Research on the Crisis of Chinese Cultural Identity and Its Coping Strategies ()
1. Introduction
Throughout the development of the Chinese nation, book exchange has always played a crucial role in cultural identity, national identity and national unity. The world today is undergoing rapid changes. Economic globalization is developing rapidly and the Internet is rising rapidly. All these are influencing and changing people’s thoughts and cultures. In the era of globalization, China is confronted with a more complex situation in terms of cultural identity, national identity and national unity, giving rise to a series of new problems. Conducting in-depth analysis and research on problems from a global perspective and exploring solutions to them is of vital importance to the future and destiny of the Chinese nation.
1.1. Problems and Crises Currently Faced by Cultural Identity and National Unity in China
The Weakening of Chinese Cultural Identity and the Crises It Brings
At present, there are some problems with cultural identity in China: The majority of the people know very little about traditional Chinese culture; the influence of traditional culture has weakened. Classics such as the classics of literature, history, philosophy and literature, as the crystallization and main carriers of traditional culture, are only read by a very small number of professionals in literature, history and philosophy, and have few readers among the general public. Traditional art forms such as drama are increasingly fading away. The public has incorrect perceptions regarding the issues of Chinese and Western cultures, with excessive worship of Western culture and prejudice against Chinese culture coexisting. Traditional festivals are increasingly fading, while Western festivals have become fashionable in some big cities. The traditional Confucian values of benevolence, righteousness, propriety, wisdom, trustworthiness, loyalty and filial piety in Chinese society are increasingly collapsing, while values from the West such as individualism, liberalism and hedonism are prevalent. Chinese society is facing crises such as the lack of integrity, family separation and moral decline.
The weakening of Chinese culture has brought adverse effects on the future and destiny of the Chinese nation. First, culture is the foundation of a nation’s existence. Throughout history, many nations have ultimately perished due to the loss of their own culture. The weakening of China’s native culture has shaken the foundation for the survival of the Chinese nation. Secondly, culture is the soul and pillar of a nation’s spiritual life, encompassing its spiritual pursuits, moral sentiments, values, beliefs, etc. The weakening of Chinese cultural identity has led to confusion in the nation’s thoughts and values, moral crises, and the loss of beliefs. Thirdly, culture serves as the adhesive of a nation and the source of its cohesion. The weakening of China’s local cultural identity leads to a decline in national cohesion. Fourth, culture is a precious heritage of a nation and a capital for a nation to stand among the world’s nations. The weakening of Chinese culture has had a significant impact on the confidence of the Chinese nation. The construction of cultural identity is related to the future and destiny of a nation and a country.
1.2. The Impact and Harm of Historical Nihilism
In recent years, historical nihilism has become increasingly rampant. Some people, under the banner of “restoring history”, have wantonly distorted history with historical nihilism, vigorously promoted wrong historical views, and used various online and new media to hype up and promote each other. This has had an extremely bad influence among the general public, especially among young people.
Historical nihilism, based on a wrong view of history or for other purposes, belittles Chinese history and culture, depicting Chinese history as stagnant. Or to subvert the evaluations of historical figures that have long been established in history, to rehabilitate some negative historical figures, and to belittle well-known heroic figures. A considerable number of books distort modern and contemporary Chinese history, such as that of the late Qing Dynasty and the People’s Republic of China, in the form of historical nihilism. The areas of attack by historical nihilism mainly focus on three aspects: First, how to view the value of Chinese history and Chinese civilization; The second is how to view the history of previous wars against foreign aggression and the related figures; The third aspect is the historical trend of China since modern times and the evaluation of historical figures.
According to Xinhua News Agency on June 30, 2025, the Cybersecurity Bureau of the Ministry of Public Security recently released two typical cases of online rumors related to the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression: Deng Moujie fabricated false combat data and maliciously belittled and denied the pivotal role of the Communist Party of China in the War of Resistance against Japanese Aggression. Zhang Mouyi maliciously fabricated false information such as "the Red Army funded the Kwantung Army", denying the historical fact that the Northeast anti-Japanese armed forces led by the Communist Party of China were the first to raise the banner of national resistance. Both individuals were punished according to law.
From the perspective of several areas attacked by historical nihilism, there are three major harms: First, it devalues the history of the Chinese nation and the value of Chinese civilization, and undermines the national confidence of the Chinese people. Second, we should review the praise and criticism of both the positive and negative sides of the figures in previous wars against foreign aggression, confuse people’s sense of right and wrong, and ideologically eliminate the Chinese people’s awareness of resisting foreign aggression. Thirdly, it subverts and distorts the history since modern times, attempting to deny the leading position of the Communist Party of China and the socialist path. The late Qing Dynasty thinker Gong Zizhen said, “To destroy a country, one must first trace its history. To undermine the integrity of others, one must first trace one’s history; To cut off a person’s talent and to conceal his teachings, one must first trace his history.” [1] In recent years, the rampant spread of historical nihilism in books, the Internet and new media has confused a large number of netizens and young students, causing confusion in public thought. Its harmfulness cannot be ignored.
1.3. Extreme Nationalism and National Unity in Border Areas
China is a multi-ethnic country with vast areas of ethnic minorities. China’s multi-ethnic country was gradually formed in history and has a profound historical and cultural foundation. However, with the changes in the world situation since modern times and the special historical stage in China since modern times, China has also faced severe challenges in maintaining ethnic unity and national solidarity.
Cultural identification with the Chinese nation and national identification with China are the foundation of national unity.
1.4. The Alienation of Cultural and National Identity among a Small Number of People in Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan
Region and Its Impact on National Unity
The successful implementation of “one country, two systems” in Hong Kong SAR and Macao SAR has received extensive support from the people in the Chinese mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Macao SAR and Taiwan region. However, in Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region, there are still a small number of people who have a resistant attitude towards national reunification and pose a threat to it.
The propositions and activities of Taiwan region independence by a small number of people in Taiwan region have repeatedly caused tensions across the Taiwan Strait, affecting the peace and stability of cross-strait relations. A small number of citizens and young students in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region have repeatedly occupied and blocked municipal public roads, undermining the prosperity and stability of Hong Kong SAR. Certain individuals in Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region maintain historical interpretations that inappropriately valorize colonial experiences, overlooking the suffering caused by imperial aggression. All these have brought considerable negative impacts on China’s efforts to maintain and promote national unity.
Recent developments have seen concerning escalations in separatist activities within China’s Hong Kong Special Administrative Region and Taiwan area. Since assuming office in May 2016, Tsai Ing-wen, the regional leader of Taiwan, has consistently declined to acknowledge the historic “1992 Consensus”, the fundamental political foundation that has maintained cross-strait relations. The incident of insulting the country during the oath-taking ceremony of the incoming members of the Legislative Council of the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region continues to escalate. The frequent actions of Taiwan region independence and Hong Kong SAR independence forces pose a serious threat to China’s national reunification.
The display of colonial-era symbols has emerged as a significant indicator of identity dissonance among certain segments of Hong Kong’s population. During various protest activities, a minority of Hong Kong youth have prominently featured historical British colonial insignia. This phenomenon reached particular prominence during the controversial 2016 Legislative Council oath-taking incident, where English-language colonial symbols were deliberately employed in a manner that challenged national sovereignty norms.
1.5. The Country’s Cultural Soft Power Does Not Match Its Comprehensive National Strength
Since the reform and opening up, China’s economy has achieved remarkable accomplishments that have attracted worldwide attention, and its comprehensive national strength has risen rapidly. Meanwhile, the country’s cultural soft power does not match it, and culture has become a weak point. This is mainly because under the impact of Western culture, China’s native culture has weakened and its international influence is relatively weak. Specifically, it is manifested in the lack of cultural content, weak expressiveness and weak influence.
First of all, Chinese culture is currently confronted with the problem of content deficiency. Culture is composed of content and external forms of expression. Content is the soul and core of culture. American culture combines intrinsic values with external forms of expression quite well. Hollywood movies, American TV series, the NBA, etc., not only attract audiences from all over the world, occupy the international market and achieve good economic benefits, but also successfully spread American culture and values. Chinese traditional culture, such as Confucian classics, historical records, poetry, drama, novels, etc., also well embodies the combination of content and form, with Confucianism at its core. With the impact of Western culture and the weakening of traditional culture, Chinese culture is confronted with old content the predicament of collapse while new content has yet to be established.
Secondly, the expressiveness of Chinese culture has weakened. At present, traditional events such as lion dance, dragon dance, martial arts and drama still attract attention internationally and are identified as part of Chinese culture. Although these traditional projects well demonstrate the uniqueness and nationality of Chinese culture, they also have problems such as outdated content and monotonous forms. In the fields of popular culture such as film, television, music and sports, Chinese cultural products still have problems such as imitating and copying cultural products from Europe, America, Japan, South Korea and other countries, with insufficient innovation and a lack of their own values.
Secondly, Chinese culture has insufficient influence internationally due to the lack of core content in its international dissemination. Take books as an example. Mo Yan was the first Chinese writer to win the Nobel Prize in Literature, but he is still very weak compared with those from Europe and America. In the fields of high culture such as philosophy, thought, literature and art, China still has relatively few achievements that can influence the contemporary world. In the fields of popular culture such as film, television and pop music, China still lacks works with global influence.
The above-mentioned problems that China faces in terms of cultural identity, national identity and national unity are not isolated from each other but closely linked. Among them, the weakening of Chinese culture is the root of the problem. It is the prerequisite for historical nihilism to take advantage of the situation, an important reason for the emergence of ethnic separatist forces in border areas and the alienation of cultural and national identities of a small number of people in Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region, and a direct cause of the relatively weak cultural soft power of the country.
2. Analysis of the Causes of the Problem
2.1. The Internal and External Causes of the Weakening of Chinese Culture
China has a civilization history of as long as five thousand years and is the only country among the world’s ancient civilizations where its civilization has continued without interruption. In ancient times, Chinese culture was far ahead of that of other ethnic groups and countries around it. The highly developed Chinese culture has become the aspiration of the surrounding ethnic minorities, ultimately achieving ethnic integration in China and maintaining national unity. Countries such as North Korea, Japan and Vietnam in East Asia admire and actively learn from Chinese culture, forming a Confucian cultural circle with China at its core.
The formation of the weakened situation of Chinese culture since modern times is attributed to both internal and external factors. First of all, from an internal perspective, Chinese culture became increasingly conservative and rigid in the later period of the feudal society due to various reasons. Chinese culture shifted from the extroverted and enterprising type of the Han and Tang Dynasties to the introverted and conservative type of the Song and Ming Dynasties.
Secondly, the impact of Western culture since modern times has been an external factor contributing to the weakening of Chinese culture. Following the Opium War (1839-1842), China entered a prolonged period of foreign encroachment, with multiple Western powers establishing spheres of influence that gradually transformed China’s socioeconomic structure into what historians characterize as a semi-colonial, semi-feudal condition. The Chinese civilization is facing an unprecedented challenge, presenting a major transformation unseen in three thousand years in China. China’s once-proud cultural advantage was in jeopardy under the impact of the West, especially shocking the scholar-official class. The sense of cultural frustration deeply affected the modern and contemporary intellectual class. In 1927, the master of Sinology, Wang Guowei, drowned himself in Kunming Lake. In the preface to his eulogy, Mr. Chen Yinque wrote: “When a culture is in decline, those who have been influenced by it will surely feel pain. The more extensive the process of expressing this culture, the greater the pain they will suffer. When one has reached an extremely profound degree, it is by no means because of the desire to commit suicide without seeking personal peace of mind that righteousness is exhausted.” [2] In modern times, the intellectual class, having long been educated in traditional culture, had deep feelings for it. When Chinese traditional culture was subjected to a large-scale impact from Western civilization, the pain in their hearts was indescribable, and they were willing to sacrifice themselves for traditional culture.
Secondly, the change in the content of school education is also a reason for the weakening of Chinese culture. Education in ancient China was centered around traditional culture, with Confucian classics being the main teaching content. By the 21st century, traditional Chinese culture education is no longer the mainstream of school education. Science and technology, as well as humanities and social sciences, which originated in the West, have become the main contents of school education in our country. The proportion of Chinese culture content is relatively small, and students have received more Western culture but less exposure to traditional culture. Education is the main way for human thoughts and values to form and has a significant impact on the cultural development of a nation.
2.2. The Roots of Historical Nihilism and the Reasons for Its Prevalence
Historical identity is an important component of cultural identity and national identity. It is a significant symbol that distinguishes a nation or country from others, an important source of national cohesion, and the foundation of national identity and national identity. The shared historical memory closely unites the entire country.
Historical nihilism has its ideological roots for emergence. Historical nihilism is based on the idealist view of history and colludes with the trends of neoliberalism and democratic socialism [3]. On the other hand, historical nihilism is one of the manifestations of postmodernism. It emerged in Europe and America in the 1970s and once had a considerable influence. Currently, it has fallen silent in Europe and America, but it has begun to gain widespread popularity in China [4].
The realistic root cause of historical nihilism lies in the complex international and domestic situations and ideological struggles that China is confronted with. With China’s rapid development, contradictions and conflicts with the West are also increasing internationally. The situation of international struggle is severe. Meanwhile, as the world’s largest socialist country, China has always had ideological contradictions with Western capitalism. With the disintegration of the Soviet Union and the socialist countries in Eastern Europe, the West has mainly targeted China’s socialism in its ideological struggle. Since the reform and opening up, the trend of bourgeois liberalization in China has expanded. The forces advocating the complete copy of the Western system and the establishment of a Western-style capitalist country in China have always existed. In recent years, historical nihilism has been rampant in China. It is not merely a historical issue; in fact, it is an attempt by foreign hostile forces and their domestic spokespersons to use history as a weapon to attack China. It is a manifestation of the complexity of the international and domestic situations that China is facing.
For many years, there has been a problem of insufficient attention paid to history education in our country. In the school curriculum design, history education has long been in a rather awkward position. History education has long been neglected, resulting in the public having no access to correct historical education and providing an opportunity for historical nihilism to take advantage. The battlefield of history education, if not occupied by formal school education, will be occupied by historical nihilism. This is an important reason why historical nihilism is rampant at present and has caused extremely bad influence among the people.
2.3. The Background of the Emergence of Extreme Nationalism in Border Areas
The formation of extreme nationalist separatist forces in border areas has both domestic and international backgrounds: First, the weakening of the dominant culture of the Chinese nation has led to a weakened centripetal force of ethnic minorities in border areas towards Chinese culture; Second, the emergence of the concept of nation-state since modern times and the conflicts and reconfiguration of civilizations worldwide have become the background for the generation of centrifugal force in border areas.
Single-ethnic countries, due to the uniformity of their ethnic groups and the identity of their cultures, are relatively easier to handle in terms of cultural identity and national identity. In a multi-ethnic country, due to the complex ethnic composition within it and the unique culture of each ethnic group, the construction of cultural identity and national identity throughout the country becomes particularly complicated. For multi-ethnic countries, it is necessary to respect the unique cultures of each ethnic group, and at the same time, there must be a common cultural identity of all ethnic groups in the country as an adhesive to unite all ethnic groups as one. If there is no common cultural and national identity foundation, the stability and survival of multi-ethnic countries will be affected. Chinese culture has played an important role in ethnic integration throughout history. Since modern times, Chinese culture has been increasingly weakened by the impact of Western culture. The weakening of the culture of the main ethnic group not only brings about a crisis in the cultural identity of the main ethnic group, but also weakens its function in uniting ethnic minorities in border areas.
The concept of nation-states and national self-determination, which originated in the West, has had a considerable influence on the world since modern times. The several large-scale redivisions of countries in Eastern Europe, Southern Europe and Asia after World War I, World War II and the Cold War were all products of the concept of nation-states. In the era of globalization, the concept of nation-states has had a considerable influence on multi-ethnic countries like China and has become one of the backgrounds for the emergence of separatist forces in border areas. Anthony Giddens believes: “Globalization has restructured nations and brought about ethnic division. Today’s ethnic division is more severe than in any previous era. Globalization does not bring about ethnic unity as you might imagine. The era of globalization is a new and difficult time for different ethnic groups and cultural communities.” [5]
The conflict of civilizations and the reconstruction of civilizations are important backgrounds for the formation of extreme nationalism in China’s border areas. With China’s rapid rise, the contradiction between China and the old world pattern dominated by the West has also intensified. For many years, Western countries have been using issues such as China’s border ethnic minority issues, the Taiwan region issue, and the Hong Kong issue to create topics to contain China. Huntington believes that after the end of the Cold War, the reconstruction of civilizations has become a major trend in the world. The core countries of major civilizations have been reconstructing through religion and culture, such as Islamic countries and Turkic countries [6]. The conflicts and reconstructions of civilizations are increasingly exerting an influence on China’s border areas.
2.4. The Historical Background and Practical Roots of the Cultural Identity Alienation of a Small Number of People in Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan Region
A small number of people in Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region have wrong perceptions, make wrong remarks and even take extreme actions regarding national unity. The root cause lies in the long-term influence of Western culture, education and ideological propaganda, which leads to the alienation of their cultural identity, that is, the cultural identity of a small number of people in Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region is increasingly alienated from the culture of the motherland. The alienation of cultural identity leads to psychological centrifugal force, a lack of affection for the Chinese nation, a wrong understanding of national identity, and a resistance to national unity.
The alienation of cultural identity among some individuals in Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region has deep historical and contemporary roots. Primarily, this stems from the prolonged colonial rule by the United Kingdom and Japan, along with their colonial cultural and educational policies. Historically, Hong Kong region was under British rule from 1840 to 1997, while Taiwan region was occupied by Japan from 1895 to 1945. In pursuit of maintaining their unlawful control, the United Kingdom and Japan implemented extensive colonial education systems that sought to indoctrinate the local populations with colonial ideologies. This was achieved through cultural propaganda in books and newspapers, as well as in school curricula. The lasting impact of these policies should not be underestimated.
Secondly, there is the influence of long-term ideological propaganda. In 1949, the Kuomintang retreated to Taiwan region and the People’s Republic of China was founded.
The prolonged colonial administration by Britain and Japan, coupled with their respective cultural and educational policies, established enduring ideological frameworks that continue to influence segments of the population in Hong Kong region and Taiwan region. Following 1949, the geopolitical separation from mainland China further compounded these effects, creating complex barriers to national identity formation. These historical circumstances constitute the fundamental origins of the cultural identity dissonance observed among certain groups in these regions.
Secondly, the long-term political, cultural and educational infiltration of the West into Hong Kong region and Taiwan region is the real root cause of the alienation of cultural identity among a small number of people in these regions. Even after Hong Kong’s return to the motherland, the infiltration and control of the West in culture, education and public opinion have been ongoing. The intervention of external forces is the real root cause of the complication of the issues in Hong Kong region and Taiwan region.
Once again, we must acknowledge that, apart from colonialism and Western influence, local socio-economic factors and political development have also played a role in shaping regional identities.
A comprehensive analysis reveals that while historical colonialism and ongoing Western influence in cultural, educational, and media spheres have significantly impacted Hong Kong region and Taiwan region, the insufficient development of national identity education and marginalization of pro-unification voices have equally contributed to identity dissonance among certain segments of these populations. This dual deficiency, in both cultivating patriotic consciousness and countering external ideological influences, constitutes a fundamental challenge to cultural and national identity integration. The Wen Wei Po of Hong Kong region believes: “Although the opposition has come up with all kinds of tactics, whether it is ‘de-Sinicization’, ‘localization’, ‘Hong Kong first’, or ‘city-state theory’, in a nutshell, it all boils down to two words ‘Hong Kong independence’.” Those who are most enthusiastic about advocating “de-Sinicization” are not ordinary people or businesses, but a small number of politicians with ulterior motives and radical young people. The root cause of Hong Kong independence does not lie in the mainland. Instead, it is the result of the lack of patriotic education after Hong Kong’s return, allowing Western education that is hostile to the Chinese regime to thrive, and the instigation of the color revolution mastermind [7].
2.5. The Causes of a Country’s Relatively Weak Cultural Soft Power
First of all, the weakening of Chinese culture is the fundamental reason for the relatively weak cultural soft power of the country. Local culture is the pillar of a country’s cultural soft power. If the skin is gone, where can the hair attach? Chinese culture became increasingly conservative in the later period of the feudal society and has been strongly impacted by Western culture since modern times. It has lasted for more than 150 years since the mid-19th century. Today, under the impact of globalization and the rapid development of the Internet, Chinese culture still has a certain influence, but generally speaking, its influence is declining, especially in terms of its appeal to young people and its influence in the international community is insufficient.
Secondly, the construction of cultural soft power still needs to be strengthened. Since the reform and opening up, all the work in our country has been centered around promoting economic growth. When dealing with the relationship between the economy and culture, many places have long focused their main efforts on economic work, failing to achieve a balanced approach. They have insufficient understanding of the importance of cultural soft power, insufficient investment in cultural construction, or equate cultural construction with the construction of cultural facilities. The perception that hardware construction is emphasized over software construction and that economy is valued over culture still prevails widely.
3. Countermeasures and Suggestions
3.1. Adhere to Cultural Confidence and Promote the Inheritance and Innovation of Chinese Culture with a Spirit of Reform and Innovation
Culture is the symbol that distinguishes a nation from others, the foundation for a nation to stand among the world’s nations, and an essential condition for a nation’s existence and continuation. In the face of challenges, the primary task for Chinese culture is to rebuild its ideological system, values and other contents. The reconstruction of Chinese culture requires grasping the following principles.
First of all, we must uphold cultural confidence. General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: To be confident in the path, theory and system of socialism with Chinese characteristics, in the final analysis, is to be confident in culture. Cultural confidence is a more fundamental, profound and lasting force [8]. The suffering history of modern China has had a considerable negative impact on the national self-confidence of the Chinese people. To rebuild national confidence, economic development is the foundation and cultural development is the essence. Both are indispensable. Economic development is conducive to enhancing national self-confidence, but it cannot automatically bring about it. In recent years, China’s economy has developed rapidly and people’s material living standards have greatly improved. However, national confidence remains insufficient, which is manifested in the blind pursuit of foreign goods, the excessive admiration for foreign cultures, as well as the craze for studying abroad and immigration. The establishment of national self-confidence requires cultural guidance, and adhering to cultural confidence is fundamental.
Secondly, it is necessary to handle the relationship between inheritance and openness properly. Chinese culture is established on the basis of China’s geographical environment, economy, society, etc. It has gradually formed and developed in history and has its profound soil. The reconstruction of Chinese culture should be based on the inheritance of traditional culture, discarding the dross and retaining the essence. At the same time, the experience of modern China shows that isolationism and conservatism are not feasible and will only bring backwardness to the country. The reconstruction of Chinese culture requires an open and inclusive attitude to widely absorb the outstanding achievements of other civilizations in the world. At present, in terms of culture, there is a rather prominent issue of emphasizing openness over inheritance, valuing foreign cultures while neglecting local ones. Adhering to cultural confidence and treating the inheritance of traditional culture and the absorption of foreign cultures with a scientific attitude is the foundation for the reconstruction of Chinese culture.
Secondly, develop Chinese culture with a spirit of reform and innovation. Chinese culture has been constantly innovating and developing throughout history rather than remaining static. It was only during the Ming and Qing dynasties, when cultural despotism became increasingly strict, that Chinese culture gradually became closed and conservative. Since modern times, the invasion of Western culture has disrupted the process of self-development of Chinese culture. Due to various reasons, Chinese culture has encountered a predicament in modern times and has become rigid, which is manifested in the rigidity of content, form of expression and means of dissemination, and has failed to meet the needs of the people in contemporary society, especially the young. It has become an urgent task to carry out innovative development of Chinese culture, stimulate its vitality and continue its charm. The innovative development of Chinese culture requires innovation in content, form and means.
To rebuild Chinese culture, several issues need to be addressed: Which aspects of traditional culture should be preserved? Which elements should be innovated to meet contemporary needs? Regarding this, further discussion and research are needed in the academic community. In my opinion, the socialist core values serve as an important criterion for judgment. The parts that conform to this value standard should be retained and further innovated; the parts that do not align with the socialist core values and modern society should be abandoned.
Based in China and drawing on foreign experience, we will explore traditions, grasp the present, look to the future and care for humanity. We will organically integrate the beneficial achievements of traditional Chinese culture, socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and other civilizations around the world to build a new Chinese cultural system that is both distinctive in China and influential worldwide. This is the fundamental way to reconstruct Chinese national culture in the era of globalization.
3.2. Criticize Historical Nihilism, Strengthen History Education, and Establish a Correct View of History
To deal with historical nihilism, the following measures need to be taken. First, we must recognize the essence and harmfulness of historical nihilism and deal with it seriously at a certain level. Historical nihilism is usually under the guise of “restoring history” and “academic discussion”, and it is highly concealed and deceptive. All levels of departments and the general public must not be deceived by its superficial guise. They should recognize its essence and harm.
Second, we should criticize and fight against historical nihilism from a theoretical perspective. The academic and theoretical circles should criticize historical nihilism, expose the idealist nature of historical nihilism theory, help the general public, especially young people, recognize the true face of historical nihilism theory, and point out the theoretical errors of historical nihilism.
Thirdly, strengthening historical education, establishing a materialist view of history among the people and disseminating correct historical knowledge is an effective way to deal with historical nihilism. First of all, it is necessary to transform educational ideas. The development of a country requires not only knowledge and skills training but also the cultivation of national sentiments. Without profound feelings for the nation and the country, knowledge cannot serve the development of the nation well either. History education is an important way to cultivate national sentiments. Secondly, it is necessary to reform the school curriculum, enhance the status of history classes, and make history truly a compulsory course for every student. Secondly, correct historical education should be provided to the public through various means such as books, the Internet and television. Strengthening history education, establishing a materialist view of history among the people and disseminating correct historical knowledge are fundamental tasks for building the historical and national identity of the Chinese nation and enhancing national cohesion.
3.3. Strengthen Ethnic Unity, Build a Cultural Community of the Chinese Nation, and Enhance National Identity
China is a multi-ethnic country. In the course of its historical development, it has gradually formed a pattern of diversity and unity. Diversity in unity generally refers to the ethnic structure. However, its cultural connotations are often overlooked by people. The author believes that from a cultural perspective, diversity means that each ethnic group has its unique culture, while unity means that all ethnic groups share a common cultural identity and national identity. This is an important foundation for China to maintain its long-term unity.
In the era of globalization, the construction of cultural and national identity as a multi-ethnic country in China has become more complex and important, and is related to the overall situation of national unity, stability and development. First of all, it is necessary to build a cultural community of the Chinese nation and foster a common cultural identity among people of all ethnic groups across the country. In multi-ethnic countries, the culture of the dominant ethnic group is the core part of the national culture and plays an important role in maintaining the cultural and national identity of the multi-ethnic country. Meanwhile, the cultures of ethnic minorities are not only precious cultural heritages of all ethnic groups but also an important part of the culture of the Chinese nation. To build a cultural community of the Chinese nation, it is necessary to overcome the narrow parochialism. We should not only inherit traditional culture but also widely absorb the cultures of various ethnic minorities in China and even the excellent cultures of other countries in the world.
Secondly, to address the divisive issue caused by extreme nationalism, it is necessary to theoretically sort out the relationship between national identity and ethnic identity. In the era of globalization, the proliferation of nationalism has brought turmoil and conflicts to many countries around the world. However, the propositions of one nation and one country are not realistic. There are relatively few single-ethnic countries in the world, and most countries are multi-ethnic ones. In today’s world, the number of ethnic groups far exceeds that of countries. If extreme nationalism is allowed to run rampant, the world will be shattered. Han Zhen believes: “In a multi-ethnic country, in order to maintain ethnic unity and national solidarity, national identity must be given top priority. At the very least, ethnic identity should not be stronger than national identity.” [9]
With regard to the Chinese nation’s community, Xi Jinping emphasized that the Chinese nation is a great nation with a history of more than 5000 years of civilization. All ethnic groups have jointly developed the vast territory of the motherland, jointly built a unified multi-ethnic country, jointly written a splendid Chinese history jointly created a brilliant Chinese culture, and jointly nurtured a great national spirit [10]. Therefore, the Chinese nation community is an organic integration of the Han main culture and the minority cultures, rather than assimilation. Since the establishment of New China, state has always encouraged the publication, dissemination and exchange of excellent cultural books of ethnic minorities.
3.4. Be Inclusive and Guiding towards the Cultures of Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan Region, and Jointly Safeguard the Overall
Interests of the Chinese Nation
The alienation of cultural identity by a small number of people is the key factor complicating the issues of Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region. In view of the alienation of cultural identity among a small number of people in Hong Kong ASR and Taiwan region, on the premise of respecting the special circumstances of Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region, strategies of struggle, inclusiveness and guidance should be adopted according to specific circumstances to build a cultural identity conducive to national unity and jointly safeguard the overall interests of the Chinese nation.
First and foremost, it is imperative to address the lingering effects of colonial cultural influences. Both the Hong Kong and Taiwan regions have developed distinct cultural characteristics shaped by their unique historical trajectories and contemporary circumstances. Particularly for Hong Kong region, which has now returned to motherland China and enjoys a high degree of autonomy under the “one country, two systems” framework, the question of how to effectively mitigate residual colonial cultural influences warrants thorough scholarly examination and discussion. Secondly, different strategies should be adopted according to specific circumstances. For ordinary citizens, tolerance and guidance should be provided. On the basis of maintaining the openness and internationalization of its culture, it actively guides through various means such as book exchanges and new media on the Internet, especially by reforming school education and strengthening patriotic education among the people, to foster a sense of identity with Chinese culture, the Chinese nation and the country, and to safeguard and promote national unity.
The two sides of the Taiwan Strait and the three regions all belong to the Chinese nation and share the same bloodline and culture. Although due to historical and current reasons, there has been a problem of cultural identity alienation among a small number of people in Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region, as long as we actively respond, promote cultural exchanges, and through the guidance of culture and education, build a common cultural identity and national identity, national reunification can be achieved.
3.5. Promote Cultural Exchanges with Foreign Countries and Enhance the Country’s Cultural Soft Power
According to Joseph Nye, the father of soft power, soft power is composed of three parts: culture, institutions and policies [11]. The importance of cultural exchanges with foreign countries has been fully recognized by the state. China has established Confucius Institutes in many countries to promote the Chinese language and Chinese culture to the world. Through holding events such as the Year of Chinese Culture abroad, it has effectively advanced cultural exchanges with foreign countries. However, China’s cultural soft power does not match its comprehensive national strength, and culture remains a weak point.
First of all, content construction is fundamental. For Chinese culture to have influence and wide appeal in the world, it is necessary to reconstruct the ideological system and value content of Chinese culture. Secondly, more outstanding cultural products should be created around the content of Chinese culture and the core socialist values, and the international dissemination of such outstanding cultural products should be actively promoted. Secondly, we should strengthen the construction of spiritual civilization and enhance the quality of the people through culture and education. With the rapid development of China’s economy, the number of people studying and traveling abroad has risen rapidly. Every citizen who goes abroad can become an ambassador of China’s cultural soft power.
Book exchange is an important way to achieve the above measures. In adhering to cultural confidence and promoting cultural innovation, the state can take measures to encourage the publication, dissemination and exchange of books on traditional culture innovation and the spread of socialist culture. In criticizing historical nihilism, the review of book publishing needs to strengthen, the publication and circulation of books on historical nihilism are prohibited, and the publication, dissemination and exchange of books with correct historical views and respect for historical facts encouraged to establish the correct view of history among the people. In strengthening national unity, the state should encourage the publication, dissemination and exchange of books that publicize the excellent achievements of various ethnic groups, and prohibit the publication, dissemination and circulation of books that undermine national unity. As for the Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region, the state should encourage publication, dissemination and exchange of excellent books from the mainland in the Hong Kong SAR and Taiwan region to cultivate national identity. In terms of foreign cultural exchange, the state can encourage domestic books to be translated into multiple languages and circulated and exchanged abroad, so that the world can understand China and enhance China’s cultural soft power.
4. Conclusions
In the era of globalization, China’s cultural identity, national identity and national unity are facing severe challenges. The impact of Western culture and the weakening of Chinese culture have led to a crisis in the cultural identity of the Chinese nation, a decline in national cohesion, a setback in national self-confidence, and confusion in values. The rampant spread of historical nihilism has caused extremely adverse effects among the people. The weakening of Chinese culture, the conflicts and reconstructions of civilizations have led to the rise of extreme nationalism in border areas, challenging the unity and stability of the country. China’s comprehensive national strength has risen rapidly, but the influence of its cultural soft power in the world does not match it.
The cultural identity crisis is both a challenge and an opportunity for China. In the collision and exchange of world civilizations, adhering to cultural confidence, integrating the beneficial achievements of traditional Chinese culture, socialist culture with Chinese characteristics and other civilizations around the world, innovating and developing Chinese culture, and rebuilding the Chinese cultural system not only plays an important role in building the cultural and national identity of the Chinese nation, enhancing national cohesion, and maintaining and promoting national unity, it also plays a significant role in exerting an important influence on China’s cultural soft power in the world and creating an international environment conducive to China’s peaceful rise.
Funding Project
General Project of Humanities and Social Sciences Research of Hubei Provincial Department of Education in 2016, “Research on the Interaction Mechanism between Book Exchange, Cultural Identity and National Unification” (16Y039).