Study on the Cultivation of Youth Red Culture in the New Era—A Case Study on Red Resources of Sichuan-Shaanxi Soviet Area

The flourishment and strength of the youth promise the prosperity and power of the country.” In the new era, whether the young generation can carry on and develop the red culture and red genes is closely related to the future and destiny of the party and the country. Strengthening the cultivation of red culture, enhancing the understanding of China’s socialist core values by the youth and boosting “cultural confidence” are the key issues of red culture education towards the youth. Taking the red resources in Sichuan, Shaanxi soviet areas as an example, this article analyzed the current situation of youth red culture cultivation in the new era, achievements and deficiencies. Concerns on how to effectively give full play to the red resources in the new era, broaden the cultivation approach and enhance the effectiveness of youth red culture education were also explored.


INTRODUCTION
In October 2019, the "Outline for the Implementation of Patriotism Education in the New Era" issued by the CPC Central Committee and the State Council emphasized that:" patriotism education should be first and foremost prioritized towards the youth and the spirit of patriotism should be conveyed throughout the whole process of school education." [1] The patriotic education of young people is of great significance to the social development of our country. The patriotic education is essentially underpinned by the red culture, thus the cultivation of red culture towards the youth cannot be too emphasized. As Xi Jinping said: "Youth is the most active and dynamic force in the whole society. The hope and prospect of the country and nation lie in the youth." [2] Strengthening the cultivation of red culture is a necessity in the new era. Taken into account the specific characteristics of youngsters and extensive presence of new media, the cultivation of red culture should be practiced beyond time and space restrictions, and vigorously promote the spirit of patriotism, the spirit of the times, and the national spirit in the development and exploitation of red cultural resources. This article analyzed the red cultural resources of Sichuan and Shaanxi soviet areas and based on the current situation of youth red culture cultivation, explored innovative methods and approaches in strengthening the cultivation of red culture so as to better equip the youth with red culture quality.

The Youth is the Future of the Motherland and the Hope of the Nation
The youth, as the vanguard force, will shoulder the vital responsibility of national rejuvenation. Their ideological status is directly related to the future and destiny of the motherland, affecting the development trend of our society and the smooth fulfillment of the Chinese dream. Therefore, strengthening the cultivation of youth red culture, carrying on the red gene, improving the ideological and moral qualities of young people, and coaching young people to establish a righteous world outlook, outlook on life and values are not only important but also exceedingly necessary. The revolutionary spirit embedded in the red culture is not only a crucial part of the national spirit but also a precious spiritual treasure of the Chinese nation.

Learning the Red Culture and Enhancing Cultural Confidence
The red culture is the advanced culture co-created by CPC members, the progressive and the masses in the revolutionary wartime, which is rich in revolutionary spirit and profound historical and cultural connotations. As General Secretary Xi Jinping claimed, "Across the contemporary world, which party, which country and which nationality is entitled to be confident, then the absolute answers should be the Communist Party of China, the People's Republic of China, and the Chinese nation." [3] Learning the red culture is the necessity of the development of the times. Strengthening the cultivation of young people's red culture is not only conducive to enhancing young people's national self-confidence and national pride, but also improving youngsters' "cultural confidence."

ANALYSIS OF CURRENT SITUATION OF YOUTH RED CULTURE CULTIVATION
By means of research and discussion, it is found that the current situation of youth red culture cultivation is rosy. Most teenagers understand the red culture by visiting the Revolutionary Martyrs Memorial Hall, listening to revolutionary stories, and reading revolutionary newspapers and magazines. They realize that present China's splendor and prosperity are hard won by warriors of the past amid bloodshed war and painstaking endeavor. Today's happy life will be highly appreciated by them. This spiritual baptism not only enhances youngsters' ideological and moral awareness, but also boosts their "four self-confidence." (culture, system, theory and path confidence)However, the study also found some deficiencies in the current cultural cultivation of young people, such as insufficient utilization of red resources and shortage of learning methods.

Through red culture learning, young people are guided to establish a scientific world outlook, outlook on life, and values
The value orientation of youngsters plays a major decisive role in the value orientation of the whole society in the future. It is especially critical to cultivate the scientific values of youngsters through the study of red culture. As General Secretary Xi Jinping pointed out: "Life is like buttons on clothes and the very first one must be carefully buttoned." [4] By following the examples of the patriotism and dedication made by the revolutionary martyrs, youngsters can establish a righteous world outlook, outlook on life and values.

Through the red culture learning, deepened the youth's recognition of the core view of socialism.
The Eighteenth National Congress of the Communist Party of China proposed to advocate socialist core values, namely, prosperity, democracy, civilization, and harmony; freedom, equality, justice, and the rule of law; patriotism, dedication, integrity, and kindness. Through the cultivation of red culture, the recognition of young people with the core values of socialism is strengthened so that young people will bear in mind that "being patriotic" is the pre-requisite in pursuing self-fulfillment, guiding young people to consciously practice the core values of socialism in their daily study and life. As an epic monument in the history of the Chinese revolution, Sichuan and Shaanxi soviet Area martyrs cemeteries are increasingly visited by organizations and groups paying tribute to the martyrs and carrying out patriotism-themed activities to embrace the baptism of the revolution.

Through the red culture learning, the cultural confidence of young people was enhanced.
General Secretary Xi Jinping emphasized at the conference celebrating the 95th anniversary of the founding of the Communist Party of China that cultural self-confidence is the more fundamental, more profound and more enduring force in the development of a country and a nation. The red culture fully embodies the relentless struggle of Chinese people under the leadership of the Communist Party and the painstaking endeavor of gaining national independence and people's liberation, which are new, praise-worthy and epoch-making chapters. Young people should be guided to learn the red culture and their awareness of the red culture should be enhanced. Their ability to distinguish between right and wrong and recognition of the socialist culture with Chinese characteristics should be promoted.

Through the red culture learning, the ideals and beliefs of young people were cemented
If young people desire to become the main strength of national rejuvenation, they must be equipped with common social ideal and a firm belief in Marxism as the internal driving force. As pointed out by General Secretary Xi Jinping in the report of the 19th National Congress of the Communist Party of China: "The masses of young people should be committed in their ideals and beliefs, aim high while be down-to-earth." [5] The scientific values outlook and lofty ideals and beliefs indicated by the red culture itself are rich resources for the education of ideals and beliefs for young people in the new era. Therefore, through the study of the red culture, the youngsters can be inspired by the spirit of the Sichuan-Shaanxi Red Army, the Jinggangshan spirit, the Yan'an spirit, the Xibaipo spirit, etc., carry on the red genes, and strengthen the youth's remarkable ideal of communism and the communal ideal of the unremitting struggle for socialism with Chinese characteristics.

The dull red culture learning method
Most of the red cultural experience activities featuring visiting red culture sites in our country are primarily organized by schools and groups and the youngsters learn from brief introduction rather than in-person experience, which is dull and boring. The approach for them is no real sense of experience and fails to excite their interest in learning red culture. Their perception of red culture is superficial and in-depth and their profound grasp and understanding of red culture are unattainable.

The red culture cultivation approach is overly limited
At present, with the rapid development of China's economy and society, the emergence of diversification of ideas, young people in the blooming period are susceptible to various ideological trends, resulting in the lack of ideals and beliefs, lack of hard-working spirit, and ignorance of red culture. In the study of youth patriotism education exemplified by the Yangjiang red culture, 25% of the students believed that the red culture was unnecessary, and 45% of them regarded it as something justified to neglect [6]. Therefore, there is still a long way to go for the cultivation of red culture for young people. We should explore a cultivation approach that is closer to the development of the times and accordingly take into consideration the characteristics of young people's personality. We should carry out red culture cultivation activities in an all-encompassing and comprehensive way to enhance youth's awareness and recognition of red culture.

Underutilization of red resources
"Red resources" are precious resources, including the revolutionary sites, revolutionary cultural relics, and the spirits of revolutionary figures. However, in some red areas, due to traffic inconvenience, economy backwardness, shortage of funds, and inadequate publicity, red resources have not been fully tapped and utilized. One example is the Sichuan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base, known as "the second largest territory of the Chinese Soviet Republic", together with Jinggangshan, Shaanxi-Ganning Revolutionary Bases, which are considered to be cradles of the PRC. Taking the Sichuan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base as an example, the area under its jurisdiction boast huge land and diversified and rich red resources, mainly including revolutionary battlefield sites (famous battles such as the Battle of Kongshan and Xuanda), and wartime hospitals (Fourth Military General Hospital, now known as General Hospital of the Chinese People's Liberation Army), the Red Army stone inscriptions (China's largest Red Army stone inscriptions-Chihuaquanchuan), and a range of rules and regulations related to the establishment and development of the Fourth Red Army. It is a treasure trove of red culture in Chinese revolution. However, due to the twofold impediments of history and geography, the Sichuan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base, which is located at the intersection of the three provinces, has been persistently hindered by economic backwardness, resulting in a serious lack of development and utilization of red cultural resources by Sichuan and even the whole country.

Incorporating the red culture into the ideological and political class
The ideological and political education class for youngsters is essential for the cultivation of ideals and beliefs. To strengthen the education of youth red culture, the red story and the red spirit can be introduced and incorporated into the ideological and political education classes. For instance, the unwavering revolutionary beliefs of the Jinggangshan Revolutionary soldiers (the stories of Zeng Zhi, Wu Ruolan, and Zhang Ziqing) can be conveyed to teenagers in the ideological and political education classes. The revolutionary spirits of the Fourth Red Army in the Sichuan, Shaanxi soviet areas, namely, intellectual sharpness, bravery, innovation, solidarity and undaunting pursuit of victory" can be lectured vividly and convincingly, thus enhancing the appeal of ideological and political classes and deepening the youth's understanding of the red culture.

Using the new media platform to accelerate the spread of red culture
With the help of a new media platform, it is imperative to enrich the content of red culture education, to actively adapt to constant changes of forms of red culture, to produce online courses, and actively explore different forms of red cultural products. Activities, such as sharing learning experiences, viewing remote red tourist attractions, having cloud classrooms, should be held to enable students to learn the red culture without space and time constraints so that high-quality red culture learning opportunities are accessible to more youngsters, and the red culture and revolutionary spirit can be ingrained among the young people.

Holding the youth red cultural exchange forum
To strengthen the cultivation of red culture and carry on the red genes, appropriate educational methods should be adopted to enhance the understanding and recognition of red culture among young people. Schools and social organizations can spread the knowledge of red culture and enrich students' experience of red culture by carrying out educational activities such as book clubs, short revolutionary story drama, thoughts of revolutionary movies, etc., to bear in mind of original inspirations and obligation.

Visiting the Red Memorial Hall
Xi Jinping has pointed out on many occasions: "Chinese revolutionary history is the best source of revolutionary nourishment" [7] "History is the best textbook and the best vigilance-reminder" [8]. Youngsters should be encouraged to visit the Red Memorial Halls, so as to shorten the distance between young people and the revolution and enable them to be acquainted with red culture directly. As we all know, Sichuan Province boasts pretty rich red resources, namely, the Xuanhan Weizhou Memorial Hall, Guangyuan Red Army Stele Forests, Liangshan Huili Conference Memorial Hall, Bazhong Sichuan-Shaanxi Revolutionary Base Memorial Hall and Red Army Square, the former residence of Comrade Deng Xiaoping in Guangan, the former residence of Chen Yi in Lezhi. By using limited resources to enable young people to visit the local area will invariably make them feel a strong red spirit.

Experiencing the "red" life
With policy support from the central government, in recent years, red culture parent-child experience halls were established, allowing young people to communicate and learn when experiencing together with their parents, and to deeply understand the red culture innovatively. By participating in the entire red life process, young people will gain a sense of accomplishment, and then their interest in learning about the red culture is sparked, which will facilitate young people to establish socialist core values and cultivate patriotism.

Incorporating red culture practice into quality assessment
Strengthening practical teaching is one of the important means to improve the pertinence and effectiveness of the ideological and political theory. Some practical teaching activities, except for the ideological and political classes, can be launched. Through field inspection, investigation, and experience, the youngsters are fully mobilized to participate in the study of red culture, improve their theoretical analysis ability and in-depth understanding of red culture. For example, the red cultural learning practice is graded as part of the overall academic performance assessment. Young people are encouraged to participate in the practice of red culture to boost their participation in the study of red culture.

National levels
During his inspection in Henan, General Secretary Xi Jinping proposed that "we must tell the story of the party, the story of the revolution, the stories of the bases, the stories of heroes and martyrs, strengthen the education of revolutionary traditions, patriotism, and ideological and moral education of young people, so that the red genes can be carried on well and ensure our Red sovereignty eternally consolidated. [9] In recent years, the government has consistently boosted the influence of red culture in various fields of society, vigorously promoted the concept of "red culture" acts as a driving force of regional economic development, push forward the economy stride in old revolutionary areas, and encouraged young people to learn about the revolutionary martyrs and embrace red culture appeal in different ways to promote the great national spirit.

Social levels
Under the circumstances of the new era, the key to strengthening youth red culture education is to make good use of social resources. All facets of society should jointly foster a favorable red culture atmosphere, actively promote and implement the spirit of the 19th National Congress of the Party, and cultural soft strength should act as a powerful support for the realization of the Chinese dream. In the process, the school plays an exceptionally important role, which is of great significance to the establishment of correct outlook on life, world outlook and values among youngsters. Guided by Xi Jinping's socialist ideology with Chinese characteristics in the new era, the whole society should actively guide, encourage, and unite young people to further study the red culture, translate the red concept into spiritual power and practical action.

Family aspects
While shouldering the responsibility of ensuring the healthy upbringing of young people, families should be good at using local red cultural resources, choose nearby red cultural tourism site, and periodically carry out red culture on-site education towards young people to facilitate their learning of red culture. In addition to visiting the regular red sites and memorials halls, it is also advisable to participate in red culture experience activities that promote parent-child relationships, such as reading red culture books, watching red culture films, recording thoughts concerning reading red culture, and take part in red cultural parent-child trips, etc. Therefore, parents should encourage young people to strengthen the learning of red culture via a wide range of methods. Meanwhile, the parents themselves should improve their cultural literacy, act as role-model, and instill the red culture education of young people into daily life.

SUMMARY
The youngsters determine the future of a country and embody the hope of a nation. Strengthening the ideological and moral cultivation of young people is crucial for the development of a nation and the destiny of the country. As the original and fundamental driving force of New China's struggle and development, red culture should be learned by young people with conscientious reflection and a grasp of the essence to meet the development request of the times. Strengthen the cultivation of youngsters' red culture, guide young people to establish a correct outlook on life, values, and world outlook, and strive for the great rejuvenation of the Chinese nation.