Creating a New Cultural Entity of Traditional Chinese Festivals
Prof. Zhang Fang, Institute of Popular Chinese Culture Studies, Sichuan University
“Internet Plus” integrates the innovative achievements of the Internet with various fields of economic and social development. It drives technological progress, enhances efficiency, and promotes organizational change. It boosts the innovation and productivity of the real economy and creates a new form of economic and social development that relies on the Internet as both infrastructure and an innovation element. As the integration of human society with the Internet deepens across all levels and fields, the impact of “Internet Plus” on culture has become increasingly profound.
The essence of inheriting and innovating traditional Chinese festivals through “Internet Plus” is the deep integration of culture and technology. Understanding this essence is crucial for exploring effective pathways to inherit and innovate traditional festivals using “Internet Plus.” Traditional Chinese festivals represent culture and soft power, while “Internet Plus” represents technology and productivity. This integration empowers traditional festivals with technological advancements and enriches technological applications with cultural depth. The two are interdependent and mutually reinforcing, reflecting the deep integration of Chinese culture and cutting-edge technology.
The core of this integration is the coordinated development of material and spiritual civilization. In promoting the inheritance and innovation of traditional festivals through “Internet Plus,” it is essential to handle the relationship between material and spiritual civilization with a dialectical, comprehensive, and balanced approach. We must avoid prioritizing technology over culture, focus on the technical applications and innovations of “Internet Plus,” and place even greater emphasis on the spiritual values and heritage of traditional festivals.
Innovating festival customs through “Internet Plus” is a micro-level approach to the inheritance and innovation of traditional festivals. Innovating the connotations of festivals through “Internet Plus” is a macro-level approach. The driving force of “Internet Plus” provides the material foundation for this innovation, while the spiritual support comes from the festival’s values guided by core socialist values. Both are indispensable. Only by deeply integrating “Internet Plus” with these values can we create a new, unified cultural entity of traditional Chinese festivals. This entity embodies the common value pursuits of the Chinese nation, guides the shaping of modern Chinese civilization’s spiritual characteristics, and under the impetus of “Internet Plus,” offers broad possibilities for the creative transformation and innovative development of traditional Chinese festival culture, which has endured for thousands of years.
Published on March 27, 2025