General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the Symposium on Cultural Inheritance and Development that the Two Combinations have “created a new cultural vitality that is organically unified”. The important concept of a “new cultural vitality” points to the renewal and modern transformation of Chinese civilization. The development and transformation of civilization cannot be separated from the development and transformation of culture; the development of culture is the symbol of the development of civilization, and the transformation of civilization can only be achieved by the transformation of culture. The new cultural vitality of contemporary China is a modernized cultural form with Marxism as its soul and excellent traditional Chinese culture as its roots.

What is culture? Academics have summarized more than 10,000 definitions, which have led to a common understanding that the core of culture is the human being. In a certain sense, it can be said that people are culture, and culture is anthropology. As the core of culture, people's life is the expression of culture. People's life is a vivid demonstration of cultural change, and cultural development and innovation are all for the betterment of people's lives. Culture is poetry, but also daily life; the story on stage is culture, and the life off stage is also culture. Therefore, from the perspective of cultural innovation, the problem of culture is what we need. Last year, Zibo barbecue is famous all over the country, from institutions to folk, a variety of research and analysis has given a lot of reasons. If a Zibo phenomenon alone is not enough for us to see the cultural trends, then the next one of the cultural tourism brand, one after another popular city, should allow us to see more clearly. From Zibo barbecue to Guizhou Rongjiang “village super” and then to the “Harbin phenomenon”, the influx of people is a lively scene of joy, but also the vision of the people of peace, it can be said that national peace is the spirit of the Chinese totem, is the greatest cultural appeal. Whether it is the ancient Zibo Qi culture, novel Guizhou minority culture or the fusion of Chinese and Western Harbin city ice culture, are because of the cultural undertones of the country into the emotions of the people. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that “the pursuit of unity by ‘inward cohesion’ is a prerequisite for and a result of civilizational continuity.” The unity of Chinese civilization fundamentally determines the common beliefs of the Chinese nation. The fireworks of the people can best appease the world's heart, and the people have made a cultural choice with their actions.

In addition to commonalities, cultures also have differences. The differences of culture mainly come from the ethnicity of culture. Culture is formed by various ethnic groups in the course of historical development, of which the most representative is the excellent traditional culture of the nation. From values to emotional expression, from rational discernment to perceptual cognition, the excellent traditional Chinese culture has shaped Chinese people in every aspect. Therefore, cultural inheritance includes not only visible crafts, operas, cultural relics and folk rituals, but also invisible concepts, ideals and norms. For example, the culture of etiquette and music centered on Confucianism still profoundly influences people's lives today. The Book of Rites begins with “Don't disrespect others,” which explains respect in terms of etiquette, and is a cultural trait that is revered by the Chinese people. Behavioral norms are based on moral and rational “etiquette”, spiritual education is based on aesthetic and sensual “music”, the joint implementation of rigid and soft transcends geography and time, and has become a symbol of Chinese civilization. Until today, from Zibo's “hospitality” to Harbin's “pampered tourists”, the Bureau of Culture and Tourism with the hospitality of the family's respect and sincerity to win the public's favorite, and the Chinese who nourished by civilization of etiquette and music are renewing the culture of etiquette and music in the new era.

Inheritance is a prerequisite for consolidating cultural subjectivity and continuing cultural lifeblood; while innovation is a guarantee for the sustainable development of culture. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that “innovation refers to new ideas, new discourse, new mechanisms, and new forms, and we should really make use of the past for the present and the West for China under the guidance of Marxism, dialectically take and give and push forward, so as to realize the organic convergence of tradition and modernity.” If government departments, scientific research institutions, art groups have launched positive action, then in the track of cultural innovation, the power of the people can also not be ignored. Civilian forces include both organizations and individuals engaged in cultural and artistic activities, but also the general public. For example, in the field of self-media, the folk power is more active, from the content of the subject matter to the form of approach to the technical means, have vividly demonstrated the inheritance of culture and innovation; and the more general public on the one hand, as the audience, their viewing and love to promote the creators of continuous innovation, on the other hand, they are physically innovative cultural achievements applied to life. When Hanfu gradually become a popular culture, from the camera to the scenic spots and streets, from home to abroad, we can see more and more people wearing Hanfu. While we marvel at the charm of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, we also lament the self-confidence and sense of responsibility of contemporary Chinese people, especially the younger generation, for the national culture.

The new cultural lifeforms display new features and qualities; they take the excellent traditional Chinese culture as their underpinning and the modern civilization of the Chinese nation as their form, and are both Chinese in character and in keeping with the spirit of the times. The people are the practitioners and creators of culture. New cultural life forms are taking root and growing in the lives of the people and showing a rapid and dynamic momentum of development, a very important factor of which is the joining of the youth force. Contemporary young people have transformed their enthusiasm for outstanding traditional Chinese culture into wisdom and action for cultural innovation, whether in learning and research, excavation and transmission, or creation and dissemination, and have become the main force in cultural development and innovation with their active thinking, open imagination, full self-confidence and rich comprehensive skills.

Culture, as a living organism, has genes and personality; the values and ideal norms in the excellent traditional Chinese culture have shaped the cultural image of the Chinese people and made it more intimate; culture, as a living organism, has feelings and temperature, endowing the Chinese nation with strong cohesion and firm cultural self-confidence; what's more, culture, as a living organism, can't be separated from the broadest number of cultural Practitioners. Daily inheritance and innovation in life are enough for us to understand more deeply a cultural China with cultural subjectivity and exuberant vitality.