Party’s 20 report, must adhere to the socialist culture development path with Chinese characteristics, enhance cultural confidence, around for flags, morale, education, culture, image construction of socialist culture power, development of modernization, facing the world and the future, the science of socialist culture, stimulate the creativity of the national culture innovation, enhance the spirit of realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
China’s historical and cultural heritage has rich historical information and cultural connotation, is the material carrier of the Chinese five thousand years of splendid civilization, is the most representative comprehensive material evidence of the development of the Chinese nation.
On the basis of protection and inheritance, excavating the potential of historical and cultural heritage and stimulating the vitality of innovation and creativity are of great value and significance to “promoting the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation in an all-round way with Chinese modernization”.
Dig deep into the connotation of cultural heritage to cultivate national cultural confidence
Culture is the “root” and “soul” of a nation. Without the protection and inheritance of culture, a nation will lose its roots and soul, and cannot find the direction of its own development.
The Chinese civilization is the only civilization in the world that has been inherited for thousands of years. The historical and cultural heritage carries the common historical memory and cultural identity.
The historical buildings on the ground, underground archaeological sites and precious cultural relics in the museum are not only the wisdom crystallization of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, but also the physical witness of China’s long history, vividly reproducing the cultural genes of the Chinese nation linked by blood.
In the connotation mining and value cognition of cultural heritage, we understand “from”; in the protection and innovation of cultural heritage, we know “where to go”.
Through in-depth excavation of the excellent traditional Chinese culture contained in the cultural heritage, let the history speak, let the cultural relics speak, activate the cultural gene, we can let us establish a more firm cultural confidence, and condensed into the “Chinese power” to work together to realize the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.
Explain the value of cultural heritage and enrich the public cultural supply
In the process of interpreting the value of cultural heritage, the creative transformation and innovative development can further enrich the public cultural supply of the whole society.
For example, the construction of ever-changing national cultural belts, cultural parks and archaeological site parks, constructing cultural carriers integrating protection and inheritance, scientific research, cultural education, tourism, provide the public with more “grounded” and “popular” cultural products; revolutionary areas and rural areas, historical and cultural characteristics, can become an important classroom to promote the “four history” education and revolutionary culture; rural museums are cultural space with regional characteristics, can be expanded into “local products and folk creative products” promotion window, help the rural revitalization with cultural heritage.
In addition, we can also explore various ways to interpret the value of cultural heritage, and take “professional” knowledge to the public.Presenting in a more receptive way, through “educating people with culture and educating them with culture”, allowing the public to feel more and better cultural “sense of gain”.
Stimulating the vitality of cultural heritage and helping to achieve common prosperity
Common prosperity not only refers to economic development and material enrichment, but also includes comprehensive progress in ecological civilization, culture, education, and other aspects. Cultural prosperity, as an important aspect of the construction of common prosperity, has an external appearance of “abundant cultural supply”, and its internal core is “spiritual self-improvement” and “cultural confidence”. In promoting cultural prosperity, we can further expand the explicit functions, value boundaries, and spillover effects of cultural heritage, forming a paradigm of integrated development. For example, China has a large number of ancient dwellings and villages, which have certain value but may not meet national protection standards. Often, due to the hollowing out of villages, the dwellings are left unattended and in disrepair for a long time. We can combine the protection of ancient dwellings with rural health and wellness, and carry out infrastructure renovation and improvement in areas with convenient transportation, good ecological environment, and abundant residential resources. Through market-oriented operation, we can create leisure and wellness places for the elderly, allowing people to cultivate their physical and mental health in a beautiful ecological and cultural environment, and also making historical and cultural heritage come to life through “using to promote preservation”.
Coordinating the protection of cultural heritage and promoting coordinated social development
The protection of cultural heritage helps to enhance the cultural image of a region and build a superior cultural soft environment for economic and social development. The reason why Hangzhou is known as a “paradise on earth” is due to its rich cultural heritage of “mountains, waters, and culture”. The Liangzhu Ancient City, the Grand Canal of China (Hangzhou Section) and the West Lake Cultural Landscape in Hangzhou, as well as numerous historical and cultural villages and towns and rich intangible cultural heritage, present to the world a vivid picture of “harmonious coexistence between man and nature”. This not only embodies the ancient Chinese wisdom of “harmony between heaven and man”, but also highlights the Chinese plan of today’s green mountains and clear waters being as valuable as gold and silver. The protection of cultural heritage also helps to drive economic development and promote social prosperity. By combining the protection of cultural heritage with local economic and social development, improvement of people’s living standards, urban-rural integration development, and environmental optimization and beautification, the “absolute protection” of cultural heritage can be transformed into a “guiding protection” involving the whole society, making cultural heritage protection and social development coordinated and advancing, and making cultural heritage more vibrant.
The author is a professor at the School of Art and Archaeology of Zhejiang University and a specially appointed researcher at the National Institute of Institutional Studies of Zhejiang University