A symposium on the work of art hosted by President Xi Jinping on Wednesday has had a great impact on the artists, writers as well as the intellectual circles.

People are talking a lot about Xi's words at the forum, including phrases like that art should serve the people and artists should not "lose themselves in the tide of market economy nor go astray while answering the question of whom to serve, otherwise their works will lack vitality."

Apparently, Xi's remarks has touched on the essential question of the work of art, which has long been debated by intellectuals.

Art works should first emphasize social value. A good piece of art work often excels in both social value and market value. However, it has become a hard goal in China in recent years.

The art works seen in China are either poker-faced ones that attempted to lecture the audience, or those which, if successful in the market, often went against mainstream values and used vulgar content to attract people.

All people working in the art field should learn that all countries have their own mainstream values, which fit into the public's cultural consumption instead of stand against it.

It is not that people have become tired of mainstream values. The problem now is that the way many art works tell the stories of mainstream values have become outdated and cannot keep up with the changing life.

As few "mainstream plays" gained market success, "negative plays" gradually led and dominated the taste in the market.

Mainstream artists must try hard to create a number of works that carry positive energy while succeed in the market at the same time. These successful works will convince other artists and capitals to readjust their concepts of "market."

Art works combining mainstream values and the market are a gold mine. Chinese authorities can carry out reforms to persuade talented people to join the "gold rush."

Look at the Holywood movies. They are the best examples of how US mainstream values can be seamlessly combined with the market.

There are too few such successful cases in China, and it has not convinced the artists to go further in that direction.

The regulations should also keep up with the times in terms of their understanding of "mainstream values" and "positive energy." They should go along with people's real-life feeling.

There are still limits that need to be broken. Regulators and the artists should enhance their exchange and add more vitality to art creation.

China's future should not become a land of material wealth and a desert of cultural works. The time calls for a large number of artists who are representatives of mainstream values as well as winners of the market.