Young People Should Practice the Core Socialist Values
青年要自觉践行社会主义核心价值观
Why am I talking about the core socialist values with you young people? Because your value orientation will decide the values of the whole of society in the years to come. Besides, young people are at the time of life when they form and establish their values. It is therefore very important to offer some guidance. That reminds me of something that happens in our daily life. When we button up our coat, we may inadvertently put the first button in the wrong button hole, and that will result in all the other buttons being put in the wrong holes. That's why we say that young people should “button right” in the early days of their life. “A deep well is dug starting with a shallow pit.” Every young person should learn about the core socialist values starting right now, take them as his basic rules and disseminate them throughout society.
我为什么要对青年讲讲社会主义核心价值观这个问题？是因为青年的价值取向决定了未来整个社会的价值取向，而青年又处在价值观形成和确立的时期，抓好这一时期的价值观养成十分重要。这就像穿衣服扣扣子一样，如果第一粒扣子扣错了，剩余的扣子都会扣错。人生的扣子从一开始就要扣好。“凿井者，起于三寸之坎，以就万仞之深。”青年要从现在做起、从自己做起，使社会主义核心价值观成为自己的基本遵循，并身体力行大力将其推广到全社会去。
When young people adopt the core socialist values they should emphasize the following points:
广大青年树立和培育社会主义核心价值观，要在以下几点上下功夫。
First, work diligently to acquire true knowledge. Knowledge is an important cornerstone for the cultivation of the core values. The great philosophers of ancient Greece believed that knowledge was a virtue. Our ancestors also asserted, “One cannot enhance one's ability and wisdom if one does not work hard; neither can one succeed without ambition.”
一是要勤学，下得苦功夫，求得真学问。知识是树立核心价值观的重要基础。古希腊哲学家说，知识即美德。我国古人说：“非学无以广才，非志无以成学”。
A person enjoys only once the youthful days at college, so you should cherish them. To acquire knowledge, one has to study diligently, intensively and persistently. Lu Xun once said, “Who said I’m a genius? I spent all my time working when others were sipping coffee.” In college days, “Young we were, schoolmates, at life's full flowering.” One can totally throw oneself into seeking knowledge without any distractions, learning from teachers, exchanging views with classmates and rummaging through piles of books. So there is no reason not to study hard. Work hard, acquire more knowledge and turn what you have learned into your own views and ideas. I hope that you will not only concentrate on book knowledge but also care about the people, the country and the world, and assume your responsibility for society.
大学的青春时光，人生只有一次，应该好好珍惜。为学之要贵在勤奋、贵在钻研、贵在有恒。鲁迅先生说过：“哪里有天才，我是把别人喝咖啡的工夫都用在工作上的。”大学阶段，“恰同学少年，风华正茂”，有老师指点，有同学切磋，有浩瀚的书籍引路，可以心无旁骛求知问学。此时不努力，更待何时？要勤于学习、敏于求知，注重把所学知识内化于心，形成自己的见解，既要专攻博览，又要关心国家、关心人民、关心世界，学会担当社会责任。
Second, cultivate morality and virtue, and pay attention to them in practice. “Virtue is the root.” Mr Cai Yuanpei believed, “He who is strong physically and talented but has no virtue will end up on the side of vice.” Virtues are fundamental for both individuals and society. What is most important is to cultivate morality. This explains why we select those who are both talented and morally cultivated for our work, with morality as priority. One can be placed in the right position only if one recognizes virtue, follows social ethics and restricts personal desires.
二是要修德，加强道德修养，注重道德实践。“德者，本也。”蔡元培先生说过：“若无德，则虽体魄智力发达，适足助其为恶。”道德之于个人、之于社会，都具有基础性意义，做人做事第一位的是崇德修身。这就是我们的用人标准为什么是德才兼备、以德为先，因为德是首要、是方向，一个人只有明大德、守公德、严私德，其才方能用得其所。
When talking about cultivating morality, one needs to have high ambitions as well as pragmatic plans. To devote oneself to one's country and serve one's people, this is the great virtue with which one is able to accomplish the great cause. In the meantime, one needs to start to do small things well and be self-disciplined even in small matters. “Learning from fine things that may appear and correcting any mistakes that may occur,” one needs to cultivate public and personal virtues, learn to work, to be thrifty, to be grateful, to help others, to be modest, to be tolerant, to examine oneself and to exercise self-restraint.
修德，既要立意高远，又要立足平实。要立志报效祖国、服务人民，这是大德，养大德者方可成大业。同时，还得从做好小事、管好小节开始起步，“见善则迁，有过则改”，踏踏实实修好公德、私德，学会劳动、学会勤俭，学会感恩、学会助人，学会谦让、学会宽容，学会自省、学会自律。
Third, learn to tell right from wrong and make correct decisions. As our ancestors believed, “Reading without thinking makes one muddled; thinking without reading makes one flighty.” Knowing what is right or wrong, what is the correct direction and what is the proper way to follow, one is bound to reap the reward of one's work.
三是要明辨，善于明辨是非，善于决断选择。“学而不思则罔，思而不学则殆。”是非明，方向清，路子正，人们付出的辛劳才能结出果实。
Facing a complex and fast-changing world, an information era with the surge of various schools of thought, a multifaceted society of genuine and false ideas, and the pressure associated with one's academic pursuit, relationships and employment, you may feel somewhat confused, hesitant or frustrated. This is a normal experience everybody will go through. The key is to learn to think about and analyze situations before making decisions in order to arrive at correct decisions. You should be sturdy, confident and self-reliant. You must form a correct world outlook, view of life and values, then you will see--crystal-clear--the true nature of society and have a better understanding of your life's experience, and be able to tell what is right and what is wrong, what is primary and what is secondary, what is true and what is false, what is good and what is evil, and what is beautiful and what is ugly before making judgments and decisions. As a Tang verse goes, “Gold glitters only after countless washings and sievings.”
面对世界的深刻复杂变化，面对信息时代各种思潮的相互激荡，面对纷繁多变、鱼龙混杂、泥沙俱下的社会现象，面对学业、情感、职业选择等多方面的考量，一时有些疑惑、彷徨、失落，是正常的人生经历。关键是要学会思考、善于分析、正确抉择，做到稳重自持、从容自信、坚定自励。要树立正确的世界观、人生观、价值观，掌握了这把总钥匙，再来看看社会万象、人生历程，一切是非、正误、主次，一切真假、善恶、美丑，自然就洞若观火、清澈明了，自然就能作出正确判断、作出正确选择。正所谓“千淘万漉虽辛苦，吹尽狂沙始到金”。
Fourth, be honest and sincere; do solid work and be an upright person. The correct way needs to be pursued in practice, while morality requires no empty talk. One should be more pragmatic. Knowledge and action should go hand in hand, and the core values should be turned into moral pursuits as well as a drive to make people engage in conscious action. The Book of Rites says, “Learn extensively, inquire earnestly, think profoundly, discriminate clearly and practice sincerely.”
四是要笃实，扎扎实实干事，踏踏实实做人。道不可坐论，德不能空谈。于实处用力，从知行合一上下功夫，核心价值观才能内化为人们的精神追求，外化为人们的自觉行动。《礼记》中说：“博学之，审问之，慎思之，明辨之，笃行之。”
Some people believe that “sages are mediocre people who work hard, while mediocre people are sages who refuse to work hard.” With more opportunities, young people should make their steps steady, lay a solid foundation and make unremitting efforts. It is no good for study or running a business if one works intermittently, or chop sand changes. “Difficult things are done starting from easy ones; a great undertaking begins with minor work.”
有人说：“圣人是肯做工夫的庸人，庸人是不肯做工夫的圣人。”青年有着大好机遇，关键是要迈稳步子、夯实根基、久久为功。心浮气躁，朝三暮四，学一门丢一门，干一行弃一行，无论为学还是创业，都是最忌讳的。“天下难事，必作于易；天下大事，必作于细。”
No matter what you opt to do, success always favors hard workers. Young people should take a difficult environment as a challenge or test. “Little strokes fell great oaks.” Success awaits those who work doggedly and unyieldingly, and those who are never daunted by repeated setbacks.
成功的背后，永远是艰辛努力。青年要把艰苦环境作为磨炼自己的机遇，把小事当作大事干，一步一个脚印往前走。滴水可以穿石。只要坚韧不拔、百折不挠，成功就一定在前方等你。
The cultivation of the core values can't be done overnight. It requires efforts from the easy to the difficult, from close-up to faraway until it becomes a faith and idea that we follow conscientiously. When things are smooth, you may be confident; when there are frustrations, you may have doubts and waver. In all circumstances we should always uphold the core socialist values which have been formed and developed here in our country, make contributions to the great cause in the modern era and fulfill our lifetime expectations.
核心价值观的养成绝非一日之功，要坚持由易到难、由近及远，努力把核心价值观的要求变成日常的行为准则，进而形成自觉奉行的信念理念。不要顺利的时候，看山是山、看水是水，一遇挫折，就怀疑动摇，看山不是山、看水不是水了。无论什么时候，我们都要坚守在中国大地上形成和发展起来的社会主义核心价值观，在时代大潮中建功立业，成就自己的宝贵人生。
信息来源：《青年要自觉践行社会主义核心价值观》，出自《习近平谈治国理政》第一卷
文字整理人：陈慧敏
送审人：李响林、翟洁
审核人：唐琳、张景新
