaceful development, China will constantly face big challenges related to resources, especially energy resources, to the environment, and to economic and social development. To resolve these problems, China should adopt a comprehensive and scientific philosophy of development that is people-oriented and puts an emphasis on sustainability. China should concentrate on building the economy and should push forward both this and social development on a wide scale. China should also do as much as possible to resolve any outstanding issues in order to have a harmonious society. In essence, China should considerably improve the quality of people. Only in this way can the civil methods be applied to challenges and society made harmonious.

"Civil means" demonstrates an opposition to any brutality that is intended to rob other countries of their resources. While carrying out the reform and opening-up campaign, China uses the "civil means -- market" to source necessary capital, technology, resources, energy and professionals. China will not take the traditional road to industrialization at the considerable cost of nonrenewable resources. Instead China will follow a new path to industrialization characterized by the full use of technology and human resources, high economic benefits, energy efficiency, and environmentally friendliness.

The "civilized image" is one of a peaceful and civilized China. It can be created on the basis of a new set of values concerning security, honor and civilization. Through education, China should help people understand and hold onto these values as well as warn away any blind arrogance as it grows stronger.

Written by Chen Bijian, chairman of the China Reform Forum and translated by People's Daily Online