The Thought Of Mao Zedong's New Democratic Culture Study

Mao Zedong's cultural thinking is an important component of Mao's ideological system. As a main leader of the party and the country, Mao Zedong paid close attention to cultural undertakings all the life. Guided by Marxist materialist conception of history, he made timely cultural work guidelines and guiding ideology based on the Chinese national conditions in different historical periods, which forms an entire set of advanced culture theory formation with Chinese characteristics and has greatly enriched the Marxist cultural theory.Mao Zedong's Cultural thinking includes two parts: the new democratic culture ideology and the socialism culture ideology. This thesis focuses on the study of the first part i.e. his new democratic culture ideology. As an important stage in the Chinese cultural development history, it is our nation's valuable cultural heritage and spiritual wealth, which has greatly promoted the political and economic changes in China and has affected the development direction of advanced culture in modern times as well as the contemporary age.An analysis is made to Mao Zedong's new democratic culture thinking mainly from the following objectives :Firstly, the formation of Mao's new democratic culture thoughts. Although it was formed with the complex political, economic and cultural background, this thesis surveys its cultural background in particular namely the nurture of China's traditional culture, the nourishing of modern Western culture and the enlightenment of Marxism-Leninism, the three of which co-promoted its formation. In addition, a brief account of the development process of Mao Zedong's new democratic culture thinking is also made in the thesis. It is in the rudimentary stage from May 4th Movement (1919) to the establishment of the Communist Party of China(1921). From 1921 to 1940 ( On New Democracy was published that year) saw its formation. And Mao's new democratic culture thoughts got its further development during the war of liberation and after the foundation of the People's Republic of China. Secondly, the basic content of Mao Zedong's new democratic culture thinking. Mao's new democratic culture ideology is broad and profound, beginning with bringing forth new ideas of culture conception. In other words, "A certain culture (as an ideological form of culture) is certainly the political and economic reflection of a certain society and has great influence on the social politics and economy, of which economy is the foundation and politics is the concentrated expression of economy. On this basis, it is pointed that the new democratic culture is people's, anti-imperialist and anti-feudal culture led by the proletariat, i.e. the national, scientific and popular culture. As to how to develop the new democratic culture, it is, in essence, concerned with three issues. One is traditional culture, another is foreign culture, and the third is about the relationship between popularization and the raising of standards. Only by having dealt with the three issues can the new democratic culture thrive and develop extensively and profoundly. Moreover, it is the fundamental guarantee of the victory of the new democratic revolution and the smooth development of the new democratic culture to strengthen the leadership of the party, attach great importance to the people's role and give full play to the role of intellectuals.Finally, the historical status and contemporary value of Mao Zedong's new democratic culture thinking. Three aspects are made to appraise its historical status. First, in terms of Chinese Marxism, Mao's new democratic culture thinking is the inheritance and development of the Marxist culture theory. Second, from the point of view of Mao's ideological system, the new democratic culture thinking is an important component of the system. Thirdly, this thesis analyzes and evaluates the progress and limitation of Mao's new democratic culture thinking historically. The focal point of the thesis is about the contemporary value of Mao Zedong's new democratic culture thinking. This thesis mainly discusses the following four aspects. (1) Mao's exposition on the nature of culture lays the principle of coordination of politics, economy and culture. (2) Mao's idea that the new democratic culture should be guided by Marxism is still applicable to the cultural construction in the new era. (3) The cultural Program of the national, scientific and popular culture is still the goal of the cultural construction in the new era. (4) The cultural policy held by Mao that we should make the past serve the present and make foreign things serve China shows clearly the cultural innovation direction on the basis of absorption and learning from differentiation dialectically.