The Role and Mechanism of Excellent Traditional Culture in Enhancing the Effectiveness of Ideological and Political Education in Higher Education under the Background of “Balanced Development of Five Education” ()
1. Introduction
In September 2018, at the National Education Conference of China, it was proposed that “Balanced Development of Five Education” to cultivate socialist builders and successors with comprehensive development in morality, intelligence, physical fitness, aesthetics, and labor skills. The 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China emphasized “the implementation of the fundamental task of fostering morality and cultivating well-rounded socialist builders and successors who have moral, intellectual, physical, aesthetic, and labor capabilities” ( Xi, 2022 ). Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, Chinese socialism with distinctive characteristics has entered a new era. Education has endowed the “Balanced Development of Five Education” with new value connotations at the level of top-level design. The comprehensive development of “morality, intelligence, physical health, aesthetics, and labor skills” signifies a clearer and definite positioning and understanding of the role of education in promoting socio-economic development. Prior to this, documents such as the “General Plan for Deepening Educational Evaluation Reform in the New Era” and “China’s Education Modernization 2035,” issued by the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China and the State Council, have provided directions for improving the evaluation mechanism for fostering morality and cultivating individuals and for deepening the integration and development of the “Balanced Development of Five Education”.
The significance of ideological and political education in universities is of great importance and carries the weighty responsibility of cultivating cultural confidence and shaping students’ character in the current era. As the main battlefield for cultural education, universities should solidly carry out the “Balanced Development of Five Education”, which is an active exploration of innovative ideological and political education models in the new era and new stage. It is the “cornerstone” of high-quality ideological and political education work. It is necessary to make good use of the excellent traditional Chinese culture as an educational resource, with the focus on enhancing the country’s cultural soft power, serving educational practices, and testing the effectiveness of education, promote practical innovation and keeping up with the times in ideological and political education in universities in the new era.
2. Theoretical Approach: The Value Orientation of “Balanced Development of Five Education” in the Educational Context of the New Era
Fostering morality and cultivating individuals, rooted in excellent traditional Chinese culture, is the fundamental task of education in the new era. It represents a positive response to the previous single-focused education evaluation system and the teaching model, which emphasized knowledge transmission and the score improvement (https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1685963980608467529&wfr=spider&for=pc, 2022-12-23). The 2016 National of China Conference on Ideological and Political Work in Universities pointed out, “We must adhere to the central task of fostering morality and cultivating individuals, integrate ideological and political work throughout the entire process of education and teaching, realize all-round and full-cycle education, and strive to create a new situation in the development of higher education in our country” (http://cpc.people.com.cn/xuexi/n1/2016/1209/c385474-28938271.html?ivk_sa=1024320u, 2016-12-09). The conference emphasized that of “cultivating socialist builders and successors with comprehensive development in morality, intelligence, physical health, aesthetics, and labor skills, accelerating the modernization of education, building an educationally strong country, and providing satisfactory education for the people” (http://www.gov.cn/xinwen/2018-09/10/content_5320835.htm?tdsourcetag=s_pctim_aiomsg, 2018-09-10). This requires taking the “Balanced Development of Five Education” as an effective approach to implementing the goal of fostering morality and cultivating individuals in educational practices.
From a values perspective, adhering to the Party’s educational principles and the socialist direction of running schools necessitates treating the comprehensive, systematic, and coordinated development of students’ “morality, intelligence, physical health, aesthetics, and labor skills” as clear educational objectives and important value orientations. This leads to a transformation in educational concepts and systems as a whole. The educational practice of “Balanced Development of Five Education” emphasizes the comprehensiveness of educational activities, focuses on the differentiated growth and development of students, and aims at improve and guarantee the soundness of the education evaluation system. It further deepens and explores the concept of putting people first and achieving their comprehensive development ( Wang, 2007 ). This is an important theoretical path for universities in the current context to fulfill their fundamental task of fostering morality and cultivating individuals, enhance the quality and capacity of talent cultivation, and accurately respond to the questions of “for whom are we cultivating individuals,” “what kind of individuals are we cultivating,” and “how should we cultivate individuals.” Looking at the historical evolution and development of the “five-dimensional development,” it carries the weighty responsibility of disseminating truth and shaping souls that the Chinese nation has shouldered for thousands of years. Strengthening and improving ideological and political education in universities under the new circumstances, deepening the integration and development of the “Balanced Development of Five Education,” is a major political task and strategic project in the face of deepening educational institutional and management reforms in the new era. It reflects a precise grasp of the laws of socialist school-running, teaching, and the student growth, and is crucial for promoting the cultivation of high-quality talents who have enhanced cultivation, improved character, and comprehensive capabilities, who can shoulder the responsibilities of the times and adapt to the needs of modernization.
3. Logic Pathway: The Fundamental Implications and Educational Value of Chinese Excellent Traditional Culture
3.1. The Intrinsic Logic between Chinese Excellent Traditional Culture and the New Era of Educational Work
Culture is an important gauge of a country’s strength. Cultural confidence is a major issue concerning the rise and fall of a nation, the security of culture, and the independence of national spirit ( Xi, 2017 ). Chinese excellent traditional culture is the concentrated manifestation of the unique and profound national culture that has been formed through thousands of years of production and life practices. It represents the wisdom and essence of Chinese civilization. For example, in the evolution and development of Chinese civilization, the outstanding ideas of “benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, and trust,” the traditional Chinese medicine practices of “the unity of heaven and man, yin and yang, and the five elements,” the emphasis on cultivating physical, mental, and spiritual well-being in traditional national health sports, as well as folk culture such as poetry, songs, storytelling, and embroidery and so on. Clearly, the national spirit forged by Chinese culture has stood the test of history and practice. The thoughts and philosophies accumulated over five thousand years of traditional culture should be inherited and promoted. The essence of the power of Chinese national civilization lies in it, shaping the collective will formed on the foundation of national self-confidence.
Focusing on the new era of educational work, The National of China Education Conference emphasizes that “education is a vital foundation for national rejuvenation and social progress, and it is a benevolent project that brings benefits to the present and future generations” (http://theory.people.com.cn/GB/n1/2018/0912/c40531-30288768.html?ivk_sa=1024609w, 2018-09-12). Insisting on “cultivating individuals with culture, and nurturing individuals with culture” is the method and principle for enhancing the effectiveness of nurturing students in the new era. With the promotion of the state and society, the marginalized situation of traditional culture has been comprehensively improved, and the spiritual pursuit, genetic essence, and cultural identity of the Chinese nation contained in the Chinese excellent traditional culture have been elevated. The era value of Chinese excellent traditional culture is further elucidated and promoted through innovative reforms in education and teaching. To fulfill the fundamental task of fostering virtue and cultivating talents, and to adapt to the development of the times, universities must fully tap into and promote the educational value of excellent traditional culture. They need to comprehensively integrate and deeply integrate Chinese excellent traditional culture into all aspects of education and teaching, coordinate and plan from cultivating students’ patriotism, nurturing their moral character, and strengthening their professional competence, in order to shape a new generation with national spirit and demonstrate national character in the modern era.
3.2. The Value Pathway of Integrating Chinese Excellent Traditional Culture into Ideological and Political Education
Valuing the educational value of excellent traditional culture is the foundation for promoting the high-quality development of ideological and political education through the unique cultural genes of the nation. China has a unique history, unique culture, and unique national conditions, which determine that it must follow its own path of higher education development, the direction of higher education development should be closely linked to the realistic goals and future directions of national development ( Jin, 2018 ). This fundamentally emphasizes the important value of integrating excellent cultural genes into educational work and clarifies the necessary requirement for integrating cultural self-confidence into ideological and political education in the new era. To carry out effective ideological and political education in the new era, we must not only inherit and promote excellent traditional culture but also firmly establish cultural self-confidence based on cultural awareness and identity. This will create a strong foundation for the high-quality development of ideological and political education in universities.
The fundamental efficacy and the core function of ideological and political education lie in shaping individuals’ ideological and moral qualities, promoting and realizing their comprehensive development, guiding students to establish a correct political orientation, and further regulating their behavior through internalized identification and belonging. As cultural transmission and dissemination centers and the main battlefield for conducting ideological and political education, universities need to find the point of integration between culture and ideological and political education, strengthen the innovative construction of cultural awareness, self-confidence, and self-improvement, optimize the top-level mechanisms of ideological and political education, enhance the centripetal force of young students’ identification with excellent traditional culture, improve the pertinence and precision of integrating excellent traditional culture into ideological and political education, promote the interaction and combination of cultural self-confidence and ideological and political education practice, and further realize the “transformative” and “nurturing” functions of excellent traditional culture, ensuring the high-quality development of ideological and political education in universities.
4. Realistic Meaning: The Practical Significance of Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture in Ideological and Political Education in Colleges and Universities
4.1. Promoting and Inheriting Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture
The International Academic Symposium Commemorating the Birthday of Confucius held in 2014 pointed out that “excellent traditional culture is the foundation for the inheritance and development of a country and a nation. If it is lost, the spiritual lifeline will be severed” ( Chen, 2019 ). To implement the fundamental task of cultivating virtue and educating people, it is essential to firmly integrate excellent traditional Chinese culture into the entire process, all aspects, and every stage of education in the new era. This is the basic principle for implementing the project of inheriting and developing excellent traditional Chinese culture and an effective way to enhance the country’s cultural “soft power” ( Cheng & Rong, 2017 ). “To observe humanity and transform the world through cultural cultivation.” To enhance the targeted, precise, and concrete nature of high-quality ideological and political education in universities, it is necessary to deepen the implementation of functions such as talent cultivation, scientific research, social services, cultural inheritance, and innovation. This requires adhering to the correct values, considering the humanistic spirit nurtured by excellent traditional Chinese culture as the foundation and guiding force for functionality and development (http://www.china.com.cn/opinion/theory/2019-01/25/content_74409581.htm, 2019-01-25). By profoundly exploring the rich educational resources embedded in excellent traditional culture, it ensures that ideological and political education truly and effectively fulfills its role, allowing excellent traditional Chinese culture to be precisely integrated and permeate the practice of ideological and political education, thereby achieving subtle and effective educational outcomes.
4.2. Enriching and Innovating Curriculum Development
Promoting innovative development in higher education requires a deep understanding and comprehension of the essential ideas of excellent traditional Chinese culture rooted in practice and continuously inherited and developed. It necessitates the systematic exploration of the essence of excellent traditional Chinese culture that upholds propriety and emphasizes morality ( Tan, 2021 ). Integrating excellent traditional Chinese culture into the entire process of education and talent cultivation is a necessary path to deepen the coordinated development of moral, intellectual, physical, artistic, and labor education and to cultivate builders and successors of socialism. As a substantial component of promoting the inheritance and innovation of excellent traditional Chinese culture, curriculum development must not only achieve educational objectives but also promote students’ professional development and physical and mental well-being. This requires identifying channels, establishing clear positioning, systematically exploring the curriculum resources embedded in excellent traditional Chinese culture, and further enriching the content and innovating the curriculum design. It involves establishing a curriculum innovation platform that integrates teaching, research, inheritance, and exchange, exploring an integrated innovative curriculum system that integrates society with schools, and industry with education. Harnessing the synergistic effects of Chinese excellent traditional culture in the integration of “Balanced Development of Five Education”. It guides learners to deeply appreciate the unique charm of excellent traditional culture, nurture moral character, cultivates humanistic spirit, and enriches campus culture. Through this, it achieves the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture ( Liu, 2019 ).
4.3. Strengthening the Connotation Orientation of “Cultivating Cultural Individuals”
If a nation or a country lacks a common core value, lacks consensus, and has no spiritual anchor, it cannot make progress (http://www.wenming.cn/sxll/lszb/202112/t20211225_6274474.shtml, 2021-12-25). Excellent traditional Chinese culture is the cultural foundation of the Chinese nation. With the spiritual guidance of culture, educational reform can be followed. The deep integration and development of Chinese excellent traditional culture and ideological and political education in universities is conducive to further demonstrating the educational function and practical value of excellent traditional culture in cultivating individuals with cultural awareness. It also contributes to the deepening of the coordinated educational mechanism for the “Balanced Development of Five Education,” and is of great significance in enhancing students’ understanding of the profound connotations of excellent traditional culture. By clarifying the fundamental path of cultural education and consciously integrating the spiritual essence of excellent traditional cultural ideas into students’ values and beliefs, it promotes the more profound, efficient, and effective dissemination, inheritance, and development of excellent traditional culture. This, in turn, realizes the mutual promotion of cultural education and cultural inheritance, and builds a shared spiritual home for the Chinese nation with culture as the bond.
4.4. Enhancing Cultural Confidence and Cultural Identity
The collective learning conference of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China pointed out that “deeply understand the history of the development of Chinese civilization for more than five thousand years, promote in-depth research on Chinese historical and cultural studies, and strengthen the Party and society’s historical consciousness and firm cultural confidence” (http://www.qstheory.cn/dukan/qs/2022-07/15/c_1128830256.htm, 2022-07-15). With a profound heritage of five thousand years, excellent traditional Chinese culture is not only an important part of Chinese socialist culture but also a crucial cornerstone for China to strengthen its cultural confidence in this era of profound changes. It embodies the thoughts, wisdom, ideas, and skills of ancient Chinese people, reflects national beliefs, and embodies the spirit of the times. While promoting the advancement of traditional culture in line with the times, it is crucial to ensure that excellent traditional Chinese culture is deeply integrated into the development of ideological and political education in universities. This can be achieved through creative transformation of traditional culture and by expanding channels of communication and exchange, establishing platforms for dissemination, and constructing channels for transmission. It helps young students develop a sense of national pride, construct a more comprehensive cultural value system, promote a broader scope and wider recognition of cultural identity, and gradually achieve cultural self-confidence and self-strengthening.
5. Core Values: The Unique Thinking Patterns, Value Ideals, Aesthetic Consciousness, and Ethical Concepts of Excellent Traditional Chinese Culture Will Be Integrated into the “Balanced Development of Five Education” and the New Paradigm of Ideological and Political Education
5.1. Excellent Traditional Culture Possesses the Nurturing Essence for Ideological and Political Education, Promoting the Innate Advantage of Fostering Virtue-Oriented Individuals
“In the realm of greatness, moral integrity stands supreme, followed by remarkable achievements, and then eloquent speech. These virtues, enduring through the ages, epitomize immortality” ( Liang & Wang, 2015 ). From this perspective, the fundamental task of education is inherently about nurturing virtue and cultivating individuals. Chinese excellent traditional culture embodies the educational concepts and philosophical wisdom accumulated over thousands of years of the Chinese nation. The educational ideas, methods, and concepts contained within it can provide valuable experiences and references for carrying out ideological and political education in the new era, under the requirements of “Balanced Development of Five Education.” In terms of content, ideological and political education, as an important component and crucial link of education on the core values of socialism, shares the same essence and core values with the excellent traditional culture of China. To promote the construction of a new paradigm for ideological and political education and achieve its high-quality development, it is necessary to adhere to the moral norms and value concepts of excellent traditional culture, drawing from its intellectual essence and wisdom to help students establish the correct worldview, outlook on life, and values ( Liu, 2022 ). In terms of methods, traditional educational thoughts attach great importance to moral education, emphasizing the full play of learners’ subjectivity, inspiring and mobilizing their consciousness, and enhancing the initiative of learning. This aligns closely with the concept of “Balanced Development of Five Education,” which de-emphasizes indoctrination and emphasizes participation. It is conducive to guide students in internalizing the theoretical values of ideological and political education into their own thoughts and externalizing them as behavioral habits of comprehensive development. From a utilitarian perspective, achieving comprehensive development is not only the inherent pursuit of young students for self-improvement but also a key task in the integration of “Balanced Development of Five Education” of morality, intelligence, physicality, aesthetics, and labor in higher education institutions. The positive role of excellent traditional culture in nurturing and influencing individuals is a unique advantage of these institutions. Therefore, it is necessary to integrate the concept of “cultured individuals” into the integrated education system between schools and society, effectively leveraging the foundation role of excellent traditional culture in promoting moral character and nurturing talent.
5.2. Excellent Traditional Culture Empowers the Integration of “Balanced Development of Five Education”, Providing an Effective Path for the Realization of Individuals’ Freedom, Comprehensive Development, and Full Potential in Ideological and Political Education
Chinese excellent traditional culture serves as the root and soul of the Chinese nation, embodying rich moral education thoughts. Without the integration of traditional culture, ideological and theoretical education would lack soul, hollow content, and the lack depth. Only through the mutual complementation and integration of the two can we unite hearts and forge the soul, and strengthen the foundation. “Human beings are essentially cultural beings, not ‘materialized’ beings; they are dynamic and comprehensive, not rigid and ‘one-dimensional’” ( Xi, 2007 ). Therefore, to promote the high-quality development of ideological and political education guided by the deepening integration of “Balanced Development of Five Education”, it is necessary to profoundly draw on the educational thoughts and the value core of excellent traditional culture. It involves implementing individualized education concepts, enhancing students’ autonomy, enthusiasm, and initiative in learning and exploring Chinese excellent traditional culture. Furthermore, it requires innovative reforms in talent development models that respect students’ individuality and promote their diversified development, cultivating young students’ awareness of cultural innovation, and strengthening their sense of historical responsibility and mission in inheriting and innovating excellent traditional culture. These efforts create social and individual conditions for the growth and development of young students and promote their freedom, comprehensive development, and full potential. This requires universities, as the forefront of cultural inheritance, dissemination, ideological and political development, and cultivation of new generations, to innovatively construct a quality evaluation index system for ideological and political education in the deepening implementation of the “Balanced Development of Five Education”. This system should be based on policy theories, guided by values, and aimed at promoting development, providing long-term guarantees and practical mechanisms. On the one hand, it should focus on the historical changes of the integration of the “Balanced Development of Five Education”, and in terms of disciplinary majors, practical courses, scientific research innovation, cultural cultivation, and management services, provide more comprehensive and solid external support for the freedom, comprehensive development, and full potential of young students. On the other hand, it should innovate the development model of the integration of the “Balanced Development of Five Education”, guiding young students to deeply comprehend and experience the spiritual connotation of excellent traditional culture through morality, intelligence, physicality, aesthetics, and labor. Based on the underlying logic of establishing the “root” of Chinese traditional culture and forging the “soul” of ideals and beliefs, it should reveal the essential requirements for achieving diversified and individualized growth and development in the new educational context, truly promoting students’ comprehensive development in body and mind.
6. Conclusion
The integration and coordinated development of morality, intelligence, physicality, aesthetics, and labor, known as the integration of the “Balanced Development of Five Education”, is an important practice and major issue in the development of socialist higher education with Chinese characteristics for moral character education. It is of great significance to deeply integrate excellent traditional culture into the specific practice of high-quality development of ideological and political education in universities. The purpose of ideological and political education is to cultivate a new generation of young college students with ideals, abilities, and responsibilities for the country, cultivate and practice socialist core values ( Du, 2017 ). It is necessary to deepen the understanding of excellent traditional Chinese culture, further enhance cultural consciousness and confidence, and promote the creative transformation and innovative development of excellent traditional Chinese culture, to continuously strengthen the cultural foundation for cultivating and practicing socialist core values among college students.
Funding Project
Key Research Project of Sichuan Provincial Key Research Base of Humanities and Social Sciences in Higher Education Institutions—“Research on the Path and Public Issues of Sichuan Traditional Chinese Medicine Culture under the Belt and Road Initiative” (Project Number: ZYYWH1802).