Reading is a vital method for acquiring knowledge and enhancing wisdom, as well as an important pathway for strengthening cultural confidence and promoting social progress. Since the 18th National Congress of the Communist Party of China, nationwide reading has been elevated to a national development strategy, fostering a dynamic environment for building a reading-oriented society. Starting February 1st, the "National Reading Promotion Regulation" has officially come into effect, using legislation to support public reading and institutional mechanisms to safeguard reading rights. This holds significant and far-reaching implications for cultivating a strong atmosphere of loving, reading, and benefiting from books across society.
Books are carriers of civilization, and reading continues cultural heritage. It is the most convenient and economical way to "accumulate energy." Throughout history and across the world, cherishing, valuing, and reading books have been widely esteemed, with nations prioritizing reading promotion and ability as key focuses of educational reform. In recent years, China's national reading rate has continuously risen, and the construction of a reading society has steadily advanced. However, with the advent of the artificial intelligence era, deep reading is declining, and traditional reading methods face unprecedented challenges. "Fragmented" reading and "fast-food" learning make it difficult for many, including primary and secondary school students, to settle into deep reading.
We are currently in an era intertwined with knowledge, technology, and innovation, where the cycle of knowledge renewal has significantly shortened. As a new round of technological revolution gathers momentum and novel developments emerge constantly, continuous learning—and by extension, reading—is indispensable for realizing one's value in intense competition. Reading is like flowing water: persistent, subtle, and silently nurturing. It is a form of self-cultivation and an essential path for individual growth. A person's intellectual development history is essentially their reading history; cognitive, emotional, and volitional capacities are largely shaped by what one reads.
For primary and secondary school students, if a strong reading habit is not yet established, the upcoming winter break presents an ideal starting point. Visiting libraries, bookstores, and similar venues to read can be highly beneficial. As the saying goes, diligence can compensate for clumsiness; effort cultivates talent. Only by developing a reading habit, maintaining enthusiasm for books, viewing reading as a joyful activity, and transforming reading gains into intrinsic power for comprehensive self-development can sustained and healthy growth be achieved.
A scholarly demeanor is among the most captivating qualities a person can possess. Reading is a process of gradual accumulation leading to profound insights, influencing individuals subtly—like a gentle stream quietly permeating daily life, eventually converging into an "ocean of knowledge." Indeed, reading brings not only ability enhancement and character refinement but also comprehensive, multi-level transformation. Even amid challenges such as academic pressure, difficult examinations, and competitive employment, real-life examples of individuals changing their destinies through reading are common and occur constantly around us. If young people read more during their formative years to improve their literacy, their abilities and qualities will eventually experience qualitative leaps.
Advancing the reading society requires participation from all sectors. Relying solely on individuals or specific groups, or temporary enthusiasm and perseverance, is insufficient. Only when reading is accessible everywhere, at any time, and for everyone—when it becomes a mainstream social trend permeating every corner—will nationwide reading truly flourish. Therefore, parents should set examples for their children. Coinciding with the Spring Festival holiday, the winter break offers parents an opportunity to guide children to step away from heavy academic routines, engage in daily reading, and use it as a way to "recharge." This can achieve a leap from quantitative accumulation to qualitative improvement, making the break a prime time for self-enhancement.
The winter break is a golden period for self-improvement and deep reading. Freed from tight academic schedules, young people have more ample time to accompany books and dialogue with great minds. Yang Jiang once wrote in "The Joys and Pains of Reading," "Reading is like visiting the homes of the world's most outstanding figures." Reading can fill holiday hours, enrich the inner world, foster review leading to new insights, and ensure a fulfilling and meaningful break immersed in literature.
Reading is far more than a personal hobby; it is a social undertaking crucial to the nation's future and a cornerstone of building a culturally strong modern China. The culture of reading directly influences public ideological and moral standards, scientific and cultural literacy, and the degree of social civilization. A nation that loves reading often possesses resilience, continuous creativity, and foresight. Amid complex domestic and international landscapes and ongoing technological and industrial transformations, only by establishing coordination mechanisms among families, schools, and society, continuously improving public cultural service systems, expanding the supply of quality publications, optimizing urban and rural reading environments, and mobilizing societal forces to promote reading can we enhance national cultural literacy, foster a society that respects knowledge and champions reading, and make books a lifestyle and trend of the times.
Furthermore, in the digital age, reading methods should evolve. Integrating digital and traditional reading, combining fast and slow paces, shallow and deep engagement, and fragmented and systematic approaches allows individuals to keep pace with information trends and genuinely gain growth and confidence. Such practices will help solidify the foundation of cultural confidence, nurture a new generation capable of undertaking national rejuvenation, and contribute China's chapter to the spectrum of human civilization.