Xi Jinping Uses Ancient Festivals to Boost Party's Cultural Image
· World · Hindustan Times, The Economist, economist
Chinese President Xi Jinping is leveraging traditional festivals to promote cultural confidence and position the Communist Party as the ultimate guardian of Chinese heritage. Celebrations such as the mid-autumn festival, tomb-sweeping day, and the dragon-boat festival have been revived with modern commercial glosses after being suppressed during the early 20th-century republican era and the Cultural Revolution. State media frequently employ the mid-autumn theme of living under the same moon to emphasize ethnic unity, shared heritage across the Taiwan Strait, and human commonality. However, ancient traditions may not always bend easily to state control or ideological narratives. The mid-autumn festival only became a public holiday in 2008, reflecting the government's relatively recent effort to harness cultural traditions for political messaging.
Why it matters
This strategy reshapes public cultural life in China by intertwining ancient heritage with state propaganda, directly affecting how citizens engage with national identity and traditions.
Read the original report — Hindustan Times
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