Abstract: President XI's scientific judgment, "the Chinese spirit being the soul of socialist literature and art", has pointed out the value pursuit, spiritual benchmark and aesthetic ideal of socialist literature and art, and it is a major theoretical innovation of the Marxist thought on literature and art. Socialist core values, patriotism, the truth, goodness and beauty, the outstanding Chinese and foreign cultural heritages are the important dimensions of "the Chinese spirit". Moreover, socialist core values are the soul of the Chinese spirit, patriotism is its major theme; the truth, goodness and beauty are its eternal values, the outstanding Chinese and foreign cultural heritages are its historical foundations which can provide an international view. All the literary and art workers in China should uphold "the Chinese spirit", following the rules of artistic creation, and exploring effective ways of manifesting "the Chinese spirit" through practice so that they tell the Chinese stories well and create socialist literature and art which can be appreciated by the time and the people.