Culture is the soul while cultural confidence is the most basic, profound and lasting strength of a country and a nationality. The formation of cultural confidence is a long-term process influenced by many factors, among which, cultural recognition is the foundation and origin. Without cultural recognition, there won’t be cultural confidence.

    Culture is a kind of psychological activity and value recognition, so it’s not fixed and won’t be formed in a short time. The society is changing and people’s thoughts varies, so cultural recognition is adjusted constantly. Currently, China develops on a daily bases, society is being reformed continuously and social thoughts is diversified, all of which offer new challenges to improve cultural recognition. The key to cope with new challenges is the promotion of the outstanding traditional Chinese culture, revolutionary culture and socialist advanced culture in a wide area. The outstanding traditional Chinese culture is a cultural gene and a spiritual vein of our spiritual world. The revolutionary culture is a valuable spiritual fortune that must be promoted. The socialist advanced culture is the main stream culture of the contemporary Chinese society that we have been constructing with a large effort. We need to integrate these three cultures to be one organic part, so as to enable the socialism with Chinese characteristics to have more vitality, influence and attraction. the relation between them must be handled properly, so the integration can enhance cultural recognition.

    We need to properly handle the relation between the unified guidance and diverse cultural development. Marxism is in the leading position in the guiding philosophy. Xi Jinping stressed that the CPC is a party armed with the Marxism which is also seen as our soul. Chinese people recognize Marxism not only because it’s truth and science, but also because they acknowledge achievements of China’s reform, construction and reform under the guidance of Marxism. The guiding position of Marxism doesn’t indicate that socialist culture with Chinese characteristics can’t be diversified in the content and forms. Necessary respect and inclusiveness are required when treating diversified culture, but it doesn’t mean there’s no regulation. The more diversified ideology and culture are, the more we need Marxism to be in the leading position, or cultural construction will lose soul and direction.

    We need to properly handle the relation between cultural inheritance and innovation. Xi Jinping said, “If a country or a nationality lose it’s ideology and culture because it doesn’t cherish them, then this country or nationality will never be strong.” The outstanding traditional Chinese culture is an important origin of the socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and an inexhaustible spiritual driving force of the Chinese nation. The recognition of the outstanding traditional Chinese culture is an important foundation of cultural confidence. Enhancing cultural recognition requires us to spend more effort to inherit and promote the outstanding traditional Chinese culture while pushing forward cultural innovation to keep up with the time, so as to inject new vitality and content to the outstanding traditional Chinese culture.

    We need to properly handle the relation between Chinese and Western cultures. We shouldn’t look down upon ourselves when facing western culture. In the comparison between the two cultures, it’s wrong to see cultural difference as a gap needing to be closed. “Difference” means different feature and form and “gap” means a judgement to tell one is advantaged or lagged behind. Different historical and social environment five rise to differences between Chinese and western cultures, but some people thinks that’s a gap. This phenomenon relates to the fact that Chinese people blindly learned from western culture in the modern history. It’s wrong for us to mistake difference as gap, neither seeing western culture as more superior and more advanced cultural pattern which must be learned and followed. We need to be more aware of our own culture and to enhance cultural recognition. Independence and decision-making by ourselves should be maintained while carrying out exchanges with other cultures, so as to show the unique charm of the Chinese culture in the co-existence with various cultures.