Preserving and Passing on Cultural Heritage and Carrying Forward Fine Traditional Chinese Culture 

To explain and publicize the special characteristics of modern China, we need to make it clear that 1) because different countries and nations have different historical traditions, cultural accomplishments and basic conditions, their development paths are different; 2) Chinese culture encompasses the deepest cultural and ethical pursuits of the Chinese nation, nourishing the people for generations; 3) fine traditional Chinese culture is a great strength of the Chinese nation and its most profound cultural soft power; 4) rooted in Chinese culture, socialism with Chinese characteristics represents the Chinese people's aspirations, suits the times and facilitates the development of the country, and is based on a long history and solid reality. The time-honored Chinese culture is capable of adding glory to it today and in the days to come.  

It is inevitable for China, a country with a unique culture, history and basic conditions, to choose a development path featuring its own characteristics. As for traditional Chinese culture and foreign things, we should make the past serve the present and foreign things serve China; discard the dross and select the essential; eliminate the false and retain the true, and adopt traditional Chinese culture and foreign things after a thorough and well-considered review of both.  

--Xi’s remarks at a national meeting on publicity and theoretical work, on August 19, 2013. 

To strengthen our cultural soft power, we should showcase the unique charm of Chinese culture. We should disseminate the most fundamental Chinese culture in a popular way to attract more people to participate in it, matching modern culture and society. We should popularize our cultural spirit across countries as well as across time and space, with contemporary values and the eternal charm of Chinese culture. We should tell the rest of the world about the new achievements of modern Chinese culture, which feature both excellent tradition and modern spirit, both national and international. To this end, efforts should be made to sort out traditional cultural resources and bring back to life relics sleeping in closed palaces, legacies of the vast land of China and records in ancient books.  

--Xi’s remarks at the 12th group study session of the Political Bureau of the 18th CPC Central Committee, on December 30, 2013. 

A civilization carries on its back the soul of a country or nation. It needs to be passed on from one generation to the next. Yet more importantly, it needs to keep pace with the times and innovate with courage. As we pursue the Chinese dream, the Chinese people will encourage creative shifts and innovative development of the Chinese civilization in keeping with the progress of the times. We need to inject new vitality into the Chinese civilization by energizing all cultural elements that transcend time, space and national borders and that possess both perpetual appeal and current value, and we need to bring all collections in our museums, all heritage structures across our lands and all records in our classics to life. In this way, the Chinese civilization, together with the rich and colorful civilizations created by the people of other countries, will provide mankind with the right cultural guidance and strong motivation. 

--Xi’s speech at the UNESCO Headquarters, on March 27, 2014. 

Cultural relics are precious legacies from our ancestors, as they symbolize our history, culture and splendid civilization and sustain our great national spirit. The protection of cultural relics is the duty of the current generation and will benefit many generations to come. 

--Xi’s instruction to the work on historical and cultural heritage, on March 23, 2016. 

As the nation strives to rejuvenate its culture, it needs to be more inclusive to extensively develop cultural exchanges with other countries and actively draw on the outstanding achievements of civilizations around the world. 

Dunhuang displays the Chinese nation’s confidence in its culture, and only a self-confident civilization can absorb and draw on the achievements of other civilizations in an inclusive manner while maintaining its own features. 

Cultural experts should tell the stories of Dunhuang and spread the voice of China to the rest of the world in an effort to promote international cooperation on the Belt and Road Initiative. 

--Xi’s remarks at a seminar attended by scholars, experts and officials in the Dunhuang Academy, on August 19, 2019. 

As the evidence-bearers of our history, archeological sites and relics must be well protected. We will put in place a sound system for managing historical and cultural heritage and resources, and build a national database of cultural relics. We will strengthen the overall guidance of departments and institutions involved in cataloging relics and disseminating that information; we will intensify the technical support they need and guide their public engagement. While prioritizing the protection of historical and cultural heritage, we need to make best use of it in providing public cultural services and meeting the people’s intellectual and cultural needs. We need to improve mechanisms for protecting immovable cultural relics and incorporate the tasks of protection and management into the overall planning and use of our territorial space. We need to design systems and support policies under which archeological work is carried out before land transfer. This means that land which might contain historical or cultural relics cannot be used for any other purposes before archeological investigation, fieldwork and excavation have been carried out. We must draw lessons from the cases of serious damage to cultural relics at home and abroad, supervise relevant departments in fulfilling their responsibilities, take more measures to address hidden risks, and improve our ability to protect historical and cultural heritage, We must strengthen law enforcement and supervision, standardize the procedures for reporting misconduct related to the protection of historical and cultural relics and fight against related crimes. 

--Xi’s remarks at the 23rd group study session of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee, on September 28, 2021. 

Revolutionary cultural relics hold the glorious history of the heroic struggles of the CPC and the people, and are records of the great course and touching actions of the Chinese revolution. They are valuable assets of the CPC and the country. They can serve as vivid teaching materials for the promotion of revolutionary traditions and culture, and socialist cultural-ethical progress, and for inspiring a strong sense of patriotism and invigorating the Chinese ethos. 

Improving the protection, management and utilization of revolutionary cultural relics is the common responsibility of the Party and the whole Chinese society. It is a job that should be put high on the agenda of Party committees and governments at various levels and entails greater efforts. It is important to give full play to the role of revolutionary cultural relics in education related to Party history, revolutionary traditions and patriotism. 

--Xi’s instruction on work related to the country’s revolutionary cultural relics, in March 2021. 

The sites and heritage related to the history of the CPC are the most precious spiritual wealth. The CPC’s revolutionary heritage is the source of spiritual strength for Chinese Communists in the new era. Efforts must be made to safeguard the country established by the revolutionary martyrs and develop it well, and new achievements must be made that can live up to the expectations of the revolutionary forefathers, stand the test of time and are worthy of the people. 

The sites and heritage related to the CPC’s history are scattered all over China, representing the Party’s glorious history and great achievements and its pursuits, sentiments, responsibilities, sacrifices, and dedication. 

Sound protection, management and utilization of sites and heritage related to the CPC’s history must be made. Historical nihilism should be opposed and resisted. 

The sites and heritage should be used to guide young people to foster ideals that carry forward the revolutionary traditions. 

--Xi’s remarks at the 31st group study session of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee, on May 27, 2022. 

The protection and utilization of cultural relics should be strengthened, and we shold better preserve and carry forward the cultural heritage. The capabilities to study cultural relics should be improved, making China’s relics better known to the public and in the international community. 

--Xi’s remarks at the 22nd meeting of the CPC Central Committee for deepening overall reform, on November 24, 2021. 

More efforts must be made to conserve the country’s cultural heritage and protect the valuable treasure left to us by our ancestors. The unique traditional Chinese culture should be promoted more to contribute to economic and social development and people’s quality life. 

--Xi’s remarks during an inspection tour of Shanxi Province, on January 27, 2022. 

Cultural relics and cultural heritage carry the genes and blood of the Chinese nation, and they are China’s nonrenewable and irreplaceable cultural resources. We need to make cultural relics and heritage play their own role in cultural development and create a social atmosphere that facilitates efforts to carry on our fine traditional culture. We should actively promote the protection and utilization of cultural relics and the protection and inheritance of cultural heritage, explore the multiple values of cultural relics and heritage, and promote cultural products and value symbols that embody Chinese culture and spirit. 

Officials at all levels should attach importance to the protection of cultural relics and inheritance of cultural heritage, and provide more policy support for historical and archaeological researchers to conduct research, study, and exchanges. We should foster an atmosphere for imparting and inheriting China’s fine traditional culture and widely publicize research results of those projects that aim to explore the origins of Chinese civilization. We should also educate and guide people, especially young people, to better understand and identify with Chinese civilization, and enhance Chinese people’s aspiration, moral integrity, and self-confidence.  

--Xi’s remarks at the 39th group study session of the Political Bureau of the 19th CPC Central Committee, on May 27, 2022. 

Chinese civilization is extensive and profound, has a long history stretching back to antiquity, and is composed of outstanding cultures of all its ethnic groups. Further study must be conducted on the history of the community for the Chinese nation and its unified pattern of diverse ethnic cultures. We should make full and effective use of the historical facts, archaeological objects, and cultural heritage on the exchanges between various ethnic groups in Xinjiang, to prove that this region inhabited by many ethnic groups has been an integral part of China since the ancient times, and that various ethnic groups in Xinjiang have been important members of the big Chinese family in weal and woe. Efforts should be made to better preserve and pass on the intangible cultural heritage, and to carry on the excellent traditional cultures of all ethnic groups. 

--Xi’s remarks during an inspection tour of the Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, on July 13, 2022. 

Oracle bone inscriptions unearthed at Yinxu Ruins kept the evidence of the Chinese written language of 3,000 years ago, helping to bring recorded Chinese history nearly 1,000 years earlier than previously believed. I have long been yearning for visiting here. This time I come here for a deeper study and understanding of the Chinese civilization so that we can make the past serve the present, and draw inspirations for better building modern Chinese civilization. The Chinese characters are extraordinary and serve as a tie in the forming and development of Chinese nation, and the archaeologists have done a great job in this regard. We should attach more importance to and put more efforts on archaeological research to carry forward the project of tracing the origins of the Chinese civilization. With a long and continuous history stretching back to antiquity, the Chinese civilization shaped our great nation, and this nation will continue to be great. Efforts must be made to carry forward the fine traditional culture through discovery, research and conservation of the cultural relics.  

--Xi’s remarks during an inspection tour of the Yinxu Ruins in Anyang City, Henan Province, on October 28, 2022. 

As an important cradle of human civilization, Asia has nurtured and is home to an immeasurable wealth of cultural heritage, writing a splendid chapter in the annals of world civilizations. 

The establishment of the alliance is conducive to protecting Asian cultural heritage and deepening exchanges among Asian civilizations, while making the garden of world civilizations more flourishing and contributing to the progress of human civilization, he stressed. 

Within the framework of the alliance, China is willing to work with all Asian countries to strengthen experience sharing on cultural heritage preservation, promote international cooperation in the cultural heritage sector, and establish a network for dialogue and cooperation among civilizations. China is ready to join hands with Asian countries to promote mutual understanding, forge closer bonds between peoples of different countries, and jointly promote the progress of human civilization. 

--Xi’s congratulatory letter to General Assembly of Alliance for Cultural Heritage in Asia, on April 25, 2023. 

The museum has a great collection of precious cultural relics or even “national treasures,” which prove that China’s history includes million years of humanity, 10,000 years of culture, and more than 5,000 years of civilization. We must further advance the national research project on tracing the origins of Chinese civilization and extend research into its history. Requirements of the CPC Central Committee in this regard must be conscientiously implemented: give top priority to protection, strengthen management, tap values and make good use of cultural relics to let them play their own role in cultural development. As such, the protection and utilization of cultural relics and the preservation and inheritance of cultural heritage will be strengthened. 

--Xi’s remarks at Yuncheng Museum, Shanxi Province, on May 16, 2023. 

The Chinese nation has an enduring fine traditional culture, which has always embraced openness and inclusiveness. The Chinese civilization has always valued mutual understanding and respect among different civilizations. Beijing, with its long history and profound cultural heritage, serves as a powerful testament to the continuity, innovation, unity, inclusiveness and peaceful nature of the Chinese civilization. China will leverage the advantages of Beijing as an ancient capital and a national cultural center to strengthen cultural exchanges with the rest of the world, so as to jointly promote cultural prosperity, heritage preservation and mutual learning between civilizations and implement the Global Civilization Initiative. 

--Xi’s congratulatory letter to the 2023 Beijing Culture Forum on September 14, 2023. 

The world is made up of diverse civilizations, and China is among the countries with the longest histories and oldest cultures. China is willing to work more closely with UNESCO to continuously improve the capacity for and level of heritage protection, and promote exchanges, mutual learning and cooperation among different civilizations, in order to contribute to world peace and facilitate the building of a community with a shared future for humanity. 

--Xi’s remarks while met with Director-General of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) Audrey Azoulay in Beijing on September 28, 2023.