A Study On Intergenerational Cultural Harmony Of Contemporary China

Cultural harmony refers to a state of good relationships among the coexisting cultures which are compatible and complementary, coordinative and orderly, dynamic but not chaotic. It includes not only, horizontally, the harmony of different cultural patterns, but also vertically the harmony of cultures from different generations, that is, the intergenerational cultural harmony. Although both make the integral part of cultural harmony, people have long focused their attention on the former. Therefore, it is obviously necessary to turn the focus from the traditional horizontal perspective to the vertical one when the underlying laws of cultural harmony are to be explored and when the cultural harmony is to be established in which men and culture are progressing in a coordinated way.With intergeneration as the axis, culture as the object, harmony as the goal, and China as the basic field, this research discusses the connotation, the function and the related theoretical basis of intergenerational cultural harmony, which serves as the theoretical framework of the research. Then from the macroscopic, the middle and the microcosmic perspectives it makes an in-depth and systematic exploration on the intergenerational cultural harmony of contemporary China.Overall intergenerational cultural harmony is the macroscopic-level intergenerational cultural harmony from the perspective of all mankind. Specifically, it refers to the cultural harmony among the previous generation, the contemporary generation, and the following generation. It takes human society as an organic whole and gives attention not only to the present but also to the past and the future of human being. Its essence is to follow the intergenerational laws of cultural inheritance to pursue cultural compatibility, complementation, coordination, dynamics and order among the three generations. However, in contemporary China, during the effort of establishing overall intergenerational cultural harmony, some challenges arise:the insufficiency in cultural inheritance from the previous generation, the deficiency in innovation of the present culture, and the indifference towards the next generation’s cultural right. All of these factors decide that the inevitable approaches to the construction of overall intergenerational cultural harmony in contemporary China are to cultivate the intergenerational consciousness of cultural development, to uphold the guidance of the advanced socialistic culture, and to adopt the synthetic and innovative route of cultural development.Social intergenerational cultural harmony is the medium-level intergenerational harmony from the perspective of people of all generations in contemporary China, specifically the seniors, the middle-agers and the youth, who, although in the same culture and at the same times, have differences in some aspects such as growth environment, knowledge, and social experience. This fact has resulted in their sharp divergences in ideology, lifestyle and emotion. In contemporary China, the drastic social change has made these divergences grow larger and even evolve into great intergenerational conflicts. Therefore, to construct the social intergenerational cultural harmony, the following efforts should be made:1) integrate intergenerational ideologies by cultivating and practicing the socialist core values, inheriting excellent traditional ideas, and drawing on outstanding foreign concepts; 2) foster intergenerational communication on the basis of equality, mutual trust, and tolerance in order to enhance mutual understanding, end estrangement, and build consensus; 3) promote cultural feedback to enhance social adaptability of the elder generation so that all generations could collaborate with each other and create a harmonious future.Family intergenerational cultural harmony is the microcosmic-level intergenerational harmony based on the family blood lineage with the parent-child relationship as its core. Families, the cells of society and the basic life units of people, have been constantly reflecting the social changes. With these great changes, Chinese families have developed some new characteristics:miniaturized and cohesive structure, downward-shifting intergenerational focus, and frequent population mobility. These new characteristics have changed the structure, the function and the relationship of families and have had an impact on the ideologies, lifestyles and emotions of family members of every generation, posing new challenges to family intergenerational cultural harmony. As a result, to create the family intergenerational cultural harmony in contemporary China, it is necessary to:1) integrate family values of all generations while reconstructing the filial piety culture; 2) enhance intergenerational cohesion while promoting the family functions; 3) relieve intergenerational cultural conflicts caused by population migration through the population’s familization, migrant workers’return, and improved intergenerational communication.Culturalization is humanization, and culture coexists with human being. Ideological and political education has manifested special functions and effects in its process of promoting intergenerational cultural harmony. It does not only contribute to solving the problems in intergenerational cultural harmony and the sustainable development of culture and further culture’s great prosperity and development, but also helps promoting interpersonal and intergenerational harmony, thus forming a powerful resultant force which sets the stage for the free and well-rounded development of man and the sustainable development of society.