In the Process of Urbanization, Rural Cultural Value Urgently Needs to Be Reclaimed

Rural civilization and urban civilization are interdependent and functionally complementary. In the historical process of urbanization and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, reclaiming rural civilization is not only a matter of what should be done, but also an unavoidable path choice.

“When will the vast waters appear, without the lush green the dream is hard to fulfill” - in the process of urbanization, how to recognize and utilize rural value is not only the nostalgic concern of the entire society today, but also a core issue that urbanization and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects cannot avoid. Rural civilization and urban civilization are not a matter of superior and inferior, but rather an interdependent and functionally complementary relationship. Urban civilization is a civilization bred by rural civilization, and the root of urban civilization lies in the countryside. Therefore, neither can urban civilization be placed above rural civilization, nor can rural civilization be placed above urban civilization; the two civilizations should learn from each other's strengths to make up for their weaknesses.

With the progress of industrialization and population growth, China's urbanization process is accelerating. However, on the other hand, urbanization has also caused irreversible changes to rural civilization. Industrialization and urban domestic waste have damaged the rural ecological environment; excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers and industrial additives pose a threat to the quality and safety of agricultural products; the impact of migration and mobility on family structure and family ethics cannot be ignored; thousands of years of rural living patterns and traditional customs are disappearing into thin air against the backdrop of concentrated relocation into apartment buildings; the social structure of the traditional acquaintance society faces disintegration.

The damage caused by urbanization and modernization to the value of rural civilization is because urban civilization and industrial civilization are labeled as superior to rural culture, and in the process of urban-rural transformation there is a lack of bottom-up consideration based on the subject position of farmers; in practice, industrialization and urbanization are taken as the dominant orientation, neglecting the enormous value contribution of rural civilization to the entire society in the future.

In fact, the role of rural civilization is not only reflected in traditional rural China, but will also certainly play an important role in the future urban-rural pattern. It is necessary to re-understand rural value and combine the value of rural civilization with the urbanization process. The value of rural civilization to society is at least reflected in six major aspects: production, living, life, ecology, culture and tourism. The countryside is the main space and carrier of agricultural production. Agricultural production is the foundation of human survival and development. We cannot think that because we live on the upper floors of a building, we can ignore the value of the foundation at the bottom. We can do without mobile phones and luxury cars, but we cannot do without food. Humanity came from the countryside, and the countryside gave birth to humanity's true homeland. Even after entering urban society, a very large proportion of the population still lives in the countryside. The countryside is the paradise of life that nature has built for humanity. As the primary industry, agriculture not only produces the food people rely on for survival, but also provides the ecological environment that people cannot do without for even a moment. China's thousands of years of farming civilization embody an ecological civilization that respects nature, reveres nature, and pursues the unity of heaven and humanity. Re-understanding and protecting the ecological value of the countryside is a topic of the new era. “The scenery of bamboo fences and thatched cottages is fine, high-rise buildings are always inferior.” Rural culture contains more of nature, emotion and simplicity, and possesses a more natural sense of life and belonging. Rural leisure sightseeing tourism is a kind of tourism that returns to nature, a kind of tourism of unity between heaven and humanity, and a kind of tourism that is down-to-earth and purifies the soul.

However, urbanization is not a development process that is “pro-countryside”; it will not naturally and appropriately draw on the strengths of rural civilization. It is necessary to change concepts, and not to change the countryside with urban concepts, or eliminate and replace the countryside with urban concepts. We must establish that urban civilization and rural civilization have equal value, respect farmers' wishes and choices, and not forcibly change rural life forms. In addition to changing concepts, it is also necessary to constrain power and the arbitrariness of public power (especially public power under the background of urbanization occupying a dominant position). In addition, the flow of industrial and commercial capital to the countryside in pursuit of profit, while bringing modern production factors to agricultural production, also poses impacts and challenges that cannot be ignored to the forms of rural social organization, rural individual dignity and rights. Toward capital, we must pursue the beneficial and avoid the harmful - neither completely eliminating it nor blindly indulging it; we must steer industrial and commercial capital.

Agriculture and rural civilization should not be synonyms for tradition and backwardness, but should be an important part of social development. No matter how society develops, it cannot break free from its native civilizational tradition, and the excellent aspects of rural civilization should be carried forward. In the historical process of urbanization and building a moderately prosperous society in all respects, reclaiming rural civilization is not only a matter of what should be done, but also an unavoidable path choice.