Accelerate the construction of a world-class museum with Chinese characteristics

On the eve of the 110th anniversary of the founding of the National Museum of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping replied to the old experts of the National Museum of China, pointing out that the museum is an important place for the protection and inheritance of human civilization, and cultural and museum workers have a glorious mission and a great responsibility. Cultural confidence, deepen academic research, innovate exhibitions, promote the activation and utilization of cultural relics, promote the exchange and mutual learning of civilizations, protect, inherit and display the outstanding achievements of Chinese civilization, and make new contributions to the development of cultural and motto and the construction of a socialist cultural power. . General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important reply is high-level, rich in connotation, and profound in thought. It is very important to do a good job in cultural and expo work in the new era, promote the high-quality development of the National Museum, and comprehensively, three-dimensionally and truly create a credible, lovely and respectable image of China. Guiding meaning, provides the fundamental to follow.

1. Hold high the ideological banner and enhance historical consciousness

At present, the world is undergoing profound changes unseen in a century and the global pandemic of the COVID-19 epidemic is intertwined. The changes in the world, the times, and the history have brought new opportunities and challenges to the high-quality development of museums. Socialism with Chinese characteristics has entered a new era, and the people are full of expectations for a more fulfilling and rich spiritual and cultural life. More and more audiences want to contact and systematically understand Chinese civilization by entering museums, “archaeology”, On the e-commerce platform, “Museum” has become a fashion trend for the public to pursue the quality of life and culture. Museums not only serve the public, but are also endowed with the responsibility of the times to give value to the history of human civilization. In recent years, as various cultural and muse organizations across the country make full use of their collection resources to give full play to their knowledge innovation advantages, and reflect social responsibility and sense of responsibility through cultural products such as exhibitions, social education, communication, and cultural creation, the cultural and muse industry has established a strong social credibility. How to make full use of and in-depth excavation of the collection resources, so as to create a more friendly, inclusive, trustworthy and stable cultural image of the museum, continuously convey the concern for the society and the public, and contribute to the diversification and sustainable development of human civilization. It is a museum in the new era. important issues facing the industry.

Adhere to the correct political direction. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, the Party Central Committee with Comrade Xi Jinping at its core has attached great importance to cultural and expo work. Based on the strategic overall situation of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation, General Secretary Xi Jinping, standing at the historical height of inheriting the Chinese culture, enhancing cultural self-confidence, and building a cultural power, profoundly clarified the important missions and tasks of museum work, and proposed that “museums are the protection and inheritance of human civilization.” “China’s various museums are not only the preservers and recorders of Chinese history, but also the witnesses and participants of the contemporary Chinese people’s struggle to realize the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”, placing the importance of museums in the new era. Elevated to an unprecedented new height, it points out the way forward and provides an action guide for us to do a good job in the museum. To promote the high-quality development of the National Museum, we must be guided by Xi Jinping Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, always keep in mind and take the initiative to undertake the cultural mission of the new era, strengthen ideological responsibility, and insist on serving the people and socialism as the fundamental Orientation, take the unification of thoughts and cohesion as the central link, to enhance the people’s sense of cultural gain and happiness, and to promote the all-round development of people as the guide, actively respond to the new requirements of the times, meet the new expectations of the people, and provide the people with higher quality , more efficient, fairer, and more sustainable public cultural services, give full play to the role of museums as “big schools”, continuously enhance the cohesion and leadership of socialist ideology, and show cultural new as a new atmosphere in the development of the times and practice, To build a socialist modern country in an all-round way to gather strong spiritual strength.

Strengthen cultural self-confidence. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that the Chinese civilization has a long history, is extensive and profound, and is the unique spiritual identity of the Chinese nation, the foundation of contemporary Chinese culture, the spiritual bond that maintains the Chinese around the world, and the treasure of Chinese cultural innovation. In the long historical process of the Chinese nation, generations of ancestors have left us many precious cultural relics and cultural heritage. They carry the genes and blood of the Chinese nation, and are rare, irreplaceable and irreplaceable Chinese excellent civilizations Resources must be properly managed and utilized. The National Museum must adhere to the combination of the basic principles of Marxism with the concrete reality of China and the excellent traditional Chinese culture, insist on viewing the history of the Chinese nation from the standpoint and method of historical materialism, and make good use of the archaeological and historical research that has been formed for a long time. Achievements, constantly absorb the essence of Chinese excellent traditional culture and be good at finding the source of living water from it, inherit and carry forward revolutionary culture, develop advanced socialist culture, condense Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and Chinese strength, and strive to inherit and carry forward Chinese civilization with a high degree of historical consciousness, accurately revealing The cultural spirit, cultural mind and cultural confidence of the Chinese nation contained in the cultural relics, deepen the study of the characteristics and forms of Chinese civilization, consolidate the common ideological foundation for the unity and struggle of the whole party and the people of all ethnic groups, and provide a more powerful theory for the practice of new forms of human civilization. Support and realize cultural progress in historical progress.

Accurately grasp the functional positioning of the National Museum. The National Museum of China has a special status and special function. The most important task is to collect the collective memory of the nation, inherit the national cultural genes, promote exchanges and mutual learning between civilizations, protect the inheritance and display the outstanding achievements of Chinese civilization, and give full play to the country’s highest historical, cultural and artistic palace. And the role of the national cultural living room. It is necessary to build a materialized discourse expression system of Chinese culture that is consistent with and compatible with mainstream values ​​and ideology. Through exhibitions of different forms and levels, cultural relics can speak, and history can speak. , guide people to establish a correct view of history, values, and civilization, spring wind and rain, moisten things silently, continuously enhance historical consciousness, strengthen cultural self-confidence, forge a sense of community of the Chinese nation, and inspire people to achieve the Chinese dream of the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation. The ambition to struggle Ambition. Starting from this, the most important task of the National Museum at present is to build a world-class museum with Chinese characteristics. Based on the three basic exhibitions of ancient China, the road to revival, the road to revival and the new era, it will systematically and completely display millions of years. Guided by the history of human activities, tens of thousands of years of cultural history, and more than 5,000 years of civilization history, we will strive to build a historical corridor that highlights the history of national development and records the great cause of national rejuvenation, and builds a cultural palace that shows the eternal charm of Chinese civilization and the value of the times. The spiritual home of people’s firm confidence and united struggle, to create an industry benchmark for the high-quality development of Chinese museums, to create a talent highland to lead the development of cultural and museum undertakings, to combine the basic principles of Marxism with China’s specific reality, and the excellent traditional Chinese culture. Display a credible, lovely and respectable Chinese image.

2. Deeply cultivate the main responsibility and main business, and tell the Chinese story well

Deepen academic research. General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized that in the long history, the Chinese nation has formed a great national spirit and excellent traditional culture. The new reality flourishes. At present, there are still many unknown areas in my country’s history, and historical research has a long way to go. We must continue to explore the unknown, reveal the origin, and further accurately answer the basic picture, internal mechanism and evolution path of each regional civilization by strengthening archaeological work. and other major issues. The National Museum will give full play to the unique advantages of rich cultural relics in the collection, promote the collection and management of cultural relics in the collection, strengthen multi-disciplinary joint research, improve the ability to use physical evidence and interpret history, lead the research on the history of Chinese civilization in depth, and gradually restore Chinese civilization. The development process from trickling streams to confluence of rivers. Based on the actual development of the museum industry in China, actively explore the development law of the museum industry, sort out the discipline branches of museology, build a theoretical framework system of disciplines, establish and improve the academic system, discourse system, and discipline system of museology with Chinese characteristics, and expand the temporal and spatial scope and coverage of research. Provide experience reference and intellectual support for the development of the industry, and continuously enhance the influence and appeal of the entire industry on the development of human society.

Innovative exhibition display. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out that it is necessary to strengthen the excavation and analysis of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, so that the most basic cultural genes of the Chinese nation can be adapted to contemporary culture and harmonious with modern society. The cultural spirit of value is carried forward. To showcase the outstanding achievements of Chinese civilization, we must speed up technological innovation and make full use of new technologies such as big data, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, etc., so that more cultural relics can go out of the warehouse, onto the exhibition line, and into the cloud to meet the growing new needs of the public. and new expectations. The system fully presents the development direction of the Chinese nation community and the evolution pattern of the pluralistic integration of the Chinese nation, accelerates the transformation and upgrading of “ancient China”, further manages the “Road to Revival”, carefully creates the “Road to Revival · New Era”, and plans to launch more Thematic exhibitions and temporary exhibitions with distinctive themes, rich contents and novel forms will bring out more charm and style of Chinese culture in the great practice of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, better build the Chinese spirit, Chinese values, and Chinese strength, and effectively strengthen the people. Cultural identity and cultural self-confidence consolidate the common spiritual hall and emotional home of Chinese sons and daughters at home and abroad.

Promote the revitalization and utilization of cultural relics. In 2014, when General Secretary Xi Jinping attended the opening ceremony of the “Maya: The Language of Beauty” cultural exhibition at the National Museum, he pointed out that the cultural relics collected in the museum, the heritage displayed on the vast land, and the words written in the ancient books should all come alive, and make the cultural relics collected in the museum come alive. Since then, he has repeatedly emphasized on different occasions to make cultural relics come alive. Implementing the requirements of General Secretary Xi Jinping, we will further enrich the dissemination channels, give full play to the outstanding advantages of the large number of cultural relics in the collection, the diverse forms and the complete system, and strive to make the historical value, cultural value, aesthetic value, scientific and technological value contained in the cultural relic collection. The value of the times is fully presented and disseminated, and the social accessibility of the museum is continuously increased. Deeply excavate the value connotation of cultural relics in the collection, strengthen brand building, and systematically develop more value symbols and cultural and creative products that carry Chinese culture and Chinese spirit in combination with exhibitions, and form a cultural and creative product system with various forms, creativity and strong market competitiveness. Let the rich cultural connotation be more integrated into people’s daily life.

Promote exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, General Secretary Xi Jinping has sent congratulatory letters or inscribed prefaces for the international exchange exhibition of the National Museum for many times. Promote the building of a community with a shared future for mankind. In the future, the National Museum will further give full play to the role of the national cultural living room, and use multilateral mechanisms such as the Silk Road International Museum Alliance, the BRICS Museum Alliance, the Shanghai Cooperation Organization Museum Alliance, and the China-Japan-Korea National Museum Director Conference to form a multi-level institutionalization. The pattern of foreign cooperation and exchanges will enhance the international voice and influence. Organize brand activities such as the “Global Museum Curator Forum” and “Global Museum Collection Display Online Relay”, and promote the “going out” and “bringing in” of exhibitions, especially the targeted output of a group of representatives that represent the national historical and cultural level and reflect the Chinese civilization. The long-standing and profound boutique exhibition contributes the wisdom and strength of the National Expo to promoting Chinese culture to go global and promoting exchanges and mutual learning among civilizations.

3. Leading the development of the industry and helping the cultural power of the country

Work hard and protect the outstanding achievements of Chinese civilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping has repeatedly emphasized that the excellent traditional Chinese culture is the crystallization and essence of the wisdom of Chinese civilization, the root and soul of the Chinese nation, and the foundation for us to stand firm in the turmoil of world culture. The more than 1.4 million cultural relics and material evidence of the times collected by the National Museum of China are the carrier and crystallization of the excellent traditional Chinese culture, as well as the common cultural heritage and precious wealth of Chinese sons and daughters. Protecting these outstanding achievements of Chinese civilization is the most fundamental duty and mission of the National Museum. The location is also the core of the work of the National Expo. In the next step, Guobo will give full play to the leading and demonstrative role of the industry’s leading goose, continue to adhere to the safety work concept of “failure, nothing is lost”, and strengthen cultural relics management from the aspects of political awareness, institutional arrangement, technical application, personnel management, etc. Firmly secure the bottom line of safety, do a good job in preventive protection, lead the construction of industry safety standards, and set an example for the high-quality development of the museum industry. Firmly establish the concept of big security, build a big security system including political security, cultural relic security, stability maintenance security, audience security, fire safety, museum building security, etc. The physical evidence is passed on to the next generation intact, contributing to the construction of a socialist cultural power.

Continue to inherit and inherit the outstanding achievements of Chinese civilization. Cultural heritage, talent-oriented. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, my country’s cultural and museum undertakings have developed rapidly, and the “cultural and museum craze” and “archaeological craze” have quietly emerged. These new trends and changes have brought unprecedented opportunities for the development of the National Museum. The National Museum will thoroughly implement the spirit of the Central Talent Work Conference, with the goal of building a world-class museum with Chinese characteristics, based on the development law of cultural and museum talents, and carry forward the fine tradition of the older generation of National Museum people who are indifferent to fame and fortune, rigorously responsible, willing to contribute, and uphold innovation. Improve the talent development environment and gather talents from all over the world. Give full play to the role of the chief expert system, the specially-appointed expert system, the visiting scholar system and the post-doctoral workstation, improve the talent assessment and evaluation mechanism, improve the talent incentive mechanism, vigorously publicize the advanced models of specialized professions, and strive to build a moderate overall scale, reasonable structure, and excellent quality. , leading talents, top-notch talents, key talents, professional and technical talents, comprehensive management talents, and operation and maintenance talents are doing their best, and make efforts to create a talent highland that leads the development of cultural and expo career, in order to help build a socialist cultural power. Provide talent support.

Keep upright and innovate, and show the outstanding achievements of Chinese civilization. General Secretary Xi Jinping delivered an important speech at the 39th collective study of the 19th Central Political Bureau, emphasizing that we must adhere to integrity and innovation, promote the adaptation of Chinese excellent traditional culture to socialist society, and demonstrate the unique spiritual identity of the Chinese nation. Build Chinese spirit, Chinese value, and Chinese strength. As the only comprehensive museum at home and abroad that can systematically display the development of Chinese civilization, the National Museum of China should consciously undertake the important mission of writing history for the nation and biography of civilization, strive to improve the level of exhibition display and social education dissemination, and give full play to the uniqueness of the museum. It plays a role in teaching and guiding, telling the story of Chinese civilization well, displaying a credible, lovely and respectable image of China, answering the fundamental question of “where did the Chinese nation come from and where to go?” The spiritual characteristics of people-oriented, honesty, justice, harmony and harmony are spread well, and the cultural self-confidence of the people is enhanced. Make good use of the outstanding achievements of contemporary archaeological and historical research, strengthen research on collections, and systematically study the scientific connotation of Chinese excellent traditional culture, revolutionary culture and advanced socialist culture under the guidance of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important instructions on refining the spiritual identity of Chinese culture and spiritual values, extract Chinese cultural spiritual symbols with profound historical accumulation, high social recognition, contemporary value and world significance, display and explain clearly in a way that the people like to hear, and promote the creative transformation and innovation of Chinese excellent traditional culture. development, and contribute new strength to help build a socialist cultural power.

The National Museum will continue to study, understand and implement the spirit of General Secretary Xi Jinping’s important reply, consolidate academic research, innovate exhibitions, revitalize cultural relics, promote foreign exchanges, protect, inherit and display the outstanding achievements of Chinese civilization, and accelerate the construction of China. Characteristic, world-class museum and the country’s highest palace of history, culture and art, it has made new contributions to the development of cultural and museological undertakings and the construction of a socialist cultural power.

(Author: Director of the National Museum of China)

Responsible editor: Wang Yin