BUILD A CULTURAL HOME SHARED BY ALL ETHNIC GROUPS

BUILD A CULTURAL HOME SHARED BY ALL ETHNIC GROUPS*

September 28, 2014

In carrying out ethnic work, we should focus not only on material aspects, but more importantly, on people and their non-material needs. Ultimately, ethnic work is all about the people. Humans are distinguished by their ability to think. Whether they behave properly or not all depends on how they think. Without proper theoretical guidance, it is impossible to effectively implement the Party’s policies on ethnic affairs and promote reform, development and stability in ethnic minority areas. 

Two forces – material and non-material forces – should be brought into play to do our ethnic work well. We should acknowledge that, for some time, we have placed more emphasis on the material rather than the non-material factors. Both history and reality have taught us that ethnic affairs can only be effectively managed by meeting both their material and non-material needs. Failure to meet either can only result in even more problems. 

We should also realize that material and non-material factors have their own distinct roles to play and, to a large extent, they are not interchangeable. Material insufficiencies should be made up by bolstering material strength, and non-material inadequacies by bolstering non-material strength. Economic development and a better life may not necessarily result in improvement in political awareness. 

It is important to prioritize economic growth for ethnic minorities and ethnic minority areas in our effort to maintain ethnic solidarity and fight separatists, but that alone is not enough. It should be said that ethnic problems go well beyond material insufficiencies. Just as one key opens only one lock, we should make good use of the “development key” to address the problem of material insufficiencies and the “political and moral education key” to address non-material problems. 

We must win the political education battleground with a sound political philosophy and high moral standards in the realm of ethnic affairs, just as in all other sectors. Failing to do that, we stand to lose. The political struggle involving ethnic affairs, an outpost battle against hostile forces both at home and abroad, remains tense and complex. We must see the severity and complexity of the political struggle involving ethnic affairs, unequivocally oppose erroneous ideas, and enable officials and people of various ethnic groups to tell right from wrong on major issues and guard against ideological infiltration by hostile forces at home and abroad.

To strengthen the great unity of the Chinese nation, it is all the more fundamental and imperative, over the long run, to strengthen cultural identity, build a common cultural home shared by people of all ethnic groups, and heighten the sense of the Chinese nation as a single community. The cultural identity, powerful and profound, is the root and soul of ethnic unity and harmony. Only when we all subscribe to our cultural identity can we truly identify ourselves with our great country, with the Chinese nation, and with the path to socialism with Chinese characteristics.

It is a strategic task to build a cultural home shared by people of all ethnic groups. The Chinese culture epitomizes the riches of cultures of all ethnic groups. You may find a large number of depictions of the life and work of ethnic minority people in such classical works as the Book of Songs, fu poetry of the Han Dynasty (206 BC-AD 220), poetry of the Tang (618-907) and Song (960-1279) dynasties, operas of the Yuan Dynasty (1206-1368), and the novels of the Ming (1368-1644) and Qing (1616-1911) dynasties, which are gems of the Chinese culture; many of them were created by minority people. The Tibetan epic King Gesar, the Mongolian Jangar, and the Kirgiz Manas are collectively known as the “three heroic epics” created by minority people in China. In fact, a third of the Chinese items on the Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity are items created by China’s ethnic minorities. 

We should emphatically tell our people that all ethnic groups have contributed to the formation and development of the Chinese culture, and all should appreciate and learn from each other. It is not right to equate Han culture with Chinese culture to the neglect of the cultures of ethnic minorities; nor is it right to divorce one’s ethnic culture from the Chinese culture and refuse to identify with the latter. Both tendencies should be rejected.

Small virtues nurture us like an endless stream, while the great virtue nurtures everything between Heaven and earth. Why have the Chinese people been able to live and grow for thousands of years? A very important reason is that we have a national spirit with patriotism at its core and that we have pursued the same core values. Therefore, the core socialist values should serve as the very basis on which to build the cultural home shared by people of all ethnic groups. We should vigorously promote and practice these values across the whole society and among all ethnic groups. 

In doing so, it is important to draw on the cultural wealth of ethnic minorities. For example, they revere Mother Nature, care about living beings, cherish life, work hard, practice economy, pursue harmony, respect the elderly, show hospitality, ready to help, uphold moral standards, defy difficulties, fulfill commitments, refuse to gain anything improperly, have self-esteem and self-respect, value friendship, and talk sense. We should refine, elaborate and promote these fine qualities, which may provide cultural nourishment to enrich the core socialist values. 

Youth is a crucial period during which people form their values, outlook on life, national identity, and views on ethnic groups. As education helps shape the mind and the soul, we should educate people when young, ideally from kindergarten. We must conduct vigorous and effective education on patriotism so that the seeds of love for China will be planted deep in the heart of every child and the core socialist values will take root deep in the hearts of our next generation. We should educate children of all ethnic groups on national identity so that our children will, first and foremost, know they are members of the Chinese nation, not just members of their own ethnic group. Education on national identity must be carried out with vigor and on a long-term basis.

In TV programs such as the Avenue of Stars and Sing My Song, performances given by minority artists are unique and unadulterated with the natural appeal of ethnic cultures, and they are therefore very popular. It is wrong to look down upon a minority culture, dismiss it as backward, or suggest that it should be allowed to die out on its own. There is a line in an ancient Chinese poem, which reads: “Northern steeds yearn for the winds from the north; southern birds nest on south-facing branches.” We should not deny anyone their right to embrace their ethnic culture. We can embrace both the broader Chinese culture and our own ethnic culture without interfering with each other. Of course, ethnic cultures should be developed on the basis of strengthening Chinese cultural identity and maintaining a proper view of the history of one’s ethnic group. We should never see things in reverse. Minority cultures are often too small and weak to resist the impact of the market. Some parts of their intangible cultural heritage have already disappeared, to the great loss of ethnic groups. We must not wait to recognize their unique value only after they are lost. However, to promote and conserve traditional ethnic culture does not mean to leave it all intact, preserving everything including the sub-standard. Rather, we should refine the crude and draw out the essence, shed the outdated and bring forth the new, so that we will be able to achieve a creative transformation and development of traditional ethnic culture. 

∗ Part of the speech at the Central Conference on Ethnic Affairs.

(Not to be republished for any commercial or other purposes.)