In June 2023, when inspecting the National Library of Chinese Editions and the Chinese Academy of History, and attending a symposium on cultural inheritance and development, the general secretary pointed out: "What I am most concerned about is the most precious thing left by the vicissitudes of Chinese civilization. Some of the classics of the Chinese nation have been lost a lot in the erosion of time, and these treasures left behind must be cared for and cherished in every possible way, so as to continue to pass on the only uninterrupted civilization in our world. "Today, hundreds of languages and dialects retained in Chinese oral and written languages carry the traditional culture, national culture and regional culture of the Chinese nation, and the inheritance of the ancestral Chinese is the inheritance of the genes of Chinese culture, and the protection of the ancestral Chinese is to protect the roots of Chinese culture.
When it comes to "cultural genes" and "cultural roots", I can't help but think of the congratulatory letter sent by General Secretary *** five years ago to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the discovery and research of oracle bones. The congratulatory letter fully shows that the party and the state attach great importance to the study of ancient characters represented by oracle bone inscriptions, and even more importantly, to the excellent traditional Chinese language and culture with Chinese characters as the carrier. In 2020, the Ministry of Education included the major of paleography in the enrollment and training scope of the "Strong Foundation Plan" to cultivate high-level reserve talents in paleography. Practice has proved that the spirit of the important instructions of the general secretary has greatly promoted the inheritance and development of oracle bone inscriptions, pointed out the direction for the overall development of the language and writing industry, and effectively promoted the high-quality development of the language and writing industry in the new era.
From the congratulatory letter sent by the general secretary to commemorate the 120th anniversary of the discovery and research of the oracle bone inscription, to the important speech of the general secretary at the symposium on cultural inheritance and development, and then to the instructions of the general secretary at the national conference on propaganda, ideology and culture, we can fully realize that the cultural thought is consistent, and at the same time, it is also an open, constantly unfolding, and progressive ideological system. Under the guidance of first-class cultural thought, language and writing work will certainly develop better and faster in the new era.
At present, we should take the formulation of the outline of the plan for the construction of a strong country in education as an opportunity to strengthen the "integration of language and education" and promote the high-quality construction of the language and writing industry. Vigorously popularizing the national standard language and inheriting and developing the excellent Chinese language and culture are the two major directions of today's language work, and they are also an important focus of future career development. The work of language and writing should be benchmarked against the construction of a cultural power and an educational power, give full play to its characteristic advantages, innovate work methods, and promote the development of language and writing in the new era to achieve a higher level and higher quality. In this great construction cause, as a retired veteran comrade and an old language worker, I want to conscientiously study and deeply understand the essence of cultural thought, keep up with the pace of the times, and give full play to my residual heat and increase my talents in promoting the construction of a strong country in education and culture, and make my due contributions.
The author is the former deputy director of the Department of Language and Information Management of the Ministry of Education).
China Education Daily, February 29, 2024, page 4
Author: Wang Tiekun.