What are the main functions of culture?

"Comment on the influence of cultural life on people's ways of communication, thinking and production, and explain the significance of the intertwining of culture, economy and politics in modern society." "Analyze the role of traditional Chinese culture in real life, and explain the rationale of "taking the essence and removing the dross" in inheriting traditional culture." All of these content objectives involve the function of culture. The function of culture is the role of culture in social life. Culture is a multifunctional system. Numerous scholars have made different studies, divisions and descriptions of the functions of culture. In a comprehensive view, the main functions of culture are as follows:

1. Culture has the function of satisfying needs

Culture is the supply station of human needs. Polish-British anthropologist Malinowski pointed out that "culture is including a set of tools and a set of customs - habits of the human body or mind, they are directly or indirectly to meet human needs." It is evident that culture has the function of satisfying human needs directly or indirectly.

According to the theory of American psychologist Maslow, the needs of healthy people are divided into five levels from low to high: physiological needs, safety needs, the need to belong, the need for respect, and the need for self-actualization. The fulfillment of these needs cannot be separated from culture. Take the lowest level of needs, i.e., physiological needs, with the progress of society, it is also increasing the cultural connotation. This is what cultural anthropologists call "the cultural transformation of biological needs". Take diet as an example. The significance of human diet is not only to satisfy the appetite, but also to make the dishes into flowers and birds and other works of art for people to enjoy, so that people can get the enjoyment of beauty, the emergence of food culture. With the development of the economy, people's clothing is not only to meet the warmth of people, but also to beautify the image of people, indicating the identity, occupation, ideals, hobbies and pursuits of people, the emergence of a colorful dress culture. Take the marriage between men and women as an example. In the social life of human beings, marriage is far beyond the needs of biological instincts. As Malinowski said, "Marriage in any human culture is not a mere union of the sexes or cohabitation between a man and a woman. It is always a legal contract providing for cohabitation, economic responsibility, property cooperation, mutual assistance between the spouses and their relatives; it is always a public ceremony, a social event involving a group of people other than the man and the woman concerned. The dissolution of marriage and its end are governed by certain traditional rules." As for the higher needs, their cultural characteristics are even more distinctive.

2. Culture has a recording function

Culture is the memory bank of mankind. As a complex symbol system, culture has the function of recording various human activities. Language and writing are the main carriers of culture. In the days when writing did not exist, people passed on their experiences, knowledge and ideas orally through the spoken word, from one generation to the next. For example, the folk proverb "The evening sun travels a thousand miles" is a conclusion reached by the people after a long period of observation. The forefathers who discovered this phenomenon passed the proverb on to the next generation as an experience, and it has been passed on from one generation to the next. Almost all of the world's peoples have developed their writing on the basis of oral literature. To this day, this is still the case with some peoples who do not have writing.

The emergence of writing greatly expanded the recording function of culture. Chinese oracle bones, Egyptian papyrus, Babylonian cuneiform, and so on, have preserved for us a record of early human social practices, allowing us to appreciate the wisdom and abilities of our ancient ancestors. Art, such as painting and music, gives the recording function of culture a more creative form. Pottery paintings with fish motifs on human faces from the Half Slope Ruins, paintings on silk from the Mawangdui Han Tomb in Changsha, and the Zenghouyi Chimes allow us to share in the artistic talents of our ancient sages. With the emergence of papermaking and printing, and with the continuous development of science and technology, the recording function of culture is playing a role all the time and everywhere. Historical books, scientific works, newspapers and magazines, audio-visual media, more and more magnificent, more comprehensive play the function of cultural records. It is by virtue of the recording function of culture that human beings continue to accumulate knowledge and experience, and on the basis of their predecessors, continue to open up deep and wide areas of cognition, creating a more splendid new culture.

The material culture created by human beings also has a recording function. A tool, a weapon, a living utensil, an artistic decoration, an ancient building ...... can make us perceive the practical activities and spiritual years of the people of the time and place, the customs and historical vicissitudes of the time and place. The terracotta warriors and horses of the Qin Dynasty and the portrait stones of the Han Dynasty make us yearn for the elegance of the Qin and Han dynasties; the Great Wall, the Forbidden City, the Yuanmingyuan, Dujiangyan and the Grand Canal ...... make us marvel at the outstanding creativity of the Chinese forefathers.

3. Culture has a cognitive function

Culture is the golden key that opens the door to the mysteries of the world. Culture collects the best social experience accumulated by human beings for generations into itself, and constantly acquires the richest knowledge about the world, thus creating conditions for understanding the world and transforming it. In the case of an individual, a person is born knowing nothing about the world, and then, through the family, school, and society, he acquires what he should know and be able to know about the society in which he lives, thus surviving in the world and, at the same time, more or less creating a culture. In the case of society as a whole, no matter how the social system changes, it is still necessary to learn and inherit the culture of the past, and to recognize history and society through culture. Engels said about the great French writer Balzac: "In his 'The Human Comedy' the author has given us a remarkable realist history of French society ...... In this history ...... I have learned something more, too, than was learned by all the works of all the specialized historians, economists, and statisticians of the time taken together." By reading Dream of the Red Chamber, people can understand all aspects of feudal society, so it is called "the encyclopedia of feudal society". In a sense, the first use of traditional culture, which has been passed down for thousands of years, is its cognitive value for people today. They are a mirror of history, allowing people to see the yesterday of mankind, to think about the today of mankind and to explore its tomorrow; helping people to combine with the new practice, constantly enriching and expanding the understanding of nature, society and themselves.

The cultural practices, traditions, and atmosphere formed over a long period of time have had a profound and lasting impact on people, enabling them to form their own ways of thinking and habits of mind. These ways of thinking and habits of mind are relatively stable and provide materials and tools for people to understand the world from generation to generation. At the same time, the way of thinking and habits of mind are constantly improving and developing, guiding people to recognize the ever-changing objective world. Of course, this does not mean that all people's way of thinking is exactly the same. Because the emergence of human beings is first of all geographically divided, and people from all over the world create their own culture according to their own different ways. After culture was created by people, it became an integral part of their living environment. Formed their different cultural environment and cultural background. Therefore, there are differences in the way of thinking of people from different regions, nationalities and countries. For example, in the art of painting, Westerners generally pursue "similarity", while Easterners generally pursue "similarity", "charm". Western oil paintings of bamboo is green, dense branches and leaves. The bamboo in Chinese paintings is black or vermilion in color, and thick branches and leaves, a few strokes. Westerners painted angels have wings, while the Dunhuang flying frescoes of those beautiful nymphs do not have wings, but their graceful dance, soft and long ribbon, can still bring the beauty of flying, and seems to be more artistic tension and poetry. The difference between the Eastern and Western ways of thinking is evident.

Through culture, people can also continue to improve the existing tools of understanding, and create new tools of understanding, so as to make their own understanding of the ability to continue to improve. From telescopes to radio telescopes, from microscopes to CT machines, from abacuses to electronic computers, from space shuttles to Mars rovers, are all good evidence of this.

4. Culture has the function of dissemination

Culture is the sower of the spiritual home of mankind. Culture has the function of transmitting cultural information such as thoughts and feelings, religious beliefs, values, scientific and technological knowledge as well as literature and art. The dissemination function of culture is closely linked to the recording function and cognitive function of culture, spreading the flame of civilization in all directions. Cultural communication is inseparable from human beings. Cultural diffusion and exchange are the basic driving force of cultural development. If there is no cultural communication, no culture will have vitality and vigor, and will eventually die out. It can be said that culture is communication and communication is culture. The reason why the four great inventions of ancient China have been introduced to Europe, the reason why novel fashions in modern society have been sold all over the world, the reason why popular songs have been sung all over the world, and the reason why high and new technologies have been popularized and disseminated, is the function of cultural communication.

Language and writing are important carriers of cultural transmission. The language will spread, the baby will learn to speak, so a region and even a country can operate the same language, a variety of information can be exchanged. The written word will spread, a twenty-four history can send us a lot of information about ancient Chinese society.

Physical objects can also spread. Zhang Qian's passage through the Western Regions, Zheng He's travels to the West, Zhaojun's journey to the West, and Princess Wencheng's travels to Tibet have promoted cultural exchanges between China and its neighbors, and between the Han Chinese and ethnic minorities. From the ancient Silk Road to today's Eurasian Continental Bridge; from a variety of trade fairs on a wide range of commodities, to the colorful programs in the arts festival; from a variety of exhibitions, museums, games to scientific conferences, academic reports, etc., are using the dissemination of culture to promote extensive cultural exchanges.

With the continuous progress of science and technology, the function of cultural communication is more perfect. Telephone, telegraph, radio, telex, network, so that the sky is far away as far as the next door, the four seas into a family. What happens in every corner of the world can be known almost simultaneously through the media of cultural communication. Cultural communication also transcends time and space. Up and down thousands of years, hundreds of millions of miles, all kinds of things can be recognized through the function of cultural dissemination. 1977, the United States has launched two spaceships, carrying all kinds of information about human beings on the earth, including Mozart's music, China's "Two Fountains Reflecting the Moon", as well as a lot of mathematical symbols, flew into the vastness of space. This was an attempt by human beings to spread human culture to the universe by utilizing the function of cultural communication.

5. Culture has the function of indoctrination

Culture is an invisible school. Culture is created by human beings, and once created, culture, as a certain cultural environment, influences and constrains human beings. People are in the influence of culture, molding in self-improvement. Therefore, the word culture also has the meaning of "edification". The fundamental function of culture is to educate and mold people. All other functions are related to it in one way or another, and can even be said to be derived from this function.

Man is the animal of culture. It is not difficult to realize that every human being is born not only into his mother's body, but also into a certain culture. While sucking the mother's milk, but also destined to suck the cultural "milk", to accept the culture of culture and baptism. This is because, when a baby comes into the world, it is still a "natural man" who knows nothing, and it is only through a certain period of learning and education that it can gradually detach itself from its animal nature and become a social being. In the process of socialization, the cultural environment plays an extremely important role. In this cultural environment, parents teach him to learn to speak, to recognize objects, and to love and hate. After enrolling in school, the school teaches him knowledge and teaches him to be a human being. All kinds of morals and ethics, laws and regulations, customs, manners and etiquette in the society are guiding him to adapt to the society. Culture makes people think and act in accordance with the values of society by way of imbibing and imbibing. Because of the influence of culture on human beings has the characteristic of subtle, therefore, the indoctrination function of culture can also be called "tacit function".

In the process of development of human society, with the change of cultural environment, people's way of thinking, behavior, values will be influenced by the influence of indoctrination function and change. This is an important law of cultural development. Therefore, successive rulers have taken the indoctrination of the people as the first priority of politics.

The indoctrination function of culture can be both positive and negative. Advanced culture can educate people, backward culture, the negative impact of corrupt culture on people can not be underestimated. Therefore, we should actively create a healthy cultural environment, adhere to the direction of China's advanced culture, and resist the influence of backward and decadent culture.

6. Culture has a cohesive function

Culture is the "psychological cement" of the nation. As the root of the nation, the spiritual blood of the nation, culture has the function of cohesion of the whole nation. The cohesive function of culture is an extension of the indoctrination function. Because culture enables people in a social group to be indoctrinated in the same cultural environment, paints their ways of thinking and values with basically the same "background color", forms a stable national identity, and unites them together, generating a great power of identity to resist alienation, and sustaining the nation's vitality. The cohesive function of culture is particularly evident in ethnic groups. In the history of the world, the Soviet Union won the victory over the German fascists, China defeated the Japanese invaders, an important reason lies in the cohesive function of culture to mobilize millions of people, convergence of the world's invincible resistance to foreign enemies of the great power.

From April to July 2005, at the invitation of General Secretary Hu Jintao, KMT Chairman Lien Chan, PDP Chairman James Soong, and NPP Chairman Yu Mu-ming led delegations to visit the mainland, which were called the "Peace Tour", "Bridge Building Tour", and "National Tour" respectively. "and the "Journey of the Nation" respectively. Even Song Yu's trip to the mainland, not only to the two sides of the Taiwan Strait to build a bridge of mutual understanding, communication, with far-reaching historical significance, but also clearly reflects the cohesive function of Chinese culture. One of the notable ****similarities between the trips of Lian Songyu is that they both arranged various sacrificial activities. Lian Song Yu both went to the Sun Yat-sen Mausoleum to pay homage to Mr. Sun Yat-sen; Lian Song both went to pay homage to their own ancestors' graves; James Soong also went to the Mausoleum of the Yellow Emperor to pay homage to the ****same ancestors of the Chinese nation, and to recognize their ancestors and return to their ancestors. When they made sacrifices, they all paid homage, offered flowers, wine and fruit with great devotion, and recited sacrificial texts, demonstrating the strong traditional customs and cultural heritage of the Chinese nation. From Lien Chan's "Truly be a Chinese nation that raises its eyebrows", to James Soong's "The children of the Yellow Emperor do not forget their roots, and the brothers on both sides of the Taiwan Strait are close to each other", to Yu Mu-ming's "Ancient Chinese love, ancient Chinese soul", "I am a Chinese man of the past", "I am a Chinese man of the past", and "I am a Chinese man of the past". From James Soong's "The Chinese people have forgotten their roots" to Yu Mu-ming's "Ancient Chinese love, ancient Chinese soul" and "I am returning to Taiwan with the national spirit of the Chinese people", one can y feel the great cohesive force of Chinese culture. The idea of patriotism is an important element of Chinese culture. Even Song Yu and others, who have been nurtured by Chinese culture since they were young, have an "unbreakable" Chinese complex in their hearts, a passion for patriotism, and a heart of redemption. Therefore, they can recognize the principle of one China and firmly oppose "Taiwan independence".

The educative and cohesive function of culture can be both positive and negative. Generally speaking, whatever is conducive to social stability and unity, people's happiness and well-being is positive, and the opposite is negative. Close to the vermilion is red, close to the ink is black, so we should actively create a healthy cultural environment, establish correct values, to overcome the influence of negative cultural factors.

7. Culture has a regulatory function

Culture is the regulator of society. Society is a society of people, and each person in the environment, their own qualities and material and spiritual needs are not the same, so there are always people and nature, people and society, people and people and other contradictions. If these conflicts are not properly resolved, social life will fall into disorder. Therefore, in order to ensure the normal conduct of social life and the survival and development of mankind, all members of society must *** with the observance of certain social norms, culture is the systematization of such social norms, including morality, etiquette, customs, taboos, discipline, laws, systems, etc., which tells people what behaviors can be done, what behaviors must be done, and what behaviors can not be done, in order to regulate and regulate the people's behavior and behavioral habits, so that the society will be in order. and behavioral habits, so that society is orderly, harmonious and sustainable development.

8. Culture has a value function

Culture is the compass of social value choice. The culture of any social form is not only the affirmation and support of the existing society, but also the evaluation and criticism of the existing society, which not only contains the value support of "what" the society is, but also contains the value judgment of "how" the society should be, in order to maintain the society. It contains not only the value support of "what" the society is, but also the value judgment of "how" the society should be, in order to maintain the stability of the society and guide its sustainable development.

Culture is the measure of the meaning of people's behavior. The environment in which people live, what kind of cultural patterns are practiced, and what kind of values are promoted and inculcated, people will adjust their concepts and behaviors through the process of accepting indoctrination and through the process of dealing with various relationships with the surrounding areas, so as to ultimately internalize their own value choices and behavioral styles. Culture as a certain value system makes people form very clear value needs and orientations. People usually evaluate and judge the degree of "culture" of a person according to the basic requirements of such needs and orientations, that is, to see what kind of standard his ideology and morality are at. Culture is the contemporary society's "instruction" system, which not only indicates to people the pursuit of noble virtues, but also regulates people's behavioral choices, so that people's behavior is more rational.

9. Culture has the function of power

Culture is the driving wheel of economic development. Culture's role in promoting the economy is mainly manifested in the following: First, the orientation of culture gives value to economic development, the choice of economic system, economic strategy, the formulation of economic policy, all by the influence of the social and cultural background and the cultural level of decision-makers constraints. Culture gives guidance to material production, exchange, distribution and consumption in terms of ideas, theories and public opinion, and to a certain extent stipulates the direction and mode of economic development. Secondly, culture gives economic development a high degree of organizational effectiveness. As a unit of culture, human beings are not only inculcated by culture, but also sense each other according to certain principles and identify with each other, thus forming a social whole. This penetration of culture is a reflection of the social nature of human beings, which can promote mutual communication, exchange and cooperation among countries and regions, and ensure that economic and social life is carried out in an orderly manner within a certain organization. Thirdly, it provides spiritual impetus. Through cultural construction, it can make all social classes form **** the same values and ideological concepts, form a firm belief in revitalizing the national economy, turn it into a strong impetus to speed up economic construction, and push people to unite as one, forge ahead and work hard to achieve the grand goal of modernization and construction. Fourth, to provide intellectual support. Through the educative function of culture, we can cultivate high-quality workers, builders and specialists, promote scientific and technological innovation, and give economic development a stronger competitive edge. Fifthly, it forms new economic growth points. In the contemporary world, culture is increasingly intertwined with economy and politics. Culture is not only an important symbol of comprehensive national power, but also an important part of comprehensive national power. Cultural industry has increasingly become the pillar industry of many countries. Like television, film, publishing, audio and video, arts and cultural performances, arts and crafts, sports competitions, and even advertising, information, communication, entertainment and other industries, has been increasingly developed into a huge industrial group, and become an important part of the economic structure.

Culture is the engine of social change. Culture is the soul of human society, but also the inner driving force of the development of human society, is the continuous evolution and development of human society, the realization of their own essential power is an important means. The history of the development of human society shows that when an old system, the old system can not adapt to the productive forces, can not adapt to the needs of the further development of the economic base, the culture of the new system, the establishment of a new system plays an important role in the pilot. The spirit of culture embedded in the new system provides a sharp weapon for criticizing, rejecting and transcending the old system on the one hand, and on the other hand gives people the support of ideals and beliefs with a new value concept, pushing the revolutionary class and the masses to change the society and promote the innovative development of the social system. The promotion of the bourgeois revolution and the establishment of the capitalist system by the Renaissance, the promotion of the new democratic revolution and the establishment of the new China by the May Fourth Movement, and the promotion of reform and opening up and the establishment of the socialist market economic system by the discussion of the standard of truth and the emancipation of the mind in the late 1970s, are all proof of the powerful role of culture as a driving force.

For individuals, culture is an invisible whip and an invisible gas station. The educative function of culture gives people ideals, beliefs, value goals, strong will and spirit of struggle; gives people the example of learning to inspire people infinite power; promote people to constantly transcend themselves, the pursuit of the best and the most beautiful, self-improvement, and constantly moving forward.

10. Culture has the function of creation

Culture is a river of new inventions and creations. The essence of culture lies in creation. There is no unchanging culture in the world, and innovation is an essential attribute of culture. Malinowski believes that the cultural process is cultural change. Cultural change is "the process by which the existing social order, including organizations, beliefs, knowledge, and the purpose of the tools and consumers, is changed to a greater or lesser extent".

Cultural innovation is an important source of cultural continuity for a nation. Take dress culture as an example, in ancient times, people used leaves and animal skins to cover their bodies from the cold. To the Neolithic period, people gradually learned to use the wild hemp fiber stone wheel or pottery wheel twisted into a line, woven into hemp cloth, and then made into clothes. To the slave society, people's clothes have become a sign of rank. Clothing not only had the function of keeping warm and covering shame, but also had the function of distinguishing status and rank. Subsequently, on the basis of the fusion of various nationalities' costumes, the ancient Chinese costume has gone through many changes before it developed into the modern and contemporary Chinese costume, and it is still in constant change. In a certain sense, the history of cultural development is the history of continuous innovation and renewal. Without innovation, there will be no cultural development, and there will be no historical and social development.

Inheritance and innovation are two inseparable aspects of cultural inheritance. The two are opposites and united in the whole process of cultural inheritance. Cultural innovation at this stage of China's cultural construction is based on the practice of contemporary China's cultural construction, facing the reasonable resources of local and global culture, pushing out the new, following the past, criticizing and abandoning, creating and transforming, forging a new type of cultural form; that is, to create a new culture beyond the traditional Chinese culture and capitalist culture, that is, to create a socialist culture with Chinese characteristics. We are both enjoyers and creators of culture. As cultural creators, each of us has a responsibility in cultural innovation.