The New Culture Movement Since the Anti-Japanese War and its Future Tasks

Outline of the report of a long speech given by Zhang Wentian at the First Congress of the Association for the Salvation of the Cultural Sector in the Shaanxi-Gansu-Ningxia Border Region on January 5, 1940. It was successively published in Issue 103 (April 10, 1940) of Liberation, an organ of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, and in Issue 2 (April 15, 1940) of Chinese Culture, a publication sponsored by the Border Region Cultural Association, under the signature of Luo Fu. It is included in Volume 3 of the Collected Works of Zhang Wentian published by the Party History Press of the Communist Party of China in 1994.

Focusing on the theme of the new culture of the Chinese nation, the article provides a systematic exposition and penetrating analysis of a series of important issues concerning the content, nature, form and characteristics of the new culture. On the content and nature of the new culture of the Chinese nation, Zhang Wentian pointed out that the content of the new culture of the Chinese nation is national, democratic, scientific and mass-based. It is also considered that these four elements are organically linked. The nature of the new culture of the Chinese nation is "serving the founding of the nation during the Anti-Japanese War, and taking the national, democratic, scientific and mass-based factors as its content, the nature of the new culture of the Chinese nation is basically democratic.

Socialist culture guided by Marxist-Leninist scientific theory plays the most thorough role in the new cultural movement.” On the relationship between the new culture of the Chinese nation and the old culture and foreign culture, Zhang Wentian pointed out that the new culture is not the total negation of the old culture, but the true development of the old culture. Besides that, the new culture of the Chinese nation should never be closed to itself. It should fully absorb the fine achievements of foreign cultures and become an excellent part of world culture. Zhang Wentian also pointed out that the new content of the new culture should have new forms. "New contents of the new culture are being created, together with new forms." "Familiarity with and experimentation with various forms of new culture, non-conformity and non-complacency in a particular form, and the absorption of the best elements in all forms are the necessary process for creating new forms of new culture." The outline of the report also addresses the issue of the united front in the field of culture and attitudes towards cultural people and young intellectuals.

“The New Culture Movement Since the Anti-Japanese War and its Future Tasks” is an important historical document of the CPC in the process of forming new democratic cultural thoughts during the Anti-Japanese War.