Xi Jinping: Promote nationwide reading and build a book-loving society
1
In today's era, the cycle of knowledge updates has been greatly shortened, and new knowledge, new situations, and new things are constantly emerging. Some have studied that before the 18th century, the rate of knowledge updating doubled in about 90 years; Since the 1990s, knowledge updates have accelerated to double every 3 to 5 years. In the past 50 years, human society has created more knowledge than the total of the past 3,000 years. Some also say that in the agricultural era, a person could study for a few years and spend a lifetime; In the industrial economy era, a person studying for over ten years was enough for a lifetime; In the knowledge economy era, a person must spend their whole life learning to keep pace with the times. If we do not strive to improve our knowledge literacy in all aspects, do not consciously learn various scientific and cultural knowledge, and do not proactively accelerate knowledge updates, optimize knowledge structure, and broaden our horizons and horizons, it will be difficult to enhance our abilities, nor will we be able to gain initiative, advantages, or the future.
(Speech at the 80th Anniversary Celebration of the Central Party School and the Opening Ceremony of the Spring Semester of 2013, March 1, 2013)
2
In short, studying history allows one to observe successes and failures, gain and loss, and understand rise and fall; Learning poetry can inspire emotion, lofty ambition, and bring refined spirit; Studying ethics allows one to understand shame, honor and disgrace, and distinguish right from wrong. We must not only understand China's history and culture, but also open our eyes to the world, learn about the histories and cultures of different peoples around the globe, discard the dross and take the essence, draw inspiration from it, and make use of it.
(Speech at the 80th Anniversary Celebration of the Central Party School and the Opening Ceremony of the Spring Semester of 2013, March 1, 2013)
On the afternoon of March 6, 2025, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the country, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited members from the China Democratic League, China Democratic League, and education sector attending the Third Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference, and participated in a joint group meeting to hear opinions and suggestions. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi
3
Learning requires calming your mind, focusing on perseverance and mastering the material; you should not be impatient, stop at superficial ideas, or seek deep understanding. Leaders must place great importance on learning, studying with hunger and thirst. Even if they squeeze out half an hour a day, even if they read a few pages, as long as they persist, they will accumulate into accumulation, accumulate into a tower, and take small steps to cover a thousand miles.
(Speech at the 80th Anniversary Celebration of the Central Party School and the Opening Ceremony of the Spring Semester of 2013, March 1, 2013)
4
To forge an 'indestructible body,' we must arm our minds with scientific theories and continuously cultivate our spiritual home. For leading cadres, especially senior cadres, systematically mastering the basic theories of Marxism must be their signature skill. The renowned scholar Wang Guowei described scholarship in three realms: first, "Last night the west wind withered the green trees; alone I climbed the tall tower, gazing as far as the ends of the earth could see." Second, "My belt grows looser, yet I do not regret it; for her, I have become haggard and haggard." Third, "I searched for him thousands of times among the crowd, and suddenly turned around, only to find that person was in the dim light." Leading cadres must also cultivate these three realms when studying theory. First, theoretical study should have the lofty ambition of "gazing to the ends of the earth," enduring the chill of "last night's west wind withering the green trees" and the loneliness of "climbing the tall tower alone," and calm down to read thoroughly; Second, theoretical study requires diligent effort and diligent research, with genuine effort, hard work, and meticulous effort. Even if "the belt grows looser," one will "never regret it," and "when one is worn out," one will willingly accept it; Third, theoretical study values independent thinking, combining learning with application, gaining insight from learning, and gaining results through application. In learning and practice, one "searches for others thousands of times," and ultimately "suddenly looks back," grasping the true meaning "in the dim light."
(Speech at the National Propaganda and Ideological Work Conference on August 19, 2013)
5
Speaking of hobbies, I personally enjoy reading, watching movies, traveling, and walking. You know, taking on a job like mine basically leaves no time for myself. During this year's Spring Festival, China has a song called "Where Has the Time Gone?" For me, the question is, where has my personal time gone? Of course, all of it was taken over by work. Now, what I often do is read; reading has become a way of life for me. Reading can keep people mentally vibrant, gain wisdom, and nourish a noble spirit.
(Interview with Brilyov from the All-Russian State Television Broadcasting Company on February 7, 2014, in Sochi, Russia)
6
We must avoid impatience, spend more time quietly reading and thinking, actively accelerating knowledge updates and optimizing knowledge structure, so that we never dry up or run out of wisdom at any time.
(Speech during inspection in Shanghai from May 23 to 24, 2014)
7
Literature and art are deeply integrated into people's lives—career and life, prosperity and adversity, dreams and hopes, love and hate, existence and death—every aspect of human life can be found in literary and artistic works. Literature and art attract young people the most and have the greatest influence. When I was young, I read many literary works and explored all kinds of books available at the time. Not only are many of their brilliant chapters and profound writings still vivid in my memory, but I also gained many truths about life from them.
(Speech at the Symposium on Literary and Art Work on October 15, 2014)
On March 23, 2026, Xi Jinping, General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee, President of the country, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission, visited the Xiong'an New Area in Hebei and presided over a symposium on advancing the high-quality construction and development of Xiong'an New Area. This was on the morning of the 23rd, when Xi Jinping visited Beijing No. 4 High School Xiong'an Campus during his inspection and had a cordial conversation with teachers and students. Photo by Xinhua News Agency reporter Xie Huanchi
Eight
When young people focus on learning, they must cherish time sparingly and work tirelessly, dedicating themselves to undistracted and peaceful contentment, while also highlighting the main pillars and selecting the essentials, striving to be both broad and specialized, and the more broad and more specialized, the more specialized. Especially to overcome restlessness, calm down and read more classics, and understand why this is so. Online reading is convenient and immediate, making it an important way to read in modern times. Everyone should make good use of it. At the same time, the vast amount of information flooded online is a mix of good and bad, some false and distorted, some lacking knowledge content. Therefore, special attention must be paid to making choices to avoid fragmenting study time and to prevent harm to one's physical and mental health caused by harmful information.
(Speech at the symposium at China University of Political Science and Law on May 3, 2017)
9
Leading cadres should, in conjunction with studying and understanding Thought on Socialism with Chinese Characteristics for a New Era, read and carefully read works by some classic Marxist writers, read and carefully read some classic chapters adapted to Marxism in China, master the Marxist positions, viewpoints, and methods running through them, internalize them, and truly achieve devotion and persistence to Marxism, with deep faith and faith, and truly let ideals and beliefs become the beacon in their hearts, gathering their spirit and energy.
(Speech at the Second Plenary Session of the 19th Central Commission for Discipline Inspection on January 11, 2018)
10
Communists should regard reading Marxist classics and understanding Marxist principles as a habit and spiritual pursuit, using classics to cultivate integrity, temper thoughts, elevate one's realm, and guide practice.
(Speech at the 200th Anniversary of Marx's Birth on May 4, 2018)
Eleven
The most effective way to study theory is to read original works, study original texts, comprehend principles, focus on reading and memorization, keep learning fresh and new, go deeper, more practically, and more heartfeltly, put yourself, your responsibilities, and your work into it, and achieve the integration of learning, thinking, and application, and unify knowledge, belief, and action.
(Speech at the opening ceremony of the 2019 Spring Semester 2019 Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) Training Class for Young and Middle-aged Cadres)
Twelve
We should encourage more reading, build a society fragrant with books, continuously elevate the people's ideological realm, and strengthen their spiritual strength, so that the spiritual world of the Chinese nation can become even deeper and profound. Providing more outstanding spiritual and cultural products for the people is the greatest virtue.
(Speech during inspection in Gansu on August 21, 2019)
Thirteen
Libraries are important indicators of a nation's cultural development level and important venues for nurturing the national soul and fostering cultural confidence. He hopes the National Library will adhere to the correct political direction, promote outstanding traditional culture, innovate service methods, encourage nationwide reading, better meet the spiritual and cultural needs of the people, and make new contributions to building a culturally strong socialist country.
(Reply to the National Library of China Senior Expert on September 8, 2019)
Fourteen
Learning from books is an important way to enrich knowledge and improve one's abilities. Comrade Mao Zedong said: "You can go a day without eating, sleep without sleep, and read a book for a day." He was busy with countless affairs but still found time to read, even when getting haircuts, and humorously told the barber, "You do your business, I do mine, we don't interfere with each other." We must carry forward this spirit of 'squeezing' and 'digging in', read more books, read good books, draw wisdom and nourishment from them, avoid feeling self-satisfied or neglecting learning, not use being too busy at work to relax while studying, and not just for appearances or to get through the work. Focusing on learning raises the question of what to learn and how to learn. A person's energy is limited; it's impossible to learn everything. Cadres must learn according to work needs, learning what they need to do, and filling in what is lacking. We must study Marxist theory, especially the Party's innovative theories in the new era, the history of the Party, the history of New China, the history of reform and opening up, the history of socialist development, and fundamental knowledge in economics, politics, law, culture, society, management, ecology, and international affairs. We must also learn new knowledge and skills related to our duties, and continuously improve the knowledge system necessary for performing our duties.
(Speech at the opening ceremony of the 2021 Autumn Semester Central Party School (National Academy of Governance) Young and Middle-aged Cadre Training Class on September 1, 2021)
Fifteen
Reading is an important way for humans to acquire knowledge, enhance wisdom, and cultivate morality. It can inspire thought, establish lofty ideals, and cultivate a noble spirit. Since ancient times, the Chinese nation has advocated reading, emphasizing the pursuit of knowledge through investigation and sincerity of intention and upright heart, inheriting the enduring spirit of the Chinese nation and shaping the Chinese people's confident and self-reliant character. He hopes that the broad masses of Party members and cadres will take the lead in reading and learning, cultivating themselves and nurturing their aspirations, and increasing their abilities; We hope children develop reading habits, enjoy reading, and grow up healthy; We hope the whole society will participate in reading, fostering a strong atmosphere of loving reading, reading good books, and reading well.
(Congratulatory letter to the First National Reading Conference dated April 23, 2022)
Sixteen
We must build a learning-oriented society and a learning-oriented country where all people are engaged in lifelong learning, promote learning for everyone, learn everywhere, and be available at all times, continuously improve the level of national education, comprehensively enhance human resource development, and promote the all-round development of people.
(Speech at the Fifth Collective Study Session of the 20th Central Political Bureau on May 29, 2023)
Seventeen
In the digital age, society moves at a fast pace, and it's not easy to calm down and patiently read a book.
Digital reading should be combined with traditional reading to preserve our core and literacy.
(Speech at the joint group meeting of members from the Democratic League, China Democratic League, and Education sector at the Third Session of the 14th National Committee of the Chinese People's Political Consultative Conference on March 6, 2025)
