Theory To Improve China's Cultural Soft Power

Cultural soft power research is a major issue that has important theoretical andpractical significance. In today’s world, the status and role of cultural soft power inthe competition in comprehensive national strength is increasingly important. Toimprove the soft power of culture becomes the strategic focus of competition ofcomprehensive national strength. Since the reform and opening up, the rapiddevelopment of China during latest more than30years the hard power continuouslyenhanced, but the cultural soft power developed relatively slowly. Under thecondition of the new world and the country, improvement of Chinese cultural softpower faces many opportunities and challenges. Facing the opportunities andchallenges, how to improve Chinese cultural soft power to build a socialist culturalpower, how to guarantee Chinese cultural soft power influence and competitiveness inthe international community commensurate to the status of a world power, and how tomake our country a more comprehensive national strength standing among the nationsof the world, all of these resulted the urgent need in Chinese cultural construction.Therefore, to discuss of improving the soft power of China it makes greatsignificance.Up to now, academic research to improve Chinese cultural soft power is still inits initial stage, and has not yet formed a mature sound theoretical system. In view ofthe current situation, this article attempts to discuss the basic theory, strategicsignificance, opportunities and challenges, principles and paths in improvement ofChinese cultural soft power on the basis of previous studies, to form systematicunderstanding on the improvement of our cultural soft power. According to askquestions–to analysis the problem–to solve the problem approach, this articleexpand theoretical research. This framework constitutes of what is cultural soft power,why should to enhance Chinese cultural soft power, how to improve Chinese culturalsoft power. Before that, sorting out the cultural construction ideological of theCommunist Party of China, intending to emphasize the status of attention on culturalconstruction from the Communist Party of China, it has also become the bedding andtheoretical support in this thesis.The whole paper is constituted by the introduction, the main part of four chaptersand the conclusion. The introductory section describes the research background and significance ofthe topic, review on study of research ideas and methods, difficulties of research,innovation and inadequacies of the four parts.The first chapter describes that our party has always attached great importance tothe cultural development: Tracing the source of cultural construction ideology of thefirst three generations of collective leadership of the party, thought about from thecultural construction of the first generation of central collective leadership withComrade Mao Zedong at the core ideology to take Deng Xiaoping at the core of thesecond generation of central collective leadership to the cultural construction thoughtComrade Jiang Zemin at the core of the third generation of central collectiveleadership of the cultural construction thought, and finally to the general secretary ofthe CPC Central Committee with Comrade Hu Jintao as the cultural construction ofthought, until the party’s18thlot to improve the soft power of culture in a moreprominent position, and ultimately leads to the topic of this paper, that is improvingthe cultural soft power.The second chapter analyzes the strategic significance to improve Chinesecultural soft power. First of all, what is the cultural soft power？The article brieflyhighly summarized and elaborated its specific connotation. Cultural soft power isinternal cohesion and external impact force produced by a country’s culture, corevalues, social system, foreign policy, et al. In order to facilitate understanding, thearticle gives detailed explanation from five aspects of the connotation. Specifically,the soft power of culture is an ability which bring into play through attraction ratherthan force or impose grace to others to achieve their desired purpose. It has twodimensions, inward and outward: inward means cultural cohesion, which claster andaccumulate fine traditional culture of our country, meanwhile absorb foreignoutstanding cultural information, create cohesion, solidarity suitable for thedevelopment of the times. Outward stresses the international influence of culture. Itopens for a real power of competitiveness, coordination, exert real influence tonations in the world. It is relative to hard power, is equally important to it, meanwhile,not all cultures are soft power. On this basis, discusses the relationship betweencultural soft power and comprehensive national strength: Soft power of culture is animportant part of one country’s comprehensive national strength, is an importantsymbol of the country’s comprehensive national strength, highlighting status and role of the cultural soft power in the overall national strength. Secondly, the strategicsignificance of improving Chinese cultural soft power was stressed from both internaland external aspects. That is conducive to enhance solidarity and cohesion internally,and helpful to promote affinity and influence externally.Chapter III discussed the opportunities and challenges faced during improvingChinese cultural soft power. First of all, opportunities in improving cultural softpower of our country: first, the huge economic and social construction achievements,both in economic and people’s livelihood aspects. Economically, sustainable andstable growth of the national economy laid a solid material foundation for enhancingthe soft power of culture. In social livelihood aspect, people’s living standardimproved, rapid growth of the spiritual and cultural demands of the people extends ahuge space for cultural development. Second, our country accelerates the culturalconstruction, including promotion of cultural reform, increasing of cultural fundingand construction of public cultural service system, and so on. Third, our country needexpand cultural international exchanges, mainly analysis from culture export andculture import aspects. Secondly, the increasing challenges in improving cultural softpower of our country: imbalance in the cultural and economic construction, culturalreform is lagging behind relatively; diverse society ideological trends impact unifiedguiding ideology, mainly analysis impact of new liberalism, democratic socialismthought and pragmatism.The fourth chapter discusses the principles and pathways in improving Chinesecultural soft power. Three principles were focus on, which includes that adhere to theguidance of Marxism, adhere to the people-oriented and uphold cultural diversity. Onthe issue of how to improve Chinese cultural soft power, this article mainly putforward three countermeasures. Firstly, to construct the common spiritual home whichincluding carry forward the fine traditional culture of the Chinese nation andstrengthen the protection of cultural heritage. Secondly, to launch inheritance,learning and innovation of culture, which include inheritance of traditional Chineseculture, learning of western culture and cultural innovation. Thirdly, to deepen reformand opening up of the cultural field. First, to dock national cultural soft power to hardpower development, that is, to realize the coordinated development of cultural andeconomic construction, to build cultural power, to accelerate reform of the culturalsystem, to vigorously promote the cultural innovation, to improve the culture as a whole strength and competitiveness. Second, to co-ordinate internal development andopen to the outside world. That includes building a harmonious socialist culture and aharmonious world, and the implementation of the cultural strategy of going out.The conclusion further emphasized the importance and urgency of improvingChinese cultural soft power, made a further summary on how to improve the softpower of culture.