Cultural Restructuring

It refers to the reform China carried out in the cultural field in the new era of Reform and Opening-up, to change the highly concentrated cultural system, and establish a scientific, rational, flexible and efficient management system, and the production and operation mechanism of cultural products. The important contents of the cultural system reform are: improving the cultural management system and enhancing cultural macro-management capabilities on the basis of changing functions; enhancing the competitiveness of cultural market entities on the basis of enterprise restructuring; establishing a modern cultural market system on the basis of regulating order; accelerating the establishment of a public cultural service system on the basis of coordinating the development of urban and rural areas; and improving the “going out” level of culture on the basis of coordinating various resources, etc. The principle of cultural system reform is to insist on putting social benefits first, unify social benefits and economic benefits, and focus on stimulating the cultural creative vitality of the entire nation.

Cultural system reform is accompanied by Reform and Opening-up. In December 1978, after the Third Plenary Session of the Eleventh CPC Central Committee, with the reform of the economic system, cultural and social undertakings continued to advance, and corresponding cultural system reforms must be carried out. In October 1979, Deng Xiaoping, on behalf of the Party Central Committee, delivered a congratulatory speech at the 4th Congress of Chinese Literary and Art Workers. He put forward a series of guidelines for the development of China's literary and art undertakings in the new era, which laid the theoretical foundation for cultural system reform. In 1996, the 6th Plenary Session of the 14th CPC Central Committee adopted the “Resolution of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Several Important Issues Concerning Strengthening Socialist Ideological and Ethical Progress”, which proposed that “Reforming the cultural system is the fundamental way out for the prosperity and development of cultural undertakings”, and “The purpose of reform is to increase the vitality of cultural undertakings, and fully mobilize the enthusiasm of cultural workers, so as to produce more excellent works and talents”. It is emphasized that the reform must meet the requirements for promoting socialist ideological and ethical progress, follow the inherent laws of cultural development, and give play to the positive role of market mechanisms. The reform needs to differentiate between situations, categorize guidance, straighten out the relationship between the state, units, and individuals, and gradually form a development pattern that the state guarantees priority areas and encourages the society to establish cultural undertakings. In October 2000, the “Proposals of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Formulating the Tenth Five-Year Plan for National Economic and Social Development” adopted at the 5th Plenary Session of the 15th CPC Central Committee, for the first time put forward the concept of “cultural industry” in an official central document, which pointing out the direction and goal for enriching the content of cultural system reform.

At the 16th CPC National Congress in 2002, culture was divided into cultural undertakings and cultural industries for the first time. It required the promotion of cultural system reform in accordance with the characteristics and laws of promoting socialist ideological and ethical progress and adapting to the requirements of the development of the socialist market economy. In 2003, the “Decision of the CPC Central Committee on Several Issues Concerning the Improvement of the Socialist Market Economy System” adopted by the Third Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee further deepened and clarified the goals of cultural system reform. In 2004, the “Decision of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China on Strengthening the Construction of the Party's Governing Capability” adopted by the 4th Plenary Session of the 16th CPC Central Committee put forward the important proposition of “deepening the cultural system reform and liberating and developing cultural productivity” for the first time. At the end of 2005, “Several Opinions of the CPC Central Committee and the State Council on Deepening the Reform of the Cultural System” was issued. In March 2006, the central government convened a national cultural system reform work conference and decided to conduct pilot cultural system reforms in 89 regions and 170 units across the country. In November 2007, the 17th CPC National Congress proposed the strategic task of raising a new wave of socialist cultural construction and promoting the development and prosperity of socialist culture from the height of the “four in one” overall layout of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics. In July 2009, the State Council executive meeting reviewed and approved the “Cultural Industry Revitalization Plan”. The report of the 18th CPC National Congress, starting from the height that building a country with a strong socialist culture, the key is to enhance the creative vitality of the entire nation’s culture, further emphasizes the need to deepen the cultural system reform, liberate and develop the productive forces, promote academic democracy and artistic democracy, and provide the people with a broad cultural stage, so as to let all the sources of cultural creativity flow fully, and create a new situation where the cultural creative vitality of the whole nation continues to burst, social and cultural life is more colorful, the people's basic cultural rights are better protected, the people's ideological and moral quality and scientific and cultural quality are comprehensively improved, and the international influence of Chinese culture continues to increase.

The practice of cultural system reform has enriched and deepened the theoretical system of socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. Deepening the reform of the cultural system, promoting the overall prosperity of cultural undertakings and the rapid development of the cultural industry are related to the realization of the goal of building a well-off society in all respects, the overall layout of the cause of socialism with Chinese characteristics, and the realization of the Chinese Dream for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.