2. Direction: According to the new historical situation and tasks, the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China put forward a new general slogan of literary and artistic work to replace the outdated slogan of "Literature and art serve politics" that has been used for many years. The People's Daily editorial on July 26th 1980 conveyed this spirit of the CPC Central Committee to people. Often referred to as the "alternative" direction.

Let a hundred flowers blossom and a hundred schools of thought contend. The policy of prospering socialist culture put forward by Mao Zedong in the article "On Correctly Handling Contradictions among the People". Its main points are: different forms and styles in art can develop freely, and different schools in science can argue freely.