Misplaced Pages

Core Socialist Values
Statue listing the twelve Core Socialist Values of the Chinese Communist Party
Simplified Chinese	社会主义核心价值观
Traditional Chinese	社會主義核心價值觀
Transcriptions Standard Mandarin Hanyu Pinyin Shèhuì zhǔyì héxīn jiàzhíguān Wade–Giles Shê-hui chu-yi ho-hsin chia-chih-kuan Yue: Cantonese Yale Romanization Séhkūi zyūjìh hàhtsàm gáazìhkgùn Southern Min Hokkien POJ Siā-hōe Chú-gī hu̍t-sim kè ta̍t koan

The Core Socialist Values is a set of official interpretations of the Chinese Communist Party's ideology of socialism with Chinese characteristics promoted at its 18th National Congress in 2012. The 12 values, written in 24 Chinese characters, are the national values of "prosperity", "democracy", "civility" and "harmony"; the social values of "freedom", "equality", "justice" and the "rule of law"; and the individual values of "patriotism", "dedication", "integrity" and "friendship".

Background

In 1989, paramount leader Deng Xiaoping stated in a speech that he considered education to be the biggest reform failure of the 1980s, and in particular ideological and political education. The government had tried to effect mass campaigns to this end, but these would not ultimately be regarded as effective. The Death of Wang Yue in 2011 might be considered an instigator for a new program. In 2012, the building of a system of "Core Socialist Values" was proposed to address what was perceived as a moral crisis resulting from China's rapid economic development, which the People's Daily refers to as the "decayed, outdated ideals of mammonism and extreme individualism." At the 18th National Congress, Party general secretary Hu Jintao represented the 17th Central Committee and presented the content of the new values that are intended to be enshrined by the Chinese Communist Party (CCP).

A quote from CCP general secretary Xi Jinping at the Eighteenth National Congress says:

If our 1.3 billion citizens and 82 million Party members as well as overseas Chinese can achieve consensus, we will constitute a powerful force  We must realize that people from different localities and social strata who have different backgrounds and occupations think differently. We must therefore consider: where can we find consensus? Where can we allow differences to persist?

Program

The program called for the local governments to "organize moral education campaigns", and for media organizations to "practice self-discipline". In addition, artists were asked to promote the values, while party members and state officials are expected to put these new values in practice. It also called on schools to incorporate them, with the Ministry of Education issuing a document in 2014 requesting all educational institutions promote them. Xi Jinping expressed in a high-level meeting that promotional campaigns for 'Core Socialist Values' should be thorough, to the extent that public support for Chinese-style socialism will be "as ubiquitous as the air". Another quote from 2014 further elaborates his position:

We need to energetically foster and promote core socialist values; promptly establish a value system that fully reflects Chinese characteristics, our national identity, and the features of the times; and strive to occupy the leading position on this issue. Ethical values play a very important role among core values. Without morals, a country cannot thrive, and its people cannot stand upright. Whether or not a nation or an individual has a strong sense of identity largely depends on their morals. If our people cannot uphold the moral values that have been formed and developed on our own soil, and instead indiscriminately and blindly parrot Western moral values, then it will be necessary to genuinely question whether we will lose our independent ethos as a country and a people. Without this independent ethos, our political, intellectual, cultural and institutional independence will have the rug pulled out from under it.

The 2015 National Security Law's article on cultural security requires the state to uphold socialist core values.

In 2016, Hunan Province officials responded to the campaign by organizing a series of dance routines to "spread the values" and express their support for the CCP.

In June 2017, the State Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television issued several notices that intended to further restrict freedom of the press. One of the notices, with a patriotic bent, demanded broadcasters promote core values in their programs and "forcefully oppose" content that celebrates "money worship, hedonism, radical individualism and feudal thought."

Reception

Shiyuan Hao considers the program of "great significance" for a "multi-national country like China", and for the creation of both a "harmonious culture" and a "creative breeding ground" for cultural diversity.

Michael Gow considers that, compelled to align its interests with the "broader interests of the Chinese people and different groups", the program for Core Socialist Values might best be analyzed as a shift from a focus on the economy to cultural power; or, if one wished to extrapolate, an attempt to cement legitimacy through the creation of a new cultural order, consent to which might be regarded as "essential for long-term social stability".

Liu Ruisheng, a researcher of the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences School of Journalism, criticizes the governments attempts more generally as simply lacking the same depth of value promotion in the west, which is "concealed" in the social sciences, education, religion, and entertainment, whereas the CCP presents ideology ad hoc. He is still pro-CCP however.

Frank N. Pieke refers to the values as Confucian and as otherwise lacking any specifically socialist content, but then as Michael Gow points out most Chinese do share a "broadly accepted, common-sense understanding of Confucian values."

List of Values

The twelve Core Socialist Values are:

See also

• Chinese Dream
• Eight Honors and Eight Shames
• Xi Jinping Thought
• Three Principles of the People

References

1. ^ "Friendship", which in the Chinese original is 友善, is more closely translated as "friendliness" or "amicability". In other words, the word normally refers to a personal attitude, not a type of interpersonal relationship.

1. ^ Zhao, Kiki (1 September 2016). "China's 'Core Socialist Values,' the Song-and-Dance Version". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original on 30 July 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
2. ^ Pieke, Frank N. (28 July 2016). Knowing China. Cambridge University Press. p. 24. ISBN 978-1-107-13274-0.
3. ^ Zhao, Xu (29 April 2016). Competition and Compassion in Chinese Secondary Education. Springer. doi:10.1007/978-1-137-47941-9. ISBN 978-1-137-47941-9.
4. ^ Xi Jinping, How to Deepen Reform Comprehensively, Beijing: Foreign Languages Press, 2014.
5. Lam, Willy Wo-Lap (12 March 2015). Chinese Politics in the Era of Xi Jinping: Renaissance, Reform, or Retrogression? (1st ed.). Routledge. p. 283. doi:10.4324/9781315719368. ISBN 978-1-315-71936-8.
6. Yi, Guolin (2024). "From "Seven Speak-Nots" to "Media Surnamed Party": Media in China from 2012 to 2022". In Fang, Qiang; Li, Xiaobing (eds.). China under Xi Jinping: A New Assessment. Leiden University Press. p. 83. ISBN 9789087284411.
7. Chen, Te-Ping (2 September 2016). "Dancing Tool: China Uses Dance to Promote 'Socialist Values'". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on 7 November 2016. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
8. Miller, Matthew; Zhang, Min (3 June 2017). "China's broadcast regulator, tightening control of content, promotes 'core socialist values'". Reuters. Archived from the original on 7 June 2017. Retrieved 23 May 2020.
9. Hao, Shiyuan (30 November 2015). How the Communist Party of China Manages the Issue of Nationality: An Evolving Topic. China Academic Library. Springer. pp. 241, 247. doi:10.1007/978-3-662-48462-3. ISBN 978-3-662-48462-3.
10. ^ Gow, Michael (2 January 2017). "The Core Socialist Values of the Chinese Dream: towards a Chinese integral state" (PDF). Critical Asian Studies. 49 (1): 92–116. doi:10.1080/14672715.2016.1263803. ISSN 1467-2715. S2CID 157324954.
11. Lynch, Daniel C. (11 March 2015). China's Futures: PRC Elites Debate Economics, Politics, and Foreign Policy. Stanford University Press. p. 143. ISBN 978-0-8047-9437-4.

Further reading

• Resources in your library
• Resources in other libraries

• Lynch, Daniel (2015). China's futures: PRC elites debate economics, politics, and foreign policy. Stanford, CA: Stanford University Press. ISBN 978-0-8047-9257-8.

External links

• Media related to Core Socialist Values at Wikimedia Commons

v t e Chinese Communist Party
Central Committee	Leader Chen Duxiu (1921–1927) Xiang Zhongfa (1928–1931) Bo Gu (1931–1935) Zhang Wentian (1935–1943) Mao Zedong (1943–1976) Hua Guofeng (1976–1981) Hu Yaobang (1981–1987) Zhao Ziyang (1987–1989) Jiang Zemin (1989–2002) Hu Jintao (2002–2012) Xi Jinping (2012–present) Decision-making bodies General Secretary Politburo (Standing Committee) Secretariat Central Military Commission Departments Organization Department Publicity Department United Front Work Department International Department Social Work Department Political and Legal Affairs Commission Directly administered General Office Office of the General Secretary Central Guard Bureau Central Guard Unit Secrecy Office Cryptography Office Central Archives Policy Research Office Commissions for co-ordination Auditing Comprehensively Deepening Reforms Comprehensively Law-Based Governance Financial Financial and Economic Affairs Foreign Affairs Cyberspace Affairs Office National Security Science and Technology Spiritual Civilization Institutional Organization Office Secrecy Office Dispatched institutions for co-ordination Working Committee of Central and State Organs Central Financial Work Commission Hong Kong Work Committee Macau Work Committee Office for Safeguarding National Security in Hong Kong Leading groups Cryptography Work Office Education Rural Work Inspection Work Military Reform Propaganda, Ideology and Culture Taiwan Office Hong Kong and Macau Office Others Central Party School Chinese Academy of Governance Institute of Party History and Literature People's Daily Qiushi Guangming Daily Executive Leadership Academies Pudong Yan'an Jinggangshan
National Congress	1st (1921) 2nd (1922) 3rd (1923) 4th (1925) 5th (1927) 6th (1928) 7th (1945) 8th (1956) 9th (1969) 10th (1973) 11th (1977) 12th (1982) 13th (1987) 14th (1992) 15th (1997) 16th (2002) 17th (2007) 18th (2012) 19th (2017) 20th (2022)
Leadership sittings	Elected by the Central Committee Politburo Standing Committee 4th: 1927 5th: 1927–1928 6th: 1928–1945 7th: 1945–1956 8th: 1956–1969 9th: 1969–1973 10th: 1973–1977 11th: 1977–1982 12th: 1982–1987 13th: 1987–1992 14th: 1992–1997 15th: 1997–2002 16th: 2002–2007 17th: 2007–2012 18th: 2012–2017 19th: 2017–2022 20th: 2022–2027 Politburo 3rd: 1923–1925 4th: 1925–1927 5th: 1927–1928 6th: 1928–1945 7th: 1945–1956 8th: 1956–1969 9th: 1969–1973 10th: 1973–1977 11th: 1977–1982 12th: 1982–1987 13th: 1987–1992 14th: 1992–1997 15th: 1997–2002 16th: 2002–2007 17th: 2007–2012 18th: 2012–2017 19th: 2017–2022 20th: 2022–2027 Military Commission 7th: 1945–1949 & 1954–1956 8th: 1956–1969 9th: 1969–1973 10th: 1973–1977 11th: 1977–1982 12th: 1982–1987 13th: 1987–1992 14th: 1992–1997 15th: 1997–2002 16th: 2002–2007 17th: 2007–2012 18th: 2012–2017 19th: 2017–2022 20th: 2022–2027 Approved by the Central Committee Secretariat 8th: 1956–1969 11th: 1980–1982 12th: 1982–1987 13th: 1987–1992 14th: 1992–1997 15th: 1997–2002 16th: 2002–2007 17th: 2007–2012 18th: 2012–2017 19th: 2017–2022 20th: 2022–2027 CCDI Standing Committee 7th 1949–1956 8th: 1956–1969 11th: 1978–1982 12th: 1982–1987 13th: 1987–1992 14th: 1992–1997 15th: 1997–2002 16th: 2002–2007 17th: 2007–2012 18th: 2012–2017 19th: 2017–2022 20th: 2022–2027 CCDI Secretary Zhu De (1949–55) Dong Biwu (1955–68) Chen Yun (1978–87) Qiao Shi (1987–92) Wei Jianxing (1992–2002) Wu Guanzheng (2002–07) He Guoqiang (2007–12) Wang Qishan (2012–17) Zhao Leji (2017–22) Li Xi (2022–) Others Deputy Secretary of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Secretary General of the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection Elected by National Congress Central Committee 1st: 1921–1922 2nd: 1922–1923 3rd: 1923–1925 4th: 1925–1927 5th: 1927–1928 6th: 1928–1945 7th: 1945–1956 8th: 1956–1969 9th: 1969–1973 10th: 1973–1977 11th: 1977–1982 12th: 1982–1987 13th: 1987–1992 14th: 1992–1997 15th: 1997–2002 16th: 2002–2007 17th: 2007–2012 18th: 2012–2017 19th: 2017–2022 20th: 2022–2027 Discipline Inspection 5th: 1927–1928 6th: 1928–1933 & 1933–1945 7th: 1949–1955 & 1955–1956 8th: 1956–1969 11th: 1978–1982 12th: 1982–1987 13th: 1987–1992 14th: 1992–1997 15th: 1997–2022 16th: 2002–2007 17th: 2007–2012 18th: 2012–2017 19th: 2017–2022 20th: 2022–2027
Wider organisation	People's Liberation Army People's Armed Police Militia (China) Communist Youth League of China Young Pioneers of China United front (China) People's organization
Ideologies	Marxism–Leninism Mao Zedong Thought Socialism with Chinese characteristics Deng Xiaoping Theory Three Represents Scientific Outlook on Development Xi Jinping Thought
Groupings	Shanghai clique Tuanpai Tsinghua clique Eight Elders Crown Prince Party Fujian clique New Zhijiang Army Xishan Society Gang of Four 28 Bolsheviks
Related articles	Shuanggui Neoauthoritarianism List of campaigns of the Chinese Communist Party Longest-serving members of the Politburo Standing Committee Emblem of the Chinese Communist Party
Category

• Communism
• China

• Politics of China
• Chinese culture
• Ideology of the Chinese Communist Party
• 2010s in China
• Socialism