On the Creative Evolution and Development of Chinese Culture

Editors note： In his “Speech at the Opening Ceremony of the International Conference Commemorating the 2565th Anniversary of Confuciuss Birth and the Fifth Congress of the International Confucian Association” in September 2014， President Xi Jinping proposed to “promote the creative evolution and development of fine traditional Chinese culture，” and has reiterated the proposal several times since then. The “Two Creatives” were also officially included in the political report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China and other major documents. In May 2021 when Xi wrote back to the entire editorial staff of the Journal of Literature， History and Philosophy， he put forward that “philosophers and social scientists should work together to promote the creative evolution and development of fine traditional Chinese culture in the current context.” The “Two Creatives” policy is fundamental for the preservation and development of traditional Chinese culture in the new era. Then how should the Chinese people understand the relevance of the “Two Creatives” to contemporary China？ How should they answer the question of our times on how to treat traditional Chinese culture？ How should they integrate Marxism with Chinese cultural traditions？ And how should they draw upon and carry forward the ideas and guiding principles of Confucianism？ To this end， Confucian Academy launched a column on the “Two Creatives” in this new issue. We solicited contributions from three well-known scholars on the orientation of “Two Creatives” in the new era. For the benefit of our readers， we are now pleased to publish their discussions in writing.

Keywords： new era， traditional Chinese culture， “Two Creatives，” Confucianism