Evolution And Shaping Of Heroes And Role Models Since The Reform And Opening Up

The great times calls for a great spirit,and the loftiness needs the guidance of role models.Since the reform and opening up,China has established a large number of far-reaching heroes and role models,and the shaping of heroes and role models has become a social phenomenon with distinct Chinese characteristics.2021 is the 43 rd year of the reform and opening up and the 100 th anniversary of the establishment of the Communist Party of China.At this special historical time point,straightening out the evolution of heroes and role models during the magnificent course of the reform and opening up,analyzing the presentations and main characteristics of heroes and role models,summarizing the experience in shaping heroes and role models,examining current difficulties of hero and rol e model shaping mechanism and the causes and exploring the objectives of role model shaping and related mechanism innovation,are of important theoretical value and practical significance to facilitate the shaping of heroes and role models to better respon d to realistic challenges,lead people to acquire the power to forge ahead,clarify value fallacies,resist the negative influence of historical and cultural nihilism and further encourage the mighty spirit of striving for the Chinese dream.Besides,follo wing the firm step of heroes and role models over the past 40-odd years,looking up to a sparkling constellation of heroes and role models over the past 40-odd years and pursing the spirit of heroes and role models are also a topic of the times full of his torical and realistic concerns.Heroes and role models arise and advance in response to the times,reflecting the provisions of the times in the axis of history.Proceeding from 1978-1991?1992-2001?2002-2011?2012 till today— the four stages of the reform and opening up,it can be found by sorting out and presenting the figures of the evolution of heroes and role models at different historical stages that be it “old heroes” or “new heroes”,science and technology role models,rich models,model workers and cu ltural,sports and moral models,and be it intellectuals or workers and peasants,cadres and soldiers,specialists,artists and celebrities,the spirit and advanced ideas of each era can find their stamps in the evolution of heroes and models.The heroes a nd models present different characteristics and evolution processes as times change,reflecting the value and highlight of different times.The evolution of heroes and role models embodies the dialectical unification of the “changed” and the “unchanged”.In the evolution of heroes and role models,what changes is their identity,profession,image,personal charisma and individual trait.Their identity has changed from monotonousness to diversity,their image has changed from unreachable to real and ordinary,their personality has changed from flawless to lively,and their individual trait has switched from valuing justice above material gains to attaching equal importance to them.The evolution of heroes and role models shows distinct trends and characteristics.As times change,heroes and role models continuously adapt to the new situation and make modern transformat ion and bridging in the course of evolution,achieving the transition of different historical themes.The main manifestations are: transformation and bridging made for adapting to social and historical background,transformation and bridging made in respon se to mainstream ideology,and transformation and bridging made in response to the value orientation of the people.The “unchanged” subject in the evolution of heroes and role models is that the value connotation and role purpose of heroes and role models always demonstrate a relatively stable kernel,which is manifested as the unification of individual value and social value,ethos and zeitgeist,intrinsic value and instrumental value is throughout the evolution of heroes and role models.Among them,the unification of individual value and social value is manifested as the unification of national recognition and sense of achievement in career,and sense of social responsibility and family happiness;the unification of ethos and zeitgeist is manifested as u nfading personal charisma and moral radiance of heroes and role models;the unification of intrinsic value and instrumental value embodies the historical inheritance of the advanced thoughts and morals in traditional culture in the evolution of heroes and role models.Meanwhile,the shaping of heroes and role models is a vivid example for model education at different times,a critical means for national ideology to lead ethos and a concrete medium to strengthen socialist ideological and moral education.The shaping of heroes and role models has successful experience and faces numerous plights in reality.The process of shaping heroes and role models is embodied in the establishment,publicity,placement and other links;the shaping of heroes and role models has garnered extensive historical experience,however,it is influenced and challenged by a number of negative factors,including drop of emotional appeal to varying degrees,reduced trust,unclear standards,weakened value transmission power and other problems.or the reasons why,social transformation and value differentiation restrain the existential environment of heroes and role models;the utilitarian and formalistic shaping process weakens the public trust of heroes and role models;value confusion and fuzzy faith shake the recognition of heroes and role models;imperfect support and incentive mechanism destroys the cultivation mechanism of heroes and role models.The shaping of heroes and role models in the new era needs to explore the path from four aspects: purpose,selection method,growth environment,and education process,and powerfully fight back against the act of vilifying heroes and role models and the adverse trend of historical and cultural nihilism.Among them,right purpose is the prerequisite,scientific selection method is the core link,a favorable growth environment is an essential guarantee,and conscious knowledge-action transformation is the key path.We must adhere to taking modern personality,stable“public persona” and unaffected human nature as the criteria for selection;follow the basic principles of seeking truth from facts,abandon kitsch,keep normal and long-lastin;takes focus and resonance,people-oriented and response to confusion as the goal setting of recharacterization.Moreover,it is necessary to adopt scientific selection method,optimize the selection process,correctly elucidate image connotations,use media in combination for communication,demonstrate the dynamic trajectory of the figures,highlight their “bright spots”,and effectively change discourse patterns.Meanwhile,we should create a favorable growth environment for heroes and role models in three ways,namely carrying forward healthy and upright social climate,strengthening education and guidance by positive examples and reinforcing moral practice,and enable the shaping of heroes and role models to truly cultivate the heart of people and build consensus through three paths—activating the self-improvement mechanism of the audience,arousing empathy and resonance among the audience,and motivating the audience to achieve knowledge-action transformation.