Tracing the “Chinese Dream” from the Perspective of Social Culture

Abstract

The “Chinese Dream” has existed as a combination of Chinese characters for more than 700 years, however its connotation varies in different social development stages. At the beginning of the 20th century, Chinese intellectuals began to look for the “Chinese Dream”. In the 1980s, the cultural community regained the “Chinese Dream”. After entering the new century, all sectors of society deeply discussed the “Chinese Dream”. The development and evolution of the concept of this phrase actually reflected the vicissitudes of Chinese society in the past century. The “Chinese Dream” we are talking about today is closely linked with the limiting phrase “realizing the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation”, proposed by the General Secretary of the CPC Central Committee Xi Jinping in 2012. The “Chinese Dream” is no longer a common word combination in modern Chinese, but a core concept of the ideological system of socialism with Chinese characteristics in the new era, which has been given a new and profound meaning. The “Chinese Dream” has become a cultural symbol, which will be integrated into the development history of Chinese civilization and coexist with the ever-growing Chinese culture.