The Report to the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China (CPC) listed “building livable, business-friendly and harmonious rural areas” as the rural vision of Chinese modernization for the first time. The No.1 Central Document of 2025 specified a dedicated section on “strengthening the construction of rural spiritual civilization”, put forward the requirement of “making good use of red resources and fostering a civilized rural custom”, and elevated “rural civilization” to the same strategic height as vigorous industrial development and an eco-friendly and livable rural environment. Taking the empowerment of rural civilization construction by red culture as the core theme, this paper sorts out the logical evolution of the concepts of red culture and rural civilization, and points out the high degree of coupling between the pain points in rural governance such as exorbitant betrothal gifts and social comparison in human relations and the values of equality, dedication and frugality embodied in red culture. It selects Wugang Town of Quanjiao County in Anhui Province (with the characteristic of military reclamation culture), Xiaodong Village of Foshan City in Guangdong Province (boasting revolutionary sites) and Guogao Village of Ningjin County in Shandong Province (rooted in red family traditions) as differentiated case samples to verify the practical paths through which red culture can be translated into behavioral norms imperceptibly followed by the general public. Finally, the paper puts forward a soul-forging mechanism for rural revitalization featuring “cultivating people through culture, nurturing villages through culture and vitalizing rural areas through culture”, thus providing all regions with replicable and promotable theoretical support and policy samples for reference.
Chen et al. (Thu,) studied this question.