Chinese civilization stretches back to ancient times and a comprehensive and profound understanding of Chinese history is essential to its development, Chinese President Xi Jinping said during tours of the China National Archives of Publications and Culture (CNAPC) and the Chinese Academy of History this week.

Xi has long emphasized the importance of deepening the study of Chinese civilization and enhancing cultural confidence. As part of his preparations for a meeting on Friday on cultural inheritance and development, Xi visited the CNAPC and the Chinese Academy of History and conveyed his expectations to officials, researchers and archivists regarding cultural inheritance, historical research and archive collection.

Preserving Chinese culture

Covering a gross floor area of 99,500 square meters, the headquarters of the CNAPC stands at the foot of the Yanshan Mountains. Xi visited the headquarters on Thursday afternoon, where he said the CNAPC was built to carry forward Chinese civilization, the only uninterrupted civilization in the world.

The CNAPC, which also has branches in three major Chinese cities, officially opened in July last year and plays an important role in the inheritance and preservation of Chinese civilization.

The headquarters of the institute in Beijing holds more than 16 million copies of historical texts and tens of thousands of exhibits across 10 major categories. Visitors can also enjoy exhibitions, including those related to cultural relics such as stamps, ancient currency and the Terracotta Warriors. 

The institute's three branches are in Hangzhou, east China's Zhejiang Province, Xi'an in northwest China's Shaanxi Province and Guangzhou in south China's Guangdong Province.

On Thursday, with the first anniversary of the institute approaching, Xi emphasized the importance of the classic publications on display following a tour of the exhibition halls. He emphasized that the primary responsibility of the institution is the collection, and the building is a landmark cultural project that will benefit both present and future generations.

Exploring Chinese cultural origins

Xi visited the Chinese Academy of History on Friday afternoon. The academy was established following a decision by Xi, who sent a congratulatory letter when it was founded in 2019.

The academy is a historical research institute under the Chinese Academy of Social Sciences. Its main responsibility is to coordinate and guide national historical research, and implement major national academic projects on history.

During his visit, Xi went to the Chinese Archaeological Museum and toured exhibitions including one on the origins of civilization. At one of the exhibitions, the Zhai Zi Zhong Guo exhibition, a bronze wine vessel engraved with the characters "Zhong Guo," or "China" was displayed. It's the earliest known example of the word "China" appearing in historical records.

Xi highlighted the integral role of archaeology in deepening the understanding of Chinese culture, and emphasized the significance of conducting research and providing interpretations regarding the origins of Chinese civilization.

He also told scholars they should continue to enhance their research endeavors and contribute their wisdom and efforts to the advancement of Chinese modernization.

Chinese civilization has prominent features, Xi stressed in his speech at a meeting on cultural inheritance and development after his tour at the academy, citing characteristics including high consistency, innovation, inclusiveness and peace. 

He said that these cultural characteristics fundamentally determined that the Chinese nation must follow its own path. If the Chinese people don't understand ancient China, he added, it's impossible for them to understand modern China, let alone future China. 

Standing at a new historical starting point, it's essential to strengthen cultural confidence and stick to China's own development path so as to promote cultural prosperity and build a modern Chinese civilization, Xi stressed.